After confirming that Daredevil's protectees were fine, Tyler closed the door and turned his attention to Mister Orleander. "I must say, the formation and materials you gave me are amazing. Never expected them to be so effective at preventing soul fluctuations and auras."

York's Keeper smiled. "Well. It is a formation meant to prevent Soul Shattering cultivators from detecting things. It wouldn't be doing its job if someone in the Qi Transformation realm with divine sense could affect it now, would it?"

Tyler nodded. "I guess that makes sense. Although, how many Qi Transformation cultivators do you know with Divine Sense and a Domain?"

"Well... At least one." Said Orleander jokingly.

Taking a deep breath, Tyler calmed his mind. From his inner world, he told Daredevil that he was going to attempt something to return his soul to his body. Then, he approached the still breathing, heart-beating, very much alive panther—it just seemed lifeless, as it had no soul.

Extending his hand, Tyler touched Daredevil and pushed his divine sense into the core of the panther's being. Its soul was held in a spherical structure, not unlike his own inner world. However, at this moment, it was empty. The only way Tyler could think for Daredevil to return to his body was to create a link between his inner world and the soul core itself.

Attempting to connect his divine sense and inner world wasn't new, as he did that to absorb energies or materials and items into his inner world. What he wanted to do now was to open a tunnel and leave it open between both locations so Daredevil could pass through it back into his body.

As he thought about that, Tyler realized that the panther's soul was essentially just another form of energy, and since he could easily bring them in and out, there should be no issues doing the same thing with Daredevil's soul.

But he wasn't willing to risk the panther's life on a guess. So, he paused what he was about to do and asked the only person who could possibly have an answer to this—Maximus. Even though the man had essentially caused his life to implode, he was his only access to information about inner worlds.

Reaching out to the divine sense permeating the entire area, Tyler poked it before speaking into the air. "Hey, Maximus. I got a question for you."

The winds rustled, and some leaves blew over from the forest, and with it came a mellow voice. "You know I'm trying to recuperate here. I'm literally trying to make Yggdrasil in my inner world. It's kinda hard when you keep bothering me."

Tyler chuckled. "Considering I'm probably the only one who can detect your divine sense on this continent, I bet you enjoy the conversations. But trust me, if it wasn't for the fact that you are literally the only person I can ask, I wouldn't be talking to you. You did let all my servants die, along with my only friends, to be cast out of the city with severe injuries."

"You are correct. You and my daughter are the only two people I talk to or have talked to in a thousand years. So, ask your fucking questions, and stop holding a grudge. You are here now. This is your reality. Fucking deal with it, or go die. You don't know my circumstances, and I'm not about to explain myself. Mistakes were made. Move on." Maximus said.

Tyler was annoyed at the blunt response, but honestly... Maximus was right. He hadn't been in this altered reality for a year yet, and he was freely judging the actions of others who had been dealing with cultivator bullshit for centuries.

While he really wanted to get into it with the man, unleashing his inner keyboard warrior, he decided against it. "Whatever, I guess. I want to know how to put the Soul of my Spirit Beast companion back into his body. He ended up entering my inner world somehow, and he's stuck here, and if I lose him because of some stupid inner world rule that I'm supposed to know..."

Feeling the area around Daredevil become the focus of Maximus' divine sense, Tyler felt tense. "That's easy. Two solutions. Force his soul back to the outside world, or, my personal favorite, take his whole body inside, and both will become one again almost instantly. A resonance between a soul and its original body makes these situations somewhat easier to deal with. It gets complicated if the body is destroyed, but that's a problem for later."

"That easy, huh? After today... I feel uncomfortable experimenting with the people I care about and my inner world." Said Tyler, sadness apparent on his face.

A sigh came back from Maximus as he changed the subject entirely. "Tyler... One day, when you get to be 10,000 years old, you'll be qualified to judge my actions, but for now, just listen. I sent a few more people your way into the York Empire. Your people. Everything in the continent is about to get really fucking messy, and York is probably the safest right now. I got a report from the Council that Slaughter reappeared in Africa and that he's heading here, and honestly, I think I will need you in a decade at most to be by my side to fight this fucking lunatic." Maximus took a long pause.

Confused by the amount of information that had just been dumped on his lap, Tyler asked. "Woah, slow down. My people?"

The winds were replaced by a projection of Maximus himself, a soul echo, if you will, as the man spoke. "Yes. Your people. After I killed Lo Tang, I freed his son from prison, and he asked me to send him your way. I agreed and pointed him towards you. He should be there with his little sister, brother, and a couple more people in a few months."

Looking at the man, and seeing his true appearance for the first time, Tyler smiled. "Thanks... I have wondered for a while what happened with Shen and his sister... But a few more people? Who?" He asked.

Maximus continued. "Oh, after I finished investigating everything you did on this mountain to get a better idea of who you were, I found out about John and Esme Fisher, the mortal couple you helped out on the beach and essentially jump-started your whole situation. I decided it was faith and offered them something they couldn't refuse, so they should be coming with Lo Shen."

"Something they couldn't refuse?" Asked Tyler, curious.

"To work under the very nice cultivator who saved them from months of hardships, what else could I promise them?" Said Maximus, in a tone that indicated it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Tyler was instantly reminded of the lovely couple, and his fading smile from before had resurfaced. He had meant to visit them on his return from the Sword Sect's mission... "Why are you doing all of this?" Asked Tyler.

The echo of Maximus sat down as he sighed. "Tyler. My quest, the System's quest, is to challenge you AND to help you. You need people, and after seeing how you handled the slaves and finishing my investigation on your behavior and who you are, you deserved more protection than I offered."

While he discussed with the Ascendant, Tyler decided to follow the man's advice and transferred Daredevil's body into his inner world, and, just like Maximus had said, both the soul and the body became one almost instantly. The panther perked up at the sudden change and jumped around happily. It calmed down after getting a short "I'll bring you outside in a minute." from Tyler.

Focusing back onto Maximus, Tyler continued. "Alright, I can accept that... So, next question then. You said that you needed MY help to fight Slaughter in a decade at most. Why? How am I supposed to help?"

Maximus's soul echo shined with gold cracks, some across his legs, some on his arms, but there was a giant one on his chest. "My injuries were extremely severe and still are. While my power borders on the ones of a God in the eyes of the world, I am not all-seeing nor all-knowing. I probably need another five years to properly repair my soul, and that's all the time the council could realistically buy me. They are actively holding the man back in Africa and the Atlantic."

Tyler nodded, and as he internalized this information, he pulled Daredevil out of his Inner World, focusing back on Maximus right after. "Sure, but where do I come in here? I'm still in the Qi Transformation Realm and why should I even help you?"

"But you're not actually in the Qi Transformation Realm. Your body sure, but you are an Ascendant. Don’t get it twisted." Maximus paused. "You already have a Soul Palace, you already kind of shattered your soul, you already have an aperture, and I'm assuming your monstrous Qi right now is because you already have the required energy to enter the Sea Formation inside your inner world. Once you form your own Laws and finish tempering your body, the Sea Formation and Aperture stage will pass in a flash."

Stolen story; please report.

Tyler observed Maximus for a while as Daredevil stepped inside their home, leaving with a smirk. "This conversation is boring. I'll go play." It was then that it hit Tyler. He could have living beings inside of his inner world!

Seconds later, he was taken out of his musings as a bubble of divine sense encased both himself and the Ascendant, sealing his own divine sense within it, and he could also detect a net of roots forming around his Soul Palace, limiting his reach there as well.

"You don't have the System to limit you. Your cultivation is a lot more natural and solid, and your Divine Sense is making you into the cultivator with the strongest foundation I've ever seen. You'll understand what I mean once you step into other realms and see the geniuses of the other planes. This planet's cultivation sucks, but the system allows a lot more people to cultivate and flourish. The Architect needs bodies for his war, not powerhouses."

The dome of divine sense became loose and slowly dissipated as strain appeared on Maximus's face. "I need your help because, honestly, Slaughter is too powerful, and his foundation is second only to yours. He never cared for the System and is a natural cultivation genius. He has long sided with Hell, and we think he has also forgone the System already."

Seconds later, the dome shattered, and Tyler felt a power descend on him and Maximus, a power seemingly from the depths of the void of space, invisible, but ever-present. Tyler wasn't completely dumb, so he realized there were possibly more things at play here and decided not to comment.

Instead, Tyler asked his question again. "So, why should I help you?"

A few seconds passed before the strain on Maximus's face disappeared. "Because if Guk-Jin has his way, this entire planet will become his furnace for Slaughter Origin Energy. We'll be plunged into an eternal war of blood and chaos to fuel his cultivation. The Council is trying to prevent that, but most outsiders cannot help due to system restrictions. It's a problem we, Earthborn, have to solve. You already saw what it did to Sword King Mountain: the influence of the Slaughter Sword made everyone a bit more evil than usual. Now imagine that across the world."

Tyler didn't have to think much about this, as knowing the whole story made the sides pretty clear about what needed to happen. He did, however, have questions. "If that's his goal, what are yours, or the other Shattering Ancestors I read about in the history books? Are they letting all of this happen?"

"In another life, I was a climate activist, and I've only ever wanted the planet to heal and be healthy. That's still my goal to an extent. Righteous cultivators tend to commune with nature rather than exploit it, so I often side with them. If the planet is plunged into war and chaos, it won't survive." Maximus said as he continued to list off the other Ascendants of Earth's public-facing goals and what he thought were their actual goals.

First was Rama and Daoist Calm Water. Both of these individuals appeared to have been monks in their past lives and sought to transcend mortal constraints to attain the true Dao. To achieve this, they primarily followed a peaceful path, seldom engaging in conflicts to avoid tainting their spiritual journey. Unless Slaughter came to their doors, they probably wouldn't do anything.

Maximus thought this was a load of crap. If they tried to find the true Dao, it should include everything. Slaughter was also part of the Grand Dao, and so were other less-than-peaceful laws. So, he assumed that their pacifist approach must have other unspoken reasons, which made Maximus think they were full of shit.

Moving on, he briefly reviewed the fates of Hercules and the Ice Queen, neither of whom remained on this planet. The Ice Queen had ventured into the Wilds and was unlikely to return, while Hercules had chosen to explore the cosmos, driven by a determination to become the strongest man in the universe.

Thus, only Maximus, the two Monks, and Beowulf remained to confront Slaughter on Earth, as no new Ascendants had arisen and stayed since. Beowulf, known as the Conqueror of Demonic Beasts, had singlehandedly saved the African continent in its early days and pledged to protect humanity from all threats, so he stayed.

In Maximus's view, Beowulf epitomized everything a fairytale hero would be, displaying unwavering resolve to defend the vulnerable and resolute determination to battle any adversary.

That was also why Maximus wasn't afraid to go into closed-door seclusion for so long to recuperate. Beowulf was still around, and Slaughter hated that guy more than Maximus. The man had also been grievously injured by the Ice Queen and Slaughter during their battle thousands of years ago, but his situation was much better than Maximus's since Beowulf was much stronger than he was.

"So, with Slaughter heading here directly instead of going after Beowulf, it worries me. The Council informed me that Beowulf would join Atlantic, the Flood Dragon from the Wilds, to hold him off for a few years. Unfortunately, the dragon won't be able to help much, and Beowulf is still somewhat injured. So our time is limited." Maximus paused before finishing. "Beowulf and I will most likely rally together at that point, and hopefully, by then, you'll be in a position to help us because, yes, Slaughter is that strong."

Tyler was almost overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information that had just been given to him. Initially, he was mad at the Ascendant for his actions and carelessness that led to his friends' deaths, but after hearing this whole story, he didn't know what to feel anymore.

From the beginning, it was evident that there was more to the story, and the sudden influx of lore and information made it challenging for Tyler to harbor any ill will toward the Ascendant. If Maximus's account of events was accurate, that is. It placed Tyler's own grievances with the man into perspective, making them feel a bit... Hollow.

Reflecting on it, Tyler realized that he, too, had engendered significant animosity during his time in the military. Some unfortunate individuals had their lives irrevocably destroyed due to his actions, even though he had been following orders. Being under orders didn't absolve him of responsibility for the harm caused. So, in reality, he wasn't that much better than Maximus...

Tyler weighed his goals with Maximus' and, after a few minutes of silence, decided on a tentative path forward. "If this is all true, which I will have to confirm at some point, I can agree to help you if I can when the time comes. I only have a few requests."

Maximus spoke up, guessing Tyler's response. "Oleander, is it? Send word to that old perv. Our friend here needs some information." He said as he turned to the nearby Keeper. "Either he comes here himself or allows you to share that information, I don't care. Make the official Red Dust records available for Tyler to browse through." Maximus paused, redirecting his attention to Tyler. "This way, you can look for your people and confirm the historical records. Oh, and don't worry, the Keepers would rather die than let us alter their records. So, we don't."

Mister Orleander perked up at the mention of his name. "I can send the request, but you should know that such a demand won't come free, and don't lie to the lad. You don't alter our records because you fear our leader who's currently in the Wilds, and even more than him, you fear the Scribe." There was a short pause as the man browsed his book. "A Celestial Grade Soul Shattering treasure would be the price."

Maximus scoffed at the request. "If you want a treasure that rare, your master will have to come get it from me in person. I ain't leaving such treasures with the likes of you. Now, that's enough talking. Any more, and I'll grow roots over here."

Looking back to Tyler, Maximus added. "Oh, and there's a thing happening next year. One of the Dungeons should reappear in the Heartlands. You should participate if your body is still in the Sea Formation stage at that point. Anyway, I have to go back. Poke me if you're afraid you're gonna kill someone again. Otherwise, I need to finish recovering."

With that, the soul echo vanished, and so did the focused presence of Maximus. Tyler and Mister Orleander were left alone, with Daredevil likely playing with the cubs inside their home.

Turning to the Soul Shattering Keeper, Tyler asked directly. "How much of the history he recounted is true?"

Smiling, Orleander answered very casually. "How about this? I'll confirm or deny every claim he's made, but I want one story from the Pre-Shattering days per claim in exchange. I'll provide the tea."

Tyler sighed. "Fine... But first, could you speak to the Spear Emperor and get in touch with Tanaka-sensei? I think he deserves to hear the truth about his son from me, and he would probably enjoy these stories and historical confirmation as well."

"Sure, but in exchange, I want a vial of that Serene Dew to escort the old dragon here. Makes for a great addition to tea." Replied Mister Orleander.

Shaking his head, Tyler responded positively to the request. "Sure, I'll even throw in two vials, seeing as I'll be drinking your tea. It's not like I don't have a metric ton of it..."

Tyler and the Keeper of the Red Dust exchanged a few more pleasantries before parting ways. Tyler had to stay here as he was waiting for a few people to show up, and he wanted to check in on Daredevil and the Foxes in the meantime.

A few minutes later, Tyler checked on them and played a bit with the kits and Daredevil. Afterward, he assured the foxes—via Daredevil—that they would be safe here.

Following this play date, Tyler reviewed everything he had just learned. After hours of silent meditation in the sun later, Tyler came to a conclusion. If everything Maximus had said was true, there was no way the man wouldn't protect him from basically anything.

A smile appeared on Tyler's face as soon as he realized this, but he quickly smacked himself metaphorically. He had to stop relying on others for everything. He had to stop.

Now, Tyler wanted to get started on another project that he had wanted to do for a while, and he grabbed two tokens, the blank one he had just received and the one Ern Torval had given him with the simple formation lines showing the location of the Emporium's shops.

***

A top Sword King Mountain, Maximus opened his eyes and looked down at the unconscious cultivator in front of him. It was Kenshiro.

"Hm. Being affected by celestial energies during a breakthrough sure did a number on him... At least I saved him in time." Said Maximus as he used his divine sense to try and make sense of the changes within the man's body and soul. He had found himself an interesting lead to better understand the path beyond ascendance.