"He's coming..." Ao said out loud, his tone flat as if he were bored.
A greasy man overheard the World Serpent's words and gave his leader a soundless bow: "Should we hinder their advance?"
"No, let them be," Ao replied while shaking his head. "It's better this way. We can let things come to an end immediately."
Shin and Ao's relationship was a complicated one. Their fates had been intertwined since the very beginning and Ao was one of the beings that had watched Shin grow, albeit from the perspective of an enemy. Ao mentored Junius and had heard many things about Shin throughout the years. How he was a crybaby that needed his elder brother's love. How he was the one to lead the vengeance against the Frie Clan for annihilating the Awter Clan. And most importantly… How much Shin meant to Junius and the brotherly bond that they shared.
In a certain way… Ao knew Shin more than anyone else ever could. Yes, they were enemies that were about to battle to the death, but the World Serpent couldn't care less.
Ao wanted to see for himself… What made Junius love Shin so much? So much so that the young man was willing to give up his life and betray Ao even after everything he'd done.
"... I understand." The unkempt man's lips twitched, a tinge of unwillingness hidden beneath his breath. Excusing himself, the Spirit Emperor retreated to a distant corner, far away from the World Serpent and the Paradise Heart he was protecting. Only when he was far enough from Ao that he couldn't sense it, did the man finally reveal his ugly grimace.
'This bastard snake… He's going to be the death of me! THE DEATH OF ME!!!' The sloppy man cursed. 'Leave them be?! He's not even trying to stop them from coming! Other Payircis have littered traps all around, but he actually made it into an open desert?! What a fucking moron!'
Turning his face away, the ugly man took a knee and hurriedly absorbed all of his spiritual energy into his inner body. Like the invaders, the Brahmin was employing a mixture of mana strengthening and absorption techniques to stealthily hide his presence. He was behaving like a scared duckling that feared the outside rain and only wanted to hide in the warmth of its mother.
'He must have known about my history with Shin Iofiel! If not, why did he bother to request for me by name?!'
Few people remembered the Spirit Emperor's name ever since he'd defected to the Black Masks. Normally, that would be a good thing, since he could lay low and out of sight from the vengeful eyes of the Alliance. However, among the handful of people that did recognise him, there was one pesky Prince that stood at the apex of the cultivation world right now.
'If I had known that he'll become such a monster, I would have killed him back on Frie Mountain! Just my luck!'
The Brahmin never really met Shin face-to-face before. He'd wasn't even aware of Shin's existence back then! However, the Brahmin was unquestionably linked to Shin… In the most dreadful of manners nonetheless.
Nearly three decades ago, the remnants of the Awter Clan had launched an assault of vengeance upon Frie Mountain. The Awter Clan that joined the Black Masks were short of manpower and lacked any Spirit Emperors that could threaten Frie Mountian. Therefore, they requested assistance from the higher-ups. The Allfather himself had given the green light, thinking that it was an inconsequential matter. So, a Spirit Emperor was dispatched to lead the attack.
And that man was… Malgen Chaxrala. The Spirit Emperor that just pleaded with Ao to do something to kill Shin before they reached their location.
On that day, hundreds of lives were lost, and memories were shattered. It was a day that Shin wanted to wipe clean from his mind and it was also the day that the poor little orphan from the Frie Clan was reborn into a new existence altogether. Before, Malgen didn't even know who Shin was. Who could blame him? Shin wasn't even a Spirit Core cultivator back then. However, the Shin now was far stronger than Malgen could ever be. If he wanted to kill Malgen to enact vengeance, it would be as simple as raising a finger.
Shin's target was the Paradise Heart and the Noble Beast that protected it, no doubt. However, once he realised that Malgen, one of the assholes that were responsible for Ariel's death was present… It wasn't that hard to imagine a change of motivation for the sentimental Prince.
'No matter! I'll just lay low… I won't fight in that stupid battle and just lay low...' Malgen thought to himself as he cowered in position. And it was fortunate for the Spirit Emperor that he did just that.
Voooomm!!! Voooomm!!! Voooomm!!! Voooomm!!! Voooomm!!!
Many light beams darted across the sky, only slowing down when they were a hundred metres away from the Paradise Heart. There were no aerial mines to stop their advance, and neither was there a defensive line that would launch ballistas that they should they come near. However, they gradually turned back into cultivators, all wearing stern expressions.
The blonde lady at the front raised her hand and pointed a finger at the glowing core in the middle. A ball of golden light glimmered out from her nails, slightly raising the Light-Elements that wreathed her body. As anticipated, the ball of light started to lose a little bit of its energy through a line of golden sand as it made a line straight towards the immense core.
"That Paradise Heart… It's really sucking in our mana..." Lady Seph frowned.
"That's what we've expected, right?" Shin replied with a lack of emotion. He scanned the area, quickly picking out the Black Masks that he had to be wary about. In Shin's vision, anyone that was above the Spirit King level was instantly picked out and highlighted in red. Naturally, Malgen turned up in that radar of his, but Shin hadn't recognised the man that attacked Frie Mountain that day yet. As the Brahmin anticipated, Shin's eyes were solely on the blue-haired man at the centre of it all.
"The World Serpent, Ao…"
"Shin Iofiel… You've finally come." Ao stood up from his rested position and projected his voice for all to hear. "I was worried that you've lost your way."
"Thanks to you, finding this place wasn't all that hard." Shin snidely replied.
The two lofty beings stared at one another, their gazes not wavering in the slightest. In Shin's eyes, there was anger and frustration. Also a tinge of hate. On the other hand, Ao was looking at the boy with inquisitive yet cautious eyes. The World Serpent didn't have the same hate that Shin was looking at him with.
"You've advanced..."
"You've grown…"
Two similar responses. Two different meanings.
Shin saw that Ao was now a Primordial Beast, a being that could stand toe-to-toe with a Spirit Saint with ease. There was also a crystal orb by his side which pumped out spiritual energies at an astronomical rate. Though Shin hadn't seen anything like it before, it wasn't hard to deduce that it was an Immortal-Grade Spirit Armament based on its spiritual output.
Ao didn't see Shin via the same lens. What he saw... was the young boy that Junius had once bragged about, mirrored within that matured body of Shin's. For a moment there, Ao felt an unfamiliar feeling blossom within his cold heart. Seeing Shin's growth made him feel a little… pride.
'If Junius was still alive, maybe that's the feeling that I would have with him...' The World Serpent instantly realised what he was missing. Junius may have betrayed him, but Ao once loved that human with all his heart. Watching Shin grow into the being that could challenge the Allfather… perhaps that was what Ao wanted with Junius this whole time.
And as Ao thought about the viridian-haired boy that lost his life, a tear dripped down his mournful face.
"Shin Iofiel… You've really grown up."