Hela's advancement had stalled for a long time.
Despite continuously absorbing the immense death energy within the Shadow World, she remained unable to truly cross the final threshold into the Single-Universe Level.
Believing that the problem stemmed from insufficient energy, she continued absorbing more and more.
When Karl arrived and saw her condition, his expression immediately changed.
In an instant, he appeared before her and interrupted the process.
The death energy circulating through Hela's body had already become unstable.
If left unchecked, the consequences could have been severe.
Without hesitation, Karl began regulating the chaotic energy inside her.
Only after everything stabilized did Hela slowly open her eyes.
The moment she saw Karl, a smile appeared on her face.
Unfortunately, Karl looked anything but pleased.
The anger in his eyes caused Hela to feel slightly guilty.
She lowered her head and remained silent while allowing Karl to continue helping her.
Several hours later, the last traces of unstable energy were finally brought under control.
Karl pulled Hela into his arms.
"Are you trying to scare me to death?"
His voice carried obvious frustration.
"You can't advance to the Single-Universe Level if your life level hasn't reached that standard."
"That's partly my fault. I should have explained it earlier."
"If I hadn't come here today, something serious could have happened."
Hela remained quiet for several moments.
Then she spoke softly.
"I didn't know."
"I just wanted to become stronger."
She lowered her head.
"I wanted to help you."
"When the Celestials attacked before, all I could do was watch."
"I didn't want that to happen again."
Her voice became quieter.
"I don't want to become a burden."
Karl's expression softened immediately.
The anger disappeared.
What remained was concern.
During the battle against the Celestials, Hela had indeed watched everything from the Skyblade VII.
She had wanted to fight alongside him.
But she understood her own limitations.
At that time, entering the battlefield would only have created additional risks.
Karl sighed.
Then gently patted her back.
"It's alright."
"I'm not angry anymore."
After a brief pause, he smiled helplessly.
"You really are stubborn."
Since Hela's problem was not energy but the level of her existence itself, Karl already knew the solution.
The power of the Dog Talisman.
When Karl himself had advanced to the Single-Universe Level, he had discovered that the Dog Talisman contained traces of a profound life-based law originating from another world.
Otherwise, it would never have been capable of granting immortality and sustaining endless vitality.
Even now, Karl still relied on the Horse and Dog Talismans during major battles.
With that understanding, Karl decided to use the Dog Talisman's power to elevate Hela's life level.
Golden light appeared in his palm.
A gentle stream of pale-gold energy flowed into Hela's body.
Although Karl could not directly control the Life Law hidden within the Dog Talisman, he could guide its power to its greatest extent.
The transformation began immediately.
As the energy continuously entered her body, Hela's aura steadily climbed.
Hours passed.
Then more hours followed.
Twelve full hours later—
The final barrier shattered.
Hela's life level officially reached the Single-Universe standard.
As for her soul, it had long ago reached that level after her numerous fusions and enhancements with Karl's abilities and resources.
Boom!
An overwhelming wave of death energy erupted from Hela.
The surrounding energies of the Shadow World were pushed aside.
The entire dimension trembled.
The power of the Goddess of Death finally completed its evolution.
Hela had officially entered the Single-Universe Level.
The moment she stabilized her strength, she threw herself into Karl's arms.
The usually proud and domineering Asgardian goddess no longer hid her emotions.
At that moment, her gratitude, affection, and trust toward Karl had reached an unprecedented level.
Karl simply held her quietly while allowing her emotions to settle.
After a long while, the two finally separated.
Hela remained leaning against him, unwilling to move.
Karl smiled and gently brushed aside a strand of her hair.
Then he brought her out of the Shadow World.
The death energy she had absorbed over the past months had already been completely assimilated during her breakthrough.
...
When they arrived in the main living room, Crystal immediately floated toward Karl.
Opening her small arms, she clearly demanded to be carried.
Karl laughed and picked her up.
At the same time, the Black Phoenix looked toward Hela.
A look of surprise appeared in her eyes.
She could clearly sense it.
Hela's aura now stood on the same level as her own.
Another Single-Universe powerhouse had been born.
The Black Phoenix understood better than most how difficult such a breakthrough truly was.
Her own advancement had been aided by continuously absorbing Phoenix Force fragments.
The Phoenix Force naturally elevated the life level and soul of its host.
Hela had no such shortcut.
Yet Karl had still managed to help her cross the final threshold.
The feat was astonishing.
Over the years, while traveling across countless galaxies with Karl, the Black Phoenix had encountered numerous Celestial-level entities.
Yet true Single-Universe beings were exceedingly rare.
Even among advanced cosmic civilizations, such existences were almost never seen.
This alone demonstrated how difficult the breakthrough truly was.
A trace of complicated emotion appeared in her eyes.
After all, Karl had clearly invested considerable effort into helping Hela advance.
Meanwhile, Hela stood calmly beside Karl.
On the surface, she appeared composed.
Internally, however, she felt deeply satisfied.
The ancient Goddess of Death had survived Odin's conquests, ruled Asgard's armies, and endured over a thousand years of imprisonment.
Compared to the relatively younger Black Phoenix, Hela possessed vastly more experience.
She understood people.
She understood emotions.
And she understood exactly how important timing could be.
Of course, one person remained completely untouchable.
Yan.
No matter how the others competed, Yan's position within Karl's heart remained unique.
Her thousands of years of experience, wisdom, loyalty, and shared history with Karl could not be easily replaced.
Even Vastness's countless analyses consistently reached the same conclusion.
Yan's place had always been secure.
...
At that moment, Tony suddenly flew through one of the Skyblade VII's access hatches.
Karl happened to notice.
Holding Crystal in one arm, he exchanged a glance with Hela.
Then the two slowly walked in Tony's direction.
Judging from Tony's expression, he clearly had something interesting planned.
Karl was suddenly curious to see what kind of trouble Tony intended to cause this time.
...
Visit patreon.com/ShiroTL for more chapters.