[???—Elsewhere]

There was nothing but blue grass.

The calm and quiet plain stretched on for as far as the eye could see, with no trees, hills, or mountains in sight—only blades of blue grass.

To contrast the plain earth, the skies were of a light shade of purple, dotted by rose-coloured stars, a sky across which thick white clouds lazily drifted by.

A calming breeze swept through the world.

Everything was in a state of perpetual order, perpetual calm and stillness, of untarnished simplicity and perfection.

The aether in the air was simple and bland, yet of such high quality that no mortal body would be able to withstand its presence, let alone process it—any mortal that entered this plain would simply explode.

"..."

In the middle of this simple yet divine plain of grass, at its perfect centre, a woman could be seen, sat cross-legged amidst the swaying blue blades.

She blended in with the flows of nature to such a degree that, had anyone been looking, it would’ve been impossible to distinguish her from any random mundane blade of grass.

Her skin was of a dark, powdery grey hue, with hints of dark silver and ashen grey, adorned by wide and layered simple dark robes that shifted and fluttered with the winds.

Long dark blue hair fell from her head, cascading to her shoulders to paint her back, of such a deep shade that it would have seemed black if not for its sheen, which danced with a light azure glow.

The woman’s features were hard to make out, as if they were undefined and constantly shifting, as though her visage was a canvas of endless change and transformation.

But she had one anchored trait—her eyes. As gold as the setting sun, and as regal as a phoenix’s roaring flame.

Runes and glyphs flickered around her, wafting a deep aura that seemed even more complex than Laws and Wills.

The woman emitted no aura whatsoever.

"..."

Her gaze was void. And it had been so for a long time.

It’d been eons since she returned to her main body, and it would probably remain so for the next couple of chaos ages as she—

WHOOOSH!

Harsh winds suddenly exploded from her body as her aura wildly unfurled and slammed into the world, curving space and its laws as if they were nothing but a rubber band.

The gears of the world whined and creaked, loud and piercing wails echoing as the fabric of space began to crack and bleed with tongues of void flames.

She didn’t pay attention to any of it.

"...what?"

She blinked a couple of times, life returning to her gaze as she, in utter shock, realised she’d been thrown back into her body. Her shock deepened as she reached out to her nose and felt the golden blood that dropped from it.

She had been...injured?

SHI!

Her aura settled down, and so did the world, returning to its quiet stillness in a beat—as if nothing had happened.

The blood leaking from her nose gained life, then flowed back into her own body as temporal runes flickered around her and the laws of time undid any damage she had sustained.

"...?!"

A flicker of anger rose in her soul as she felt the faintest traces of the boy’s Will still linger and cling to her, madly fighting back against her time laws to make sure her wound never healed.

She shattered it with nothing but a breath, but the fact that it had even managed to survive in her body enraged her more than anything.

It was pure humiliation.

A Regulator bleeding to a mortal boy’s Will? Not even a Will attack, but mere Will projection? The Will of a boy who had only just formed his True Core?

Words couldn’t describe the wrath bubbling in her chest.

"..."

The woman took a breath, then exhaled, and with the exhale, she purged herself of the boy’s Will and fully healed.

Then, she remained silent for a long while.

’His Will managed to affect my Heart. That’s interesting.’

Now that her mind was clear and soothed, she could analyse the situation. Emotional outbursts were unlike her.

The only explanation was that the boy’s Will had nearly poisoned her own and caused her to almost snap.

This was shocking.

’What a good seed.’ She softly chuckled as she shook her head. ’Rather daring, but good nonetheless.’

She stood to her feet.

"Cyroen."

As impressive as the boy was, that was a matter she could investigate later on. Perhaps she’d reward him for his maddening feat, or perhaps she’d dissect him to understand his secrets—who knew.

But that encounter had highlighted something much more alarming.

"Your holiness?" A deep voice echoed across the plain in response to her call.

Her shadow stirred, and from it, a gigantic warrior surged, as dark as the void and with an aura of pure and absolute tyranny.

Like her, the warrior was featureless, but it extended to their entire figure. They stood as nothing but a blurred form of darkness kneeling in front of her.

"I’ve just returned. Tell me, how have things been as of late?" she asked the kneeling warrior.

"Anything of note?"

The warrior hurried to answer. "Things have been going as you predicted, your holiness. The Throne Lineages of Heresy have all awoken and begun to prepare."

"In turn, the Candidate positions have been opened. All Champions have been invited."

She nodded, not surprised in the least.

"Something unexpected happened during your absence, though." The warrior paused.

Hesitation hung in the air. The woman noticed it but didn’t rush her servant.

"The Heavenly Demons... have been very active. We are not sure exactly why, but the Infernal Seed Trials have been announced, and all the Throned Demons have appeared."

Her eyes sharpened just the slightest bit.

"Hm. That’s worrying. Call the Eden Council, and announce my return. There’s a lot to take care of."

"As you wish, your holiness." The warrior nodded, but just as they were about to disappear, the woman spoke once more.

"Before you go, answer me this." The woman turned away, looking at the plain horizon. "The Witch of Clarity—she died in the ashes of her world, yes?"

The warrior sternly nodded, their aura darkening at the mention of the name. "Yes. Her name was found recorded in the Record of Death."

The woman nodded simply, then began to walk away.

"Hm." She hummed as she clasped her hands behind her back.

The warrior vanished, but their Will lingered for just a couple more moments in case their Lord desired anything else done. The woman’s return would be news that’d shake the world in the coming days.

The warrior’s Will remained long enough to hear her mutter a set of words that shook their mind and soul alike, nearly shattering their Will from pure horror...

"I wonder why that boy has her blood then. Curious."