The surrounding energy continued to be drawn toward Zyra in torrents.
Orion nodded, fully understanding what that implied.
Zyra had now grown to a towering 800 ters and was still expanding.
Her form appeared even more terrifying than before.
The elental power radiating from each of her seven heads had intensified to the point of influencing the world itself, evolving into Spirit Law-adjacent abilities.
And yet, the space around her held firm, neither twisting nor collapsing.
The Spiritual energy she was exuding was equivalent to that of a newly ascended goddess.
Still, the group's atmosphere grew tense.
Aside from Ilse, the rest of Orion's household realised they now needed protection or risked being hard by Zyra's imnse power.
Fortunately, with Ilse's presence, there was no need to panic.
Ilse swiftly cast a barrier that enveloped the entire island. The barrier was like undulating space, isolating them from Zyra's overwhelming aura.
Monts later, the bright, misty sky began to darken.
Twilight settled over the island despite it being midday.
It was the second ti the group had seen the misty skies darken unnaturally. Unlike the first ti, when thunderous clouds erupted with booming force and an unsettling, ominous aura that had even made Sylvalis tremble, this one arrived silently, exuding a pressure far more oppressive than the condensed Spiritual Energy gathering around Zyra.
As Orion and the others narrowed their eyes at the sky, sensing the presence of a living entity, their expressions changed—
Above the layers of clouds and mist, an enormous eye opened. Its iris shimred with a gradient like the moon, gazing down upon the island.
Ilse moved instantly. She conjured a new barrier around the entire island, layering it within an undulating space. The floating island vanished from view, no longer visible to the outside world. Likewise, those within it could no longer see what was happening beyond.
"That was close," Ilse exhaled in relief, placing a hand on her chest to calm her rising emotions. She glanced to the side, noticing Avarielle had instinctively taken over Zera's body.
"What was that?" Orion asked, voicing the question on everyone's mind.
"I have a guess," Ilse replied thoughtfully, "but I'm not certain. It looked like a Spirit Beast."
"That's—" Orion began but was interrupted.
"Hard to believe?" Avarielle said, stepping forward. "You shouldn't underestimate the potential of Spirit Beasts. If they could enter the Material Realm as freely as we travel to the Spirit Realm, they'd be the only force capable of waging war against the gods… and possibly winning—even against ancient gods like us."
Ilse nodded in agreent. "For a Spirit Beast to travel past us and through the misty skies undetected, it must be at least between 500,000 years to 1,000,000 years old, attaining the legendary rank: King or Queen." Her arms folded as she looked up at the barrier.
She made no effort to peer through it; doing so would likely draw the Spirit beast's attention. And that would be suicidal with her current strength. She needed more ti to recover the power she had lost across her lifetis.
"In truth," she continued, "this is the first ti in all my tiless lifetis that I've seen one. I had heard rumours they existed deeper within the Spirit Realm, so I once searched for one to contract. I found nothing. I assud they were extinct or that the conditions of the Spirit Realm made it impossible to reach such a rank."
She lowered her gaze and sighed. "It seems I was wrong. But I'm certain I couldn't face such a creature unless I'm at my peak before I attain true godhood, of course."
"We aren't sure we'd erge victorious either," Avarielle added on behalf of herself, Zera, and Margona, "unless we were to fully unleash the Vylkr energy."
Silence fell over the group.
Orion's expression darkened. A Spirit Beast… comparable to an ancient goddess peak form before ascension to true god?
They had expected an extraordinary phenonon when Zyra began to evolve beyond her natural age limits, but this was beyond their imagination.
Was his sen truly so potent that it could attract the attention of a King-ranked Spirit Beast? If even one had appeared… didn't that an there could be others out there?
He could only hope no more were drawn to this phenonon.
"I placed several clones outside the island to monitor for any spies who might be attracted to the event. A few are currently focused on Zyra, and I can confirm she's alright," Greta said, noticing the concern in Orion's expression.
Orion nodded, exhaling in relief. But when he saw a look of surprise appear on Greta's face, his body tensed once more.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"It's looking directly at us," Greta said, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.
A stifling silence fell over the group.
Orion, Ilse, and the others furrowed their brows, their expressions twisting in contemplation.
Could it still see them even with Ilse's barrier, a law-adjacent technique derived from the Law of Space?
Didn't that an its comprehension of the Law of Space far surpassed Ilse's current understanding?
With the existence of such a Spirit Beast… why does the Spirit Beast Coalition even need to clash with the Divine Corps? Orion thought.
Even if the Middle Realm was vast and unknowable, the Divine Corps' actions wouldn't go unnoticed forever. With the backing they possess, they wouldn't stop—they would continue expanding, seizing Spiritual Link Points and entire regions. Wouldn't it be better to cut them off early?
'There's sothing we're missing.'
Orion realised that he needed to make contact with the headquarters of the Spirit Beast Coalition directly to understand what was truly going on.
As for the Divine Corps? Not a chance. Once they discovered there were anomalies, they'd stop at nothing to eliminate them.
"The clones monitoring Zyra… are dead. But the creature has vanished," Greta said, clenching her fists.
Orion expresson froze breifly. Then, he let out a soft breath. "At least it didn't show any hostility. It must've only been curious." He forced a lighter tone to ease the tension that had thickened the atmosphere.
Ilse nodded, but her face remained cold. It was clear she wasn't pleased about needing to hide just to stay alive.
"Hopefully, we don't run into it again… at least not until we can kick its ass," Gina muttered, wiping sweat from her forehead with a tired sigh.
The won all nodded. This was the first ti they had felt truly threatened since becoming goddesses, and none of them were eager to experience it again. Thankfully, their true bodies were still safe in the Paradise realm, where they were continuing their training.
At Orion's command, Ilse slightly released the barrier, allowing them to see through it once more.
In the sky hovered an enormous hydra with seven heads—each more fearso than the last. Every head radiated a distinct elental force. Her scales were sleeker and more polished than before as if she had been tempered in a refining furnace. She had grown to a staggering height of 1,200 ters.
The elental energies surrounding each head solidified the very atmosphere around her, twisting the air with raw power.
Zyra's seven heads suddenly lifted in perfect unison. From each mouth, a different elent surged forth—crimson flas, azure wind, green fire, white lightning, poison, shadow, and crystal. They spiralled upward, intertwining into a chaotic pillar that pierced the misty sky.
Then, without warning, the pillar collapsed inward.
BOOM!
A shockwave burst forth.
The protective barrier Ilse had conjured held strong under the impact.
The volcanic wasteland below, however, didn't fare as well. Tsunamis of lava surged outward, spilling into the surrounding regions. The heat in the atmosphere intensified, generating heatwaves that sizzled across the borders. The air thickened, choked with smoke and soot.
Before their stunned eyes, Zyra began to take on a humanoid form.
Her colossal body condensed, radiating divine light as it shrank. Her seven heads rged into one; her massive tail coiled into mist and vanished. What remained was a tall, mature woman with glistening erald skin. Iridescent scales shimred across her arms and legs.
Her slit pupils reflected the seven distinct colours of the elent she once controlled. Her long, flowing hair mirrored the sa hues, as did the robe she wore, elegantly clinging to her figure and adorned with iridescent crystal embellishnts.
She glanced at her arms as if taking in her new form for the first ti. Then her eyes shifted around, confusion flashing across her face.
Suddenly, the space beneath her was undulated, and a massive floating island appeared from thin air.
Orion and the others imdiately took to the sky, flying out to et her.
"Are you okay? How do you feel?" Orion asked, scanning her entire figure. His voice was filled with concern, and his expression was curious.
"I'm okay," Zyra replied, her gaze softening. "I can feel our child taking shape inside ." She placed her hand on her abdon, sensing the presence of a divine hybrid, the child of a Spirit Beast and a god, growing within her.
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