Chapter 211 — Lyra’s Breakthrough

Chapter 211: Chapter 211 — Lyra’s Breakthrough

Chapter 211 — Lyra’s Breakthrough

A few hours later, Victor and Lyra were trekking through Region B, heading deeper toward Region C.

They encountered several beasts along the way, but none caused much trouble.

At this point, Victor wasn’t particularly worried about anything in these regions. Unless he traveled much deeper, toward Region G and beyond, most of the beasts they encountered weren’t strong enough to threaten him.

After a while, they finally reached the edge of Region C.

Victor spent some time searching before finding a secluded area far from the main paths. The cavern opened up around them, wide enough to give Lyra plenty of room for whatever might happen during her breakthrough.

Lyra looked around.

For the first time since the curse disappeared, some of her excitement faded.

She was nervous.

Victor smiled.

"Don’t worry. I’ll be here the whole time."

Nala chirped beside him.

"Me and Nala will be cheering you on."

Lyra took a slow breath.

"Okay."

Victor reached into his storage ring.

A moment later, a pile of artifacts appeared on the ground.

Lyra stared at them.

Victor had spent a small fortune preparing for this, and he intended to make sure every credit was worth it.

"Take all of these."

He quickly went through them with her again.

"They weren’t cheap," Victor added, "but I don’t care about the cost. If you need one, use it."

"Okay."

Once Lyra had everything, Victor moved away.

He stopped roughly a football field from her, giving her plenty of space.

Then he paused.

His eyes slowly moved across the cavern.

Victor smiled slightly.

"Space Witch."

Silence.

"I know you’re there. Why don’t you come stand next to me?"

Nothing happened.

Then the space beside Victor distorted.

Space Witch stepped out.

Victor glanced at her.

"Glad to have your company."

She gave him a small nod.

Victor had suspected she’d been following them.

Recently, he’d gotten better at sensing her presence. It was still incredibly difficult, though. With her spatial abilities, Victor suspected she could somehow hide herself within space itself.

That made tracking her almost impossible.

Victor turned back toward Lyra.

"I just need your help making sure nothing interferes with her breakthrough."

Space Witch nodded again.

Victor smiled.

"Thank you."

In the distance, Lyra sat down cross-legged.

Her excitement was gone now.

Only concentration remained.

It was time.

Lyra closed her eyes.

Her Core began spinning.

At first, nothing happened.

After being trapped at the same ceiling for so long, it almost felt like her body had forgotten what it meant to break through.

She focused.

Her Core spun faster.

Then she felt it.

Pressure.

Lyra’s breath caught.

It was different.

For her entire life, whenever she’d reached this point, there had been nothing beyond it.

A wall.

Absolute and immovable.

But now—

For the first time in seven thousand years of Shadow Fox history, the path continued.

Lyra didn’t immediately push forward.

Instead, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a pill Victor had prepared for her.

A Spirit Accumulation Pill.

She swallowed it.

Beside Victor, Space Witch’s eyes immediately narrowed.

She’d never seen that pill before.

It wasn’t a recipe she recognized from the Tower.

Her gaze shifted toward Victor.

Where had he gotten something like that?

As if sensing her stare, Victor glanced back.

He smiled.

Space Witch stared at him.

Victor had known she was watching.

There wasn’t much point hiding the pill from her now.

Before she could think about it any further—

Spiritual Energy erupted around Lyra.

Her hair whipped upward.

Dust scattered across the cavern floor as small rocks began rising into the air.

Lyra’s expression tightened.

The energy inside her was increasing rapidly.

Faster.

Faster.

Then her eyes opened.

Purple light flashed within them.

She could feel it.

After all these years...

It was finally happening.

No matter how seriously she tried to take the moment, a smile crept across her face.

Then—

Crack.

Her Core fractured.

Pain tore through her body.

Lyra gritted her teeth.

Another crack spread across the Core.

Then another.

Until finally—

It shattered.

Spiritual Energy exploded outward.

Victor’s clothes whipped violently around him as the wave swept through the cavern.

At the center of it all, Lyra remained seated.

The fragments of her broken Core began transforming, their energy gathering together and spinning faster and faster.

Lyra’s face twisted from the pain.

But she didn’t stop.

She had waited too long for this.

Her cultivation continued rising.

Higher.

Higher.

The barrier that had held back every Shadow Fox for seven thousand years was gone.

And nothing stood in her way anymore.

A new Spiritual Core began taking shape.

But something about it was different.

Dark flames appeared within Lyra’s body.

Shadow Flame.

It gathered around the forming Core, wrapping around it as the transformation continued.

The process accelerated.

Faster than Lyra had expected.

Then—

Something gave way.

Lyra’s eyes flashed bright purple.

Beast Soldier Realm.

The necklace hiding her Shadow Fox features suddenly trembled.

A thin crack appeared across its surface.

Then another.

For a brief moment, the artifact nearly failed.

The outline of two fox ears flickered above Lyra’s head.

There.

Then gone.

Space Witch’s eyes narrowed.

What was that?

She couldn’t tell.

Whatever she’d seen had disappeared too quickly.

Perhaps it had something to do with Lyra’s bloodline—or the strange flame surrounding her Core.

Space Witch continued watching.

After another minute, the violent Spiritual Energy surrounding Lyra finally began to calm.

Her cultivation settled.

Rank One Beast Soldier.

Lyra had done it.

After seven thousand years—

A Shadow Fox had finally crossed the barrier.

Victor smiled.

Then his expression changed.

The energy around Lyra hadn’t stopped moving.

Her Spiritual Energy pulsed again.

Once.

Then harder.

Victor’s eyes widened slightly.

Lyra’s cultivation began rising.

Again.

All the energy she’d accumulated after spending so long trapped at the peak of the Tempered Beast Realm was finally being released.

For months, she’d continued cultivating despite having nowhere for that energy to go.

Now the ceiling was gone.

Everything came rushing through at once.

Lyra felt as though a waterfall of Spiritual Energy had crashed down on top of her.

Her newly formed Core spun faster.

Her aura climbed.

Higher.

Higher.

Then—

Another barrier broke.

Rank Two Beast Soldier.

Lyra’s cultivation finally began settling.

Her breathing was heavy.

Sweat covered her skin.

But beneath the exhaustion, a smile slowly appeared.

She’d done it.

Rank Two Beast Soldier.

For the first time in her life, there was no curse deciding how strong she was allowed to become.

Victor’s smile widened.

Then he heard it.

Rumble.

His smile disappeared.

Space Witch slowly looked upward.

Another rumble rolled through the cavern.

The air changed.

Dark clouds began forming above Lyra.

Space Witch’s expression hardened.

"What’s happening?"

Victor didn’t answer.

He already knew.

A flash illuminated the clouds.

Lightning.

Space Witch stared upward.

She’d heard of phenomena like this before.

Tribulations.

But something was wrong.

A breakthrough into Spirit Gathering—or Beast Soldier for a beast—shouldn’t cause anything like this.

Tribulations were normally associated with much higher realms.

Her eyes moved toward Victor.

He wasn’t surprised.

Not even slightly.

He had known.

Space Witch’s eyes narrowed behind her mask.

How?

Every time she thought she was beginning to understand Victor, something else happened.

On the surface, he was a fourteen-year-old boy.

But sometimes, being around him felt strangely different.

The way he reacted to situations that should have terrified someone his age.

There were moments when dealing with Victor felt less like dealing with a boy and more like dealing with someone such as Elder Benton.

Space Witch pushed the thought aside.

This wasn’t the time.

The pressure above Lyra continued growing.

And Space Witch wasn’t the only one who noticed.

Something shifted in the surrounding caverns.

A scraping sound came from somewhere in the darkness.

Then another.

Throughout Region C, beasts began crawling from their hiding places.

Heads turned.

Eyes opened in dark tunnels.

One presence began moving toward them.

Then another.

Then several more.

Victor noticed almost immediately.

He’d expected this too.

That was one of the reasons he’d wanted Space Witch here.

According to what he’d read in the Library, when certain beasts underwent powerful ascensions, the energy released during the process could attract other beasts.

To them, that energy was like a treasure.

Something that could potentially strengthen their bloodlines and accelerate their own growth.

And right now, Lyra was releasing enough of it to draw them in.

Victor rolled his shoulders.

So much for watching peacefully.

He could already feel several presences approaching.

Space Witch seemed to notice them as well.

Her hand moved toward her sword.

Victor looked toward Lyra.

She sat alone beneath the gathering storm, eyes closed as lightning flickered above her.

She had already broken through a barrier that had imprisoned her race for seven thousand years.

Now the World Law had come for her.

Victor smiled.

"You’ve got this."

His gaze shifted toward the darkness surrounding them.

Something moved.

Then something else.

Victor’s smile faded.

"I believe in you."