The Homeworld of the Nox was called Al'Katra. Rather than a world, it was better to call it an entire universe condensed into a world.
It was a place where a matter of millions of kilometers was nothing, and the population exceeded any named number in the human language.
A Nox being born wasn't a special occasion. Even though the Nox had no concept of fertility and reproduction, new members of their species would always appear as if they were destined to prosper and expand their influence.
What truly caused a scene was when a Higher Nox was born.
Occasionally, in extremely rare situations, a Nox being was born with consciousness from the start.
Life for these beings was hard. They needed to adapt to the world on their own, and do everything they possibly could to survive in a world where everyone around them wished to consume them.
After all, the Nox grew through cannibalism.
One day, a special being was born even amongst Higher Nox. He possessed an ability that was even rarer than the concept of his existence.
He could reproduce, not with other Nox, but with species other than them.
This talent existed within the Nox community beforehand, but every time it appeared was a time for celebration. After all, sowing seeds in nearby universes was a great boon for the Nox, who were forced to live in the Abyss to survive.
However, this talent also turned its users into slaves, worked to death to propagate the species.
That boy grew up with such a power, and over time, he became aware of his importance. He began to grow his position, and instead of allowing his power to consume him, he used it as a great tool to assure his rise in society.
That man's name was Ultak Murrobun. To the outside world, he was known as the Divine Emperor.
For over 100,000 years, he lived domineeringly on Al'Katra. Whenever he needed to, he would explore other universes and utilize the power he was granted to spread the Nox's influence across reality. His reputation reached a high that couldn't be surpassed by any other.
And that was exactly the problem.
A large majority of newly born or promoted Higher Nox subordinated themselves to the Divine Emperor, and a great portion of Lesser Nox and halfbreeds were being born from his seed alone.
He became too powerful.
It was unacceptable.
Over time, his appearances in other universes halted. His actions were strictly supervised and impeded by the other Nox Emperors. For 10,000 years, he was forced to hole himself up in his dwelling and watch events on the outside world progress.
During this time, the only thing he had with him was his own thoughts.
He was barred from moving his own troops, lest they all be mercilessly slaughtered by his enemies.
It was only natural for him to get curious.
About the human world, about human society, and about the concept of "culture" that the Nox wholly lacked.
With his world transformed into a prison, the human world became a beautiful fantasy in his mind.
It didn't take long for him to abandon his post.
He made a secret visit to the human world and experienced the feeling he'd been craving so much. He satiated his curiosity as much as he could, and in the process…
The unfeeling Divine Emperor who only ever knew death and propagation fell in love.
Gasp!
Zara's eyes shot open. A drop of cold sweat dripped down her face as she gasped for breath.
"Haa…haa…"
Her pupils shook fiercely as she tried to solidify her ego. Her body trembled at the same tempo, extreme cold overwhelming her senses.
'That…'
Zara clenched her fis—
Zara's paws dug into the earth of the Prison Realm.
'I'm still in beast form?'
It took a few minutes for her senses to reorient to reality.
A flood of chaotic memories entered her head.
Blood, battle, and…
Betrayal.
'I…'
Zara shook for a different reason.
She, with her own hands, attacked her savior and only family in this world.
Even if she was unconscious and controlled, the fact that she attacked Damien was true.
'I am a failure.'
She closed her eyes in disappointment. After everything she went through to awaken her memories…
She barely received any answers.
'That man is my father.'
That was the only thing about her lineage that she could gauge.
The man in her memories, the Divine Emperor Ultak Murrobun, undoubtedly provided half of her genes. And along with that, it was his power that allowed her to see such memories in the first place.
'The Nox can inherit bloodline memories.'
This was the second most important fact that she'd learned.
Actually, in terms of knowledge of the Nox and her power, Zara learned a great deal. She could likely exercise far better mana control now, and the range of her repertoire greatly expanded.
She couldn't be completely unhappy with what she'd received, but the gnawing feeling that something was missing simply wouldn't go away.
The memory she received skipped over a great deal of the Divine Emperor's over 100,000 years of existence, surely including many things that clued towards Zara's future existence.
And with all the clues she had gathered until this point, she had a relative idea of why that was.
'I need to find whatever is at the end of that spark of light.'
It was the key to her memories. If she was able to understand it better, perhaps she'd unlock what she truly wanted.
Reaching this conclusion, she calmed down somewhat.
'This was merely my first attempt to unlock my bloodline memories. In usual cases, the introduction of bloodline memories into the ego causes it to become unstable. Compared to the usual result, I'm in a far better position.'
The effect of newly introduced bloodline memories was exactly why many entry and early-level 4th class Nox were far stupider than they should've been.
In the most basic terms, the confusion of their ego completely messed up their ability to think and make decisions, which turned them into idiots for a period of time.
Though, this wasn't much of a consequence considering how unnaturally the Nox acquired sentience.
Nevertheless, it was true that Zara avoided this consequence while obtaining a great deal of benefits. What she needed to do now was organize the information in her mind and guarantee the stability of her ego so she never lost herself as she'd done previously.
She refused to become anyone's puppet.
Zara stood up and observed her surroundings. She found herself in a strange desolated landscape where the only life present was her.
'This is…?'
While the realm itself made her wary, she could sense Damien's aura in every single direction. Considering that he wasn't present, there was only one place she could be.
'Sanctuary.'
She sighed in relief. If she was here, it meant he was safe. Now, she only needed to worry about the other thr—
"AGH!"
A furious pain overcame her.
Her body convulsed. She foamed at the mouth and her eyes rolled back into her head as a sticky black substance began to leak from her pores.
"Jie jie jie jie…!"
Eerie laughter traveled through the air, just as sticky and repulsive as the inky substance that produced it.
A shadowy being took form before Zara and looked down at her.
"Jiejiejie! Girl, you are maturing well!"
