An hour later, the desert trembled.
Sage Cedric: "Beast tide. Desert Wolves. Five hundred. Six hundred. White-eyes Wolves. Night Lightning Wolves."
Saint Serene: "Ravager ranks. Their leader could be Overlord."
The Mysterious Person sent a telepathic message to the old ones.
Mysterious Person: (telepathically) "Do not fight. Let the young ones gain experience."
They stood back.
The wolves attacked.
Alya controlled fifty with her enslavement path.
Ruo summoned lightning.
Kent blazed with golden light.
Mira cast spells.
Selene fought with her shape-shifting weapon.
Finny bent gravity.
Kanade moved like lightning herself.
Tania breathed dragon fire.
They fought for hours. Any adventuring group would have taken days to defeat six hundred wolves.
The young ones were exhausted.
The leader emerged. Overlord rank. It could defeat Lord-ranked humans easily, injure Dukes, match Monarchs.
It attacked.
Mira and Selene healed. Ruo struck. Kent defended. Alya commanded.
Forty minutes passed. The beast fell.
Then the sand erupted.
A Sand Dragon. Tyrant rank.
The old ones tensed. They could not fight without permission.
The young ones turned to the mysterious Person.
He stood with his arms crossed.
A small smile on his face. Rare. Very rare.
Mira: "He's smiling."
Selene: "He never smiles."
Alya: "He's testing us."
The Sand Dragon attacked. Its body was sand, nearly immortal. It breathed sand, blinding them. It breathed fire, burning them.
They fought. They could not hurt it.
Mysterious Person: "I command you. Obey me."
The Sand Dragon shook. Its body trembled. Its will crumbled.
It bowed.
Ruo: "Another pet?"
Mysterious Person: "Another pet."
Kent and Selene together: "How many pets do you have?"
Mysterious Person: "Enough to destroy planets entirely."
Everyone looked at each other.
He could have destroyed our world nine years ago. After the betrayal. He chose not to.
But if someone betrays him again...
They remembered the ten million deaths. He erased them from existence.
No. He wouldn't. We are his family. At least in this world.
They hoped.
Mysterious Person: "Ruo. Your bad luck brought the beast tide."
Ruo: "I know."
Mysterious Person: "But I also chose this path. The battle. So you could grow."
Ruo: "You chose to put us in danger?"
Mysterious Person: "I chose to make you stronger."
Hours later, they reached the World Tree.
That night, after they reached the World Tree, they dreamed.
A figure of the Mysterious Person appeared.
Mysterious Person: "You have walked the eighth path. Betrayal. You have earned the Loyalty Core."
Kanade's dream was different.
Mysterious Person: "You played a small but crucial role in the battle against Wu Shenmei's will. You have earned the Limitless Hunger Core. The Investigation Core."
Sage Veyron's dream:
Mysterious Person: "You have the Loyalty ability. You have earned Necromancy."
Saint Serene's dream:
Mysterious Person: "You have earned Psychic ability."
Finny's dream:
Mysterious Person: "You are not from this world. You cannot receive a core. But I give you the skill of Loyalty. Based on your world's power system."
Flashback: The Palace in the Sky.
Ruo: looking at Nihil, "I lost my luck. In the future, I will lose someone I love. What did you sacrifice?"
Nihil: "I sacrificed my failure. I cannot fail. I was made by the Mysterious Person. His luck is connected to mine. I did not lose anything precious like you."
Flashback: Nihil's New Cores.
The Mysterious Person refined two cores for Nihil.
Mysterious Person: "Attack Reflection. It reverses attacks. Multiplies them."
Nihil: "And the second?"
Mysterious Person: "Hollow Nullification. It absorb magic, mana, spiritual energy."
Nihil: "Similar. Different."
Mysterious Person: "One reverses. One absorbs. Both useful."
In World Two, the Mysterious Person sat beside the Empress.
Empress: "Didn't you act politely there? In World Seventeen?"
Mysterious Person: "I don't act polite, I chose to be."
Empress: "Same thing?"
Mysterious person: "Same thing."
Empress: "That Sand Dragon is mutated, isn't it?"
Mysterious Person: "That's why I made it my pet. It can be raised to Venerable. A rank that can destroy a planet very easily."
Empress: "Do you want to say something? Sharing your feelings to someone can reduce the burden."
Mysterious Person: "Nothing. But I want to say something."
Empress: "What?"
Mysterious Person: "I am more shameless than shamelessness itself."
Empress: "Is that bothering you?"
Mysterious Person: "Perhaps. But you are with me. I don't want to worry about anything."
Empress: "I am always with you."
They descended at the main headquarters of the Sovereign Omniverse Association. They changed their appearance already.
The guards stopped them.
Guard: "You cannot enter without a permit."
Empress: "We are..."
The doors opened.
The Supreme Head and Monarch Long ran toward them, faces tense, fearful.
Supreme Head: bowing, "Forgive their rudeness. They did not know. You came without sending a message. It is the rule that guards cannot allow entry without a permit. On behalf of the Association, I apologize."
Monarch Long: also bowing, "I apologize as well."
Empress: "I forgive you. We did not come for battle. We only want to visit. And ask some questions."
In the central chamber, the Empress, the Mysterious Person, the Supreme head, and Monarch Long sat together.
Empress: "Why are you helping the Omnirank World Seventeen? What are your intentions?"
Supreme Head: "To come close with World Two. To establish friendly relations with you."
Mysterious Person: "Then give me the authority of the Association."
Supreme Head: with a broken voice, "We cannot do this. If we did, we will face a huge problems."
Monarch Long: "But we have decided to assist you."
Empress: "Don't worry. He's just teasing you."
Supreme Head and Monarch Long embarrassed.
Mysterious Person: "I have something to show you."
He raised his hand. Two relics of the information path appeared.
Mysterious Person: "Watch. Learn. Understand."
He activated the relics.
Flashback: Age 7.
A place where he was alone.
Old Man: "Hey, kid?"
mysterious Person: "Yes. Elderly gentleman, how can I help you?"
Old Man: "My name is Ishan. Ishan Agnivardhan. I want to talk to you about your fate."
Mysterious Person: expressionless, "My fate?"
Ishan Agnivardhan: "Yes. Do you want to know?"
Mysterious Person: "Yes. Please tell me."
Ishan Agnivardhan: "You'll become the Regulator. The position that stands beyond any ruler. At one time, only one Regulator exists. You'll become one in existence. I will train you for it. I will teach you everything."
Mysterious Person: "Sorry. But I don't want to be assassinated by those who killed the previous Regulators."
Ishan Agnivardhan: furiously, "How do you know about that?"
Mysterious Person: smiling slightly, "I know what you don't know. The Ashborn Guardian."
Ishan Agnivardhan: shockingly, "You know my true identity?"
Mysterious Person: "Yes. I know everything."
Lord Ishan: "So you know what happened to the first Regulator and his guardian?"
Mysterious Person: "You are the guardian of the fist Regulator and his best friend too. He married your wife's little sister."
Lord Ishan: "Yes. You're absolutely right. But can you tell me why you refuse my offer?"
mysterious Person: "It's simple. I will become the Protector of the strongest Regulator of all time. Like you became the first guardian."
Lord Ishan: "But why?"
Mysterious Person: "My goal is to become the most powerful, the strongest person in the world. But when I realized there is something beyond the universe called the multiverse, I was confused. Then I came to know there are multiverses. Then Omniverse."
Lord Ishan: "So you want to stay in the shadows?"
Mysterious Person: "Perhaps. I don't like to talk more. I have an ability called Introvert."
Lord Ishan: "I understand. But I will help you achieve your goal. But how can you run away from your fate?"
Mysterious Person: "It's my business. Don't worry, old man. You should take a rest. You've been living for billions of years."
Lord Ishan: "You're right. We'll meet again when you awaken next year. I know you can awaken more than once. This happens once in millions of billions of years. You carry a heavy burden. Take care."
Mysterious Person: "Who cares!"
Lord Ishan: "Don't be so rude. It's for your own benefit."
Mysterious Person: "I'm trying to say that no one will care about your goal. They can only see their own. As happened to all the Regulators."
Lord Ishan: in mind, "I should be more careful. This child is different from anyone in the omniverse. I'm sure someone stands behind him. I told him his secrets, and he didn't even react. No expression. He will be a good pawn for my goal."
Lord Ishan: with a smile, "I am taking my leave. We will meet again."
Mysterious Person: "Goodbye. Or bad bye. Sir Ishan."
Lord Ishan: passing a smile, "We will meet after your eighth birthday."
Mysterious Person: "I'll be waiting."
Age 8.
The Mysterious Person sat under a tree.
Ishan Agnivardhan arrived.
Lord Ishan: "So you awakened again. What kind of power did you get this time? And how many more times will you awaken?"
Mysterious Person: "I got a skill. Who knows!"
Lord Ishan: in mind, "He is too smart. He should behave like a child whose age is eight."
Lord Ishan: fake smiling, "So you don't want to tell me the truth?"
Mysterious Person: "I can't trust a stranger."
Lord Ishan: "I'm not a stranger. We're working together."
Mysterious Person: "i'm still a child. We will work together when I turn seventeen. Until then, focus on your own pathway. Not mine."
Lord Ishan: "You're very intelligent. You will surpass anyone in the future."
Mysterious Person: "You're wrong. I will be the Weakest human physically in the Omniverse."
Lord Ishan: "So you're creating your own fate?"
Mysterious Person: "My fate is what I choose to be."
Lord Ishan: "But you didn't awaken your choice power."
Mysterious Person: "Who knows!"
Lord Ishan: "I'm taking my leave."
Age 11.
The Mysterious Person sat on a chair in a room.
Ishan Agnivardhan appeared.
Mysterious Person: "What a lot of work!"
Lord Ishan: "I'm not giving you work. i;m just telling you the truth and asking you some questions."
Mysterious Person: "it's the same thing for me."
Lord Ishan: "What kind of skill or ability did you get this time?"
Mysterious Person: calmly, "Luck stealing. Fortune manipulation. I can steal others' luck and give them bad luck in return. Its drawback is that it happens subconsciously."
Lord Ishan: with a slow voice, "You can become the King of Fortune and Misfortune."
Mysterious Person: "You're talking about the power system of Omnirank World One?"
Lord Ishan: surprised, "You know it."
Mysterious Person: "It's the simplest power system, but everyone ignores it. The rankings are:
1. Commoner
2. Knight
3. Baron/Baroness
4. Viscount/Viscountess
5. Count/Countess
6. Marquess/Marchioness
7. Duke/Duchess
8. Monarch
9. King/Queen
10. Emperor/Empress.
Mysterious Person: with continuity, "The other main thing is that they can gain power by their titles, such as 'Emperor of Ash and Rebirth.'"
Lord Ishan was shocked that a child was talking about his title.
Age 14.
The Mysterious Person slept on a bed.
Ishan Agnivardhan arrived.
Lord Ishan: "what did you awaken this time?"
Mysterious Person: calmly, "Machiavellian."
Lord Ishan: hesitating, "Please tell me you're lying."
Mysterious Person: "Who cares!"
Lord Ishan: "You don't know what power this is."
Mysterious Person: "This power helps me achieve many titles at once."
Lord Ishan: "You're truly a monster."
Mysterious Person: "I am."
Age 17.
Ishan Agnivardhan appeared in his dimension.
Lord Ishan: "So you've awakened for the twelfth time."
Mysterious Person: "Fifteenth time."
Lord Ishan: "That's insane. It means you've been awakening yourself since you were three."
Mysterious Person: "Obviously. But the main thing is that my friend has awakened too. At fourteen."