Not far from the colorful planet was a massive celestial body—a dead star, with only a faint remnant of heat glowing deep within its core.
Karl flew toward the dead star. He intended to completely destroy it and use its remaining energy to build a secluded sanctuary for Di.
Standing on the surface of the star, Karl stomped down heavily. Cracks instantly spread across its surface, expanding rapidly. Flames burst out from within the fissures as the star began to shatter like a glass sphere, releasing immense energy in all directions.
The ship remained far enough away to avoid being caught in the blast—Karl would never allow it to be affected.
Spreading his arms wide like a warrior embracing the explosion, Karl rose into the void. Compared to the enormous star, he was smaller than an ant.
Yet it was Karl who gathered the energy of the exploding star within his hands. It was as if an invisible giant hand had gripped the star, preventing any energy from escaping its surface.
As his arms closed inward, the star began to shrink. Its once-expanded mass collapsed inward, growing smaller and denser.
There was no sound in space—because there was no air to carry it. Yet the violent vibrations caused fractures in space itself, distortions that Di could perceive clearly.
"Boom…"
From afar, Di watched as the star rapidly shrank. The ship trembled as the surrounding space began to crack like shattered glass—feedback from the overwhelming energy.
And it wasn't over.
Karl's hands trembled violently as the star—once comparable to a sun—suddenly compressed down to the size of Earth.
The smaller the star became, the stronger its gravity grew. Nearby planets were pulled toward it at terrifying speed—including the colorful planet.
Karl extended another hand and pushed gently, halting the planet's approach.
The remaining planets, however, continued to be drawn in. Unsatisfied with the speed, Karl's glowing energy formed a massive phantom hand around the star—like holding an apple, but squeezing inward.
Under this force, the star shrank further. Its gravity intensified, its core condensed, and its light dimmed—from bright yellow to pale white.
The star had become a white dwarf.
Still, Karl did not stop.
The white dwarf's light continued to fade. Space around it warped violently as gravity grew so strong that even light struggled to escape.
"Boom—!"
With a silent cosmic roar, space collapsed around it. All celestial bodies within a light-year radius were drawn toward it—except for the colorful planet.
The shrinking mass continued to compress. Even after devouring dozens of planets, it could not resist its fate. Its glow dimmed to a faint, moonlike light, though its temperature remained unimaginably high.
Eventually, it collapsed into a neutron star.
The gravity became extreme—warping space across vast distances. Light twisted, and planets were dragged closer together.
A star once ten times larger than the sun was now reduced to something smaller than a fraction of Earth.
But Karl still wasn't satisfied.
A neutron star's gravity was too strong. It would drain all surrounding energy particles, leaving the region barren.
So Karl disappeared.
When he reappeared, he was in another star system, over ten light-years away. There, another star was undergoing transformation—its flames dimmed, turning red and cold.
Karl repeated the process, compressing it into another neutron star. The surrounding planets fell into chaos.
Then, with a single punch, Karl shattered space itself.
The resulting force dragged the neutron star into the rupture—and Karl followed. The space sealed behind him, leaving the system in ruin.
Returning to the original starfield, Karl dragged the second neutron star back.
Two neutron stars together created unimaginable gravity. Space collapsed further, and violent electromagnetic currents surged between them.
From afar, it looked like they were colliding—but instead of exploding outward, they fused inward.
At the moment of impact, gravity and light both vanished.
Their cores collapsed further, forming something even denser—a quark star. Lightning-like energy crackled across its surface.
In such extreme conditions, if even one more star like the sun were introduced, it would collapse into a black hole—destroying everything.
But in their current state, the quark stars balanced each other—repelling and attracting simultaneously.
This delicate balance created the perfect protective system for the colorful planet.
Their gravitational influence only extended to a certain distance. Beyond that, it could not be felt.
Karl returned to the planet and gently pushed it into the edge of this gravitational field—close enough to be protected, but far enough to avoid absorbing excess energy.
With everything complete, Karl returned to the ship.
Di remained where she was, unmoved by everything he had done. She simply stared at him.
"I didn't ask you to do that," she said calmly.
Karl activated the ship and replied quietly, "It's for your safety."
Di's expression hardened. "I don't need you to worry about my safety."
She opened a portal, preparing to leave—but Karl still couldn't explain what he had been hiding. That only made her angrier.
He grabbed her wrist, stopping her.
"There are things in this universe watching us. I can't explain everything. Do you understand? This world is far more complicated than it seems. There are existences I must take seriously. Just stay there for now—avoid trouble. When I leave this world, I'll explain everything."
"Hmph."
Di sneered coldly.
"So that's your excuse? Don't you understand yet? You treat me like a pet—tolerating me, indulging me, deciding everything for me. But at the same time, you hide so much from me. Do you think I'm some delicate flower in a greenhouse?"
Her voice trembled with anger.
"I hated being treated like that in my previous world. I'm not some decoration. I can do just as much as you. Were all my efforts meaningless to you? Does this satisfy you?"
She broke free from his grip.
"We should be equals—not one above the other. If I make mistakes, you can scold me or even punish me. And I'd do the same. I won't hide things from you, and I'm not some ignorant flower you keep."
Her gaze was unwavering.
"You may be far stronger than me—but I'm not a child you can control. I'm your wife. If you think I can't face hardship, then what right do I have to be your wife? Am I just a kept woman to you?"
Karl stepped forward and tore apart the forming portal.
"Telling you would only burden you. I don't want you to live in constant worry. Two years ago, we both didn't want her to return. Back then, you were consumed by the past—you couldn't live in the present."
He gripped her shoulders firmly.
"Do you think I don't know what you're doing every night during cultivation? You push yourself to the limits of the multiverse. Your spiritual energy drains so fast you can only train for ten minutes—then spend the rest recovering. If I told you everything, what would you do? Throw yourself into the multiverse? And then what? Wait hundreds of thousands of years for me to gather enough energy to come back for you?"
Di pushed him away. Her tone softened slightly.
"Do I need your protection like that? I know myself better than anyone. Everything requires balance. This kind of overprotection isn't what I want."
She looked straight at him.
"I love you because you choose me—not because you shelter me. If all I wanted was to be pampered, I could have found someone else long ago."
"That's exactly your problem!"
Karl snapped, cutting her off.
"Do you know how you died before? That same stubbornness! I won't let it happen again. I won't lose you again!"
His voice trembled with suppressed emotion.
"You're too headstrong. If things don't go your way, you force them to. You have no idea how complicated the universe really is—how many unpredictable variables lie beneath the surface!"
For a moment, Karl even had the urge to restrain her—lock her away on that planet just to keep her safe.
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