Death... and me

'We can't,' Roan said. 'In the end, this guy has too much energy inside himself. He is also extremely old, so I don't think threats will work at all. If we truly manage to capture him somehow, we risk him throwing caution to the wind and self explode. Suppose it was you who had your energy, which was basically your own life, being absorbed against your will. Would you stay still and die in order to benefit your enemies?'

Eagon narrowed his eyes. He absolutely would self-explode and bring everyone down with him. Any cultivator who had lived long enough would do so. 'So we can only look and not do anything?'

Roan pondered a bit. Eagon didn't seem to be an enemy. Roan didn't want to let Eagon possess the crystal, but he didn't have a reason to kill him either. Also, Eagon wasn't an idiot. He knew that he had no chance against Rean, Roan, and Kentucky together, so he definitely wouldn't give them a reason to be killed. Not to mention, he still had Old Worm and Mia's contract.

The crystal noticed Roan's group's silence. "What are you discussing? Do you think I can't tell you are talking through Divine Sense? If you have nothing else to talk about, then just leave my domain. I don't want to talk to anyone at the moment. I have other things to think about."

Kentucky didn't mind at all. "Well, that's fine. But before that, how should we call you? I mean, He and I are from this planet, so we will probably meet again in the future as long as you stay here."

The crystal was taken aback for a moment. He lived alone all this time, so he had never thought about a name. "Hum... I don't really have one. That's something you guys from outside like to use."

"But it feels weird to simply call you crystal, you know? First of all, can you even be considered a crystal? I'm not sure," Kentucky answered.

The crystal had to admit Kentucky's words made some sense. "Well, I don't think I'm really a crystal. Or perhaps I am. I have never seen anyone like me before anyway... Whatever, just call me Cryan."

"You didn't put much thought into it, right?" Kentucky asked back, finding it funny.

"So what?" Cryan didn't care. "As long as it is usable, that's all there is to it. Now, just go away. It bothers me to feel your presence in my space."

It was then that Roan noticed something. "Cryan, right? Let me ask you something. Why are you staying in this space? I can't understand. The laws of the Universe should be forcing you to enter the Realm of Gods. After all, your power far surpasses the limit of the Mortal Realm, which is the Transition Realm. Every second we stay in the Mortal Realm, the Spatial Power trying to force us back increases. We won't be able to resist it for more than a few decades. Yet, you said you have been here for millions of years. How is that possible?" Roan obviously had no problem fending off the Universe's backlash after mentioning that cultivation realm.

Sure enough, Eagon and Kentucky got curious, too. There is no way someone with Cryan's power would resist the Universe's force all this time.

Yet Cryan didn't seem to understand them. "What are you talking about? I've never felt anything forcing me to go anywhere."

"You... haven't?" Those words took everyone aback.

Finally, Roan felt like he understood something. "Now that I think about it, why have you spent these millions of years in this place? With your strength, you could have left for somewhere else already. Is it because of the World Essence of this planet? Still, that doesn't make sense. There are much bigger planets that generate even more World Essence. With your power, moving to another planet should be extremely easy."

"I..." Cryan went silent for a moment.

Yet, Roan, Eagon, and Kentucky immediately understood. "You are trapped here. You can't go out even if you wanted, right?"

Cryan didn't answer, but his silence was all the confirmation Roan's group needed.

Roan went even further. "I see... This is the so-called deal you talked about. You had some kind of agreement to set you free from this prison. Yet, the planet was destroyed, and you got yourself trapped once again in the other dimension where the time stopped. Then, the dimension rebuilt the planet somehow. Too bad, though. It also rebuilt your own prison."

"Shut up!" Cryan didn't want to hear that. "So what? It's not like you can do anything, so leave me alone."

Eagon's eyes lit up. If he couldn't capture the crystal, then why not make a deal with it instead? Sure, that was possible, right? Naturally, Roan and Kentucky had the same thought. If they reached a deal that benefited everyone, Roan's group had no issues with it.

"Do you mind telling us what was the content of the deal you reached with the previous beings? What did they ask in return for setting you free?" Roan and Eagon knew that even those who came before couldn't force Cryan to do anything, so that's why they didn't try to capture him. Instead, they made that deal. It increased their certainty that trying to capture Cryan was a terrible idea.

Cryan pondered a bit before explaining. "From the looks of it, the Divine Origin Energy I accumulated all these years is very beneficial to the likes of you. Especially because it is clean Divine Origin Energy, so it can be absorbed without the risk of backlash... or so I'm told. The deal was simple: as long as I can be set free, I will allow half of the accumulated Divine Origin Energy to be used."

Eagon couldn't be happier to hear that. Even half of the energy he is feeling inside the crystal would be a heavenly treasure for him. However, he also understood the issue. "How come they didn't set you free straight away, then?"

Roan shook his head and answered in Cryan's instead. "Simple. They couldn't. I'm pretty sure that this pseudo dimension is a lot more complicated than you think."

Cryan agreed with Roan. "He is right. They tried but failed, so they left to find a solution. Then... you know what happened after."