327 A Promise

Bali was surprised. He neither panicked nor tensed.

As a peak level 9 in two divine paths, he was one of the strongest beings under Sovereigns.

If he had to be honest, he would be top 3.

"You are the Dreamer? Keke." Bali chuckled.

He was curious. Very very curious.

Who the fuck was this guy?

What was his purpose?

Was he a running a shady company?

Otherwise, why give such absurd promise?

Letting a Dual Awakener reach Sovereign state?

He wasn't a child to be fooled. No. Even children know better than to trust a suspicious looking man's words.

Why would he?

"I feel pity." Dreamer didn't confirm his identity and went on in a pitying tone, like one would comfort a sad child. "You are so talented, so hard working and so loyal, yet a factor you outside your control became a ceiling you could never cross."

Crack!

Bali clenched his fists together. Just for a moment, he was angry.

Not because of his words, but his tone.

He was being pitied!

I lived all my life and only sought results. I appreciated the ones that appreciated me, I respected the ones that gave me respect, but pity…

I don't want it!

"Keep that pity to yourself and get out of my space ship." Bali said in a calm yet indisputable voice.

"Aye~ You didn't believe my words, did you?" Dreamer shook his head. He seemed to be disappointed.

"Unlike you who has the power but shrinks responsibility, I have work to do." Bali said with a piercing gaze.

He hated people who evaded their responsibility that came with their power.

"Ignorance is bliss. You cannot even begin to comprehend what I'm doing." Dreamer laughed lightly.

Bali was taken aback and a seed of doubt was planted in his mind. 'I can't verify or strike off his words. But an awakener of this capability must be doing something.'

Still, Bali didn't care. He walked to a compartment, wore his armor and said without any change in expression. "Good luck convincing other people. I got work. Lots of it. The banquet was nice but now I'll pay for it."

"…." Dreamer was silent as he watched the exit to the space shuttle open.

Bali realized the space shuttle was under control. So, he decided to travel through space.

As he was about to step out, Dreamer's voice sounded again.

"I heard your conversation with the little guys." He said and a recording started playing.

The voice and the words caused Bali to halt in his footsteps.

The voice…it was Bali's own voice. And those were heartfelt words.

"I can't make it to Sovereign after all.

But over the years, many who could make it died.

So, sometimes I wonder…what if it was me who died? What if they lived?

Would Humanity have another Sovereign?

Would the War end? Would peace finally ensue?"

Bali's body trembled as his chest heaved up and down. Those words came from the depth of his soul and resonated with him on a deeper level.

"You…" Bali suddenly didn't know what to say.

"You didn't die. You are alive.

Life or Fate or Karma, whatever it is. It's on your side. It chose you over your dead comrades.

Perhaps one of them could've achieved the Sovereign state.

You believe you live in their stead and memory, shouldn't you at least try?" Dream's words pierced his heart like a needle.

Yes, my life was saved by countless people. If they didn't chose me over their own life, I'd be long dead.

But now, I'm alive. I also have the chance to do something they would've done if they were alive.

"Explain." Bali sighed and looked at the hologram once again.

He could only see Dreamer's eyes, but Bali felt boundless confidence from those eyes.

It was as if he anticipated his move, like he played right into his hands.

"You know how a normal peak level 9 goes to Sovereign. You just have an extra step, that is…" Varian explained the ins and outs patiently.

Bali thought for a few minutes and muttered with a frown.

"I'm not sure if this is going to be harmful. Merging Origins? Never heard of. What if I die and my squad loses its head? The planetoid I'm guarding, the patrol duties I take…"

One by one, his duties popped up in his mind.

All those thoughts tried to persuade him. It was a risky, foolish endeavor. If he was killed, then the army would suffer considerable losses.

But—

"Is that all?" Bali asked. He wasn't going to risk it foolishly, but he decided to at least know the damn thing before taking a decision.

"Heh." Dreamer smiled lightly and said.  "Controlling Origin just by yourself is incredibly hard. Use external stimulation, use it to sense the Origin and connect with it."

Bali squinted his eyes and nodded.

External changes could cause internal changes.

After all, if an awakener advanced from level 8 to level 9, Origin moved on the Divine Path.

In a sense, external and internal are connected. Internal cannot be accessed or changed easily, but external…he has more control over his external reality.

Dreamer tapped his armrest and continued in a casual tone.

"Since you're a Dual Awakener in Fire and Space Paths, pick something that's extremely stimulating.

You must have done it already, but this time, focus on bringing one of the Origin towards the other.

Relatively, it's very easy. You aren't actually connecting to the Origin, you are just 'willing' the Origins to merge.

Then, use the external stimulation and you're good to go." Dreamer concluded and leaned back into his throne.

Bali remained stranded as he thought hard. Now the only thing that really mattered was external stimulation.

The more the better.

If he chooses Fire, then the best place is obv. Fire Abyss' Special Zone. But practicing there was impossible.

So the only option was to dive into Sun.

But there's a problem

During Blink, aura broke the Sun into two and created a chaotic cluster in the middle.

It severely affected the Fire Mana. Thus, it might be counterproductive and he might be subjected to danger.

That left him with Space Path.

If he took Space Path, he'd need a place of extreme Space stimulation. There were only two know areas he knew of.

A special region in the Hollow Abyss—impossible for practice.

The boundary between Outer Space and Inner Space.

What are inner and outer spaces?

If the universe could be treated as a small sphere with a big sphere covering it, they're living in the the outer, bigger sphere—Outer Space.

The smaller sphere was inner space.

There's a vast gap between this smaller sphere and larger sphere.

The smaller sphere is surrounded by special space fluctuations called "layers".

These are like the official boundaries of the smaller sphere.

Once you reach level 7, you can enter the layer. At Sovereign state, you're on the verge of breaking out of the layers and entering the Inner space.

Why are these considered as good places for stimulation?

Because the space between smaller and larger sphere is hyper active. But even more than that, the space in the layer is incredibly chaotic.

If he could stay inside the layers, Bali would get all the stimulation he'd need.

It's the best solution, but there's a problem.

Space tends to push everyone out to the Outer Space.

Even a peak level 9 can't resist that push for a long time.

But there's a way to circumvent this problem.

Space stones!

If he has many space stones, he can use them and stay in the 'layers' for longer.

Bali's eyes flashed a myriad of emotions before they flashed a resolute color.

He decided to try.

His only worry was that he might end up hurting his Origin.

But what if he succeeded and became a Sovereign?

The rewards are too huge to not take a risk.

He could literally end up bringing peace!

This might as well be the final year of Abyssals!

Of course, he was still cautious.

He decided to make an alert mechanism. If he failed due to hurting his Origin, he'd inform the world about the harm of this method and personally hunt Dreamer.

But…he hoped it'd work.

If he could be a Sovereign…

"You will be a Sovereign." Dreamer said with a smile as if reading his mind.

Looking at the gleaming confidence in Dreamer's eyes, Bali felt like he was being infected too.

Maybe he would be a Sovereign…maybe.

He looked at Dreamer with a complex expression and said.

"I don't know if it's all a lie, but all my life, I struggled.

I am going to struggle now.

I will give it a try.

If it shows even the tiniest of results, I'll procure every space stone I could and hit the Sovereign state."

"Hahaha." Dreamer simply laughed.

Bali waited until the laughter quietened down and asked. "So, what do you want in exchange?"

"…." Dreamer fell silent for a while before he tilted his head. "Nothing much, I jut hate Shadow Order.

Whenever I find one of their bases, gimme a hand and slaughter those bugs."

Bali shook his head. "That's my duty. I'll do it regardless. You can ask for a favor, never mind, take this."

He retrieved a metal badge from his storage ring. It was a dark red badge with silverly edges.

"If I really become a Sovereign, then I'll fulfill any three favors you seek as long as it doesn't go against humanity and my personal dignity."

He threw the badge into the outer space.

"I hope you aren't too late." Dreamer's eyes glowed. 'Or I'd be a Sovereign first.'

"Go." He signaled to Boo and waved his hand.

Bali's space shuttle shot out towards Mars.

And soon, the metal badge that was previously drifting in the space was dancing on a palm.