Damned Healer-Chapter 545: Dharma
When he heard that, Darian's eyes narrowed. Aurix didn't know the details, but he told him what Caliris had discovered with her spies. A little less than ten hours ago, the entire continent of Aeternum Atlantis was taken over by that family. Yes, only the continent. Because the whole population living there had magically disappeared.
Hearing that last part, a certain relief rose in Darian's chest. But his furious will still surged. "That idiot chose his end. Great." he said sharply.
Aurix took a deep breath, then looked at the 200 allies who had returned, feeling the immense difference in their bodies. He turned to Darian, speaking even more seriously:
"The three Spiritual Sovereigns sent a message to our Alliance. They're demanding an explanation. According to their words, they were only acting the way they always did, taking the most advantage of that opportunity. Now they claim you acted in bad faith, killing and harming their young talents just to take all the resources for yourself."
He paused, then murmured with a heavy tone, "They said that if you don't give them a good explanation, they'll seek revenge for all the dead."
Darian snorted dryly, "An obvious plan. They're furious and want to test me a bit more, so they can decide whether to attack me with everything now that I only have seven rings or not. On top of that, they're injured and want time to heal; that's why they're manipulating the population of the planets to use them against me."
Aurix nodded, "They're also using the Wube family's businesses on the other planets to spread all of this, and also inventing new 'facts' about you. Many ridiculous things with zero basis are circulating... but a lie told many times ends up becoming a truth."
"Whatever," Darian said harshly, "No Spiritual Guardian is naïve. If they accept something like this, it's because they *want* to please those people. If they dare make any direct attack, it'll be a declaration of war. I don't think that's what the three want right now..."
"My Lord, I think I know what they're planning." Aurix said with a sharp look, "A week ago, all planets received the new joint Rank S mission. In these missions, usually only the blessed Spiritual Guardians can participate. But this time it'll be very different..."
"Almost nothing about the mission was revealed. Only that it will take place in one year, and each blessed must lead a group with five other ordinary Spiritual Guardians. The minimum level is seven rings, and only when they're taken to the objective will they know what they must do."
"From my experience, something very big and serious is happening. Heaven's Will didn't give us details because the situation is changing too fast, and the objective may change. We were given a long time to prepare because it'll be absurdly dangerous."
Darian heard that and understood. The goal of the three Spiritual Sovereigns was to create a huge friction between Darian and the other blessed of the universe. In this mission, where everyone will probably have to work together, that will be the moment they'll pressure him to the maximum.
After thinking a bit, Darian spoke emotionlessly, "Send my orders to those two. Then take me to your Celestial Altar."
Aurix nodded, listening to the orders Darian wanted to send. Then, he took him to the Dharma planet. That would be his first time there.
All the other 200 returned to their planets. They needed to readjust to their new bodies first, doing tests calmly.
Soon after, Darian saw that place, which looked like a blue and white world. Huge clouds covered half the planet completely, while the visible part was mostly just a colossal ocean.
That planet should be twice the size of Earth, but it had only one large continent in its center, probably the size of Earth's African continent; everything else formed an immense ocean.
There weren't great dangers on the surface, but the sea was absurdly populated with simple beasts. The climate wasn't cold, actually, the opposite, an immense greenhouse effect existed there, keeping the temperature always very high. That's why there were no frozen poles and only one continent.
As for the population on the continent, it was basically only the Charming Eyes Race, all of them frighteningly beautiful by human standards. There weren't many physical variations, with all of them having golden hair and light-colored eyes.
The wings were the only more distinct feature, their colors ranging from gold to black, and some more colorful ones gave a unique touch. The strangest part was that people dressed very freely, with very revealing clothes, because of the heat. The combination of men and women who looked like angels, dressed like that, was peculiar to say the least.
The Charming Eyes Race had been brought to this universe shortly before the Spiritual Guardians appeared. That planet was very simple and even quite young, with nothing very remarkable; after all, that place had been given to them precisely because no powerful race lived there.
After one generation living there, those born on that planet were already connected to the universe and had the power to become Spiritual Guardians.
As for society, the population lived divided into two distinct worlds. One was formed by ordinary people who lived in well-structured and isolated cities. They weren't allowed to have rulers, kings, or anything like that; any black sheep who tried to unite the people was immediately eliminated.
Everyone lived without great luxuries, received exactly the same things, and couldn't have more than what was necessary. But no one lacked anything, and they managed to live simple and peaceful lives.
At the center of everything, though, existed a large country where only the Spiritual Guardians lived, isolated from the rest. It was a completely different world, where everyone there was encouraged to compete and train day and night if they wanted to live.
Life there was brutal. There were no clans, and everything was organized by the Spiritual Sovereign. The weakest had only one option: force themselves to improve or die. If they didn't grow, they were sent on deliberately dangerous missions to break their barriers or be buried there forever.
No one was forced to become a Spiritual Guardian; so if they wanted to serve Heaven's Will, they had to be the best possible. That was their ultimate law.
If someone wanted to give up, there was still one option. The government made a deal where, in the training universe, the person would help in almost suicidal battles so others could earn more Merit Power.
Since they were weak, they'd probably die and wake up in their body without memories, stopping being a Spiritual Guardian. In return, the government gave a huge bonus to the person and their family.
As for the children of Spiritual Guardians, they were considered regular people, being forced to live with the other common folks. But the government also gave the couple a twenty-year leave period, where they could live outside and raise their kids.
Having hybrids with other races was really difficult. This race was known for having a cold temper and being hard to deal with; they liked rules and deeply hated anything even slightly out of place. Not to mention their fertility was terribly low when mixed with other races.
About the laws of both worlds, it was exactly what you'd imagine. Everything was absolutely rigid, with zero room for interpretation. But this worked perfectly for this race, since their natural power allowed some of them to even see the recent past. Meaning, no one could do anything wrong without eventually getting caught.
To the eyes of a human from Earth, the common people of this planet seemed to live in a prison, where no one had the freedom to stand out, accumulate anything, or do anything different from the others.
The Spiritual Guardians, on the other hand, lived an insanely harsh and restrictive life, where all they could do was train and fight. And if they didn't meet expectations, they had to quit, whether the easy way or the hard way.
But, as strange as this all sounded, they lived completely in peace, with no kind of revolt.
There were practically no reports of crimes. Darian even activated his curse and saw that everyone's karma was a lighter shade of black, very, very different from the average humans on Earth.
Darian heard all of this from Czaza while the two of them slowly flew through the skies of the planet. She explained calmly at his side while he waited for Aurix to send and receive messages from Painita and Caliris.
In the end, Darian was sure: each race had its own quirks, and there was no point trying to enforce a single method of government on everyone.
Humans were naturally chaotic; if he tried to restrict them the same way as on this planet, it'd be like a time bomb, since many have a tendency to want to live their lives without limits, whether it's good or bad for everyone.
But letting them be completely free, encouraging them to fight and get stronger on their own like the Beasts from Vadise, would also be a disaster. They wouldn't respect each other like the beasts. They'd immediately start dividing themselves into Kings and Emperors, monopolizing power and killing one another for more.
In short, humans were possibly the most problematic type of race. But, in exchange, chaos created completely unique people. Humans were known for being unpredictable — for better and for worse — besides their weird fertility, which allowed them to expand really fast.
Darian stayed silent, thinking, until that woman murmured, "Sir... can I go with you to the other universe? I feel like my second Bloodline awakening is close."
Darian turned to Czaza. Her long, flowing hair had an intense golden tone, and her eyes were bright light-blue. Her beauty was striking, and her look was crowned by a pair of large dark-feathered wings, contrasting strongly with her light hair.
The Charming Eyes Race didn't use Magic Techniques or create Spiritual Techniques. Their power came directly from their blessing, along with the abnormal power of their eyes, which worked like a second blessing.
They were a huge cheat: someone from this race could develop an ocular power equivalent to a Mage and still have a Tank-Class blessing, for example. They were terrifying in battle.
On top of that, they went through more than one Bloodline awakening, where the power of their eyes changed and shaped itself to the user's will.
Darian asked lightly, "Do you already know what you're going to add to your ocular power?"
"I... I don't know yet. I was thinking I'd fight as much as I can and be useful until I figure it out." she answered with an unsure voice.
Darian heard that and thought for a moment. Czaza's power had been extremely important during the Heavenly Annihilation, keeping people alive. She had a Mage-class blessing, but her eyes gave her a power that could be classified as support.
Her power basically increased the speed at which her allies' energies circulated, drastically boosting their endurance and fighting capacity.
Darian's eyes changed. He remembered having seen something peculiar when he was at the academy recently with all the allies gathered.
"I remember seeing the little Heavenly Elemental Spirits playing with you without any fear. Even those from the Blood Race seemed comfortable around you. Maybe that's not a coincidence."
Czaza was calm and reserved, but she felt at ease around that race. Darian had seen her helping them and even playing with them while everyone rebuilt the Academy. It seemed to be the same kind of connection those little ones had with Darian, since he was a missionary. Meaning, this woman had a natural power different from the others.
"Do you know the Heavenly Beasts? Have you ever had contact with them?" Darian asked, thoughtful.
Those blue eyes shifted in curiosity. "I've heard of them, but never had a chance. The Blood Race was the closest I've ever known."
"Hmm... I know. Go to Vadise. Look for the Celestial Foxes and stay with them for a while," he said calmly, remembering the little ones he helped. (Chapter 418)
"Ever heard of beast-taming techniques? Try reading about them. Even if your race doesn't need to use them, it might inspire you. Maybe your talent is taking care of the Heavenly Beasts; they're considered weak in any universe, and they can't even become Spiritual Guardians. But you can change that with your strength."
She heard that without fully understanding, but seeing Darian's confident look, she nodded, feeling like a huge opportunity was opening for her.
"Go, Aurix just called me. Also, do me a favor: tell Painita I won't take long to bring Niara, I'm just... a bit busy with Earth's problems right now."
Czaza nodded with a slightly excited smile and said goodbye. They were already above the capital, and Aurix appeared to bring Darian personally.
He was led to the planet's Heavenly Altar.
"My Lord, the two have been informed and started preparing immediately." Aurix reported seriously, a bit tense about the future. Darian was clearly moving the pieces for a huge war to break out in the universe. Maybe it'd take a few years, but he was already getting ready like it was inevitable.
Darian nodded without caring. In the end, the only thing he could do was grow and get strong enough. Every extra step he took was to guarantee everyone's safety.
If possible, he wanted to avoid it. But those three seemed incapable of staying at peace for long. If he didn't kill them, the universe would fall apart anyway, so there was no point running too far from that conflict.
