After the urgent call, Nikolai rushed to the castle. He was the emperor and always had a lot on his plate—nobody would activate that thing unless it was really serious.

When he arrived at the library, the doors opened and his eyes locked seriously onto the four of them.

"Take a good look at this, uncle!" Lucy said with a wide grin.

Nikolai took a deep breath and stepped forward. Lucy stretched out her hand and showed her newly-formed core. He was shocked to see she had actually managed to create one—even he had needed more than a month of study and attempts to pull that off.

"Try using your power on it," Darian said calmly.

Everyone who knew and mastered that technique understood it was possible to share power, and even tap into someone else's core.

Nikolai sighed, and a faint golden aura flowed into the core...

"!!!"

His heart started pounding like a broken drum.

"W-what the... hell...," his voice clearly trembled.

"Hehehe, the three of us made this together. Not bad, huh?" Lucy said with a laugh.

In truth, what Darian had created could only be used by him. But with help from the other two, they'd built something slightly weaker—but usable by anyone, instantly.

Nikolai stared at Darian sharply, unable to say anything.

Darian gave him a small nod. "Yeah, it's an alternate version anyone can use. You, more than anyone, should know what this means, right?"

"H-how..."

Darian calmly cut him off, "Just got lucky. Learned a few things that gave me an idea... anyway, here, take this."

He waved his hand, and a Jade Slip flew over.

Nikolai caught it almost desperately and instantly started reading. It contained the method they had created, using the three life energies in perfect harmony. Obviously, it was a thousand times harder to make than the normal method. But... anyone who was dedicated enough could pull it off eventually. And the benefits... couldn't even be measured.

He looked back at Darian. They locked eyes, as if understanding each other without words.

"It's a major contribution, right?" Darian finally said, calmly. "I know we're family and all, but there's a limit to what we give for free. Since there's no such thing as a free lunch... I want something in return."

"Ask whatever you want. Even the family's Supreme Artifact wouldn't be too much. With this, our family's gonna get a big lead over the strongest clan in the Empire. After that... we might even be able to go head-to-head with the Solar Federation Empire."

Nikolai said, excited. His daughter was already an incredible talent and had easily beaten the second group from that empire in the rookie tournament. That opposing group didn't have a Supreme Artifact, but even if they did, he was sure Amara would still have had a chance to win. And now with this addition... the sky was the limit.

"I don't need anything that big. Since you've got some influence in this empire and the others on Earth, I want a few things — but it has to be today."

Darian spoke calmly and clearly. He needed artifacts, materials, anything that held high-level soul power.

Those things were expensive, sure, but that wasn't the issue—they were rare. Only an emperor and his connections could track them down all over Earth through the underworld, or maybe have them stored in the empire's treasure vault.

Nikolai was surprised, but didn't ask why he needed it. He just nodded and left immediately.

Meanwhile, the four stayed in the library reading about the family's and empire's history — something almost nobody bothered to do, but they knew random knowledge could save their lives one day.

Hours later, when the sky was already pitch black, Nikolai arrived in a hurry at the airport just outside the capital.

The four were already saying goodbye to everyone, getting ready to leave. He ran up to Darian and handed him a spatial ring. Inside were nearly a hundred different soul-powered items.

"Great, thanks," Darian nodded.

Nikolai swallowed hard. "This... barely cost me anything."

"Uncle, no need to be so formal," Lucy replied with a soft smile. "We're family, right? If Amara and the whole family get stronger, it's like we're all growing together."

Amara and a few others around them heard that and looked quite confused.

Nikolai took a deep breath and nodded, clenching his fists. At that moment, the four entered the plane and, without another word, the door shut behind them.

***

The four of them flew across the skies, crossing the ocean. It took them almost four hours of travel before they finally saw it—right in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean—an isolated continent.

It was located at the center of the planet, had a tropical climate, and was completely covered by dense, lush nature. Nowadays, that place was the biggest forest on Earth, called the Atlantis Forest.

In the past, the Amazon Rainforest held that title—it also had a tropical climate—but after the changes on Earth, the weather in that region changed drastically.

That forest survived, but lost about a third of its previous size. The vegetation and the environment had to change and adapt, but after a few centuries, everything balanced out again.

Looking down at the continent in front of them, everything was green and humid, full of rivers cutting through the land. The Aeternum Atlantis Empire had a policy of preserving its natural life; only in certain areas were enclosed cities built, and agriculture thrived. On that continent, considered magical, everything grew easily—and at an insanely fast pace.

And it wasn't the only one. The regions that rose from the ocean in the Polar Circle and Aurora Coalition Empires had the same trait. The reason for that… was probably because Heaven's Will itself acted with its power to raise them.

Back when he was still a mortal, he was known as the Son of the Behemoth. That was a Primordial Beast who controlled the earth and natural life. So, using just a bit of that power, those three continents full of life were born.

The plane landed in an open area near the capital. That city was enclosed under a dome, very similar to the other two capitals they had seen.

As the door opened, a young couple that Darian recognized was already waiting. They had fought in the rookie tournament, but Darian never got to fight any of them since their empire lost earlier on.

"Welcome. Great-aunt is waiting for you."

The two led them to the city.

That night, during the party, Camille told them a bit about herself. That Empress had once been married in the past and had a single daughter. But shortly after her daughter was born, her husband died on an S-rank mission.

That only daughter was the same one who ran away with the former patriarch of the Wube family—she was the grandmother of Darian and the twins. Camille's pain, upon learning her only daughter had—according to her—been deceived, and later died under shady circumstances, was no small thing. The worst part was knowing there was nothing she could do against that family.

But she was still the grandmother of two children...

Mallory was… a trueborn of that family. But her other grandchild, Darius… Camille could only cry when she learned what happened to him. Her only hope became finding the two missing great-grandkids.

It was around then that the Aeternum Atlantis and Polar Circle Empires tightened their ties, and these days, they were practically allies. But even searching together across both empires, they still hadn't found them.

Darian's group arrived at a large building complex in the capital.

Camille's family was named Verdant. It was a relatively new family, created only a few generations ago, still quite young.

They weren't even close in size compared to the Rorik family from the other empire. But still, they were the biggest family in that place. All of their members were the strongest High Humans from the main clans of the Empire.

As they stepped out of the car, the building's front door opened, and a beautiful young-looking woman came out. Her eyes trembled and she ran over. Darian nearly jumped when she hugged him tightly for a few seconds. Then she let go and went to the twins.

After that, they saw her teary eyes shaking. Her genuine joy made them feel a bit emotional.

Luciu mumbled, "It's okay, Great Gran…"

"Just call me Camille," she quickly said, giving them a soft smile. "Come on, everyone's dying to meet you."

They walked in, and the scene inside was much the same. The family had almost two hundred people. Everyone introduced themselves and apologized for never finding them or helping them sooner. But the introductions lasted only until dawn.

"Come, kids," Camille said, quickly taking them away.

There was only one thing in her eyes: the determination to make sure she wouldn't lose them. That's why she took them straight to the most secret and protected place in the Empire.

They got into a car with her and followed a road through the forest. After nearly an hour, the car stopped. Camille waved a badge, and the space in front of the car opened.

Only then did they realize: up ahead was a spatial barrier creating an illusion. From the outside, it just looked like more of the same forest around them, nothing different.

It had been created using a Supreme Artifact. It didn't stop anyone from entering, but… if someone walked in without permission, they wouldn't survive even a minute. The whole empire would be alerted, and everyone would rush to kill that person.

They moved forward. As they crossed the barrier… everything changed.

The four of them took deep breaths, feeling their bodies tremble.

What they saw was magical and stunning. The first thing they noticed was a gigantic tree… it was green, and just looking at it made their minds relax. It was so tall it pierced through the clouds, its branches covered everything above, and its leaves were as big as houses.

Everything below was a natural forest completely unlike the rest of the continent. There were glowing trees that emitted light, pulsing plants and herbs… everything radiated a powerful natural energy, like they were treasures.

The whole air and atmosphere was different from anything they had ever experienced. Just breathing made the life force in their bodies surge dramatically.

"Hehehe… this place is our treasure. That one's called the World Tree." Camille pointed at the colossal tree and laughed at their stunned expressions. "Let's go. Unlike that other empire, where I'm sure you didn't get much… here, I'm giving you the full treatment."

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