Elaine put on a strong front as she stood over Elder Natalia's corpse, and her gaze swept the room. Despite her best efforts, a conflict of emotions was going through her head.

Elders who had fawned over her in youth and taught her the ways of cultivation were now begging her for their lives. But Elaine's love for them died the day they cast her out, and she learned the true nature of cultivators. Once they discovered she was talentless and being sent away by her Father, their love turned to disinterest, and some even looked at her with disdain as she was ushered out of the residence and sent to Darklight City.

Now, they dared to shamelessly beg for their lives when they had turned their backs on her in the past. It was sickening and made Elaine's skin crawl, but despite her bold words, she didn't wish such a horrific death upon them.

Ashlock's methods were... gruesome, to say the least. Watching her family being slaughtered in a fair battle with swords and Qi was one thing. Yet, it was a whole other experience, seeing them reduced to piles of ash without the ability to fight back or being transformed into inhuman beings.

"Elaine, step away," Ashlock's many voices echoed through her mind.

She did as instructed as silver ash swirled around her in a protective embrace, and Valandor escorted her away from her Father, who had become a tree.

A bubble of spatial Qi expanded outward around the void tree. Through the lilac hue, Elaine noticed a black root enter Natalia's headless corpse. An explosion of death Qi corrupted the spatial Qi bubble briefly before Natalia's corpse began to convulse. Her clothes and skin melted away, revealing black flesh that turned into bark. Another set of arms grew like branches from her waist, and both sets of hands extended into claws. The headless monstrosity that was once Natalia slowly stood up, and despite lacking a head, it was still taller than Elaine. Void soul flames flickered across its body as it emerged from the spatial bubble, much to all of the Elders's terror.

"Go find your mother and answer her questions. I'm sure she will be bewildered by all this, and I don't want her freaking out." Ashlock told Elaine, "Khaos and I will handle things here."

Elaine gulped and nodded to Valandor.

Valandor returned the nod and summoned a gateway of white flames that would grant them passage through the aether. From the corner of her eye, Elaine noticed the old Elder who had called out to Natalia earlier begin dashing across the room toward the portal.

Having seen the old Khaos in action, Elaine could only think of the man as foolish. This new version of Khaos, birthed from Natalia's corpse, should be near the peak of the Star Core Realm, as Natalia was one of the more powerful Elders in the family and had the most access to the void Qi gathering arrays.

Khaos turned slightly toward the fool before vanishing into the void. The Elder seemed to realize his mistake as Khaos silently emerged behind him from the chilling void and rammed a void-coated claw through his body, killing him instantly. Tilting her claws, the body slid off Khaos's hand and dropped to the ground in a pool of blood.

"Anyone else?" Valandor asked the Elders while jokingly gesturing to the still-open doorway. Nobody took him up on the offer, so Elaine left with Valandor and fell through the aether.

"You are enjoying this too much," Elaine grumbled as they emerged at the doorway to one of the lower floors of the dungeons. "Why?"

Valandor grinned, "How could I not? For centuries, I have had to mediate quarrels between the various families, and the Voidmind family had always been the worst offenders. Sorry to say this, but seeing the downfall of your family is deeply satisfying. Also, the way the Ashfallen Sect does things with ruthless efficiency is so refreshing. You have no idea how hard it is to usually get cultivators to fight for something. It's why certain families that should have been eradicated long ago manage to stick around as their eradication isn't deemed worth the effort and Qi."

Elaine stared at Valandor, "That was... a lot. I don't really know what to say to that."

"Some things are better left unsaid," Valandor gestured to the door, "Your Mother should be in here. Do you want to do the honors?"

Elaine nodded, but her hand paused on the door. She hadn't seen her Mother in years and feared what she would find on the other side of this door. Would her dear Mother be bound in chains? Tortured with the darkest whispers of the void until her mind broke? Natalia was a vile woman who had always sought her Mother's position, so there would have been years of pent-up frustration that were bound to have been unleashed.

After inserting some Qi, the door's many runic-enhanced locks clicked, and the door opened. Elaine slowly pushed it open and peeked inside.

A beautiful woman lay casually on her stomach in a night dress on a giant red and gold bed that dominated most of the room. She was flipping through the pages of a shabby-looking book with a bored expression while her bare legs lightly kicked her plump cushions, and she hummed a pleasant tune.

"Mother?" Elaine asked in confusion. This wasn't the scene she had been expecting.

"Mhm?" She slothfully put the book down and glanced over as her hair cascaded over her face. Her eyes widened as she pushed her hair aside and looked Elaine up and down, "Elaine? Is that you?"

"Yes?" Elaine replied in confusion as she stepped inside and glanced around, "I thought you were being held in a dungeon and being tortured?"

"Tortured? No. Dying of boredom? Yes, most certainly." Her Mother gestured to the book, "I've read this mortal recipe book three times now. I haven't eaten anything in decades, but the way they make casseroles interests me greatly. Wait—that's beside the point. Come here, my baby! What are you doing here?"

"Um, to save you?" Elaine said as she sat on the edge of the bed. Her Mother had always been a bit of an odd but friendly person.

"Save me?" Her Mother's eyes dimmed. "Sadly, I have lost my standing in the family to Elder Natalia—I failed you and Dante. I'm sorry. I tried my best to fight back, but your Father sent me down here as it was fragmenting the family, and we are at war. They might let me leave once the war ends, but until then, I'll have to remain down here."

"Mother, Natalia is dead—so is Father in a way. Trust me; you have no reason to stay down here."

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Her Mother slowly sat up into a cross-legged position and raised a brow, "Is what you say true? Natalia is really dead, and what's this about your Father?"

"Sorry to intrude," Valandor walked into the room, "But what your daughter says is true, Elder Morrigan. I saw it with my own eyes, Elder Natalia is no more and the fate of the Voidmind family hangs in the balance."

"Elder Valandor," her Mother's voice turned ice cold as her spatial ring flashed with silver, and a midnight black dress manifested around her body. "What is the White Reaper doing in my chambers unannounced?"

Valandor smirked, "It's a pleasure to see you again, Elder Morrigan. I am simply here to investigate and protect your daughter on behalf of a higher power. Don't mind me."

"It's hard not to," her Mother said, climbing off the bed and slowly walking around it while eying Grand Elder Valandor with narrowed eyes. "I know that you came to take away our children to feed that monster you serve, and anyone who protested would vanish in the night. So forgive my caution around you."

Valandor glanced between Elaine and Elder Morrigan before his smirk faded into a frown, "It seems my past continues to haunt me like a phantom. An understandable situation but uncomfortable nonetheless. I will take my leave and guard Elaine from the aether until this investigation is complete." White flames wreathed his body, and with a step back, he phased out of reality like a ghost.

"Weirdo," Her Mother clicked her tongue, and after tearing her eyes off where Valandor had once stood, she offered her hand to Elaine.

Elaine took it and couldn't help but smile, finally holding her Mother's hand after so many years. "Woah—" Elaine yelped as she was pulled to her feet by her Mother.

"Daughter, before we go, I have to know, what in the heavens is your skincare routine?" She caressed Elaine's cheek—ran a hand through her hair, and then pouted like a child, "I almost didn't recognize you when you first walked in. Are you using some products from the black market? I swear I know every brand, even those exclusively sold through the Eternal Pursuit Pavilion, and none of them are as good as this."

Elaine pushed her Mother's touchy hands away. "Well, that's a long story."

"I love stories!"

"Now really isn't the time," Elaine sighed. Her Mother's personality could be grating at times.

"Just tell me on the way—a condensed version if you must." Her Mother led her by the hand through the door and past the many doors that led to various dungeons. "I also want to know what you have been up to these years. You seem less meek than I remember you."

"Thanks?" Elaine never understood why her Mother couldn't just give a compliment.

"So? Tell me everything!"

"Fine." Elaine huffed the hair out of her face, "Long story short, Uncle died, and I was kidnapped and imprisoned in Red Vine Peak by a group called the Ashfallen Sect. There was then a vote on whether I should be killed or not, but thankfully, they decided to keep me around. Dante then came to an alchemy tournament—never mind. You will find out about that later, I'm sure. Anyway, the Ashfallen Sect helped me advance my cultivation and taught me to fight. I even met a man—"

Her Mother suddenly paused and got uncomfortably close again, "A man?! What's his name? How tall is he? What's his job?"

"Um, you're too close," Elaine pushed her Mother away. "His name is Douglas. He is taller than me, and his job is... well... a warlord king to a race of monsters from an alternate dimension, and he's also a construction worker on the side?"

Her Mother nodded happily, "Sounds good. I need to meet him."

Elaine started to regret rescuing her Mother. "Do you have to?"

"Of course?" She kept walking, "And if he's not a good match for you, I will send him to the void."

Elaine vowed to never let them meet.

"So you were kidnapped and almost died, yet came out the other side and found true love." Her Mother continued, "How lovely. But you still haven't told me where you get your skincare."

"The Ashfallen Sect makes it," Elaine absentmindedly replied.

"I like them already."

"Mom, did you not hear they kidnapped me?"

"Darling, I have been kidnapped like twenty times," Her Mother shot her a grin, "What is some kidnapping compared to godly skin care."

"Your priorities are all wrong," Elaine shook her head as they climbed the staircase to the upper floor.

Her Mother laughed, "When you have lived as long as I have, that is only natural."

They reached the top of the stairs, and as they walked through the residence, Elaine couldn't help but notice how quiet it was.

"Where is everyone?"

"War, darling," her Mother shrugged. "The Elders mostly remained behind to power the formations while the youngsters went to fight the Skyrend family. If we lose the void Qi gathering formations, the family would be finished either way, and the Skyrend family knows that. The attacks on this place have been relentless."

So that's why the formation was powered up at full strength when I arrived. Elaine realized.

"I don't really know the full details, though. Just rumors from the maids as they bring me things, and when the whole building shakes, I assume we are under attack."

"I see," Elaine nodded.

"So this Ashfallen Sect that you are a part of now, are they here?" she asked as they stopped before the Main Hall.

"Erm, something like that," Elaine pushed the door open and stepped through. Dominating the center of the main hall was the void tree that had once been her Father, still ablaze with lilac flames. Its bark was curved toward her as if trying to conceal the gateway to the void still open. Surrounding the tree were void Ents, five to be exact, including Khaos, who was easy to point out as she had no head and four arms. The rest were more similar looking to the old Khaos, with spindly arms ending in meter-long claws and horns growing from their heads.

Meanwhile, Larry surrounded the few remaining Elders while a short white-haired human wrapped in a very fluffy-looking white tail as a substitution for clothes created a bubble of void around them before crushing them and then floating the void bubbles down a hollowed-out ethereal root.

Elaine looked at the room and wondered how the hell she was supposed to explain this to her Mother.

"Hey Elaine," her Mother tapped her on the shoulder.

"What?"

"Is that a friend of yours?" she asked, pointing at Maple in his human form.

"Kinda?" Elaine wasn't sure if she would go so far as to call them friends, but Maple's siblings had been the ones to guide her in breaking the curse, so they were certainly close.

"From the Ashfallen Sect?"

Elaine nodded.

"Ha, I knew it."

"How?" Elaine raised a brow.

Mother tapped her nose and looked smug. "Their fur is far too fluffy. I mean, just look how it shimmers under the lilac hue of the tree. They are definitely using the same product as you."

Elaine rolled her eyes, "Don't you have any other questions?"

"Mhm," she mused, looking around, "I suppose I have a few."

"Such as?"

"I can answer any questions you have," Ashlock's voice thundered in Elaine and her Mother's mind.

"Is this your boyfriend?"

"No, Mom," Elaine hissed, "It's his and my boss."

"The head of the Ashfallen Sect?" she whispered back.

Elaine nodded seriously.

Her Mother became serious and gathered herself. Looking toward the tree in the center of the room, she cleared her throat and said, "Ahem, I heard the Ashfallen Sect kidnapped my daughter and almost killed her."

Why is she pretending to care about that now?

"As her mother, I find such treatment of my daughter simply unacceptable. But..."

Elaine narrowed her eyes. Where is she going with this... hold on, there's no way.

"I would forgive such a transgression if you give me some of the skin care products she has."

Elaine covered her face with her hands in despair as there was a drawn-out silence. There's no way Ashlock will accept such nonsense. I mean, look around?! He has our entire family under his control. Why do you think you can make demands?

"Really? You would forgive me?"

Elaine peeked through her fingers to see her Mother nodding.

"Would you also turn a blind eye to everything that has occurred here and help run the Voidmind family from now on as its head if I were to give it to you?"

Her Mother shrugged, "Sure, why not."

A rift opened, and her Mother caught the large truffle that fell through.

"Eat that, and you will see the results you are after."

"A truffle?" She sniffed it cautiously before glancing at Elaine, "Is this what you had?"

Elaine nodded, "Though mine was smaller."

Her Mother grinned and gave her a thumbs up, "Great! Thanks for getting kidnapped."

Elaine rolled her eyes and walked off. She wanted a refund for her empathy.