Death… And Me

Chapter 3198: Up To You

Rean checked on Roanʼs progress in the Dimensional Realm and could tell that it would still take a very long time until he finished. After all, what he got wasnʼt proper Dragon Blood but a refined one. Adapting his methods to fit the blood had to be done with patience.

Instead, Rean checked on Tomoeʼs location once again, deciding to go pay the new sect master a visit. He had to find his fake parents in this world. ”Kentucky and I will go out. What are you two planning to do?” Rean asked Rifindio and Zangeshu.

Zangeshu didnʼt have anything he wanted to do outside. ”Let me go back to the Dimensional Realm. I want to analyze all the information I gathered more closely. There is much to learn from this still.”

”Sure,” Rean nodded and waved his hand. Immediately, Zangeshu disappeared without a trace. That left only Rifindio behind. ”What about you?”

”Hum...” Rifindio didnʼt really have much to do at the moment. ”You still havenʼt told me what you are planning to do. I know I can follow you, but what are your plans for real?”

Now that Rean thought about that, he hasnʼt told Rifindio about Sister Orb, the Void Shattering Pills, or his origins. It should be pretty obvious Rean wasnʼt from this planet, but did Rifindio know he wasnʼt from this universe altogether? ”Come with me then. Letʼs have a real talk this time.”

Rean, Kentucky, and Rifindio left the city. Rean jumped on Kentuckyʼs back, and Rifindio followed on the side. Soon, they found themselves high in the skies, which gave Rean the chance to ask his questions. ”What do you have in mind about us. Just speak it blatantly.” Rifindio hasnʼt brought it out until now, either. ”My mission was to investigate the fake Werdlem Stone IDs, which might be involved with possible invaders from outside the Universe. Such searches are being made all over the Werdlem Empire Territory, so this is not just about you and this place. However... after all Iʼve seen, I canʼt help but wonder. You ARE those invaders, arenʼt you?”

”Hum...” Rean pondered a bit. ”Calling us invaders isnʼt exactly the right thing to say.”

”What do you mean?” Rifindio asked, not surprised that Rean didnʼt deny his words. ”Truth be told, we were thrown inside the Werdlem Empireʼs Bubble against our will,” Rean explained. ”Roan and I have no idea how we were brought here. And, as far as the legends go outside, the Werdlem Empire simply disappeared one day. Of course, now I know why it happened after Foliana told me.”

Foliana did talk about the Werdlem Empireʼs history, which was available on the Werdlem Network. She spoke about how it became the strongest force in the Great Void, but that it was also meant to be in everyoneʼs eyes. Afraid of some coalition coming after them one day, the Werdlem Empire created this ʼbubbleʼ that separated their Great Void from the Great Void all the other Universes shared. Here, it had absolute control of everything, and above all, it was safe.

”Of course, this is just what is available to the public,” Rean remarked. ”Who knows what the Werdlem Empire really had in mind when it detached itself from everyone else.”

”I see...” This was the first time Rifindio heard about how the outside world thought about them. ”So what is exactly your objective?”

”Go home,” Kentucky was the one to answer. ”Werldem Empire, Inquisition Halls, and all that shit. We simply couldnʼt care less about them all. We just need to find a way to leave this place and go back to where we came. Unfortunately, we are too weak for it.”

Rean patted Kentuckyʼs back and continued. ”As to how we ended up in this place, a war was happening in our Universe. Roan and I sacrificed to defeat the enemy, and we thought that was the end for us. Both Roan and I were at the Late Stage of the Divinity Realm back then. Naturally, so was Kentucky. The circumstances that brought Roan and me to this Universe were different from Kentuckyʼs, though.”

”Anyway, as you can see, it turns out we didnʼt die. When we recovered our consciousness, we found ourselves inside these new bodies, and our cultivations were gone... except for our souls. Our souls are still in the Divinity Realm. Not only that, they went through a breakthrough after the events back then, so they are at the Peak Stage instead of the Late Stage now.”

Rifindio took a deep breath. ”No wonder you cultivate so fast. The soul is one of the things that has to improve with oneʼs cultivation, regardless if one trains the soul or not. But since your souls are already at such a level, you only have to train your bodies and cultivations. The soul, which is arguably the main reason for oneʼs cultivation speed, is already far ahead.”

Rean nodded. ”Now you know the truth here.”

Rifindio was still curious. ”This is a big deal, you know? Iʼm not under any contract or anything. I could totally take a chance to escape and tell about you. Being the one who found the invaders would definitely be a big deal for me. My status might even change in the Supreme Palace. Just what makes you trust me this much? You said to Foliana that you knew what you were doing after all the red flags she pointed out about me. It makes no sense.” Rean faintly smiled. ”Didnʼt Roan say it? You are a juicy piece of information.”

”Stop that bullshit!” Rifindio turned serious. ”So what if I have something to do with this Universeʼs Owner? That doesnʼt eliminate the risks of me spreading your secrets. There has to be a reason!”

Rean, however, looked at Rifindio with a gentle expression. ”Trusting someone because you want to... is it really that hard to accept?”

”This...” Rifindio didnʼt know much about trust in his life. Nonetheless, he steeled his resolve, following what he had learned so far in his life and inside the Supreme Palace. ”It is hard to accept, indeed. Iʼm following you, but that doesnʼt mean I trust you. Keep that in mind.”

Rean laughed. ”Hahaha! Sure, up to you.”