After stabilizing Little Blackstar and placing him within the Segmented Cube, Aina and Leonel broke out into a dead sprint. No longer worried about being found out and being more confident in the sort of trial they were currently taking part in, they took smaller measures toward protecting themselves in such a fas.h.i.+on.
However, even as they ran, Leonel didn"t forget to check all his bases. This sort of thing… It was still leaving an odd taste in his mouth.
This matter seemed to require precise timing, but it had to be remembered that Leonel"s actions had stalled the True Selection for several months. Of course, it was possible that this event could take place over a long period of time, which was why the elders of the Void Palace would feel confident in allowing this to happen in the first place, but there was no way for Leonel to tell immediately.
Luckily, he had a trusty encyclopaedia of sorts.
"Old man, what do you think about this?"
Leonel reached out to Wise Star Order. But, surprisingly, he didn"t get an answer. He tried again, but was once more met with more silence. After a while, Leonel chuckled.
"You don"t need to be scared old man, my dad isn"t here anymore. You can stop hiding… Not that it would do you much good to begin with."
A light coughed resounded in Leonel"s ears. It seemed filled with a hint of embarra.s.sment and another part righteous indignation as though he was offended by the accusation. Unfortunately, there was no hiding it.
When Velasco had appeared, Wise Star Order thought his life was forfeit. Though Leonel had vouched for this odd relations.h.i.+p of theirs, when a father wanted to act, what could a son do? This was especially so with Velasco considering anything Wise Star Order did in front of that man felt all too easy for the former to see right through.
Luckily, he had left without doing much more than glancing in his general direction. However, Wise Star Order was still suffering from cold sweats.
"Just tell me, is there any ritual the Rapax might undergo, maybe something that is predictable, that would also last for a very long time? It should also be something that others might be able to benefit from, because I don"t" see why the Void Palace would allow this unless there were benefits to be gotten…
"Oh, and these benefits probably shouldn"t be enough to move Seventh Dimensional existences. Or, at the very least, they should be useless to Seventh Dimensional existences, or else it wouldn"t make sense for them to leave this opportunity to us rather than taking advantage themselves."
Leonel gave Wise Star Order a list of requirements, hoping the old man would be able to think of something. He would a.s.sume that a race like the Rapax might have many rituals and customs that could fall into such a category, but hopefully only a few that might be related to a Nest while also fitting these requirements.
However, the answer he received from Wise Star Order was outside of his expectations.
"No… There shouldn"t be any ritual of the like. The Rapax aren"t a race that partic.i.p.ates in such things. They have a very strict hierarchy, they live for war, and duty is at the forefront of their minds. They"re very big on cycles of life and giving, not to mention oneness of mind and purpose, it wouldn"t be like them to divert their attention toward any sort of ceremony."
Leonel"s brow furrowed.
If there was no ritual, then what could possibly be happening?
"Then what about something that would require a large amount of precise control? There"s a Shadow Sovereign Rapax here whose Shadow Domain was shrunk to a suspiciously small area. The only reason I can think of that such a thing would be necessary is if they needed extremely fine control over a given area, but that much is far too broad…"
A Shadow Domain allowed a Shadow Sovereign to bend reality to their whims within certain limits, of course depending on Dimensional level. The larger the Domain, the more stamina it took. So, Leonel a.s.sumed that if the Shadow Domain had been shrunk, and it was unlike the Shadow Sovereign was in a heated battle, then it must be trying to control something or the environment around something.
"The Rapax birthed a Shadow Sovereign?!"
The shout reverberated through Leonel"s mind, almost causing his feet to stumble.
Aina quickly reached out a hand, stabilizing his shoulder with a worried expression on her face. Her first instinct was to think that what had happened before still had lingering effects on Leonel.
"What the h.e.l.l old man?!"
In his shock, Wise Star Order had done the equivalent of violently shaking Leonel"s soul. That felt no different from poking and prodding at an open wound. This wasn"t because Leonel"s soul was injured, but rather because it was like tender flesh in its current state, it was incredibly sensitive to outside pressures.
"Shut up, brat, you have no idea what this means!"
"Obviously not! That"s why I"m asking you!"
"I told you before that the Rapax don"t really have any culture or rituals, this much is true. But, they do have certain legends that they abide by. The birth of a Shadow Sovereign is akin to the birth of a King for the Rapax. A Runed Rapax with the abilities of a Shadow Sovereign is like a real Dragon. Upon reaching maturity, such an existence would be practically untouchable."
"Why do you keep saying birth?"
"Because it hasn"t been born yet, idiot! It"s definitely still within its egg!"
"How the h.e.l.l do you know that?"
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"Common sense! You keep thinking that the Domain is too small when in reality it never shrunk to begin with, that"s just its original size."
"That"s impossible. Little Blackstar wouldn"t lose to a newborn."
"It"s not just a newborn, fool. Like I told you before, the Rapax have a tradition of using fertilizer for their newborn. But, when a talent on this level is in the process of being nurtured, they go several steps further. Even living Rapax pour all of their strength into it. This baby, under the Rapax"s care and nurturing, would be born at Tier 9 of the Fifth Dimension instantly."
"Wait…" Leonel suddenly thought of a possibility.
"That"s right. All the Rapax here, especially those of the highest levels, are currently severely weakened because they"ve given everything to this newborn. That"s likely why the Void Palace saw fit to send you all in."
"But that isn"t enough of a reason for you to have screamed in my ears like that."
"Of course it is! Rapax are the only humanoid species born from eggs! In that state, they"re not only very vulnerable, but they"re basically just like enormous Beast Crystals! Except unlike Beast Crystals, swallowing the Essence of a Rapax Egg that has been prepared in this fas.h.i.+on comes with its own supporting vitality!
"What I"m trying to say is that regardless of your Ability Index, if you swallow the Essence of a Rapax Egg that"s had so much vitality and Life Force poured into it, you gain its Ability without any side effects or impact to your own Ability Index!"
Leonel almost stumbled and fell again. This time, it had nothing to do with Wise Star Order yelling in his ear.