Darian took a deep breath — this was pretty much expected. But why was it going wrong? It was probably because he had a ring but no spiritual root.
From what he'd been told, blessings could only be used by Spiritual Guardians, exactly because they had that root. It was essential for connecting to the heavenly laws, letting them even twist reality.
He thought about himself, using what he'd learned from that book.
His power was kinda like a blessing, but clearly different. He could see a person's past, and had the ability to absorb a subtle kind of energy that usually couldn't affect the world directly: Karma.
According to what he read, Karma was just the result of each person's actions. The heavenly laws were the fundamental rules of the world, and those rules gave out a certain type of karma to each person in return.
Someone's karma affected exactly the things they had no control over—like where they were born, or random events depending on luck. Some people called that fate.
In the end, even if someone was the worst person alive, if they were tough or determined enough, they could push through all that stuff.
The protagonist in that book was someone like that. Just calling him cruel and bloodthirsty at the start of the story was way too shallow. But whether it was fate or whatever else the world threw at him, nothing could bring him down.
Karma, though it sounded simple, in that book, could actually be used by powerful people as a source of power. Darian, knowing that, understood a little about his ability — and at the same time, realized he shouldn't even be able to do what he was doing.
So yeah, he was twisting reality, like a blessing was supposed to do.
'These two rings of mine... they must have a power similar to a spiritual root.'
He quickly figured out that he'd have to use his rings to complete the process. As always, he'd have to do things totally different from everyone else.
Darian focused and did what he'd learned to do: he moved the power that existed inside the normal ring on his forehead. That was linked to the other two rings on his wrists.
When those two rings were activated by that other power, he suddenly felt himself being gently pushed out of Niara's body.
The two women let out a breath — it was finally happening.
In a flash, he was expelled, and when he turned, he saw that little girl who had suffered in his vision for the first time. Now, as a full-grown woman.
Niara had probably lived for more than a century already, courtesy of her bloodline. To everyone in this universe, however, she was still young.
From the fear and terror shown by the soldiers earlier, Darian expected to see a woman as imposing as some evil demon.
But… she really was striking, just in the opposite way.
She was like a wild flower — exotic and full of thorns… but at the same time, absolutely beautiful and one of a kind.
Niara looked like a young woman, maybe twenty at most. She was a little shorter than Darian's human form.
Her long blue hair, like a clear sky, fell in soft waves. Her amber-colored eyes gave off both fascination and a slight unease, highlighting her beautiful face even more.
Her pale skin contrasted with the dark green scales that covered much of her shoulders, arms, and legs.
She wore a light white outfit that showed off her feminine curves nicely, but without going overboard. She had a pair of wings that, while not very big, looked strong enough to let her fly freely through the skies.
To anyone watching without knowing her, Niara gave off a beauty and a kind of calm, melancholic aura — almost mystical.
Her lovely eyes were locked onto him with a worried expression. But inside that glowing circle — that was basically a kind of inscription — things were finally working.
Darian felt Niara's blood slowly moving toward him, covering his soul in a red layer.
Then everything suddenly stopped. The inscription wasn't doing anything else to help. It seemed to be trying… but it was like it didn't have enough energy left to create his physical form.
"The inscription will only last another ten seconds. You don't have time to waste."
The woman's voice came from behind. She found the situation strange, but couldn't figure out why. Tons of people had used the inscription before, and she had poured her own power into it to help form their initial body.
The woman's partner had given Darian a bit too, and he had three rings. Even just one would've been more than enough. So, it had to be a failure on Darian and Niara's end.
Niara looked at Darian seriously.
'I know, it's all on me.' He exhaled sharply and burned up all the power he had left. All he could do was trust his instincts and activate everything in search of a solution.
At that moment, the woman in the back widened her eyes.
The entire atmosphere changed completely.
It was like, out of nowhere, countless colorful points appeared from the void, all getting pulled toward Darian. Everything was flooded in intense, multicolored light.
His spirit started absorbing it all and began to pulse. But it didn't stop — more and more just kept coming.
"This..." the woman stammered, stunned. "A... a calamity-level manifestation?!"
Darian could feel that all those glowing points were being drawn to the power of his rings. He didn't do anything — they just kept gathering inside him, making him feel heavier by the second.
A body was forming. He tried to shape it… but quickly realized it was impossible. It was like an ant trying to shift the current of a river; that power was way bigger than him.
Ten seconds passed.
The circle on the ground faded — it had a time limit, which is why the woman had warned them. Everything around Darian stopped too.
A searing heat burst inside him, like his entire existence was boiling. His vision went pitch black.
In five seconds, everything vanished — and then the colors came back to his world.
His eyes opened. The first thing he saw was Niara's delicate face, super close to his, her eyes staring at him tensely.
She was really close — her face looked way too big… or maybe he'd gotten smaller...
He blinked, trying to understand why the world suddenly looked so huge. He looked down and saw himself resting in her hands.
Niara's warm, firm hands were wrapped around his body, but something felt off — he couldn't feel his arms or legs.
When he tried to move, a cold chill ran down his spine... or what should've been his spine.
Looking down, he saw nothing but a small, shiny, gooey shape — a soft, fragile little blob squirming slightly on Niara's skin.
He could've turned into anything… or rather, they could've. He didn't have a choice at all.
"Shit... I turned into a slug..."
He looked like a tiny, harmless creature lying in her hands, like fate had decided all he was good for now was crawling around.
But of course, that was just first impressions. He was anything but simple.
"So cute..." Niara murmured, staring at the little thing in her hands.
"How is this even possible?" the woman's voice came closer, echoing with her footsteps. "He drew in all of the planet's elements… that only happens in a calamity-level manifestation…"
Darian broke into a cold sweat. He'd just arrived, and already he was attracting way too much attention. The two turned toward the woman — she looked stunned, like she'd just witnessed an actual miracle.
Not only that, but she could feel all the highest-level elements gathered inside that slug. Her heart was racing — she had to force herself to stay calm.
"… there's no record of anyone normal pulling this off. Only those special ones, brought here directly by powerful Spiritual Guardians… his body… after absorbing the purest elements, has unbelievable potential… but… damn it, how the hell did this happen?!"
Niara had told him stories about this before. The woman was talking about someone who'd had an ancestral awakening. So this confirmed it — there really were special people out there.
"When this happens, we're supposed to call a top-level meeting, then launch a careful search for a Summoner who can actually handle a Spiritual Guardian of this level. It's like having a divine weapon that could change the fate of the world — only a special Summoner can deal with that…"
She spoke with a twisted expression, staring at Niara.
"… your talent as a Summoner is bottom-tier… and he can't fight…"
Niara cut her off firmly: "That's fine. I can fight."
"You're definitely strong for someone who's not a Summoner. If he gets a decent support blessing, it might work for now. But..." The woman paused, then looked straight at Darian, speaking gravely.
"You're like celestial food to the Risen. They'll target you instantly, and your life is going to get a thousand times more dangerous. With her talent… she'll never be able to use any high-level martial arts. She won't be able to use any decent support techniques either — only the most basic ones. Soon enough, you'll be forced to fight alone, while protecting dead weight... it's a shame... you'll never really get to fight — what a damn waste."
"Fuck off," Niara snapped, staring at the woman coldly.
"I might not have talent, a background, or any support, but I'll never drag my partner down." She turned her gaze to Darian in her hand, looking at him with fierce determination. "I swear on my life. I'll fight with everything I've got, and I'll do whatever it takes — even the impossible — no matter the cost. I'll fulfill our contract. It's a fair deal. You won't suffer because of me. Just trust me… please."
She started with firm words, but ended almost like she was begging for his trust. If he didn't trust her, everything would fall apart.
She already knew this was her biggest problem, but she refused to accept it. Someone with her level of talent was supposed to live in the shadows — but she wasn't having it.
Only one thing ran through her mind the whole time: Fuck the world and its rules.
She didn't actually say those words, but Darian saw the exact same resolve in her eyes that he once had. He could only sigh — yeah, the two of them really were a good match.
Darian kept his gaze locked on Niara's eyes, feeling all of her willpower.
"You called me and I came, didn't I?" he said calmly. "We're partners. If you can't do something, we'll just create new options. Fuck the system those idiots made."
Right then, he saw her face and her eyes tremble. Her pink lips moved just a little, almost forming a smile — but she fought to keep her emotions in check.
The woman huffed:
"Well, there's no changing Summoners now. Don't get me wrong — I seriously hope you don't die like a dog. If you manage to evolve, you'll be a real asset on the battlefield… despite the setbacks."
Darian and Niara stared back at her, understanding.
The woman nodded and added, "You've only got 14 days left before you go back to your world. You've already wasted a ton of time, so you better move. You're allowed to go to the library to choose one blessing and one level-D martial art. Everyone else at your level did that days ago, and they're already getting ready. According to the rules, in four days, you'll have to pass the first training test."