The whale turned to all his allies and spoke in a calm voice, "Gather everyone you recruited who became Empyreans while I was away. Take them to my statues."
After saying this, he looked at Lyra, Ambry, Kisala, Idris, and Yuan: "You all need to go back to your sects and do the same. Without my intervention, anyone who became an Empyrean during that period is under the enemy’s mental control. When I transformed them before, I removed that influence. Right now, you’re training potential traitors who could be used against us at any moment."
Everyone’s eyes widened. Since the whale was in another place without access to the queen’s universe, Bruno couldn’t transform anyone into an Empyrean and remove the external domination. However, the Dragons had the traditional method to create Empyreans, and with the sects’ alliance, this method had been used to train new disciples.
Thanks to the efforts of the generals who stayed behind, even without the whale’s direct help, his religion not only survived but grew significantly. Bruno could clearly feel thousands of statues spread throughout the queen’s universe, along with countless new followers.
They glanced at Nixis and Rivine, who had just woken up. These two were their most dedicated and sometimes overzealous missionaries. "You’ve done an extraordinary job. Now we have a solid base in various places. It’s time to build our fortress and start acting more directly."
Everyone held their breath. They were no longer young, irrelevant disciples. Even though their cultivation was at the Divine King Realm, the fourth of the six divine realms, they were Sovereign Empyreans.
The previous generation, with higher cultivation, was made up of True Empyreans who couldn’t advance or regular cultivators. The evolution of the universe only favored the young, not the old.
Thus, even with cultivation lower than the most powerful, their Sovereign Empyrean status put them in a unique position, both in power and prestige. An elder at the peak of cultivation wasn’t necessarily stronger than them. The near-immortality and unmatched skills of the Empyreans were insurmountable barriers for the older ones.
"This war came at the perfect time. I don’t plan to end it; in fact, we’re going to escalate it to the maximum," the whale continued calmly. "We have, at most, a thousand years before the queen invades my universe. We need to cause as much damage and extract as much as we can from here. After that... you can already imagine."
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Everyone took a deep breath, breaking into a cold sweat. Now that they were becoming more powerful, the weight of their responsibilities was growing exponentially. This small war between alliances was insignificant compared to what was coming.
Millions of years had passed, but the accounts of the true heroic war of the past — with all the deaths, destruction, and the consequences of every battle — still left their marks today. Soon, a war of even greater proportions would erupt, and they would all be at the forefront of this new one.
Alm and Bruno looked at their allies seriously, realizing they finally understood what was coming.
Then he moved, taking Rehvka with him to the room; there were many issues to resolve. Thea followed close behind, but Yue ran and grabbed the whale’s arm, excited, not wanting to leave him and tagging along.
He sighed lightly but looked at all the talismans Yue had created during that time. She proudly displayed her treasures.
"You know they’ll disappear after use, right?" Bruno asked, slightly concerned.
"Of course, the most beautiful things aren’t eternal. I made them all thinking you’d use them," Yue replied lightly, adding playfully, "But if you use my treasures, you’ll have to repay me with more flashy treasures later, right?"
Alm and Bruno sighed; if she could create increasingly powerful items, they’d be willing to give her anything she wanted. Looking at the talismans, they were pleased with her progress. Without hesitation, they thought of the system.
[Search for new technique or Dao] [Points required range from 100 to 200]
[Use?] [Yes / No]
They accepted and thought of a complete Dao related to talismans.
[Searching...]
[Collector God’s Creation Dao] [100 Upgrade Points]
They read the name with relief, grateful for the minimal points needed, and quickly compared it. After reading the contents, they became excited; the Dao covered talisman creation and some unique inscriptions.
Inscriptions were widely used in the empires of the previous mission, where Qi didn’t exist, serving as an alternative to create formations. Ruri specialized in developing those inscriptions there. Now, Yue could contribute better with that, in addition to the talismans.
The whale placed his hand on her head, transmitting all the knowledge. "Go, study everything first. From now on, you can’t wander the universe looking for treasures. Things will get dangerous soon, so you should request what you need from the Larimar market."
Yue nodded excitedly with the vast amount of knowledge and quickly went off to study.
The whale then looked at Rehvka and Thea, who were talking in the corner of the room. Thea had changed a lot, growing as a person and no longer being as shy or naive as before.
Sensing the whale’s gaze, Thea turned and waved. "Master, I’m going to modify my body with all the knowledge I’ve acquired from the Alvs. I’ll be absent for a while."
Bruno asked, intrigued, "I know you can now use your rune to create a real body through metamorphosis. Are you really going to keep a robotic body?"
Thea gave a slight nod. "I plan to make a body that’s still hybrid. But now, the non-robotic parts will be practically identical to a real one." She then shot Rehvka a meaningful look.
Alm and Bruno understood what Thea was implying. She would maintain an almost physical body, like a primordial spirit using metamorphosis, but keep some robotic parts designed for combat. Crucial parts, like those that expressed her emotions, would now be visible. And, of course, the parts Thea and Rehvka used together would be more realistic and interesting.
Thea left, and Rehvka was alone with the whale. At that moment, Bruno focused on using the power of faith to remove internal control over millions of people. Alm took charge of the situation.
"Hehehe... thank you, master. Thea promised to create scary and painful things for me... I can’t wait," Rehvka said, approaching excitedly.
Alm chose to completely ignore the comment and said, "I checked the array. I can’t sense Almin, Kaiyka, or Venjio anywhere." He huffed seriously, "I’ve heard a bit about that couple. I don’t believe they’re dead. Tell us everything you know."
They wanted to hear directly from Rehvka because, despite her peculiar tastes and eccentric behavior, she was the most experienced and reliable ally. If they had to name a vice-leader capable of replacing them in any situation, Rehvka would be the choice.
Ruri had unique qualities and stood out in certain specific areas, but Rehvka was extremely observant and competent in any circumstance. Ruri specialized in filling gaps where Alm and Bruno fell short, while Rehvka excelled in everything and learned quickly.
Rehvka nodded and recounted an event that happened about three years ago. She described the details with frightening precision, including the emotions she felt from everyone involved at that place. There were two events, the last being during a long battle in this galaxy, against the Shadow God sect and its allies.
Despite the sect having lost its God and suffering numerous losses, many of them caused by the whale, it still had a solid foundation. The Yinblood sect was undoubtedly stronger now, but with the war ongoing, the entire enemy alliance backed them.
The battle erupted right after the event that led to Kaiyka and Venjio’s "death." They disappeared following an event that involved the entire universe. It was like a tournament of understanding new laws, at a place described as a sea full of runes with unique laws.
Alm listened intently, pondering. This event took place in this very galaxy, near its core.
These runes seemed like a plan by the heroes, using the infinite new laws, created to capture items from Primordial Chaos. Maybe they were trying to find someone capable of manipulating them, or just fishing for something hidden with lesser laws.
As for the couple’s death and the event: Kaiyka came in second place, and Venjio took first. When everyone expected the heroes to reward them, the couple struck ferociously. A final message from Kaiyka echoed through the array:
’When he returns, tell him I’m destroying everything to delay them. This main law... is very similar to the calamity we faced. Venjio and I managed to master it together, like puzzle pieces fitting perfectly. But we realized no one else could do it. So, the heroes were going to capture us and find out everything.’
The heroes surrounded the couple and attacked with all their might, but surprisingly, Kaiyka managed to cut through the heroic power with her sword, freeing them for a brief moment. Then, everyone witnessed as the two burned their lives and all their energy, turning into a bloody mist, not even leaving a fragment of their souls behind.
After that, the heroes retreated in silence, and the event came to an end. However, the Empyreans launched into a fierce battle between the two alliances. And during that battle, something unusual happened.