That was the Chaos Yin Dragon. Before, she had used her mastery of Yin to create something like a tattoo, converting all the laws of that place into Yin, transforming it into a world of pure Yin.
Without much effort, Alm simply picked up Mistie and used his tattoo. He merged with the Yin of the environment, disappearing even from the Dragon’s senses. Rehvka had taught him some of her technique, and although Alm couldn’t compare to her, he could now do it far more efficiently than in the past.
After hearing the Dragon’s shadow speak, the whale snorted and turned, staring at her towering form. A Yin tattoo pulsed on his hand, causing the Dragon’s shadow to widen her eyes. Then, another Yang tattoo appeared. The Dragon was stunned, as the level of the laws in both tattoos was not inferior, in any way, to what her true body could produce.
Then, the whale’s eyes gleamed, and Yin and Yang fused perfectly.
The laws of that place stirred, and an inexplicable, divine power manifested, as if a deity had opened its eyes to the mortals.
The whale sighed and moved his hands gently. In an instant, all the laws of that world, once dominated by the Dragon, changed ownership.
The atmosphere became silent and cold. The Dragon’s shadow was completely subdued and almost powerless. Mistie, still on the whale’s shoulder, was the most shaken. She had seen and felt everything in silence, and an unbelievable premonition took hold of her.
"I don’t blame you for wanting to vent after so long, but now we’re going to talk," the whale said softly.
"WHO ARE YOU?!" the Dragon roared, but Alm and Bruno didn’t answer right away. They could feel Mistie’s emotions and were about to reveal themselves to both her and the Dragon at the same time.
’Screw it,’ Alm spat.
The whale waved, opening his inventory. Suddenly, the ground shook beneath everyone’s feet. A colossal, serpentine body emerged.
At the same time, a supreme Yang aura and a primordial draconic bloodline emanated. Mistie’s heart stopped, leaving her completely catatonic.
"I brought a goodwill gift. Found this scaly lizard, thought you’d like it," Alm said dryly, while the shadow in the sky remained silent.
After a few seconds, the Dragon’s voice echoed. "He died to a mortal... how pathetic... To think I once loved him," she sighed. "I wanted to do this with my own hands, but I’m in no position to demand anything."
Immediately, her demeanor became cold and calculating. She turned her attention to the whale, sizing him up. "Primordial bloodline, unbelievable power, and an impossible feat for your level of cultivation... looks like *Heaven’s Will* finally managed to create a decent missionary."
"Glad you caught on quickly. I can’t waste time, I need to go back." The whale spoke emotionlessly. "Let me be straight: stay quiet for now. I don’t know what the next move will be from the six who escaped, but I’ll figure it out."
"What’s your objective here? You’re taking too many risks," the Dragon’s voice sounded cold.
"I didn’t have any objective at first. I came to this planet because it was convenient. But the people here welcomed me and trusted me." The whale responded calmly, feeling the warmth of Mistie’s body returning.
Still on his shoulder, she turned her eyes to him, deeply shaken by everything. But despite it being obvious who he was, she couldn’t feel fear. She only felt the same as always when she looked at him.
The whale continued, "Recently, I discovered a way to free those who’ve been sealed like you. I’ve already freed the Behemoth and the Fire Phoenix. This lizard here was just in the way, a bonus."
"Why the hell are you doing something so foolish? You’re still too weak. This will only attract unwanted attention…"
"Things just happened," the whale cut her off quickly. "If you want a reason: your reverse scales are with my wife. Their power, your power, has saved me once already. Thanks to you, she became much stronger and safer. And also…"
The inventory rune on the whale’s forehead glowed. The Dragon recognized it from before — it felt similar to her technique, but also different. But now, Alm and Bruno let out an aura of the Chaos Tree from within the inventory. In that moment, the Dragon’s shadow stirred in surprise.
It was the law of chaos, something even immortal cultivators couldn’t fully control. Most could grasp a few ideas and do very minor things with it. But… that aura within the inventory felt anything but simple.
He continued, "You must sense it a little. The basis of this is actually your technique. I modified it and created something new. Anyway, I’m going to free you. I have the method, and my wife already has part of your power."
"You really are an anomaly… It’s rare to see missionaries create anything. When they do, their techniques tend to be senseless, just to attract attention. They’re extremely arrogant and passive, only using the resources of *Heaven’s Will* without actually doing anything for themselves," she spoke calmly and took a deep breath.
"I’d like to carefully analyze what you’ve created, but I see you’re in a hurry. I still think freeing me is foolish and risky; but I was deceived and sealed in a humiliating way; who am I to tell you what to do… I’ll listen to you. What do you want from me?"
Alm and Bruno knew she doubted their ability to free her. It wasn’t easy to believe. They thought quickly. Remembering Heze and the Behemoth’s actions on the Pristine planet, they had an idea.
"Ruri already has a primordial Yin rune inside her. I want you to create a primordial draconic bloodline rune for her. Use this body and its primordial power, also secretly seal your entire soul fragment within it. With this, we’ll be able to communicate, and the rune will be extremely useful."
"Okay."
The voice sounded, and quickly the colossal body in front of them trembled. A small part of the Dragon’s primordial power was released, along with a bit of its bloodline. The shadow huffed and tossed away all the Yang, while an internal bloodline rune emerged.
Alm and Bruno nodded. The shadow then turned to them and, in an instant, disappeared, invading the rune and anchoring itself to it. The whale waved and stored the rune.
Everything took just a few minutes. The whale then turned, lifted Heze, and placed him on the opposite shoulder from Mistie. He stored the Dragon’s body before quickly walking toward the exit.
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But, facing Mistie’s confused and piercing gaze on his shoulder, Bruno could only sigh.
"I know it’s hard to believe, but things are way more complicated than you think. Everything you studied and learned throughout your life... it’s not real."
Bruno tried to soften the situation. Mistie had already become an Empyrean after passing that test they created. Like everyone who underwent the Empyrean transformation process, Bruno had removed any trace of the Queen’s dominance from them, freeing them from her influence. With Bruno’s mark on them, the Queen and the laws couldn’t easily influence or invade their minds.
Now, Mistie was for the first time free to think for herself, without any interference. But... she had lived her whole life believing that Heroes and the universe followed a Divine and Sacred order. The mere suggestion that everything could be wrong seemed absurd... But something was beginning to change within her.
"It was you who did everything..." Mistie murmured, her voice trembling. "So, you really would be a Heaven-Defier?"
"That’s a derogatory name. Actually, I’m a missionary of Heaven’s Will. And, like everyone else, we’re enemies of the heroes because we want to end those who lead them," Bruno said calmly.
"The Holy Goddess? That’s..."
Alm interrupted her coldly. "Stop repeating what you were told. Think for yourself. Throughout your life, how many stories, how many events have you witnessed about the nefarious actions of heroes? You don’t remember that?"
Suddenly, it was as if all of Mistie’s memories about the heroes, which had previously been chained, had their bindings destroyed.
It wasn’t that Mistie didn’t remember that the Heroes were worse than any demon or cultivator. She was like Almin in the past, who showed no reaction to Isla’s death and even said thoughtless things.
Something in Mistie’s mind prevented her from hating the heroes; it was a subtle control exerted by the Queen all along.
Even though the people of the universe had free will and weren’t completely enslaved, there was minimal but constant influence. The heavenly laws shaped their thoughts from birth, creating a relentless competition for power and inhibiting any desire to rebel against the heroes.
People feared the heroes, had the freedom to do things that would be punished, but would never question them or consider uniting against them. That made no sense or logic; all the heroes’ actions were outrageous, committed openly and everywhere.
Now, free from the Queen’s influence, Mistie began to think for herself, and her true feelings about the Heroes surfaced.
She trembled with hate. Fear, anger, and other emotions mixed together. She could only murmur, "They are evil... how did I never realize that? How could I admire and blindly obey their orders all this time?"
"Because they took that right away from you," the whale replied seriously. "I freed you, but know that everyone, in almost every universe, is controlled. You’re still privileged. In many places, people are practically slaves, with no free will."
The whale’s words plunged Mistie into a deep silence. Shaken, she reflected. Alm and Bruno stayed quiet, giving her the time she needed. She had always shown herself to be smart and trustworthy, even when still under the influence of the laws. Now, her decision would completely change her life, no matter what choice she made.
When they got close to the exit, they stopped, taking a deep breath. It was at that moment that a message from Ruri came through the array:
’Master! The entire planet is surrounded. They’re coming in large numbers... yes, they are Dragons from the Dragon Ascent Sect.’