Death... and me

Hurio nodded at Rean's question, replying, "Indeed, brother. I came after you because it seems like we're after the same thing. But above all, it seems like we have our own ways of finding Light Element Materials. With that in mind, I think we can help each other. Tell me, how many fragments have you found in Grinha City so far? How long have you been looking for them?"

Rean shook his head, saying, "I arrived at this city about ten days ago. However, that fragment was the very first one to appear for sale. You probably know this better than me. Light Element Materials mostly have no use at all. I'm already shocked that someone other than me needs them. With that being said, no one really pays attention to them, even if they find some in the Lost Star Realm. Well, in any case, it's also hard to find them there."

Hurio nodded in agreement. "It seems like it'll be impossible to gather enough in this city unless we stay here for several years then. You said it yourself. You need a lot of them, right? It just so happens that I also need a lot. How about this? Let's join forces and enter the Lost Star Realm together. With both our detection abilities working in tandem, it might be much faster to achieve our objectives."

Rean narrowed his eyes after hearing that. "Why would you trust me that easily? This is the first time we've met each other."

"I don't," Hurio said in response. "I believe in the power of the Soul Binding Contract instead."

Sure enough, it had to be those contracts. Nevertheless, Rean had to ask, "Soul Binding Contracts are very expensive for average cultivators. Are you sure you want to use it?"

Hurio laughed when he heard that. "Hahaha! Come on, brother. We both know that Divine Stones aren't exactly an issue for you and me. Otherwise, would we really offer over a hundred Rank One Divine Stones for that measly fragment? I can tell that you could go over my offer many times, but you decided that it was best not to do so. In fact, you're right to do something like that. Well, if you had offered more than 200 Divine Stones, I would have been the one to give up. It's not that I couldn't pay an amount above yours, but it's because I also wouldn't want to catch too much attention."

Rean smiled back at Hurio when he heard that. "You're smarter than you look. So, who are you exactly?"

Hurio looked straight back at him and asked in response, "How about telling me who you are first?"

Rean was the one to laugh this time. "Hahaha! I guess it's better if we don't get into such details."

Hurio agreed with Rean. "It's good that brother thinks the same way as me."

"Alright, I think we can indeed help each other here. However, I'm not the only one going after it in the Lost Star Realm," Rean told him.

Hurio found it strange. It was already surprising to have one person looking for Fallen Light Star Fragments, and now Rean was telling that there were more. "Who else is going? If we end up having to share too much, it won't be worth it due to the materials' rarity."

Rean noticed what Hurio thought. "Oh, don't worry. I'm the only one who has uses for the Fallen Light Star Fragments. The other two are only coming inside to provide me with support. Don't worry. They can also sign the Soul Binding Contract. In the end, you will have 50%, and I'll have 50%."

Hurio sighed in relief after that. "In that case, any extra help is certainly more than welcome."

Rean and Hurio then began to discuss when they should go inside the Lost Star Realm. In the end, they decided to stay one more week in the city, just to see if any other Fallen Light Star Fragment would appear. They even left a request in the Mercenary Guild's hall. However, not a single person appeared to sell Fallen Light Star Fragments. In the end, they simply headed to the Lost Star Realm.

On the day of departure, Roan and Kentucky came out of the Dimensional Realm. It had been a month since they entered there. Thanks to that, they were able to achieve some progress in cultivation. Of course, it would take at least another year before the twins, Kentucky, and Celis advanced to the Peak Stage of the Saint Realm, or Peak Stage Seven in the demon beasts' case.

"Phew… I thought I would be locked inside there for another eon," Kentucky could not help but say as he stretched his body.

Roan already knew what happened with Rean so far, so he went straight into the point. "Let's get over with it so that we can proceed with our journey to Jhiod Continent. Where did you agree to meet the new guy?"

"He should be waiting for us at the entrance of the Lost Star Realm," Rean said. "We can take the city's teleport formation or fly over there with Kentucky. It's quite close, so I would rather not spend Divine Stones. Even though it's close, the Formation Guild still charges for it."

"No problem, no problem." Kentucky didn't mind at all. "Let me take you there. So, where is it?"

Rean then pointed at the distance. Only then did Kentucky notice the huge swirl spinning far above in the skies. It went way further than Grinha City. Yes, one could see right above Grinha City itself. As mentioned before, it wasn't possible to see the stars beyond the skies. However, the Lost Star Realm was different. It was located right below the eye of the swirl, which was completely empty. Thanks to that, the stars could be seen from there.

"That thing is huge! How did that even happen in the first place?" Kentucky could not help but ask.

Rean shook his head, saying, "How am I supposed to know? All I found out was that this Lost Star Realm is even older than the official formation of the Lanqueas Continent itself. Well, at least that's what I was told during my investigations. When I say official formation, I meant the time the Lanqueas Sect took it over and renamed the continent with its name. That alone has already been tens of thousands of years ago. The Lost Star Realm is even older than that, so there's no information on how it came to be. At the very least, there isn't information available on it for the average public."

Hearing that, Roan shrugged his shoulders. He didn't really care that much anyway. "So be it. It doesn't matter how it was formed. What we want is what it contains, the Fallen Light Star Fragments. Let's go."

Kentucky nodded in response and immediately took flight, heading towards the entrance of the Lost Star Realm.