Death... and me

And so, the further away Roan went. He always aimed at the star that seemed to be the furthest away in his vision before willing to get close. From there, he looked even further away and repeated the process. Other than the fact that the energy of each star seemed different, he didn't feel anything else. It wasn't as if each one of them was stronger or weaker, even though they were obviously different in size.

Another thing Roan noticed was that many of the stars he visited already had owners. When he got close to them, they would repel him away even before he could try to feel their energies. What really surprised Roan was that the stars that already had an owner were more numerous than the ones that didn't have one.

Unsurprisingly, Roan understood why. 'Well, I guess it makes sense. Just Kamos Kingdom alone has trillions of people, then just how many are there in the Realm of Gods? Not to mention that these stars are the closest to the Realm of Gods.' Roan was right. Those stars were definitely closer to the Realm of Gods than others.

Roan continued traveling in his mind through space, taking a very long time. Without him knowing, two days went by in the outside world.

Kihin felt that it was a bit strange that Roan wasn't done yet as anyone who cultivated Starlight would have selected a star already. However, as someone who studied the Starlight Body Cultivation Technique and even modified it, he could see that Roan was still looking for his star. 'Is there a need to be so picky?' Of course, he knew that it was an important step, so he left the room and went back to cultivate. Even if Roan took an entire month, he wouldn't stop him.

Over a week went by, and Roan continued on his travel. Very few Starlight Cultivators had made it this far into the sea of stars. The main reason was that more than 70% of the stars Roan visited at first were already taken by other cultivators when he started this journey. However, after seven days, he would be lucky to find one star with an owner every thousand he visited. 'This is far from enough. I can definitely go much further away.'

Meanwhile, Rean was still in the middle of building the Triple Layer Formation. Usually, Rean would make something for him and Roan alone. However, because he had to take many aspects into consideration, the work on this one would take several times longer. It was even harder than the formations he did back in the Freedom Sect.

Aien came to see him and asked how long it would take, which Rean had to ponder to answer. "Hmm...the energy from the crystal is very mixed, so I have to work around it so that it doesn't affect the Triple Layer Formation's longevity. I'm not even halfway done."

Aien didn't mind. "It's fine. I was just curious. Still, I can see that you're using a lot of materials to build it. Are you really okay with that? They seem quite expensive."

Rean laughed in response. "Hahaha! Don't worry, don't worry. The Divine Stones I make with your Earth's Remnants can pay for all of that easily. Just trust me and wait in the village. I'll tell you when I'm done." Rean wasn't lying. Just Rank One or Rank Two Divine Stones could pay for all of that without a problem. It might even be considered overpaid.

Aien nodded after hearing that. "Alright then. If there's anything our village can help with, let me know."

Be it coincidence or not, Rean and Roan ended up spending a lot of time on their own tasks.

Two weeks later, Roan found out that he couldn't go any further while exploring the sea of stars. 'Is this... a barrier?'

That's correct. In the sea of stars in his mind, Roan could see something that looked like a barrier. He tried to move to the stars on the sides, crossing large distances. However, it was pointless. That barrier seemed to be covering the entire sea of stars in his mind. The further to the side he went, the more he believed that to be the case.

However, the problem was that Roan could see even more stars behind that barrier. He could tell that they were also sending their Starlight down to the Realm of Gods. That being said, it should be able to connect to them as well.

Roan didn't know if that barrier was dangerous or not. Even if it wasn't, if it had the power to pull him away from the sea of stars in his mind, he would have to restart his journey all over again. He didn't touch the barrier until now exactly because of that. However, he couldn't simply resign to his fate and not try it out. 'Fuck it. If I don't try, I won't even know.'

With that, Roan finally approached the barrier in front and tried to touch it. Fortunately for him, nothing happened. But then again, he couldn't pass through it. He looked at the stars on the other side and tried to will his approach. Unfortunately, it was useless. His Dark Starlight attempted to bring him close to those stars, but it slammed on the barrier every single time.

Roan pondered over it for a bit before turning around and sighing. 'Seems like this is it. I'll have to make do with the stars on this side.'

However, just as he was about to leave, he felt a ripple on his own Dark Starlight. 'Hmm?' Roan focused on his Dark Starlight and could somewhat feel that it seemed to be attracted by something...something on the other side! 'What is it?'

Roan focused on that attraction. He tried to differentiate between the nigh countless Starlight Energies and find that specific one that his own Dark Starlight wanted. Unfortunately for him, because he wasn't connected to it yet, it was simply impossible to tell which star it was.

However, he didn't give up. He then touched the barrier once again when suddenly, dark energy began to accumulate in his hand. It wasn't Dark Element, though. 'You want that star, don't you? Then you better open the path for me!' Yes, Roan was using his own Dark Starlight to open a hole through the barrier!