Maxine leaned back into a reclining chair on one of the ships parked near the main camp, but no matter how comfortable the chair was, her energy pathways still ached. It was an unexpected drawback from using her singularity arrow too frequently. It had put an unimaginable amount of strain on her energy pathways and she needed at least two weeks to recover before she could use it again without hurting herself. Sadly, she didn't discover this until after she used the attack a second time three days later. Thankfully, she was able to rest for eleven days before she was forced to use it against a wave of four hundred thousand void beasts. She just finished that battle two hours ago.

And more concerningly, each time she had used that singularity arrow, she saw a reflection of Earth during it's collapsing phase. However, the Earth that she saw was far too green to be her own. I don't know what is going on with my singularity arrow, but I have a feeling that I should limit how many times I use it. I have a few guesses as to what it could be, but it's better to ask daddy or grandma about it. Both of them have way more experience than I do.

While Maxine was occupied with her thoughts, she hadn't noticed that Emily had walked in the room and sat across from her. "How bad is it?" Emily asked with a concerned tone.

"I'm in alot of pain, and it hurts even more to use my energies," Maxine admitted, "I can fight if I need to, but I need rest for at least two weeks before I can use that attack again. And if I'm forced to use it again before I've recovered, I can't guarantee it won't blow up in my face and even if it doesn't, I'll be bedridden for a good long while. It just puts too much stress on my energy pathways."

"Anything I can do to help?" Emily asked and Maxine felt herself being scan by Emily's spiritual sense.

"I doubt it," Maxine replied, "I need a very specialized pill to speed up my recovery and as far as I know, only a handful of alchemists in the Alliance are even capable of making something like that. But you can try to patch me up if you want."

"Try? More like I will," Emily said forcefully as she put her hands on Maxine's shoulder and flooded Maxine's body with healing energies. Unfortunately, Emily's energies had only a marginal effect on Maxine's energy pathways, but Maxine noticed that Emily's energies were somewhat weaker than normal. Huh? What caused that? Wait. Don't tell me that she's ...

Without a second thought, Maxine used her spiritual sense to scan Emily's womb and what she found confirmed her suspicions. Damn it. I told her not to tempt fate. Couldn't have asked for a more inconvenient time, though. Shit. Although, I'm rather surprised that she can use that much of her full strength when she's a little less than one month into her pregnancy. She should at most be able to use eighty percent of her strength, but she's using at least ninety-five percent. Perhaps, it's because her energies are very gentle and primarily used for healing. Yeah, that's probably it.

"Stop, you shouldn't be pushing yourself in your condition," Maxine said as she gently pushed Emily's hand off of her shoulder, "I have other means to heal myself. Although, it won't be as effective as your energies or a specialized pill. I can still drink one of my purple healing potions. They can speed up my regeneration enough that I won't be in too much pain during my next shift."

"If you're in pain, you sit your next shift out. You'll only put other people in danger if you don't go out there in your best condition," Emily said firmly and added with faux confusion, "And what do you mean by my condition?"

"You're pregnant," Maxine said bluntly, "Did you think I wouldn't be able to tell?"

"I didn't think you'd be able to tell this soon," Emily answered simply.

"Why didn't you tell me before now?" Maxine asked, "You clearly knew about it."

"I didn't want to add to your worries," Emily admitted, "You've already got enough on your mind with Earth's defense."

"Fair enough," Maxine said and she drank one of her purple healing potions to take the edge off of her pain, "Just promise me that you won't over do it."

"I won't," Emily reassured Maxine, "Now, come on. The cooks threw together this massive meal for you and I wouldn't want it to get cold before you even started."

"Ugh, I don't want to move," Maxine complained and realized how hungry she was, "But a meal right now sounds amazing." She reluctantly got out of her chair while gritting her teeth in pain. Moving agitated her already tender energy pathways. I really hope I recover enough to fight during my next shift. If not, there may be a drop in morale.

"Here, let me help you," Emily said as she offered her shoulder to Maxine.

"No," Maxine said firmly, "If our people see you helping me walk, they'll realize what kind of shape that I'm in and their morale will take a hit."

"Fine," Emily said in discontent, "But if you fall down on your face, it's your own fault."

"That it will be," Maxine agreed as she steeled her will and walked smoothly out of the ship as she made her way to the food tent. She was thankful that she was able to keep any signs of pain off of her face and out of her body language.

As soon as she sat down, a huge platter with cooked meats piled onto it was slammed down infront of her. There had to be at least two hundred pounds of cooked essence beast meat in various forms infront of her in. She transformed into her battleform before digging into the presented meats like a half-starved animal. She got a few weird looks, but for the most part, no one made any comments about it.

However, Maxine spotted a reporter out of the corner of her eye, but he didn't dare approach her. However, he seemed to be waiting for something. She didn't have to wonder for long when all the sudden he started talking. "As you can see, our planetary guardian, Maxine Levings, is currently recovering her strength inbetween bouts on the battlefield and she requires vast amounts of protein as sustenance," the reporter said calmly, "However, it is unknown why she remains that particular state while eating. Some experts have hypothesized that her digestive tract functions far more efficiently in that state compared to her normal one. However without examining her biology in depth, it's impossible to know for certain and it's unlikely that she will offer herself up to be studied any time soon." Maxine stopped paying attention to him as she continued to eat her meal. I hate reporters. Those guys have already made my life hard in the past. I do not want to revisit that irritation.

"You know you should've expected them to be here," Emily said, "This is literately the most important event in our planet's history. There is no way they wouldn't be here."

"I know that," Maxine said, "What I can't stand is the looks of fear that he keeps sending my way."

"Can you blame him?" Emily asked, "It's not every day that you come across someone that could literately end a planet if they wanted to."

"That attack wouldn't 'end' Earth," Maxine pointed out, "It would just render it uninhabitable for who knows how long."

"Same difference to the people living here," Emily countered.

"That's true enough," Maxine agreed, "Oh! Is my grandma still in the camp or is she fighting void beasts?"

"She's in the camp, but I'm not sure for how much longer," Emily said, "I don't exactly keep track of everyone's schedule."

"What I need to ask shouldn't take long," Maxine said calmly.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"What do you need to ask me?" grandma Victoria said as she sat down beside Maxine.

"How did you sneak up on me?" Maxine asked before she shook her head.

"It's not that hard," grandma Victoria answered with a smirk, "When your eating, your detection ability drops significantly. Now, what did you need to ask me?" Damn, I didn't think eating distracted me that much. It's a good thing grandma pointed that out before I got myself into trouble.

"Oh, that," Maxine replied as she gathered her thoughts, "I see an image of Earth for a brief moment every time that I used my singularity arrow, but it was greener than my Earth. Do you know what's going on?"

Grandma Victoria's face and tone became serious as she asked, "How brief are we talking?"

"Less than a millisecond," Maxine answered.

"Oh, thank the maker," grandma Victoria said as she relaxed, "What you saw was an opening to another timeline. It sometimes happens when powerful spatial attacks are used and so long as the duration of such openings is very short, the chances of anything coming through is minimal."

"Has something come through before?" Maxine asked cautiously.

"Thankfully, no," grandma Victoria said, "The unstable nature of such openings would utterly annihilate most lifeforms below the immortal threshold, but as with most things, there are exceptions. For instance, if you were at peak gold and in your 'full-hybrid' form, you could in theory survive due to your natural defenses and powerful regenerative powers. You'd still be horribly injured by the time you made it to the other side, though."

"Interesting," Maxine said to herself.

"But that's all hypothetical," grandma Victoria said, "There is no reason for you to risk yourself like that, right?"

"Yeah," Maxine said softly, but part of her wanted to return to her previous timeline to help them out. However, after hearing what grandma Victoria said, she knew better than to try.

"Good, now, you need to continue resting. I need to prepare for my shift on the battlefield," grandma Victoria said and she leaned in closer to whisper into Maxine's ear, "And to be on the safe side, do not use that attack again unless it's absolutely necessary."

"That was my plan to begin with," Maxine whispered back before speaking normally, "See you later, grandma." Grandma Victoria smiled at her and walked out of the tent.

However, as soon as she left, a man in a business suit approached Maxine and handed her a business card as he spoke, "I'm Jerry Sparks and I'm with Sparks Talent Agency. I'm sorry to bother you while you're resting, but you've caused quite a sensation." She didn't even bother looking at the business cared that he handed her.

"How so?" Maxine asked.

"Many young women are rushing to the gym to get as physically fit as you are and you've inspired many to begin cultivating after that spectacular display two weeks ago," Jerry Sparks said, "In fact, many fashion magazines are looking for athletic models to keep up with the times, but only a few of them even compare to you. So, here I am to see if you're interested."

"I'm not interested," Maxine answered bluntly, "I simply do not have the time and selling potions and pills is far more lucrative than any modeling job could ever be."

"That's disappointing, but it's not surprising," Jerry Sparks said in a disappointed tone, "In fact, I knew the chances of you saying agreeing were slim to none."

"So, why come, then?" Maxine asked.

"If you had said yes, it would've been excellent publicity for my company, so no matter how small the possibility I had to take a chance," Jerry Sparks replied honestly.

"I'm surprised that you're being so honest with me," Maxine said in genuine surprise.

"What's the point of lying when the other person is a telepath?" Jerry Sparks asked.

"Cultivators are not true telepaths. We have to concentrate on you in order to hear your thoughts," Maxine explained, "A true telepath has to concentrate to avoid hearing your thoughts."

"Ahh, thank you for enlightening me on that subject," Jerry Sparks said gratefully, "And I apologize for interrupting your meal and I hope the remainder of your rest is uninterrupted." He gave her a small smile before turning around and leaving.

"Enjoying your meal?" Zabel Nodd asked as he appeared seated across from Maxine, "If I didn't know any better I would swear that you're eating like a pregnant woman." Emily blushed at his comment and he raised his eyebrow at Maxine in askance.

"She's pregnant," Maxine explained bluntly.

"What? How?" Zabel Nodd asked in confusion, "You're both women and she doesn't seem to be the type to be unfaithful."

"That's none of your business," Maxine said grumpily.

"I see that you're still mad at me," Zabel Nodd said in a disheartened tone, "But can you really blame me for the deception?"

"It was for your very survival, so I can't really hold it against you," Maxine said coldly, "But you could've just remained hidden on Earth until it was confirmed that the void beasts were on their way. There was no need to deceive me or seek my protection. You put up that whole charade because you wanted to. That's why I'm angry."

"When you say it out loud, my actions do seem a tad childish," Zabel Nodd admitted, "But I've already apologized for my actions, repeatedly."

"I'm aware," Maxine replied, "But I'm not ready to forgive you just yet. Now, get out of my sight before I punch you."

"Understood," Zabel Nodd said as he faded out of view infront of her.

"I'm glad that you convinced that foolish demon to remain hidden," Turan said as he walked up towards her, "I've had to constantly remind my people not to provoke or try to kill him."

"They're just afraid of him," Maxine said calmly, "It's the instinctive reaction to all sapient creatures to eliminate something that makes them afraid."

"It's odd that you are not afraid of him," Turan pointed out.

"Because he isn't a threat to me," Maxine answered, "At least, not a big enough one to facilitate a fear response. However, there is one person that I wouldn't even bother trying to kill if they became a demon. In fact, I would, literately, be the first person to run as fast as I could."

"Who is that?" Turan asked, "Your father?"

"No, not him," Maxine answered, "I don't imagine he would hurt either me or my sister, even if he were to become a demon. But the rest of the universe would be pretty much fucked."

"Yes, I suppose you would be right, but you havn't answered my other question," Turan said.

"I'm not going to tell you," Maxine said firmly.

"Is it your sister?" Turan asked and Maxine glared at him angrily, "I thought so. She's your twin and I don't see you ever killing her. Also, she seemed a bit unstable when I saw her. She must've been on the verge of becoming a demon when your clan found her. I can't even imagine what she must've done to make you this afraid of her."

"Do not talk about my sister like that again," Maxine said with a tone that screamed violence would ensue if she was ignored, "Are we clear?"

"Crystal," Turan said smoothly, "And I apologize for my thoughtless remarks."

"Don't worry about it too much. Just don't do it again," Maxine said.

"I won't," Turan said calmly and he frowned after a few seconds, "Hmm, does anything seem odd to you?" Maxine paused from eating and looked around carefully. He's right. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something isn't right here. Wait, the fluctuations of energy from the sky isn't as intense as it should be. I need to finish up my meal and find out what's going on.

"The fighting isn't as intense as it should be," Maxine said, "Go ahead of me to the command tent and find out why. I'll be along shortly after I finish up my meal."

"Understood," Turan said as he jogged towards the command tent.

Maxine swiftly devoured the meats infront of her and chased after him. A few seconds later, she walked into the command tent and several people looked worried. "Report," Maxine ordered.

"It seems a particularly intelligent void beast join managed to slip past your father," Turan reported, "It's gathering void beasts for one massive push against Earth in the asteroid belt. It's estimated that roughly 1 million void beasts will be coming at us by the time it decides to move against us. On a positive note, the rift is halfway closed which means that there won't be any more void beasts coming. Unfortunately, Guan must stay at the rift until it closes and even if he were to rush here, he wouldn't arrive in time to be able to be of any help." FUCK!

"How long do we have?" Maxine asked while trying to remain calm.

"Two days, maybe less," Turan answered.

"It'll be damn near impossible to fend off a wave that large," Maxine said.

"Can't you just use that overpowered arrow attack?" someone asked.

"No, I can't," Maxine said and when several people gave her a surprised looked, she added, "I really can't use it right now. It puts too much strain on my physiology. If I were to try, it would most likely activate in my face before it was fully charged." At that point, she saw them begin to genuinely panic.

"You need to say something or the morale of our defenders will plummet," Turan said.

"But!" Maxine said loudly, "There are other things we can do. The gold stage cultivators can perform guerilla attacks on the forming void beast swarm while it continues to form and unleash barrages of attacks while they are on the move." That might reduce their numbers by a hundred thousand if we are very lucky. That still leaves nine hundred thousand to deal with. If they had something to hold them in place, it might be much more effective.

"How much help will that even be?" someone asked, "It's not like they can hold those void beasts in place once they start to move."

"They won't have to," Maxine said firmly, "I will keep those things distracted. My training under Horatio Quay has taught me how to fight overwhelming numbers. I'm confident that I can at least draw a large number of them away while the others fight the ones that do not come after me." Honestly, I don't know how long I could hold them off like that for. Still, training under Horatio Quay did prepare me for engaging insane numbers, but nothing like this. If my teacher were here, he would just go full Blade Demon and wipe them out. Wait! That's it! I can't believe I didn't think to ask him for help sooner. I just hope he agrees to help.