I immediately reply, as I've heard many monsters in the past refer to Ember using this name, but none have given me a clear answer.

"The Fallen One... Who are they..?—or what—have they done?"

The earth dragon's dark black eyes stare into mine, holding many secrets behind them, yet full of curiosity still.

"It sounds like you have heard of the legend too. There are only fractured memories from the pool of this being. A dragon that came before us all... Or at least far enough back before the collective was created. It is said that this one reached the heights above every dragon that has ever lived. Beyond the status of a mere green-cored lord, even beyond what some call the immortal core. The Fallen One made it to the source... Or at least, that is the only reasonable explanation."

The dragon pauses for a moment, and I feel its heartbeat speed up again, even faster.

"Well—We do not know this for sure. I am speculating from old legends traveling by word of mouth through generations of dragons. Maybe those of a higher rank than myself have personal experiences with the Fallen One. All collective memories of that being have been eroded from our minds. I can feel the presence of where they used to be, but if I try to look too deep, all that is in its place is a blinding golden light."

I let out a sigh, as yet again, I've learned a bit more but still hit another dead end right before learning of this secret that is dangled before me time and time again.

However, the knowledge they have shared has been more than satisfying.

I now know how demons are linked to this world, as a means of siphoning mana back to their home realm.

The fact that no one in the Order, or humans that study Originator relics, have heard of or seen any green core beings now makes far more sense as well.

These thrones must be part of the process in which a True Core ascends... which is why Demon Lords never return back to this world. As I've found in all of the beings in Celia's construct, the physical body fades away once one ascends.

Then again, it makes me wonder... What if my experiences with green divine energy twice before, mutating my cells, makes me different?

I mentally sift through my storage, finding the minuscule single-digit amount of green fruits left, and decide now is not the time to test anything dangerous. If I really want to do so, I need far more time and more green divine energy.

Right now, I come up with a different plan, as memories of the outside world from my body doubles tell me the sun is starting to set on the horizon.

I can't help but grin while I look the demon and dragon in the eyes.

"Would both of you like to become Red Core Demonic Knights in my army?"

Pluto's eyes widen as he replies.

"W-What do you mean? You have the ability to conduct an ascension ceremony?"

The earth dragon grins, and I just nod.

"Yes, I have the means to turn you both into red-cored ascended. I just want a few things in return."

Pluto takes a step forward and nods.

"What is it?"

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I let a small amount of my divine essence out from my barrier again, enough to make them know I'm serious, but not enough to actually injure them this time.

"I want you both to swear loyalty to me, The Flame Emperor. Once you've ascended yourselves, I want you to bring me to the capital of the Demonic Realm."

My eyes glimmer, and the pure emotion of excitement and anticipation permeates off me while both the Demon and Dragon bow their heads.

The Dragon speaks first.

"A fair trade. If my second half agrees, I will be happy to serve you until the day I die. It would be an honor to follow the will of a True Core Ascended."

The Demon follows up.

"This was my dream all along, to even join an ascended rank. I cannot pass up the offer to become one. I, Pluto, swear my undying loyalty to the Flame Emperor. Your will is mine."

Two new links of loyalty form in my rising emperor's domain interface, and in return, I pull out a large pile of red divine fragments from my storage, and let them fall in front of both of their heads as they slowly raise them.

I share my self-regeneration skill with both of them and spend the next few minutes explaining the process of awakening their divine cores.

With my arms crossed, standing a good distance away, I watch both of them consume their first fragment and erupt with red threads of reality-bending divine power.

It takes a few minutes to die down to a manageable level, and for their bodies to begin the healing process. But once they do, both realize that with my assistance, this path is not a figment of their imaginations anymore; it is an inevitable outcome if they follow my instructions.

At the same time, one of my body doubles drops off a large amount of mana in the form of pure pink concentrated crystals on the floor below us, and the system counter on the ceiling of the boss room moves up by about 5%, signifying a few hundred quadrillion MP have been added.

I speak up proudly through our strengthened telepathy link now.

"Very good. We shall be in contact through this link from now on. Continue your awakening process; I have more business to attend to."

Both of them reply with nods as they're deep in concentration while gathering red threads at the back of the boss room.

I dungeon-walk away to join the Crimson Army members training on floors 50–55 of the labyrinth, facing monsters between levels 2000 and 2500, and share my absorption skill with each of them.

While they are all making great progress on their own, using my skill to gain much-needed MCP after every kill will strengthen them even faster.

–

A few hours pass as I help the army climb the floors of the labyrinth with a small percentage of my own mana control to boost their strength, surpassing floor 70, making months' worth of progress in a single afternoon.

The dozens of brave hunters that fought by my side in the battle against the Lich King months ago, and just recently protected the Crimson Dome and citizens from the Association's attacks, have multiplied their strength once again. Each and every one of them surpasses level 5000, and gain hundreds of billions of MCP.

Both making the power of my allies far stronger, but also creating an even larger pool of stats and mana control I can pull from using my rising emperor's domain in the future.

–

While watching them train, the live memories of my body doubles pass by and I periodically check on the demon and dragon at the top of the labyrinth. Eventually, two very impactful events occur.

The first being that the double collecting the mana from the artificial mountains finally farms enough mana to complete the final 100th floor. I sacrifice another 100 fragments of luminite, and there is a three-way agreement forged within the inner workings of the labyrinth's interface to not collapse it and make room for 100 more floors.

Now when I stare up at the ceiling, a new text box appears.

[Floors Available: 100/200]

[Mana Necessary to create next Floor: [0.0 Quintillion / 30.2 Quintillion]]

My double goes back to work siphoning mana from the immense supply in the mountains to the west.

At the current rate it's working, it will still take many hours per floor to grow it further, and the process will only get longer, but the second event that is fresh in my mind takes precedence over my immediate brainpower and main body's attention.

I activate my stealth skill, and use my mythic-grade body double's perk to switch places with the double many thousands of kilometers away.

It is the dead of night on the island of Palmyra, and I find myself standing in the center of the largest of the Finger Islands.

My double has finished its surveillance duties and now knows exactly how this society runs. Their facilities and working cycles have all been logged, and the daily routines of the divine cores and higher ups are noted as well.

There is no reason to hold back anymore.

I slowly walk toward the mansion that houses two Yellow Cored Order members. It is time to begin the next stage of the plan I devised with Raven. There is not much time left, and I must become strong enough to face the Big Three.