"How the hell is that my fault? It was she who decided to leave her Faith Seed behind. No one forced her."
"How do you know that no one forced her?" Saru cut in. "If you don't perfect your mortal body, leaving behind your Faith Seed is an inevitable consequence. She spent her whole life fighting against the Ice and Fire Phoenixes for revenge for her parents, how could she have the time for such subtle and nuanced cultivation? With her talent, she even had to hold back from transcending for as long as she could.
"By the time the Heavens started forcefully rejecting her, it was already too late to do anything about her imperfect body."
"Plus," Lilith assaulted Dyon from the other side, "If her life was filled with fighting and blood, where would she find time for love? It's not like she's…"
Lilith's voice trailed off. What she wanted to say was that it wasn't like Amethyst was lucky enough to have the perfect husband all but decided for them like they did. But she felt it was best she didn't.
"Don't you see? It was never a choice to begin with. She tried her best to make it one by leaving her Faith Seed as an inheritance instead of allowing it to drift in reincarnation like others had, but even then, too much was out of her control." Saru quickly covered for Lilith.
"She may have eventually chosen Madeleine, but she most definitely didn't choose you." Lilith completed the tag team with a single line.
Dyon was left speechless. The two had completely opposing personalities. Saru clearly had far more rational ideas, while Lilith was focused on thoughts of love and emotion, but when they came together Dyon found it hard to refute.
"… That's still not an excuse to try and kill someone…" Dyon muttered to himself as though rejecting the idea of taking this loss.
"You've killed people for a lot less than 'taking' your virginity without your consent." Lilith rebutted. "Plus, you didn't even knock on her door. You just barged in and appeared before her like you owned the place, how could she not have made assumptions about you? Don't you have any manners?"
Dyon opened his mouth to refute but found that he really had nothing to say this time.
"Fine, fine." Dyon put his hands up in defeat, cradling the herb in one palm. "Not for her, but for the sake of you two and Madeleine, I'll help her out. If she pisses me off again, though, I'm not giving her a third chance."
Like this, three months went by in a flash and Crystella finally came to the Tower with news that her Clan had accepted his first request to see the world core and that the competition would be beginning soon.
**
The underground world was bustling with people of all walks of life. This next few days were the only ones which allowed common folk to flood this haven for the rich and elite.
Though many came for the entertainment, many more simply just wanted to take advantage of the dense qi this space had to offer. That said, there was still a fee to pay for entry. But, they all found it to be worth it.
There was a reason the three main families of this bubble world all had the same root in their names. They descended from a singular ancient family known as the Well Clan.
Many years ago, there world underwent a certain event that resulted in the birth of their current six stars and awakening a portion of their bloodlines that had been sealed from them in the past.
This was just one way the mortal and Immortal planes were different. In Dyon's world, witnessing the birth and death of new suns was impossible. The death of a sun meant the collapse of the solar system and thus meant the need for a Clan to move – if one ever lasted that long, that is.
However, on the Immortal Plane, there were many Clans that had existed for long enough to witness the rise and fall of several Suns. This Dark Flame bubble world might have been on the more exaggerated side of the spectrum, with six suns forming at once, but they were nonetheless still within the expectations of the Immortal Plane.
This aside, this event caused the bloodlines to be split down three branches.
The Night Branch gained power over the black-red flames of three of this world's stars. The Dark Branch gained power of the dark violet flames of the other three stars. And finally, the Dim bloodline branch gained weaker versions of both flames.
Over time, the Well Clan began to segregate amongst themselves, completing a cycle most human civilizations underwent. And, finally, they fully split down three lines, eventually becoming the three separate Clans they were today.
Still, these three Clans continued to follow the rules their Ancestors laid down in the past. Every ten million years, they would meet in this way to decide the controller of the world core.
Back when their Clans were one, this competition decided who would be the next Clan Patriarch. Every candidate would gather support for themselves and enter. It tested who had the greatest rallying power and eye for talent, and thus who would be most fit for the position as Head.
Today, the competition rules were practically the same, however this time, the candidates were chosen not by Patriarch hopefuls, but by the three Clans themselves.
In the past, commoners were allowed to observe the proceedings to see the majesty of the next generation's Patriarch and instill the natural fear and reverence commoners should have toward their rulers. And today, the purpose was pretty much still the same.
Though there was this complex history behind them, Dyon didn't know of it, nor did he care much about it. He simply lazily appeared at the event like he was asked to, Saru and Lilith both by his sides looking like the delicate flowers they were.
