[Daughter of the Void]
When this title awakened, everything changed. The battlefield faded away, the universe itself faded into the distance as Elena's consciousness was taken on a journey through the vast unknown.
And naturally, her body changed along with her mind. The black and white cocoon's energy was fueling Elena's comprehensive evolution into a greater state of existence.
Then, what was truly happening to her?
Elena's current situation was odd and unexplainable from the outside, but in truth, its roots were very easily traceable.
At that moment of life and death, a "seed" awakened within her. It wasn't some esoteric concept like Damien's "Seed" or the Nox Seeds, but it was a seed nonetheless.
And its planting…well, it could be traced back to a night of passion shared within the Empyrean Dragon Realm.
Elena had no natural connection with the Void, nor was the Void an existence that was friendly to those other than Damien, but Elena had achieved a hidden requirement even Damien didn't know of.
She'd been "accepted" by the Void as a spouse of its progeny, and as such, it saved her from death and bestowed her with a blessing.
The cocoon was a representation of this blessing, a safe space where she wouldn't be interrupted before she completely digested her gains.
It had been 5 days already.
Elena immediately understood that the title's awakening was an opportunity rather than a disaster, and with her quick thinking and intuition, she absorbed anything and everything she saw around her.
The problem was that the things she was absorbing had no physical presence. She simply exerted the will to absorb and focused on the mystical and hazy environment, gradually gaining a hold over the ambient natural forces.
The scene became clear with time, revealing Elena to a lush jungle-like habitat overflowing with vitality. Decorating the sky were grand floating mountains and palaces, and in the very middle of the ecosystem stood a towering Yggdrasil that Elena soon recognized as her own.
'This is…'
Her eyes widened in astonishment at the natural beauty, as well as the thickness of the law fluctuations coming from this jungle.
It was as if this place was the origin of life, the place where the concept of life first introduced itself to the universe.
Elena's body suddenly jerked as "something" flew out of her chest.
'The Genesis Bead?!'
Elena's shock only increased when the treasure appeared. She hadn't bound it or claimed ownership in any way, so why was it following her soul to this alternate dimension?
She wanted to ask, but there was no one around to answer. As such, she instead chose to follow the flying bead through the forest until she arrived before the massive world tree.
She raised her arm and gently brushed her fingertips against the bark.
Ba-dum! Ba-dum!
She could hear the jungle's heartbeat, a pumping flow of vitality that powered the entire jungle and allowed this haven to exist.
Meanwhile, the Genesis Bead spun on its own axis in the air, absorbing the purest concentrated Life Laws from the world tree and internalizing it.
Soon after, a new stream of energy left the bead and flowed into Elena's mind, spreading through her avatar body and filling her to the brim.
Voom!
Stray foliage whipped into the sky as the winds swirled around Elena and lifted her into the air.
She didn't know why exactly this was happening to her, but she could at least understand one thing.
The Life Law comprehension that was flowing into her mind far outstripped anything she'd been able to perceive in reality, and the longer the energy stayed within her avatar, the greater the comprehension became.
Mystical abilities that she could never even imagine became possible evolutionary paths, and somehow, it was almost as if the Law of Life itself was beckoning her towards it.
The scenery of the jungle changed. Behind the world tree, three pathways appeared, leading into the distance beyond perception.
Elena intuitively understood that she was being made to choose.
She needed to decide how she would grow her Life Laws from this point forward.
There was the path on the far left, "personal" Life Laws. If she chose this path, Elena would continue on her way to becoming an infinite warrior who could constantly buff and heal herself to become undying.
This was the path she pursued when she was just starting her journey to the peak, but as she aged and matured, she realized it wasn't necessarily the best path.
This path would make Elena a great independent force, but with the universe's current situation, a single Elena wouldn't have much impact on the battlefield as an infinite warrior.
The middle path, "emitted" Life Laws, was far better in this sense. This was the classic healer path. If she traveled it, she could become a Goddess of Life who could even bring the dead back to life.
Yet…
'That's not enough.'
Elena never wanted to be a healer. She didn't want to be relegated to the back of the battlefield with no choice but to watch and passively react to the battle situation.
Then, the final path on the far right.
As Elena gazed upon it, she noticed that information on how this path would proceed didn't appear in her mind as it did with the other two.
Instead, a much more esoteric sensation filled her systems.
It was grand, magisterial, and primordial. It was so close, yet separated by distance uncrossable. It was a sensation akin to "the beginning of everything."
'This path…should be called "universal" Life Laws.' Elena thought to herself.
This feeling represented what Life truly was, only, Elena wasn't able to understand it at her current level.
The final path was one of comprehending the universe, and as a byproduct, Life.
It was difficult, almost impossible to traverse, but encompassed the other two paths and provided an even greater horizon for those who could climb up high enough to see it.
'If I'm doing this, there's no reason to settle for mediocrity, right?'
Elena had several ambitions. She wanted to stand at the top just like any other practitioner, but such a goal didn't need to be mentioned.
At the moment, her goals were two.
The first was to grow strong enough to repel the Nox from the universe and save it from destruction. Elena had formed several personal grudges with the Nox over time, which, along with her sense of justice, made her an avid loyalist who would try anything in her power to aid the universe.
This was her most grounded goal, as it didn't just pertain to her own survival, but the survival of everything.
The second goal was more personal.
She wanted to return. She wanted to return to her friends and family and once again enjoy the warmth they provided.
Rose and Ruyue were great sisters who motivated her to do better and always challenged her. They were her closest friends and strongest rivals, people she never wanted to forget.
Damien's status in her heart didn't even need to be mentioned. After so many years, she still thought of him so vividly. Did it need to be further elaborated on just how deep her feelings were?
And aside from love, Elena wasn't an outlier to Damien's exclusive motivation effect.
Anyone who came in contact with him for long enough would end up setting him as a goal to surpass due to his heaven-defying talent, and surprisingly enough, they would always see far greater results with this motivation driving them.
It was almost like the "motivation" was a true universal force with how effective it was.
Nevertheless, even her short-term goals required her to be excellent, above all others.
Therefore, a mediocre path simply wouldn't fly.
Elena stepped forward without hesitation, her foot firmly crunching against the soil of the "Universal Life Law" path.
And she walked, following the path to the ends of the earth.
The processes of her body and mind coincided in that moment, and the final stage of her evolution began.
