"Yes."

Darian confirmed without hesitation and immediately focused fully, ready for whatever challenge the system would throw at him.

But...

[...]

Nothing happened, even after several minutes.

Suddenly, Remira burst into the room where Darian was, eyes wide.

Darian turned to her, confused, but the next instant, he felt a strange fluctuation explode. The space in front of him rippled slightly, and an ethereal figure appeared.

It was a tall, handsome man in black clothes. He was only a will, but just looking at him made Darian's soul vibrate, like it was being squeezed. It was the same feeling he'd had the first time he saw Meru! This figure was an Immortal!

Remira clicked her tongue and murmured, "So you were the one who made this…"

The man turned to Remira and smiled faintly. "Indeed... Brother Corin has been pretty depressed for a long time because of you. And Lady Calirer asked about you every day…"

He then turned to Darian and nodded approvingly. "Good work, young one."

"Hmm, where's my final test?" Darian asked straight.

"That? Well... I created that final test, based on the character test Brother Corin used in an Array made long ago. You already went through that, right? No point repeating it."

Darian sighed. Corin was the name of the God Chromaraic, Remira's father. Calirer was the Demoness, his mother.

"My name is Lian Albedo," the man said calmly. "You're a missionary, and I've heard you know a lot. I created this place before the final war, millions of years ago. I tried to form a top-tier person who could help in that terrifying battle... but I failed. The difficulty was just too high, and no one ever finished it."

Darian heard the name and thought for a moment. It took a second, but he remembered that brief, vague passage near the end of that book.

Lian had been the last disciple of the current Heaven's Will, born by chance in an experiment that failed countless times. He was the only one who ascended, appearing at the end as a surprise, becoming one of the most powerful figures in that battle despite being the last to arrive.

"So... what happens now?" Darian asked.

"You won, so you take everything. Every soul trapped in the reincarnation cycle here will be freed and immediately reborn somewhere else…"

"Wait?!" Darian interrupted. "Reborn somewhere else? There are a lot of people still alive here."

Lian nodded. "For you to take all the prize, all the power accumulated in this world must be consumed. So absolutely everything here will disappear. As for the people... they've been reincarnating in this world countless times. For them, this place is home for generations. It's better they all die at once and start over. Don't worry—after living so long here, they'll be like dragons ascending to the heavens. For them, it'll be easy to reach the top of their universes and live a full life."

"But…" Darian's mind raced. Hundreds of millions of people would die? Was that really fair?

Also, everyone born in this world would immediately be terrifying in any universe. They'd been nourished by Primordial power since birth; most had incredible techniques, knew how to fight, belonged to pure and powerful races... letting them die would be a massive waste.

So he thought of somewhere that desperately needed people of that caliber.

"Is there no way to take them out without killing them?" Darian asked seriously.

Lian considered it for a moment. "This world is now inside your universe. If all of them appeared there, it would be an extreme interference with the universe's karma and the people living in it. Heaven's Will forbids that."

Darian asked, a bit excited: "What if I take them to the Divine Protection Universe? That place has only two galaxies and needs all the help it can get. It'd be a good home for all these people to start again. Besides, that universe is already under direct interference from Heaven's Will and the Spiritual Guardians. It wouldn't be that big a karmic interference, right?"

Lian immediately knew which universe Darian meant; it was Niara's home universe. The Divine Protection Universe was special in many ways. There really was no other place you could take all these people without causing a huge problem.

"Hmm... I can't send them there directly…" Lian murmured.

Darian answered fast: "Don't worry about that. Can you keep this world around for a few more days after I leave? I'll secure the entrance and move everything to that universe."

"I understand. I can give you 90% of all this world's power as reward. Ten percent is the minimum to keep it stable. With that, this place can stay relatively stable for a year at most." Lian said lightly, then looked him in the eye.

"You're sure? To do that, you'll lose part of your reward for no real reason. Dying isn't a punishment for them; in the next life, they'll carry many benefits."

Darian nodded firmly. "That universe needs people to fight and then start over. It's the perfect place for them... even with all the dangers and the enemy being insanely strong."

Seeing the worry rising in Darian, Remira sighed and comforted him:

"Don't worry, everyone will be glad to help you and fight by your side again. They were born and lived fighting their whole lives. Getting a new mission and a new home to protect will be something they'll quickly accept. Not to mention... if they find out the alternative was death, no one would complain."

Darian nodded, eyes shining. "Excellent, I have to save that place no matter what."

Lian watched his unshakable will and nodded, satisfied. In the end, this world he had created bore fruit and helped forge someone worthy.

Then, he looked at Remira and noticed the complete change in her eyes. When her father had sent her to this world, he had high expectations... but soon everything turned into a total disaster... yet now, he could be proud of the result.

The God Chromaraic owed Darian a favor, and in the future, if the chance came, he would pay it back properly.

"Alright, I'll do as you said then," Lian spoke calmly. "I'll give you 90% of your reward, but the difference won't be that big. Your reward is twofold: first, I'll give you the knowledge of how to use the power of chaos. Its use is limited to the inner energy you have to fuel it, but as you evolve, its potential will grow more and more."

He waved his hand, and a grayish light appeared, flowing into Darian and merging with him.

"As for the final reward, I'll make it so you no longer have a mortal soul. Your soul will reach the Divine level, very close to the immortal level. On top of that... you'll become the first and only True Holy Emperor, and at the same time, a True Devil Lord. To put it simply, you'll be the Sovereign of Devils and Celestials. As for the benefits of that…"

Lian's eyes gleamed, recalling the time when he was still mortal and created these things. That had allowed him to dominate his entire universe and unleash immense chaos. Now, for the first time, he would pass that legacy on to someone else... and from Darian's look and aura, he realized he was the perfect type to carry that power.

***

In the Universe of Heaven's Will.

The name Darian was something only a few people still remembered. Even on Earth, most had already forgotten that terrifying figure who had appeared like a devastating bolt of lightning and vanished just as fast.

Of course, the legendary rookie tournament was always revisited, and his name was brought up by everyone. But Darian had become something mystical and distant, a shadow of the past that, for most, was already buried and dead.

For them, the well-known rule proved true in his case: the more outstanding a person was, the more enemies they made, and the faster they disappeared. Unfortunately, Darian was born on Earth and was way too aggressive, drawing tons of negative attention. Soon, he became everyone's target and, like that, there was no way he could survive for long.

In the New Arcadia Empire, his name was still relatively known. That was because the empire's greatest clan had no official leader. They always declared he would return one day, so they never named another Leader to replace him. But, obviously, after ten years, that had become a meaningless joke.

Among humans in the universe, only the younger generation vaguely remembered the winner of the legendary young sage tournament, the greatest highlight of recent years. That day was unforgettable for most. There were other tournaments afterward, but all of them were completely bland and empty compared to that one.

Aside from those few isolated groups, tiny in the vastness of the universe... Darian practically never existed.

...

It was an ordinary day on a planet with no intelligent or powerful life, in a mediocre galaxy.

Until, in a place hidden from everyone's eyes on that planet... everything changed.

A strange mirror shone brightly. Then...

*Crack*

It split apart completely.

At that instant, in two of the most powerful planets in the universe, a top-level alert was triggered.

"AN ATTACK! THE SECRET PLACE HAS BEEN INVADED!"

All the Spiritual Guardians on those planets roared at full power and moved as fast as possible.

In mere seconds, that simple, ordinary-looking planet was surrounded by demons and winged figures of a peculiar race.

They all arrived and rushed toward that location.

When they entered the secret region...

They saw the shattered mirror and froze in fear, but there was no sign of invaders.

"How the hell…"

Suddenly...

"!"

A grayish light flowed out from within the mirror.

Then, a figure appeared before everyone's eyes.

"I'm back."

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