:::[Adam's POV]:::

These last few days I had a lot of things to do.

I accepted Liu's offer but I still needed to finish learning the basic control of my power, so I asked her to wait a few days.

Of course, I trained at the training ground, but that was just basic training. When I was using my power, I trained privately.

I adopted this method to hide my true ability from those who were watching in the shadow.

Everything was going smoothly, but it was still boring and almost frustrating. I could feel that I made some progress, but it was never enough so I needed to repeat the same thing over and over again until I got used to it.

It was a great help to have Cristal around even if she didn't mince her words every time I got lazy or unmotivated.

This was the basics of the basics so there was no way around it and no shortcut. Even if I got omnipotent power, if I couldn't use it efficiently, then it would be like giving a baby a sub-machine gun. Like the baby, I could die while using my power.

This was reality, and I couldn't run away from it.

Still, I was quite motivated again when I realized that this was just temporary and that in the future I would be able to use this power at its full potential. I was thinking about the things I would be able to do when that time comes, and I was a little bit excited.

Fortunately, after all of that struggle, I could finally use my power while swinging my sword. It was not that hard when I got hang of it.

I just imagined that my power was an invisible air current surrounding me, and I needed to control the flow as I moved so that it won't hinder my attack.

I used my brain a lot these days trying to understand how my power worked, come up with trump cards if things took a bad turn, and investigated the people who were watching me.

Unfortunately, these dark forces who moved in the shadow were no amateur, and even Cristal didn't find anything else apart from that transmission.historical

I was up against very dangerous people but I still needed to keep a low profile, because I didn't have yet the power to fight them alone. And I couldn't expose my family to unnecessary danger due to my carelessness, since these people were just suspicious of me for the time being and didn't make any move yet. That was why I needed to be extremely careful about how I acted in public.

I hoped that they would lose interest in me sooner or later.

Even if Cristal didn't find anything about that matter, she picked up something rather interesting from the hunters.

"This could be used as one of my trump cards if things take a bad turn," I muttered, looking at the purple stone inside of my bag.

I was wondering where Cristal went during that time when I talked to my mother, but I didn't expect her to pick this stone. These hunters wouldn't even notice that the stone tightly sealed somewhere inside their ship was gone. It was a piece of cake according to her, but I was wondering how did she manage to do it.

After thinking about what happened during this week, I packed my stuff and exited my room.

It was time to go on an adventure.

*****

:::[Third person POV]:::

The Royal castle of Kepalta had a private airfield where spaceships could land.

This area was not accessible to the public and was only reserved for guests and officials. Furthermore, only a few high-placed nobles and important people from Kepalta possessed a spaceship that was stationed there.

A particular spaceship landed in this area and the Empire's crest was engraved on the ship's body. However, there was also another crest, and it was no other than the Fenrirus's clan crest.

Inside one of the ship's compartments, someone complained in a loud voice. "Why did she give us that kind of instructions?!"

The person in question was a tall man in his mid-thirties, with smooth blond hair, crystal blue eyes, handsome facial features, and wore full body armor.

"That's so stupid!" The man added.

"Timothy, you know her, she is stubborn and a bit na?ve at times. She must have her reason."

The one who answered was a woman with crimson red hair, golden eyes, plump lips, and wore a tank top attached with other sets of armor which emphasized her apparent body curves. She gave a fierce and serious impression.

These two people were having a discussion related to a certain task that Liu asked them to do.

After listening to the woman's words, Timothy grabbed his head in a panicked manner and his face turned pale. "But, Yelena, we are talking about this guy here. The guy doesn't even look that special. What if he used some kind of method to hypnotize Miss Liu and forced her to marry him?"

Yelena looked at him with disbelief. "How can you even come up with that kind of idea. I tell you, if you do something weird to Miss Liu, I will burn that blond hair that you are so proud of, along with your head."

"Nooo! Spare my hair."

Elena ignored Timothy and looked at Adam's face, as his picture was projected by a high-tech 3D project installed inside of the ship. "Just do what you were told to do, for now. After all, there is also the possibility that Miss Liu found out something that we aren't aware of."

"I know, but why me? Wouldn't someone like Brandon be more intimidating?" Timothy asked, still not convinced about the next task that he was assigned to do.

"That's not the point you fool." Yelena rebuked. "Still, I am surprised that Miss Liu would allow someone to get this close to her apart from us. What is she thinking?" Yelena added, almost as if she was talking to herself.

Liu's spaceship was big and more than fifty people were needed to make it fly.

Of course, these were trustworthy crew members from the Fenrirus clan, but Liu never interacted with them and never let anyone else take a step inside of this ship, which was almost like her private space since she traveled a lot due to the tasks that her father charged her to accomplish as the next head of the Fenrirus clan.

However, Liu told them that Adam would travel with them and that they needed to create a situation where one of them would challenge Adam in a duel before they arrive at their destination.

"Even so, I don't think I can do this. She did say precisely that it should be a serious fight, but what if I kill the kid accidentally?" Timothy complained. He didn't want to do this task, but he lost during a bet so he needed to do it.

"Well, good luck with that. Miss Liu might thank you personally depending on your performance. Who knows, she might even reward you." Yelena said. She was certainly trying to boost Timothy's motivation.

"I-I see. Hahaha.. I see, so Miss Liu will kiss me." Timothy was lost in his fantasy.

"No, I didn't say that."

Liu's order was a little bit weird, but Timothy had no choice but to do it anyway.

These people admired Liu and would give their life for her. Liu met them when she traveled from planet to planet, and they offered to come with her of their own volition.

As they traveled with her, they came to know about what Liu went through, and what she still needed to endure in the future.

In a way, these people were her most trustworthy companions, even if most of them had unusual personalities and backgrounds.

*****

In a place devoid of serenity, where chaos and horror reign, a person wearing a ragged black armor topped with a dark coat, and a helmet covering his face, looked down at the hordes of brainless monsters below him, as he stood at the top of a hill.

"Commender, the beast has moved." A low-ranked minion reported.

"Finally. It's time to move to our next destination. We must find that fragment at any cost! Pass my order: Everyone get ready for battle!"

"Yes, sir."

This was a race against time; before that ominous entity decided to reveal his existence to the world, before he execute his ultimate plan, and before the whole universe was engulfed in a sea of flames, the fragments of the tree of life must be retrieved. Otherwise, everything that they sacrificed until now would be lost in vain.

The commander looked at the scenery as far his eyes could see through the holes on his mask, but all he could see was a desolated land, a nest of monsters and despair.

This individual knew more than anyone else that his Lord sacrificed many things just to stay alive, and even after that, he fell into the dark side, consumed by the 'Corruption'.

There was no turning back, and they could only move forward, bearing all of the sins that would never be bleached.