Bali looked at Varian without any expression. The last time he saw him, they parted on okay terms.

Back then, Bali was slightly pissed off that Varian took him on a mission to Pluto despite being only a level 6. And ended up nearly killing everyone.

He thought after such a near-death experience, Varian would be careful and retreat.

But Varian went ahead and destroyed the Gamma expo, killed Charles in the Ruins, massacred Abyssal genius, killed a fucking Sovereign and took the veteran level 9s, and oversaw the slaughter of tens of millions of Abyssals.

Bali rubbed his forehead as he felt a huge headache regarding the young man in front of him.

Looking at Varian's smile, his lips twitched and he asked. "Why do you always keep courting death?"

Varian blinked twice at him, seemingly confused if what he heard was right. Then, he took a seat in front of Bali and gave an innocent smile. "I don't. I just take the decisions I have to."

He was speaking the truth. Though, it wasn't like the situations were pushing themselves onto Varian. Not anymore.

It was him taking the initiative in many cases.

He decided to help Enigma. No one forced him. The same could be said for everything else he did afterward.

Bali tapped the table with his knuckles as he tilted his head and looked at Varian with a deep gaze.

If it was anyone else, they'd have been flustered to be under the gaze of a Sovereign.

But Varian acted like it was nothing and kept a relaxed smile.

"Aren't you worried about your safety, meeting me here instead of the Ghost ship?" Bali finally asked.

Varian was, well, pretty defensive the last time he saw him. According to the level 9s, Varian first kept them in some special room they couldn't break out of.

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Bali expected to meet Varian in one such room. But here he was. If Bali turned hostile against Varian, he would surely be in trouble.

"Aren't you here to take care of my safety?" Varian asked with a smile.

Bali paused for a moment before he burst out laughing. "You changed."

It wasn't just his decision to be in the open. Bali also saw a kind of maturity and heaviness Varian previously didn't have. But at the same time, Varian also seemed carefree and bright.

Bali didn't really understand what was what. He thought after experiencing the dark things that he did, Varian would mature, but also grow more solemn. But it seemed like Varian was satisfied with life in general.

If the Varian before was a cautious, clever and relatively gloomy young man, the one in front of him now was someone who was very happy and very mature.

"I envy you," Bali finally said.

"For what?"

"Other than for the current crisis, you seem genuinely happy. Is it alright if I punch you?"

"Don't do that. I can beat you once I reach peak level 9 though."

""

"Are you sure?"

"See it for yourself." Seven auras shot out from Varian and locked onto Bali.

Even though Bali could simply shrug off these auras with his current strength, he was currently too shocked to do even that.

"Son of a"

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"Language, Sovereign," Varian smirked and withdrew his aura.

"Language, my ass. I used to be a gangster," Bali shook his head and looked at Varian in disbelief. "You reached level 8 in this many paths. You went from level 6 to level 8 in what? A month? A month and a half? Boy, are you playing life in easy mode?"

"It's Hell Mode, actually. But the rewards are nice if I survive."

"Haa~" Bali sighed.

He was feeling great after advancing to Sovereign state. But now, he felt depressed.

Something he worked for all his life would soon be achieved by someone 1/5th his age.

Varian saw Bali slumping into his chair like a deflated Balloon and realized the new Sovereign was depressed.

To be honest, Varian was grateful to Bali for his timely appearance. If not for him, Mars was a goner.

If that happened, Varian would have a heavyweight in his heart for causing so many deaths.

So, he decided to cheer Bali up.

"Don't you want to know why I'm happy?" Varian asked with a mysterious expression.

Bali looked up at him and nodded stiffly.

"Get two awesome, beautiful, and great girlfriends!" Varian said with a smug expression.

Bali's interest was piqued and he adjusted his position on the chair. "Sarah and Enigma?"

Varian nodded, then shook his head. "Sarah and Sia."

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Then, he showed him the vacation pics and started to brag.

From Sarah's kindness to her consideration, from Sia's wonderful cooking to her overprotectiveness and the strong bonds between each of them.

It's a dream come true for any guy to have lovers who loved him with all their hearts, even to the extent of allowing him to be with their best friend.

"We had a short vacation, but I really felt a load off my chest after that. And now, with this Mars crisis going on, I'm glad to have Sia by my side. Just seeing her, my heart is at peace." Varian said with a smile and looked at Bali.

With this, Bali should come out of his depression, right?

But

"Arghhh." Bali slumped even more in the chair and was about to slip down this time.

His face was grey and it looked like he was abandoned by the world.

"Woah, Woah, what happened, Bali?" Varian asked in worry.

"II never had a girlfriend and you reminded me of my single life." Bali glared at Varian.

"The fuck. You really suck at relationships if you didn't have a single lover in nearly a century." Varian's words pierced Bali's chest like an arrow.

"I was focused on growing stronger all my life. Unlike a certain brat, chasing after girls all day."

"But I didn't? It's Sarah and Sia who chased me." Varian said with an innocent expression.

Bali couldn't take it anymore and slammed the desk. "You little bastard! If you came here to make me mad, congratulations! I'm so pissed off I can fight Mirage Queen again even though I'm fucking injured!"

"Great!" Varian clapped. "We're gonna do that."

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"Wait, what?" Bali blinked in confusion. "That's just a figure of speech."

"Get on board. We're going to Mirage Abyss." Varian snapped his fingers and Ghost Ship appeared in the room.

"Son of a"