Tara perceived a sensation and proceeded to the balcony. Employing her keen vision, she observed that the gap formed by the five Soul Avatars had diminished slightly, leading to an acceleration in the restoration of the world boundary.

‘It has only been a few hours since we retrieved his Soul Box, yet the Soul Avatar has already returned. While I can confirm that Dhruv’s ‘Absorb Soul’ skill was successful, this development is concerning as it suggests that they may have also observed this phenomenon.’ —Tara thought and muttered to herself.

Finding them might prove challenging going forward, as my presence has been revealed, making them more vigilant. I am capable of thievery, while Dhruv lacks any effective offensive skills; therefore, we should seek allies. Despite my initial reluctance, it has become apparent that now is not the time to be hesitant in reaching out to potential allies. I will need to contact them with caution.

…

At Plaquso Island.

Rajiv and Henrik were relaxing on the seaside, when both of them opened their eyes and gazed upon the gap in the boundary of the world.

Rajiv: “Unfortunately, the situation is regrettable as one of us has already experienced defeat within a week. Furthermore, the duration of our stay here has also been reduced.”

Henrik utilized a small amount of Black bead power to search for the whereabouts of the others and replied, “Hahaha, it was Avnish.”

“It’s not a laughing matter. I believe that you have a unique way to communicate with the Lord. I do not think that he would send his son without offering any other alternatives.”

“Your insightful perspectives are quite sharp. Would you be willing to assist me with the matter of throne succession in the future? But that aside, I can only contact father twice as I have low Black beads. Are you certain you wish to utilize one of those opportunities at this moment?” Henrik asked seriously.

“Your kind words of praise are truly appreciated. I propose that we discuss the matter when the time of succession arises. Furthermore, it is imperative that we act now while our enemies remain unaware of our plans. The loss of another Black Soul would accelerate the closing of the gap in the world boundary, potentially causing us to depart without reaping the rewards of our efforts. This outcome would be highly disadvantageous.” Rajiv replied truthfully.

…

On the planet Eresias,

Avnish opened his eyes; his connection with the stone tablet had been cut. Everyone around him looked at him with a gaze, asking what happened.

In the silent hall, Avnish stood up, walked towards Lard Darik, kneeled with his head down, and said: “Lord, please forgive this incompetent subordinate. I not only failed in my mission but also lost my Soul Box to a White Soul user.”

Lord Darik looked at him for a while and was about to speak, but a soul communicating artefact buzzed inside his Receptor.

He extended his hand, and a projection of his son, Henrik, appeared.

Lord Darik asked Henrik: “How much do you know about the situation?”

“I’m sorry, Father. I am with Rajiv, and we both are unaware about Avnish’s situation, except the boundary hole shrunk by little under one-fifth of its size.”

“Hmm, Avnish, now explain what you experienced.”

Avnish explained everything, from the concert to moving towards a potential trap set for him.

“Gasp! These bastards have a way to seal our Black bead at an extremely fast rate; this is troublesome.” Henrik gasped and muttered.

“A white hand from the ground. Hmm, Lord, do you think this White Soul user is ‘Thieving Maiden’?” Rajiv asked.

The entire hall went silent for a moment at the mention of ‘Thieving Maiden’.

“It is possible that it’s her, and without contacting us, she directly took action to steal from us. So, it’s also quite possible that she had colluded with other White Soul organisations.”

At the same time, when Lord Darik finished speaking. A report arrived.

“We spotted two Golden Stars when one of our Black Star vanished.”

One of the executives said, “Sure enough, it’s the Golden Temple’s doing.”

“Lord, how should we respond now?” Rajiv asked.

Lord Darik said: “It’s a pity that we can’t enter the small world, but also fortune; the same applies for them too. Play it safe; now that we know of their involvement, at least we aren’t in the dark anymore. I believe I don’t have to teach you how to do your work, right?”

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“Yes, Lord, thanks for your guidance.” Saying that Henrik and Rajiv disconnected.

Lord Darik appeared confident and nodded his head, but inwardly pondered, ‘‘Thieving Maiden’ is involved, but she is not part of Golden Temple. How did she enter this small world? Or, more importantly, how the hell did all of them make arrangements on my stone tablet? There is a bigger conspiracy, and we are being played like chess pieces. Who has the guts to move three level 80 individuals in their palm?’

Another report came in breaking Lord Darik’s thoughts. “A big, I mean, a huge golden vortex is forming near the small world boundary.”

Lord Darik immediately ordered, “Leave the necessary people to protect the city, and rest of you prepared to move with me. It’s time to confront those Golden Temple hypocrites.”

“Yes, Lord.”

…

In the Space, outside the boundary hole.

From the golden vortex, a big, golden-shelled turtle appeared in front of Lord Darik’s subordinate. From the top of the shell, a man in his forties flew down to look at the gap in the boundary. Nobody tried to stop him, as he was the Pope of the Golden Temple. He has a fit body and a handsome face, and he wore a golden trench coat, and the rest of his clothing is fully white.

Pope Abril Daire walked near the hole and inspected it, then turned his head to look towards a large black vortex forming. With a smile on his face, he moved to the centre, and his ten trusted subordinates were standing on either side of him, and behind all of them was a huge Golden Turtle carrying hundreds of subordinates on its back.

Within everyone’s sight, a Mechanical Fortress appeared twice the size of the Golden Turtle. The Fortress started to shrunk to the size of the Golden Turtle. During transformation, Lord Darik and his ten subordinates jumped down.

“I am always amazed when I see your mechanical improvements.” Pope Abril respectfully praised Lord Darik.

“Well, it’s not like we can naturally produce our Black bead, so we have to resort to technical stuff.”

“True, but I think you have extended your hand very far this time.”

“At least I didn’t need the help of a thief.”

“Haha, you know it well: with people, there are conflicts and benefits.”

“So, what’s your intention here—conflict or benefit?” Lord Darik asked directly.

“Neither; I am here just to make sure my people exit safely.”

“Don’t you think you arrived 45 days earlier?”

“Who knows?” The Pope Abril extended his hand, and with a tilting head, he replied.

“Is Thieving Maidan present here?” Right after Lord Darik asked, inside the boundary, an unnatural phenomenon occurred.

Like water, the space rippled, and a magnificent floating city could be seen. Two men stood on the edge of the city; one was the Heavenly Lord, and the other was the Demonic Lord. They are the rulers of Earth’s Soul Domain.

The Heavenly Lord smiled and looked towards the Pope Abril and said, “I also want to know the whereabouts this ‘Thieving Maiden’.

“Ahem! Greetings to the Lords of this world. And I don’t know where she is now, but I believe she will come to retrieve her ‘Will’.”

Demonic Lord said: “Good, we should camp here and wait then, as nobody could interfere in the worldly affairs. Or would you come in and fight?”

The Pope Abril and Lord Darik both joined their hands, bowed slightly and spoke in a respectful way.

“I think we should camp here, as retrieving my people is our top priority.”

“Yes, we wouldn’t dare to fight with immortal lords; instead, let the people fight themselves and decide victory among them.”

After hearing their words, space rippled, and Soul Domain vanished. Both sides also went back to their respective sites.

…

Dhruv’s home balcony,

Tara observed the whole commotion in the space and muttered. “Although I can’t hear anything, I’m sure that was because of my main body.”

“What are you mumbling to yourself?” Dhruv came behind her and asked.

“Nothing much; your living days have been reduced, but we defeated a Black Soul user.”

“That’s good news, then,” He followed the direction where Tara was looking and saw bunch of people gathered in the space around 5,000 km away from Earth. “But who are those people near the boundary hole?”

“People on the left are called Asters; they are Black Soul users, and those on the right are called Golden Temple; they are White Soul users.” She replied.

“You told me nobody could enter this small world, so what are they here for?”

“Don’t worry, they cannot enter; that’s the absolute truth, and even if by sheer coincidence they entered, there is your planet’s Soul Domain which will immediately take action to eradicate them.”

“I didn’t ask earlier, but can you properly explain Soul Domain?”

“Where do you think the memories of souls are gone when they wipe out the memory before reincarnating everyone back into the world? Soul Domain is an imaginary city formed by the memories of the souls who enter there for reincarnation. It exists with the planet or gets destroyed with the planet, which is unlikely. So, in one way, you can say they are the true immortals.”

Dhruv nodded his head, expecting more information.

“And the mid-world doesn’t have them, as it is a man-made world. Only ten small worlds and five top worlds have them. So, it acts as natural security for a planet.”

Screech~

Alia opened her door and walked out to the next balcony, “what are you doing? I heard voices.”

“Nothing; I like to talk to myself sometimes.” Tara replied in an annoyed tone.

Dhruv sat on the ground and leaned against the wall. He wanted to leave, but Tara put her foot between his legs, causing him to stop his movements.

“Alia, Let’s have an honest talk right here. What do you think?”

Alia didn’t know how but she was also feeling annoyed by Tara. “Sure, I also think we should have a talk.”

“So, what did you mean by ‘you don’t trust me’ earlier when we were having lunch?”

“Your mind remembers things well for a person suffering from amnesia. Whatever, it’s got nothing to do with me. But you are correct about one thing: I really don’t believe you that you have amnesia.”

“And why is that?” Tara asked curiously.

“Because Dhruv is a perceptive and cautious person, under no circumstances would he bring an unknown girl to his home. You can fool my father, but I trust in Dhruv’s character, as I grew up with him.”

“So, you mean he is a timid and scared person that I took advantage of and entered his home for his money, as his family is dead now?”

“It’s true that he looks that way from the outside, but he will take action when necessary. And maybe it’s true that you came for his money, but that’s highly unlikely. Whatever the reason, it’s definitely not good, so as his childhood friend, I am here to monitor you.”

Dhruv was listening to them with his eyes closed. As in front of him, Tara wore tight jeans; her one leg is in between his legs and another on his shoulder to support her lean on the railing; her waist is little over his head. Which put Dhruv in a very uncomfortable state because he knew the girl in front of him was a dead shell.

With a low voice, Tara asked Alia, “just a childhood friend?”

“You don’t need to prey any further, and I would appreciate it if you didn’t get close to Dhruv any further than you already are. He is actually helping you with something, so don’t make yourself a burden to him.”

“You really don’t know how close I am to him, and you want me to stay that close. I thought you would say to stay away from him.”

Dhruv’s face turned red after hearing Tara say that, but soon he relaxed as he heard Alia’s response.

“Who am I to control his decisions? If he really wanted to avoid you, he would definitely avoid you, not giving you any chance to explain yourself. It’s free advice, so take it or forget it; I don’t care.” Shouting angrily, she went inside her room.

Tara looked down at Dhruv, saw he had his closed eyes, and said, “you already know she likes you, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I know. Now, can you please get off of me?”

She removed her legs and sat down on Dhruv’s lap. “I think you heard her, right?” she said while teasing him.

“You know we don’t have time for this.” After saying that, he wrapped his one hand through her waist to the back and another on her thigh. He picked her up, went into her room, and threw her in the bed.