Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1717 - 1716 - Phantom Pain

Karu was enjoying playing with the little children of the residents when the world suddenly became duller to her. She hid her concern but she quickly checked her dantian and meridians for any sign of deviation or blockage.

Even Divine Realm cultivators could not avoid such risks but they usually occurred with flawed techniques or poorly condensed Mysteries as one advanced.

In other words, the issue did not normally spring up out of the blue.

She could not find anything wrong so resumed playing. The children loved her 9 tails and did not abuse them as they stroked them. It was normally not something she allowed but kids were just kids.

They were not beasts either as they seemed closer to humans or demons depending on their elemental alignment.

The minotaurs had rippling muscled bodies with horned heads towering over almost everyone else but could be as docile as a bull munching on grass. They held honor and battle in high regard if they had demonic Qi, but natural Qi was more about brutality and swiftness when they fought.

So the dichotomy was there but it manifested in different ways.

The children listened to her stories about the leviathans and krakens too. They wanted to know if they were real and she nodded sagely until they were called back by their parents.

Divine Lord Aristrossa had finished meeting with the various leaders as she had explained the new situation. It was a restful place they had come to.

The Starlit Refuge was a place to fully relax. She could feel it instinctively but Lind never brought her there ever. He never mentioned nor anything even remotely related to the Northern Continent aside from the coliseum.

Even that was already known by her as all beasts knew of the trial to attempt to become a Divine Lord. She had no idea what happened in most of the other cycles, yet she suspected Aristrossa had always passed.

It was a feeling her Talent gave her.

Only at that thought did she suddenly realize what was wrong. Her Talent was gone! The constant influx of other memories and other lives was absent or fading as she tried to recall it.

There was a vast ocean of information so it would take time, but it was clearly melting away! Why? Why now?

She tried to use her abilities but it was like something had sealed it all away! Had the Great One done something to her?! Was she about to die?!

A rising panic was building when her race memory, long dormant for as long as she could remember any lifetime, finally responded! She was a progenitor but for a second iteration of her race.

Thus, she did have a race memory in her bloodline. It had always been sealed to her as her Talent had dominated everything. Lind had tried a few times to let her delve into it but they always failed.

Now, it flooded her mind and she saw a massive nine-tailed fox that towered over mountains and rode the clouds as if they were the unquestioned God of their land. It was not entirely inaccurate as they were clearly a peak Master Tier!

Such beings were unchallenged and left to their own devices!

Similar burnt orange eyes narrowed at her and she felt completely exposed before the massive fox smiled to reveal razor sharp white teeth! The tips of each tail were a different color but she knew why.

They represented each Mystery layer!

She saw all 9 tips flare like the sun before a voluptuous woman appeared in its place. Her hair cascaded to the tips of her pure white robes. She still had the 9 tails but they wove into the robe ready to react at need!

Only the 9 tips revealed them in the pattern of the lower skirt!

The narrow face was almost a glowing white jade before she slowly opened her eyes and the woman's eyes were nearly a mirror of her own! The main difference was the staggering pressure of time coming from them.

Karu could not do that at all!

[If I am able to see my successor, the Talent has been used up, yes? I see many painful experiences but you have labored long. I should be angry that the little snake abused you to save his own life yet it was the only way forward for us all.] Karu could hide nothing!

All her lives were exposed even as they faded from her mind. Tears hit her stung eyes but then a gentle pair of arms embraced her. All the fear, worry, and growing despair fell away until Karu realized she was weeping onto the woman's exposed pale shoulder.

[It is a heavy burden, heavier for you than it was for me or the others before us. We only come to be when the realms are in true danger but the endless dark I saw could have used us. It was why we had to go and you have suffered so much.]

Karu felt it! The racial ancestor understood! No one, not even Lind, could understand the horror of seeing all that death and destruction of the entire Divine Lands over and over again!

Her Talent spared her sanity but at the cost of her peace! It was always there, looming in her mind, and she could never change it!

Every time, no matter how much they fought or screamed in defiance, all of the Divine Lands were turned into fodder for the Great One.

Lind mentally might imagine what it was like, but living through it over and over again was impossible to convey. The total devastation and hollowed out feeling she had whenever she saw those memories were only the tip of a very dark iceberg.

She knew part of the more advanced memories were sealed away due to Heaven and Earth limitations, but as she advanced, so too would the memories unlock.

Every time, she was left completely depressed and horrified.

Now, those memories were gone and someone that understood was comforting her.

[The pain came with good, yet that too will fade. It will never truly be gone. You will still feel the pain rise when you reach the critical points.]

Karu nodded and felt lighter than she had ever. There was never a time in her left that she felt so free!

The woman pulled back and wiped the tears from Karu's eyes. Her smile was so gentle but then she glanced at something in the distance and sighed.

[Whatever that little snake did has been closed off too. There are no more chances as you both know, not ever. Make the most of your life while striving to break the cycle. The danger will not end until that abomination is dispersed.]

The odd word choice stuck out to Karu but she did not ask. It was pointless to. Yet, she wanted to know one thing.

"Do I—Do I love him because of him or because of what came before?" She had buried it for so long because she had long suspected the cause. The main problem with her Talent was it did not shield her emotions.

The intense moments of horror were on par with the rest. Thus, every intimate interaction she ever had was played out as if she had experienced it! The last few cycles she had suppressed and ignored those paths because she found it all pointless.

They were always going to die and she preferred to push her power to try and kill the Great One over indulging what might be just emotions from other lives.

The woman smiled wider at her before gently chopping her on top of her head! The 2 fox women looked like mother and daughter at that moment with the same coloring.

[Heaven and Earth are fair, even in broken Talents like ours. You have never met that man before this life. Any feelings you have should be clear to you, yes?] Karu realized that while the horror of the future memories was becoming muted as they faded, the amorous feelings she held for Lind only became clearer!

It was more like the other life memories had hindered her feelings rather than creating them!

The ancestral fox became serious as she looked at Karu.

[Be warned, that man is walking a path no one ever has before. Those connected to him may suffer or rise with him, but they will have no say in which. Be sure you accept that if you accept the rest.]

Karu smiled wide as it was far too late to avoid that fate. Of anyone alive, Karu had always ascended with Lind and died next to him over and over. His wives were not always constant but she was.

As if reading her mind, the woman simply smiled and shook her head.

[Before I leave, it is time to fully unlock your bloodline. The Talent is our burden, but once gone, you are rewarded depending on how you used it. You have used it well, my successor.]

Karu smiled before powerful concepts flooded her mind. She felt things shift in her body, dantian, and meridians.

It was like a sleeping monster had always been inside her and now was fully awakened. She understood what was happening too!

The 9 tail foxes had various abilities and grades for each bloodline but she now understood she was not a Divine Bloodline as so many had believed.

A new appellation settled over her as her powers fully awakened.

[Go forth, Eternal 9 Tailed Fox Empress!]