Divine Path System

"Sovereign Kreo is dead?" Irene slammed her desk and leaned forward.

"Unexpectedly." Varian nodded.

Unlike the previous times, he wasn't wearing a mask anymore. Irene was too shocked by the situation to even care about it.

"J-Just how did he die? Who can even kill Sovereign Kreo?" Irene bit her lip and asked in a trembling tone.

Her eyes flashed with resolve as she prepared herself to fight this unknown enemy, even if it meant death.

Varian sighed. "His daughter. Though, it's also me."

"I don't understand." Irene looked at him in confusion.

"Time for Boo's entrance." Boo trotted forward and took up the position.

As Boo explained Varian's revenge step by step, Irene's face paled more and more.

When Boo finally revealed how Kreo died under Kristine's hands, she looked at Varian with wide eyes as if she couldn't believe what she heard.

"I-Is that really your doing?" Her tone was still laced with disbelief.

If Varian said no, she'd believe it's all false. Because she didn't want to believe the 'kind' Dreamer who was always so 'selfless' would do such a thing.

But.

"Yes. Though, Boo downplayed my rage a bit." Varian nodded.

Irene collapsed back into her chair and rubbed her forehead. "This…is really unexpected from you, but I believe you have a backup?"

Boo cleared its throat and began. "Bali…"

After hearing the detailed explanation, Irene gave Varian a long glance before tapping her chin with her index finger. "So, Bali took the potion as you said and from Enigma's predictions, he should be out in around fifteen days?"

"More or less." Varian nodded. "Since he also has Heaven's Will's boost now, I'm hoping he can come out before problems arise."

Irene stood up and said. "I'll need to contact the other Sovereigns and come to an estimate of how much Heaven's Will's boost can help."

Saying so, the hologram broke into light particles.

She was really in a hurry.

"Varian." A low voice called him out.

"Hm?" Varian turned around.

"…You said you were 'hoping' Bali comes out in time. So, you didn't know for sure. You went ahead for your personal revenge without considering the consequences? Are you kidding me?" Anna yelled in anger.

She thought Varian already had a backup plan for every possibility that followed his revenge. But looking at him now, while he was in some ways ready for the situation, he wasn't fully prepared.

What if Mirage Queen attacked the planetoids now and find out that Kreo was dead? What if Bali took longer to come out?

Without a Sovereign, Mars would crumble!

Anna was furious at Varian for the first time.

"If you don't have the means to bear the consequences of your actions, don't go for your revenge. Is your revenge more important than the entire mars?"

With every word she spoke, her fury grew. Clenching her fists, she walked to Varian with the intention to beat some sense into this irresponsible teenager.

But.

"No." Sia stood between Varian and Anna with her sword unsheathed.

Richard wanted to salvage the situation but Anna growled before he could speak. "Do you want to let him off without anything? A beating is the least punishment for his actions. If anyone else knew what he had done, they'd kill him."

Sia gripped her sword tighter. "Even though it was unexpected, he did make a mistake."

"Then…"

"He'll learn from it. And do better next time. With this experience, when he becomes the Emperor, he'll be able to take good decisions."

Anna froze, thinking she was hearing things before she yelled. "Are you nuts? Emperor? If Mars is gone, forget Emperor, none of us will get out alive."

"We can sur—"

An invisible force gently pushed Sia aside. Varian stepped forward and faced Anna's angry eyes that seemed to be burning flames.

Seeing the one responsible for the catastrophic situation in front of her, Anna's breath ragged as she tried to suppress the rage in her heart.

If he wasn't Sarah's boyfriend, then she…

"Kreo sacrificing himself never crossed my mind, but as you said, I should've planned for it," Varian said in a calm tone.

Anna's eyebrows frows furrowed, not at what he spoke, but how he spoke. After doing so much, he's not even showing a little guilt.

"If worst comes to worst, I'll have to stall Mirage Queen for two weeks," Varian said with a neutral expression.

Anna crossed her arms and gnashed her teeth. "You? How?"

"I'll threaten to destroy their holy altar. That's their most treasured item after all."

During his time as Var, he learned it was super important. But no one told him why. It was basic knowledge apparently and asking it would've blown his cover.

Sia too nodded at his words. "It's super important. I don't know exactly why it's so treasured, but if we threaten them with holy altar, then even Mirage Queen won't attack Mars right away."

Of course, she would inevitably attack. Conquering Mars was just too important! But she'd certainly hesitate and that'd buy them time.

Anna looked at the calm Varian and Sia with a cold gaze. "Even if what you said is true, why are you two so calm about this? Don't you feel scared at all? A bit anxious? Or a shred of guilt for what you've recklessly done? Billions of lives are at stake! One wrong step and this is Pluto all over!"

Anna lost her master and friend—Sarah's mother in Pluto. That's why she wasn't able to stop her emotions from spilling out when something similar happened in front of her eyes.

But.

"I only care about his life," Sia answered without a second thought.

Varian, on the other hand, shrugged. "I know I should be feeling anxious, guilty, and scared. But it's an unexpected consequence.

I'm honestly worried about the billions of lives at risk, but I don't want to worry too much.

I will do what I have to do because there are some things only I can do."

Anna fell silent.

She somewhat understood where he was coming from.

He knew the weight of his actions and the risk. But it was unexpected.

Worrying or feeling guilty won't change the situation. So, he decided he might as well seek a solution instead.

Still, his lack of emotional response really disappointed her.

"I've caused a lot of bloodsheds. I wish I made better choices, but I won't spend my time on regrets." Varian sat on the sofa and gripped the armrest.

If he hadn't started the war between Xanders and Demon Abyss, a lot of losses would've been prevented.

Xanders dragging the army into this was beyond his expectation, but it was always a possibility he should've considered.

However, when he saw the death count grow from tens to hundreds to tens of thousands…

'I gave financial support to all the families and asked Boo to keep a watch over them but at the end of the day, my decision destroyed many lives.'

Varian was fully aware of that.

Anna looked at him for one last time before walking away. Richard followed silently, and the situation left.

They were both really unnerved by Varian's attitude.

After they left, Sia sat beside Varian at a distance and asked softly. "Varian."

"Hm."

"What's going on in your mind? You don't have to hide it from me, you're feeling very guilty and anxious about putting mars in danger, but why are you acting like you aren't affected?" Sia asked.

Varian looked at her in surprise before shaking his head. "No, no, I'm not fee—"

"I know how you're feeling. Please don't lie to me." Sia said in a strong tone.

Varian looked at her for a moment before smiling wryly. "I don't want to become like the Abyss Emperor."

Then, he told her the praises he heard about the man during his time as Var.

Trying to save as many lives as possible, Abyss Emperor chose not to pursue an all-out war against humans.

If he instead decided to pursue his goal at any cost, abyssals would've won despite heavy losses.

By now, they'd have gotten the legacy of devas and be preparing for the providence trial.

Yet, he chose the route of a benevolent leader.

As a result, today—

"Abyss Race faces a danger of extinction." Varian shook his head. "The decision that might appear right in the present can turn out to be terrible in the future."

Sia bit her lip as she observed Varian and earnestly thought about his situation.

Varian and Abyss Emperor had a lot of parallels. They're both fighting for the survival of their races and they're the most talented ones of their kind.

So, she understood why Varian was able to relate to Abyss Emperor.

And as someone who willed to become the Human Emperor, Varian compared himself with Abyss Emperor.

"If you and me, the unexpected variables didn't appear, his plan would've been perfect." Sia finally said.

Varian chuckled. "Exactly. How do you know there are no unexpected variables? You don't."

"Yeah…" Sia trailed off.

"I'm trying not to get too attached to lives so that when the time comes, I won't hesitate in taking the right decision," Varian said with a strained smile.

He'd do everything in his power to save the lives. But he should also do his best to not get attached to them too much.

It's very difficult.

"Varian…" Sia's heart ached as she desperately wished to hug him and tell him that he was not alone.

Anna and Richard would think he's being apathetic. That he didn't feel any pain.

But only she knew the internal battle he was fighting with himself.

He wasn't someone who had too few emotions. His responsibility was too heavy to let his emotions be free.

A hologram flashed in the room and Irene Nial appeared.

The worry on Varian's face was erased and a calm expression took its place. He appeared like someone who was unperturbed by the situation.

With a pale face, Irene gave him the answer. "He should be out in 3-5 days at most."