The team waited for the Eternal to descend to a space large enough to land. They had seen her bravery. Not all past protectors had the guts to do what she did. Some chose to focus solely on the job and be content with the rewards of the Galactic Alliance, and won't risk angering the Divine. This eased Chris's heart to a massive degree, because this woman will protect him. It was just a pity that she wasn’t a Demigod. He would have proposed right then and there.
Eternal Selena gazed at the group as her spaceship slowly descended. She had to give it to them; they looked elite. Too elite. They were powerful, maybe even more powerful than when she was at their level. This, however, caused her endless regret. She was old. Not that old, just a couple of thousand years. However, it took too much effort. She wished her parents hadn’t died in the war when they joined the Galactic Competition. They could have raised her in a way befitting of her talents. They had the capabilities, as they were both Immortals.
Her father, at the 5th stage of the Immortal Realm, Sheltered Haven, could stay in extreme environmental conditions to gain treasures. To reach that stage, they needed to regulate their temperature on their own. Through the 5th stage, they needed to develop immunity towards temperature. Then came friction independence, as they would not need any sort of friction to walk, move, or travel. Lastly, they would develop environmental adaptation, becoming an existence that would be sheltered in the cosmos by their very own existence.
Her mother, though weaker, was in the 4th stage of the Immortal Realm, Eternal Vigilance. Although she couldn’t accompany her husband everywhere, she had the necessary mental focus and awareness to at least have the same level of mental power as him, thus making a great team. This realm was very special, as a being would gain basic cosmic awareness that would help them in certain conditions. This is also the realm where an Immortal gains emotional stability, which would allow them to live through their immortal life with their emotions in check. As they also gain mental independence, they acquire perpetual focus and a mind that works without bounds.
However, due to how they were ambushed after acquiring treasures in an expedition, their enemy, who chased them for these treasures, killed her mother with enough firepower that she couldn’t handle. Although she prepared for this, it was mostly dependent on her father, who could survive in many environments. However, the enemy blasted them with a spatial shockwave, isolating them in different environments. Her father couldn’t hold on to the repeated damage that had been done, and he lost his life in a few long hours.
She had watched the recordings many times and knew that they would have needed a lot more powerful treasure to defend themselves. They didn’t even have Life Treasures. How could they, when they had hardly come to that stage, while using every resource for breakthroughs? It was also unknown if they had knowledge of the Vows of Marriage to make it. However, she had her revenge. Step by step, she reached the Eternal Independence stage, biding her time as she knew they could also progress, then slaughtering them in one fell swoop. If only they were stronger, more powerful. However, life goes on. She was an Eternal. She will live for eternity, and they will live with her for eternity. This will not change.
Even after going through all this in her mind, that caused hardly any ripple on her existence. She was more than that. She sensed the two particles that The Eye gifted. She had underestimated their worth. She thought that they were just special energy as a primary capability. She was wrong, and she was not upset one bit.
At long last, the spaceship touched down on the ground. Since the outside wasn’t space, she didn’t go to the airlock but had gone to the exit that would only open when it’s inside the atmosphere and some special environment that supports life. Not that it matters to her, as she could live anywhere in the cosmos. But it was important for the spaceship itself, and she didn’t want to lose it.
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
The group gazed at the spaceship as the door shimmered and disappeared. They saw a beautiful, mature woman, with black hair and brown eyes, emitting strong powers that started reducing. By the time she made a step out of the spaceship, she was already like a mortal. It was a common courtesy in the cosmos to not emit anything outside of your body when visiting other worlds.
The group appreciated the Eternal as she made confident strides.
“My name is Selena. I will be your protector during the competition,” she said and did not bow, not that she needed to.
“My name is Arslan. I will be the leader of the team. Welcome to the Shattered Continent.” Arslan made the first move and shook hands with her.
With anyone being able to reach unknown heights, there’s not a distinction as a cultivator when greeting. However, if they are your direct superior, it becomes a tradition. She, as an independent cultivator, doesn’t need to bow to an Emperor of an Empire, even if it’s one of the strongest, while Arslan doesn’t need to be overly courteous, because he is the said emperor while also having endless potential. After all, in a few years, they might be in the same stages, thus boundaries under the Divine are blurred after this happened all the time throughout the history of the cosmos.
Derin watched all this with utmost attention. She saw the research that had been done by Kaplan. What surprised her was that Kaplan was not attracted to any woman other than Natalie. She got to the bottom of this by pressuring Kaplan as to why this was happening and learned that Arslan had it even worse than Kaplan. While Kaplan had not been feeling attraction, which could be developed with time, Arslan had it more restricted. Until now, other than her, no woman had elicited a physical reaction from Arslan. This was the first time she had heard of it and understood why Arslan proposed to her at that age. She felt complex about this. Was their relationship based on bloodline attraction? Although Arslan explained his reasoning, she let this go because Arslan wanted to try having another child, and she could wait for the discussion.
However, seeing how Arslan had no reaction to this beautiful woman, not looking in any way attracted, made her feel complex about their earlier argument. Due to the nature of their family, and wanting to live with a big family, she had requested Arslan to have other wives after Kaplan’s transformation. He had outright refused without explaining. It all made sense now, but back then it had shattered her vision of a future with a big family. That’s why she wanted to have more children. She looked at reality with a different outlook ever since her Path showed the horrors of it. They were too small, too insignificant. The Eye is not even its main body, but a projection. The cosmos can’t handle even a single Divine’s true Existence. If it was only that...
Ever since, she wanted to change that, even if it’s by making up the numbers. With how they are cultivating, Arslan’s rise in the Immortal Realm will be very fast, and even if he later got rid of the bloodline trait, due to the nature of the Immortal Realm, his lack of desire for another woman would not change. Immortals are a different breed of Existence. The abilities they acquire have too much influence on their mindset and how they conceive reality, and that’s why Mortal Realm is spent as ‘normal’ as possible. There would be no pressure for cultivation, as Mortal Realm makes the person, and not developing properly would have a permanent impact.
If she hadn’t entered his life, would he have met a woman like her? Maybe, maybe not. If not, it would have been too late. By then, he would have become someone who only lived for cultivation. That was just sad in her eyes. She felt great compassion towards Arslan because of it and decided to completely forget about this.
Arslan felt Derin’s gaze and looked back. He smiled and turned his gaze toward the spaceship and said, “Shall we?”
“Are the nine of you the only ones that will be in protection?” She was surprised by this. Right after, the sky rippled as the red sunlight blurred, and the clouds parted, revealing two beings on different swords. Looking at it hurt the eyes, so the guards in the back lowered their heads.
Arslan gazed up and looked at the person in the lead, with black hair and red eyes. His looks were very similar to Arslan's, yet he didn’t have the wild domination running through him. He was smaller in stature and had a more carefree look, with his eyes sometimes reflecting mysterious symbols, different from Paths.
The man in the lead gazed at Arslan and smirked, “Long time no see, little brother. Why don’t you take your nephew with you too?”