Refining Tower, Path to Heaven Sect. Personal dimension.
In front of Sky Petal, there are four coffins, all of them open and revealing four corpses. A beautiful semi-human woman and three young males aged between 12 to 17, these last ones of lion descent.
As she conducts experiments and moves between the corpses and her pill furnace, someone silently opens the door. It's not until minutes later that she notices the guest.
“Those are his wife and children, aren’t they?”
To Lawrence's question, she replies: "I don’t know Ephemeral Principle, but according to your description, all the evidence I have collected indicates so. These are the only bodies that have been preserved in perfect condition. Such care only reflects the esteem the other party has for them.”
“The sentimentality will be the downfall of that lion man. He has already shown that he cannot think properly, the weapon refiners are the greatest example of this.”
If he could forget the death of his family, he would have never promised to hand over his weapon refiners in exchange for the evidence needed to find the culprit.
Lawrence shifts his own smile by shaking his head and then asks: "Any progress?”
“I’m gathering evidence for now, once I travel to the Divine Plane and speak with the plants, I will be able to answer that question."
If it were up to Sky Petal, she would open the coffins on the Divine Plane and speak with the plants as questions arise about her research, but after thinking about it, this is unexpectedly the first job she can perform in conjunction with her first disciple. She would not waste this opportunity just to get a few extra days of time.
He stops talking and she continues with her research. Five minutes later a man enters through the door, Erratic Delirium.
He bows respectfully upon seeing Lawrence and then looks at his master.
“I brought what you asked for, master, what should I do with this?”
As master and disciple chat, Lawrence leans against the wall and continues to watch them for a while, it's intriguing to see an expert focused on their work... until he decides to leave on his own volition.
After leaving the Refining Tower, he looks back and sighs.
“Soon this place will be filled with disciples, it will become quite bustling…”
He sighs and then turns his gaze toward his residence, the residence of the sect master. "That magic formation will be useful to prevent the disciples from loitering around.”
He had thought about it before, but after seeing Sky Petal and her disciple, he is sure he will not like the idea of the disciples approaching his residence and interrupting his privacy. The Denial Domain magic formation may require materials to keep it active all the time, but it will be a necessary expense when they are not the only ones who inhabit the personal dimension.
“Soon it will be three months since our farewell... I will postpone my visit to that lizard woman just for her.”
+++
Ice Petal City, Heavenly Path Kingdom. Divine Plane.
Lawrence looks at the stationary door in front of him and hesitates for a few seconds before moving his hand. The next instant the stationary door disappears.
This action has a deep meaning. If things don't go as planned, he is willing to give up this place and escape. Something that Coldness Divine and the rest would look at with disdain, not willing to accept the withdrawal.
He then sits at the table and drinks a brew of spiritual herbs while looking out the window. Perhaps a mortal would grow impatient after hours of waiting, but not him.
More than eight hours have passed since he has been sitting in that place, until there is a change. Someone knocks on the door.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The knocks seem relaxed, but impatience can be felt behind them.
After opening the door, Lawrence observes the guest and then looks around.
“Nobody is following me.” The guest replies.
“One can never be too sure.”
Lawrence smiles and allows them to enter. Once he closes the door, the guest removes their hood and reveals their beautiful face.
“Imperial Absence... once you enter, it's hard to leave. You know that, don’t you?”
Imperial Absence, a woman of apparent 34 years of age, with long black hair and blue eyes, exudes the aura of a noble expert in political machinations. Though she has an attractive figure, he has only stopped his gaze on her eyes.
Because the only important thing about her is her extraordinary innate ability.
He approaches that woman, the one he helped to escape from that sub-space, and extends his hand, touching her soft cheek.
She half-closes her eyes slightly, but does not reject his touch. This action means a lot coming from a proud woman like her, who, before being captured, was a noblewoman raised with the finest resources of her Noble House.
This may be an action with many underlying meanings, but for him, this can be summed up in a few words. His Path to Heaven Sect has obtained a second disciple with an extraordinary innate ability.
“I know.” She responds, “My life stopped being the same that day. Even if I want to go back, I couldn’t. Not until I discover the cause of all this.”
Lawrence inwardly snorts, because before him, there is a woman who will regret this decision someday. Feelings always cloud judgment, whether for this woman as for that lion man.
He thinks for a second, looking at where there was once a stationary door. ‘No... It wouldn’t be too late to recreate it upon my return.’
Until he is sure of this woman's intentions, it is best to make her believe that his innate ability is teleportation. With such thoughts, he creates a Dimensional Rift and steps through it. Seconds later, Imperial Absence appears behind him and looks around, confirming her deductions from that fateful day.
‘To teleport, Emperor Lawrence uses this place as a springboard to increase the distance of his teleportation, but, how? Why? What is this place?’
The questions in her mind only increase.
“Your innate ability, tell me about it.”
Although innate ability is private information, that no one should know because it is no different from announcing one's weaknesses aloud, Imperial Absence still speaks of it. Because if she is right, the background of Emperor Lawrence is not as simple as it seems.
“Chaos, that is my innate ability.”
“Chaos?”
Lawrence is amazed, because when it comes to chaos, the first thing that comes to his mind is the chaotic space outside his personal dimension.
She nods, “I can infuse my dark magic with chaos, there is no defense that can combat chaos. Due to its uniqueness, there were no barriers that could stop its advance... Such was my thought until that day.”
The barrier of the Unquenchable Fire Brothel left a mark on her, that, along with her own ignorance, was the main reason she decided to follow Emperor Lawrence. No one without a probability of success would make such a colossus their enemy.
“I know very little about your noble house, but I am sure that it does not belong to the Heavenly Path Kingdom. Not unless it is a noble house in decline.”
It is no surprise that Emperor Lawrence had investigated her before helping her, so Imperial Absence does not flinch when this information comes from his mouth. What does not mean that internally she is not furious, she still thinks of herself as someone important, with a splendid future.
“...That’s right. My Prominent Faction noble house is not in the Heavenly Path Kingdom, but in the Wind Divider Kingdom. Before me, it was just a noble house whose power influence was below level 300, but after me, it slowly extended its influence to higher levels... I would be the heiress of the Prominent Faction noble house, and everyone believed that, but after my disappearance, it would be naive of me to think that is still the case.”
Whoever captured and smuggled her to the Heavenly Path Kingdom, knew what they were doing. Someone hated her so much that they wanted to ruin her life, without allowing her a quick death.
It should be noted that traveling between kingdoms is not as simple as it seems. The only way an undocumented can travel to another kingdom is through the borders. Borders plagued with high-level demonic beasts, where death is the only outcome.
If she managed to travel to the Heavenly Path Kingdom through a portal, it means the other party possessed power superior to her Prominent Faction noble house.
“Wind Divider Kingdom huh... Is it true what is mentioned about the Archaic Ruins?”
She nods her head, “Yes, entire cities have disappeared due to the expansion of the Archaic Ruins. Although it is also true that some are no different from gold mines. The Wind Divider Kingdom is a river of turbulent waters, if you know where to fish, it is the best place to invest.”
The kingdom with the most Archaic Ruins of the Divine Plane, at least outwardly. If the Demonic Beast Territory occupies half of the continent, how many Archaic Ruins would it possess?
‘If there were a way to travel to the Wind Divider Kingdom, how much help could this woman provide me?’
Perhaps her true value lies not in her singular innate ability, but in her past as a noble from the Wind Divider Kingdom. If destroying the Unquenchable Fire Brothel makes them enemies of the Heavenly Path Kingdom, escaping to the Wind Divider Kingdom would not be a bad idea.
After countless questions, Lawrence uses his power as a God to listen to what is happening inside his personal dimension.
“She’s not lying, although she hid some things from you, it was nothing more than because of her pride. If we nurture her properly, she can be a good addition. And regarding your idea…”
Serene Will confirms the good intentions of Imperial Absence, who is using him only to obtain her revenge against the Unquenchable Fire Brothel, both are using each other. But what impresses Lawrence the most is that, if what she says is true, his random thought could actually be a good opportunity.
“Emperor Lawrence, I have answered all your questions.”
Imperial Absence looks him in the eyes and says: “It's time to know what's going on.”
From then on, Lawrence talks about his grudge against the Unquenchable Fire Brothel and the creation of his Path to Heaven Sect, keeping countless secrets to himself.
The look with which this woman watches him slowly changes.
‘Certainly, this man's dreams are as high as the sky. Only time will tell if Emperor Lawrence will be a clown or a significant figure.’