The whale stood there, analyzing that trembling blue soul fragment; in their bloodline, they could faintly sense the intentions coming from that point.
"That's not the remnant of the beast's soul... it's a fragment of a spiritual bloodline, that's why it holds so much power." Gael concluded, amazed. "The beast that owned this must have had an extremely strong Behemoth bloodline in the past. Could it be there were many with this bloodline on this ascending planet in the past? That seems unlikely."
Zane just focused on the feeling transmitted to them. "This trace of the bloodline has been suppressed for a long time but refused to surrender and be destroyed. Because of our intervention, it regained freedom and wanted to destroy everything furiously. But, upon sensing us, it changed its mind out of pure instinct."
Gael understood Zane's point. "It seems we made the right choice, at least for once."
"We have only a thin bloodline that we stimulated until we got two drops of blood. If we absorb a bit of this spiritual bloodline, our power will multiply rapidly. Come on, don't waste time!" Zane said excitedly.
The whale took a step closer, and its intent was transferred to that blue point. Then, the space around them trembled, making them stop where they were.
"What? Does it have a will of its own and is refusing?" Gael commented, astonished.
Zane looked closely at it and sighed, seeming to understand. "It's an impenetrable pride, capable of resisting for millennia without bending."
"What... how are we going to make this proud will surrender?" Gael dryly remarked.
"It will never surrender," Zane replied emotionlessly. "If we want to absorb it, we must show who the real leader is here," Zane concluded, but Gael knew that it couldn't be taken literally.
Gael let out a long sigh. They understood that pride well and had been feeding on it for endless years. After much reflection, they understood better than anyone that pride was just a limiting shackle. Now, even though Zane wouldn't admit it, he already accepted that he wasn't perfect, and other people had their own talents that complemented theirs. Mira showed him that being proud and not asking for help didn't make him stronger. It just made him a proud fool.
"You mean: We'll show him that we can help each other," Gael commented sarcastically, and Zane just snorted without responding.
The two reached a consensus, and it was automatically transmitted to the soul fragment. It pulsed with power, seeming to nod. The whale looked closely at it, and then they immediately felt that it wouldn't bow without testing them.
It was exactly as they predicted, as all the light in the world seemed to be sucked into that point. Then it vanished, and suddenly, a black shadow seemed to emerge from the void along with a wave of astral winds that swept a large area.
The whale took a firm step and appeared in front of Mira and the rest of the fallen group. Everyone felt their souls stir in the face of that ominous presence; it was a primitive yet extremely pure presence. The whale then held Zanou and Langrum with its arms, and Mira clung to it as they ran away.
At a great distance, they set them down on the ground and turned around. Then, the whale and Mira could see the true magnitude of that shadow. It was translucent and black. Just colossal and gigantic were not accurate descriptions. It was big... very big to the point that you could only visualize up to the knee, even when trying to look up.
"Is that... the dead beast... it revived?" Mira murmured, trembling.
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"It's just a shadow created with the memory of the beast, not the real thing." The whale responded calmly. "Wait a moment, I'll be right back."
Mira was scared, but she realized that the shadow wasn't moving or trying to attack. It seemed like an arrogant emperor of the world. It was as if all living things could only serve at its feet; this was a kind of inherent grandeur and arrogance. It was like it was waiting for something. But when the whale spoke and left, all her fear disappeared; his words to her were absolute. He spoke, so he would surely be back soon.
The whale approached the feet of that colossal shadow again, then grinned maliciously, opening its arms and speaking.
"Come, stubborn beast, try to devour me."
Instantly, the shadow vibrated along with the whole world. Then it collapsed like waterfall waters, falling onto the whale's motionless body as a terrible pressure shot up to the skies.
The whale's eyes lit up; they burned everything they had, along with their QI, to the maximum, but still couldn't resist that terrible pressure. The flesh of its round body exploded, looking incredibly gruesome.
At the same time, a spiritual pressure filled the world, a pressure that could suppress all living things, even the gods. Zane and Gael felt as if their souls were being torn apart. They could endure physical pain bitterly, but this spiritual pain was simply unbearable.
"If our souls weren't injured, we could counterattack and end this in a second. But now we can only endure bitterly..." Gael lamented furiously.
This was not just pain but spiritual suppression. It was a pressure that would subjugate all things, with not a single person able to resist. It was the pure power of a primordial beast from many universes, a divine king of mortal lands, a guardian of life.
It was just a single, small remnant of the spiritual bloodline, without any laws or QI, truly as weak as it appeared. Still, just its will made the whale almost explode. Moreover, an involuntary sense of subservient loyalty instinctively arose.
Instead of subjugating, they were being subjugated by it. This made them feel great humiliation.
Suddenly, an endless fury forged over thousands of years surged within them. Those wounded souls began to emanate the purest Yin and Yang from their essences. And outside, the Yin and Yang tattoos on their fists glowed without them activating them.
"Bow down!" The whale shouted furiously. Its Yin and Yang spiritual forces intertwined and merged while their powerful wills sprouted united.
This clash of wills made the whole world tremble. Although the will was a formless existence, this confrontation released a terrible pressure that made all the laws and QIs of the entire prison bow and freeze. All the cultivators present, already frightened by the preceding phenomena, spat blood in shocking reversal. Of course, Zane and Gael didn't have such power at the moment. Everything that was happening was due to that spiritual bloodline remnant instead.
Mira's face was as pale as paper. The confrontation between her master and the terrifying shadow left her incomparably fearful.
This was a furious and gentle suppression simultaneously, a formless one that came from the depths of their souls. Her master had already taught her once. Will was something unrelated to the cultivation base. Part of it was inherent, but another part was acquired through life and personal experiences. Her eyes shone; her master possessed a will as dense as that of an immortal and invincible god... or so she believed. After all, she had never seen a god before.
Even though Mira was far away and the shadow didn't even glance at her, she still felt her body shudder and an intense pain in her soul. Nevertheless, she insisted on watching the confrontation, seeing blood flowing from the whale, while in her mind, their ancient teachings were engraved even deeper.
In the cultivation world, the weak were simply victims of the strong. When they had the opportunity to strengthen themselves, they risked their lives, doing everything to obtain it. However, when giving everything and risking life for an opportunity, an unstoppable will was necessary; then came karma and destiny.
In Mira's eyes, her destiny was physically present there in that round and fat form, and unknowingly, her will was subtly shaped as she observed that confrontation. Her soul, constantly nourished by the array, combined with training completely outside the scope for someone so young, along with her resilience, gave rise to something unforeseen by Zane and Gael.
Something akin to a seed with an invincible and unstoppable will was born within her spiritual sea. A will capable of making laws bow down was born on that small ascending planet, something that was scarcely found even in divine worlds. Subtly, the laws of the universe seemed to sense that extreme karmic change.
At the same time, in a very distant place, a golden gaze slowly opened, seemingly sensing this change.
Two hours passed, but Gael and Zane felt like ten thousand years. The whale still hadn't moved. However, suddenly, the shadow released an even brighter brown light, making Mira's heart tighten.
This light grew increasingly intense, illuminating the entire abyss and rendering everything invisible to the eyes. The whale's entire body cracked like a terra cotta statue breaking, and it seemed like even its blood had dried. However, even when the brown light reached its brightest point, the whale just grinned maliciously. Then, finally, the light began to fade.
Only after a long time did Mira's vision recover. She finally saw that her master was still in the same posture as before. However, the shadow had disappeared.
The whale closed its eyes silently. Within its spiritual sea, a dark and furious wave invaded it, advancing and covering everything around like a hungry and uncontrollable beast.
Suddenly, a voice sounded. "Hey, kitty, stop causing trouble."
The shadow turned, focusing on two floating points. They were the two divine souls emanating the purest Yin and Yang. Right after, the entire shadow evaporated, trembling and submissive in despair. What remained in its place was just a small blue point that stood there silently.
"Great. You've already done your show, and now that you've come here, accept your defeat."
Then, the point voluntarily exploded into dust and spread all over the place, penetrating and merging with that body.
Zane and Gael saw it satisfied, and Gael spoke. "Who would have thought that we would advance in understanding the tattoos. It seems they have many other uses, and we were wasting them."
Zane didn't even have time to respond when the two felt something penetrating their minds. They were... fragments... of memories.