Death… And Me

Chapter 3680: I Won’t Say It Twice

”You see, we have got into many, many problems in the past because of over-conceited Universe Owners,” Victor said as he remembered the past. ”The ones to take over the Universe were almost always pampered young masters who were brought up without experiencing true challenges. As a result, their Universes more often than not turned into living hells due to poor management. It didn’t always happen, of course. There are always exceptions, and there is the simple fact one can grow experienced with time.”

”Thus, those in charge in the Werdlem Empire came up with this system. The chosen would have to experience proper setbacks, never know what their role would possibly be in the future. They had to build not only their own strength, but also their minds.”

”I’m not saying that it doesn’t happen anymore. As you experienced a moment ago, just because you are a chosen one, that doesn’t mean you will become a Universe Owner. It just increases your chances of becoming one due to the better chances of having good fortune in this palace. Your mutation and Celestial Blood Laws are very good examples of it. Still, those who aren’t chosen ones still have a chance.”

”What happens if the Universe Owner breaks the rule?” Rean asked out of curiosity.

Victor looked back at the altars. ”Did you notice there were only seven Universe Owners instead of eight?”

Everyone nodded, and they could kind of guess what happened to the eighth. Nonetheless, they waited for Victor to continue. ”The Universe Owner of F949, one of my disciples, broke that rule. He directly interfered with his chosen path, and he paid the price. He is dead, and a new Universe Owner will be selected to take his place by the Werdlem Empire.”

”Why would he break the rules?” Kentucky was the one to ask now.

”Because he was tired of waiting. It is almost always that,” Victor shrugged.

”Anyway, that doesn’t matter now,” Victor went back to the main topic. ”The point is, we need good Universe Owners, and the chosen process was created for that. You might be thinking, why didn’t we come up with a better system? There were many other ways to get the right personnel for the role. And the answer to that is quite simple: we tried. But, in the end, nothing provided a better result than to have the candidates for the Universe Owner spots grow up in such a situation in their home universes. It doesn’t always work, but the results are usually better. At least better enough to be used constantly.”

The twins wondered if it was really okay to hear all of that. But, at the same time, they thought it seemed unlikely that there weren’t some better methods to achieve those results. Of course, Rean and Roan had never had to select new Universe Owners, so they couldn’t be sure.

”Rifindio,” Victor looked at him. ”How is Nyanta? She is very, very young, no more than a few hundred years old. You and she are actually pretty close in age.”

’Eh?’ The twins were taken aback. Wasn’t that a Control Orb? That thing was supposed to have billions, maybe trillions of years.

Sister Orb could guess what Rean and Roan were thinking. [The Control Orb, or Universe Root Egg, is definitely extremely old, but that doesn’t mean its sentience is the same. The previous sentience might have died, and that Nyanta is a new one that appeared recently, for example. Or maybe it never had the right environment to give birth to a sentience until recently. There are more possibilities, some of which maybe even I don’t know about.]

’I see...’ Rean and Roan understood and didn’t intervene in the conversation.

”She seems to be sleeping...?” Rifindio tried to contact her. He could feel Nyanta, but she wasn’t answering him.

”Then everything went fine,” Victor was happy to hear that. ”To fuse with you, she has to use a lot of her power. She will wake up in a few months, don’t worry. Your marks will be of great help at that time.”

Rifindio wondered if it was truly nothing to worry about. Sister Orb was great... but she could be a handful too...

Rean and Roan patted Rifindio’s shoulders, their expressions showing helplessness as they contacted him through Divine Sense. ’Good luck...’

A bad premonition overcame Rifindio. ’Was it that bad?!’

”What is it?” Victor didn’t understand their interactions.

”Ahem...” Rifindio pretended he didn’t hear the messages just now. ”No-nothing. Please continue, senior.”

Victor nodded. ”Anyway, all these processes are so we can find good enough Universe Owners to take the mantle of their predecessors.”

”Triaglia mentioned Rifindio has freed her,” Roan noticed something. ”Didn’t you say they will be locked in their Universe? How come?”

”There is one other advantage of becoming a Universe Owner,” Victor continued. ”This is considered a service to the Empire, and it has its rewards. One of which is that once you have concluded a certain time as the Universe Owner, you will have a chance to ascend with the Werdlem Empire’s help. Well, this part doesn’t really matter to the rest of you, so I won’t comment on it.”

”Just know that Triaglia has done her part, and she was fortunate that her chosen one won the selection, so she will now be freed and can finally go beyond. Her cultivation won’t be stuck anymore. As a Universe Owner, you will reach the Celestial Realm, but that’s where you will stay until the day you are released. This matters more to Rifindio, so don’t pay much attention to it.”

”Why can’t each Universe just produce a new chosen to take over?” Celis also had his doubts.

Roan could already guess. ”Because there would be too many changes in a short space of time. That would potentially destabilize the balance, whatever this balance might be. At least, that’s what I believe.”

”Aren’t you a smart boy?” Victor smiled at Roan. ”Yes, he is correct. Thus, to be fair, the chosen selection also happens. Alright, this explained everything regarding Rifindio’s takeover. Extra details will be shared with him later by Trialiga as the exchange happens. Triaglia, go back to F956. I will have to stay with him for a while to bring his cultivation up to the Celestial Realm.”

”Yes, Master. But how long does master think it will take to bring him up to standard?” She asked before leaving.

Victor pondered a bit and checked Rifindio. ”Probably a few thousand years, it will be over in a blink.”

”Great!” Triaglia was happy to hear that. ”I’ll see you later, Rifindio.”

”Wait!” Rifindio had to ask one last thing. ”During the battles, I haven’t seen a single member of our Universe exploding and having their energy and blood stolen by the high ranking Camazotz Bats. How come?”

”Oh, so you know about that already, uh?” Triaglia smiled. ”The answer is simple: they tried, but I didn’t allow it to happen in this place. I’ll tell you more once you return to our Universe.” She disappeared right after before Rifindio could ask anything else.

Finally, Victor began to speak of the part that really mattered to the twins’ group. ”Now, you wanted to know the requirements to become Celestial Realm Experts the normal way, right? A promise is a promise, so listen carefully. I won’t say it twice.”