Chapter 212 — The Tribulation

Chapter 212: Chapter 212 — The Tribulation

Chapter 212 — The Tribulation

Lyra looked up at the tribulation clouds gathering above her.

Thunder rolled through the cavern.

At the same time, more and more beasts were beginning to appear in the distance, drawn toward the energy surrounding her breakthrough.

Lyra glanced toward Victor.

Space Witch stood nearby with him, while Nala hovered overhead.

Victor met Lyra’s eyes and smiled.

He didn’t need to say anything.

The message was clear.

Focus on your tribulation.

We’ll handle everything else.

Lyra took a breath and turned back toward the clouds.

Yellow lightning flickered above her.

The first bolt was forming.

Lyra immediately put on the bracelet Victor had bought for her. It was supposed to reduce lightning damage by twenty-five percent.

Then she activated two of the defensive artifacts.

Two translucent barriers appeared around her.

Just in time.

BOOM!

A yellow bolt crashed down.

The first barrier shattered almost instantly.

The second lasted only a fraction longer.

Then the lightning struck Lyra directly.

"Ah!"

Her entire body stiffened.

Pain exploded through her from head to toe as lightning crawled across her skin.

Lyra struggled to remain standing.

There were no obvious wounds yet, but that didn’t make the pain any less intense. It felt like every muscle in her body was being electrocuted at the same time.

Still, she refused to fall.

Lyra raised her head and stared directly into the tribulation clouds.

She had spent her entire life trapped beneath the curse.

No matter how much she cultivated, there had always been a ceiling waiting for her.

Her entire clan had lived beneath that same restriction for thousands of years.

Now she’d finally escaped it.

She could grow stronger.

She could search for her parents.

She could finally reach heights that had been impossible for every Shadow Fox born over the last seven thousand years.

There was no way she was letting the World Law stop her now.

Maybe she’d spent too much time around Victor.

His stubbornness might have started rubbing off on her.

Or perhaps she’d always been this stubborn.

Either way, it didn’t matter.

She was going to survive.

She was going to become stronger.

And one day, she would be strong enough to stand beside Victor against whatever this world threw at them.

Minutes passed before the yellow lightning finally began to weaken.

The electricity crawling across Lyra’s body slowly faded.

She released a long breath.

Then smiled.

Lyra looked up.

The clouds hadn’t disappeared.

Another bolt was already forming.

But she had a few minutes.

Her attention shifted toward the surrounding cavern.

Victor disappeared.

A moment later, he appeared dozens of feet away.

His dagger flashed.

A beast collapsed.

Victor vanished again.

Advanced Flash Step carried him across the cavern as he intercepted one beast after another.

Space Witch wasn’t far behind.

Spatial energy flickered around her as she moved through the darkness, cutting down anything that managed to slip past Victor.

Then there was Nala.

The little Firebird dove through the air, flames trailing behind her as she attacked anything that came too close.

The three of them had formed a wall around Lyra.

Nothing was getting through.

Lyra couldn’t help smiling.

They were protecting her.

For most of her life, she’d learned that she couldn’t rely on anyone except herself and her clan.

Now she wasn’t alone anymore.

She had people she trusted.

People she could rely on.

Her gaze lingered on Victor for another second.

Then thunder rolled overhead.

Lyra looked back up.

The next bolt was nearly ready.

She straightened.

A smile appeared on her face.

"Show me what you’ve got, World Law."

The cavern flashed.

This time, the lightning wasn’t yellow.

It was blue-green.

Victor noticed immediately.

His expression changed.

The second bolt looked several times stronger than the first.

Then it fell.

BOOOOOOM!

Lyra threw both hands forward.

Shadow energy surged around her.

A sphere of condensed shadow energy formed in front of her and slammed into the descending lightning.

For a brief moment, the two forces collided.

Then the lightning tore straight through.

Lyra activated the remaining defensive artifacts.

Barrier after barrier appeared around her.

The lightning struck.

Crack!

Barrier after a barrier shattered until finally, the last one gave out.

Then the bolt struck Lyra directly in the chest.

Her entire body convulsed.

Blood sprayed from her mouth.

"AGH!"

Lightning wrapped around her.

This time, wounds appeared immediately.

Her skin began to char.

Cracks spread across her body as the lightning continued pouring into her.

Lyra gritted her teeth.

Her legs trembled.

She could feel her life force dropping rapidly.

This was nothing like the first bolt.

She wasn’t going to last.

Her life flashed before her eyes.

There was still so much she needed to do. So much she hadn’t accomplished.

She couldn’t die here.

Lyra desperately clung to anything she could, searching for some way to survive.

But there was nothing left.

Her strength was gone. Her defenses were shattered.

For a moment, she looked toward Victor.

Their eyes met.

"I’m sorry."

Her eyes began to close.

Then, just before everything went dark—

The final artifact activated.

A powerful energy flooded through her.

Lyra’s eyes widened.

The expensive healing artifact Victor had bought detected it immediately.

Fifty percent.

Sixty.

Seventy.

Eighty.

Her body regenerated at an incredible rate.

Ninety.

One hundred.

The cracks across her skin healed almost as quickly as the lightning created them.

Burned flesh restored itself.

Damaged muscles repaired.

Lyra could hardly believe it.

The artifact was actually keeping up.

For a moment, she understood exactly why Victor had been willing to spend so much money on it.

Whoever had created this thing had been a genius.

But there was one thing it couldn’t stop.

The pain.

Even as her body healed, Lyra still felt everything.

Every second stretched endlessly.

Lyra lost track of how long she’d been standing there.

Her thoughts began to blur.

But she remained standing.

She’d waited seven thousand years for a path forward.

She wasn’t going to collapse at the first step.

Eventually, the lightning began to weaken.

Lyra’s eyes slowly opened.

The blue-green light surrounding her faded.

Above her, the dark clouds finally began breaking apart.

The pressure filling the cavern disappeared with them.

The tribulation was ending.

Lyra smiled weakly.

She’d survived.

Lyra looked around.

The cavern was covered in dead beasts.

Bodies lay scattered across the stone.

Victor stood among several of them, breathing steadily as he watched the last few creatures retreat into the darkness.

Space Witch stood nearby, sword still in hand.

And Nala—

Lyra blinked.

Nala had a Ravager pinned beneath her claws.

The little Firebird jerked her head back and tore into its throat.

Lyra couldn’t help smiling.

They’d protected her through the entire thing.

Her eyes found Victor.

For a moment, neither of them said anything.

They didn’t need to.

We did it.

Then the cavern tilted.

Lyra’s smile faded.

Her legs gave out.

Victor saw it immediately.

Flash Step.

He disappeared.

Before Lyra could hit the ground, Victor caught her.

She fell against him, too exhausted to hold herself upright.

"You did great."

Lyra barely managed to keep her eyes open.

Victor brushed the hair away from her face.

"Rest for now. I’ll take It from here."

A tired smile appeared on Lyra’s face.

She didn’t argue.

Her eyes closed.

A moment later, she lost consciousness.

Victor held her there for a few seconds.

Her breathing was steady.

That was all he needed to know.

He carefully lifted her over his shoulder before looking toward Space Witch.

"Thank you for your help."

Space Witch looked at the unconscious Lyra, then back at Victor.

"I owe you one," Victor added.

She gave him a small nod.

Victor activated Flash Step.

His body shot through the cavern.

He moved quickly through Region C and back through Region B, carrying Lyra the entire way.

Nala stayed close.

By the time Victor reached the main encampment, several guards noticed the unconscious girl over his shoulder.

None stopped him.

Victor entered the elevator.

The doors slid shut.

Only then did some of the tension finally leave his shoulders.

Lyra had done it.

The curse was gone.

She had broken into the Beast Soldier Realm.

Not only that—

She’d gone directly to Rank Two.

Victor looked at the unconscious girl resting against him.

A few months ago, she’d believed Rank Ten Tempered Beast was as far as she would ever go.

Now there was nothing above her except the next realm.

The elevator continued upward.

Victor smiled.

When they reached the upper levels, Victor carried Lyra all the way back to the apartment.

He opened the door and headed straight for the bed.

Carefully, he laid her down.

Nala flew onto the bed.

She curled up beside Lyra and pressed herself against her, keeping her warm.

Victor smiled.

"Don’t worry about her. She’ll be okay."

Nala gave a quiet chirp.

"She just needs time."

Victor pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat down.

For a moment, he simply watched her sleep.

Victor leaned back.

There was nothing else he could do right now.

So he closed his eyes.

Spiritual Energy began flowing through his body as he entered cultivation.