Shen was looking at the ground, feeling pressure in his soul despite not staring at the cthulhus anymore. Then, out of nowhere, a whisper sounded in his mind.

"Little one, I already hate to touch a C-rank, and you're only D-rank..." It sighed. "I'm sorry to inform you that you got caught in an investigation by the Primordial Bridge, and your mind is nowhere as powerful or protected as your master's. So easy to read or break! I now respect your master more for obeying Alliance law against mind invasion when training you. Such a remarkable being, yet so defined by her hatred! What a shame, what a shame. Help her if you can; it would be better for everyone, her above all."

While the whisper sounded like a whisper, it somehow dominated Shen's whole mind. He couldn't even start to analyze the contents of its words. That he could even understand them already felt like a feat.

First, there was power. It was a whisper, yet being lightly touched by the sun would still leave Shen charred—if he survived. This was the same. Even mentally limited as he was, he could still tell the whisper was holding back on its power, or his mind would be gone by now.

On top of that, the language was like no other that Shen had ever heard. It felt as if Reality itself was speaking with him. He barely recognized what he could only call Law fragments turned into sound and somehow being used to communicate with him.

Then, there was history there. Every word meant precisely what it did, yet they also brought eons of... repeated usage? Every time the whisper had ever used each specific word in the past superimposed on top of each other. That experience piled up into a form of purity that Shen had trouble even starting to experience such profoundness.

When the whisper said "sorry," it meant it in such a deep, deep manner that Shen also felt sorry. He felt sorry for the time he ate a world with living beings—amoebas or not, they were alive. He felt sorry for accidentally destroying a star his lover enjoyed. He felt sorry for being forced to kill his lover to save his race.

The worst part was how it threatened to consume Shen. Those experiences attempted to slam themselves on top of his own. If it weren't for his True Path, his whole existence would be unmade by mere words, then remade in that being's image.

"As I expected, you're innocent," the whisper continued. "So your Immortal Emperor wants you to join us? Your potential is not bad, and you don't have ill intentions against the Alliance, only against its means. I'll allow you to be tested. Don't worry; we won't try to use you against your boss. Send me a message whenever you want after reaching C-rank. I'm Ph'igunli mwnafh'lg Cthulhu L'rlye."

Then, it spoke no more. The system returned and teleported Shen away.

Shen didn't notice the notifications the system sent him or realize where he ended up. Words and the past echoed in his mind. Fragments of Laws in sound form fought his Path for dominance.

Deep down, Shen was fighting.

It didn't look or feel like it; he was just standing still, not responding to external stimuli. Yet, his entire existence directly resisted the invasion, seeking rightful supremacy. He could tell those words weren't truly meant to harm him, yet their power couldn't be denied. They couldn't deny themselves. They might be unwilling to win the ethereal battle, but they still had to give their all, for the Law fragments and the whisper's past experiences could be nothing but themselves.

It was almost as if a Truth Path was fighting his, only that True Path was different somehow and as tunned down as possible without ceasing to be itself.

A second or an eternity passed. Shen continuously revisited the meaning of the words and resisted them. As his mind started reemerging, he felt glad he couldn't remember the scenes he had witnessed. If he did, he might indirectly turn into someone else just from experiencing countless lifetimes' worth of moments every instant.

What he did remember was the fight for his existence. The neverending struggle. The victory.

Shen emerged stronger.

He hadn't changed who he was, but he felt like a warrior who had fought for millennia and then returned home. It left a mark on him. He felt more centered, soberer, stronger.

He had never felt his willpower increase before, but now he could directly point out how it had.

Everything about it was such an uncanny experience!

Shen realized he had felt true power for the first time. That was the closest he ever came to witnessing omnipotence. He could imagine a blade cutting a galaxy in half—it only needed enough power—but mere words remaking the existence of those who heard them—and it not even being the desired result? He didn't understand that at all. How could one speak using the very Laws of Reality or pour oneself on what they said?

That felt even scarier than what Valentina had done to him!

Heavens!

Yet, he didn't panic. Not because he wasn't afraid; he was terrified. Not even due to his emotional control; the shock was beyond what he could withstand. No. It was simply because his recently honed willpower alone was enough to keep him centered. He had evolved that much.

Maybe there were hidden dangers in his mind, but he could only look for them. Worrying would change nothing. There was no unmaking what had been done.

Shen sighed and finally took inventory of his surroundings.

He was in a small black metal room with a teleportation circle. Someone had moved him to the corner and left him there. His squad was gone, too. No one was materializing there, so either the other drow didn't use this room, or it had been a while since he arrived, so everyone had already left Planet Seventeen.

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A look at the system's clock—a function he seldom used—revealed it had been three Standard hours.

He had failed his mission on Planet Seventeen very fast, so he had over four Standard hours remaining until the Maiden was scheduled to pick him up and bring him to the Summit. He had no idea what to do in the meanwhile.

Navigating Shar'Talon's endless maze-like corridors was impossible, but he still had the echo plate. He tried talking to them but found he could. Even so, the device let him know where some nearby drow were.

Shen left the room and started walking in the general direction of some of them. He often found only dead ends, but he was sure he would eventually get to someone.

Meanwhile, he thought about the whisper's actual words.

That whisper probably belonged to one of the cthulhus. It had said it didn't believe the Maiden's hatred was healthy and that Shen should help her overcome it. He wasn't sure he agreed with it himself. He knew emotions were needed for one's domain, and theoretically, stronger emotions should give someone an edge. What right did he have to attempt to make the Maiden weaker?

Yet, if it would be good for her as the cthulhu had said...

Shen would keep his eyes and ears open and decide later.

The cthulhu had also said it had come from the Primordial Bridge, which the Immortal Emperor had commanded Shen to join. Currently, he wasn't sure if he wanted to obey the man on that, but apparently, it wouldn't be hard. He would decide after learning more about the Bridge and maybe talking to the Emperor.

More importantly, it appeared that all his memories had been read. While he didn't feel like blindly obeying the Emperor any longer, at least not for now, he reckoned a warning was good form.

"System, can I send a message to Carl Jones of the United Republic of Imperia?" he asked.

The system had this function, but it only unlocked at C-rank. Then again, who knows? Maybe the Emperor had special means to let Shen contact him.

| You're currently locked from Sender Function of the Message Subsystem

That settled it. Shen would ask the Maiden to send the message in his stead later.

The last thing he guessed from the cthulhu's words was the Maiden's power. It had talked about touching C-ranks, then mentioned knowing she had not invaded his mind. It suggested the Maiden was still at C-rank and had also had her mind read. It made him feel less terrible about being so easily overwhelmed.

More importantly, she had killed Uk'Gaar with that impressive display of might at C-rank!

She had even made it look easy!

More than anything until now, that cemented her position in his mind. Such a powerful being had been the one to train him. It also spoke well of how outstanding the methods he had been taught really were.

Him killing a C-rank hadn't been as impressive as the Maiden killing a B-rank, but he no longer felt like it had been that much of a fluke.

Shen kept the conclusion he had reached on Planet Seventeen: the Alliance was huge, and there was a D-rank out there as stronger than him as he was stronger than the "average drow elite" somewhere out there. However, he also realized his strength wasn't anything to be scoffed at. It was not only direct might that counted; his every mean was part of his strength, which gave him a clearer picture of his ability and the gap to those below.

With nothing else to analyze about the whisper's words, he started reviewing his mission. What could he have done better? How could he improve? What other approaches could he have taken?

He had barely started when he turned a corner and saw the Maiden waiting for him, her back laying on a wall with her arms crossed.

"Took you long enough," she said.

Yet, there was no bite to her words. They even sounded playful, as if she was glad to see him. That was obviously impossible unless she had some nefarious goals.

Shen got on the defensive at once.

The Maiden wore a nondescript black robe, the simplest clothing he had ever seen on her. She was even more beautiful than she had ever made herself when she was training her.

Her facial features were perfect. No, beyond perfect. There was symmetry and the golden ratio, and then there was this. Everything was the right size and in the right place and created a harmonious balance that Shen was sure even reflected some truths about the Laws of Reality themselves.

Even the contrast between her dark blue skin and her white hair and eyes seemed improved. He couldn't tell exactly how, but the colors now appeared to complement each other in a way Shen had never seen before.

Shen had enough emotional control to precisely determine his reaction. He also wouldn't be fooled by her.

Yet, he decided that such a... wonder deserved an honest comment, even if she used it against him.

He didn't waste time thinking about romance, but Heavens, he was a man. Emotional control or not, he didn't feel like hiding his admiration.

"Wow," he breathed sincerely.

Then, to his utmost incredulity, the Maiden smiled. It was only the curving of her lips, but it gave her such a grace that he couldn't put it into words. How was that possible?!

"I barely reach B-rank," she said, "and someone is already courting me. You're quick and decisive, I'll give you that. I approve of it. I'll remove you from the first position of people I would never touch. You now stand firmly in the second position, right after the cthulhu who just ravaged my brain. Rejoice."

Shen was left open-mouthed by most of what she said, but he could only focus on one thing in his reply, "You had me placed after the cthulhu?!"

Her smile widened slightly, almost showing teeth. "Oh, do you mean to say you really want a piece of me? I'll consider it once you reach my rank. So, hurry up and get to peak B-rank before I get to A-rank."

Once more, there was a lot of information there. Shen could comment on her ranking up and already being at peak B-rank. Instead, he squinted his eyes.

"You mean it," he said suspiciously.

Yes, she did. He couldn't detect any falsehood in her words, and he had gotten used to hearing her lies. He couldn't perfectly spot every lie, but he found nothing to suspect.

The Maiden had just told him to get to peak B-rank, and then she would consider seeing him as more than a slightly-better-than-cthulhu guy.

When he pointed out that he saw the sincerity in her words despite her wording it playfully, the Maiden...

...laughed.

She laughed loudly and freely. Not at him; he didn't feel belittled. She was clearly enjoying the moment. It was an incredible sight, and for more reasons than her beauty.

Shen had never seen her so... He hated to use the same word as the Triarchy, but it fit.

He had never seen her so free before.

He greatly, greatly approved of it. It felt right. She felt light and comfortable with herself in a marvelous way. It made him want to get closer to her.

So, Shen raised his guard.

Even if she had changed her mind about their difference in rank and age preventing them from being more than teacher and student, this was too much. Too drastic. No one could change like that this fast.

Why was she being so pleasant? What was she playing at? Why was she showing him this side of her?

Was this a test? A demonstration? Was she showing him what his enemy might attempt to get to him?

The cultivator removed any external sign of his emotions and just stood there, looking at her, waiting for the trap to spring.

That had been the right decision because the Maiden stopped lying her back on the wall, stood up straight, and approached him with arms crossed and a lovely smile.

There was no more a shadow of hidden plays on her. No sinister aura of ploys within ploys. Not even the constant promise of death.

The Maiden looked like an impossibly beautiful girl next door that was too sure of herself without looking down on him. Like someone who truly wanted to just talk because she enjoyed talking to him.

Almost as if she was getting closer because she enjoyed his company!

Shen didn't trust that at all. It meant he couldn't see through her nearly as much as he had thought.

He steeled himself for whatever was coming.