In an Abyss, a Sovereign was seated in a guest room of the Abyss King's castle.
Abyss servants served him food and drinks, but he refused and chased them away.
After sensing that the room was completely isolated, he used an illusion formation to further prevent prying.
Then, he took out a white rectangular slate. It was like a white tile polished to perfection.
However, no one would even think this was an artifact.
Yes, it was not one of the six known artifacts, but a brand new seventh!
When he was venturing in his native planet's ruins, he found this thing.
To be honest, he was first ecstatic, but then confused. Why?
Because this artifact, the so called Apomi Slate only gave knowledge on one subject.
And to unlock that knowledge, he had to pay the price of countless aura crystals. But when he finally found out the information, it was all worth it.
The six artifacts were made by devas and were used by Sovereigns to defend their planets.
But!
These six artifacts were part and parcel of the so-called 'Deva legacy'.
The Heaven's Will was something like a guardian will of the Deva civilization. Its origins were in the Ruins.
If one collected the six artifacts, they'd be granted the legacy of Devas and by extension, get a boost in strength.
How big?
The Sovereign him would break the barrier and reach the legendary Celestial Rank.
There's also a good chance that he'd then be stronger than Abyss Emperor himself.
"Sir, Your majesty is about to visit you." The maids informed, and he promptly stored away his Apomi State and dispelled the formation.
'If I can kill Irene, then I'd have 3 artifacts, not counting the apomi slate.' He mused.
He originally had one. After the pluto war, he got another. And now, it was finally time to get the third.
Did he think it was a risk? Yes!
What he was doing was essentially weaken humans and strengthen Abyssals in the short run.
His interference in pluto that caused death of Pluto Sovereign was thankfully resolved due to Ares advancing to Sovereign path.
If not, then Neptune would've gone down.
From what he learnt, Abyss Emperor would arrive to Solar System if the abyssals weren't making progress.
It could happen at any minute and he knew they'd be doomed if he did.
So, despite the huge amount of lives, he decided he'd do what he must to advance to Celestial Ranks.
In a pleasant surprised, he noticed his progress accelerated last year. It was like a special bond was formed between him, the three artifacts and the heaven's will.
Something was telling him that if he got more artifacts, then even if he didn't reach the Celestial Rank before the legacy, he'd be strong enough to kill Abyss Kings and Queens in their own territories.
Thus, he decided to gather the other three artifacts.
Rather than wait for the Abyss Emperor to destroy the entire human race, he was willing to let a good part of them die and then provide them with absolute security.
So, he 'betrayed' humanity and worked with abyssals. They promised him the Solar System after taking what they wanted and emphasized they'd leave humans alone.
He wouldn't believe that. But he kept playing his part.
When he got his hands on the six artifacts, the abyssals would meet their end.
Till then, losses would pile up. Sometimes, due to himself.
At times, he asked himself 'Why didn't I just share the knowledge with other Sovereigns?'
Well, he wanted to be THE ONE!
He couldn't tolerate imagining anyone else.
Besides, if other Sovereigns agreed to make someone else a Celestial Ranker, then what should he do?
He'd have to live under the fear of being killed by the Celestial Ranker everyday.
There was also one more possibility. The Sovereigns themselves would know that if they killed others and got the six artifacts, they could easily wipe out the abyssals.
That'd mean they'd throw caution to wind and devolve into a civil war. The fundamental reason Sovereigns didn't fight among each other was the abyssal threat.
With that gone, a civil war would surely erupt and he wasn't sure of winning.
'That's why, I'll walk this path, treacherous or not. And I will reach the Celestial Rank!' He vowed to himself.
'After the Sovereigns fall, we'll lose a few planets and billions of lives, but from then on, there will be no more abyssals. No more Abyss Emperor.' It was his justification.
And now, he needed to justify himself before killing Irene Nial.
Through his extraordinary perception, he could sense the teleportation formation in the castle's underground chamber.
Teleportation formation that would enable him to reach Uranus Abyss.
According to Despair Queen, Irene Nial was fighting very close to the Uranus Abyss.
So, he just needed to go there and wait till the barrier holding Irene breaks.
He'd wait patiently like a predator waiting for its prey and when a weakened and injured Irene appears, he'd attack her with all his strength, killing her in a single shot.
Of course, her artifact, Crystal Armor would make things difficult. Not only did it boost her strength considerably, it also did what a normal armor was supposed to do.
Defend her fiercely.
'My attack won't be able to break that armor. Not like I had to. But if I attack her at the right place and right force, she'll surely die.' He clasped his fingers and thought.
'I wonder how much her artifact would boost my progress rate.' Unknowingly, a smile crept on his face.
His smile suddenly disappeared and the next moment, the Abyss King entered his room.
"Sovereign Irene is almost there. You need to go."
The Human Sovereign nodded. "Don't do anything to my planet while I'm gone or you know what happens."
The Abyss King's face turned dark, but he simply snorted. "We're all following the Emperor's orders. You help us and we won't kill your sorry pests."
The Human Sovereign simply ignored him and reached a teleportation formation under the castle.
"We are waiting for the signal." Abyss King took out the alpha orb and said.
"1 minute…45 seconds…30 seconds…Huh?"
Suddenly, he exclaimed.
"What happened?" The Sovereign asked.
"Irene Nial is injured?!"