Sometime earlier in the Capital of the Cylon Empire...

Space simmered in front of Emily who was busy meditating in her bed. Under house arrest for breaking the nation's law, she had little to do except try to further her cultivation, no matter how little. 

The disturbance next to her forced her awake. "What did he do this time around?" Emily uttered while a small humanoid figure traveled through the space portal. The fact that she was not at all concerned about how her water spirit handled things out there was a result of Emily's absolute confidence in her. 

Put side by side, Nerissa will probably be only minutely weaker than her summoner. In truth, the fact that she was contracted to such a high level of spirit is partly the reason why Emily reached the Grand Mage stage, a boundary many of her peers could never hope to cross in this lifetime. 

"Big one.." Nerissa mumbled before floating on top of Emily's shoulders and starting to play with her snowy white hair. "Your brat has been compromised." 

Emily, who until now had a neutral expression, brought her brows together. "Compromised to who? Can I get the details?" From Nerissa's presence, the elder mage can tell that at least her grandson was out of danger for the time being. 

"Compromised by the entity behind the menace of the Vines." Naturally, Emily's expression changed for the worse. This was a big news. "A person from the other side visited and for some reason, she was after your brat. I can't tell with certainty whether she took an impromptu decision to grab hold of him or was her original goal."

Nerissa realized very well how much Emily cared about her grandson. Therefore, she gave a detailed breakdown of the developments. Emily fell silent for the next minute before she turned to face the fairy on her shoulder. "Where is the woman? Did she escape?" 

While Nerissa was exceedingly strong, the people behind the epidemic of Vines are simply too mysterious. "No. But I couldn't capture her." Nerissa then smashed her jaws in frustration. "Another person got involved. I suppose you must be familiar with her. She was Lady Naila from the Centaur tribe." 

"Ms. Naila got involved in this mess?" Emily was surprised by the name but on second thought she rationalized the phenomenon. The Centaur tribe was separated from the Cylon country only by the Northwestern woodlands. 

"Correct. And it seems your boy has left quite an impression on her niece, the Centaur Lord Damon's only daughter." Emily was obviously not ready for so many surprises at once. Ryu was familiar with Damon's daughter. When did this happen and why Ryu never mentioned anything to her?

"Lady Naila probably was in proximity with her niece. She was attracted by all the chaos and as expected, I lost the woman to her." Nerissa was but a single water spirit. She can not challenge the might of a fully evolved Centaur commander. 

"So many things happened.." For the first time, Emily was in regret over serving this house arrest term. She definitely missed a very important event. The woman who attacked Ryu held answers to all her questions. Yet, what was done is done. There was no use fretting over spilled milk. 

"All that aside, how is Ryu?" After so many tangled incidents, Emily now required verbal commitment from Nerissa on the boy's safety. "Huh.. he is breathing. That cunning centaur woman forced me to agree to a duel between you two in return for a promise for your grandson's safety." Nerissa still looked frustrated as she chewed upon Emily's hair like a kitten. 

"A duel with me... It's a fine deal, I suppose. At least I can rest easy for the time being." Emily was not at all worried about the prospects of facing Lady Naila. Her status as a Grand Mage meant she was filled with supreme confidence in facing any opponent. 

"That's not all. There were two women from the Wilder clan there as well. I bet they are there to investigate the murders." The water spirit pointed but it had no impact on Emily's subtle expression. 

"Seriously though... so many people are showing up close to your hometown... I won't be surprised if something big is about to unfold there." Emily felt like Nerissa's words were like a premonition. Thankfully, she sent Rachel back home while escorting Mira. Whatever happens, her crony will be able to cope with it. "Everything will be fine. You seem to have pushed your time in this realm to the limit already. Go back. We will discuss this some other time." 

Nerissa yawned and didn't contest Emily's advice. "Sure... I only have a single thing to say. Don't ever underestimate the lure of your grandson to the world powers, Emily. People are ready to destroy empires to get their hands on the Demonic Scriptures. There is no limit on the extent they can go to get their hands on a surviving Demon." Those were her last words before the water spirit disappeared. 

"I know, dear.." With a heavy sigh, Emily shut her eyes, cutting her senses off from the material world. What remained behind was the sounds of her deep breaths echoing in the large chamber. 

**Back at Ryu's location**

"This boy.. he just broke through." Standing under the night sky, Yalda could see the sharp verdant mana flare piercing the clouds. Next to her, Linda had her arms wrapped around her muscular figure, staring in the same direction as her maid. "Indeed, it's a cultivation breakthrough."   

The woman from the Wilder clan had kept the matter of Ryu's peculiarity a secret from her Centaur colleagues. This boy's mystery must be resolved by her and the matter about those strange eye projections should not leak to the beastmen tribe. 

Naila might have proved to be an upright individual with high moral standards, however, the racial difference between them would never let Linda hold complete trust in her. This means the centaur woman was still clueless that someone as strong as Paula actually arrived on this plane to capture an insignificant boy. 

Turning to gaze at the restrained woman who gave her such a hard time in the fight, Linda felt a little hopeless. Once Paula wakes up, it won't be a big deal for Naila to extract her motives for attacking old tutor Lyod. 

*Sigh* The Wilder clan lady cannot hope to negotiate with Mrs. Naila on Paula's possession. It was simply an unfruitful endeavor that might even sour their relationship. After a quick thought, she deemed the risk high enough to not raise the matter with the centaur powerhouse. 

"The brat is not bad for his age." Naila saw the brightly lit Ryu emerge from the village perimeters with a lost expression. He might have been able to hide his ability to precisely control his mana reserves from everyone else, however, an expert like Naila could see through such a petty trick in a single glance, thus her comment. 

"I told you he is extraordinary." Next to her aunt, Darla's smile could not span any wider. It was like every compliment meant for Ryu from her acclaimed aunt Naila would be redirected towards her. 

"Should we depart?" Ryu had strolled over to the group, finding everyone staring at him with keen glances. "Yes." Naila was the first to respond, turning her large body around and taking the first step. 

***

Paula didn't know where she was and how she reached this place. Standing in a barren land she could feel her skin shiver in the cold winds. As a cultivator, unless she desired, no amount of coldness could irk her, yet in this new environment, she was akin to a newborn. 

The gloomy atmosphere was wrapping all around her, engulfing her in a suffocating chokehold. Even her breaths were labored as the cold air was irritating her lungs. Tossing her head around, she utterly failed to ascertain her circumstances. 

"What happened.. to me?" She could only recall facing off against a strong opponent who made her push past her limits. Did that trigger this comatose state? No.. something transpired after that. Something extremely terrifying. 

Then in this lifeless world, a change happened. A change that only turned the situation worse. A pair of cold eyes manifested in the gloomy world, bringing with them a sense of terror never felt before. 

The reaction was instinctual. As if Paula could not ever hope to stand in front of the mighty presence. Golden pupils enlarged in her view with dial-like patterns rotating around them.

Paula had never come across these kinds of eyes all her life. There were many sentient species in this world, but none of them had such expressive golden eyes. Her knees trembled, however taking a closer look, Paula could tell the pair of massive eyes in the sky were not even focussed on her. They were just staring into the vastness of space holding no regard for anyone. 

No one knew how long Paula had been standing here, her mind completely blank when she was actually noticed. That's when she realized the true scope of her predicament. Earlier those golden eyes had charmed her despite all the dread it was emanating. Nevertheless, once she was subjected to their true gaze, blood in her veins curdled. 

Those spiraling golden pupils gave the impression of an infinite animation. Temperature had suddenly dropped further and the lowly woman lost all strength in her body. 

Marred with a severe headache, Paula felt like her head was going to explode from the intense pressure. The fact that she wasn't already bleeding from her seven orifices at this point meant this was only her corporeal self. 

With a shrill scream, her dreams came to an end and Paula saw the vision shatter into a million pieces. However, the terror imprinted in her mind remained. As if things were playing in a loop, the poor woman saw her corporeal soul rejuvenate. 

In the timeless space, Paula found herself standing in the vast emptiness all over again. As if the gods were playing a nasty trick on her, the golden pupils in the sky returned to take their supreme position. 

Once again, Paula remained unnoticed by the uncaring eyes. Nonetheless, dread already began coalescing in her mind, aware that it was only a matter of time before she would be subjected to the same traumatic events that she had experienced God knows how many times. 

As expected, the rotating dial-like golden pupils took notice of her, as if her very presence here was akin to a sacrilege towards the almighty being. "ARRRHHHHHHH...!!!" Paula's mind shattered at that moment, bringing along an affliction that could break the minds of even the mightiest of creatures in this world. 

Like a devil's play, Paula's soul was stuck in this loop, continuously being destroyed and brought back to life. Every time her soul is shattered, it leaves a permanent scar on her psyche. 

While Paula remained suffering in her mental realm, people outside had no idea about it. But the peace could not be maintained for long. Over time,  Paula's material body too didn't remain untouched by her mental torture. It started with the twitching of her limbs and gradually turned into a full-fledged anguish.