Death... and me

Soul Gem already expected that question. "That's Hyeonmu. He is by far the strongest existence in this Universe. Even Divinity Realm experts are nothing but ants in his eyes. He is also the being that holds the Realm of Gods on the back of his shell."

"Holds the Realm of Gods?!" Everyone felt amazed by those worlds. Just how big was the Realm of Gods? To think that a living being was big enough to hold it on its back. "How can such a thing even exist?!"

Soul Gem shook his head. "The only one who could probably answer this question is Sister Orb. Hyeonmu is an existence older than any other living being in this Universe."

Sister Orb immediately spoke. [Don't even try it. As I mentioned, my memories are sealed. It was as shocking for me as it was for all of you when I saw that monster. In my vision at the moment, it was like it was the first time I saw it. Of course, I agree that my sealed memories probably know about that thing's origin since nothing in this Universe is older than myself.]

No one was surprised by Sister Orb's words since they knew about her memories already.

"What do you know about it?" Roan asked Soul Gem.

Soul Gem nodded and began to speak. "As I mentioned, it holds the Realm of Gods on its back. To be honest, I'm quite surprised you haven't found out about it already. Most of the Divinity Realm experts of the Realm of Gods know about him."

He continued. "Do you remember when I said that everyone wants to find the secret to surpass the Divinity Realm? How could they know if there is a higher realm than Divinity without proof? You could say that Hyeonmu is one of the reasons why everyone believes it is possible. It is not the only one, but you understand what I mean."

"What is your relationship with it?" Rean asked as well. "It seemed to know you."

"It does," Soul Gem answered. "Back then, I tried to request senior Hyeonmu's help to stop the Extinction Sphere. However, he refused. Even the threat of his own death was not enough to make him move. However, it didn't mean he wanted to die. When I visited him one last time before putting my other plan in action, he said he wasn't going to help but that he was looking forward to me achieving success."

"From the looks of it, there has been some kind of ancient agreement that impedes him from intervening in anything in the Universe. Don't ask me what kind of agreement this is. He had never spoken about it," Soul Gem concluded.

Soul Gem then looked at Roan. "Still, I don't understand how he answered your questions, especially after you asked it without a hint of respect. Senior Hyeonmu is known for his extremely short temperament. Of course, since he did, things have become a lot easier for all of you."

"Is he the one responsible for the COntinental Barriers?" Kentucky asked.

"Yes," Soul Gem nodded once again. "The Continental Barrier isn't exactly something senior Hyeonmu keeps up on purpose. It seems like it wasn't any secret, so he explained to me in the past. His own core had way too much energy, so he had to constantly release it so that his body wouldn't be harmed. This is the origin of the Continental Barriers. His Energy Release is basically a natural process to him."

Everyone felt even more shocked about that monster. "Then... why did he stop?"

Roan immediately remembered something. "From what we know, it stopped right before the three powers of the Realm of Gods invaded the Devil's Territories. Could it be..."

Soul Gem understood where Roan was coming from. "Most likely. Only senior Hyeonmu could stop his own release of energy. For him to have done that, the Divinity Realm experts of the Realm of Gods definitely reached some other kind of agreement with him. However, it will eventually return, although I believe a being of his power should have no issues in keeping the energy at bay for a few hundred years."

"I can't even imagine how terrifying the price was to convince that thing to stop the Continental Barrier," Rean wondered. Was there anything in this Universe that Hyeonmu would need others to acquire? He doesn't know.

"Alright then, that's where we part. I need to go to sleep before my soul gets too damaged. If nothing too urgent happens, don't wake me up," he said as his projection disappeared inside the Soul Gem Orb.

This was a journey filled with danger. However, the harvest was definitely not bad.

*Dumdumdumdumdum...*

"Ah!" Suddenly, Rean felt something. He looked at his hands as it was pulsating nonstop. He was still holding the piece of Hyeonmu's shell! "How come that thing didn't take it back?"

Everyone noticed that the shell wasn't completely black anymore. Instead, it released vibrant colored light of all colors. The power behind the shell was overwhelming. However, it was also very stable, completely different from the Continental Barrier everyone remembers. "What's the meaning of this?"

Rean shook his head. "I don't know. However, I'm sure this will have some incredible uses. I'll take a look at it another time." Rean then threw it into the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm. He refused to believe Hyeonmu simply forgot that, especially considering the shell's change.

"So, there are another two fragment locations. How many do we have information about?" Rean immediately changed the topic to the most important issue.

"Thirteen," Roan answered. "Seven in the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm. One in our Father's hand in the Temporal Path. That leaves another six Fragments we haven't acquired yet."

Sister Orb agreed with him. [Indeed. Gabriel has one. Another one is in the Azum Dimensional Realm, which is also in the Heavens Realm. One is inside the Underworld Relic. Now we know there are still two in the Realm of Gods.]

The question now was about where to find the last one.