After Astoria's golden dragon aura poured out of the guest building, it receded inside and stabilized within Astoria's body.
It was only a matter of time before Astoria's bloodline awakening concluded.
However, due to her incredibly thinned golden dragon bloodline, Astoria didn't undergo any visible changes to her body. Even so, only a fool would believe her physical toughness and strength were still the same as prior to her bloodline awakening.
That said, the dragon lords continued to guard the guest building until the process truly finished. As such, Henrietta and Ember still had to wait outside with them.
More importantly, the appearance of the golden dragon bloodline had everyone's attention fixated on the world's situation.
"A golden dragon with a nobler bloodline than the Fire Dragon God, huh? If such a divine being once existed in this world, there's no reason why this world would have such a poor life value. What do you think about this, Lord Narvim?" Astarot casually queried.
"Why are you only asking Lord Narvim, Lord Astarot? Why didn't you ask me as well?" Kemun chimed, prompting Astarot to cast his cool, indifferent glance over.
"Among the dragon lords of our clan, you would be the last dragon I would ask to engage in a deep topic discussion with, Lord Kemun."
"I see…"
Kemun appeared slightly awkward after being told upfront by Astarot, not that he didn't understand why. The others couldn't take him seriously due to his nature.
"Hm?"
Kemun's attention was soon drawn away by his contracted fire spirit emerging from his body. The little thing was definitely out to cause trouble again.
"Little brat, are you trying to pluck my dragon whiskers again?" Kemun questioned with a slightly threatening gaze.
However, Kemun's fire spirit had grown accustomed to Kemun's nature. As such, it didn't fear his intimidating gaze and even taunted him by shaking its rear at him on top of his nose with a smug look.
"This little s… thing…"
The corner of Kemun's eye twitched, but he contained his indignant, turbulent emotions and tried to calm himself down.
Interactions with the fire spirit were not good for his mental health.
…
Meanwhile, Astarot paid no heed to Kemun's antics and shifted his attention to Narvim, whom he waited to speak.
"A golden dragon at the level of our Fire Dragon God or beyond would definitely be capable of traversing the vast starry sky. Since this world lacked the conditions to nurture divine beings, the golden dragon most likely came from the stars," Narvim guessed.
"I thought so too," Astarot acknowledged with a nod before mentioning, "However, that brings up a different question."
"If such a powerful golden dragon could come to this world, then it could also leave. And if it did leave, why would it leave behind its descendants in such a desolate world? Also, if it didn't leave, where would it be now?"
"Are you familiar with the term 'prison world,' Lord Astarot?" Henrietta inserted herself into the two dragon lords' discussion.
"Prison world, you say?" Astarot repeated with a startled look before his expression turned solemn. "Prison worlds are quite common in Chaos. I didn't expect Lady Henrietta to also know about it."
"I don't actually know much besides the term. I wonder if Lord Astarot can enlighten me about it, if it isn't too much to ask," Henrietta humbly requested.
"Not at all, Lady Henrietta. We are, after all, allies. Perhaps, it'll be a good thing to have you familiarize yourself with it," Astarot agreed, seeing no reason to reject such a simple request.
"Exactly as they imply, prison worlds are worlds that imprison things. They are generally created by Rank 7 divine beings and above, and the prison worlds' usage varies according to their whims. Some are merely used to contain fugitives, while others are used to cultivate living resources."
"If we are truly living in a prison world, we'd best wish it was the former, not the latter," Astarot solemnly stated.
"Why?" Henrietta sought further details.
"Because the latter implies you are all just cattle being reared on a farm. Once it's time to be butchered by the farmer, who can resist their fate?" Astarot replied with a heavy look.
The Fire Dragon God had migrated the clan to Pangea in search of opportunities to raise the clan's strength to new heights.
However, if Pangea was indeed a cattle-rearing prison world, then they did not enter a land of opportunities but a land of death!
After the possibility was brought up, Astarot couldn't help but shake off the thought that it was true.
After all, Pangea's historical records were lacking; they only date back to a few thousand years at best.
Anything older than that was either lost or not recorded, almost as if they had all been wiped clean. In other words, a historical reset.
'You must find out the cause of the missing spirit energy as soon as possible, Henrietta. It will definitely benefit you if it's due to a peerless treasure. But if it's not a peerless treasure, you must flee this world quickly,' Henrietta's master advised.
It would be too late to leave if the 'farmer' came to harvest.
After all, the 'farmer' would definitely discover the dimensional crack leading to Gehenna and eye its vast resources and opportunities.
'Is it that serious, Master? If such a powerful being arrives, couldn't it also be an opportunity? Given my talents, I believe there's a good chance I will be accepted into the being's tutelage and leave to experience the vaster world beyond,' Henrietta thought.
However, Henrietta's master could only shake her head in her mind.
'You are too na?ve, Henrietta,' Henrietta's master stated.
'Don't forget what you have can even tempt a benevolent being to turn malevolent once discovered, let alone a wicked being. Furthermore, a being that rears cattle in their prison world has a higher chance of being wicked.'
'For example, a blood practitioner could refine the blood of all life in this world to enhance their cultivation, while a dark alchemist could concoct divine elixirs and pills from the flesh and bones collected.'
'There are many ways powerful divine beings could use living resources in a prison world to serve their purposes,' Henrietta's master stated.
After hearing up until that point, Henrietta quickly dismissed her idea.
'Powerful divine beings can be so brutal?' Henrietta frowned.
'I thought intelligent beings would become more open-minded and reasonable with their elevation in power and status. How come it seems more ruthless and cold instead? Do such beings feel nothing even if they wipe out an entire world of life?'
'Do humans feel bad when they slaughter their livestock for their meat?' Henrietta's master replied.
'Right and wrong is only a matter of perspective. What seems wrong to you could be considered absolutely normal to someone else. In this case, we are the livestock, and the farmer is the 'human.' In the great game of life, we can only wrong those weaker than us if we want to survive against those stronger than us.'
'That's why the only absolute law in the world is the law of the jungle. Without power, your words are worthless,' Henrietta's master stated.
Although Henrietta had always known the cruel truth regarding the ways of the world, she subconsciously didn't want to think about it.
Perhaps, she didn't want to believe that the world, despite its beauty, would also hide such a cruel, unchanging truth.
However, if she had power, she could also enforce her own truth on the world. But, of course, the prerequisite was to have the strength just like her master had always stressed to her.
After the meaningful discussion with her master, Henrietta thought about many things and became more inclined to follow her master's instruction; to enter Chaos in pursuit of power.
That said, her responsibility to her people and friends was something she had to resolve. She couldn't abandon them nor take them on such a dangerous endeavor.
As Henrietta pondered over her dilemma, Astoria stepped out of the guest building and caught everyone's attention.
Astoria's simple blue and white dress, coupled with her beauty, used to produce a feeling of purity and holiness.
However, the golden dragon bloodline had reformed her aura, adding a trace of nobility and majesty to her appearance.
Even if she wore peasant clothing, her aura would make people naturally assume she was someone of royal birth, and they wouldn't be wrong.
"Astoria!"
Henrietta and Ember's eyes both lit up as they made their way over to see her. The two also inspected Astoria's body condition with some concern.
After all, the person supposedly suffered a Demigod-level attack.
Nevertheless, Henrietta and Ember soon confirmed Astoria had made a full recovery. No, she was even better than before due to her bloodline awakening.
Such a thing was naturally worth celebrating.
"I heard you were struck by a Demigod-level attack. I thank your lucky stars for making a full recovery and even benefiting from it," Henrietta held Astoria's hands happily as she chirped before making a doubtful look. "However, you don't seem all that happy about it."
Astoria responded with a half, seemingly forced smile.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l