The capital of this dingy empire might have been prominent by the standards of these lower realm hicks, but from Hosolar’s perspective, it was little more than a corner a rat was trapped in. After a whole week of tireless searching, he was sure beyond doubt that that child, together with what they had gathered to be five allies, had escaped into the underground.

That was, to Hosolar, a minor inconvenience. Even if it took years to track the child down, it was no problem for him. To higher-realm beings such as himself, time was measured in centuries. A few paltry weeks were as insignificant as a speck of sand in a desert.

And he had a much bigger problem to distract him anyway.

He had tried contacting the higher realms. And he had failed. It wasn’t surprising that something would hinder his connection this far from the omnirealm. Dark, unspeakable things lurked in the void separating him, and incomprehensible spatiotemporal phenomena occurred frequently.

But this was persisting for far too long. Not only that, but the cut-off felt too… absolute. His avatar, thankfully, couldn’t be disturbed, as the connection was forged through the stone itself. But communication was utterly impossible.

He sighed.

Without the guidance of his father, he could only rely on himself.

Given the nature of his presence here, he had to conserve his strength. Any shred of power he used with this avatar would be gone forever, and even without actively using it, his strength was slowly waning with each passing moment. And, to begin with, he only had a fraction of his true power in this state.

He did not fear being defeated, but even running away was draining. It wasn’t impossible for him to chase after the child, but that would be unwise. Given this avatar's drastic limitations on his abilities, his senses were severely compromised, and the underground was vast. No matter how fast, skilled, and wise he was, he was still only one man.

And there was no need to rush. He had servants at his disposal.

He believed Brivia could be the best option for someone to be sent after their targets, but she held too much value as a piece. He even went so far as to help her ascend to the subdivinity stage to ensure her loyalty and obedience. So he couldn’t recklessly send her to chase after them.

He was about to call Langen to ask for assistance, but… that failed, too. His temper wasn’t fickle enough for something as minor as this to truly disturb him, but it was concerning. Something big was happening, and without his full power, he lacked the senses necessary to properly investigate it.

What he could do, however, was send Brivia back to Langen to have her guide a selection of other servants to where they were. There was a number of those he could use in her stead.

He opened his eyes and found himself centered back in reality again. The throne room around him was a laughable display of arrogance. Plain wood. Hosolar clicked his tongue. What a joke.

The miserable cowards who reigned supreme in this realm stood before him. While they seemed calm and dignified, he wouldn’t forget their sad states when he had first arrived. For heavens’ sake, they had been shaking like leaves in the wind. They weren’t the first lower-realm cultivators to have reacted like that to his presence, but theirs had been a particularly embarrassing display of cowardice.

Still, their patheticness aside, their power was considerable for a lower realm such as this. Especially that of the rank two subdivinity stage emperor who had ended up here through whatever means. If he were any more significant than that, Hosolar would perhaps care enough to ask him how it happened.

But as it stood, he only wanted one thing from the man. “Emperor,” he called.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Jeevian knelt.

“It will take a few days for the backup from Langen to arrive.” Indeed. The sanctuary was a vast distance away from this continent, a considerable trip for those at the start of the subdivinity stage. “As such, I would like to request of you a favor.”

The emperor tensed. “Your… Your Grace… What do you desire?”

“That child had gone underground,” he declared plainly. “Go after him and his allies.”

Jeevian tensed at that command.

Hosolar knew that they would obey him in this scenario. They had no choice. But nobody, especially those used to being at the top, liked being lorded over. Even brilliant men and women could become idiots in the face of such great frustration. To stop that from happening, he wouldn’t just tell them what to do.

A calm smile appeared on his face. Thankfully, these ants were so insignificant that even the most meager of rewards would be enough to satisfy them.

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“Do not be concerned, Young Emperor,” he placated him. “I am not so dishonorable that I would make one-sided demands. In return for your service, I shall grant you a gift,” then, he pretended to ponder it for a moment before offering, “How does this sound—if you can find the child and bring it to me, I won’t have to use any of my power. I admit that the avatar I am embodying is limited. But I have enough energy to assist you in grasping a true strand.”

Jeevian’s head shot up, and his eyes widened. But he quickly restrained himself and brought his head back down. Panicked, he spluttered, “I… That sounds wondrous, Your Highness, but… I do not know what that is…”

Ah. How amusing. It seemed that he had kept his identity a secret from his comrades. But that was strange. That woman and the man in armor also reacted to his offer. But that was likely just curiosity. Or perhaps those two knew. Either way, it was irrelevant. If the man wished to keep his secret, it cost Hosolar nothing to play along. A cheap price to pay for a bit of extra loyalty.

“A true strand,” he explained, “is what you have already grasped once before. In an act of true defiance of your fate, you have managed to ascend up to the… second step of the diamond path,” he uttered, entertained by the naming sense.

What a joke, comparing divinity to compressed coal? Preposterous and somewhat amusing. But irrelevant. He continued, “Going any further, however, for reasons too grand to explain in one sitting, will be impossible. But I can help you make it a reality.”

All five of the people before him reacted to that. How amusing. To them, reaching the… third step of the diamond path must have seemed preposterous. And, to be fair, for a realm like this, that indeed was ridiculous. His help, however, was more than enough.

But.

“However, my assistance can only give you a chance,” he clarified. “Whether you succeed at grasping it is entirely up to you and your abilities.”

“I understand,” he said, fully prostrating himself.

As for the others…

“As for the rest of you,” he included the four lesser cultivators, “I can not repeat the same favor. But I can teach you all a single qi technique of any style you desire.”

That was no small promise, and each of the four reacted appropriately… well, mostly. He could excuse their lack of appreciation for his offer due to their ignorance. But he was offering something one could base a legacy on.

He had made them the offer and given them their command. Now, it was time for them to go and fulfill their duties.

***

Jeevian was sweating profusely. That damned bastard had somehow agreed to keep his identity a secret, but he knew that favor would cost him dearly. Or so he presumed. Chasing the child down wouldn’t be the most challenging task, but it was an unwelcome distraction.

They had an empire to run, and frankly, giving the Lost Child up hurt Jeevian’s soul. At least he hoped he could extract whatever method that kid used to perform such miracles.

With his comrades by his side, they made their way to a certain building. From the outside, it took the form of a giant tower. And on the inside, there were two paths. One of the paths took up where numerous floors of carefully designed rooms waited, their purpose to test those of the younger generation in their skill, power, and wit.

And the other path was down.

Walking down the stairs beside the Great Four, the stairway eventually turned into a cave. Then, it expanded into vast but still safe caverns. At the end of this massive opening was a gate of black metal. Its power surged violently, tickling the surfaces of their skin with its diamond-ranked aura.

They stood before the Empress’ Pledge, a remnant of a past ruler who did her best to ensure that the underground was as firmly sealed off from the empire as could be. Then, he approached and swung it open, revealing a cave passage, the shadows of which oozed with danger.

And thus, they stepped forth.

Making their way into the Abyssal Depths.

***

Ilkivir perked up at the surprise opening of the hidden entrance. His instincts flared, and he prepared to fight, but all that flew into the mystical realm was a small piece of paper.

It was a message.

He quickly headed towards it, grabbing it off the ground as he read its contents.

HOSOLAR COMMANDED THE EMPEROR AND THE GREAT FOUR TO CHASE AFTER NEAVE ZEARTHORN, the paper said, AS A REWARD, HE PROMISED TO HELP THE EMPEROR ASCEND A RANK.

A shivering zap flickered down Ilkivir’s back. No… That was impermissible. If that happened, it would be well and truly over. There would be no hope of them ever achieving their goals. Hell, he wasn’t safe even in this realm if that happened. After the ascension, the emperor would most likely be able to sense him, hidden in the mystical realm or not!

CONTACT THE MASTERS IMMEDIATELY!

***

The Shadow of Death and the Shadow of Calamity sat, eyeing their companion's wretched state. It had been a long while since Destruction returned from its trip to their master, and since return, it hadn’t spoken a single word, merely shivering in fright.

That was the effect Master had on people. Her presence alone was enough to kill anyone lesser, and even at their level, they needed a while to recover from standing before her.

Then, the Third Disciple appeared before them. It was displeasing to see his arrival. Either he had disobeyed their order to only contact them in case of absolute emergencies, or worse—he didn’t.

Ilkivir briefly shared the news of Hosolar’s decree and his promised reward.

Destruction perked up at the revelation. It stared silently at Ilkivir for several breaths until, finally, it got up.

They all knew what that meant. The only way for Destruction to break away from the stupor Master’s presence had left him in was the absolute term of her command.

“I gotta go,” the Shadow of Destruction said. “We have waited long, my kin, and we are close. As Master had told me, the time to take risks is now. If I die, bring me back to life, even if I return to being… lesser again.” It bowed to them and turned around, preparing itself to depart. “Now, I’ll go and do what I do best.”

With that, its bulging legs flexed, and in one massive, earth-shattering leap, it flew high into the sky, flying out of the atmosphere.

On its way to destroy their enemies.