Clover reminisced as he was escorted into the main hall.
One hundred years...
It had been one hundred years since Clover had lost his parents on that fateful day. But to Clover, it was like it had happened yesterday.
Throughout these hundred years, Clover had been focused on raising his sisters, as that was the only way he could numb himself from the pain.
It was the only thing that could distract Clover from having thoughts of revenge.
Clover did not hate his clansmen for exiling him or for labeling him with the title of a traitor who had caused the deaths of his parents.
As far as Clover was concerned, this title was very apt and completely justified. The only person Clover blamed for his parent's death was himself... that and the ghouls who had attacked them on that day.
Still, although Clover felt responsible for his parents' death, it was not to the extent that he wished to die or something like that. The only thing clover felt was endless rage.
For a hundred years, this rage had accompanied him throughout his life and as he raised his sisters. The thing clover needed right now was an outlet for his rage, and something told him that he would be getting the opportunity to do so very soon.
With that feeling in his heart, Clover finally arrived at the main hall of the lighthouse, also known as [The Break Room].
...
The Universe Immortal Clan is a very small clan.
Each member of the Universe Immortal Clan is born with an inexhaustible lifespan... meaning that their lifespan will never run out. At the same time, it was very hard for the universe immortals to bear children.
In the entire universe immortal clan, it was very rare for a single family to give birth to a child in ten thousand years.
Cases like clover where his parents had three children could be said to be unexpected miracles. This is why the age of the universe immortals was actually an obscure concept.
The only way to determine seniority in the clan was through power and lifespan alone.
Let me explain...
The Universe Immortal Clan had a unique power system that is not seen or practiced anywhere else in the universe. This is because this system can only work for Universe Immortals.
The power of the Universe Immortals is closely tied to their lifespan.
Some people might ask, as immortals do, they still have a lifespan.
The answer to this is yes!
The Universe Immortal Clan is a clan of immortals with an inexhaustible lifespan. This means that the lifespan of the Universe Immortals will never run out, not that they do not have it in the first place.
When a Universe Immortal is born, they are also born with a naturally determined lifespan. The lifespan of every universe immortal is different.
Some Universe Immortals are born with ten thousand years of lifespan just from birth, while others can be born with hundreds of thousands of years of lifespan.
The way a lifespan is determined upon birth is not known. But the one thing that is common is that whether a Universe Immortal had ten thousand years of lifespan or a hundred years of lifespan, they can live forever.
Confusing isn't it?
If a Universe Immortal can live forever regardless of their lifespan, what then is the use of having a lifespan.
Well, this is where things get interesting.
There is naturally a significance to a universe immortal lifespan.
Regardless of the lifespan, apart from being able to live forever, the lifespan of the Universe Immortal cannot decrease no matter what, neither can it increase unless for certain circumstances.
As for the main use of a Universe Immortal's lifespan, it was used in determining battle power.
A Universe Immortal's lifespan is directly connected to how powerful they are.
During battle, the energy that a Universe Immortal uses to fight is not elemental energy, neither is its physical power. Instead of those common types of energy that are common in the universe, what the universe immortals used to fight is actually their lifespan.
Basically, during battle, the Universe Immortals burn their own lives to fight.
This is the use of a Universe Immortal's lifespan.
The longer a Universe Immortal's lifespan is, the stronger they are. This is why the way to determine seniority among the Universe Immortals is by judging their lifespan.
The longer a Universe Immortal's lifespan is, the stronger they are, and generally, the older they are. Also, after consuming their lifespan, Universe Immortal will eventually die. That is the only way they can die apart from being killed. At the same time, even after burning their lifespan in battle, after the battle ends, with a little time to recuperate, their lifespan will go back to its original value.
In the whole Universe Immortal Clan, the least lifespan that they are born with is ten thousand years of lifespan.
Anybody born with ten thousand years of lifespan is generally the weakest member of the clan. But don't be mistaken. This did not mean that they were weak outside the clan. This is only in comparison to other Universe Immortals.
Outside in the universe, a Universe Immortal with ten thousand years of lifespan is an absolute overlord and nobody dares to slight them.
The power gotten from burning one's own life is more than what anybody can imagine.
This is but one of the reasons why the Universe Immortal Clan is feared in the entire universe despite their numbers being small. Even the weakest Universe Immortal at birth has the power to destroy a small planet.
Thankfully, soon after birth, baby universe immortal always goes into hibernation to consolidate the vast amount of power in their bodies and they will not wake up for many years provided that nothing serious disturbs them.
If this were not the case, there would be countless cases of recently born universe immortals blowing up planets due to their inability to control the power they were born with.
It should also be noted that although the lifespan of a Universe Immortal is fixed at birth, this did not mean that there were no ways to increase it.
One of the ways for a Universe Immortal to increase his lifespan is to practice the personal [Life Cultivation Art] of the Universe Immortal Clan.
This [Life Cultivation Art] was created tailor-made for the Universe Immortals, and it is the only way for them to increase their strength.
The [Life Cultivation Art] functions by converting the essence and vitality of all things in the universe in order to increase the lifespan of the Universe Immortals, thereby increasing their strength at the same time.
In a way, this [Life Cultivation Art] of the Universe Immortal Clan is a tad bit demonic. This is because the fastest way to use [Life Cultivation Art] to increase their strength is to kill and plunder the life of other living beings.
With such a demonic and evil art, all the Universe Immortal Clan has to do is to continuously slaughter all life in the universe and they would be able to grow stronger beyond compare. Thankfully, there was another alternative.
Apart from using the lives of living beings, the [Life Cultivation Art] can also take in the natural energies of the universe and use them to increase the lifespan of the Universe Immortals, only it would be much slower.
With there was no need for the Universe Immortals to turn into villains just to grow stronger.
Apart from the [Life Cultivation Art], there was one other way for the Universe Immortals to increase their lifespans. This was is actually similar to the method of the [Life Cultivation Art] and in truth, the life cultivation art was actually developed through this other method.
The second method to increase the lifespan of the Universe Immortals is by using the number one treasure of the Universe Immortal Clan... [The Obelisk]!
[The Obelisk] is a connate universal treasure that was born naturally in the universe. It could be said to have been born due to the special nature of [The Observatory].
The main function of [The Obelisk] was that it could be used to absorb and store vitality and life.
Whether it was the life of a person, plant, or any living being or even the life of a planet or star... [The Obelisk] can be used to absorb and store it.
In a simple example, [The Obelisk] is like a huge battery that can be used to store electricity only in this case, what [The Obelisk] stores are not only electricity but life itself. At the same time, [The Obelisk] can be used to safely transfer all the stored energy to others without any side effects.
From all this, it can be seen why [The Obelisk] is the most important treasure of the Universe Immortal Clan. It is by imitating its functions that the Universe Immortal Clan was able to create the [Life Cultivation Art]. At the same time, through the help of [The Obelisk], the Universe Immortal Clan had been able to ensure that the future of their race is unchallenged.
Now that [The Obelisk] has gone missing and its guardians dead, it can be imagined how much of a loss it was to the universe immortals.
Clover, as the one who was responsible for the loss of [The Obelisk], is basically the greatest sinner and the most heinous criminal in the history of the clan.
Naturally, Clover had to face serious punishment for his crime.
Because Clover had been young, his punishment had been delayed. But now it was time to face the punishment for his crime.
Inside the [Break Room], Clover was standing right in the middle of a narrow circular platform. Much like the witness stand in a courtroom, the circular platform was placed at the center of the entire grand hall. Surrounding it were high stands arranged in concentric circles, with the inner stands being lower than the outer ones.The [Break Room] was the place where all trials in the Universe Immortal Clan were held. There not many times where the [Break Room] had the chance to be used in the past. Because of how small the Universe Immortal Clan was and how few members there were in the clan, all the Universe Immortals were very tightly united.There were not many cases that were serious enough to deserve a trial in the [Break Room]. Clover's trial was the first in more than a thousand years.For such a serious case concerning the number one treasure of the Universe Immortal Clan, it was natural that it would be held in the [Break Room].On normal days, t
Clover was facing trial before the eyes of every living being in The Observatory.Before thousands of universe immortals and countless other living creatures that inhabit The Observatory, Clover was going to be sentenced.In a corner of the observatory, on a small modified asteroid, Clover's sisters, Arya and Verna looked up at the sky towards their big brother who was standing trial and they could not help but sob.Today, when they had woken Clover up and told him that he was asked to go to the lighthouse, the sisters at that time already had a feeling this was what was going to happen.Ever since the sisters, Arya, and Verna were old enough to understand a little of how the world worked, they had already understood that their brother who had taken care of them and loved them in the place of their parents was basically a convicted felon waiting for his sentence to be passed out.Throughout their childhood, the sisters had had to deal with others l
The trial continued...The elder immortal who had been speaking finally reached the final point of his speech. He immediately started to announce Clover's sentence."In consideration of various events leading to the loss of the Obelisk and the deaths of Casimir and Pricilla Newell, Clover Newell has been pardoned and would be exempted from having his soul and life force extracted from him.""But... although Clover Newell has been pardoned, a crime cannot go unpunished. In order to atone for his crimes, Clover Newell will hereby be exiled from this realm never to step foot inside ever again until such a time comes when he is able to find and retrieve the obelisk and return it to its rightful place.""This is the final verdict and it will become effective immediately starting down."Following those words, the large bronze bell... Big Ben... rang loudly once more.Once again, the entire observatory was thrown into an uproar.Every living
"Big sis Ursula... what are you doing here?""What did you mean by what you said?"Why are you preventing us from going to save big brother?"Verna immediately shot off a torrent of questions at the lady who had appeared in the garden.This lady had a head full of golden hair that flowed beautifully like a clear stream down a brook. Her face was angular and had sharp contours that were usually found in a man giving her a handsome and valiant look.Her eyes were a clear blue, and they sparkled like stars, much like how the sister's eyes did.This lady looked to be in her late teens and although her face was not cold, there was a certain dignified aura about her that gave her a confident look. Standing at the entrance of the garden, this lady exuded a comfortable feeling that would make one relax at the mere sight of her.Unfortunately, the sisters were not in the right mood to relax. Their big brother had just been given an unfair sent
Verna collected the letter from Ursula, and both she and Arya read it together. At the first glance, the twins were able to confirm that it was indeed their big brother Clover who had written this letter.The handwriting on the letter was definitely his own, and there were no signs of forgery. Aside from that, the twins were also able to recognize the specific coded words that one three of them used when communicating with each other.These coded words had been developed using a specific series of weirdly sounding words that the sisters uttered when they had still been babies. At first, it had only been a prank that Clover had come up with to tease his sisters, but in the end; it developed into a secret code the siblings used to communicate in secret.There was nobody other than the three of them who should be aware of what these weird words meant. Others would simply take it as words of endearment the siblings used to show their love, much like how a boy may ca
Click!With a clear clicking sound, Ursula locked the large crystal gate of the Newell residence on the small asteroid.On both sides of Ursula were the twins, and they each had a look of reluctance on their faces as they started at the locked gate.Arya and Verna had spent all their lives growing up in this small residence with their big brother, Clover, and it was the only place that they had a close connection to. Everywhere else in the small observatory was alien and completely foreign to them. It was natural that they would be reluctant to leave this place to start living somewhere else. Especially when their brother would not be there with them.But thinking about the letter Clover had left for them and his instructions that were secretly written inside, the twins managed to perk up and they became resolute.Thinking of the future, Arya and Verna were no longer as reluctant to leave as before. Instead, they started to look forward to their ne
The depths of space were filled with boundless darkness, with not a single strain of light in sight. It was barren and desolate and treacherous, and it could twist the minds of men and women alike.Traveling in space was just like walking on a tightrope high in the air, with a pool filled with alligators below and a tree of thorns above.With a single misstep, one could lose their footing and, along with it, their life.The universe was never friendly to anybody as it sort out different ways to kill a man and if it can't, break them! Nobody could ever predict what they would meet when they ventured into space and sought to tour the universe.This was how it was for Clover...After being exiled from his home, Clover was escorted to the very edge of the observatory where the space between this upper realm was the thinnest. There, it would be easier for somebody to break through and venture beyond the realm.Of course, there were much better an
It has been a long time since Clover started his journey into the universe, and he had completely lost any sense of time or direction he used to have. In this desolate and barren place... all of that could be thrown out the window because it was completely useless.In the void of space between realms, all sense of time and direction completely lost their meaning.Most people who find themselves outside here for one reason or the other did not lose their lives because of the dangers that resided here. This place is originally barren in the first place so there was not actually much danger to find here.No, the reason why most people lost their lives after venturing into the void between realms is that they were totally lost.With no way to tell where they were headed, most people simply wandered the barren void between realms until they either starved to death or, by a stroke of bad luck, ran into a realm bubble and was obliterated from existence.T