Chapter 161: Maybe his story had not ended yet.

"I believe, Lady Lucy... that everything has come to an end. I lived all these long years for one sole purpose; I merely wanted to see my Master Cain once more, to learn what had become of him after all this time and where his life had led him. It seems that, in the end, he has found a life far away from me and has become happy... I believe I am content with that as well."

Darren uttered those words in a faint, broken voice, as though every single word demanded a measure of strength far greater than his exhausted body could supply. He exhaled a long, trailing breath, his eyes settling upon the ground before him, lacking the triumphant smile expected of a man who had finally fulfilled his ancient wish and gazed upon his master.

Cain looked down at the old man in silence. It was blatantly clear to him that Daren was in a literal state of dying—the vitality restoration spell Lucy had placed upon his body was merely a temporary measure to stabilize him and forestall death during this period, but it lacked the power to keep him alive indefinitely. Ultimately, no matter how immense Lucy’s power was, she could not simply force a person who had surrendered their desire to live to press forward. Thus, this old man drawing his final breaths appeared to be awaiting the end far more than trying to escape it.

In truth, Cain and Lucy could have let the matter end right here. Daren had fulfilled his mission and assisted them in reaching their objective, executing it to absolute perfection... perhaps because he harbored terror toward their power.

Yet now, he held zero utility for them.

They were by no means obligated to bear the responsibility of whatever became of him. However, leaving him to perish in such a manner felt akin to reneging on a promise—a covenant forged not through words, but through actions. They had promised him freedom when he agreed to assist them, and the freedom Daren truly deserved now was not merely stepping out of a cell or escaping from prison; it meant providing him with a domain where he could live out the rest of his life without being hunted by governments or suffocated by his past.

Furthermore, following that broadcast witnessed by the entire world, the situation had grown far more complex. Daren was no longer just an escaped prisoner or an ancient member of a terrorist organization as governments had painted him; he was now the man who had appeared before all of humanity to announce the existence of Mana, revealing that the Smile Organization had been concealing a grave truth from the world. Naturally, the vast majority of governments would now classify him as one of their most perilous enemies—his appearance likely serving as the catalyst for outbreaks of civil unrest, revolutions, and wars in the coming years, especially now that the technique for absorbing mana and developing energy had reached the hands of millions, if not billions.

In other words, Daren could no longer return to Earth even if he wished to.

The world he had known was already dead to him.

Therefore, if Cain intended to consider his duty toward this old man fulfilled, he had to grant him absolute freedom—not leave him to die in an isolated place after he had spent his entire life awaiting a moment that did not unfold as he had envisioned.

Cain stepped forward with calm strides until he stood directly before Daren, gazing into his half-closed eyes that heavy exhaustion had weighed down, speaking in an unshakeable tone: "Master Daren... nothing has come to an end."

Daren raised his head slowly, as though Cain’s words alone were potent enough to force him to look up despite the bone-deep fatigue burdening his entire physique.

Cain continued: "You currently stand at the peak of the 3-Star Realm, which means you are not as far from the Noble Realm as you imagine. If you manage to breakthrough to that level, you will not only gain far greater power, but your lifespan will expand by approximately another five hundred years."

Daren remained silent for several seconds before a exceedingly faint smile graced his face, as though he had just heard an offer devoid of any real value to him.

Another five hundred years.

In the past, he would have considered such a number a heavenly blessing, perhaps battling for long years just to secure a small fraction of it. But now... what significance did five hundred additional years hold when nothing awaited him at the end of the road?

Throughout his life, Daren had believed in a very simple truth: as long as a person remains alive, there must be a reason driving them to press forward; so long as the target remains before their eyes, even the most brutal paths could be endured. But what happens when the target itself vanishes?

He didn’t know the answer.

Daren had lived for far too many years—so long that his great-great-grandchildren no longer knew who he was. He had endured the collapse of the Smile Organization, lived hunted and hidden, and waited for his master all that time. The sole tether preventing him from giving up was his absolute faith that a day would come when he would meet Cain once more.

And now, that moment had come to pass.

Yet it was nothing like he had envisioned.

He had seen his master—or rather, he had seen the entity he assumed to be his master when Lucy summoned him, witnessing that shadowy, enigmatic form and power he could not even comprehend. Yet he hadn’t heard his name called, his master hadn’t addressed him, and it didn’t even seem as though he recognized him at all.

Daren had attempted to rationalize it to himself, thinking perhaps Cain was distracted, or perhaps there were circumstances he didn’t grasp, or perhaps he failed to recognize him due to the strange form he manifested in. But every time he tried to conjure a convincing explanation, that exact same hollow feeling returned to consume him anew.

He had waited all these years for a single moment, and when that moment arrived... he didn’t even receive the recognition he had yearned for.

Thus, he no longer knew what he wanted from life.

"It is useless now..."

Daren uttered in a faint voice, taking a ragged breath before adding:

"The Smile Organization has truly ended, and my master seems to have forgotten me as well. Why then should I continue living? Who am I to defy death for this long?"

He raised his eyes toward Cain once more, speaking with clear bitterness:

"Even if I ascend to the Noble Realm... whom would I protect?"

His words carried the sorrow of long decades, causing Cain to feel their weight far more than expected.

At that moment, Daren looked at the man standing before him with far sharper focus for the very first time. Cain was a tall, handsome man with neck-length black hair and calm black eyes, but something else caught the old man’s attention: a ring on Cain’s hand that matched the ring on Lucy’s hand.

Daren understood the truth instantly.

This man is Lucy’s husband.

The very man his master had once wished to be in place of.

The man his master had spent long years attempting to reach, perhaps dreaming of living his life.

His master had always been calculating the mana combos required for a man to be worthy of Lucy... the exact measure of handsome charm... and whenever he saw that he was still far off, he worked even harder.

It was ironic to a degree that made Daren want to laugh out loud.

The man his master had wished to become was standing right before him, while his master himself had vanished completely, with no one knowing where he had gone or what had befallen him.

Perhaps he had realized in the end that he could never become this man, choosing disappearance instead.

Or perhaps there was another explanation.

Daren did not know.

As for Cain, his mind was operating on an entirely different plane; perhaps Daren assumed he was the master of the Smile Organization after he had manifested in that shadowy form—an assumption that was reasonably logical. However, Cain had no desire to let the old man die believing his master had abandoned him... because he was not his master in the first place.

Thus, Cain spoke calmly: "Old man, I know you feel terrible, but perhaps your master hasn’t had the opportunity yet to tell you what he intends, and perhaps this isn’t the end you envisioned."

Daren raised an eyebrow slightly.

Cain pressed on: "You are a man possessing vast experience in managing personnel and organizations, are you not? Therefore, I have an offer for you: how about you join my Transmigrators Organization?"

Daren froze.

The Transmigrators Organization.

The instant he heard the name, he felt as though something had exploded inside his head. Those words were not foreign to him in the slightest; rather, they were terrifyingly familiar, as though belonging to an ancient fragment of his memory.

The Transmigrators Organization...

Yes.

That was the original name of their organization.

’Smile’ was merely the moniker they had adopted later before the world.

Because a smile is usually fake

As for their true name...

It had been the Transmigrators Organization.

"I will appoint you as the Chief Logistics Officer of the organization, and I will assist you in ascending to the Noble Realm. Afterward, you can begin a new life instead of burying yourself alongside the past."

Darren continued staring at Cain without uttering a single word.

His thoughts began to race furiously.

The Transmigrators Organization?

Why did this man use that exact name?

Did he know something?

Was it merely a coincidence?

Yet the probability of it being a coincidence seemed increasingly absurd.

Daren looked at Cain once more, but this time, his gaze held none of the previous sorrow—instead, something entirely different took root... a deep, burning curiosity kindling within his eyes.

Maybe

Maybe his story had not ended yet...