In the Name of Empress

Chapter 721

She hadn't taken action for nearly a hundred years, and many of the new generation of Transcendents had forgotten about such a person.

Leaving the Summer Palace, Roland gazed thoughtfully at the black and white gem in his palm.

He found it hard to describe the color of this gem with words, as the black and white hues continuously shifted; even when staring at one spot, his brain and eyes perceived different colors.

The destruction representing death and the rebirth representing hope were fused in a very peculiar way within this gem, which was also the new path Sofia had embarked upon.

Covered in thorns and blood, it would far surpass the path of the Three Goddesses once fully successful.

Roland put away the gem, not intending to give it to his unnamed great-grandchild.

It was clear that Sofia had given it to him, worried that he wouldn't accept a gift for no reason, and thus used the so-called great-grandchild's birth as an excuse.

Sofia had clearly underestimated Roland's shamelessness; as long as there was no malice, why wouldn't he accept a gift?

Watching Roland's departing figure, Sofia let the cold wind brush across her face, blowing against her calm visage, lifting the ends of her hair, revealing the hidden half of her face, where the eye was starkly different in color from the other black one, being milky white.

As her mastery over the powers of destruction and rebirth gradually matured, her body was quietly undergoing changes.

Initially, her body became a battlefield for the two forces, almost tearing her apart.

Now she could basically control these two forces.

When she could fully control them, even if the Three Goddesses returned to the human realm, they wouldn't be her match.

She had been waiting for this day for too long, to the point where she could hardly wait any longer.

...

Nightfall came, and Roland returned to Val City.

Magic Teleportation Arrays had been established between several major cities of the Rodinia Continent, making travel very convenient.

It took him less than twenty minutes to leave the Winter Palace and return home.

Of course, this convenient commuting efficiency did not come without a cost, as each teleportation consumed a high-purity Magic Crystal Stone.

Even Roland was reluctant to use it every day.

He had originally planned to take three days to return to Val City, but holding the black and white gem made him uneasy, feeling as if something was happening, so he hurried home.

...

Sif usually resided in Sheffield Palace. She had abdicated for many years, the throne had passed down two generations, and even Prince Alvin had become the Retired Emperor, but state affairs still required her control.

Her life recently had been without much turbulence, until yesterday.

Her father Edward, who had no particular skills but had conquered the Sea Witch, had passed away.

Given Edward's strength, he shouldn't have such a long lifespan, but Adina refused to resign and searched everywhere for rare treasures that could extend his life, forcibly making the old man live to one hundred and forty-nine.

A hundred and fifty was the limit of lifespan for ordinary humans. At that point, cells stopped dividing, metabolism completely ceased, and not even the Dominator of the Divine Realm could extend life.

To break through the limit, one must embark on the path of a strongman.

On his deathbed, Edward once again saw his daughter Sif, whom he loved and hated.

Seeing his daughter in the prime of her youth, like a seventeen-year-old girl in appearance and stature, all the old emperor's grievances, unwillingness, and affection turned into a sigh, extinguishing with the flame of life.

Sif had taken away his position as Emperor, but she had also made the Sussex Empire prosper, becoming a paradise for humans to live in harmony with Elves and Earth Spirits.

His daughter had done a hundred times better than him.

He should have been comforted, but Sif also treated him and Adina as if she was guarding against thieves, leaving the old emperor somewhat disheartened.

In the last moments of his life, the old man figured it all out.

For the past century, the glory of the Empire and the power of the Emperor had nothing to do with him; he was just a handsome old man, skilled in literature and art, and it was this that Adina liked about him.

With his handsome appearance, elegant demeanor, the fallen Imperial Family, and a faint melancholy from the harm of a father-daughter relationship, how could the Sea Witch resist the old emperor's charm, becoming devoted to him?

What consoled the old emperor was that although the reasons for the Sea Witch's love for him were a bit absurd, they had indeed lived their lives together politely and harmoniously.

In his final moments, a blurry voice flashed through his mind.

"If there is reincarnation in life, would you choose me again?"

It was Adina's choked voice.

Emperor Edward used his last bit of strength, weakly and resolutely answering, "Dear, I would."

Looking at her father, drained of life, and the stepmother crying her heart out, Sif still didn't know what to feel.

She was very certain that there indeed was love between that pair of foolish lovers.

But as a daughter, she found it hard to bless her father and stepmother's love; she wasn't that selfless, nor did she think her mother would sincerely bless them.

She planned to live a reclusive life for a while.

Aside from a select few like Roland, she wouldn't see anyone.

She could face the world calmly, but there was always an unspeakable discomfort, as if something was missing from her soul.

She knew that her father's passing and his and the Sea Witch's love were just the triggers; even without this, she always felt something important was missing.

She had the same feeling before she recovered her severed feet.

Perhaps, there were still parts of her body scattered outside?

A long-lost sense of fatigue assaulted her, and she slipped out of her clothes, crawled into bed, wrapped tightly in velvet blankets, calmly entering Dreamland like she did in her youth.

High level Transcendents do not need sleep to replenish energy, nor do they feel sleepy.

Suddenly feeling sleepy, there must be a reason, which she also wanted to know.

...

The World of Dreams.

No Flower Sea, no Ginkgo Tree, nothing at all.