[Var, Var, don't go! Varrr!]
[Var, why are you leaving me?]
[Var, why are you so hurt?]
[No, no, no! Don't die! Please don't die!]
Aurora imitated Sarah's voice and expression, giving Varian a glimpse into how his wife endured the wait of a millennia.
"And those are the things she used to mostly mutter. She would break into tears out of nowhere. It was scary at first. But gradually, it was sad, you know. I have seen a lot of deaths, killed a lot myself. Still, somethings never stop being pitiful."
Miss Calamity spoke in a mature tone, the same tone she used when they first met in Centaurus.
Which tone was the mask, which tone was the truth, Varian no longer questioned.
It's possible for people to be both dignified in serious matters and silly in normal things. It wouldn't make either of their behaviors invalid.
"But we stopped our job once you arrived. Even if we wanted to, it crossed our limit. Hortus' stealth has fallen." Aurora confessed the most important matter to consider at the moment.
"So they'll find us." Varian took a deep breath.
"Maybe not immediately but I wouldn't give it a lot of time."
"And Immortal is strong now?"
"They say he his strength equals the quarter of a new divine ranker."
Varian sucked in the breath of a cold air.
Even the best pseudo divines would only have 1% power of a divine ranker. The gap was just too big to ever think of crossing.
If Varian had to give an estimate, once his seven paths reached the peak, he could exert 15% power. If he could better than expected, maybe even 20%. And 20% was the upper limit for him.
Still, he'd be 20 times stronger than any pseudo divine.
This wasn't the difference between slightly strong and less strong.
It's the difference between an adult man and a 3-year old child. It's an unwinnable fight.
Unfortunately, if Immortal really had 25% strength of a divine ranker against 20% of Varian's, then things would be very, very bad.
The absolute difference between their strength might be only 5%, but the relative difference would be 25%.
That's like the gap between a low rank 9 and mid rank 9. It'd just be impossible to win.
Moreover, this would be the difference once Varian reached the peak of pseudo divine.
A fight with Immortal would not give him any significant improvement in strength. There's just nowhere to go except step into divine ranks.
"They won't let me step into divine ranks." Varian sighed.
"Immortal needs the vessel before stepping into divine ranks. So, his fight with you should only happen in celestial ranks. He has requested them as such and they accepted it." Miss Calamity gave him a worried glance.
If Varian spent a year or two away from civilization and trained, she was sure he'd be able to beat Immortal depsite the latter's thousand year training. That's how crazy this man's talent was.
But if he wasn't allowed to step into divine ranks and had to fight Immortal…
"Strength equalling the quarter of divine rank, that's just a rumor, right?" Varian suddenly asked.
"Yes. Even though I cut off most of my channels from the outside, I still kept a few alive. It's a rumor but from a very high source." Miss Calamity bit her lip and looked down at the ground. "I hope it's just an exaggeration like all rumors. But brother-in-law, please don't take this lightly. I don't want you to die."
"It's just a rumor." Varian shook his head.
Aurora raised her head, anger evident on her face. "And I'm telling you don't underestimate your enemy! They waited a thousand years for you and you don't care about your life?"
Varian looked at her in surprise before giving her a light smile. "I didn't mean that. I think it's the opposite. They're under reporting his strength."
He stretched out his hand and a fire of black and white materialized above his palm.
It crackled and twisted, giving off an unparalleled aura.
Even a divine ranker like Miss Calamity felt an instinctive suppression in front of the slivers.
"If he has the slivers and he truly worked a thousand years mastering their strength," Varian exhaled deeply. "And he happens to be someone born from the very slivers…then maybe he reached 40% or even 50%."
"That's absurd! If he can go that far, he can also go the remaining half and posess the strength of a divine ranker without any divine paths."
"Slivers are an absurd existence in creation. I hope he only touched 40%." Varian shook his head.
"D-Do you have any strategy to win?" Aurora didn't know why she sounded so timid and hopeful at the same time.
Varian gave her a brief look before moving forward. "Let's go. Go home."
"You didn't answer my question!"
*** *** *** ***
A living kingdom at the boundary of Genesis and Mors Empire turned undead overnight. A day later, every undead was converted back into the living.
It included trillions and trillions of lives, from a mortal without any power all the way to pseudo divine rankers.
No one could resist the overwhelming power that flowed out from the center of the kingdom.
The form of green and red, the lotus of life and death, that stood at the center of the kingdom moved for the first time in a century.
"Immortal."
A voice rang from the heavens, a voice so lofty that even divine rankers would feel a sense of reverence in their hearts.
"Yes, Mother."
A restrained voice replied from the glowing lotus.
"There have been cracks in their stealth. And there have been changes in God's Eye. Your prey has returned. I'll find him soon. End him once you find him and devour the vessel.
A thousand years have already passed in the wait. It is time for you to achieve perfection and set on the duty of saving the universe."
"I will."
"I trust you…My Child."
"I will live up to your trust."
Immortal didn't notice but his voice was shaking.
In an unknown place of Mors Empire, Yami's lips curled into a bright smile. "Such a pitiful creature. Even though he's half-undead, he still has the pathetic weakness of the living, but this way, he'll be easy to control and remain loyal."