Waking up with no indication of his parents filled Chidi with great concern. He was only slightly less worried when he learned about what happened to them. He wanted to hug them. People who went centuries without hugging anyone probably became terrible people like Zaur. Unless they just didn’t like hugs.

But he couldn’t. Or shouldn’t. Chidi awoke with new confidence, but while he was perfectly certain in his ability to negate external energy, negating energy inside of others was another thing entirely. Chidi was able to observe his parents from a safe distance, and he learned quite a bit. The energy was flowing back and forth between them. It was so tempting to reach out and disrupt it, but that could go wrong in any number of ways.

First of all, it was clear that the remnants of energy were what was powering the transition back and forth between Catarina and Timothy. If he disrupted the transfer, the constant movement that kept it contained would also become unstable. The energy could easily go wild and tear them apart from the inside.

The current solution was quite elegant, though not without risks of its own. It was unlikely to be perfectly stable, improvised as it was. But in theory, over time it would use up the excess energy. The problem there was that the timeframe to use up domination energy for such a simple process was immense.

Aconite stood with him, attempting to solve the issue much as he was. “I could… introduce some energy negating compounds into their bodies?” she growled lightly.

“That’s just as risky as what I might do alone,” Chidi said. “Perhaps I could create a longer lasting wide area negation. But that wouldn’t really free them from the situation. The energy doesn’t even really go away.” Chidi shook his head. “But this isn’t our problem alone. We should join with the rest of the Scarlet Alliance on this issue. Koralo has some plans that are intriguing. We both learned from my mother, but the exact details were different given our focuses. I’m sure we can figure something out.”

If not… well, Chidi had already been exceptionally lucky as a cultivator. The number of losses around him had been minimal. Though if there were going to be losses… he might have preferred it to be Prasad. Though obviously he would never say that to the man himself. They were still allies, even if their interests were not aligned on every minor topic.

-----

The lower realms were still feeling the aftereffects of the wars, though spirits were high overall. The east and west, however, had different consequences.

There had been a push to annihilate the Imbued Fragments and Broad-eyed Harvesters. Their skeletal planets were mockeries of a healthy system, and the devastation left in their wake simply couldn’t be forgiven. Some likely had little choice but to participate- where could they go, when every planet they’d ever known was controlled by the sects? However, the ultimate decisions had come at the hand of those sect’s stronger cultivators.

They fought to the last. Not every cultivator at even the lower ranks, but their ‘planets’ could not hold themselves together after using up too much of their natural energy. Very few survived the inevitable collapses into minor planetoids- or larger planet-sized piles of rubble where they had combined into multiple planet-ships.

As for where the rest of the planetary mass had gone, there were a great quantity of ships and of course the star draining structure. Even half complete, it could have easily taken all of the rocky mass from multiple systems. There was some suspicion that they had also found a way to send worldheart to the upper realms, though that was a tiny portion of the overall mass.

Any survivors on the eastern front were few and far between.

To the west, there were actually quite a few innocents in the mix. First there were the slaves- though only a small portion of the population- and then those who were wrapped up under the power of the Exalted Quadrant in other ways.

As for the void ants… they were impossible to reason with. The Alliance ants took on the scattered colonies easily. Capturing enemies was more or less impossible, and so it was not done to any notable extent. Except, as far as the void ant sensibilities went, it could be argued that they captured every single person they could. That would be the queens and few others. The standard rank-and-file were not considered people, and given the development of their own members it had to be believed on the whole.

Either way, the queens were kept carefully contained- and separate from each other, since they would most likely not see each other as allies either. What would actually happen to them in the long run was difficult to predict immediately.

-----

Gaila was done. And that didn’t bother her at all. In fact, of everyone she saw she was perhaps the least worried about her own condition.

“Aren’t you worried about your lifespan?” someone would ask.

Clearly she wasn’t. “And why should I be? What happens to me when it runs out, hmm?”

“... You die.”

“Exactly,” Gaila nodded. “Don’t you want to die happy? This is the optimal result.”

Usually, they’d say something about striving for immortality. Or at least mention prolonging her happiness.

Maybe they were right. But Gaila had the freedom to just exist, and having the freedom to not exist was part of that. From what she’d seen so far of the Lower Realms Alliance she wasn’t in danger of losing that freedom anytime soon, but returning to some form of captivity after a taste of freedom? That would destroy her.

Then again, wasn’t that what the Shattered Chains were all about? That was why it had worked for her enough to get through the first few minor steps in Body Tempering, even if her body wasn’t particularly up for the task.

“Begin by comparing what things were like then to how they are now,” Gaila explained to a group of young disciples. They were young, so the length of their experience was far less. “I’m not saying you should never forget. In fact, if you can put it out of your mind forever, then you will be truly free.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

When any were discouraged about their progress, she supported them. She herself was not even at the peak of body tempering several years later.

“Don’t rush,” Gaila reminded them. “Unlike myself, none of you are close to reaching the end of your lifespan.” Some were older than others, and a few had health issues of a sort, but none were lingering on the very edge. Not with the aid of the Shattered Chains and the Alliance.

She said that but… there actually was one fellow. Significantly older. But he didn’t appear to be practicing the style of the Shattered Chains. He was stronger than her too. Spirit Building, maybe?

“Did you previously learn cultivation or…?” she inquired.

“I’m just visiting from another sect,” the old man explained. “I like to keep up with everything that is going on. I doubt I can guide anyone according to the precepts of the Shattered Chains, but I’ve picked up some helpful things in my time.”

“Like what?” Gaila asked. It was a mix of curiosity and politeness.

“There are certain techniques that are useful for people of advanced age like myself,” the man explained. “Though there are some drawbacks.”

“Hmm. Painful?”

“Not really,” the man shook his head. “It just cuts off certain paths. Ascension and reincarnation.”

“The former doesn’t sound too bad,” Gaila admitted. “Many people wouldn’t be interested, but there are other options, right? Not that I’d get close myself. Reincarnation… well, I wasn’t really counting on anything like that anyway.”

“Indeed. You might be suited.”

“Are you calling me old?” Gaila grinned.

“You can make that determination yourself. It also has value for those younger, but the potency is less.”

“Why?” Gaila asked.

“It draws upon a connection with death. Age is simply one of the more survivable factors. Unless one wishes to imbue themselves with near-fatal injuries perpetually.”

“Sounds unpleasant,” Gaila frowned. “Who would come up with such a technique?”

“A truly terrible person,” the old man said. “But sometimes, those same people are quite talented. But it would certainly be categorized as a forbidden technique.”

“Careful with that. You might get in trouble with the sect head.”

“Bah,” the old man waved his hand. “I know Devon’s nieces. Besides, it’s Alliance approved for those with particular circumstances.”

“Like myself?” Gaila asked.

“Well, I don’t know about that. How attached are you to your life?”

“Not very,” she said. “You must not have been around here much.”

The man shrugged. “Perhaps you might humor me. I understand you have accepted the end. But I honestly don’t know if you’d be suited.”

“I wasn’t really counting on that,” Gaila admitted. “After all, it must require a certain talent to use well. And motivation.”

“Both true. But you also seemed interested in reincarnation.”

Gaila hadn’t thought that would come through. She’d been pretty dismissive, hadn’t she? “Maybe to some extent. I can’t help but wonder what a life would be like if it was… tolerable from the beginning. But I also have no desire to try to reset.”

“Hmm. Then you are both more and less suited for the technique. It would guarantee that whatever becomes of your soul would no longer be you, should some part of it be drawn into a future life.”

“That implies the process is outside of the norm. If anything, wouldn’t that be typical reincarnation?”

“There are certain things that connect people who are reborn, even if they retain no memories. And I’ve heard some testimonies of those who have reincarnated, both intentionally and unintentionally.”

“... You sure know a lot of people, huh?” Gaila asked, looking over the old man. “How does that happen?”

“You just have to be around for a while.”

Of course. But how old could one person be? Gaila realized she didn’t actually know the answer. But that was fine. “I think I’d prefer a natural end.”

“Honestly, you’d have to have a very good reason to seek anything else. Friends, family, or a greater cause.”

“I think my position in any greater cause would be suspect,” Gaila explained. “If I gave up on what I wanted. And that’s to die peacefully in my age. Maybe after setting a few people on the right track.”

“A healthy mindset. I can see it is doing well.”

“Thank you. Oh, I didn’t ask your name. I’m Gaila.”

“It’s Anton. Pleasure to meet you.”

“I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere.”

“It’s quite common. I’d be surprised if you hadn’t,” Anton said. And it was true. It fell in and out of favor during his early life, but there were a constant stream of them now. Just like he imagined a few people present around him might name their first son Devon.

-----

The Great Queen was annoyed. It was obvious that they were trying to teach the other queens to sign, but they seemed to take it as some sort of threat instead. They were so aggressive. That in turn made her aggressive. But she could control herself. They stayed behind their carefully crafted glass walls, receiving enough nutrients to keep them healthy but not enough to build up a colony. It would be a wasted effort, if they did so with impure intentions.

It didn’t seem like it should take this long for them to learn. Was there something wrong with them? Was there something wrong with her?

The Great Queen accepted magnanimously that there were probably many things wrong with her from certain perspectives. This was not one of them. Learning to communicate was how her people had grown so strong. Even if the other queens didn’t trust her, shouldn’t they at least want to learn so they could spy on what she and the others said? Maybe that was the best way to teach them. Indirectly.

First, though, she would consult with the humans to make sure they were not broken. She could consult the records of experiments that the Exalted Quadrant had been up to, even if they were unpleasant.

She didn’t intend to give up easily. After all, what was the point of supporting the Alliance’s intention to include all people under their banner if it didn’t include all of her people. And while void ants might mean only those under a single queen, she was willing to adopt. Accepting them as equal rank would at least require them to be… more. They were quite disappointing at the moment.