While Lilly and Luna went to work, Petra decided that it was time to start thinking about her body.
Petra sat down in the open field and began to meditate.
She knew very little about her origins, but one thing was for sure, and that was that Petra was far from a pure human. Without a way to learn about her bloodline from her family, Petra could only rely on herself to pick apart small fragments of information whenever they came.
First, Petra was sure that her parents were not the same race. Not only that, but neither of them were pure humans.
Although she never talked about it, Petra actually had little bone-like bumps above her temple and at the base of her spine. She didn't know what race this correlated to, but it was likely the source of her abnormal physical strength and endurance. She had some guesses, but that was all at the moment.
Next was her unique affinity with poison and poison type creatures. Petra had a strange aura that seemed to attract powerful poison type creatures and repelled weaker ones. Combined with her near poison immunity, Petra was sure that this was some unique physique related to poison.
Finally, when she was experimenting with the spirit stones, Petra had made a mistake and absorbed way too much energy from the spirit stone. When this happened, instead of her body being torn to shreds from the inside out, Petra discovered a mysterious power that quelled the violent force and stored it somewhere in her body. This was likely related to her second bloodline, something magic oriented.
It was possible that the magic bloodline was actually a special physique, and the poison affinity was her second bloodline, but she thought the other way around was more likely.
Aside from these three aspects, Petra also had a very strong soul, an abnormal mental strength, and a very firm will. These three things could be attributed to her being a transmigrator.
So the question was, where should she start?
Her two bloodlines were likely to grow on their own, but her physique might need to be trained. No, it was better to say that her instincts told her that her physique needed to be trained. At least, her physique needed 'something'.
Petra really wanted to build a lab.
Looking at the small cottage, Petra realised that there were a lot of things she wanted to build.
Even with the twins, she was far away from the manpower she needed to build a mansion.
Petra rocked side to side. Her twin ponytails swayed in the wind.
Looking at the raging storm, Petra thought about what she would do after the green tide receded.
Should she explore?
Should she go back to town?
"Mmm~"
Petra was too lazy to think.
Now that she was thinking about her family, how exactly did she end up in Evergreen Town?
'I really hope it's nothing cliché like I was a taboo baby and had to be hidden. That would only be trouble~."
As she was rocking back and forth, Petra suddenly had an idea.
Her little eyes turned to the ant swarm.
'I wonder what the limit is for the ant queen. How many can she control?'
'Does the size matter...?'
'What's the limitation on range?'
'Can this be extended using special insects?'
Her chaotic thoughts rolled.
Suddenly, another interesting line of thought popped up.
'Why was the spider and caterpillar only attracted after three years?'
'If my physique needs to be trained, then what changed?'
Petra moved like a metronome, thinking deeply.
Suddenly, something seemed to flash!
'I cut my finger that day, didn't I?'
Petra stopped.
Her little eyes lit up.
'And when I was traveling through the forest, there were a lot of small cuts on my body!'
She narrowed her eyes.
'Does my affinity with poisonous beasts have something to do with my blood?'
She wanted to try.
But she really hated pain. This could be seen by her lack of injuries after so long. Whether it was back in the village or now, it was very uncommon for her to bleed. She looked at her hand. It wouldn't be much, just a small cut...
Petra puffed out her cheeks.
Was she really such a baby?
Thinking back, she really was…
Petra gritted her teeth and cut her finger. Because she was paying close attention, for the first time, Petra realised that her skin was much tougher than normal skin. This probably contributed to her lack of injuries over the years.
The bright red blood dripped down and pooled on the leaf she was holding. With her tiny body, she had much less blood than a normal adult.
After the blood filled the bottom of the leaf, Petra wrapped her finger and stopped the bleeding.
She tilted her head.
'How am I going to test this?'
'Hmmm?'
Petra suddenly felt like something was staring at her. After looking around to no avail, Petra realised the problem.
She lifted the large frog from behind her head and stared at it.
The black and green frog seemed a lot more interested in the leaf of blood than her.
She didn't know what would happen if the frog drank her blood.
Although it had been following her, that seemed to have been caused by the mere smell of blood. If it were to drink it, what would happen?
While Petra was lost in thought, the frog took action.
Its tongue shot out of its mouth, stuck to the leaf, and pulled it into its mouth.
Petra blinked.
The frog sucked the blood from the leaf, then tossed the leaf.
Petra felt like it flashed a look of disdain while doing so.
She put the frog down and watched for any changes.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes...
Petra felt like there was no difference.
Just as she was about to lose interest, Petra suddenly felt like an invisible connection had formed between her and the frog.
Her little mind spun, trying to figure out what had happened.
Was this some kind of taming talent?
As she was thinking, a stream of detailed information was transmitted to her through this channel. Petra was given information on the frog's species (What it is), evolutionary directions (What it will be), current status (How it's doing), and unique abilities (What it can do).
After digesting this information, Petra had a better understanding of this impressive little frog.
It was also this information that let Petra understand something.
Although she didn't know what her physique was called, there seemed to be a wealth of information sealed deep inside. When she connected to a beast, as long as it met the qualifications, the relevant information would be unlocked and sent directly to her mind.
At the same time, Petra felt like something in her body seemed to change. This change was too small to understand, but Petra felt that if she 'connected' to a few more poisonous beasts, this small change might evolve into something Incredible.
Feeling this new instinct slowly awakening in her blood, Petra was conflicted. She wanted to continue 'linking' with the other four beasts, but at the same time, that would mean she had to keep bleeding.
After a long period of self hypnosis, Petra eventually managed to produce four leaves of red blood.
In addition, Petra discovered that her physique had an improved healing factor. The wounds she cut would heal before she could fill the next leaf.
Petra gave the blood to the beasts one by one.
[Sky Strike Dark Frog]
[Tower Spider]
[River Winding Centipede]
[The Warlord Forge Ant Queen]
[Ethereal Echo Silverwing: Chrysalis Form]
Petra looked at the five names.
She was particularly interested in the 'Warlord Forge Ant Queen' and the 'Ethereal Echo Silverwing'.
The Warlord Forge Ant Queen was the kind of Insect that cultivated its own army over time. Although still poisonous, it focused on army building and evolution.
The Ethereal Echo Silverwing, on the other hand, was a very dangerous insect. It had the innate talent to weave illusions and bend space. As it grew, the area it could distort became larger and larger. As for its poison, the Ethereal Echo Silverwing released a distorted poison with each flap of its wings. Combined with its ability to bend space, this butterfly was a nightmare to deal with.
Petra sighed.
Although the Ethereal Echo Silverwing was amazing, the time it took to break out of its chrysalis could be years. It all depended on the energy that was available.
Petra decided to throw the living basketball into the spirit stone mine next time she found it.
Next on the agenda was the changes to Petra's body.
Like she had thought, after contracting with the five beasts, a qualitative change had occurred.
Petra discovered that she could store different poisons within her body. As long as she came into contact with something poisonous, she could extract the poison and store it in her body.
As for how this was linked to the beasts she contracted, the quantity of poison was relative to the size and strength of the beasts.
Petra had contracted five, and this was already pushing it for her current body.
If she wanted to contract any more, she first needed to strengthen her soul.
Now that she had a better understanding of each beast's abilities, Petra finally found a way to begin building her dream home.
She commanded the Ant Queen to begin cultivating some construction focused ants. These ants would be a lot larger than the average ant, about the size of a football. With the combined effort of a few hundred, it should be possible to work as a makeshift construction team for the mansion. At least, they could create the individual pieces she needed.
It would take the Ant Queen a few days to cultivate the necessary numbers, so in the meantime, the frog and the centipede were put in charge of collecting 'materials' for the ant queen. The tower spider continued collecting wood, and the chrysalis was eventually thrown into the underground mines.
Petra finished playing with the five beasts and returned to the cottage.
There, she discovered Lilly trying desperately to teach Luna how to cook. The two girls were fiddling with a knife, struggling to cut a piece of meat into bite sized pieces. Over in the corner, Petra discovered a pile of blackened vegetables. The room smelled of smoke, and Petra was worried that if she let them continue, they might just burn down the house.
The struggle continued.
* * *
That night, in the south of the Cross Continent, a family meeting was coming to a close.
In the ancestral lands of the Azurefell Family, all the family leaders had gathered.
An old man with white hair sat on the highest seat. His body was small and frail, making his many layers of clothing look very overwhelming. He wore two robes, the inner one blue and the outer one white. He wore a large azure mantle and a detailed white cloak with a hood and cape. He listened silently as the family continued their argument about the fate of the two twins.
The family was split.
Some wanted to give up, while others wanted to increase the bounty. As the storm of interests were balanced back and forth, they eventually came to a conclusion.
- Find them at all costs!
The meeting ended, and the family leaders dispersed.
The old man was the last to leave.
On his way out, the old man was approached by a middle-aged woman in white. She walked side by side with the old man, following his gait. Eventually, they found themselves walking along the riverside.
"What do you think, lord patriarch?"
The old man did not speak.
The woman frowned. "I heard you care quite a lot about those two, so why aren't you in any hurry to find them?" It wasn't that she was taunting him, she just honestly wanted to know.
The old man looked over.
His old and turbulent eyes seemed to be hiding a storm.
He shook his head. "Those two were cursed since birth. They were born with the ability to save the guardian. Because of that, they were treated like caged birds."
He slowed his steps.
"You're too young to know, but their grandmother was the same as them, a trapped bird, existing to fulfil a birth given task."
The old man sighed.
"They remind me of my sister. It hurts to see this fate forced upon them..."
He paused for a long time before continuing.
"At least, that's what I thought."
The woman tilted her head. "Do you mean that you think they can escape the pursuit of the family?"
The old man raised his head and looked into the distance.
The moon reflected itself against the river.
The night was quiet and serene, leaving one calm and relaxed.
The old man smiled slightly.
"You just don't understand... fate is like a noose, an inescapable tether. Once it's tied, it can't be undone..."
The woman shook her head. "I really don't understand."
The old man looked over, a mysterious twinkle in his eyes. "Little Lilly should have died, that is her fate."
The woman widened her eyes. "You mean she's already…!"
The old man raised his thin and trembling hand.
"No no no, you see, you don't get it! Hahaha! That's the problem! She's alive, safe and sound! I can feel it!" The old man let out a hearty chuckle.
"What?"
The woman was really confused.
The old man shook his head. "They have deviated from their fates. 'Something' seems to have directly dragged them from their path. Their birdcage was torn apart, and the twins can finally flap their wings!"
The woman looked at the old man who seemed to have lost his mind.
He continued. "I remember back then, the look in my sister's eyes. She told me that this world was unfair, that the chains that bound her were too tight. No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't escape her fate. In the end, she was destroyed by her own power, dragged into the abyss as just another sacrifice for the guardian."
The old man overflowed with melancholy.
"The family would never have been able to keep them. One child would die, and the other would walk the path of bloodshed. This was their original fate. Our family would have been destroyed by Luna's own hands."
The old man paused
He looked into the woman's eyes.
His ancient eyes seemed to carry an unfathomable pressure.
"Did you know? Did you know just how terrified I was when I first looked into the future of those two little girls? I had prayed that they would escape the same fate as my sister, so I couldn't hold back. I divined it, wanting to see if they were different..."
The old man lowered his head.
"What I saw was a bloodbath. Our family was massacred in one night, by the very hand we mistreated!"
The woman's eyes widened. "Why did you never mention this!"
The old man shook his head. "It wouldn't have changed anything... That's what I thought at least... You know just how foolish the family can be."
A smile slowly crept onto his old face.
His old and dying spark seemed to have regained its light.
"It wasn't until recently that something changed. The 'Heavens Chosen' did a divination. It attracted the attention of a lot of old monsters like me. I was surprised to find that the divination was about the twins."
"I recognized the scene at first. It was the death of Lilly, no different from the scene I saw all those years ago. At least, it was supposed to be…"
The old man paused for a long time.
"Something appeared... Hmm, it's hard to call that a person. It was like a living tare. It walked through the scene and messed up the order. It saved those who should die and killed those who should live..."
"Lilly survived at the hand of this unknown existence, changing our family's fate."
"I thought it was over, but the Heavens Chosen did another divination. This time, it was for Luna, but far into her future. When I followed that fate line, something unimaginable happened..."
The old man paused again.
The woman looked like she wanted him to continue.
The old man chuckled. "I was greeted with the sight of my grand niece dressed as a maid and cooking supper. When I looked closer, she seemed to feel my gaze and looked directly at me, very annoyed! Hahaha!"
"When she locked eyes with me, she suddenly became very embarrassed! Her little face turned red and her eyes rolled around. She whispered 'Great Uncle' then forcefully pushed me out of the divination! Hahaha!!"
The old man seemed to have lost his mind.
The woman thought so too.
Everyone knew it was impossible to respond to a divination. That was just common sense. For a person to be able to do that, they would have to be able to peer through time and space like it were no different than looking down the street.
Even the gods couldn't do that... much less a little girl.
The old man grinned
"The little girl became a maid for someone. I can't even imagine what kind of monster that must be! I really want to meet them!"
The woman shook her head.
The old man had really lost it.
"I was planning to retire. Neol is ready for the position. Since the family was destined to dig its own grave, I didn't want to be a part of it... But now, I think I want to see this unknown future. I think I need to clean up the family, and make sure it's a place where those two little girls can return to."
The old man left with his arms behind his back.
His frail frame seemed to be just a little bit taller.
His last words were like a bombshell to the woman.
Just what was the unknown future of the Azurefell Family?