On the other side of the garden palace on Ego's planet.
In contrast to the lush plains covered with blooming flowers, this area presented a different scene. The ground was barren, devoid of any grass, and the dark brown surface was riddled with dry cracks. Only a few lifeless trees dotted the landscape, their leafless branches resembling the outstretched hands of an elderly person.
At the end of the desolate land stood a large active volcano, resembling a Giant Beast sprawled across the land. Even from several kilometers away, one could feel the heat radiating from the air, and the sky above the volcano was shrouded in dense clouds.
No life would tread into this dead land, except for today, which was a special exception.
"Is this the place?" Kyle gazed at the active volcano before him, then glanced at the snail-like maid nervously twisting her fingers behind him.
"Yes, I'm not sure if Lucy and Logan are still alive. However, after the battle between the master and Lucy and Logan five years ago, this active volcano suddenly formed." The maid stood on the edge of the green grassland, her face pale as she gazed fearfully at the dark brown barren land, speaking in a low voice:
"After the master returned to the palace, he strictly ordered that no one should approach this area. If he finds out, they will be used as nutrients to feed this planet."
"There must be a reason behind this." Kyle narrowed his eyes and pondered for a moment before he drew out a Lifeform Card and summoned it into reality.
A misty lifeform entity materialized from the air, circled around Kyle, and respectfully whispered, "I humbly obey your command, Master."
"Pride, keep an eye on her until I return." Kyle gestured towards the snail-like maid as he spoke.
"Yes, Master."
Pride coldly responded and wrapped around the maid like an appendage. Despite the maid's panicked attempts to swat it away, she couldn't touch Pride's ethereal body, let alone drive it away.
"Don't worry, as long as you don't intend to escape, it won't harm you. Instead, it will protect you." Kyle reassured her, then took a step forward. As his body began to merge with energy, he floated into the air and accelerated towards the volcano's crater.
The active volcano was over a kilometer high, with a diameter of nearly three hundred meters at the crater. As Kyle approached the edge, the air became scorching hot, making it impossible for ordinary lifeforms to get close.
However, the high temperature made little difference to Kyle. His divine power was inherent in the fire element, and combined with the energy he absorbed from the Space Stone, he could freely traverse even the harshest environments of outer space.
Kyle landed on the edge of the volcano's crater, peering down at the several dozen-meter-deep magma below. Bubbling with bubbles and thick smoke, the hot molten lava emitted an intense heat. A few rocks kicked off by his shoes were immediately melted into wisps of smoke by the lava.
"There are no life signs detected within the volcano's range," Vis activated the sonic scan and said, "Master. Could this active volcano have been caused by Lucy and Logan's resistance against Ego?"
Kyle shook his head lightly and judged, "Let's not jump to conclusions. Even if Lucy and Logan had the power, Ego, as the planet's core, could easily reshape the terrain. This active volcano was clearly intentionally created by him."
"Then, what could be his reason for doing so?" Vis expressed a hint of confusion in his tone.
"To conceal something here, perhaps. We'll find out once we go down." Kyle's gaze was sharp and unwavering as he spoke, showing no hesitation as he once again activated the dazzling fusion energy, creating a protective barrier around himself, and jumped into the magma of the volcano.
Splish!
As the high-temperature magma splashed, Kyle, emitting his own light source, descended deeper into the increasingly hot belly of the volcano.
After descending about a kilometer, reaching the bottom of the volcano's crater, Kyle felt the magma flowing around him. The temperature slowly dropped, eventually becoming as cold as clear water, and the visible distance extended.
"What's that..." Kyle suddenly widened his eyes. In the magma-filled bottom of the volcano, he saw another floating mountain. The mountain was not made of rocks but semi-transparent blue ice!
Underneath the active volcano lay a hidden iceberg!
…
On the grassland outside the volcano.
The snail-like maid sat on the grass, stiff and motionless, while Pride perched on her neck. After Kyle left, neither of them exchanged any words.
The maid cautiously turned her head, casting a careful glance at Pride. She hesitated for a moment before weakly asking, "Can you speak?"
"With your lowly status as a snail-like inferior lifeform, you are not worthy of speaking to me." Pride sneered coldly with disdain evident in its voice.
"I'm not a snail." The maid faltered for a moment. It seemed that Pride lived up to its name, arrogant and haughty.
"Only the master is qualified to speak to me," Pride spoke coldly.
"But you're talking to me right now..."
The maid felt speechless. Just when she was about to say something else, the earth suddenly shook violently, and the clouds in the sky shattered inch by inch as if the entire life planet was trembling at this moment.
The anomaly came quickly and ended quickly. In just three seconds, everything returned to normal.
Pride muttered to itself, "Just now, I clearly sensed a powerful energy emanating from the other side of the planet."
"It's the master." The maid's face turned pale as she confirmed, "His plan has succeeded. The second Celestial is finally about to awaken."
"The second Celestial?"
While Pride was still puzzled, the earth trembled slightly again, but this time the tremor came from within the volcano.
Molten red lava gushed out of the volcano's mouth, followed by a floating iceberg that rose into the sky from the crater. Only when faint starlight emerged from the bottom of the iceberg did it completely detach from the mountain.
It was Kyle, operating at full strength with fusion energy, carrying a small iceberg weighing thousands of tons, flying out of the volcano and towards the grassland where the snail-like maid was.
Boom!
Kyle slowed down as he landed, causing the ground to tremble when he released the iceberg onto the grassland. Then, centered around the iceberg, a bone-chilling cold spread, covering the area of hundreds of meters with a thin layer of frost.
"It's so cold." The maid trembled and stepped back a few steps from the nearby iceberg. When her gaze fell on the faint blue figure within the iceberg, she suddenly froze. Inside the iceberg's belly, there was the silhouette of a woman.
With his palm pressed against the iceberg, feeling its coldness, Kyle's heart burned with joy and excitement. He looked up, staring blankly at the frozen figure within the iceberg.
With waist-length golden hair, snow-white skin, delicate features, and a faint smile on her face, dressed in white, she looked like an angel.
Just like half a century ago.
Kyle's thoughts drifted away as he gently touched the ice, feeling overwhelmed with emotion. "I finally found you, Lucy."
(End of Chapter)
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