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Mommy didn’t eat dinner with me today. She said she had something important to do. What’s more important than eating? I don’t know, but it has to be very serious. Food doesn’t taste as good when Mommy isn’t here. Um, Mommy might not be here, but Ri is eating dinner with me. She came over to be my other mommy’s disciple. Isn’t that exciting? Ri is going to live here with us now! We can eat all the food and play all the games together.

“Oh, that’s fast.”

Um? What’s fast? “What is it, Mommy?”

Mommy stood up and went next to the window. It was dark out. Is it nighttime already? The sky is usually bright when I eat dinner. “It looks like someone’s undergoing their tribulation. Sister Ilya’s should still be distributing resources after handing out so many contribution points. It looks like an expert obtained the item they needed to advance already.”

A tribulation? I’ve heard of those before! They’re big lightning storms. “Can we watch?” I always wanted to see one, but Auntie Ilya says they don’t happen often here because everyone is already so strong.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Mommy said. “The clouds are extremely dark; it’s almost as if it’s nighttime. I haven’t seen any tribulation as ominous as this since your mother became an immortal.” Mommy frowned. “Could it be? Someone’s becoming an immortal? Sophia, Ri, grab your food and come with me. It isn’t safe here.”

Um? Tribulations are dangerous? Ri looked at me, and I shrugged. We both picked up our plates and followed Mommy into the courtyard. She took out a flying boat, even though it’s illegal to fly, and grabbed me and Ri. Then, she teleported onto the boat. Um, there was no table to put our plates on, so I put it on the floor and sat down. The sky was completely black, but there were little flashes of red light that helped me see. The boat went high up into the air, and my food nearly fell off its plate!

“It goes on for miles and miles….” Mommy’s face was lit up by red lights over and over. It was hard to see the expression on her face. Mommy pointed up at the clouds. “Do you see? The direction the lightning travels towards, that’s where the tribulation is going to occur.”

“I see it.” Um, it’s going that way. “Why are we going the other way?”

“Tribulations are dangerous,” Mommy said and shook her head. “Usually, they only focus on the person who broke through their bottleneck, but occasionally, there’ll be people who want to drag everyone around them into the tribulation for assistance. Your mother did that once, and a whole sect was eradicated.”

Mommy blew up a whole sect? I didn’t think tribulations were that big! I want to see it even more now! “We really can’t watch?”

Mommy frowned. “I’ll ask Sister Ilya, see if she has any methods. She has a few devices that allows one to see from far away, but she’s very stingy with those. Next time you see her, convince her to let you have one.”

Um, Mommy and Auntie Ilya don’t get along too well. “Okay.”

Mommy pulled out her messenger. The boat was still flying away. I didn’t feel like eating anymore, so I poked my head over the side. Um!? Mommy pulled me back by my tail! She shook her head at me and pointed at the cabin door, telling me to go inside the boat. “Sister Ilya? You see the tribulation, right?”

“See it? I’m in the middle of it.” It was hard to hear Auntie Ilya because of the rumbling thunder.

“You’re ascending to immortality?” Mommy’s eyes widened, and a loud boom came from a lightning bolt. “Why didn’t you say anything about being close?”

“No, it’s Durandal,” Auntie Ilya said. “Lucia had an immortal-ranked sword crafted for Durandal since she broke him during a Soul Scour. Once the blacksmith did the finishing touches, this tribulation came. So, I would just like to say, if I die, there’s a box in my lab that contains my will. I’m sure you’ll find it if you look hard enough.”

“Huh? Die? What are you talking about? Is Lucia endangering the whole sect?”

Auntie Ilya’s going to die? That can’t be! She can do anything. Um, actually, dying is a part of anything….

“No, Durandal won’t come out of his sword, so Lucia’s going to wield Durandal and face his tribulation for him. Also, for some reason, she won’t let me go. I thought she released me from her grasp because she knew it’d be dangerous around her, but it turns out it wasn’t voluntary. Anyway, Lucia’s holding my arm right now, and I think once the first lightning bolt comes down, some of that electricity is going to enter my body. When it does, you’ll probably hear me—ugh! Oh, that wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be.”

“What’s happening to Auntie Ilya? Is she going to be okay?” This is Durandal’s tribulation? I don’t like him! First, he uses me as a shield against Mommy, and now he brings Mommy into danger when she could’ve been eating dinner with me. I hope he gets hit by a lot of lightning, but I hope he doesn’t die because Mommy will be sad.

“I don’t know,” Mommy said and lowered the messenger. “Durandal leans more towards evil than good, I think. His tribulation should last longer than average. Thankfully, your mother is stronger than she was during her tribulation. Her life shouldn’t be in any danger, but I’ve always had my doubts about her ability to protect someone else.”

Splash!

Um? What’s this? Something sticky and red landed on me and Ri. Is it—

Thud.

—blood? Um, Ri fainted. I think it is blood. Um! “Auntie Ilya! What happened to your arm?” It’s missing, and there’s a lot of blood squirting out of her shoulder stump.

Auntie Ilya looked around before eating a pill. “I didn’t want to die, so I cut my arm off to escape.”

Auntie Ilya is very … um, I don’t know the word to describe it. Amazing?

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