Mystical Journey

Beside them, the Two-Faced person and the Four-Armed woman were not as casual and nonchalant. Right now, they were reporting the latest changes in the situation to Garen.

After giving them simple instructions for what to do from now on, Garen told them directly that he might have to go into isolation for a long time, and might not be able to come out for a while, so he needed them to handle a lot of things on their own. Then, he taught them a few contingency plans for emergencies.

“Alright, you guys can retreat now, I want to have a few words with Lonnie and the others in private,” Garen said.

“Yes, Alliance Leader.”

The Four-Armed woman lowered her head in a show of respect and led the other higher-ups down the tower together with the Two-Faced person. Soon, they vanished into the Teleportation Point.

Only then did Garen look at Baylon and the others, who were still bickering.

“Alright, stop your fighting. I have a few things I need to tell you guys.”

He spoke, so naturally Clint and the others gradually quietened down. Although they still glared at each other, they had already settled down, waiting for Garen to speak.

Garen waved his hand, and instantly, a protective force field fell around them.

“This tower has already been covered with countless security and protection measures. If anyone wants to enter, even the legal processes would be picked up by internal servers, so even Perpetual Motioners would not be able to enter unnoticed. Big Bro, just say whatever you want to say,” said Clint nonchalantly. “There is no issue with defense at all!”

Garen was just being extra careful, so he nodded.

“Where’s Red Moon?”

“I’m awake.” Red Moon’s voice spoke, reaching their ears. “Looking for me for something?”

“You need to hear what I’m going to say as well,” Garen said solemnly.

Seeing how stern he was, the rest also stopped goofing around, their relaxed expressions slowly turning serious as they waited for him to continue.

Garen waved one hand, and a bright black Space Ring shot out, falling into Baylon’s hand.

“This is?” Baylon pinched the ring, slightly confused, but as soon as she reached her Willpower inside, her expression changed abruptly. “S-So many things!!?”

She was shocked, there was a veritable ocean of rare metals in there, as well as many other precious materials. She could even see some parked giant Battleships and Mechs, all of them the best of the best in terms of quality.

“I’m leaving this all to you guys,” replied Garen calmly.

“Leaving?” Baylon’s expression immediately changed. “Big Bro, are you going somewhere?!” She was unnaturally aware of such vocabulary, so she instantly noticed something was amiss.

Garen nodded.

“This might be my last time coming out.”

He told them all about his relationship with the White King, and also came clean with them about his own condition.

“A Confinement Essence that even the White King can’t do anything about?!” Red Moon was at a loss for words as well.

Upon hearing such shocking news, the rest had completely lost their good mood from before. Instead, their hearts felt heavier and heavier.

“Something like this… Is there really no other way?” A hint of sorrow rose in Baylon’s eyes. After losing her relatives one after the other, it had not been easy for her to regain a hint of her original personality. But now, she seemed to be relapsing into her most extreme state.

Garen shook his head.

“Sorry.”

The snow slowly penetrated through the force field, falling onto everyone’s heads.

The whole tower fell quiet.

“Next time, I might not be able to come out again at all… From now on, everything will be on your shoulders.” Before Garen finished speaking, Baylon had turned around and strode into the Teleportation Point, vanishing without a trace.

She had tossed away the ring, and it spun a few times in the air before Clint caught it, holding it in his hands.

Garen’s gaze also fell on Clint.

“I understand.” Clint did not look as carefree and half-hearted as he usually did, nodding solemnly. “I will take care of Lonnie.”

“Sorry…” Garen said again. “I have failed in my responsibilities as an older brother.” Although he did not particularly feel for Baylon, he still felt guilty for failing to uphold his promise to Nono.

“You have taken up enough responsibilities as it is,” said Clint seriously.

Garen took a deep breath. He no longer required oxygen to live, but it was still a habit of his.

His gaze swept past each of them.

Clint’s determination, White Winter’s steadfastness, the green-haired man’s seriousness. These were all companions who had gone through life and death together, they were all people who could entrust their lives to each other.

Trust could be very simple sometimes, but it could also be extremely difficult.

In truth, Garen envied them, he envied the way they could trust each other wholeheartedly. But no matter what, he could not do that himself.

“From now on, it will be your era…”

Garen reached out his hand, and all of Chinande’s blood, flesh, and Will stayed suspended above it.

“Clint Beza, let me help you one last time.”

Before he finished speaking, he abruptly shot out his palm, and it landed squarely in the center of Clint’s brow.

Boom!!!

A pillar of red light shot into the air, breaking past the clouds, the atmosphere, and shooting into space.

Using Chinande’s remains and Will as fuel, Garen used the concept of the Confinement Essence in his own body to form a model in Clint’s mind, as best as he could.

This was a model memory recording that could loop infinitely, so that everything about the Conceptual Essence would constantly replay in Clint’s head, until he completely understood some of the Essence encompassed within, or until he understood his own Conceptual Essence. Only then would he finally be able to completely turn off this recording.

As the red light shot into the sky, Garen’s body also began to fade and vanish.

Trying to pass down his Conceptual Essence as a recording went against all the laws of the world, so naturally he would have to pay a heavy price for that. This body of Garen’s was supposed to last for another few days, but now, he had instantly used up all of his power and Essence.

The others were all forced to take a few steps back by the blinding red light. They had to shield their eyes from the dazzling red light with their hands.

In the distance, under the tower, Baylon watched the red light over there. She seemed to have sensed something, and crouched down slowly, burying her head in her knees.

The Two-Faced Person and the other higher-ups were in a golden, rounded hall in the distance, and they all bowed at the pillar of light through the wall.

********************

The next time Garen opened his eyes, he saw the White King outside of the crystal, looking at him with a calm expression. Garen did not know when it started, but he had begun smoking, sucking slowly on a cigarette in his mouth.

“The crystal has gotten even harder,” said the White King softly. “This should be your last time coming out, huh?”

There was no voice replying from within the crystal, and the White King had long since gotten used to that.

He walked to the side, and picked up the jar of wine that had been placed there a long time ago, pouring himself a cup of wine. The aroma of wine permeated everywhere, and the pale green wine squirmed and squiggled like a live creature in the cup.

The White King shook the cup slightly, and then reached out his finger to tap the side of the cup.

Ding…

There was a light sound.

The wine in the cup actually changed colors, instantly turning from pale green to pure red. It was bright red, blood red.

“Did you hear that?”

Garen’s gaze fell on the cup. To his shock, he realized that it was not wine, but blood.

Swirling the cup lightly, the White King spoke with a calm but slightly melancholic tone.

“It really did turn red… Looks like you really can’t come out anymore…”

Only then did Garen understand, the White King had evidently discovered a way to test whether or not he could still reemerge. He was still able to come out one last time, but once he used up that last chance, he could never return. He was unlike the other Regent Levels, the Essence he understood was not the one that suited him best, it came from the Dark Shadow Dragon, and that was actually an Essence that did not suit him at all.

In other words, if it were not for the Dark Shadow Dragon’s Void Crystal, he would never have reached Regent Level, at the most, he would have stayed at Perpetual Motion. The Void Crystal made him, but in the end, it also destroyed him.

In truth, Garen had not completely comprehended the whole Essence concept, he had just used a trick, using the Essence of the Dark Shadow Dragon to confine himself, forcing his body to reach a material level where he existed purely as his Essence. He had completely merged with the Void Crystal into one entity.

But as the Confinement Essence evolved, he had also ended up a prisoner behind its bars.

“In a sense, I have achieved my goal,” said the White King softly. “Even if you sped up the Red King’s growth, everything will still return to the general trend in the end.”

“What’s the point of saying that now?” Suddenly, Garen wanted to laugh, for no reason at all. Ever since he came to this world, he had completed the Hellfrost Peacock Queen Body, reached Army Level, and may even be a match for the Ancient Endor Demon Lords now. He had also condensed his Soul Seed Ring, that was his biggest gain in this world.

The Soul Seed Ring could forcefully raise his main technique up a level, unconditionally, a derivation of strength in principle.

“Do you have any other wishes?” The White King took a sip of his blood wine. “Perhaps I could help you fulfill it.”

“This guy… is going crazy.” Garen looked at the White King through the crystal with some pity in his eyes, but his image could not go through the crystal. The Void Crystal absorbed everything, and converted it all into confining power. Even light could not travel through it.

The White King’s sanity seemed to have already started distorting. There was no one to share his secrets, no one to stay by his side, no one to comfort him. He was alone in everything, horribly alone.

Outsiders would only obey him, fear and respect him. Then they would distance themselves from him. So he could only look for a crystal like Garen’s, that could not talk or reply, and treat it as his own sounding board.

The White King was still there, chattering away. He no longer cared if Garen would reply, he was just looking for an outlet.

Garen could not be bothered with him, and just looked at his own attribute pane.

The attribute pane in front of him was like the most technologically-advanced quantum computer screen, it could scroll through countless skills from the top to the bottom. There were several hundred different techniques of different sizes scattered within, and an ordinary person may take days to find a skill they were looking for.

Garen quickly found the information about his Soul Seed that he was looking for.

‘Soul Seed — Northern Trident Frost-Fire True Water Evil Technique (Blue), Holy Phoenix Demonic Book (Black-Gold). Hellfrost Peacock Queen Soul Seed (White)’

He needed to consider his way out, or if this continued on, he could very well end up trapped in this crystal forever. He would be the first Ancient Endor Demon Lord to trap himself to death…