When Morax saw Elliot had no intention of telling him the truth, he didn't press the matter. Instead, he dove straight toward The Chasm. The urgent priority was to subdue the Azhdaha. If the enraged Azhdaha escaped outside, it would spell real trouble.
Soon, the sound of fierce combat echoed from the depths of The Chasm. After a considerable while, the sounds gradually faded away.
"Let's go check it out."
Without waiting for Shenhe's reaction, Elliot picked her up and leaped down without hesitation.
Shenhe gasped in shock, instinctively clutching Elliot, yet the terrifying sensation of freefall did not arrive; instead, the descent felt remarkably smooth and gentle. As Shenhe slowly opened her eyes, she was stunned to discover they were floating in mid-Aether.
Their descent was slow yet steady. Closing her eyes, it felt as though they were completely still, with no sensation of falling at all.
"Husband..."
"You can fly!?"
Shenhe was utterly shocked.
Though the words the Geo Emperor had spoken to Elliot moments ago were already strange enough, she hadn't understood why the Geo Emperor spoke that way. Now, having experienced it firsthand, she finally grasped it.
Her husband, Elliot, was no ordinary man at all.
Who could possibly fly?
"A little," Elliot replied with a faint smile.
"I don't believe you. You're hiding something else from me. Spill it all," Shenhe declared, pinching his cheeks in a huff.
Just then, their smooth descent suddenly felt uncontrolled. They plummeted rapidly through Aether.
"Ah!"
The abrupt change made Shenhe scream in fright, clutching Elliot tightly once more.
"We're here," Elliot reminded her with a playful smile.
Shenhe reluctantly opened her eyes, half-believing, half-doubting, as Elliot gently set her down.
"You're so mean!" Shenhe patted Elliot's back in mock annoyance.
"Look over there."
Elliot redirected her attention toward Azhdaha.
When Shenhe realized that the Geo Emperor had completely subdued that colossal beast, she froze in shock.
"Old friend, do you truly not recognize me? I am Morrax!
We fought side by side through the Archon War—have you forgotten?"
Morax stood outside the golden barrier, repeating these words incessantly, attempting to rouse Azhdaha who had descended into utter madness.
At that moment, a hand gripped his shoulder. Morax instinctively turned to see Elliot standing beside him.
"Let me see," Elliot said.
Before Morax could respond, Elliot stepped forward, approaching Azhdaha. Gazing into those violet eyes, Elliot slowly raised his right hand. A burst of light erupted from his palm.
After a brief moment, Elliot furrowed his brow slightly.
This Abyss could actually resist the power of time. The force of time was utterly ineffective against the current Azhdaha, as if completely blocked by a thick, impenetrable barrier.
Morax dared not disturb Elliot. He stood silently by, watching, his heart filled with a desperate plea for Elliot to heal Azhdaha.
"Dismiss this barrier," Elliot ordered, turning his head.
"Dismiss it!?" Morax startled at the command, then protested, "It's formidable! I barely managed to contain it. If we remove the barrier now, it might..."
"It's fine. Trust me."
Before Morax could finish, Elliot cut him off.
Staring into Elliot's calm, still eyes, Morax hesitated, caught between a rock and a hard place.
When Morax noticed Shenhe standing nearby, he asked, "Shenhe, you must know Azhdaha."
Hearing the Geo Emperor's words, Shenhe nodded in acknowledgment. "I know."
"Since you know Azhdaha, you should understand how powerful it is. Your husband wants me to remove this barrier—aren't you afraid something might go wrong?"
Shenhe turned to look at the Geo Emperor, then offered a gentle smile.
"I'm not afraid."
"Why?" Morax was puzzled.
"Because I trust him."
Shenhe turned back to look at Elliot, her eyes brimming with unwavering trust. No matter what Elliot did, no matter what Elliot said, Shenhe always trusted him—unreserved trust, trust that defied all caution.
Receiving Shenhe's answer, Morax remained silent for a long while.
"Be careful," he warned before withdrawing the barrier that had restrained the Azhdaha of Ruoda.
ROAR!!!!!!
The unsealed beast unleashed a terrifying roar.
BOOM!!!!!!
The deafening roar was followed by successive explosions. Exaggerated plumes of smoke shot skyward, instantly shrouding the depths beneath The Chasm in billowing haze.
After some time, as the dust slowly settled, the scene that came into view was the unconscious Azhdaha, and the diminutive figure of Elliot standing before its head.
Witnessing this, Morax could no longer remain still. He was utterly shocked, as if he had seen a ghost, his pupils trembling violently like an earthquake.
He had imagined Elliot subduing the Sovereign through other means, but never in his wildest dreams did he expect Azhdaha to be knocked unconscious with a single blow.
After all, Azhdaha was a force capable of holding his own against him. Had Elliot not forced Morax back to his peak state from the Archon War, it would have been uncertain whether he could even control Azhdaha.
And yet this absurdly powerful Azhdaha couldn't even last a single round against Elliot.
Just how strong must one be to achieve such a result?
Morax now had complete certainty about Elliot's identity.
In this world, the only one capable of such feats...
...no one but the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.
Yet he had seen all five incarnations of the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles—none resembled Elliot. But who else could achieve such feats besides the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles?
That left only one possibility: the Sustainer had altered their appearance and descended to the mortal realm to live as an ordinary being.
Absurd as that sounded, it was the only explanation Morax could conjure.
This scene stunned Morax, but it utterly petrified Shenhe. Her vacant gaze spoke volumes—her shock was no less profound than Morax's.
Who could have imagined her husband was a being capable of effortlessly defeating a god? Though Azhdaha wasn't technically a god, his power was undeniably godlike.
Yet while they reeled in shock, Elliot treated it as nothing special, single-mindedly experimenting with various methods to purge The Abyss from Azhdaha's body.
After all, since Elliot became the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, a single avatar of his could instill psychological trauma in the Seven Gods. Knocking out Azhdaha with a single strike was hardly something to boast about.
"May I ask, Azhdaha, can he be cured?"
After a long while, Morax, having recovered somewhat, addressed Elliot with profound respect.
Elliot slowly turned around, his face bitter as he shook his head.
"I've tried every possible method, but none worked."
"He likely can never return to his former self."