Death... and me

Chapter 3236  We Need a Spaceship!

"Exactly," Rifindio nodded. "It wasn't really that close, to be honest, so I completely forgot about it until now. Besides, it was a request to help improve the Werdlem Network, so it sure wasn't overboard or anything."

All the pieces began to fall together in Roan's head. "The Abyssal Soul needed you to be closer to take control over you. Just like it happened with Duere, you would 'coincidentally' find that Dimensional Realm and enter it. In the end, it was Duere who found it first."

[Why wait for someone like Rifindio or someone from the Divine Realm? Using that alliance and the Inquisition Hall's authority, it should have been able to start that plan much earlier, no?] Sister Orb, who had been silent until now, finally asked something.

Roan already knew the answer. "That wouldn't work. This plan required all seven inhabited planets to build the formations together. Not to mention the monumental amount of resources. If the Abyssal Soul tried to bring all the leaders of all Inquisition Halls under its wings, chances are one of them would spill the beans. Not to mention, many of them probably have their free will taken, so they couldn't betray the Inquisition Hall."

Roan looked at Rifindio. "Let me guess. Since those three leaders of the Closal Planet's Inquisition Hall were from the Divine Realm, they didn't need to have their free will taken with the Werdlem Soul Worms like the various other top experts of the Inquisition Hall, right?"

"Correct," Rifindio confirmed Roan's words.

"There you have it," Roan continued. "Only someone who didn't have a Werdlem Soul Worms could be persuaded. However, those three didn't have the authority to make such a ridiculous move over the entire Solar System. The Abyssal Soul needed someone from the Divine Realm to be able to order all planets around without anyone asking any questions. Karev's brother probably knew about it, and he also knew about the Divine Realm visitors that come down from time to time. Everything aligns at this point."

Rean couldn't help but mention. "That was some crazy luck if you ask me. The leaders died when we were dragged into the black hole, and its so cherished Camaztoz Bat was dragged inside as well. Yet, another Camazotz Bat just so happened to get close to the Abyssal Soul's Dimensional Realm while looking for Rifindio. Not only he got someone from the Divine Realm, he actually got someone from the Supreme Palace on top of that. Amazing, don't you think?"

Still, Rean asked Rifindio with a serious expression. "What did you know about the leaders of the Inquisition Hall, Rifindio? We are proceeding with this conversation assuming that they did betray the Inquisition Hall. Do you think they would do such a thing?"

Rifindio pondered a bit and nodded in the end. "If you were asking my opinion, I think there is indeed a reason for them to do such a thing. The reason is that those leaders were also from the Divine Realm. Many Inquisition Halls have Divine Realm experts in charge of them. However, this is not the kind of job you want to take. Instead..."

They all understood. "It is the kind of job that was forced onto you and you had to accept as a member of the Werdlem Empire."

Rifindio sighed in response. "Exactly. They were pretty much like me, castaways that those in higher positions had no use for in the Divine Realm. Depending on what the Abyssal Soul offered them, they might have accepted it since they were prohibited from going back to the Divine Realm until further notice."

Rifindio truly could understand how desperation probably forced them to accept an alliance with the Abyssal Soul. He likely would have done the same. "I might also add that such notices never arrive in over 99% of the cases. They were sent to the Mortal Realm for a reason, and the longer they stay here, the further they fall behind in cultivation compared to those in the Divine Realm. It becomes one more reason for them to never be sent back."

Finally, Roan decided to end that topic there. "In any case, we have a very good conjecture. Once we allow the shard to connect with the Abyssal Soul, we can ask more about it as well. For now, we should focus on our other problems."

"Right!" Kentucky remembered. "You guys couldn't reach the Void Tempering Realm in the end. The Mortal World Laws blocked your advance. Naturally, that means the Mortal World itself won't try to expel us to the Higher Realms. How do you intend to reach the Divine Realm now?"

Rean and Roan eyes passed each other before their gaze stopped on Rifindio. "That is something he probably knows better than us."

"You better not hold too much hope," Rifindio knew what they were talking about. "To come to the Mortal Realm, I used a special Teleport Formation in the Divine Realm. Every cluster of galaxies in the Mortal World has a headquarters with a teleport formation connecting to the Divine Realm, and I arrived in one of those. However, to get to this planet, I used my Spaceship. Do you remember my spaceship? The same one completely destroyed by that black hole?"

He continued. "Besides, to use that Teleport Formation, you need to gain permission from the Divine Realm. I obviously won't be able to use it anymore, and I highly doubt any of you have such permission, either. That is the only way I know to go to the Divine Realm. I was hoping your strategy of reaching the Void Tempering Realm would work."

Rean and Roan recognized that mode of operating. Back in the Lisan Universe's Mortal Realm, using the same regional clusters, it also had special locations where one could go down from the Realm of Gods. The twins even used it once to go back to the Mortal Realm. "Permission to go to the Divine Realm, uh?" Rean rubbed his chin, his eyes closed as he thought about it. "Now that I think about it, what about the Divine Werdlem Stone Contest? The winner gets their Werdlem Stone swapped for a Divine Werdlem Stone, and then this expert is brought to the Divine Realm, right? Does that mean the winner gets permission directly from the Divine Realm?"

Rifindio confirmed Rean's words. "That's pretty much it. Do you intend to take part in the Divine Werdlem Stone Contest? I don't even know if the Inquisition Hall will still carry the contest on in seven months. If I were the one in charge of the Inquisition Hall, I would cancel this year's contest and hold a new one a thousand years later. At the very least, I wouldn't have one in the next decade. Oh! And let's not forget Karev stole the Divine Werdlem Stones, so it should be even more unlikely for this contest to happen in seven months."

Zangeshu was with Rifindio. "That's not the biggest issue."

Rean looked at him. "What would it be then?"

"The swapping of Werdlem Stones," Zangeshu answered. "Even if you win, you would need to go to them and let them swap the stones on your body. No one knows how the swap is made, right? Even the expert himself is kept unconscious during the swapping. I know Master can swap the stones on his own, but he won't be able to tell that to the Inquisition Hall. That would be ridiculous."

There were a few other methods. For example, Rean and Roan could just go to that so-called headquarters and have Sister Orb hack into the formation so they could teleport. However, even if they sneak past everyone and reach the formation, which is, without a doubt, highly guarded, they can't hide the use of the formation. That would basically translate into a big problem on the other side once the teleport finished.

Suddenly, Rean's eyes lit up. "Basically, we just need someone who has won the Divine Werdlem Stone Contest and got his Divine Werdlem Stone already, right?"

"Well, sure..." Rifindio nodded. "But only the winner can go to the Divine Realm. Even if you pretend to be a subordinate or whatever, you won't be able to go up with this expert."

Rean showed a playful smile on his face. "Oh, don't worry. I have a way to get there. But first... we need a spaceship."