Chapter 106: Dream Sovereign
Far away, in a distant world...
[Blaze] looked down, watching Night actively. "Hmmm... why exactly does this specific cultivation method look so familiar?"
[Aqua] leaned in gracefully. "Is it not the cultivation technique of the Dream Sovereign?"
"I highly doubt that arrogant fellow would be interested in this world with it being dominated by Nightmare Aspect" [Blaze] muttered, rubbing his chin. "But why do I feel like I have seen this before?"
"Maybe you saw someone else use it?" [Aqua] suggested. "He became the ruler of the Dream Realm a couple of eras after you became a Primordial God."
[Blaze] shook his head firmly. "No, it should be more recent.... it wasn’t that long ago..."
Suddenly, [Aqua]’s blue eyes lit up in realization. "I remember! It’s similar to the technique of that crazy woman who called herself Dream."
[Blaze] exclaimed, "I remember now! But didn’t the Deathless Primordial, the Lifeless Primordial, and the Dream Sovereign team up to kill her? Because she destroyed half of the Dream Realm and wanted to dethrone the Dream Sovereign?"
"Yes," [Aqua] nodded. "And they made sure they completely erased her from the River of Time with the help of the Timeless Primordial, so that she wouldn’t ever be able to reincarnate."
[Blaze] chuckled in amusement. "She did scare quite a bit of powerhouses in the Cosmos."
"That brat was truly ferocious. Now, why on earth would my Chosen actively be her specific technique? Now that I look closely at his Records, he entirely didn’t possess the Dream Aspect before entering that legacy... He got it right after he came out and did that thing..."
"Did she secretly leave behind a powerful legacy, knowing she might die in her crazy quest?" [Aqua] pondered. "I interacted with her a couple of times back then. She had a unhealthy obsession with controlling the Dream Realm. If she didn’t blindly rush that suicidal goal, I doubt by now even you would be able to easily defeat her."
"Come on. She was not that powerful," [Blaze] scoffed defensively.
[Aqua] raised her elegant eyebrows. "I clearly remember hearing you say that even the Timeless Primordial barely managed to erase her past."
"Even when she was killed by the Deathless Primordial, who is known to possess a Transcendent Skill that erases everything about a being’s existence, and if they didn’t have the Lifeless Primordial who used their Transcendent Skill, she might have actually revived right then and there."
[Blaze] chuckled awkwardly. "I did say that, didn’t I..."
[Aqua] tilted her head, her gaze piercing. "Now that I deeply think about it, weren’t you two close?"
[Blaze] immediately realized his wife was expertly digging a trap for him. "Haha... She was just a promising talent... I simply couldn’t help but guide her a little."
[Aqua] looked at him suspiciously. "Still, I genuinely don’t get it. Why didn’t you speak up for her? If you had intervened, I doubt she would have died..."
[Blaze] said solemnly, "Yes. I would have intervened. Not just because she was a brilliant talent I had guided, but because she was a Human Goddess and a strong one at that. Losing her was quite a blow to humanity’s overall standing in the Cosmos."
"Then why didn’t you?"
[Blaze] sighed heavily. "She asked me not to ever get involved."
[Aqua] frowned in disbelief. "Directly to your face?"
[Blaze]’s lips twitched in exasperation. "What exactly can I say? The brats around me have the tendency to not give this old man any face..." he sighed again.
"Don’t change the topic," [Aqua] raised her eyebrows.
[Blaze] sighed once more, his fiery eyes dimming slightly. "She told me that I would have died if I intervened. As absurd as it sounded... since it was her who said it, I chose to believe her. She was good at prying into Destiny."
[Aqua] looked at him in shock.
[Blaze] continued solemnly, "I know. !one of the Primordials have ever died, or even remotely come close to dying in this cosmos. Everything seems completely effortless to us."
"But that doesn’t change the fundamental fact that we are not unkillable. It’s just that we have not encountered something strong enough to actually do it yet."
Seeing the dawn of realization on her beautiful face, he continued. "I don’t know exactly how I would have died, and she didn’t bother telling me either. But it still deeply unsettles me when I think of it..." Shaking his head, he murmured, "And this is too much of a coincidence..."
"Night naturally becoming my Chosen, and conveniently having her hidden legacy... it makes me think she knew something like this would happen eras in advance."
Both of them didn’t speak for a long time, letting the heavy silence settle over them.
[Aqua] finally broke the silence. "What about the Dream Sovereign? What exactly happens if he finds out about this?"
[Blaze] frowned in deep annoyance. "I possess no expertise in the Dream Domain."
He paused, then said with a frustrated voice, "But I do know enough to understand that the exact moment Night steps into the Dream Realm, he will instantly know of the boy’s existence."
"The Dream Domain absolutely doesn’t follow the exact same rules as the material universe. It is more malleable, which means despite him not being a true Primordial, he possesses means that don’t pale compared to us."
"So him finding out about Night is an given; it is not a matter of ’how’, but ’when’."
[Blaze] then chuckled darkly, flames flaring around his broad shoulders. "At that time, I will just have to deal with him. And if he annoys me... I’ll let him know his place."
[Aqua] was speechless for a second. She initially thought he was helpless in the situation, but that arrogant sentence made it clear: he was just annoyed he would have to deal with it.
Meanwhile, in the Eternal Light Region...
Night gracefully in the freezing air as he experienced his very first progress in true cultivation.
It was not that early Qi Awakening realm cultivators could fly; this was just the aftereffect of his breakthrough.
Still sitting cross-legged in mid-air with his eyes closed, he focused on the refinement of his new Soul Artifact.
From the ocean of information [Dream] had transmitted into his mind, he understood its significance.
Night had to admit, instead of talking, this way orapidly transferring knowledge was convenient.
Right now, he natively knew more about Soul Artifacts than many Cultivators could learn in their entire lifetimes.
A Soul Artifact was a unique, an artifact that grew with the Cultivator.
It contained the Dao of the Cultivator. A Cultivator could turn any normal artifact, or even mundane physical objects, into a Soul Artifact. It could be a legendary-grade divine sword or a wooden stick; it depended on the Cultivator’s comprehension and will.
The strength, however, was a completely different matter. The overall power of a Soul Artifact was more dependent on the Dao of the Cultivator than the physical material used to forge the artifact itself.
This Throne he possessed was the Soul Artifact of powerful Immortal. But it seemed the System had actively done something fundamental to its and turned it into a Growth-type artifact instead.
A Growth-type artifact was simple: it grew directly with the user. It was very similar to a Soul Artifact, but the similarity ended there.
A Growth-type artifact could be actively enhanced using better physical materials or even a better refinement method.
In fact, this specific type of artifact perfectly matched his Refiner Profession to a tee, and he even possessed a [Soul Fire] to start the refinement process.
But that was absolutely not all. From the information he understood, though this Throne was technically a Growth-type artifact now, it didn’t change the fundamental fact that it was originally the soul artifact of a powerful Immortal. Hence, it still contained their remnant Dao.
Meaning, he now possessed an artifact with the Dao of an Immortal inside it. If he used it correctly, it could very well become his trump card.
And after absorbing all the information he had now, he was also unwilling to just let it become ’just a Throne’.
He wanted to turn it fully into his own, Dao and all. It didn’t matter where it originally came from or who sat on it before; now that he had it in his grasp, he was resolved to turn it strictly into his.
Night paused his internal thoughts for a brief second. He wondered exactly why he thought like this. Why exactly did it matter so much to him if the artifact was not fully his originally?
He couldn’t pinpoint the reason for his sudden possessiveness.
After the Throne was refined sufficiently with his flames, he summoned it back outside into the real world.
In front of the confused trio, Lilith, Eve, and Death were blankly looking at him, wondering exactly why their Master was suddenly floating in the air.
Suddenly, the Throne appeared completely out of thin air beneath him, and his floating figure settled onto the seat.
Curious, Death glided closer. Under the watchful gazes of Eve and Lilith, she gently reached out and touched the dark metal of the Throne.
Cold, she thought softly.
Though her body was currently only composed of bones, it didn’t restrict her senses like people arrogantly assumed. She possessed the ability to vividly sense touch, and in fact, she possessed more senses than typical humans.
Her bony fingers gently traced the delicate yet powerful runes etched into the armrest, runes that looked simple, yet profoundly at the same time
This Throne actively gave her the feeling that it was meant for a ruler.
It suits Master... she thought devotedly.
She was happy that he got something like this that at least showcased a tiny fraction of his true magnificence to the world.
To her, at the end of the day, it was technically just a good-looking Throne. To her, her Master was the only one truly worthy of her admiration and undying dedication.
Her intense overprotective feelings for him were not just coming out of nowhere.
As a fellow tragic experiment in that facility, and as the older one, she had silently taken it upon herself to look after him.
She remembered the nods she would give him whenever they stumbled upon each other in the hallways, when they were taken from and returned to their rooms.
She remembered the terror she had felt when she heard his screams echoing through the walls of the experiment room.
The moment she found out the scientists had planned to test the Death Stone on Night, she had then volunteered to take his place.
She did it to save his life, knowing full well that taking the stone might be the last thing she ever did in her life.
She deeply knew her feelings were completely not normal.
Especially since, unlike Night, she retained the memories of a normal childhood... a simple, warm life in a peaceful village... before it was all taken away.