The scene changed.
Another Spell-born child appeared next to Elizabeth while the firstborn had grown into a cute girl.
‘Clara and Paul,’ Neo thought.
The scenes began to shift quickly.
Neo’s vision blurred for a moment before sharpening again.
He saw multiple events unfolding before him.
Elizabeth’s abnormal growth speed shocked her in-law family.
The obvious proof of her talent brought malice.
The in-laws were worried she would try to take revenge if she grew any more stronger.
But her husband and others had no choice than to let her go when she reached Empyrean rank.
‘Empyrean rank in five years after she awakened. That speed is far higher than the main cast,’ Neo thought. ‘It’s no wonder the in-laws tried to kill her before she got too strong.’
Normally, it took 30 to 50 years to reach the Empyrean rank.
This was with proper teaching and resources, something Elizabeth never received.
Neo’s surprise only increased as he watched the next scenes.
Elizabeth was returning to her country after the divorce.
The ship she traveled on creaked under the weight of the crashing waves. Dark clouds loomed overhead, and the salty scent of the ocean filled the air.
Suddenly, pirates attacked.
Their leader, a washed-up Exalted Demigod injured during a Blood Sea expedition, stepped forward.
His rugged appearance and menacing aura sent shivers down the spines of the crew.
Despite his injuries, he was far stronger than Elizabeth.
But just as all seemed lost, her twin sister appeared at the last second.
A dazzling light burst forth as she descended from the skies.
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She made quick work of the pirates and left as quickly as she arrived.
She left the replica of the Trident of Poseidon and her daughter, Amelia, into Elizabeth’s care before she disappeared, saying some very powerful enemies were chasing her.
The meeting with her sister was shocking.
It made Elizabeth realize something.
Elizabeth was weak.
She couldn’t protect herself, her country, or her children if she remained like that.
She needed to be stronger.
Elizabeth drowned herself in work after she returned to her country.
When she wasn’t training or handling the country’s administration, she was playing with her children.
Their laughter was the only respite from her exhausting routine.
As time passed, her reputation took a turn for the worse.
Tyrant, they called her
But it was fine..
Her children still loved her.
Their affection became her support.
Unbeknownst to her, a curse had been placed on her.
It remained dormant until one day it suddenly surged and nearly claimed her life.
If not for her ascension to peak Exalted rank, she would have died helplessly.
Elizabeth’s journey from Grade 5 Awakened to Grade 1 Exalted took roughly ten years.
It took others centuries to do the same.
She became known as the youngest person to become Exalted Demigod.
Her accomplishments shook the continent to its core.
However, combined with her tarnished reputation, it only brought more enemies to her doorstep.
Elizabeth had no time for such rumors.
She was too busy staving off the curse.
“It will be fine… as long as this time passes… we can finally have our happy family…” she whispered to herself.
The rebellion occurred.
Her children were trying to kill her.
“Haah…. Haah…”
Elizabeth, sitting on a chair within her room, felt like stones were being pushed into her lungs every time she took a breath.
Her trembling hands clutched the armrests.
She did not have much time left.
Was this how she was going to die?
Alone, betrayed and cursed by her children, mocked by her people.
A fitting end for a Tyrant, she thought.
Neo clenched his jaw as he watched the scene unfolding before his eyes.
In a few minutes, Paul, Elizabeth’s son, would enter the room.
Neo knew it as he had experienced the scene himself.
‘Dammit.’
Neo’s translucent soul was barely holding together.
He was about to shatter.
But his mind was focused on something else.
He had not been able to help Elizabeth at all.
‘Don’t… fuck… with me…,’ Neo thought, gritting his teeth.
His soul form flickered violently.
Since he was going to die, he would do it of his own choice.
By using his last moments to help Elizabeth.
“Hey,” Neo called out, forcing his body to move. “How are you?”
As if suddenly aware of his presence, Elizabeth turned to him.
Her dull, red eyes struggled to focus.
Her expression was a mix of confusion and faint recognition.
“Who are you….?” she asked.
‘She doesn’t recognize me in dreams,’ Neo realized.
It was probably due to how Neo looked—a half-translucent, half-flickering figure of light.
‘It’s a good opportunity,’ he thought.
His lips curled into a faint, determined smile, despite the pain he was going through.
“I’m your guardian fairy,” he said.
“But you sound like a man,” Elizabeth muttered. “I thought fairies…. were female?”
Her mind must’ve been in too much chaos and pain if she was starting to make jokes.
Or the curse was starting to affect her mind and gnawing at her sanity.
“But….” She continued. “I think I remember seeing you when I was a kid and when…”
Elizabeth stopped speaking.
Talking was taking a huge toll on her.
She tried to open her eyes forcefully to see how her ‘guardian fairy’ looked.
He appeared as a humanoid form of light, flickering and incomplete.
A light that was apparently a fairy but sounded like a man for some reason.
Elizabeth chuckled.
The dim light from the candle on the nearby table cast flickering shadows across her gaunt face, making her smile seem both weary and bittersweet.
“Are you here to tell me it’s my time to die?” she asked.
“No.”
The light—Neo—kneeled before her and held her hands gently.
Moving and physically touching Elizabeth increased the pressure crushing him by a hundred folds.
“It’s not your time to die,” he said, trying to hold himself together for as long as possible.
“Why not?” She took a labored breath before continuing. “I’m not going to live…. more than a few hours.”
“You will live.”
“Can… you… promise me that, guardian fairy?”
“Yes.”
Perhaps sensing the absolute certainty in the fairy’s words, Elizabeth smiled.
The dream froze and the world turned black.
“What happened—”
Neo’s words were cut off and his soul form shattered.
He woke up in his physical body, drenched in sweat.
“I’m… alive?’
He looked at his trembling hands.
‘Seems like damage to the soul form isn’t the same as death. Urgh.”
He winced and grabbed his head.
The dull throb quickly escalated into searing pain.
He felt as if his mind was being torn apart and stabbed with needles.
[Empathic Bond, Grade 1]
﹂Progress: 98% → 100%
[Empathic Bond has been mastered.]
[Four Evolution Pathways unlocked.]
More screens appeared, their light illuminating the dark room briefly.
[Primogenitor, Grade 1]
﹂Progress: 98% → 100%
[Primogenitor has been mastered.]
[Four Evolution Pathways unlocked.]
Neo frowned.
‘The skill progress increased.’
‘Does this mean I was able to influence her emotions?’
He tried to ignore the pounding headache and looked over at Elizabeth with his skill.
Her mental defenses protected her mind, but they no longer attacked him aggressively like before.
‘Seems like her nightmare stopped,’ he thought.
His gaze softened as he observed her sleeping form.