That entire dazzling primordial body vanished after being converted into pure power. Everyone forgot to breathe as they stared at the last remnants, until they finally sighed in relief.
They saw that a fragment of the Ice Phoenix’s soul still lingered, accompanied by a few drops of her primordial bloodline. She had burned nearly everything she had, including a significant part of her own soul. Looking at the youths in front of her, she nodded slightly, murmuring in a cold tone:
"This is all I can do, since you don’t seem to want to kill them. In this state, they won’t be freed anytime soon, not even by the Queen herself. If she used everything she had, maybe in a few millennia she could manage it, but right now, she wouldn’t waste her time on that."
The fragment sighed, casting a final look at Lieson, while conflicting emotions stirred within her chest. The image of her ’hated’ sister briefly crossed her mind. She nodded, allowing a few of the drops of her salvaged bloodline to float toward him.
"You carry her Yang blood, but it’s mixed with another Yin race. That creates a conflict that would be deadly for any mortal, but it’s bearable for you because our primordial bloodline is exceptional. However, it drastically reduces your power. Consider this a gift from me, since we’re family; it will help you."
She spoke clearly, and although she seemed cold and emotionless, her eyes conveyed genuine familial love. Everyone present noticed it, as they had become experts at reading emotions in otherwise expressionless figures.
"As for me, I’ll disappear forever. That way, she won’t be able to capture me again, and I can atone for my sins... goodbye."
The Phoenix declared lightly, but before she could activate the power of her soul, everything within her was sealed. She turned around, startled, to face two opposing and terrifying souls staring at her coldly.
"Get in this. You got lucky; it’s the last one we have."
Bruno tossed the last pill that Almin had made before being captured. The Phoenix looked at the object, confused, but obeyed without hesitation and entered the pill.
The pill floated, and Bruno directed it toward Lieson. "Take your... aunt? Anyway, she seems to like you."
Without delay, Ruri unraveled her entire world, and everyone emerged in the micro-universe of the inventory.
Alm and Bruno quickly moved the three blocks of eternal ice. Then, they created runes from the Duality of Shadows and mixed them with the power of their celestial souls.
With the help of the Eraser, their law easily infiltrated the blocks. To them, the eternal ice—which even the Queen would struggle to deal with—was harmless against the impossible-to-exist law they possessed. Their celestial souls were used to completely conceal it. Before the ice was even broken, not even the Queen would be able to detect the gift hidden within.
Afterward, they turned to Lieson. "Give me some of your pure Phoenix Fire blood."
The young man nodded and quickly drew out a few drops, formed by pulsing Yang runes in flames. Alm and Bruno took the blood and left the inventory with the three blocks of ice.
The whale opened his eyes and meticulously burned part of Lieson’s pure blood, leaving only minimal traces scattered in the area. These remnants could only be detected by divine souls or higher.
Then, he lifted the hammer again and struck. With a sound like space tearing apart, they created a direct passage to the underworld.
The three blocks of ice were thrown into a remote, completely isolated region of the underworld. Additionally, the whale also left a trace of the Phoenix Fire blood at the location.
Shortly after, the heavenly laws restored the broken space, sealing it completely.
Without hesitation, the whale disappeared, using the Eraser to travel to a distant location. He then began his return to planet Gloom.
Everyone in the alliance was gathered there, anxiously awaiting the whale’s return. He didn’t take long, as there was urgency to resolve everything as quickly as possible.
Alm and Bruno had quickly improvised that final plan. They decided to trust the Ice Phoenix, partly because, despite hating her, the Fire Phoenix vouched for her sister’s reliability. Additionally, the Forge God trusted both, and they knew that dwarf had a good eye. Finally, they instinctively felt she was being controlled.
Probably, just like the Leviathan, she chose to switch sides. Alm and Bruno understood that; if they were in her place, they’d have done the same. It was better to hold onto hope for freedom than to remain sealed and completely powerless. Naturally, the Queen had placed complete mental dominion over her to prevent betrayal.
This came as no surprise to anyone. Only the Leviathan didn’t receive the same treatment because he was considered irrelevant. He was so mediocre that only an immortal hero could confront him and likely defeat him. The Queen didn’t even bother with him, but the Ice Phoenix was different.
As for the three immortal beasts, they were indeed on the Queen’s side. Even so, she had implanted mental dominion within them for emergencies. After all, the Queen wasn’t naive; even her heroes were subject to this kind of control.
In the end, after her generals activated the Queen’s dominion as if they were heroes, the Phoenix was freed. They had just gained this power and didn’t know how to use it properly, but working together, they managed. In the future, one of them alone would be capable of something like that.
Alm and Bruno figured the Ice Phoenix could help cover everything up, and she did.
Now, using Lieson’s blood, which carried the Fire Phoenix bloodline, they manipulated the scene for any heroes that might come to investigate.
For the heroes, the Fire Phoenix was still missing after breaking free from the seal. Her disappearance suggested she had hidden in the underworld, the only place where someone could temporarily evade the Queen.
With the Fire Phoenix’s blood present and the traces of battle, it was logical to assume the Fire Phoenix had fought against the four. The blood indicated she had been injured in the fight.
Eventually, the heroes would investigate the underworld and find the three blocks of ice, confirming the theory. The explanation would be simple: the Fire Phoenix fought and somehow managed to free her sister. Then, the Ice Phoenix used her full power to freeze the three eternally and fled to the underworld.
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Given the urgency, the two decided to simply toss the three into the underworld to buy time and ensure their escape.
Despite a few inconsistencies in the story, there were enough signs and physical evidence to support it. The heroes would have no choice but to accept it.
But what had really happened before all this? It was highly likely they’d investigate everything and eventually trace it back to the cultivators who had fought there.
No one from the Righteous Path Alliance who had participated in the events was still alive. Thus, they would attack the victorious allies of the war, and Alm and Bruno had to cover everything up to protect them.
Inside the inventory, all the young members of the Shadow God Sect and the Heavenly Spirit God Sect who had entered that sealed world were unconscious, in a deep coma. Clearly, none of them had any chance to see or learn anything.
When the whale returned, he demanded that all his allies hand over their top-tier immortal weapons, which he temporarily stored.
He then synchronized everyone’s version of the events. There was no need to lie much; they just had to say that Vrix, Lansha, and Mihkriel were their hidden allies. With their help and the Goddess Rehvka, they had orchestrated a victorious strategic move.
After that, there was a bloody, "fair" all-out battle. The enemy alliance was caught off guard and completely wiped out.
As for the Heavenly Spirit God, he was killed in the climax of the battle by a sacred flame that suddenly appeared. That same flame drove out the survivors, who accepted what happened as a victory, though confused by the ending.
This account reinforced the idea of the Fire Phoenix’s arrival. Furthermore, if the heroes tried to read the memories of those involved, they would find that everyone, without exception, was loyal to the whale. Bruno had a direct connection to their faith.
Any attempt at memory reading would be detected by Bruno, who could block it. If the heroes insisted and forced access, Bruno had only one option: to detonate that person.
"After one or more, they’ll understand they can’t succeed... but I hope it won’t come to that," the whale said with a heavy tone.
"Sir, don’t worry. We accept the risk. If it’s necessary, do it without hesitation," Yulong replied on behalf of everyone, with resolute eyes full of determination.
After finalizing the details, everyone dispersed, returning to their respective sects to await the inevitable arrival of the heroes and the start of the investigation.
’Everything ended perfectly well...’ Bruno murmured as the whale returned to his building in the Yinblood Sect. ’After that defeat, now nothing has gone wrong... which is very strange.’
Alm snorted. They already knew that omen well: it meant the main quest was going to be absurdly problematic. In other words, a typical Tuesday for them.
They had already received the side quest completion notification but had no intention of immediately pursuing the main one. Now, they had a terrifying source of knowledge they couldn’t ignore.
They summoned Lieson along with the Ice Phoenix. That primordial beast lived in the Queen’s lair and surely held essential information about everything related to the heroes. With her help, they could discover where Isla or Almin had been taken.