Chapter 442: Relic

Priam slowly opened his eyes. Immediately, he felt Dandara’s chest gently brushing against his own and saw her face move to within a few inches of his. She smiled sweetly as she gazed into his eyes, then wrapped her arms tightly around him.

The two remained intertwined in silence for a while, until the call of life’s responsibilities finally grew too loud to ignore.

"Come on. After all, we have all the time in the world to be together now," he murmured, hearing a soft, satisfied sigh escape her lips.

They got up without rushing and got dressed. It was precisely at that moment that Dandara suddenly jumped in fright.

Priam frowned, confused by her sudden reaction, until the familiar green window appeared before his eyes.

[Synchronization: 100%]

He turned toward Dandara, who exclaimed with overwhelming excitement, "The System! It’s exactly the same as I remember!"

Priam nodded. Dandara was now officially reclaiming what rightfully belonged to her. He couldn’t see any of her information, and she couldn’t see any of his. However, new windows appeared before both of them.

[Shared Abilities: 08]

[Potential and Status Vision]

[Divine Sense for Treasures]

[Manifestation of Heaven’s Will EX]

[Energy Manipulation]

[Transcendental Concealment]

[Karmic Connection Search]

[Perfect Energy Assimilation]

[Null Turn]

Priam silently agreed. The Synthesis Ability and other related functions weren’t listed for her, since he was the only one who possessed the Nexus Seed.

[NOTE 1: Whenever the adjacent World Pillar uses the System’s abilities, the synchronization level will decrease. Once it falls below 50%, all functions will become inactive until synchronization is restored.]

An additional notification appeared exclusively for Priam.

[NOTE 2: Whenever you use any of your abilities while near the adjacent World Pillar, provided assimilation is at least 90%, your potential will receive a bonus of at least 3 times its normal value. Your individual use of abilities does not affect the synchronization level.]

Priam swallowed hard as he read the notification.

At least 3 times.

He didn’t need to spend anything; simply being by her side was enough to benefit from that terrifying bonus.

Priam turned around and found Dandara staring at him with an ecstatic expression.

"Boss..."

She stopped halfway through the word, feeling strange about addressing him that way.

Priam nodded, satisfied. She could have dropped that formal way of addressing him ever since they started dating, but Dandara had preferred to keep it because of her old self-deprecating mindset.

Now that she had promised to leave that behind—and knowing that Priam could read her like an open book—she swallowed the rest of her words just in time.

She looked him in the eyes and forced a strange smile. "I think Pry would sound way too childish, and Mirra definitely wouldn’t like that idea."

"Just my name is fine. If you don’t like it, you can think of something else later," he replied calmly. "By the way, what were you going to say?"

Dandara nodded.

"A Special Mission appeared for me. It says I need to relearn my true abilities from the past. There’s a list of four abilities, along with training hints for reaching 100%. Once I complete it, I’ll probably receive some additional profound knowledge."

"Great. Once we get back, focus on that," he replied immediately.

She smiled mischievously before adding, "One of the abilities is called Goddess of Life’s Domain. The instructions say I need to fuse Yin and Yang to condense the essence of life. With this essence, I’ll be able to nourish anything with vitality."

"Oh! Anything? Then that’ll be extremely useful for spreading life across planets... Wait...?" He stopped halfway through his sentence when he noticed her mischievous gaze.

"Yep! That one’s already at 50%, hehe..."

Priam let out a soft sigh. Apparently, completing that mission would be much easier than he’d imagined.

...

The two returned to the planet inhabited by the Maru race. From there, Priam had no trouble convincing them to abandon the place and board the ship.

This time, Dandara seemed absurdly nervous and restless. After all, she now understood the true weight of having so many people who still placed unwavering faith in her.

They prayed and devotedly recited every one of her words, even millions of years after her death.

Priam gave everyone a full day to gather what they needed. The journey to the sect would take several weeks, so the Mages needed to stock up on food and water for the trip.

During their free time, Priam and Dandara took the opportunity to search the planet for medicinal herbs and previously undiscovered culinary spices.

Every planet had its own peculiarities—sometimes similar to those of others, sometimes completely different.

After gathering several varieties, Priam cooked for Dandara, and the two relaxed together in a quiet corner. The atmosphere between them was now as calm as a dormant volcano, but it could erupt at any moment.

Both of them kept their self-control, knowing they needed to focus on the reality of their mission.

Once the deadline expired, Priam helped everyone settle aboard and launched the ship toward the skies.

The interior of that flying vessel could expand enormously, allowing Priam to transport hundreds of thousands of people without anyone feeling cramped. Since each race consisted of only a few thousand individuals, accommodating them would be easy.

Priam traveled for a week before reaching the next planet.

There, he repeated the process, bringing the entire race aboard the vessel.

Twenty-nine days later, all three races were safely aboard the Flying Ship. The group then began their return journey to the Divine Plane, after more than eight years away.

***

Seven days passed before news of Priam’s return reached the ears of all the Central Elders. Along with the announcement came an order for them to gather immediately in the deepest part of the sect.

Everyone hurried over, arriving just as Priam’s Flying Ship touched down.

It was an open, isolated field where only the sect’s highest-ranking members were present.

The Sect Leader and the other Elders weren’t expecting anything too outrageous; they were simply curious. After all, when Priam had left, he’d promised to bring back something surprising.

When the Flying Ship’s hatch opened, Priam emerged calmly, walking side by side with Dandara.

At that very moment, everyone present sensed that something in the air had changed, and their gazes instinctively turned toward Dandara.

No one could explain why, but the moment they looked at her, they felt their hearts involuntarily begin to race.

"I’m back. Took a little longer than expected," Priam said casually before turning to the Sect Leader.

"I brought three surprises inside this Flying Ship. But before I reveal them... I’d like to ask you a question."

The Sect Leader nodded silently. "Go ahead."

"I’ve heard that the sect possesses the World Tree Dagger, left behind by the Sovereign Goddess herself. This dagger holds the ultimate potential to draw out the full power of the sect’s treasures, as well as unlock the offensive and deeper functions of the sect’s central inscription," Priam said slowly, observing the Sect Leader’s unchanged expression.

"Do you really have it? If so, why have I never seen the sect use the inscription offensively...?"

The Sect Leader replied calmly, "The Goddess’s Treasure remains in our custody. Unfortunately, however, no one throughout our entire history has ever been capable of wielding it. For that reason, we’re unable to draw out the full potential of the central inscription or access its other functions. As Sect Leader, I can barely manipulate it to a minimal degree... and the effort is comparable to moving a mountain just to crush a single ant."

"Oh? You have it here with you? Could you show it to me?" Priam asked casually.

The Sect Leader narrowed his eyes. However, he let out an indifferent snort and took a small wooden box out of his spatial ring.

"Even the Goddess’s seal is beyond our ability to—"

He froze mid-sentence when he felt the box trembling violently in his hands.

*Crack!*

A muffled snap echoed from inside the container, and the lid suddenly flew open on its own, making the Sect Leader’s eyes widen.

Then...

A medium-sized dagger with a vibrant emerald-green hue and no ostentatious decorations came into view. The instant it appeared, it was as if an invisible hand had violently yanked it away.

Before the Sect Leader could even react, the dagger shot through the air.

The next moment, a delicate hand caught it firmly, accompanied by a radiant smile.

"My baby..."

Dandara gazed at the relic with sparkling eyes. Then she curled her fingers around the hilt, and the blade emitted a brilliant pulse of light.

**BUZZZZZ!**

The entire Inner Sect trembled down to its very foundations. The runes of the deepest central inscription—which had lain dormant for hundreds of millions of years—finally began to move again.