They all stayed silent, looking at what Valeria had to say. She suddenly opened her eyes and exclaimed, "Right! His death also created a World protection formation. Although they wouldn't be able to leave, no one should be able to enter the World without the permission of his descendants. Moreover, its strength was extremely high since it was created via his sacrifice."
Tatyana snorted. "What a good guy he was. He made them lose their strongest person and built a nice cage for them to be unable to escape."
Valeria's face fell again. Then, she sighed with a defeated look. What Tatyana said was true, and she wouldn't be childish and refute it. 'To think that your death would be so tragic. Thankfully, you will never know, and you were able to reincarnate peacefully.
Kali saw that Valeria was sad, and she hugged her tightly.
Valeria felt the small arms surrounding her as well as two fluffy tails circling her waist, which made her look down and see Kali's worried face. This snapped her out of her thoughts and made her regain her usual gentle face.
Valeria's eyes softened, and she caressed her scarred cheek. "Don't worry, Kali. Something like this can't corrupt me."
Kali was doubtful. "Are you sure?"
Valeria nodded and lowered her head to kiss her forehead. "Yes. I'm a Spirit of Nature, so I don't have things like Heart Demons. However, we can always become corrupted. That happens when we experience strong negative emotions and change from Spirits to Phantasms or Corrupted Spirits. Of course, the negative feelings must be very deep for it to happen. Moreover, It is very rare for a developed Spirit to corrupt as it happens when young spirits experience a particularly strong negative situation when they are still young and inexperienced."
Angel asked curiously. "Phantasms? I've never heard of them. What is the difference with a spirit?"
Valeria answered. "The difference is that Phantasms usually are extremely violent and aggressive against everything. Also, the intelligence is much lower. They are like beasts that haven't developed completely."
While explaining, she suddenly remembered Tatyana's previous strangeness. She turned toward her and asked. "What happened to the World? Did the formation manage to protect it?"
They looked at Tatyana, and after they observed her cold red eyes, they almost knew the answer. "No. The Divines managed to break into the World about three thousand years ago. Sadly, there hasn't been anyone as strong as him since then. The battle was one-sided, and it has fallen."
Valeria looked at Tatyana with a face filled with shock. "How…?"
Tatyana looked at her and completed her sentence. "How do I know? Well, that's because I made a deal with the Divines at that time."
Valeria's heart sank as Tatyana said calmly. "In exchange for gaining control of the powerful tomb in my Sky Continent, I would help them decipher a formation. Sadly, opening powerful tombs from past experts sometimes releases a lot of energy. That kind of energy release is quite special, so it can be felt from extremely far away. They had their eyes on it, so I made a deal with them."
Tatyana continued. "Although I don't like Divines, they keep their word as long as you make a deal with them. It took me almost a century, but I managed to do it and decipher what they gave me."
Tatyana looked at Valeria and commented. "You should've guessed what that formation was."
Valeria didn't even have to answer; it was obvious. Tatyana sighed. "Later, I knew that this formation was a small part of a World Protecting array, not that I cared at that moment. With that knowledge, it seemed that their own formation masters managed to crack it open. Moreover, their conquest was more brutal than normal since they were defeated once. It was a worldwide annihilation."
Valeria's eyes became bleak for a second. "My children…"
When Valeria said that, their expression changed.
At first, they felt pity for Valeria, but not too much since she didn't have anything to do with those people now. It was something sad but not something that should affect her a lot.
However, when they heard Valeria's mutter, they knew that this was a little bit more troublesome.
Kali was so anxious about Valeria that Yasenia was getting secondhand anxiousness!
Yasenia stood up and walked to their side. Then, she pulled Valeria down and made her lean on her.
Yasenia used her wings and tail to cover Valeria as she used her tongue to lick her green hair softly.
Valeria was surprised and looked at the dragoness grooming her. Yasenia said softly. "Don't say anything. Just relax."
She felt warmth returning to her heart thanks to Kali's hug and Yasenia's care. She chuckled and said in her mature and gentle voice. "I'm quite pathetic... I didn't think I would need my juniors to comfort me. It is quite embarrassing."
Tatyana smiled. "Well, even we need a comfortable place to rest our hearts. I found mine; you may find yours soon."
Valeria looked at Tatyana and smirked playfully. "Say, Tatyana, can I become part of your daughter's harem together with Kali? You know, like get one get another for free."
The others were surprised.
Tatyana snorted. "Don't even think about it. We've just got to know each other. There is no way I'm allowing something like that."
Valeria sighed. "Well, I'll have to win you over, it seems."
Tatyana lifted her eyebrow. "it seems that it is your only option. However, it isn't easy to gain my approval."
Andrea, Kali, Cecile, Evelyn, and Angel straightened their backs. Although Yasenia was the head of the harem, the one in the lead was and will always be Tatyana. They didn't find it unusual and felt that it was only right. Even Cecile thought the same while being Yasenia's interlocked soul.
Then, Tatyana asked carefully. "By the way, I could be wrong, but how you said it can be interpreted in many ways. Are you the biological mother of that race?"
Valeria looked at the cave ceiling for a while, and under their surprised eyes, she nodded. "Yes. I'm their ancestor."
Tatyana scratched her cheek. "Well… That's awkward. No wonder you got so angry when I insulted him. The [Spirit Nature Elf] King is probably the father of the species, right?"
Valeria nodded again. "Yes."
Kali was surprised, but she wouldn't feel bad about something that happened tens of thousands of years ago. Moreover, this man was now dead, so what was there to be sad about?
Tatyana walked to Valeria's side and sat beside her, giving her a pat on the shoulder. "We can try to save those that remain in the future. Cheer up!"
Yasenia looked at her tactless mother, speechless. Valeria just laughed. "You are really not good at consoling people."
Kali was between Valeria's arms and said with confidence. "Don't worry, Valeria. I will help them when I become stronger. No one can bully your children!"
Valeria looked down at the young, scarred girl and smiled tenderly. She hugged her strongly, making Kali's face sink into her ample bosom."
Evelyn said, "Impressive. Kali's head almost disappeared in those green mountains."
Andrea slapped the back of her head with a chuckle. "So silly. Behave a little."
Kali felt very comfortable, and her two tails swished as her throat made small happy fox noises. Valeria caressed her back softly and said. "Don't worry about it, Kali. We can go slowly. Three thousand years have already gone by, so hurrying is meaningless already. If there are survivors, then they must've found a way to hide. If the Divines aren't even targeting them anymore, there is also no reason to hurry up."
Cecile said calmly. "Moreover, we don't know if we are close or far away from that place. Not to mention, we are very weak."
Kali nodded and leaned on Valeria, her two fox tails wagging happily.
Tatyana turned her head and looked toward the red-haired mature-looking Angel. "Well, we've got who Valeria is covered. Who may you be?"
Mirrory crossed her arms and answered calmly. "And why should I answer?"
Tatyana squinted, but before she could say anything, Angel scolded her. "Mirrory, don't be disrespectful to Mommy Tatyana."
Mirrory raised her eyebrow and teased Angel. "Right. How could I possibly be rude toward a person little Angel dearly loves?"
Angel's face instantly burned, becoming red like a tomato and a stuttering mess. "I-I d-don't, I mean, I do, but-but, ahh!!! Stupid Mirrory!" Mirrory laughed aloud.
Tatyana flashed behind Angel and hugged her from behind, making the little girl feel like her heart would jump out of her chest because it was beating too fast. Tatyana teased the little girl. "Little Angel, you've been very quiet for a while. I was hoping to receive some welcome kisses."
Angel's face looked about to explode as she turned to look at the gorgeous woman. Then, with a trembling body, she pecked Tatyana's cheek.
Angel instantly looked down, becoming too shy even to speak. Tatyana kissed Angel's head and made her sit between her legs, making Angel make some bashful noises.
After hugging her from behind, she turned toward Mirrory again.
Mirrory leaned on the couch and crossed her legs, then she said. "I'm the Truth Mirror."
Tatyana's eyebrow jumped, "The Heaven's Truth Saint's weapon?"
"Companion." Corrected Mirrory.
Tatyana was surprised even more than by Valeria's identity. "What are you doing here? No, why are you following my daughter's group?"
Mirrory thought it was an excellent opportunity to put Yasenia in trouble and said. "Well, you are a Fate user, right? Is it as strong as your Death-law understanding?"
Tatyana asked back. "Why you ask?"
Mirrory said. "You should've felt a big shift in Destiny and Fate not long ago, right?"
Tatyana didn't confirm or deny. "Is that relevant to our current conversation?"
Mirrory snorted. "Of course it is. The reason you felt that shift is because your dear daughter messed with a Saint's destiny!"
Tatyana frowned and looked at Yasenia. "What happened, Yasenia?"
Mirrory saw Tatyana's expression and smirked; she intervened and answered. "Oh, nothing much. Your dear daughter almost destroyed Fu Jing Jing's soul and changed my contract with Angel from an equality contract to a slave contract. How about you scold her a little? She is really getting out of hand, daring to disrespect the Truth Saint like that. She is not going to go far with that mentality."
Tatyana opened her eyes in surprise and then burst into laughter.
Mirrory was confused about her reaction. 'Shouldn't someone at her level understand the dangers Yasenia went through? She should be scolding her, not laughing!'
Yasenia threw a side glance at Mirrory and shook her head. She understood Mirrory's intention in speaking that way, but she didn't think Mirrory would get the desired results.
Tatyana asked Yasenia with an amused smile. "What happened?"
Yasenia explained everything that happened with Angel, and Tatyana listened attentively. Tatyana frowned for some moments, but her expression was neutral after a while.
After Yasenia stopped speaking, Tatyana said seriously. "Little treasure, I know that the Truth Mirror said those things to provoke me into scolding you. However, what you did is really worth scolding. I know that the anger at that time made you use the most extreme methods, but one wrong step and you would've died."
Yasenia nodded. "I know. I could've definitely handled it better, but I didn't know if they were legit or not. That's why I wanted to take control of the situation. What if they were trying to take control of Angel? I couldn't afford to lose her, so I did what I did."
Tatyana nodded. "I know. That's why I'm not spanking your butt. However, the next time, be more mindful."
Mirrory expected a more violent reaction, but she was satisfied. She asked. "Why did you laugh at first?"
Tatyana snorted. "I thought you were exaggerating. Who would believe that the soul of Saint would become so weak to be toyed around by a Mental Nourishing Child?"
Then, the Death Empress looked at the small girl between her arms and congratulated her with another kiss. "Good job, little Angel. You've gained a Saint's inheritance. Your future is now unlimited."
Angel couldn't be any happier. Both Tatyana and Yasenia congratulated her! Moreover, she was now being pampered by Mommy Tatyana, she could be considered on cloud nine at the moment, and her cheeks hurt from smiling.
Tatyana looked at Sierra and Ebirah, but she could guess that they were contracted beasts. "Hmm, I'm going to ask about all of your experiences, I'm curious how much you girls have grown, so these two beasts can present themselves then."
Sierra and Ebirah nodded respectfully. This was Yasenia's mother and someone that made the Heavens literally cry in pain.
Then, she turned toward Yasenia and commented. "Now, Although I have some details to tell you about myself, how was your Secret Realm, little treasure?"
Yasenia looked at Tatyana and took a deep breath. Then she began explaining what had happened to her since the beginning.