The bond was sealed. Cyra, the newly named Chimeric Kaleido-Kraken, was now Li Yu's sworn retainer, her immense power a new and formidable asset in his growing arsenal. As she retracted her soul-essence, her colossal, iridescent form drifted gracefully in the vast, subterranean chamber, her eight massive tentacles swaying like silken banners in a slow, deep-sea current.
Li Yu, however, was focused inward. The after-effects of the Soul Fusion were now making themselves felt. A profound, itching, and incredibly powerful energy was coursing through his physical body. It was not a painful sensation, but an overwhelming one, as if his very bones, muscles, and organs were crying out, on the verge of a breakthrough.
The «Abyssal Leviathan Physique», the foundational art that had tempered his body from the very beginning, had been pushed to its absolute limit by the divine, crimson-gold energy of his soul. His current stage, the Seventh Level: 'Void-Wrought Flesh', felt like a cup that had been filled to overflowing, and the cup itself was now beginning to crack, not to break, but to evolve. He could feel the name of the next stage forming in his mind, a natural evolution of his path: the Eighth Stage: Leviathan's Tidal Flow.
This stage focuses on transforming the cultivator's physical heart into a secondary spiritual nexus. It's no longer just an organ pumping blood, but a regulator that synchronizes the rhythm of his body with the tides of his inner spiritual ocean. Every heartbeat now actively draws upon and surges his abyss-black Qi through his veins alongside his blood. This results in an explosive fusion of physical strength and spiritual power in every movement, granting him immense bursts of power and incredible stamina. The control becomes instinctual, as natural as his own pulse.
"We should leave this place," Li Yu said, his voice steady despite the torrent of power raging within him. "The energy here is stale. It is time to return to the surface."
He turned towards the long, spiraling tunnel. Kui and Xylia nodded, but Fengliu, in his elegant, sky-prince form, gestured towards the colossal kraken.
"The passage is too narrow for her true form," he noted, his voice a melodic baritone.
Cyra turned her great, silver eyes towards the tunnel, then back to the group. A soft, shimmering light, the color of moonlight on water, began to envelop her colossal form. The light condensed, folding in on itself, her hundred-meter-long tentacles and massive head collapsing into a single, graceful point. The overwhelming aura of an 8th-stage Core Formation sovereign receded, replaced by a presence that was no less powerful, but far more subtle and refined.
Where the great beast had floated, a woman now stood.
Kui, Xylia, and even the usually stoic Fengliu stared, their ancient eyes wide with a stunned appreciation.
If Khaos was the very image of a primordial god-king, a being of absolute authority and power, then Cyra was his perfect counterpart: a picture of mature elegance and grace. She was tall and carried herself with an effortless poise that commanded respect without demanding it. While fairly beautiful, her true charm lay in her serene, confident aura. Her skin was a pale, smooth silver, like moonlight on calm water.
Her hair was a long, flowing river of deep indigo, held in place by a simple, elegant comb made of what looked like polished pearl. She wore simple robes of shimmering, silver-and-violet silk that flowed around her like a gentle current. Her eyes were the same luminous, liquid silver as her true form, holding a profound depth of wisdom, duty, and a quiet confidence.
She was not a fiery prodigy like Mo Ling or a brutal warrior-queen like Xylia; she was a mature, serene sovereign, a charming woman who understood the weight of responsibility.
"This form is more convenient for navigating the lands of humans," she said, her voice a soft, melodic alto that was a perfect match for her appearance. She gave a slight, graceful bow to Li Yu. "I am ready to depart when you are, Master."
The journey back up the long, spiraling tunnel was a quiet one. When they emerged back into the Ashen Maw, the sight of the blood-spattered, corpse-strewn caldera, lit by the hellish glow of the magma lake, was a grim welcome.
Li Yu turned to his newest retainer. "Cyra, what are your plans now that you are free? Your home… where is it?"
A flicker of ancient sorrow passed through her silver eyes. "That is a question I cannot answer with certainty, Master." She turned to Kui. "Venerable turtle, can you tell me where we are?"
"We are in the heart of the Blasted Lands, my lady," Kui said respectfully. "A cursed territory on the eastern edge of the great wilderness."
Cyra's expression grew distant, a look of profound sadness on her beautiful face. "The Blasted Lands… I have only read of them in the ancestral memories. My home, the Sunken Star Chasm, should be far to the south… a journey of many months, I would think. But I have no home to return to, Master. Not yet."
She began to tell her story. "I am the daughter of the Sovereign of the Southern Deeps, the last of my lineage. But it is the law of my family that our children are not coddled. The day we break through to the Core Formation realm a portion of our bloodline's inheritance unlocks—enough knowledge and power to survive and build our own legacy—and we are cast out with some resources from our parents, sent into the vast ocean to forge our own destiny."
"I traveled the seas for a century," she continued, her gaze distant. "I gathered followers, loyal kin who swore their allegiance to me. I claimed a territory for myself, a deep and beautiful chasm filled with ancient ruins. I was not a queen of a great sect, but I was a sovereign in my own right. Those guards who were with me in the ruin… they were not just my followers; they were my family, the only family I had known for a hundred years."
Her hands clenched into fists, the serene goddess disappearing for a moment, replaced by the cold fury of a wronged monarch. "They are likely dead now. After two years, any survivors would have scattered to the four winds, believing me to be gone forever. My territory has likely been claimed by another. There is nothing for me to go back to."
Her silver eyes then met Fengliu's. "But I have a new purpose. The one who imprisoned me, the human in the shadows… I will find him. And I will make him pay for what he did to my family."
As the kraken spoke of her family's betrayal, Fengliu, who had been listening with a grim, silent intensity, clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white again. His own face was a mask of cold, empathetic fury. "A human, cloaked in shadows," he said, his voice a low, resonant rumble. "One who uses a powerful beast as a pawn in some larger, unknown game. One who fights with strange, corrosive curses." He looked at Cyra, a dawning, terrible understanding connecting them. "Tell me, sovereign. The ruin where you were ambushed… did it have the mark of a shattered moon upon its gates?"
Cyra's eyes widened in shock. "It did. How could you possibly know that?"
"Because," Fengliu said, his voice a low snarl of pure hatred, "I have been hunting the same cursed shadow for three hundred years."
The revelation hung in the air, a sudden, chilling connection between two ancient, disparate tragedies. They were not two separate victims of circumstance; they were two victims of the same, mysterious, and terrifyingly powerful enemy.
"I have just been charged by our Master to create a new intelligence network," Fengliu said, his gaze now full of a new, shared resolve as he looked at Cyra. "Its sole purpose will be to become the eyes and ears of our enterprise. But my purpose… my purpose will be to find this human. To uncover every secret of the organization he serves. And when I find him, we will have our revenge. Together."
"I will lend my own memories of the ruin, of the attack, to your efforts," Cyra vowed, her own voice a cold, hard promise. "We will find him."
Li Yu watched the new, grim alliance form between his two sovereigns. He had not just recruited a spymaster and a powerful guardian; he had just stumbled upon the first clues of a vast, shadowy conspiracy.
"It seems our path is set," Li Yu said, his voice a calm anchor in their storm of vengeance. "But before we begin a new hunt, we must solidify our own foundation." He raised his hand, and the shimmering portal to his Koi's Sanctuary opened. "Cyra. Welcome to your new home."
Cyra stepped through the portal, and her serene composure finally broke. She gasped, her silver eyes widening in pure, unadulterated shock. She stared at the endless ocean within the Koi's Sanctuary, a world of vibrant life completely separate from the abyss-black sea of his spiritual core. The sheer, overwhelming vitality of the place was a balm to her soul, a force so pure and potent it made the spiritual energy of the outside world feel like thin, stagnant gruel.
Everyone took a bit of time to settle down in the Koi Sanctuary and show her around a bit.
She got along with Kui instantly, their shared intelligence and adaptable personalities making for an easy camaraderie. She found herself drawn to Xylia, but little was said between the two. The two powerful female sovereigns sharing a moment of quiet, mutual respect. "You carry the scent of a true winter," Cyra said, her melodic voice full of a strange warmth. "And you, the weight of the deep sea," Xylia rumbled back, a rare hint of a smile touching her lips. Spine, as always, kept to himself, a silent, draconic mountain in the distance.
Finally, after being briefed by a terrified, whispering Kui on the proper etiquette, she was brought before Khaos. He was in his colossal, galaxy-shelled form, his presence an absolute, crushing authority.
Cyra performed a deep, graceful, and utterly respectful bow. "Grand Elder Khaos," she said, her melodic voice full of a sincere, profound reverence. "This one is Cyra. It is an honor to be in your presence."
She then focused her will, and from her own innate storage space, a small, dark pearl that seemed to swallow the light, pulsing with a faint, yet pure, trace of void energy, materialized in her hand. "From my own storage space, a humble tribute, unworthy of your gaze. A Void-Light Pearl I found in the deepest sea. Please, accept it as a symbol of my respect."
Khaos's great, nebular eye swiveled to look at the pearl. It was not as potent as the Void Cores, not by a thousandth. But it was a pure, natural void treasure, a rare and pleasant morsel. More importantly, this new female was showing him the proper respect. She understood the hierarchy. She was intelligent.
"You have a good head on your shoulders, little octopus," Khaos's voice boomed, forgoing his usual mental communication. "Better than the bird, at least. You may keep your pearl. Your respect is tribute enough."
He then said something that made Kui's jaw drop. "If you ever encounter a problem that these other children cannot handle," Khaos declared, a gesture of almost unbelievable magnanimity, "you may bring it to this king. I will… consider it."
He then dismissed them, returning his full attention to his refinement.
Kui, Xylia, and Fengliu simply stared, speechless. Khaos had not just accepted a new member; he had offered her his personal, conditional support. It seemed the path to the great sovereign's heart was indeed paved with sincere flattery and well-chosen bribes.