8. A Powerful Being Sets in Motion

Her mind filled with confusion—a feeling she hadn't experienced in thousands of years. Her childlike figure hunched slightly as she momentarily lost control of her aura, letting it slip away.

Jennifer, in her pain, felt nothing. But in the outside world, dozens of magical beasts—each powerful enough to wipe out entire empires on their own—knelt in sheer terror. On the most distant islands, the inhabitants of the golden palaces, followers of Ylseia, powerful cultivators with a minimum rank of S, also fell to their knees and began praying frantically, hoping to appease their goddess's wrath. Even the sky turned golden for a moment.

That was—this was just—the involuntary aura of a single being, released in an instant.

"I… don't know what to say," Ylseia finally spoke. "Maybe you should have accepted when I offered to elevate your power back then."

She instantly realized she was rubbing salt in the wound. She wanted to take back her words, but Jennifer spoke first.

"You're right. I was confident I could surpass SSS rank on my own. If you had boosted my realm, I would have never gone beyond it. That's why I refused. But now… I truly realize how stupid and arrogant I was back then."

Ylseia blinked, realizing her friend had truly suffered a heavy blow—one strong enough to shake even her convictions.

"Listen, I'm not really sure what to say, but if you need my help with anything, I'm here. I read in a human book that's what friends say during hard times," she said, pulling out a book and pointing to a specific page.

Seeing it, Jennifer laughed, even as tears continued streaming down her face. "Thank you. Really, thank you. I need your help. Please, just this once."

"Of course! Ask away. Do you want the best psychologists in the universe for your daughter? Full protection against curses? Maybe angel's blood to heal the mind? Say the word, and it's yours," Ylseia promised with a proud expression.

For years, she had watched this woman face tribulations and overcome them alone, confronting countless trials head-on without ever backing down, never accepting her help. Jennifer had that kind of unyielding character, which often made Ylseia feel quite useless as a friend. Now that she was finally asking for her aid, she was excited to fulfill her role as a friend.

The book she read said that friends must support each other in times of trouble. She had never experienced it personally, but she knew they did things for one another when one was in a situation they couldn't overcome alone.

"No, that's not it. Anna is strong. She'll get through this and come out even stronger," Jennifer shook her head. "What I need is for you to find my son. He was transported to the Infinite Continent just minutes before the curse was broken. He'll survive—I'm sure of that. But I don't think he plans to return to Earth. Not after what I did to him. He believes he has nothing left there, no reason to come back."

"I don't know how long it will take for him to decide to return. I can't wait that long. I have to apologize to him. I need to tell him I love him and explain why I did what I did back then. I need to make up for lost time. You're the only one I know who could find him in this vast world."

Ylseia looked at her for a moment. The concept of love was something she had only read about in books. She knew she felt affection for Jennifer—but what kind of affection? Was it the affection of a friend? Or something closer to the familial bond the human had with her children? Or perhaps… was it love?

From what she knew, being in love meant not being able to stop thinking about the other person. And that was exactly what happened with Jennifer.

But setting her thoughts aside, she had to fulfill her role as a friend. She waved her hand, summoning hundreds of treasures filled with unimaginable amounts of energy. "Here. I'll find your son. In the meantime, start ranking up already. You don't want something like this to happen again."

She paused before adding, "And not accepting my power was a show of your conviction. Don't regret your choices—it wouldn't be fair to yourself."

Tears welled up in Jennifer's eyes as she pulled her friend into a tight embrace. The difference in height caused Ylseia's head to be buried between Jennifer's enormous melons—something the innate creature discovered she liked, just a little.

The hug lasted several minutes. Jennifer then remained in the wooden palace to cultivate, occasionally returning to spend time with her daughter and manage her guild, while Ylseia left the floating island archipelago for the first time in decades.

"Let's see…" She stretched her childlike arms and looked in a particular direction—the exact direction where a certain human, sharing the same lineage as her friend, was located.

"This bloodline-tracking technique sure is useful for the occasion. That vampire can actually do some useful things after all," she smirked smugly, thinking about being buried in those massive breasts again once she completed this task.

She wasn't sure why, but she had developed a fondness for those soft mounds of flesh. It confused her. The book she read hadn't mentioned anything like this. Perhaps she simply enjoyed being close to her friend… or maybe it was something entirely different.

Shrugging, she became a flash of golden light and, in an instant, vanished from existence, hurtling toward that presence at an unimaginable speed.