Inside the cave, a tense and chilling atmosphere lingered within a small central room. There was Malieka, who was carefully observing the two-headed Cerberus sitting in a chair, exuding an air of mystery. In front of him, leaning against the wall, was Rhug, looking at the other demonic beast frantically and angrily.
This situation persisted for minutes, and one head of the Cerberus only conveyed an even greater absurdity by looking at Rhug. The demoness was anxious, but both were waiting for her to make a mixture of black soil with a black liquid, which should come from the nearby river. Alm felt that it seemed to be a strange and non-lethal poison for demons, so he was surprised to see her take a large amount.
Bruno, who let things flow, took this time to read the few memories imprinted on the Cerberus’s body. He was still very young, and his intelligence was growing, leaving the memories confused and fragmented. But some important points were understood by Bruno, and after a few minutes, when Malieka sat next to them, Bruno woke up and spoke mentally.
’M... mom, we can finally talk,’ Bruno said a bit awkwardly, and Alm internally heard that with a mix of shame and anger.
Malieka stood up, approaching with serious eyes, and her heart beat uncontrollably; if she were human, there might be tears, but demons don’t have that tendency.
My brother is still a bit rough and dumb. And he can’t communicate because his violent instincts completely dominate him, making him a foolish savage who can’t even clean his own butt. But don’t worry, I can help him now.’ Bruno commented lightly, with a cheerful air at the end, while Alm cursed internally.
’I understand, but what happened? Why did you run away?’ Malieka asked calmly.
Bruno then made up a story about having a dream about a colossal three-headed Cerberus, and after that dream, he woke up with his bloodline awakened and able to think correctly. Soon, as if guided by an instinctive call, he went out and ended up finding a shiny thing that he swallowed...
Those were random nonsense that he wouldn’t bother remembering later. But that demoness listened attentively and seemed to doubt nothing. In summary, something mysterious awakened their bloodline, and they later swallowed a treasure that gave them power and more intelligence. It was ridiculous, but the proof of their power and intelligence had already been shown, and Malieka had no reason to doubt.
Rhug couldn’t hear the conversation, but he knew they were talking mentally; his frustration and anger seemed endless. But shortly after, Malieka’s light smile and fluctuations of joy made him calmer.
’The voice in my mind told me many things, but I can’t quite comprehend it. But I feel like I can get us out of here and back home,’ Bruno spoke extremely confidently. ’So, I want to know as much about this place as possible to try to connect the dots. How did you free yourself and save us?’
Malieka was in a chair facing her pet with a penetrating look. She then took another cup of that black liquid and spoke slowly.
’Do you remember our life in the infernal forest?’ she asked, and one head nodded a bit confused, which allowed her to understand. Everything happened when the Cerberus was a newborn, so how could he remember things clearly? Even she didn’t remember much when she had just been born.
’Well, Rhug and I have similar stories. The forest was invaded by a golden divine being, and our entire village was burned while the survivors were thrown into this place. When I awakened, I found myself inside a bone city surrounded by thousands of other demons. But I felt a little relieved and safe when I found the people from my village.’ A distant and painful look crossed Malieka as she spoke.
’No one explained anything to us, and everyone around was in the same confused situation, so we decided to leave that place and explore together. It didn’t take long to find traces of vast war fields and death, so we finally found another group; they were all demonic beasts.’
She turned, looking at Rhug tenderly, and continued. ’That’s where we met. As soon as the demons spotted the beasts, golden runes appeared in everyone’s eyes, and both sides attacked without any rationality as if it were an obligation.’
’Fate is strange, and Rhug and I ended up in a bitter and balanced battle in the skies, drifting quite far from the center. No one had the upper hand, and when we were both injured and almost killing each other after hours of dueling, that’s when we felt the distant battlefield and stopped frozen.’ The demoness’s eyes trembled as she recalled that memory.
’All our families were dead, killing each other. Everyone from my village was gone, and at that moment, I remembered you, whom I had left in the Bone City safely. After that, I just felt the golden power come out of me as if it had turned to dust, and when I looked to the side, I saw Rhug in the same situation.’ Rhug nodded to her words. It was as she had said before; their situations were almost identical.
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’I managed to return to the city and tried to warn the thousands who stayed. Some went to check the bodies, but even seeing them, they seemed unable to comprehend what they were seeing. Only words of hatred against the demonic beasts came out of their mouths. It seemed that what came out of me dominated the mind and made us kill each other. It seemed that it also prevented people from rebelling. I don’t understand why or how, but we were never controlled again. I gave up trying to convince others and just took you and isolated myself; it’s been a hundred years since then.’ She finished calmly.
’I understand... but what was that thing you were taking?’ Bruno asked mentally.
Her eyes became serious, and she lightly placed her hand on her belly, speaking with a sigh. "Well, we’ve lived together for a long time, and... I tried to have a child once before. But despite everything seeming normal, only something dead came out of me. After a few attempts, I realized that something was wrong in this place, and I decided to always take this poison to avoid frustrations in a few months."
Alm and Bruno nodded in understanding, and soon things became clear. ’It was as I said, the hero only managed to trigger a part of the queen’s runes. This domain became so fragile that strong emotions, like seeing everyone you know die, broke the chains on her and that guy.’ Alm commented emotionlessly.
Bruno nodded thoughtfully. ’Seems to be the case, but how do we use this to our advantage? It doesn’t seem feasible to unite the races by awakening them with this method. And we still don’t know how to create a divine soul.’
Alm looked at the demonic beast and the demoness exchanging affectionate glances and remembered something. ’The soul, when it attaches to the developing body, ends up merging slightly with the mother and the environment, becoming a sponge multiplying the absorption of Yin and Yang and amplifying the future talent of the body and soul.’
Bruno nodded, that’s why parents with high cultivation give birth to babies with high potential from the cradle. In the divine realm, as soon as a woman discovers pregnancy, she generates the child by placing herself in environments rich in laws and Qi to further enhance this.
’Yes, creating a divine soul must be much easier if it is formed still within the womb.’ Bruno spoke, recalling this fact, and quickly understood where Alm was getting at. ’But, the formation absorbs any soul. We won’t be able to use one to put it into a woman and take advantage of this ease.’
Malieka waited a few minutes in the midst of silence while her pet seemed to be thinking deeply, then Bruno asked: ’Come on, on average, how often do battles happen?’
"Hm... usually, every month, new blood is brought to both sides. So, at most, they face each other every two months." Malieka answered lightly.
’Great, we have time. We’ll think carefully and try to remember exactly what that voice told us, Mom. Don’t worry; soon, you’ll be able to go home.’ Bruno replied confidently and moved calmly, returning to his dark room. He said he needed to rest and left the two there with incredulous and bewildered looks.
Inside the darkroom of the cave, Alm and Bruno sat down and focused on organizing all the information they had. The overall picture was clear, but the path seemed cloudy. So, after getting nowhere, Bruno remembered when they almost died facing a copy of themselves a short time ago.
’The system is guiding us all the time, and nothing is just a coincidence. Clear signs to follow are always left; something must have escaped our senses.’ Bruno stated while Alm just scoffed in ridicule.
They then focused on the most obvious—the Cerberus’s body. Its bloodline was subtle and thin but could be expanded with a little effort, which wouldn’t make a big difference. So, they traversed the meridians; everything was dry and without Qi, obviously. They then searched for the bestial core; every demon beast should have one somewhere different. Nothing was found at first, but thinking about the type of body they had, they searched in the center of the head and found it; a Cerberus naturally has multiple cores, one for each head.
Feeling those two cores, something strange was noticed. They seemed full...
So, they tried to penetrate inside and see what was there, but they couldn’t, even using their souls; it was as if there was a separate and closed world inside that would only open with a key.
Alm and Bruno thought a bit and remembered when they were unsure about the key to open the castle in the desert. If the system dropped hints, and nothing was by chance, the answer might have already been subtly left. At that time, Ruri made them use both keys at the same time. Reminding that made them sigh, and simultaneously, Alm used his soul to invade Bruno’s head core while Bruno did the same the other way around.
Crack!
Something breaking sounded, and the two cores opened. A unique law came out from inside and gradually merged in the air between them. Soon, a single rune formed completely and fixed itself in the center of their bodies. The two were in complete disbelief; they knew this rune well, and immediately, they put their minds into that rune.
Inside, an extremely familiar enclosed space appeared in their eyes. There were small shining mountains and various small objects; everything was known to them. That rune was their spatial rune, and that place was their spatial inventory.