Chapter 446: Chapter446-Kartora’s Thoughts
Daniel did not immediately respond to Kartora’s proposal.
Instead, he gazed quietly into her beautiful eyes and asked,
"Kartora, can you first tell me why you want to invite me to travel to an even older era?"
Kartora did not attempt to conceal her intentions. She pointed toward the distance and said calmly,
"To be honest, while wandering through this age, I discovered the ruins of an Old God."
"I’m worried that the Old Gods might pose a threat to the Land of Origin. That’s why I intend to go back to an earlier epoch... and I believe I’ll need your help."
At that moment, Daniel’s Psychic Perception was already at work.
Through that supernatural sense, he could see the truth hidden within Kartora’s heart—and her inner voice echoed clearly in his mind.
I must become a god.
Even now, I still haven’t found a concrete way to ascend to that level.
But if I don’t become a god, I’ll never be able to control my own fate.
Daniel could feel Kartora’s emotions in vivid detail.
Though her smile was sweet and confident, her heart was filled with sorrow—a deep, quiet sorrow that reminded him of the first time he met Klein.
Both women carried the same desperate determination: the longing to break through the barrier that stood between them and divinity.
Both were willing to risk everything, even their lives, for that one impossible step.
Perhaps the only path for me is to find a divine position related to the Old Gods’ Time Domain.
If I can absorb it, maybe I’ll have a chance to reach godhood.
But I can’t do this alone... I’ll have to rely on Lord Crossbridge’s power.
Her thoughts and her spoken words were completely different.
Kartora had chosen to hide her true motive—she had no intention of telling Daniel that her real goal in returning to the past was to seize a Time-related God Seat from the Old Gods.
But such deception was meaningless before Daniel.
Every subtle fluctuation in her mind was laid bare before him.
He studied her silently for a moment, his expression complicated.
After a pause, he sighed softly and said,
"Kartora, actually... forget it."
He had wanted to persuade her otherwise, but eventually abandoned the thought.
Even if he spoke against it, Kartora’s resolve was unshakable—no weaker than Aurelia’s.
He couldn’t simply seal her power or force her to stay.
There were paths that one had to walk alone, even if they led to ruin.
So instead of arguing, Daniel shifted the topic.
"Kartora," he said slowly, "I brought Luna back to this timeline."
"She’s reached the Demigod Rank, but she’s been afflicted by a curse from the Old God lineage. She’ll need to sleep for some time."
As he spoke, Daniel opened a psychic portal, summoning Luna from his inner spiritual world.
Her body, wrapped in a soft glow, gently descended to the ground before them.
He shared with Kartora the things he had just gone through—the battles, the rescue, the curse that bound Luna’s soul.
Upon seeing the sleeping girl, Kartora’s charming smile gradually faded.
"So Luna has already become a demigod... and you came from that timeline," she murmured.
"Klein, is it? I’ll remember that name."
Even in slumber, Luna’s condition looked poor.
Her face was pale; the faint rhythm of divine energy around her was unstable, distorted by a lingering curse.
Kartora raised her hand, as if to intervene, yet after a few seconds she sighed and withdrew.
"Her body can’t self-repair this curse yet," she admitted. "All I can do is stabilize her current state. Otherwise, I could have accelerated her time flow to help her recover sooner."
Daniel nodded. He had already suspected as much.
Since rescuing Luna, he had constantly monitored her soul, dividing part of his mental power to observe her condition.
Luck Goddess Luke had been right—among all of them, Luna’s strength was relatively fragile. Her resistance to curses was not as formidable as the others’.
Still, Daniel couldn’t give up hope.
"Kartora," he asked, "are you certain there’s no way to help her?"
Kartora shook her head gently.
"If there were a way, I would do everything in my power to save her. But this is a god-level curse. Against something like that, I’m completely helpless."
She sighed once more, then stepped forward and gently clasped Luna’s hand.
The gesture was soft, filled with pity and sorrow.
Daniel said nothing. He folded his arms, lost in thought.
Returning Luna to her original timeline might seem easier, but it could make things worse.
Yet in that era, Luna’s self-healing ability had once worked better—thanks to the Life Elder Tree that Laeve had left behind.
That sacred tree’s vitality had helped Luna recover before.
If he could somehow bring that power here, perhaps Luna could awaken sooner.
But how could he possibly take that power away?
That was an almost impossible problem.
Unless... he could bring the entire plane with him.
Only then could he carry the Elder Tree’s life essence intact.
But that was an absurd thought.
The plane from that time didn’t even belong to him—and moving an entire world would consume more time and energy than anyone could imagine.
From any angle, it was utterly unrealistic in the short term.
Then another thought flickered across Daniel’s mind.
What if I go back to the era where the Elder Tree still exists?
But he immediately dismissed it.
That timeline belonged to the period when Laeve and Luna still lived together in the old castle—and the current, injured Luna could never enter that era without causing a paradox.
Just as he was deep in contemplation, Kartora lifted her head again.
She was still holding Luna’s hand when she turned to Daniel and asked softly,
"If I remember correctly, in your original timeline, Luna should still be alive, right?"
"So you don’t need to worry too much. According to the principle of destiny, such matters always find their own resolution."
Daniel nodded slowly. He had thought the same thing himself.
If he simply sent Luna back to her own native time, fate would naturally guide events to their rightful course.
That was the law of predestination—no matter what happened, the threads of destiny would repair themselves.
"You’re right," he admitted. "There’s no need to obsess over this."
He smiled faintly, then opened another portal, sending Luna gently back to the soft, downy bed where she had been resting.
Her breathing stabilized once more.
"You’re right," Daniel repeated. "I shouldn’t cling to it too tightly."
"Enough about that—let’s prepare to travel to the ancient era together. As for what you mentioned earlier about duplicating souls, I think I might be able to help."
He reached into his robe and touched the Dagger of the God of Thieves.
That divine weapon was capable of cutting through souls themselves.
Until now, he had never used it—not because he couldn’t, but because he didn’t want to expose all of his trump cards.
Helping Kartora wouldn’t necessarily reveal his secrets.
After all, there were other ways to split or replicate souls besides the God of Thieves’ dagger.
If handled carefully, no one would realize the true extent of his power.
When Kartora heard his answer, a radiant smile bloomed on her face again.
Her eyes shimmered like stars, filled with hope and a trace of cunning joy.
"With your help," she said softly, "I’m sure everything will succeed."
Her words carried both gratitude and ambition—the kind of ambition that could move worlds, tear open time, and defy the heavens themselves.
And Daniel, looking at her, couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
He knew exactly what she sought, and yet he also knew that no one could stop her from chasing that distant, blinding dream called godhood.