Chapter 725 - Daruun Congratulates Jack

"Thank you, Garlok…" Daruun sighed, looking back to the man on the ship.

Already turned around and waving goodbye, Garlok chuckled, "Thank Silas. Otherwise, I would be under contract and you'd be coughing up blood from my price alone…"

The moment the man reentered the ship, the thrusters at the ship's front turned slightly. After a moment of adjusting trajectory, the night-black ship rocketed away as quickly as it had arrived.

Daruun was left alone above his mand-crafted world. A sense of fulfillment and satisfaction washed over him. Finally, after millennia of patiently sticking to his plans and readjusting everything time and time again, Daruun had managed to accomplish his greatest, most-recent goal. The district leader smiled as he rushed through the turbulent energy surrounding the planet, which couldn't even tickle his six-star body.

"Dad!"

Although Oli was the first to notice the incoming cosmician, Skaryn was the first to shout to the man. "It's about time! We've already done all the hard work, so you can rest easy."

Chuckling, Daruun showed a tender smile at his long-lost son. Seeing Skaryn and Sterfen together again brought back many pleasant memories while seeing Tralbok and Halmut in their current conditions created new pleasant memories. Daruun stepped up and hugged Skaryn, getting a hug in return. "I'm glad you're finally back…"

"This means we can finally open Kartonia, right?" Skaryn asked, grinning like an overly-excited child.

With a nod, Daruun replied, "Yes… but I'll talk with Jack about that first. Unlike you, he managed to beat Duorda first-try."

"But he wouldn't have gotten past Halmut so easily in Glacier Keep without me…" argued Skaryn.

"And who unsealed you and set you up to ambush Halmut in the first place?" reasoned Daruun, getting a half-hearted chuckle from Skaryn and laughter from the others. "Without Jack, you would still be trapped in that seal, though your plan to escape it would've eventually worked. But it would've been far too late to stop Halmut and Gem, let alone save Kylon."

"Fair… I'll admit to that. I'm not sure I can thank Jack enough for that…" Skaryn humbly sighed, admitting to his greatest weakness.

Daruun smiled and shook his head. "Don't be mad. I'm glad you've retained your compassion after all this time. That's something many cosmicians loose throughout their long lives. And congratulations are in order! You're the first Kartonian to reach two-star!"

"I'm still unstable, so don't hold me to it just yet. But I'll admit, it was fun watching Halmut ruin himself with those stimulants. In a way, I have to thank him. Had he trained properly, he wouldn't have destroyed his potential and might've beaten me to the punch. So, thank you, Halmut!" Stomping on Halmut, Skaryn chuckled some more.

"Hmm… No wonder he always hid when I visited… But this makes sense now that the ISA's involvement is confirmed," Daruun sighed, overlooking the amputee dragon.

Oli laughed and added, "He had to be ISA, likely from the intelligence division. As a late four-star, killing him would've been much harder if he was from any other division."

"Late four-star, huh… Then you must be a median four-star, right?" Skaryn asked with a raised eyebrow. "Or were you good enough to take him out as an initial four-star?"

"Who said I'm a four-star?" Oli laughed some more, walking weakly and slowly toward Daruun. "Mind sending me back? I've got to--"

"We'll all go back," stated Daruun, surprising everyone. "I want to thank Jack personally, and I might as well meet the others. If we're opening Kartonia, Jack may want to celebrate with everyone back in Gilga. That would be a good moment to explain everything… And Oli, there's no need to tease them. They'll likely be working with you in the future."

As Oli laughed and Skaryn tried to pry more information out of him, Daruun telepathically contacted the man overseeing Glacier Keep. One second later, a spatial rift opened up for them all to see.

Showing no hesitation, Skaryn threw back his leg to launch Halmut through the rift with a painful kick. Sterfen, on the other hand, simply dragged his captive as Tralbok had no means of countering the countless deaths they could force upon him.

On the other side of the rift, everyone inside the waiting chamber was baffled at what was happening. The moment Oli followed the four contestants who had fled, they realized that something beyond any expectation was occurring. When Daruun walked through the rift, all of the cosmicians lost control of themselves.

"Th-that…" Wollice mumbled, unprepared to meet such a figure.

"Gramps!" Jack shouted, dashing toward Daruun. Everyone was further startled at the sight as Jack approached Daruun with a wide grin. "I need to talk with you! What is--"

"Congratulations, Jack!" Daruun yelled for all to hear. "You're the first true victor of Glacier Keep, something to be extremely proud of!"

"Yeah, but--"

"Why not celebrate?!" Daruun added, getting everyone to subconsciously cheer on the idea.

"Gramps, can't we--"

"Just talk?" Daruun chuckled, interrupting Jack yet again.

"YES!"

Only then did Jack realize that there was no more sound from the crowd. Looking around, Jack noticed that nearly everyone was frozen in place.

"Follow me." Daruun grinned and motioned as he led the way.

Jack moved to follow but was suddenly grabbed from behind. He didn't know what to think but soon let out a sigh of relief.

"You did it, Son!" Sterfen shouted, proudly embracing Jack. "You actually did it…"

Skaryn and Oli walked past the two of them, surprising Jack all the more. But Jack quickly adjusted and walked together with Sterfen to catch up with his second body at the rear. They now stood at the top of the raised platform and stared at the wall.

"Jack, go ahead and use your card. I've got something that you all will wish to see."

Doing as Daruun said, Jack came forward and took out his card. He walked toward the wall until a certain portion of the wall turned illusory. It was near the corner and only created a small opening, perfectly sized for Jack's card.