Standing by the roots of the tree that became Gaia's prison, I traced the bindings that were placed by me. Noticing that the strain on them was much greater than what I anticipated, I tried to find the reason while restoring them.
I soon identified that power from outside was loosening the chains, but rather than make it possible for Gaia to escape, that person wanted to drain some power from inside. After finding traces, I decided to look for the culprit.
-"Are you going with me, Tingyun?"
-"Certainly. It's a rare occasion to be alone with you."
-"Let's go then."
Divining some information from the traces I discovered, I teleported us to where the person I was looking for should be, but we arrived in the mountains with no soul in sight. It should be impossible to hide so perfectly from my perception, so something was going on in this place.
Focusing on the surroundings, I found an anomaly nearby. Identifying it as a sub-space existing in this place. Forcefully creating the entrance, Tingyun and I went inside.
What greeted us was a giant castle, shimmering with countless crystals, reflecting cold light. It was eye-catching enough that we noticed the massacre happening below only after feasting our eyes on the castle.
-"Yue, why everywhere you go, some trouble is happening?"
-"I can only say because I was Nameless once."
-"Is this some kind of curse?"
-"No. I'll cite Akivili here: 'Everybody is the main hero of their life, and I want my story to be an Adventure book!'."
-"This sounds like something THEY would say."
-"This is why Nameless who follow their Path have a tendency to attract trouble, and this proclivity hasn't left me even now."
-"Well, will you save them?"
-"I'll stop it, but those beings are not worth saving, so be careful."
-"I see. I'll be sure not to hinder you."
We moved to the castle where a woman was massacring people surrounding her. Grabbing the Oath of Silence, I bound the aggressor while simultaneously depriving those attacked of their power.
-"Speak, who sabotaged the tree near Kyoto."
-"Who are you?!"
-"That is not your business. Speak, or I'll make you."
There was no response now. Every person here did their best to escape their bindings and attack me.
-"Yue, aren't you a little too harsh?"
-"You can't feel it, but their auras are bloody. Even tyrants who slaughter millions don't possess such auras. Those guys take pleasure in murder."
-"Oh, my..."
-"Only that woman has a gentle aura, but now is overtaken by something and in a crazed state."
-"Can you calm her down?"
-"I'll try."
I approached a trashing woman whose strength was far beyond all others present. Using the Authority of Sentience, I tried to calm her down and communicate, but I was only partly successful.
I understood that she was consumed by immersed blood thirst, and that is why calming her down the way I tried was almost impossible. I had to satiate her thirst, as it was a physical affliction, not a mental one.
Deciding that the most direct way was best, I manifested a small branch from my Tree and grew fruit from it. This fruit contained my blood, diluted so that it could be drunk by the woman in front of me.
Bringing it to her mouth, she bit into it and, finding it tasty, continued to drink the blood it contained. When the whole fruit was eaten, she finally showed signs of waking from her berserk state.
In the end, only after the third fruit was I able to fully eliminate the blood thirst. The now clear red eyes of the woman looked at me with clear intrigue.
-"Would you mind unbinding me?"
-"First, you'll answer my question. Who and why tried to meddle with the tree near Kyoto?"
-"Unbind me."-She spoke with her eyes changing color to gold.
Feeling that she was trying to control me, I also opened my eyes and looked into hers. My aura rose, stirring the surroundings. Dark clouds condensed over our heads, the wind picked up, and the whole of nature became hostile.
-"I suggest you think twice before trying something like that."
-"You are interesting. I'm not sure, but the person you are looking for is probably the same one who caused my blood thirst."
-"Thank you."
I released her and started walking away. Closing my eyes and calming my aura, I walked to Tingyun and started divining about the person who caused all of this.
-"What are you doing?"
-"Don't disturb him."
-"And who are you to speak for him, huh? With your strength, you must be some kind of pet."
-"Watch our words."-I warned her again.-"I can feel you are simply ignorant, but next time you insult those important to me, I'll stop being tolerant."
-"Why do you care about weaklings?"
-"Why you don't?"
-"Hmm... Never thought about that. Can you tell me your name?"
-"Yue."
-"I'm Arcueid Brunestud."
I locked onto the aura of the person I chased and decided to bring him here. Teleporting the man in front of us, I restrained him and checked his state.
He was currently in the middle of becoming the same type of being as those people around us. Even as he noticed that his situation was bad, he still smiled, as if it didn't matter.
-"You are too late."
-"Why you made me drink your blood."
-"To become immortal."
-"Fool."
-"Haha... That may be."
-"Why do you touch the tree."
-"For power, of course."
-"Can I kill him?"
-"Are you able to make sure he truly dies?"
-"No, but I'll kill him every time he returns."
-"Then leave him to me."
I used Path of Nihility, destroying him entirely.
-"Wow, you are even stronger than I thought."
-"We will be leaving."
-"Can't you stay?"
-"No."
-"I'll follow you then."
-"Why?"
-"Because I want to."
-"Sigh."
Returning to Kyoto, the Vampire Princess followed me. Tingyun patiently answered her every question, and there were many of them. As Arcueid was ignorant of the human way of life, she was curious about new things she saw around.
The sun was already rising when we returned to Kyoto. Tamamo had yet to wake up, so we found a place to eat breakfast. I made food for us while the girls continued their Q&A.
-"So you two are not from this world?"
-"Yes."
-"I also want to go to another world."
-"You would have to be part of the Hold."
-"Then I'll join you."
-"Will you follow our rules?"
-"...Do I have to?"
-"Yes."
-"Hmm... That is troubling."
-"Enjoy your meal."
-"Thanks, Yue."
-"Yue, why do you follow the rules? You are strong that you don't have to, right?"
-"I follow rules to not be alone. Absolute freedom is enjoyable, but it is hard to find a company with people who act only with their own interests in mind."
-"Why should I care?"
-"How about I show you after the meal."
Arcueid also tried some food I prepared. This resulted in our breakfast lasting for over an hour, as Vampire Princess asked for multiple seconds. We were able to end the only after a promise of a more tasty dinner later.
I took the two girls outside, stopping near the tree of Gaia.
-"Arcueid, I'll use my abilities to show your future if I hadn't stopped you in the castle."
-"Why?"
-"Just watch it and decide why later."
Using Path of Finality and power from the leylines under the tree, I performed modified divination that showed the future that already has been prevented. At first, Arcueid was unmoved, but as years passed in the image shown to her, she understood consequences she never thought about before.
Looking at a woman in the castle, alone her whole life, and coming out only to kill the one who cursed her with this life, Vampire Princess met the unfeeling world for the first time. She had to confront her innocence with the cruelty of what had almost happened to her.
After over five hundred years of that timeline was shown to her, the images stopped. She stood there for some time, thinking back on everything she had just seen.
-"Tingyun, Yue, I'm sorry for my behavior before."
-"Don't worry."
-"Yes, no need to beat yourself over it."
-"I now see what did you mean, Yue."
-"So what will you do now?"
-"I still want to follow you. Here, no one cares about Arcueid, but only the Brunestud."
-"Welcome to Hold."
-"Thank you, Yue."
We spend the rest of the morning talking about Hold with Arcueid. She found the idea of Hope closest to her, and so she decided to join there. Around noon, Tamamo woke up and met us.
-"Another girl? Tsk, playboy."
-"It wasn't Yue's fault, I just wanted to follow."
-"Don't bother defending him. You following him is all evidence I need to blame him. Tell me, would you follow some other person like you did Yue?"
-"..."
-"See?"
-"OK, I know you are not my greatest fan, Tamamo, but let's focus on important matters. Do you want our help in negotiations with the Mage's Association?"
-"Yes. Someone from Hold is necessary for everything to go smoothly."
-"I'll remain here. You can't personally take action as it would be unbecoming of your position, Yue."
-"I know. Ask for someone from Duty to accompany you."
-"OK."
-"Decided? Then you are not welcome here anymore, you womanizer."
-"Sigh. I'll be leaving then. Take care, Tingyun."
I left with Arcueid, taking her to Hold while I teleported back to Sect.
When I returned to Sect, all the girls were already fully immersed in Cultivation. I turned into Fox and went to the main hall of the Sect, where Divine Dream was meeting with some Elders.
-"Are you certain that they were captured by Saint race?"
-"Yes, we received a warning not to interfere in their conquest of the newly birthed world."
-"..."
~"It would seem that I returned in perfect moment."
-"Yue? Sigh. I'm sorry."
~"Tell me what is going on."
-"Party of Elysia, Frost Dream, and Lin Xiaoge was captured and used to threaten us."
~"Who did it?"
-"Saint race leader, Good Fortune Saint Emperor."
~"Why does he want to conquer the new world so much?"
-"He Cultivates the Law of devouring. He can ascend to greater height if he consumes you."
~"I see."
-"What will you do?"
~"First, I'll rescue them. Later, there may be war."
-"We will stand by you if it comes to that."
~"Thank you."
I took Jingliu and Sakura with me, and after tracing the connection between me and Elysia, we rushed to where Elysia was.
In Hold, I informed Astraea about what had happened, and she recalled Nobunaga to talk about the situation. The entire Hold was placed in a state of alarm, with all forces ready to deploy at short notice.
-"Yue, explain the strength of our opponents."
-"Enemy elites are beyond most of the members. Jingliu and Sakura can be considered comparable to the Holy Lord, and the enemy has tens of thousands of those, but Xipe, Ena, and Terminus are stronger than the strongest opponents."
-"What about you?"
-"Hard to say, but in all-out destruction, I will win."
-"So we are weaker as an organization, but stronger overall?"
-"Yes, more so, even if we don't fight now, the enemy will try to attack us later. Any ideas, Nobu, Astraea, Ningguang?"
-"First, we can't afford war right now, but we have to fight."
-"I agree with Astraea. We are in the middle of organizing a way to strengthen our soldiers. The opponent is too much for them currently."
-"Nobu, what are you thinking about?"
-"Yue, remember when you told me about the Swarm Disaster in your home world?"
-"Yes."
-"We can't go to war, so let's make them also unable. Is it possible to create a plage akin to Swarm Disaster, but with Honkai Originium and things like that?"
-"It is not impossible... It will be an uncontrollable calamity."
-"It will be perfect that way."
-"..."
-"Your pink fox paints us as nature, so let's prove that we can truly rule disasters."
-"I'll get the whole Progress working on the project."
-"Go, don't give the enemy time to prepare."
When the research in Hold began, I arrived in one of Saint's race universes with Jingliu and Sakura. Three of us landed near Sect, where captives were kept.
I send them covered with the power of Enigmata to save the hostages, while I would act as a distraction. They quickly left while I continued forward to the main entrance.
My appearance surprised the guards, but they let me pass after feeling my power, only alarming stronger people inside. I passed unobstructed, entering the main hall, where countless powerful auras were gathered.
-"Speak, who send you."
-"I'm here to recover my people."
-"Heh, and who do you think you are to contradict my decree."
-"You must be Good Fortune Saint Emperor."
-"Yes. Now, for the last time, who are you?"
-"I'm the person who you are looking for. Someone from the new world."
-"Hou? Why are you here then? You want to betray your world and join the Saint race?"
-"No. I'm to warn you against taking action against us."
-"With your strength? Pitful World King dares to speak to me like that?!"
-"I can leave as stranger or enemy. what do you choose?"
-"Don't leave then."
An Empyrean attacked me at their leader's order, but the attack couldn't reach me. A few more tried, but their attack also failed.
-"You are not so easy..."
-"I'm not. I'll give you all one last chance. Those who leave will not be targeted. Those who stay, I'll make sure your worlds are destroyed."
-"Heh, with your strength?"
-"I'm leaving."-Said a woman with an aura comparable to the leader.-"I can't feel anything from him, even the faintest traces of soul. I will not risk everything to jump into the unknown."
-"This also is meaningless to me. I want to fight you once in the future, though."
In the end, many left following two powerhouses. I send a message to Jingliu and Sakura to warn them once again to leave with all their forces. I looked at now angry Good Fortune Saint Emperor.
-"Do you want to continue?"
-"Die!"
He attacked me with his palm. I instantly used the Path of Preservation to block his attack. Drawing from Path of Nihility, I entered my false Aeon state, rising into the air while eroding surrounding existence. Using Authorities of Death, Thunder, and Earth, I contracted, creating black holes, trying to destroy everything.
I erupting with such strength caught them off guard, allowing me to kill a few Empyreans, but the Good Fortune Saint Emperor quickly contained most of the destruction, saving the remaining people here.
I used more strength and destroyed force restraining my power, allowing me to erode more and more existance. Good Fortune Saint Emperor and I entered the stalemate, where I would try to erode while he restrained me, but even when other Empyreans joined to help their leader, the situation didn't change.
I continued like that for a few hours until I got the message that everyone was rescued. Creating a parting gift, I teleported outside to where Jingliu, Sakura, and Elysia were waiting.
The moment I disappeared, the deadlock ended, and Good Fortune Saint Emperor regained control over the situation. But the moment he eliminated the last traces of Nihility, the power of Finality I left there erupted, enveloping them in a zone where time slowed to a crawl.