The slime became exhausted again as he fell to the ground. He sighed, "What should I even do now?"
A voice answered, "Haha! Come with me, and let's destroy the Fate Crystal!"
He stood up and checked his surroundings. There was the Love Crystal! It was glowing brightly.
His eyes widened as he asked, "Is my love now more powerful than that person's earlier? Are you going to help me?"
The Love Crystal laughed as it replied, "No! I just wanted manpower to destroy the Fate Crystal, so join my side! You can even see your Ocean if you destroy Fate!"
He asked, "Definitely! I am coming, but can I truly revive her?"
"Of course! All you have to do is join us and destroy Fate! Just two easy steps, right?" the Love Crystal replied.
Another voice echoed, "Don't trust the Love Crystal! Join me—I can guarantee that you can revive her."
His gaze shifted as he saw a purple-colored crystal floating above, but suddenly a vague figure flew in and spoke, "Slime, join me, Lucan! Please, I beg you."
The three fought among themselves to decide who would recruit the slime.
The slime opened his eyes as he realized all of this was a dream. He hit the ground hard. "Hmph! Just a dream. So no one's going to help me?"
He waited for some voice to answer him, as in his dream, but even after waiting for hours, nothing came. However, he noticed something odd.
His lifespan was decreasing! His heart sank as he spoke, "Life Crystal? Why is my lifespan decreasing? I am within your range!"
But nobody replied to him. He started to feel hopeless; his eyes turned red as tears fell from them.
He cried continuously, feeling dejected. He was now like a random stone on the side of the street.
Nobody cared about him. He said, "I at least hoped that now I could refine the Crystal of Desperation! Sigh."
But nothing happened. His mind started to go blank; he felt how worthless he was, as nobody even cared to notice him.
He wiped away his tears and gazed at the stars above. In his mind, a beautiful girl walked in front of him with her hands tied behind her back.
It was her—his Ocean! Her voice gave him a strange, warm sensation.
She spoke, "You! Do you really want to meet this Ocean? Hehe!"
He replied, "Yes! Please come back to life. I will do anything—I just want you to be alive again!"
She smiled at him gently as she said, "I am actually not your Ocean, but a will left behind by her. It was to find out your decision on whether you wanted to meet me or not!"
He replied, "So, can you help me revive her?"
She replied, "Hehe! Of course. Answer me: do you love me or not?"
He immediately responded, "Yes! Otherwise, why would I want to revive and meet you again? I really love you! You are deep in my heart, even more than myself!"
She started to laugh as her figure vanished, but a voice spoke, "If you think of reviving her, forget it! Because there is no 'her.' I am actually a member of the Organization!
We knew you had the potential to refine the Crystal of Desperation! So I disguised myself as her... haha! Your Ocean—your whole life is a desperation!
Now it will be a power-up for the Organization."
His heart was broken, and he fell to his knees. His mouth twitched as he asked, "But... she, my Ocean... Love!"
The Organization member laughed, "Haha! Let me tell you more: the Love Crystal knew that your love was fake, that it was my disguise, so it decided to abandon you."
The slime was expressionless. "You did all this... just for a power-up? My whole life is a joke to you all?"
The member replied, "We don't care about you anymore. Just get lost!"
The slime bowed his head, feeling nothing. He felt as if a hole had been drilled into his heart.
He asked, "But... even if you refine it, won't it reach me, since you used me?"
The Organization member said, "Hmm! You have somewhat of a brain, but do you think that the one who planned all this would forget about that? Haha!
We have ample preparations to refine it and own it right here! Goodbye."
He left.
The slime remained kneeling, his tears dried up. He recalled something Lucan had said back when he had first taught them emotions.
He had said, "Remember this: emotions are actually useful only for scheming or pretending! Don't think of them as a part of life.
My warning is: don't erase your emotionless nature. It is one of the greatest gifts, which I have been trying to obtain!
In the future, if something happens due to emotions, don't blame me. I, Lucan, am warning you of this danger."
The slime started to laugh crazily, "Haha! Lucan, oh Lucan! You were right, weren't you? But you were the one who taught us emotions!
If that hadn't happened, then I wouldn't be at this stage. So it's your fault I am like this. I will take revenge on you, no matter what!
And that guy from the Organization! He pretended to be her, my Ocean! Screw it. Haha! My friend, you will not die that easily. I will torture you in every way I can.
And Fate, you have written my life to be this miserable! You too will face my revenge.
No! The entire universe shall face my pain and suffering! Everything and everybody shall suffer now!"
On the random planet that the King had used as an example...
The two boys ran toward each other's houses with joyful expressions. Both of them bumped into each other while running.
Both of them said, "Sorry! I'm busy. Forgive me for bumping into you!"
Then they recognized each other.
The first boy said, "Haha! I thought you were someone else for a moment. So, did you also receive Destiny's Heavenly King's letter?"
The second boy replied, "Yes! He gave us an invitation to meet him personally and join the space station! How great of an opportunity is this?!"
Both of them talked and laughed as they walked away.
The Sage was watching this scene, and nearby, the King was flying.
The Sage thought, *"Wow! So the King's gift was this. As expected! Sigh, I hope at least when these two join the space station, our original members learn about true righteousness."*
The King smiled at him warmly as he asked, "Sage! Can you please meet their families in person and get their consent? I have some important tasks to attend to!
Remember, only if they allow it can you take them both to the space station! Got it?"
The Sage replied, "Sure, King! If you say it's important, then the situation truly is urgent. Don't worry! I will take care of these minor details!"
The King flew off instantly.
The Sage flew to the two families and explained the details.
Both of their families agreed without hesitation! They even tried to pack some gifts for the King.
However, the Sage declined, as the King would never accept gifts if he didn't put in the effort to earn them.
The families asked for a few days' time, since they might never meet their kids again. The Sage agreed to this request.
In fact, when he was recruited, his parents had also asked for a few days to spend with him.
He muttered, "The King! What a person! I wonder if anybody can even be like him in this world."
The King could have just picked up the kids directly, but he hadn't done so—he had wanted to get the approval of their parents.
The reason was that if the current space station aliens were sent to recruit members, they would bring them instantly.
Their focus was only to finish tasks and earn rewards, which was why he felt such admiration toward the King.
At the Organization...
Org 690 was walking through the facility when she saw a weird guy laughing crazily. She asked him the reason.
She learned about the slime. This guy had been given the mission to refine a crystal.
He had planned meticulously and caused the slime to fall into tragedy, ultimately securing the crystal.
He explained the pitiful state of the slime with laughter.
She clenched her teeth and struck him instantly. Due to the power of the Love Crystal, he died on the spot.
She cleared the body, stole the crystal, and fled rapidly.
If this news was discovered, she would be killed by the Organization, because the Organization had a strict rule: members must not kill other members.
Since she had broken it, she prepared to leave the place in her spaceship.