Chapter 1912 - 1911 - Late

The holds were near to bursting after trillions of years. In a way, the Fiend had about a lot of time for the Eternal Realm cultivators but even the handful that ascended did not give them much more.

The issue was that Lind Frey, the Savior, the Eternal Emerald Dragon, had spread solid knowledge too far. He had then compounded it by creating the sole ascension bridge to the Divine World he came from.

The result was that the energy lost from Eternal Realm cultivators leaving were replaced from the loose Emerald Hold that continued despite its owner being long gone.

Other ascenders had their holds collapse after they left but his remained without issue. It flourished and was a pleasant place to live for all realms.

While some lavish palaces and buildings took up some open spaces, the vast majority imitated the aesthetic of the family of the creator, Lind Frey. His wives were powerhouses among the Eternal Realm cultivators.

Yet, the abode they had made seemed to blend in seamlessly with the natural flow of the mountains it took up. Many races lived in peace there despite the conflicts still raging in the lower realms.

Inside the main courtyard was a solemn place made after the final defeat of the Bastard. It was a mural with several statues in front of it. It had flower bushes and trees giving natural shade as well as a calming effect to any that came there.

The mural was many figures lost in the Final Assault but the statues were those that sacrificed everything for the final push.

Humans, demons, aether children, and more made up the whole thing but at the heart of it was one larger than others.

It was of an azure western style dragon roaring at the sky with her wings making even more shade over a simple fountain. Her fierce fangs and claws revealed her power but very few recalled what she did.

A single name was engraved at the front of the fountain.

{Lanbao}

There was no elaboration but it was the only name not engraved on the brass colored wall at the center of the mural. Even the other statues did not retain their names but were highlighted at the top of the wall.

At the moment, only one figure sat under the wings of Lanbao. She was a demoness with 2 short swords on her hips as her long dark blue hair flowed down her back. Her virulent yellow eyes were hidden behind her closed eyelids.

Her lavender skin was darker than some demons but was healthy as her aura was stable and pure. She was at the Eternal Realm yet she had not advanced much since she appeared.

She had no hold nor did she have any intention of making one. She was content.

"Sister, you are here again?" A petulant voice broke the serenity but Cyntilla smiled as she saw Shoti sway across the courtyard. The whips were secured but she noticed her hands were at the ready.

"I felt the need to be here again. Even after all this time, I wonder if I really am how I think I am." The words made Shoti frown but Cyntilla was just being honest.

She remembered not only her life as Cynti and Cyntilla before that, but others too. Her name was the same but the individual experiences were very different.

She had wondered if she would even live long after she was rescued because the Bastard saw no need to keep her longer than it took to torture Lind.

Yet, she awoke to find him gone and her existence stabilized. Jade slips were left explaining he could not stop his ascension once it started.

Lanbao had also chosen to enter Samsara no matter what it might mean for her. Unlike her, who had her soul repaired by Heaven and Earth, she was a mish mash of who knew how many pieces of Lanbao over many timelines.

Cyntilla was a very different existence. She had been forcibly called by higher realm pieces the Fiend used to fuse her into an Eternal Realm. Her most recent lives, however, were dominants since the Bastard had nearly refined everything until he knew of the danger to it.

"You are my Sister. Of all people aside from Lanbao, I have an idea of what you have been through." The pair sat together and their closeness was easy to feel.

The pleasant silence was not bad. Compared to before when it felt like they went from one war to the next, they had enjoyed unprecedented peace.

Even powers that did not agree with their all inclusive approach did not dare to interfere with them. It had been made clear when the oldest Eternal Realm cultivators suddenly arrived and declared the Emerald Hold sacrosanct.

No sane person would cross those monsters!

"How much time do you think we have left?" Shoti suddenly asked a question and Cyntilla smirked.

"I think any day the Harvest will begin. You and some of our Sisters could ascend but Lind said not to. Believe in him." Shoti scoffed at her words as she smacked the demoness on her shoulder.

"I never doubted him but he is cutting it close!" Neither woman could deny that.

"Do you remember the first time we met him?" Cyntilla suddenly asked a random question. Shoti laughed. She had been soundly defeated by him as her naive tactics had been totally ignored!

Still she knew what her Sister was getting at.

"He was so focused on his goal but he still reached out to others. He probably got tied up doing something selfless again." Both women smiled then laughed outright.

They were about to continue when the world shook. A horrific pressure fell on them.

{Limit reached, the Harvest must begin.}

Time had run out and no sign of Lind. The pair stood up but nothing they could do would stop what was coming.

"What do you think this hold will do?" Shoti was asking honestly. Cyntilla smiled as she looked up at the sky.

"Beloved, you are late. Stop keeping us waiting." The shaking spiked and a force was pulling them to their knees. The shaking increased in volume until stillness fell over them all.

[First, you could have waited a little longer.] An all too familiar voice filled both their heads. The women slowly stood up and smiled up at the sky as a massive figure of a sinuous dragon appeared.

Large emerald eyes looked down at them but he spared no words for them.

[Everyone, things will get a little rough but you are going to a much larger space. Please bear with me.] Emerald light then swept over them all as new shaking began but it was not as horrible as before.

A feeling of being stretched out and something shifting inside their bodies filled them. Cyntilla smiled wide as she felt like it was just like Lind.

He swept in at the last moment and did something ridiculous.

Her aura was sealed inside her body so she had no idea what he was doing but the sky was cracking. The hold was not going to make it!

Yet, she never feared. Of all things she might question, her trust in Lind was not one of them. Her love and trust in him was a core part of all the pieces of her.

"You took your sweet time, Beloved." The dragon seemed to flinch but only she likely saw it.

Eventually, a starry sky filled the heavens above them as the First was pulled across to somewhere else.

It was only then that the shaking intensified and she suspected what was happening.

Years passed but eventually things settled down and finally, the dragon vanished.

He appeared in the courtyard in front of them both and smiled warmly at them. He felt insanely powerful but he looked up and frowned slightly.

"Hmmm, seems like it will take some time before that is settled. Still, it is annoying that they foist all the work on me." His casual words made Cyntilla smile

"Are you an Eternal Lord now?" He jumped but then blushed slightly as he scratched the side of his cheek.

"There is no such thing currently but it would not be wrong to consider me like that. I just barely met their conditions before the Harvest! It was way harder than I imagined it would be to set up the ascension barriers!" She had no idea what he was talking about but she moved forward and they stared into each other's eyes.

He then pulled her into an embrace as she felt him shaking. Her doubts fell away at that moment in his arms.

"I am so glad you are alive." His words made her shiver but soon all their family came running. Laughter and warmth filled her as she saw how they had all made it.

Lind then held up his hands and looked at them all.

"I still have a lot of work to do but now that this step is complete, I will settle the Sea of Realms and I would like you all to come with me somewhere. It–it is very important to me." Cyntilla wondered what else could make him look like that but Mira held her son close as if he needed her.

Her own Mother was still in the lower realms at that time. She wanted to see her again and Lind looked at her with a smile.

"I want everyone with us that made it this far. We will come home and decide how we will live after that." He smiled and she believed him.

For the first time since she was forced into her current existence she felt it to her core.

She had come home.