CHAPTER 302: I’LL BE BACK

After he agreed to go with such confident words, Beleth felt relieved and wanted to take him right away. But no one knew how long Darian would be gone. Darian explained to Beleth that Niara and the twins would be staying on their own.

"Don’t worry, I know the Spiritual Sovereign of planet Vadise. She’s the youngest of all seven, and although we disagree on a lot of things, she’s not malicious," Beleth said calmly. "As for your family on Earth, I guarantee no one from outside the planet will attack them. As for the Wube family... I can’t do much about that."

Darian nodded. He couldn’t protect Lucy and Lucius forever; now that everything was set in the clan, it was time for them to grow on their own. They’d go to the training universe and take on missions by themselves.

Without delay, Tayluar sent a message to the leader of planet Vadise — a man with nine rings, just like her. The Spiritual Sovereigns of the planets usually left someone they trusted in charge while they focused on other matters.

They waited a bit while Darian and Niara had one last private talk. It would take some time, so they went to the bedroom.

Darian focused on improving her life rune as much as possible, making sure she could stay far away from him without any issues.

Beleth mentioned that the supreme artifact connected to the universe it was in; so inside its inner world, it would be like being on a planet from that very universe.

...

A few hours later, a message reached Darian: someone from planet Vadise had arrived to pick her up.

Darian started moving toward the door, but Niara intercepted him.

A soft light surrounded her, and in an instant, her familiar form was standing before him. He stopped, his eyes running over her curves slowly.

Niara looked at him, her chest rising and falling with heavy breaths. Her eyes glistened, and her voice came out almost in a whisper:

"I’m going alone. I don’t need a goodbye... just..." Her voice faded away. Darian saw something in her eyes he’d never seen before — a mix of fear, sadness, and something else he couldn’t quite place.

Niara felt... no, her instincts had been screaming for a while now: this was going to be a long separation. She had to do something; part of her wanted to leave a deep mark on him.

In one swift and unexpected move, she closed the distance, her hands gently touching the back of his neck.

"!"

Darian felt her face getting closer, and then the softness of her cold lips pressing against his.

The lack of physical warmth only made it more intense — like an electric shock running through both their bodies. An explosive feeling surged between them, mixing and intertwining. Her scent — sweet and intoxicating — filled him, and a wave of relaxation washed over him.

It lasted only a few seconds, but felt much longer. She pulled back reluctantly, and he saw her lick her lips with a faint smile.

Noticing his frozen expression, Niara smiled lightly. "Hehehe... this is a metamorphosis body. Doesn’t really count. But... please... don’t forget me, alright?"

Without waiting for his response, she turned and ran, disappearing through the door and leaving Darian standing there, petrified.

She ran fast without looking back. Once outside the building, she met Irana’s gaze, who understood the pain radiating from her.

Tayluar was right behind, and beside her stood a humanoid figure also using metamorphosis.

He looked at Niara seriously. She wasn’t a Spiritual Guardian, so taking her to his planet seemed almost ridiculous, but...

It didn’t take even a second for him to sense something that made him break out in a cold sweat. Inside her, he could feel the pure and terrifying bloodline of the Divine Dragon.

Taking a deep breath, he nodded in satisfaction. "I’ll be your first master. I’ve known Tayluar for a long time, and I won’t treat you badly. You’ll never be able to compete directly against a Spiritual Guardian, but if you’ve got the will, you’ll never be looked down on."

Niara sighed heavily at his words. "Let’s go," she said curtly, as if she wanted to leave as fast as possible before she changed her mind.

Without delay, she was taken aboard a flying boat, vanishing into the horizon.

Darian could still feel exactly where she was, and that she was getting farther away. They could both locate each other perfectly, even from a distance, and could send messages if they wanted. But once he entered that place, that probably wouldn’t be possible anymore.

After a few minutes, Darian moved, his mind a bit chaotic.

Outside, Beleth was waiting for him.

He and everyone present could clearly feel the mood — and it wasn’t hard to imagine what had just happened. But that only made Beleth even more excited, since now Darian would want to come back no matter what.

"Shall we?" Darian asked, trying to sound indifferent.

He turned to Irana and Tayluar.

"Good luck, big brother. I hope you come back soon," Irana said quickly, smiling.

Darian nodded, and Beleth made a smooth motion with his hands. A bright light appeared on his forehead, and then the space in front of them began to distort.

Beleth gestured to Darian, who understood and stepped forward. Within seconds, the two of them entered, and the void closed behind them.

...

Darian found himself in a cold forest, under a night lit by two huge moons.

"This is a planet without any intelligent or powerful life. It’s a hidden place, in a secret galaxy that gives nothing away at first glance. It was chosen to be the site of the Supreme Artifact, so the two planets send their most promising people here to be nurtured."

Beleth’s calm voice echoed, and Darian nodded indifferently.

He took a deep breath... then clenched his fists tightly, forcing his mind to stay cool and steady. He had to lock that feeling and chaos away.

Beleth noticed this with satisfaction and led the way.

A few minutes later, they reached an open area between two mountains. Stepping forward was like walking through an invisible door.

Inside, everything changed.

The entire place was filled with a black energy. Darian recognized pure Yin immediately — though calling it just "pure" felt like a joke. Primordial Yin was the densest and most powerful essence there could be. In a second, it seeped into his body, making him instantly dizzy.

Ahead, a bright light caught his attention.

It was something like a round mirror, about two meters tall. But it didn’t exactly reflect what was in front of it — it looked more like a window showing the powers of the world.

"Everything was split and sealed into two parts. On the other side is, obviously, Primordial Yang. The mirror releases a limited amount, so only selected people from both sides can come each year to absorb it."

Beleth spoke calmly and stepped forward. Darian followed, activating his ring to stabilize himself.

They stopped five meters from the mirror.

Beleth turned; Darian nodded and pulled out a black box. Opening it, he took out the red ring inside and slipped it onto his finger.

"Good luck, young Darian. I hope you come back soon and get what you need from the other side," Beleth said sincerely. "One more thing — my race might seem dark and sinister, but we’re simply born from the shadowy Yin and have a different temperament. Please, don’t judge us as good or evil."

Darian nodded. "I’m not naïve. I know very well humans can be worse than demons. Everyone’s just people, and I’ll deal with each one individually."

He said this and stepped forward.

The mirror trembled subtly.

"I’ll be back. And I hope it’s soon."

Right after Darian said that, Beleth felt a terrifying force surge from the mirror. It wrapped around Darian and yanked him in, making him vanish.