Despite Jacob’s startling entrance, Matriarch Ephyra’s reaction was instantaneous.
A dozen runic arrays flared to life, weaving protective circles that converged upon Jacob like spears of radiant light.
But before they could even reach him, Jacob simply raised his skeletal hand, which was like jade, which was different from the Deathless Prince’s hand, and time froze!
However, it was still nothing; the next instant, the spells died mid-flight, their light extinguished like a candle flame, and then only silence remained.
Matriarch Ephyra’s eyes widened as her heartbeat faltered, for she could feel the suppression wasn’t just of mana but the law itself.
At this moment, she finally looked at Jacob with vigilance and dread before she breathed, her tone trembling between awe and dread, "Who might esteemed guest be? What business does someone like you have with our witch race?"
Hearing Matriarch Ephyra’s polite yet wary tone, Jacob’s reply was a whisper, calm as falling snow, "Someone who has no time for introductions. Hand me the Life Essence and all the knowledge of Witch Race!"
Matriarch Ephyra was startled when she heard Jacob’s demand as if he were collecting some debt. Still, she could only suppress her fury in front of an opponent like Jacob, who was both mysterious and unfathomable.
Nonetheless, she couldn’t just do as Jacob told her, so she replied while her hands clenched, "Sir, you are being unreasonable! The Life Essence belongs to the Life Faction, and the knowledge of the Witch Race is sacred. Even if you are an exalted Myth, the Queen herself must grant—"
Before she could finish, Jacob took a single step, and the dais beneath her shattered like glass!
The next instant, she found herself pinned midair, an invisible force gripping her entire being.
Even her soul totem quivered under the crushing pressure. Her runes tried to respond, to restore balance, but they faltered and were devoured by the law of Yin-Yang distortion spreading from Jacob’s hand.
"Your Queen isn’t here now, is she? Oh, and I don’t give a damn about the hollowed Life Faction..." Jacob said softly, his voice devoid of emotion. "However, you hold the key, so don’t waste my time unless you want this beautiful place to turn into a cemetery!"
Matriarch Ephyra’s eyes widened because she could feel Jacob’s killing intent behind his words, and she knew he meant every word that he just uttered.
For a long, suffocating moment, she resisted. Then, with a faint gasp, her resistance broke. From her trembling palm, a sigil of radiant green light emerged, spinning slowly before shattering into countless motes that converged into a shining emerald rune.
Jacob’s eyes flickered with a hint of satisfaction because it was a cosmic gateway mark.
The next moment, air behind her quivered, and a vast, circular mirror of living light opened, rippling with verdant energy; it was the Gateway to Verdantia Life Galaxy!
Not only that, but the gateway seemed to open at a specific location as the fragrance of seemingly endless vitality spilled forth; it was as if all creation exhaled at once.
Jacob’s sockets flickered with pale light as he glanced at Matriarch Ephyra meaningfully, and the latter showed a pleading expression.
"You chose well!" Jacob uttered before he raised his hand, and the essence threads from the open portal coiled toward him, responding like living rivers to a supreme command.
It was the Law Essence of Life, and it belonged to him!
’The Law of Life! It’s the law of life!’
It was a completely unexpected situation, even more so than Jacob controlling the law of Time and the unknown laws of Yin-Yang.
At that moment, Matriarch Ephyra knew that she might have avoided a calamity for Witch Race, and her decision to hand over the Life Essence without any resistance was a correct one.
Nonetheless, she watched helplessly, her lips trembling as the reality of the moment sank in. The Witch Race’s sanctuary, their holy galaxy, was being plundered by a being who seemed to stand beyond the laws she’d devoted her entire life to mastering.
Jacob gathered all the Life Essence without leaving behind a single drop and sent it back into the Infinite Space, where he had already arranged a location for it.
Once he was done, he turned slightly, his tone soft but final, "Your race will remain untouched, Matriarch. Be grateful for that."
Jacob didn’t need to ask where the witch’s knowledge was, not to mention he wasn’t just after the knowledge at this point. Since Matriarch Ephyra knew what was best for her and the witch race, Jacob knew she wouldn’t dare to fight back or do anything stupid.
The next moment, he vanished into the glowing gateway, leaving behind only silence and the faint scent of crushed dais, lingering like the memory of something sacred, defiled.
The force gripping Matriarch Ephyra also vanished, but her body instinctively trembled because she knew she had just escaped from the gates of hell.
At that moment, Jacob’s final words rang in her head, and she looked at the opened cosmic gateway with a complex yet frightful expression, "The entire legendary plains is in chaos, and now even our witch race is being targeted...O’ Sacred Mother, could it be an unavoidable calamity for myriad races?"
No one knew who she was praying to, but at that moment, she seemed like a helpless worshiper with nothing but her ’Lord’.
"I can only pray for your protection and hope for the betterment of your children..." Her muttering turned into weeping whispers.
However, neither Matriarch Ephyra nor Jacob noticed an invisible ripple within the Cosmic Gateway, for it appeared in an instant and then vanished without any trace, like a vague memory.
But the very next moment, something terrifying happened that was beyond Matriarch Ephyra’s expectations, and even beyond Jacob’s.
A speck of golden particle suddenly appeared right within the cosmic gateway, and it instantly turned into a golden radiance, releasing a mysterious and profound power beyond Legendary Plains.
Matriarch Ephyra finally felt it, but she couldn’t do anything, even if she were able to feel it, because her mind went blank as if that power couldn’t be comprehended by the likes of Matriarch Ephyra or even Quasi-Myths.
The next moment, the cosmic gateway blasted into countless light particles, meaning the cosmic gateway has been destroyed, which shouldn’t be possible unless someone claimed the Legendary Vestige!