1706 That Place...

"There shall be no demise within our dominion without our express consent," Amun-Ra declared, his tone icy. "The insignificant child may have eluded capture, yet his strength is severely diminished, a state that will persist for no less than twelve million years."

"That's the only saving grace from this mess," Uranus remarked with an irked expression.

The universe's punishments weren't avoided for no reason. Each celestial chain was considered as one million years and since the universe sent down at least three chains at each time, it implied that the minimum punishment was three million years.

Felix had more than a dozen chains on him.

In other words, he was locked, locked.

"If he was taken to that place and the time difference was against us, he might spend those twelve million years in a mere second," Demeter said.

"That's why we need to make a move, and fast." The second ruler stressed.

Even though Felix had to literally break his limitation and get punished just for the sake of escaping from Amun-Ra, the three rulers had no interest in giving Felix free rein to continue his growth.

lightsnοvεl It wasn't because they lacked confidence, there was no such a thing in their minds. They just didn't want to complicate their lives any longer. They already had a experience of their nonchalance in dealing with Felix.

"Eris, we need you."

The first ruler turned to Eris, who had yet to utter a single word in the meeting. Eris closed her eyes and remained quiet, already expecting her name to be brought up.

When the situation had developed to this stage, she could no longer sit back and act neutral.

It was time for her to pick sides.

'Sigh, I guess you can never escape the inevitable.' She smiled wryly.

While unigins had the option to not respect the three rulers' orders and requests, this situation wasn't it.

She understood that if she dismissed their request, she would no longer have a place in the eternal kingdom.

This conflict had expanded beyond the three rulers to the entire eternal kingdom. If she chose not to participate, it was equivalent to rejecting the kingdom as her home.

Although Aeolus and Artemis were excused from participating since they could no longer influence the final outcome, Eris was in a different situation.

"You will be the ruler of that place if you decide to join. Uranus and Demeter won't be as effective as you." The second ruler added.

"Eris, why are you taking so long to answer." Uranus narrowed his eyes coldly, "It's a simple decision, are you with us or against us?"

"Uranus, are you threatening me?" Eris' wry smile was instantly replaced with a stone-cold gaze.Just as Uranus was going to double down on his threat as he feared no one in this universe, the first ruler cut him off.

"Don't take his words to heart. You know how he becomes when he is agitated."

Eris scoffed after seeing that Uranus had gone quiet.

When it came to the three rulers' orders, Uranus was the only unigin who followed them almost blindly akin to a hound dog.

That's why he wasn't respected among his peers as even lesser unigins took jabs at him for this.

Uranus couldn't care less about how others perceived him. He sought his freedom more than any of them could fathom and would do anything to achieve it even if it meant being a hound dog for the three rulers.

Pride, dignity, honor? Such emotions meant very little to him.

After giving it a deep thought, Eris's gaze swept over the three rulers and Uranus before she spoke, her voice clear and commanding. "I will aid you in capturing the little paragon, but on one condition."

The rulers exchanged glances, uncertainty flickering in their eyes. It was the first ruler who broke the silence, his voice resonant with power. "And what condition might that be, Eris?"

"Regardless of whether we succeed in breaching the universe's heart or not, I decide Felix's fate. My judgment will be final."

Uranus, his features set in a grim line, uttered coldly. "That's a significant request. Why do you demand such a term?"

The condition didn't sit well with the three rulers since Felix had caused too much damage to let his fate be concluded by someone else.

Eris's gaze was unwavering, her presence commanding attention. "Because I want to. Is that enough for a reason for you?"

"You..."

Before Uranus could lose his marbles again, The second ruler interjected, "And if we agree to your terms, how do we know you'll remain impartial?"

In direct terms, how do we know you wouldn't betray us too? Instead of bringing Felix to them, she might turn against them at a critical moment.lightsnovel

Apollo had done it. Nothing was stopping Eris from doing it after she showed them that she had difficulty considering Felix as her enemy.

With a conviction that filled the room, Eris replied, "My allegiance is to the balance of order and disorder, not to personal vendettas or fleeting emotions...You have my word."

"Eris, you are pushing it..."

"So be it." The first ruler interrupted Uranus again and agreed to her condition with a knowing gaze.

'How could you agree to her bullshit condition?' Uranus berated the three rulers telepathically, not scared to give them a piece of his mind.

He might be their hound dog, but that's only to fulfill his freedom. If he were to lose confidence in their decisions and realize that his chances were better without them, he wouldn't hesitate to betray them.

After this whole mess occurred under their watch, his loyalty was already wavering...

'Ares will accompany you.' The first ruler merely declared this and Uranus' misgivings about Eris were gone. However, new ones arose.'Ares? Really? You already convinced that lazy bum to participate in this?' Uranus was startled.

'Not yet, but don't worry, he is going with you.' The first ruler said with a brimming confident tone.

'I don't know how you will convince him, but if he is in, then I don't care about the rest.' Uranus dropped the matter related to Eris instantly.

As for respecting Eris' condition? That was still up for debate and it would be concluded when they attempt to breach past the universe's heart.

Just like Eris' words might not be trusted, no one was going to force the three rulers and Uranus to keep their words but themselves.

'Go get ready for the journey.' Amun-Ra advised, 'Do not underestimate a single entity there. You know full well how unfriendly that place is for foreigners.'

Uranus, Eris, and Demeter nodded their heads with solemn expressions, knowing that the three rulers weren't underplaying the dangers of that place.

For even a unigin's life could get extinguished without knowing how it happened...

...

After the unigins left, the three rulers' gazes shifted to Asna. She lay on a bed in her palace with closed eyes and pale skin.

After the chaos was handled, the collapsed Asna was brought here and she had yet to open her eyes once.

She seemed like she was in a deep coma, which was honestly understandable after she received the full brunt of the backlash from breaking her seal.

The first ruler, his voice echoing with authority, initiated the discussion. "Asna's actions have helped in complicating the situation and if we have lost her, her soul would have been automatically reborn inside her core."

The second ruler, her tone laced with irritation, added, "This is our payment for deciding to be kind and let her participate in the ceremony."

While the three rulers seemed like heartless monsters who wanted Asna to suffer, in reality, they never had any personal vendetta against her specifically. Just fate had it that she was the one standing before them and their freedom.

That's why they never raised their voices at her or showed strong emotions such as hatred. But, after the stunt she pulled in the ceremony?

They were angered beyond measure.

The third ruler, his gaze stern and unyielding, suggested a resolution. "We have no choice but to seal her within her palace in the dimensional pocket and keep her in a deep coma."

"So, we should keep her soul broken apart?" queried the second ruler.

"Yes, it's better to keep her in a deep slumber until the fateful day." The first ruler decided.

"The boy won't have another chance of rescuing her ever again."

"I am still having misgivings about his first rescue attempt." The second ruler frowned, "The boy is far from being naive to believe that he can take her away that easily right from under our noses."

"You haven't dropped this yet?" Amun-Ra addressed, "We have already run a deep scan over her body and soul...Nothing came up."

The three rulers had to make sure that Felix hadn't tampered with Asna after he caught her with the void tentacle. It would be a massive oversight if they weren't this cautious.

However, after multiple deep scans, nothing came up in Asna's body or soul.

"As I said, the boy must have believed that his best chance at saving Asna was in this ceremony after seeing her leave the dimensional pocket." Amun-Ra remarked, "In essence, it was indeed his best chance, but a 0.001% chance is still closer to 0%."magic

"Since the prophecy instructions haven't changed, then, all of this was meant to happen in this order." The first ruler declared calmly, "It still shows that the core will land in our hands. So, do not overthink this, and let's reach out to Ares."

"It's time for him to contribute to our glorious departure."