Falling onto her rear with a heavy thud, Dimi blankly stared into the dark, ominous clouds swirling overhead as she bit her bottom lip.

"It's over." After what seemed like forever, Dimi's shoulders sagged as she subconsciously mumbled.

Though the sensation of time had not yet returned to Dimi, the tribulation's distortion of time making it feel like she had just woken up from an incredibly vivid dream, she eventually noticed that the clouds above had all dissipated.

In their wake was a beautiful, blue sky stained with the golden hue of the rising sun in the east.

It wasn't long before, as if trying to warm her body, rays of light spilt over the crest of the nearby grass and fell upon Dimi and the devastated clearing.

"It's finally over."

Feeling like she had aged decades, Dimi unclenched her hands and released a profound sigh as she felt the stinging sensation from the multiple bloody wounds, left by her nails, that marred her palms.

Slowly lowering her gaze from the sky, Dimi looked at the injuries as light brown energy started to gather around them.

Within seconds, edges of the cuts began to pull together and the blood dried and turned to dust.

However, instead of revealing a relieved expression, even though the wounds were minor, Dimi face twisted with a frown. -"Who would have thought..."

In the span of a few hours, judging by the position of the early morning sun, She had witnessed the origin, rise and supposed fall of two of the world's most notorious individuals.

The most notable, at least in terms of infamy, was the Mad Summoner. The second, equally notorious but considered more of a demonic entity or natural force of evil, was Nyx.

A faint breeze blew from the east, causing the grass to rustle noisily. As it did, the lingering black mist that was barely hanging above the scarred, cracked ground began to scatter.

As Dimi started to look around, the sound of insects and a few morning birds broke the unnatural silence that had been hanging heavy in the air.

Dimi's gaze passed over the small craters, some still flickering with tiny, black lightning, and moved towards the skeletal-like figure laying on the ground a couple of meters away.

Scanning Nyx's emaciated form as she lay on the cold, hard ground, Dimi subconsciously shivered as her thoughts travelled back to what she had witnessed.

"Monster..." While many words and descriptions floated to the surface of Dimi's mind, almost as many as the emotions that were rampaging inside, only one seemed to resonate with the solitary figure.

Shallowly panting, Nyx was staring into the sky with an emotionless face. The rampaging energy of the tribulation and partial beastification had reduced her robes to tatters and all but destroyed her leather armour.

Still, only a few narrow strips of her snow-white skin could be seen, excluding her hollow face and neck.

Instead, a sticky, black substance, the same as what was trickling from the corner of Nyx's mouth, was seeping out of the many gaps and pooling on the dirt below.

The liquid seemed to taint the soil, turning it black alongside the shattered components of what had once been Nyx's weapons.

Seeing the state of Nyx and her surroundings, Dimi frowned for a moment before sighing. -"Even if I could tell anyone, no one would believe a core realm advancement caused this."

Nyx coughed, increasing the amount of liquid escaping her mouth for a moment, drawing Dimi's attention back to her form.

-"It would be so easy..." The muscles under Dimi's skin bulged unnaturally as her fists clenched. -"I might never get a chance like this again. So weak and vulnerable."

Dimi's eyes seemed to glow with a hint of orange-brown light.

However, after taking a deep breath and holding it for a moment, Dimi shook her head as she revealed a self-deprecating smile.

Apart from the slight breeze and increasing natural ambience of the morning grassland, the small clearing was silent as Dimi stared at Nyx with a complex, often shifting expression.

Dimi's deliberation was finally interrupted as Nyx slowly lifted her right hand into the sky as if trying to grasp something.

"The needle tears a hole~." Nyx's voice was quiet and extremely hoarse, sounding like she hadn't spoken in years.

Yet, unlike her emotionless face that revealed nothing, her voice was laced with sadness. "The old, familiar sting~."

"Try to kill it, all away." Nyx's fingers curled, clasping into a fist as a single tear rolled down the side of her face. "But I remember everything~."

With a soft thud, the shaky arm that she could barely keep up fell to the side and hit the ground. "What have I become..."

Dimi shook her head while revealing a crooked smile.

To most, seeing a young woman in such a dishevelled, pitiful state, they would be moved to compassion or at least not see her as a threat.

However, after what Dimi had learnt, she now knew that this was Nyx was at her most dangerous.

Bitting the inside of her cheek, hard enough to draw blood, Dimi closed her eyes for a moment. -"Well... at least I have a better grasp of her personality now."

Lifting herself off the ground, Dimi patted down her white robe. Forcing a smile, she turned towards Nyx. "Shall we get going?"

Nyx seemed not to hear her. "Everyone I know goes away in the end~."

"Nyx?" Dimi took a few steps forward.

Nyx's head twisted slightly, generating small pops and cracking noises, as her gaze fell upon Dimi.

Without a shred of muscle or fat, Nyx's cheeks and eyes had sunk while her skin had become sickly and translucent, making her seem like a mummified corpse.

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Dimi shook her head, trying to make her smile as natural as possible. "Idiot. Do you know how lucky you are to be alive? Who in their right mind goes for a triple breakthrough after being stuck at a bottleneck?"

The intense stare, as well as Nyx's slightly narrowing eyes, caused Dimi's heart to skip a beat. -"Does she know that I saw?"

While the glow was dim and the strange flickers of white lightning were almost none existent due to her exhausted state, Nyx's eyes still held power to intimidate or enchant with a mere glance.

Just as Dimi was about to reveal that she had witnessed Nyx's illusionary tribulation and leave the consequences to fate, Nyx closed her eyes.

Dimi frowned, her eyes instantly scanning Nyx's hands as well as the small bag at her thigh and pieces of weapons nearby.

"Nyx?"

Opening her eyes a crack, Nyx revealed a cold, haunting smile. "So you saw..."

Another breeze fluttered across the clearing, the swaying grass casting faint shadows on the dirt ground.

"Nyx..." Dimi instantly realised that she had been seen through, and couldn't help but sigh as she put her weight on her right foot. "Runt. I'm not stupid. If you weren't... what you are. I would kill you and destroy all evidence of what happened..."

Nyx's expression didn't change in the slightest.

Stamping her foot on the ground, Dimi pointed at Nyx as her face flushed red. "Why the fuck would you let me see that? Is it to trap me? Do you want me to be hunted to the ends of the earth or turned to ash by the heavens? Are you planning to blackmail me?"

"I told you before. I don't want to know what I shouldn't. I'm a simple creature." As Dimi became more animated, the stifling feeling in her chest lightening significantly and she felt much better. "All I want in life is to have fun and protect the pride, have a litter or two of cubs and eat good food.

"Yet here you are, revealing things that could, no will, get me killed if anyone finds out." Dimi glanced at the sky. She wanted to say more but, because she wasn't sure what she could say, she could only keep it vague. "I can't even sleep in my human form anymore."

Seeing Nyx wasn't responding, she stamped on the ground again, this time kicking a lot of debris into the air. "I sleep talk damn it!"

Sucking in a deep breath, Dimi glared at Nyx's still form. "I just want to know one thing. Was it on purpose?"

Nyx was silent for a few moments. "No."

Dimi's expression lightened significantly. "Did you plan to kill me after your breakthrough?"

"Yes." Nyx closed her eyes again. "This is the best chance you will ever get. Don't waste it."

"That's true. But...," smiled Dimi as she started walking towards Nyx again. "This is also the best time to prove myself."

Dimi snorted in her mind. -"And what's the point? You're a damn immortal. I might kill this body, but I will have to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life, suspecting everyone."

Nyx snorted. "You think it's that easy?"

Dimi chuckled evilly as she remembered the time she spent with Nyx as well as the patterns that she had noticed on the visions. "You know you're not that scary."

Nyx's eyes flickered open, her forehead crinkling with the effort as she revealed a sinister smile. "I thought you said I was a monster?"

"You are but not just because of your actions," chuckled Dimi as she pulled two talismans from her pocket and pointed one at Nyx. "Hold your breath."

A tiny ball, the size of a marble, appeared in Nyx's hand but before she could flick it at Dimi, a jet of water had crashed into her and knocked her rolling backwards.

After rolling a couple of times, Nyx's body came to a stop face down. Her hand was now empty, and the bag that had been strapped to her leg was nowhere to be seen.

Not only that, she was now drenched from head to toe, and the remains of the robe and armour had been blasted away leaving her in an even more miserable state.

"I'm not going to kill you, force you to do anything or reveal your secrets," chuckled Dimi as she walked over to the coughing Nyx. "I only care about my pride. As long as you don't bring any harm to us, we won't get in your way."

"Now..." Dimi reached Nyx, who was struggling to roll over in the muddy puddle that had formed underneath her. "Can you wash or do I have to do it for you?"

Noticing that Nyx was still coughing, not moving much at all, Dimi nudged her over onto her side. "Looks like you don't have to answer."

"Touch me." Between fits of coughing, the water talisman having caught her completely off-guard, Nyx managed to squeeze out her threat. "And I will kill you."

Kneeling down, not minding that her white robe was getting muddy, Dimi used nearby dirt to clean Nyx's body as she chuckled. "I'm sure you will have forgiven me by the time you regain your strength."

After the dirt had loosened and mixed with the black liquid, Dimi cut off the sleeve of her robe and started to try and wipe it away. "Bear with it. When we get to town, you can have a nice hot bath."

Hearing the weak, pathetic growl coming from the woman who was facing in the opposite direction as she painfully scratched away the sticky residue, Dimi felt a chill run down her spine.

However, unlike before, this time she subconsciously revealed a mischievous grin as she rubbed harder. "Stop being such a baby. If you don't get rid of this stench, those drawn to your spectacular breakthrough, even the humans, will be able to smell you at a hundred paces. You don't want to become a poacher's prize or a tamer's pet do you?"

Nyx's struggles weakened significantly, mainly because she had run out of energy. "Are you not afraid?"

The sinister, haunting tone of Nyx's voice caused Dimi's breath to momentarily catch in her throat.

"A bit." Dimi's hands paused for a moment before continuing. "But at the same time, I am kind of excited."

"You're not a genius of martial arts or a heavenly blessed sage. You have no power backing you, and at the moment, you are still weak."

Nyx's muscles tensed.

"But~." Dimi flipped Nyx over, so they were facing. "I am sure that things won't be boring with you around. You have also made a deal with Timur which means we will see lots of each other in the future so why not make the most of it?"

Dimi chuckled. "My sisters are going to be so happy."

Nyx's eyes narrowed into slits as she glared at Dimi, trying to work out the lioness' true intentions.

The smile on Dimi's face vanished as she glanced at the sky and released a sigh before scrubbing Nyx's arm even more vigorously. "You owe me big time. I hate not being able to speak my mind."

Nyx didn't say anything else, only struggling when Dimi started to wash her more sensitive areas. However, as she was exhausted, it didn't take much for Dimi to overpower her.

It wasn't long before every inch of Nyx's body, private or otherwise, had been thoroughly scrubbed.

After dousing Nyx in another torrent of water, eliciting curses both known and foreign to the lioness, Dimi finally knew that she had made the right choice. -"Thank the gods. It seems like my actions are working and she is lowering her guard somewhat... or is that what she wants me to think?"

Shaking her head to banish the doubts, Dimi smiled as she took off her robe, revealing her light brown leather armour underneath.

Holding Nyx up by her arm, not graceful or dignified way by any means, Dimi wrapped the robe around her.

Ignoring the blood-chilling hiss, Dimi swept Nyx into a princess carry, pinning her arms and legs as she did, and started to walk in the direction of the fort. "If we are lucky, we can catch the others before they leave or else we are going to have to walk."

Feeling Nyx's muscles tense, Dimi smiled. "Don't worry; I said I would protect you until you have recovered. I won't even let that old goat get close if you don't want."

"Why?" Nyx looked up at Dimi's face, her eyelids feeling incredibly heavy.

Looking down, Dimi found that Nyx was staring into her eyes. "Why what?"

Nyx clenched her teeth, the faint traces of black essence that had started to form instantly dispersing as she was too weak. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because you can't fight back." chuckled Dimi.

Seeing Nyx frown, Dimi continued. "Look, what's the point in fighting with something that you can't beat? Yes, I might win the fight today, but in the long run, I am bound to lose if you get serious and hold a grudge. As that's the case, why not become friends?"

Nyx tried to move, but it turned out to be more of a slight wiggle.

Sensing the movement, Dimi's grip also increased. "So... I am going to use your current weakness to earn your trust. You are Timur's disciple anyway so can be somewhat treated like family."

Seeing Nyx still staring with an emotionless face, Dimi shrugged. "OK, so what would it take to befriend the mighty Nyx?"

In response, Nyx didn't answer but closed her eyes. She knew that until she recovered, she was at the mercy of the lioness.

After walking for five minutes, Dimi had given up on getting a response when Nyx suddenly spoke.

"Two conditions. "You will never restrict my freedom and..." Nyx's voice was so low Dimi lifted her slightly as she lent in.

"And?" Dimi frowned as she heard a soft snore coming from her arms.

Dimi moved Nyx a bit, trying to nudge her to find out the last condition, only to find that she had indeed passed out.

Shrugging her shoulders, Dimi's pace increased until she seemed to be flying through the tall grass. "Ow well, good enough for now."