Neo had a dumbfounded expression.
"She wants to kill me?"
"Yes," Leonora replied with a bitter smile. "She thinks you killed Kendrick and wants revenge."
"But I reincarnated him. That was what he wanted too."
"Gwen doesn't know that," Leonora said softly.
In Gwen's eyes, Neo had killed Kendrick brutally.
Her anger was justified in her mind.
Leonora noticed Neo's troubled expression.
She reached out and patted his back sympathetically.
"It's better if you don't meet Gwen now. She… well, she is quite motivated about her revenge."
Neo sighed and nodded slowly.
"I doubt she will listen to you if you tell her that you didn't kill Kendrick," Leonora added.
"That sounds about right," Neo admitted.
Leonora immediately spoke enthusiastically, trying to lighten the mood before it could worsen.
"Don't worry! I will try to tell her that you might've helped Kendrick pass on, instead of killing him.
"It's better to change her mind over time than to try to do it abruptly."
It seemed he would have to postpone meeting Gwen and asking her if she wanted to be resurrected.
Listening to Leonora, though, made it clear Gwen had no intention of resurrection—revenge or not.
The duo talked for a long while.
A faint chill lingered in the air, making Leonora pull her cloak tighter around herself as she laughed softly.
She began to narrate her experiences in the Underworld.
"Underworld was quite surprising," she said.
Her voice was light and melodious.
"The amount of dark energies in the Underworld is too high.
"Anyone who comes here turns into a monster.
"Only those with high mastery in Dark-type elements or Holy or Light elements are somewhat immune to monsterization."
Neo glanced at her horns with a side eye while she was not paying attention.
"I do have the Holy element, but when I came here, my mastery was barely Apprentice rank.
"If I didn't find a unique breathing technique, I might've become a monster by now," she explained.
"Unique breathing technique?" Neo questioned.
"Yes," Leonora replied. "My breathing technique turns all the dark-type elements I breathe into physical substance. These horns…"
She gestured to the curved, black horns atop her head.
"These are the impurities everyone breathes in the Underworld. I just turned them into these."
It seemed a Grim Reaper had recognized her talent and decided to invest in her. They must've given the breathing technique to her.
"Seems like you are lucky. It wouldn't take long before a Grim Reaper takes you in as their disciple."
She looked him in the eye.
"How did you become a Grim Reaper? I thought Grim Reapers all had Expert mastery in their main elements at the minimum?"
The last meeting between Leonora and Neo was a few weeks ago.
Back then, Neo's rank had been an Awakened Demigod.
On average, elemental mastery was harder to gain than ranking up.
By the time one reached Expert mastery in an element, they would typically be Paragon Demigods.
But Neo was only an Awakened Demigod. Mythic, if Leonora gave him the benefit of the doubt.
Neo's lips curved into a slight grin.
"I'm an Empyrean now."
"That explains how you are… Wait, you are what rank?"
Her eyes widened momentarily before she looked him up and down.
Then, with a sigh, she waved a hand dismissively.
"Forget it. I don't want to know how you did it. I feel like it will give me a headache."
Neo chuckled at her very "Leonora-like" response.
They talked a bit more before he decided it was time to leave.
"See you later," he said.
"Bye." Leonora waved, her horns catching the light once more as she smiled. "And don't worry about Gwen. I'll talk to her."
Neo nodded and left the Solace City.
The cool breeze of the forest greeted him as he stepped out of the city's gates.
The dense canopy of leaves overhead cast dappled shadows on the dirt path below.
The faint chirping of birds echoed in the distance, mingling with the rustling of leaves.
"Now that I'm done with this, it's time I focus on my Life and Holy elements," Neo muttered to himself.
He walked through the forest, deep in thought.
"Not just my elements, I need to rank up my traits, train to increase my stats, and focus on other elements too."
A frown tugged at his lips as he cocked his head.
Funnily enough, after returning from the Shadow Trial, Neo was starting to feel an itch.
This world was safe. For now at least.
But it made Neo restless.
He didn't want the embrace of safety.
It was when he was pushed to his limits that he grew fastest.
He enjoyed that feeling.
"If I can go somewhere I can find a lot of strong enemies, it would be best.
"I can use True Darkness to gain their talents, stats, traits and elemental mastery, and I will be able to fight to my heart's content while doing it.
"But, since my luck is dogshit, I need to devour a lot of beings to get what I want."
Neo stopped as he weighed his options.
He needed a place with countless powerful enemies, all of them Paragons at least.
Weak opponents wouldn't give him anything.
"Dammit, a place like that isn't easy to find. Paragons aren't leaves that grow on trees," he muttered bitterly.
He sighed deeply, his breath misting in the cool air.
"Seems like I can only focus on Holy and Life elements for now and train other elements later."
As his steps brought him closer to the edge of the forest, another idea struck him.
There was another option if Neo wanted to train everything at once.
"Maybe Dad would know of a good place," he murmured.
After days of travel, the dense canopy of the forest gave way to an open, sandy beach.
The sound of crashing waves filled the air.
Neo stepped onto the beach, his feet sinking slightly into the grainy, blank sand.
The Blood Sea stretched before him.
Its crimson waters churned and glistened endlessly.
The Blood Sea was a unique phenomenon, existing both in the world of the living and the Underworld.
Unlike in the world of the living—where a single supercontinent existed at its center—the Underworld's Blood Sea was dotted with multiple small continents and countless islands.
The Forest of All Beginnings was one of these continents.
Far across the sea lay Styxhaven, the continent where the Monarch, Hades, resided.
Styxhaven was also home to the Jury of End, the sacred place where all souls were judged.
Neo's eyes flickered as he thought of the powerful forces residing there.
Normally, anyone wishing to cross the Blood Sea would need to board the Nether Ships.
They were ghostly vessels that ferried travelers –dead and the living alike – across the perilous waters of Blood Sea.
However, they were slow.
It would take months to travel using Nether Ships.
He had a better method.
"Veldora Elowyn Starfall."
A powerful roar ripped through the forest, shaking the very earth beneath Neo's feet.
Birds—if they could be called that, with their shadowy forms and glowing black eyes—took flight, screeching in fear.
The winds howled violently, tearing through the dense canopy above.
Leaves swirled in a chaotic dance, and the ground trembled.
The distant Blood Sea churned wildly.
Its crimson waves crashed against the sandy shore in a frenzy.
The sky darkened further, as if bowing to the arrival of something truly monumental.
From the horizon, a massive, gleaming figure shot through the air with terrifying speed.
The ancient dragon, Veldora, descended upon the forest.
Its scales shimmered like liquid obsidian, each one etched with faint, glowing runes.
Its read eyes burned with intelligence as it locked onto Neo.
The dragon's presence was suffocating.
From Paragon rank onward, one became a special existence.
It was not simply an increase in stats and skills.
It was an evolution of 'existence'.
One's very essence ascended to a higher plane of existence when they reached the Paragon rank and above.
Many changes followed after reaching such heights.
One of the most notable was the 'True Name.'
The names of Paragon Demigods—and Stage 1 Gods—held unique power.
Simply uttering their true name could alert them of the fact that someone was talking about them.
For Exalted Demigods, and Stage 2 Gods, the power of their True Name was even more terrifying.
Unless you were at least Paragon rank yourself, you couldn't hear the True Name of an Exalted Demigod and Stage-2 Gods.
If you somehow managed to hear it, you would die.
You would be crushed under the weight of their existence.