What Daniel had understood from the last conversation he had with the governor, was that the inhabitant of an isolated planet were the only ones allowed to claim the planet for the faction whose power the champion had decided to nurture, as well as the fact that each faction had a different power and method to claim ownership over these worlds.
Daniel was an inhabitant of one of these planets, and as someone chosen from Iewah, Daniel was one of his champions, and therefore, he could claim the planet for his faction if he fulfilled the requirements. The same would have been if Daniel had allowed the worshippers of death to make the essence of corruption spread through the world, allowing the Sovereign of Corruption to gain another planet under his domain.
Similarly to the essence of corruption, was the connection to the spiritual plain, which Daniel had guessed was only a part, along with human's ki, of a superior kind of power called immortal essence. But now that he knew that each of these powers possessed an individual and separated path, Daniel had come to a new conclusion, and that was that there likely was a path specifically made for spiritual cultivation which he simply didn't know of.
His view of the vast universe had broadened once again. Enough to let him feel the pressure that its infinity weighted over the shoulder of each and every being which dreamed of conquest, dominion, and glory. After reaching this point of knowledge, not even one in a million would maintain their dreams of becoming prominent and well known figure, and yet, there still was that one in a million. That one in a million which would obstinately push through.. Uncaring of the near impossibility that his or her desires and aspirations would succeed.
Originally, Daniel didn't have any particular aspiration for his life. He wanted for his sister and himself to be happy, and to not have to worry about money all the time. To know that she had the best chances in her life, and that his parents would have been proud of the way he provided for her. But now, things had changed.
Daniel was not stupid. He was aware of the fact that his sister probably had a different life now. More than five years had passed, and she was nearing her mid twenties. It wouldn't have been odd if she was already married, or had kids. That of course did not change his desire to see her, but he wasn't expecting her to be the person she was when they had parted.
Day after day he had found one new friend after another, and now, his aims and desires of success extended to them as well. He wanted to know how things would have gone between him and Alesia, to see Heimart and Alis teach martial arts to their children, to witness the moment where Ligart would have finally grown up, and much more.. but the background desire to know how his sister was doing, was always present.
He needed to make sure that she was alive and fine. That was what he needed to do.
—–
After receiving the permit of passage to cross through planets, the first thing that Daniel did, was to purchase a passage to his planet of origin.
These crossings were done through spatial ships, and not by teleportation, as those entities powerful enough to teleport from one planet to another, were generally not poor enough to need to do such a job.
Crossing through short distance teleportation was not prohibited, but it meant almost certain death. After all, many beings lived in the empty space, and one could easily teleport into an area which contained unknown monsters, and concepts of space which could disintegrate them, divide them into many different pieces, or teleport one half of their bodies trillions of kilometers away.
If these dangers weren't enough, traveling through space by using short range teleportation would usually require months, if not years.. and since people would need to rest after teleporting a few times, and space was not a place where people would be able to dwell for long periods at a time.. That was a truly unpopular method to travel.
Spatial ships were pretty much normal, yet massive ships which possessed a spatial formation that could allow them safety in long distance travels. The term safety was, of course, relative.. After all, a rift that lead into the void could open in front of them at any moment, and they could end up lost in it forever.
Daniel's planet of original was one of two twin planets that orbited next to each other. The distance between the two was of only twenty million kilometers, and what Daniel was required to pay for the travel, was for the ship to change course when on the way to the twin planet, or when on the way back from it. The entire cost for this proces was of five thousand perfect crystals.
—–
Five days had passed since the chat between Daniel and the governor, and now, he was waiting in his room within the academy. He had no reason to go back to the academy, except for finding Serf, and asking him to join his group.
The spatial ship would depart in only two days, and yet, Daniel was still unable to meet with Serf, causing him to start to worry. What he was regretting at the moment, was not trying to have Serf join his group earlier. At least that way he would have always known if he was safe or not.
Daniel did not know yet, but his worries were about to become real, and the first sign of it, was the knocking sound at his door.
*Knock Knock Knock*
Daniel quickly sprung up on his feet, and walked towards the door. The barriers on the walls were always there, and therefore, he was still unable to observe who was knocking unless he opened the door.
After opening the large wooden door in hope of finding a tall, fat, and kind giant, Daniel saw a short, beautiful and deadly devil standing in front of him instead.
"Alana." Said Daniel with a cold tone. "I hope you are here to tell me where Serf is."
Alana did not seem her usual self. She wasn't full of herself as usual, and by simply seeing Daniel's aggressive behaviour, she had taken a step back in clear fear.
"I am.." she said before suddenly turning quiet. Daniel could see sadness in her eyes, as well as a couple of tears that were forming on the corners of her eyes. "You have t-to help my brother.." She said while on the verge of crying.
Daniel, completely unaware of what kind of relationship the two siblings had, became even more worried. He took a step forward, and after forcibly grabbing the girls arms, he said "What happened to him?"
"He was accused of sharing the secrets of our family with you.. And he has been sentenced to death." Responded Alana as tears started to stream down her cheeks. If someone that didn't know her were to see her acting, they would be fooled completely. Unfortunately, Daniel was not one of them.
Regardless of whether what Alana was saying was the truth or not, he still needed to go to the territory of the Navi family. If Serf was there, he wanted to see him. "Take me there.." Said Daniel with confidence.
—–
One hour later, in a large square right in front of them main hall of the Navi family.
"Your daughter better not disappoint me again." Said the old lady while looking at her daughter. Her threatening tone was so evident, that it could almost be physically felt.
"She is not a stupid person.. She knows that this is her last chance." Responded the middle aged woman indifferently. Internally, she was hoping that her daughter would succeed in her plan, otherwise, the future of her family would become bleak, and by extension, hers as well.
After only two minutes of wait, two shadows appeared in between two rows of houses which composed part of the surrounding small city. These two shadows belonged to Daniel and Alana.
"That old lady is my grandmother.. She is the only one you have to convince in order to have them release Serf.. Please." Said Alana once coming in sight of the old lady, and her mother.
Daniel already knew that something was wrong, yet, he he approached them confidently.
Once he reached the middle of the square, and in earshot of the old lady, he said "Head of the Navi family.. I am here on behalf of your grandson Serf. I would like to ask you to release him." His tone showed no fear, and instead, a hint of his readiness to battle.
"Head of the Golden Karma company.. You have already ruined the reputation of my family.. Why should I care about what you want?" Asked the old woman with a face contorted in anger.
"Because my company is now part of the poisonous rose, and that means that we are not enemies anymore. The poison of your family, and the antidote of my company are made, and will stay within the poisonous rose." Responded Daniel with a clear tone. He wanted to try to appear like an ally for once.
The moment the old lady heard Daniel's words, she straightened her back, and asked frantically "You were invited by the poisonous rose? Did they take the antidote from you?!"
"No. The antidote is my contribution to the poisonous rose, and it doesn't belong to anybody but me." Responded Daniel after looking at the old lady with narrowed eyes.
The old lady took a deep breath in relief. Then said "I welcome you into the poisonous rose, but your new position doesn't change anything. My grandson committed the gravest of crimes, and he will die for his actions tomorrow morning."
"Please.. Please do something." Said Alana from next to Daniel before starting to bawl in desperation. She actually seemed desperate to have her brother released.
"Is there anything I can do?" Asked Daniel to the old lady before taking a step forward.
When talking about dealing with people like Daniel, the old woman was extremely cunning and experienced. Even though her family worked with poisons, they were still extremely experienced in alchemy. This did not mean that they were powerful for that reason.. Only that she was an experienced businesswoman, and that she knew many strategies to ensure a desired result from a negotiation.
"I am sorry to start the relationship between our two powers like this, Mr. Hiel. But the rules of my family are what allowed us to become what we are now. Serf's betrayal will likely lead us to one of our lowest points.. Forgiveness is impossible." Said the old lady with pride. She wanted to appear like an incorruptible person.
"I will give you the antidote for the poison of our family." Said Daniel after taking another step forward.
Once again, the old lady said with pride "I cannot accept something that has been created from stolen research of my family. My family has that much honor left! Go back.."
Anger started to build into Daniel's body.. He clenched his fists in an attempt to avid starting an all out war, and said through gritted teeth "Fine.." He then made a piece of paper and a pen appear out of his spatial ring, and used them wrote a few lines.
On this piece of paper, was a slightly modified version of the pill which Daniel had created. The materials were right, but the method of production of the pill was filled with small mistakes.
He pretended to be extremely conflicted about his following actions, but after a few seconds, he gave the piece of paper to Alana, and said after turning towards the old lady "Will this be enough to release Serf?"
