"That's great!" Fierce Breaker shouted, hitting Manny on the shoulder.
Kyle also looked with surprise at Manny. He knew that other people would start to condense their Imposing Laws at some point. After all, condensing one was a necessary step to advance inside the Domain Realm. If something was a necessary step to advance inside a Realm, chances were that very talented people could fulfill that criterion one or two Realms earlier.
It was just that Manny was the one who condensed his Imposing Law first, which was not something Kyle had expected.
"That's amazing," Kyle said with a smile. "I would've never guessed that you would condense your Imposing Law first."
Manny laughed. "As I've said, I've changed quite a bit."
Kyle could only nod. 'I guess I was overthinking. I never got a read on Manny's personality, but maybe things actually are that simple. I simply met him in a transitional period of his life. You could also say that he wasn't acting like himself, which was why he didn't feel genuine to me.'
"What can your Imposing Law do?" Kyle asked.
Manny just smirked. "You'll see."
"What? You're not going to tell us?" Kyle asked with a chuckle.
"Where's the fun in that?" Manny asked back. "Since we're going to an unknown world, why not keep things exciting? When we have to fight, you'll see."
"Fine," Kyle answered. "Anyway, I'm glad you're here."
"That makes four," Fierce Breaker commented. "We're only missing Swamp Dragon and Star Genesis."
Kyle sighed. "Not sure if either of them will come. They really don't like the Cult."
"I'm not so sure," Manny said with a knowing smirk. "Maybe you'll be surprised."
"Why? Did they tell you that they would come?" Kyle asked, looking at Manny.
"No, but I think they will both come," he answered. "Just give them a bit more time."
"Well, if you say so, but I won't keep my hopes up," Kyle answered.
The group continued talking for a while, catching up with each other. After exchanging some stories, Kyle returned to experimenting with his Law of Black Hole, while the others also worked on their powers.
Fierce Breaker also worked a bit more on his Level Five External Complex Law. Needing to condense a Level Five Complex Law to become a Unique Crusher forced people with only two Affinities to go all in. This meant that Seekers like Fierce Breaker needed to fuse all of their Elemental Laws just to create a single Level Five Complex Law. Fierce Breaker had decided to condense an External Level Five Complex Law, and just like Kyle's Law of Black Hole, he needed to improve it further.
Manny had also condensed an External Level Five Complex Law, which meant he could also work on it further. However, compared to Fierce Breaker, he had three Affinities: Light, Water, and Space. Manny had used his Light and Water Affinities to create his External Level Five Law, but he had also fused several Fragments of Space and infused them into his body, creating a Level 3.5 Infused Body Law.
Naturally, Sebastian could just keep looking at the Law of Major Lightning with his Elemental.
Just by looking at everyone's Laws, the ranking of their Battle-Strengths became obvious.
Fierce Breaker only had a single Complex Level Five Law, making him the weakest.
Manny had an Imposing Law and another Complex Law on top of his Level Five Law, making him significantly stronger than Fierce Breaker.
However, Manny was also significantly weaker than Sebastian and Kyle.
Without his Elemental, Sebastian and Manny would have similar levels of Battle-Strength, but with his Elemental, Sebastian even eclipsed Kyle's Battle-Strength.
Assuming Kyle were a Sage like the others, he could most likely jump a couple of levels. Yet, he couldn't even hope to win against Sebastian's Elemental. This would be like a New Crusher fighting a Fulfilled Crusher.
As the group kept talking and improving their powers together, some of them left and came back from time to time. More time passed, and everyone grew more excited about entering the unknown world.
Then, about 200 years after Manny arrived, Sebastian came back with another person.
When everyone looked over, they were surprised.
Kyle took a deep breath as he became nervous and excited.
Star Genesis was here!
'I did say that I was willing to try something with her, but I didn't expect that she would actually come,' he thought as a desire to run away entered his heart.
Naturally, he noticed his own nervousness. 'Why is this suddenly so scary?! It didn't used to be like this with Lindsay. I had no issues with approaching her.'
However, Kyle wasn't a teenager. Even though he was nervous, he wouldn't just run away.
As soon as Star Genesis entered, her eyes fell on Kyle. Her gaze was hard for Kyle to interpret. He could sense discomfort, annoyance, uncertainty, and nervousness.
"You see?" Manny asked with a grin, hitting Kyle's shoulder. "I told you she would come."
Star Genesis looked at the group for a moment before looking at Kyle again. "We can catch up later," she said to the others, despite looking at Kyle. "I would like to talk to Bang in private."
"Oh boy," Sebastian commented before teleporting out of the room. Naturally, he had already comprehended the Fragment of Space Connection.
"Leave him in one piece, okay?" Manny said, teleporting away as well.
Fierce Breaker just wordlessly walked out of the building they had built. He couldn't teleport yet.
After everyone left, Kyle and Star Genesis looked at each other for a moment.
"I'm sorry," Kyle said with a sigh.
"For what?" Star Genesis asked neutrally.
"For putting you in a difficult position," Kyle said. "I know how much you and Swamp Dragon hate the Cult. I also know that you value me a lot. This invitation put you in a difficult position. You had to choose between two evils."
"Do you regret sending the invitation?" Star Genesis asked.
"No," Kyle said. "You deserve a choice. It's just... I'm not sure if you've just sacrificed your future by coming here. You had everything in the Array of Stars. Now, you can only rely on the Cult, and you hate the Cult."
Star Genesis slowly shook her head. "I didn't remember you being this fatalistic. Yes, I've abandoned the Array of Stars, but that doesn't mean that I can only rely on the Cult. That is, unless you've lied to me about this trip."
"I didn't," Kyle answered. "None of you have to join. None of you have to do anything for the Cult. The only requirement is that we have to tell the Cult about the unknown world and how it works. That is all."
"Then, there's no problem," Star Genesis said, closing her eyes and crossing her arms calmly. "The future is uncertain. The likeliest outcome is that we will never leave the unknown world, and even if we ascend, things are not as dire as you paint them."
"We would be Immortals who ascended from a Primary World. Nobody will remember us. While some people might still remember you, nobody will remember us, unless we remind them of our existence."
"I will not be a member of the Cult of Final Fate. I will not be entangled with them. When I'm back in the Supreme World, I can freely choose whichever Organization I want to join."
Kyle slowly scratched the back of his head. "Yes, things are not as bad as I said they were, but I still don't see how this is more beneficial than staying in the Array of Stars."
Star Genesis opened her eyes and looked at Kyle with a raised brow. "Kyle, you, out of all people, should be the one who can see the Array of Stars for what they are."
"The way they treated you was unacceptable, and in their eyes, your value far outweighs mine."
"If they can abandon someone like you, they can also abandon someone like me."
"Seekers join an Organization for protection and fairness. They don't want to be suppressed by Seekers one or two Realms above them. For the Array of Stars, this protection exists in name only."
"Staying with them will grant me a great amount of resources, but I can't trust them to protect me."
Star Genesis looked at Kyle. "However, I can trust our group to protect me. All the resources in the world are worthless if you're not alive to use them."
"At least here, I have people I can trust."
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