"What took you so long?" Aphosis asked with narrowed eyes, his tiny body vaguely turning toward Equilius.
Yami looked normal while the question was thrown but he also read a subtle disturbance in her form.
Keman didn't seem to care and was discussing administrative matters with a glowing spirit who appeared to be some kind of assistant.
Aridam was meditating, exhibiting his utter disregard for an event everyone else deemed important.
Equilius, the man who had the most to lose, kept his gaze on Isadora. Since Sia and Enigma were unsure about not leaking their anger after facing Equilius, they cancelled their spirit forms.
Sarah decided to check Elysium until the meeting ended and only Isadora attended the meeting.
And what she faced was the strong stare of Equilius.
Even though the gaze was neutral, showing not a hint of hostility, the princess could read the turmoil in his eyes and the hatred brimming in his soul.
Varian felt it too. But he felt something more when his perception blatantly touched Equilius.
It was a disrespectful move by any measure and definitely not something a rank 1 would tolerate much less an empire pillar like rank 2.
Yet, Equilius allowed the perception to wash over him.
And that caused Varian's eyes to shake.
There was a trace of power inside Equilius. It wasn't certain whether it was granted by the source or stolen, but that power, no matter how faint it was, was something he would never forget.
It was the same power that established the curse inside Primula and let it run for millions of years, a timespan longer than the lifespan of most divine rankers.
The power of God Emperor.
Turning to Aphosis with a casual expression, Varian replied. "The weather was nice, we had a field trip in purgatory."
"Didn't we send you to Elysium?"
"I see living beings all the time. So, I decided to check out the undead land."
"Are you serious? That place stinks of zombies!" Aridam woke up from his meditation who knows when and nearly slammed his face with the alliance heir's.
"Yeah." Varian took a few steps back to avoid any skin contact with the crazy bastard.
"A trip is a trip. A few thousand years after you reach the peak of rank 1, we'll return here to have you conquer Purgatory as well as Elysium." Keman said in a plain tone but his eyes were shining with anticipation. "With two of these places under our hands, we can take over this region and unify it with the spiral."
Now that he knew more about the regions, Varian tilted his head. "Are you really sure you want to give up Nirvana region? Nirvana's divine essence is as much as both of Purgatory and Elysium combined."
"It can't be helped. The guardian of Nirvana is beyond the reach of a rank 1. With no rank 2s are allowed inside, it's a dead end." Keman gave him a curious look. "Are you perhaps saying you can do it?"
Varian did not deny. "I don't mean to brag but I'm somewhat of a specialist in doing the impossible."
"It's good to have this confidence. If you have to defeat someone like that, this much belief is absolutely necessary." A smile broke out on Keman's face as he looked at Varian in appreciation.
Rather than the possibility of Varian's success in conquering Nirvana, he seemed more pleased at Varian's extreme confidence.
Varian grasped that intent and said with a helpless expression. "Well, I did conquer purgatory and got its blessings. Once I conquer Elysium and get its blessings too, I am confident I can take on Nirvana's guardian as a peak rank 1."
"Oh yes, the blessings are….what?"
Keman's face, which had seen wars that shook entire galaxies, froze. Every ruler on the scene looked at him with a weird expression.
Aphosis pointed out their confusion, gesturing at the heir's women. "Even if they helped you kill the guardian, they would be judged as the guardian, not you. And that in itself is a very shaky thing to assume given they're still far from peak ra—"
Varian showed the back of his hand, displaying the red tattoo engraved with divine power. "…I dunno, it just happened."
The rulers were experienced beings but even they felt a sense of incredulity at him breaking the common sense effortlessly.
"Maybe you really have a chance of beating the guardian of Nirvana. Then the final fusion would be perfect and we'll have more chance of confronting the God Emperor." Keman said with a strong smile, thousands of flying spirits coming into life from the white light he gave off in happiness.
Patting his shoulder, the ruler of geneis promised. "We'll give you all the resources you want. Just get to peak rank 1 as soon as possible."
"Mors won't fall behind." Yami, who remained silent so far, spoke up. Since he showed no hostility so far, she assumed that either Equilius didn't do what he promised or that Varian did not know anything.
Before anyone could react, she reached out her hand and ruffled his hair. "Do your best, my child, the destiny of alliance rests on your shoulders."
"…"
Aphosis' indifferent expression remained but the way he stared at her with bulging eyes meant that even the most indifferent person on the site was dumbfounded.
The reactions of Aridam, Equilius and Keman were more visible. They blankly stared as if they were frozen statues.
Yami ignored their reactions and placed the tip of her finger on Varian's palm. A tiny red spark glowed at the fingertip and gently drilled into his body.
Varian shook for a moment before he held onto Isadora and stabilized.
"That's my experience and insights when I transvered the first realm of divine. I've also added what I've seen from countless geniuses over the eons. Even though it's just a reference, I'm sure you can make good use of it."
Varian pushed himself to smile and thanked her profusely for the help.
Even though it's nowhere near Synergy, it was going to help. Keman also followed her actions and with that, the Nexus trio also joined.
Due to the turbulence from receiving five bundles of tremendous insights, Varian's perfectly sealed aura leaked out for a brief moment and his state was revealed.
"…Mid rank 1?" Aridam muttered in confusion.
"See you all, bye!" Varian didn't want to get into a soft interrogation and summoned a space passage connecting to Hortus.
'Sarah.'
'Um!'
A golden light shot out of the green half of the forbidden region and the queen emerged with a few injuries.
The trio stepped into the passage and vanished. As they did, the rulers stared at his back, with a strong hunch that a great change was near.