Lucy and Lucius were still regular humans, but they were really close to becoming High Humans. Darian chose to hold off on telling them the more dangerous stuff for now. It was better if the two of them focused on the trial without too much pressure.
That’s why Rhea stayed hidden from them. Darian taught Leander and Veyle the summoner support techniques he’d learned in that other universe.
It worked perfectly. Now, Darian had made it a priority to collect every single technique once he went back to that place. In the end, both spirits could stay hidden inside their summoner’s body, and only come out when needed.
Their rune could hold onto both black and white power, letting them form a physical ’body’ using that power when the time was right.
That entire clan—now just five people—started eating like kings, all amazed by how good Lucius was in the kitchen. Well, almost all of them. A quiet girl ate slowly and without much expression.
Darian explained that even when they had next to nothing, back when they lived with his mom, Lucius was already a miracle worker in the kitchen. Now, with all the resources he wanted, the sky was the limit.
The only problem? His weird taste...
He cooked for everyone, but he didn’t even like the food he made. In the end, he’d always make himself something separate. It was always some weird dish—either super bitter or ridiculously spicy—but he loved it.
When Lucius finally sat down to eat his own food, that peculiar smell started spreading faintly. Darian and Lucy had already given up trying to understand it. They’d thrown up more than once just trying to eat what he did.
At that moment, Leander, Harper, and Matteo all turned toward Veyle automatically.
They saw her eyes sparkle the moment she smelled it.
"Oh? There’s actually someone just as weird as her?" Matteo muttered.
Lucius looked confused and glanced at her, noticing how she quickly looked away and pretended nothing happened.
Lucy let out a light laugh, "Well, well, come here..."
She cheerfully pulled Veyle over and sat her down next to her brother, serving her the same plate.
Everyone watched as Veyle started eating. Then her eyes lit up. It was the best thing she’d eaten in a long time.
Yeah, she was definitely weird... but now, they’d found someone who matched her.
Well, he was the brother of someone even stranger, so it kind of made sense. Everyone else thought the exact same thing at the same time.
The next day, a soldier came by to visit Darian’s house. He handed Darian several spatial rings.
"Inside are all the artifacts and resources that were kept by the clan," he said politely, handing over a golden emblem that shimmered brightly. "This is the official emblem of an Empire-recognized clan. With it, you can access places regular people can’t, contact higher-ups, and more."
"Your clan is ranked C-D. Whenever missions in those tiers show up, you’ll be notified through the emblem. You can go to the altar, check out all the info, and discuss with others which group should go. For anything else clan-related, you can visit the building and ask."
Darian nodded. "About the Divine Protection Universe... I’ve been gone for months..."
"Yes. The rookie trial day is when our Empire is allowed to send people. You’re entitled to join that group as well," the soldier replied calmly.
"And my siblings? They were under Rhea’s guidance. Do they stay with us?"
The soldier nodded. "That was tied to her role as a recruiter, not the clan itself. If your clan has someone who wants to take over that job, the transfer can be done easily."
Darian thanked him, and the soldier left.
Everyone was waiting in the living room, and he repeated everything he’d just heard.
"I want that job," Harper said right away. "I want to do what Miss Rhea did. I’ll go out and find promising kids to take her place."
Everyone nodded, though a bit concerned. She wasn’t sweet or gentle like Rhea. She was strict and demanding. A totally different approach... but thinking about it, the clan needed people with that kind of backbone now. Surviving her would already be a solid entrance test.
"Darian, do you want to lead the clan?" Leander asked seriously.
Darian looked at him and shook his head. "I think it’d take me centuries to learn everything, and I’m not great with bureaucracy... If I could, I’d rather focus on other stuff."
"Perfect," Leander said casually. "I never really liked going out on missions. I’m more into researching ways to use artifacts than training my own strength. For me, going to that training universe was always about exploring alien worlds, not powering up. Anyway, let me handle this side of things."
Everyone listened, surprised. He was the group’s leader. If he wanted to fully take on that responsibility, it meant he wouldn’t be joining them on missions anymore.
"Perfect. You can be the L—"
"No, I want to be the vice-leader. You’ll still be the leader," Leander cut Darian off calmly. "You met the leader of the biggest clan in the Empire, right? Let’s do the same thing. I’ll handle everything you don’t want to. That way, you can go on missions and handle the rest."
Darian looked confused at first, but then took a deep breath and understood. If he really wanted to do big things, he’d eventually draw a lot of attention. Having the clan leader in the spotlight would bring a lot of benefits.
He sighed—there was no running from it. Meru told him to stay as low-key as possible... he’d try to keep to the shadows for as long as he could, but eventually, it’d be impossible.
During that time, Lucius and Lucy were trained personally by Harper, Matteo, and Veyle. Both of them were way more receptive to combat training than Darian ever was.
Harper was confident when she said, "These two could easily become Mystics or Fighters. They’re both quick and have great reflexes. At the same time, they think clearly and strategically in the middle of battle. They’re rough diamonds."
In the end, it would all depend on their blessing... and that was gonna be a problem.
According to Meru, the two of them wouldn’t be able to use any pre-existing blessing. They’d be forced to develop something completely new, because of the mutant spirit root Darian gave them.
After a long training session, Darian had to break the news to them. But instead of worry, their eyes just lit up when they heard it.
"You don’t use something created either, right?" Lucius asked calmly.
There was no point lying—those two would know instantly if he did.
"As for the academy blessings, yeah, mine don’t come from there. But still, part of my powers were created by someone else. Your situation is different. Anyway, I’ve got a foundation to help you. Once you’re at the academy, I can explain more."
According to what his master had told him, their root had absorbed part of the power from his rings. So they could end up developing some weird variation connected to that.
They already had a full spirit root thanks to their ancestral awakening. So the entrance test was basically pointless. Still, when asked, both said they wanted to take the test with the normal awakened ones—just like Darian did. They could’ve skipped it, but they wanted to test themselves.
Darian asked Leander about it, and unlike him—whose ancestral nature was unknown—those two would be given a clear goal: just survive in the place for one hour.
When they heard that, the twins’ eyes widened.
"Wait, survive? Lucius and I were gonna bet on who’d kill more," Lucy said, totally baffled.
"Kill the Risen as just souls? That’s impossible. No one in the test can even take a direct hit from them. You two, without a blessing, without weapons or experience, would drop in seconds," Leander replied, not hesitating for a second.
As soon as he said that, the twins turned to Darian at the same time.
Yeah, Darian had casually mentioned that he killed a bunch of enemies during the test, and that it was super dangerous.
Seeing their "Challenge accepted" look, Darian broke into a cold sweat. They were definitely gonna try to kill Risen without hesitation—and it was his fault, for running his mouth.
Shortly after that, Harper was officially recognized as an Empire recruiter. So she became responsible for the twins, who would stay in the clan after coming back.
Leander was also officially listed as the vice-leader of the new clan. The name changed too: now it was called Shadows of Heaven.
It was a unanimous decision from Rhea and the others. The name came from Darian’s power, which looked like it created either holy or evil shadows. Since everyone was gonna follow the path alongside him, it felt like the perfect choice.
Two days before the test, someone unexpected showed up at Darian’s door. And with their arrival, everyone felt it—something bad had happened.