Falling, the sensation of her consciousness disappearing as tearing pain ripped the insides of her body apart permeated through her being.
Yasenia internally laughed at the ridiculousness of the Tribulation's intensity.
'But I lived.'
Yasenia knew that she didn't die; her eyes clearly saw all the bolts being torn into pieces before her vision flashed white, and darkness engulfed her mind.
'I need to wake up and continue training. I'm far from being able to stop.'
The almost still Celestial Star Energy in her dantian began spinning at a normal pace again, and her dried and damaged meridians were filled with her energy once again. Like gentle rain falling into dry land, it slowly seeped into her and healed all her injuries.
With the number of times her body had been on the verge of death, her regeneration factor and proficiency had been increased enough for her to tell, even when unconscious, how much time she would need to wake up.
'Hm… Two days. Sigh… My dears must be worried.'
Yasenia was worried but not restless. She trusted that her dears had a good mental fortitude. 'Only… Kaleina was also there, right? I hope my injuries didn't startle her too much.'
The tactile sensation on her body slowly returned, and she could feel the weight and tender scales of her little baby. 'Is Kaleina sleeping on top of me? Hm… I can feel someone grabbing my hand as well. This size and texture… Sweetheart?'
The hand grabbing her tightened as if answering to her being recognized, and Yasenia smiled softly. Her body burned with pain, but she didn't mind. As long as they were by her side, Yasenia was satisfied.
'Hm. I can feel that I've recovered enough to regain consciousness. Let's wake up, then.'
Slowly, she put strength on her heavy eyelids, and after a flash of white and her pupils constricting and dilating to adjust to the light, she saw her surroundings.
"Good morning, sleepyhead."
The cool but gentle voice of her soulmate reached her ears, making Yasenia slowly move her eyes sideways to look at Cecile. "G-Good Morning."
Cecile smiled, but Yasenia could clearly feel the distress in her sweetheart's soul. She knew that even if Cecile didn't really express herself outward, inside, she was a really expressive girl.
Each time they went somewhere, finished their training, or saw something interesting, Cecile would always inform her and speak about it through their connection. There were times that Yasenia would be bombarded with words for many minutes at once.
The dragoness found this endearing, so she not only didn't stop her but encouraged her. People thought that her sweetheart was an Ice Queen without emotions, but they couldn't be more wrong, which amused Yasenia.
"Time?"
Yasenia moved her parched throat and asked. Cecile understood her, and she spoke, taking a cup of water enhanced by many nourishing medicines and feeding it to her slowly. "It's the third morning after you received the tribulation."
Yasenia blinked and drank slowly, feeling her damaged throat healing. After drinking, Yasenia asked again. "Injuries?"
Cecile paused, but she didn't show anything extra in her face. "Truth?"
Yasenia laughed but hissed right after. The mere chest movement of her almost laugh delivered quite a piercing pain into her brain.
Cecile looked at her lover, wrapped in bandages like a mummy. Even her face only left open her two pretty golden eyes, nose, and mouth. 'It was scary.'
When the tribulation ended and Yasenia's body bloomed like a red rose, Cecile felt a small portion of that pain through their shared connection, and her legs almost buckled.
The electrifying pain that Cecile felt for a fraction of a second was enough to make her eyes widen for a second.
Then, seeing Tatyana looking restless and hastily communicating with Valeria increased the pain inside her. They even had to use one of Yasenia's life-saving treasures, a pill that made it impossible to die from non-direct harm for 20 minutes, to make sure that Yasenia survived.
The strain caused by the third Celestial Skill was brutal to that extent.
Usually, it wouldn't be this severe. After all, Yasenia's control, bodily strength, and celestial energy amount had significantly increased.
However, she didn't use them in a normal situation. The pressure the Heavens imposed on Yasenia was enough to make the powerful dragoness's leg bend even while expelling almost all of her auras.
The only thing that allowed her to fight back was the skills Yasenia unlocked with her Body Cultivation technique and the evolved Dragon Aura.
Everything else was focused on holding back the Heavens from squeezing her against the ground. So, with such a hard strain, using the incomparably powerful Celestial Energy was a daunting task.
On the first usage, Yasenia's body started to hurt. On the second one, some of Yasenia's meridians and internal organs were damaged. By the time she used the third, everything inside her body was shredded by the monstrous wave of energy.
If Yasenia wasn't a dragon with incredible vitality and had so many advantages, Cecile couldn't see anybody surviving that.
Thinking of all of that, Cecile looked at the gentle and placid golden slit eyes looking at her like two pools of calm and sweet golden water. Cecile smiled lovingly, playing with Yasenia's hand. 'Really, her gaze is sweeter than honey.'
"The damage is as follows. Your internal organs ruptured; thankfully, your heart was not as damaged. Your meridian net almost crumbled, and most of the capillaries that you grew were completely fried. The bones of the arms were shattered, and blood vessels all around the body also exploded, causing your blood pressure to fall dangerously low. The Tribulation Lightning that remained in your body created extensive damage after you fainted and your defenses weakened, but it was swiftly taken care of by the seniors, so only 40% of your skin and superficial muscles were charred. As for the head, nothing happened. The bandages are there to support your neck muscles, which ripped because of the strain of constantly looking upward."
Cecile intently looked into Yasenia's golden eyes with her icy blue ones, expecting to see signs of negative emotions, but instead of that, they remained calm. Unable to hold back, Cecile felt her heart constrict. No matter how injured, Yasenia would always take it in stride.
The Phoenix wanted to tell her to take more care of herself, but she couldn't. Remembering that fearsome Heavenly Tribulation, how could she scold Yasenia?
The fact that she was alive was more than enough for Cecile. 'Thankfully, Yasenia always takes her time when breaking through and waits until she consolidates everything.'
Her lovely dragoness was hanging on a thin thread, and the second she relaxed, it felt as if that thread would snap, plunging her into the abyss.
Cecile felt her hand being squeezed reassuringly, and she looked up, snapping from her daze.
"I'm… okay. Don't... Be sad."
Cecile's throat tightened, but she quickly hid the emotions, not wanting to burden her heavily wounded lover.
With a smile, she leaned forward, gently and carefully touching foreheads with Yasenia as they looked into each other's eyes. "I'm not."
Yasenia's lips arched, and she made a short laugh. "You are."
'I'm helpless, really.' Cecile really wanted to help Yasenia carry part of her burden, but she could do nothing about the tribulations. She could help with everything but that.
Changing the subject, Cecile asked after planting a soft and tender kiss on Yasenia's lips. "Hungry?"
"A bit."
Cecile smiled and stood up. "Wait a moment, I'll carry the food here. Keep Kaleina company for a while."
Yasenia blinked twice. "Kaleina?"
She spread her spiritual sense using her soul and saw the small dragon curled in a donut while sleeping on her other side. 'Wait.' Looking closer, she could see that the eyes were partly opened, looking at her sneakily.
Smiling, Yasenia called her softly. "Baby, come here."
Kaleina lifted her body with her frontal arms and walked at her. "Mommy!"
The little dragoness approached her face, licking her cheeks and lips, and Yasenia laughed tenderly. "I'm okay, baby."
Kaleina snuggled by her side, purring in happiness. "I'm glad Mommy woke up."
Yasenia wanted to turn her head to nuzzle with her, but her neck muscles sent a sign of protest, so she could only speak. "So, did Kaleina laze around while Mommy slept?"
Kaleina stiffened a bit, lifting her head with a guilty look. "W-Well, I wanted to be by Mommy's side until you woke up."
As a young dragon already seven years of age, Kaleina's intelligence was on par with a human adolescent child, but still with childish tendencies, curiosity, and instincts.
Dragons took a while to mature completely, but they were aware of this from quite early in their lives. To make a comparison was like placing the knowledge of an adult on a child.
No matter how intelligent, a child will always have a certain quality that differentiates them.
Yasenia laughed, enduring her pain. "Don't worry, love. I'm not blaming you. I was just asking." Then, she added. "But, next time, take your lessons before accompanying Mom, okay?"
Kaleina nodded obediently and nuzzled with her, giving her gentle licks as she purred. "Mommy, when will you be okay?"
Yasenia gleefully received Kaleina's affection as she answered. "Well, maybe two weeks or so will be enough to leave the bed."
Kaleina nodded, and then her tail began wagging as she looked at Yasenia. "Mommy, you were supper awesome when fighting off the tribulation! A big punch created a giant explosion, and then a super tail strike created a shockwave! Then, then, you even created five beams that pierced those scary clouds!"
The adoration in her golden eyes almost made Yasenia burst into laughter. "It was difficult, but if my baby thinks that Mommy was awesome, then it was worth it."
Kaleina smiled pridefully. "I'll tell all my friends! Mommy is, after all, the strongest!"
Yasenia felt a moment of nostalgia, seeing herself in this child, and her eyes softened enough to make Kaleina feel a bit flustered. "W-What is it, Mommy?"
"I love you, Kaleina."
The purple scales on her face lit up in happiness and shyness. "I love Mommy too!"
Cecile returned after a few minutes and saw Kaleina happily curled around Yasenia as the two of them spoke about things like what Kaleina did with her friends and such.
"My love, I've come with the food."
She saw two pairs of almost identical golden slit eyes turn and look at her, making Cecile's heart pound. 'They are so cute! I want to squeeze that lovely face~.'
Cecile approached with three plates of soup and sat on the border of the bed. Then, she inserted energy into the furniture, and the bed gently lifted up, making Yasenia sit up.
Looking at the momentary frown, Cecile asked. "Painful?"
Yasenia was sincere at these moments, and she commented. "The breasts' weight pulled a bit on my wounds."
Cecile approached and waved her hand, summoning a partition to be placed under her lover's heavy breasts as support. It was done just for this purpose, which made Yasenia blink twice in wonder.
"When did you get this?"
"Comfortable?"
The dragoness nodded lightly, with minimal movements. "I can feel my shoulders relaxing."
Cecile laughed softly. "All of us have a full set of equipment to take care of you made by Kali, Andrea, and Angel. Naturally, we took into account one of our lover's most prominent features. This is a breast supporter, and it does just that. It uses formations and a few naturally healing materials to soothe you."
Yasenia felt a bit embarrassed, but it was the truth that it really helped. "Thanks."
Kaleina asked, curious. "Will I also have great breasts like Mommy when I grow up?"
Yasenia and Cecile looked at her with amusement. Cecile asked, stifling her laughter. "Great breasts?"
Kaleina nodded, not finding anything at fault with her words. "Of course! They can produce super yummy milk and are warm and soft and comfortable! They are great breasts!"
Yasenia asked carefully. "Did you, by any chance, brag about them with your friends?"
Kaleina smiled widely and proudly. "Yes! Almost every day!"
"Pfft, hahaha." Cecile burst into laughter, and Yasenia sighed.
After this event, Yasenia slowly recuperated, and then she finally began cultivating for the last stretch before she could break through into the fifth and last mortal realm.
The Ethereal Soul Realm and Half-step Unification Realm.