Nayi took the chance to sit down and relax while she could, as she needed that desperately from all the surprises and fright she had experienced.
Her eyes trailed off in the direction of the two kids happily cuddling while lying on the ground. The scene made her recall some memories from her childhood, awaking the suppressed emotions within her.
"Ahhhh... how I miss those days when we played together, sister.", she thought to herself.
As her head leaned back to look at the stars in the sky once again, Nayi continued speaking to herself in her mind.
"Do you remember the tree we sat under, laughing like those two brats right now? Fufu~ I still vividly remember how that little egg you took care of turned out to be a little member of our Celestial Qilin family with no parents. That little boy quickly grew up to be our handsome little brother."
As her thoughts continued flowing, her eyes gradually filled with tears. Asura and Xia had stopped playing around by now and since Asura had recovered some of his energy and most of his bodily functions, the two children quietly came near Nayi and sat next to her.
"Ah, I remembered now! There was also that time when that geezer chased us for stealing his Star Fruits, how stingy! But even though he didn't want to give us any, we still stole them with great success! Hahaha... I miss you all."
The world in Nayi's eyes had become blurred from tears as her eyes centered on the blood-red light rising from the faint crack in the ground.
"You all... are you still alive there somewhere? Have your souls already dissipated? This boundary still exists, but do you?"
This time, however, Nayi didn't speak within her mind - she spoke the last line aloud. This got the attention of the two kids sitting next to her as they also looked at the blood-red boundary.
Asura's eyes filled with incredulity as he carefully inspected the blood-red light. His thoughts simultaneously started flowing rapidly, "Does that mean... her family members are still within the blood-red light?! Something like that... is that even possible?"
"Were. Not anymore as their souls have vanished long ago. Only the ideals they left behind remain, that's why the blood-red light still exists."
A familiar yet ethereal sound appeared in Asura's mind.
"Eh? Tenri? You're actually awake?!"
"Hey there, brat. How could I not wake up after what happened with your body?! You haven't even been in this world for a day yet you almost died back there. How reckless."
"Ah, you can't blame me for that! I lost control of myself when I saw that silver blood. By the way, do you have any idea why that happened?"
"Hmph. You underestimate this lady. Of course I know - your master belongs to a rare race of demons called Celestial Qilin race. They are the descendants of the Qilin Deity with the purest bloodline of all Qilins, but their numbers are small. The entire race numbered around a few thousand the last time I was in contact with them."
"So, how does that relate to my sudden inability to control myself?"
"Well... your blood resonated with hers and influenced your thoughts to the degree where you lost control of yourself. That would mean that your bloodline is no worse than the Celestial Qilin bloodline."
"Oh... is that so. Oh, yes - what kind of creature am I actually? I think Xia is a dragon in human form but I feel like I'm a human."
"You... I don't have a definite answer to that because you are half-human, quarter-demon and quarter-spirit. It seems like the body within that egg was engineered to be that way and your soul appeared just in time to occupy it. The human physique is actually pretty good for housing different bloodlines so that's why the three bloodlines could fuse into one."
"Hmm... I can't seem to understand everything quite yet.", Asura sighed as his brows furrowed even more.
"Well, no hurry. You will discover it yourself as you gather energy to evolve. You should already feel a bit stronger than before since you broke through the initial boundary and officially stepped into the realm of Spirit Masters."
"Spirit Masters? What's that? Are they the cultivators or what?"
"Ah, this is so troublesome. Why can't I just give you all the knowledge instead of having to teach you every single thing one at a time... Anyways, Spirit Masters are similar to what you know as cultivators from the stories you read previously, but they are not entirely the same."
"Hoo, is that so? How do they differ?"
"Well, the term 'cultivator' was used to refer to humans who pursue immortality. Spirit Masters aren't like that - immortality doesn't exist in reality. No matter what anyone thinks, the world will never allow for something like Immortality to exist as it would inevitably lead to the collapse of the laws of the world. You don't need me to explain why I know this, do you?"
"Because you are the Fate - the one controlling those laws, right?"
"Hah! As if. There are no conscious beings controlling the laws of the world. The laws encompass everything and are entirely independent of anyone's influence. That is why every time someone tries to go against the laws they face the Wrath of Heavens, which is simultaneously a test and an opportunity for improving."
"That... seems a bit complicated for me to understand. Actually, I do understand the concept but I don't have anything to relate it to. This is troublesome."
*sigh*
"Let's not talk about these things - it's too early for you to tackle the problems of the worldly laws. For now you have several more pressing issues. First, your body is in a very weak state because you accidentally broke through and had thunder strike you. It's a miracle you survived honestly as you were not much different than ordinary human child but it's good that you did."
"..."
"Second, you will have to start training as soon as possible if you don't want another thing like that to happen. Your master will guide you properly and I will only assist with making Lilith show herself since she's the boss now, although I hate to admit it. Third, you need to try to release the first chain in your soul since you've already broken through - otherwise your Soul Power won't follow your Spirit Power. Fourth, you need to absorb as much knowledge as you can about everything in this world to help Xia out as her bloodline is quite troublesome one even among the Dragons."
"Wait, wait, wait! That's too many things at once, slow down a bit."
"No can do, I have a limited time here. I can only speak to you like this while I repair your body from the effects of lightning - that is, while the energy Nayi gave you lasts. I will leave you a technique to train your body since I'm a Fated Soul directly connected to your body, while Lilith is the one responsible for everything else. Come, let's call her out."
"W-what do I need to do?"
"Hehe, nothing. Just wait and watch."
Asura felt a strange feeling spread from his heart as his blood became restless. Suddenly, he felt strange but didn't immediately grasp what exactly was strange. He just felt as if something about him had changed, as if something deep within his soul had awakened.
*Yawn~~*
"Nnh? Do you need me for some reason, master?"
After a yawn, a very unique-sounding voice appeared in Asura's mind. It was very sweet but at the same time seemed aloof, dignified and as if a bit shy. Asura then noticed that the world reflected in his eyes became several times more vibrant, detailed and clear. In the depths of his pupils that had already turned into a shape of a star, a tiny dot appeared. This faint dot was made up of innumerable colors constantly changing and rotating.
"L-Lilith?", Asura's voice resounded in his mind.
"Y... yes? Does master need something from me?"
"N-nice to meet you, Lilith. How do you feel?"
"... eh? I-I'm feeling great, master. Thank you for asking. N-nice to meet you too... Can I go sleep now?"
"Eeh? Ah... sure?"
"Sure my ass! Don't you dare go anywhere, little witch!", Tenri's annoyed voice interrupted the awkward conversation between the two.
"Oy, you little thing, give him the technique for energy gathering. I hate to admit it but you are of a higher grade than me so your technique should be more useful for both of us."
"Mm? And who are you? Why are you here? What do you want from my master?"
Tenri got increasingly annoyed with every word that came out of Lilith's mouth but barely resisted from cursing.
"I am the same as you - his Fated Soul. However, you stole the spot in his Soul World so I have to occupy the place in his body now. Anyways, that's not important - hurry and transfer the knowledge to him. We don't have much time before the energy dissipates."
"Aahh... is that how it is? Okay then - master, here it comes."
Asura could do nothing other than listen to the conversation and wait as he had no usable knowledge about the situation. After Lilith's enchanting voice disappeared, he felt extreme comfort as something appeared in his mind. Myriads of scenes quickly flashed by as new knowledge poured in his mind. The feeling was similar as if he had suddenly remembered the scenes he had previously forgotten, but much more vivid and intense.
As all of the scenes finally calmed down, only the name of the gathering technique remained - The Art of Chaos.
"What a strange name.", Asura thought immediately after coming in contact with it.
Immediately after that, another surge of knowledge appeared but this time the name of the technique differed - The Abyss of Sin.
"The Abyss of Sin? This one isn't any better either... I wonder what effect the two techniques have."
"Well then, master - I will be going back to sleep. Bye!"
"I'm off too, Asura. When you adapt to the new circumstances check out the techniques and try to use them. We won't be seeing each other for a while after this so, take care of yourself. Resolve as many Dragon Chains as you can but be careful as they are very dangerous. If you aren't confident then don't force it. Bye!"
"Nn? Oh, bye - you two. Have a nice nap."
With the departure of Lilith and Tenri, Asura's Soul once again turned calm.