Several Minutes Ago.
The Lords’ Meeting Room was covered in silence.
The only sound inside the massive hall came from the livestream screens floating above the circular table. Flickers of light reflected across the faces of the Lords as they watched the battle continue inside the Great Dungeon.
No one spoke for several moments.
Even the Third Priest, who usually ignored everything unrelated to the World Tree, was staring at the screen with narrowed eyes.
"Lady Emily seems to be a Royal of a powerful Apex Species," Lord Sisyphus finally said.
Isaac smiled faintly after hearing that.
Lady Emily.
The fact that all of them had naturally started calling Emily that already revealed their conclusions. None of them believed Emily herself was simply an Apex species anymore.
They believed she was a Royal.
And in many ways, that status carried more weight than the species itself.
In the distant past, entire races possessed Apex-rank bloodlines. Those races stood above low, mid, and high rank species the same way nobility stood above commoners. Their population was smaller, but their individual strength was terrifying.
Yet even among those Apex races, another category existed.
[Royal].
Royals possessed the purest bloodlines in their species. They were rulers, inheritors, and monsters born with authority engraved into their existence.
"I’m happy to hear your praises, but Emily simply possesses a powerful artifact," Isaac said humbly.
Lord Qizhal immediately shook his head.
"Even with a powerful artifact, this level of taming ability is abnormal. I would assume the artifact has restrictions. Probability limits, affinity requirements, or perhaps compatibility conditions." His colorful feathers shifted slightly as he leaned forward with interest. "The fact that she is succeeding with every taming attempt says her affinity with it is extraordinarily high. The chances of her being a Royal are very high."
The room became slightly awkward afterward.
Several Lords glanced at Lord Qizhal with strange expressions.
What he said was correct, but openly analyzing someone else’s secrets like that was still rude.
Especially during a political gathering.
Lord Qizhal suddenly froze before his eyes widened.
"Ah. I apologize, Lord Isaac." He gave an embarrassed cough. "I wasn’t trying to pry into Lady Emily’s origins. As a Beast Tamer myself, I simply became excited seeing someone like her."
"I understand," Isaac replied with a smile.
Lord Qizhal visibly relaxed afterward.
Among the Lords present, he was one of the youngest, second only to Isaac himself. His species, the [Seven Color Qil], resembled giant birds with beautiful seven-colored feathers and long triple tails. Even while sitting calmly, his body emitted faint rainbow-colored light.
Most of the military forces in his City specialized in beast taming and summon warfare, so Emily’s existence naturally fascinated him more than anyone else present.
The moment Isaac showed no anger, Lord Qizhal immediately started talking again.
"Did Lady Emily always possess this kind of affinity? Or did it awaken later? Ah, and her summons—"
"Lord," a tired voice interrupted from behind him.
Lord Qizhal ignored the voice and continued.
Yelen sighed while rubbing her forehead.
The tall minotaur woman standing behind Qizhal looked completely used to this situation already.
Normally, she would have stopped her Lord before he embarrassed himself further, but Emily’s abilities were too shocking for someone like Qizhal. Yelen knew there was no point trying to stop him right now.
For a Beast Tamer Lord, Emily was basically a living myth.
She silently decided to tolerate it this once.
The other Lords returned their attention to the livestreams.
Several teams were still fighting inside the Great Dungeon, but everyone’s gaze kept drifting back toward Isaac’s team.
Emily alone was already enough to shake common sense.
But Alice was becoming another problem entirely.
At first, the Lords had only considered her unique because she was a Saintess. Later, they learned she possessed dragon blood, which already made her exceptional.
However, the current battle was displaying something else entirely.
Something none of them understood.
"I thought Saintess Alice was still an Adept. How is she already capable of Dragon Transformation?" Lord Fafnir muttered while staring at the screen.
Isaac only smiled quietly.
He had no intention of explaining.
On the screen, the battle against the Mistborns continued.
Alice moved through the battlefield with frightening speed, dragon scales spreading across parts of her body while golden flames burst around her attacks. The Mistborns retaliated with coordinated assaults from multiple directions, forcing her back several times.
Isaac’s brows slowly furrowed when he saw Alice get injured.
The wound could be healed. But he still disliked seeing her wounded.
Moments later, Emily retaliated violently on Alice’s behalf, overwhelming several Mistborns with brutal force. Yet Alice herself quickly stopped her from going too far, saying there was no reason to become angry since everyone was simply fighting seriously in a competition.
Isaac understood Alice’s logic.
However, Isaac was just like Emily. He hated watching Alice or anyone else in his family getting hurt.
The Mistborns had done what was reasonable. They targeted the strongest threat first and attempted to eliminate her before she could snowball further.
It was the correct tactical decision.
Alice intervened and stopped them from reaching Emily. The ensuing battle led to her injuries.
All of it was normal for a competition.
Isaac still hated it.
A quiet realization surfaced in his mind.
’I really am becoming obsessive over my wives.’
His gaze shifted toward the Lord of Mists.
Bella.
He wasn’t going to get angry openly. Only fools would do that, and Alice wouldn’t like it. Instead, he would make them bleed resources.
Professor Catherine had previously provided him information regarding every Lord participating in the gathering. Isaac originally intended to use that information later to slowly build connections and goodwill.
Now, he had other ideas.
But since Mistborns made a move against him first—even if it was logical, it was for their own profit—it only made sense Isaac would retaliate for his own satisfaction and profit.
As if sensing his gaze, Bella suddenly spoke.
"I hope Lord Isaac isn’t angry about the ambushes. It is a competition, after all. Everyone understands how dangerous Lady Emily can become if left alone. Since we wanted victory, targeting her first was simply the logical choice," she said calmly.
"Lord Bella doesn’t need to explain herself. Of course I understand. Competitions are meant to be fought seriously." Isaac smiled politely.
The surrounding Lords quietly observed both of them.
Bella’s calmness was impressive and normal.
Her team had just suffered a humiliating defeat against an Adept-ranked group, yet she still maintained a composed and gentle attitude. She even chose to speak first to smooth over potential conflict.
That level of political awareness was expected from an experienced Lord.
At the same time, Isaac’s reaction felt equally dangerous.
Most young Lords would have shown at least some visible displeasure. Others might have openly denied being upset while still revealing irritation through their expressions.
Isaac showed nothing.
That alone made several people more cautious of him.
Someone who rose this quickly while gathering monsters like Emily and Alice around him could not possibly be naïve.
Most likely, he was simply hiding his thoughts better than expected.
Bella herself seemed to understand that.
Her eyes lingered on Isaac for a brief moment before she slowly stood from her floating chair.
"Please excuse me. I should meet with my subordinates. They should have returned to the entrance by now," she said.
The Mistborn team had been eliminated from the Great Dungeon already. They would be appearing at the entrance soon.
"I will escort you," Isaac said as he stood up as well.
Several gazes immediately followed the two of them.
Bella paused briefly before saying gently, "You are too courteous, Lord Isaac."
"It would be rude of me not to," Isaac replied.
Bella chuckled faintly after hearing that and continued drifting forward beside him.
The two left the meeting room together and entered the long corridors outside. The atmosphere there was much quieter compared to the gathering hall. Guards stood in the distance while servants occasionally passed by, but no one approached the two Lords.
For the first few minutes, they simply exchanged casual conversation.
Bella spoke about the remaining tournament teams while Isaac lightly commented on the performance of several troops. Neither of them mentioned the ambush directly again.
At some point during their walk, Isaac quietly opened his Mirror Dimension.
The transparent distortion spread through the corridor without causing any disturbance. Space folded over itself before silently isolating the surrounding area from the outside world.
Bella noticed immediately. But she did not resist.
Her voice remained calm as she continued floating beside Isaac as if nothing had happened.
Only after several more moments did she finally glance toward him.
"So, why did Lord Isaac open a Mirror Dimension? Are you truly that angry about the ambushes?" ," Bella asked casually.
"Hardly."
Isaac chuckled softly and shook his head.
"I actually wanted to discuss a partnership with Lord Bella. Since it involves a somewhat sensitive topic, I believed privacy would be better."
"A partnership?"
She seemed curious.
The two continued walking through the silent corridor inside the isolated dimension.
"What sort of partnership?" she asked.
"I once heard a story about the Mistborns. Thousands of years ago, when the Apocalypse descended, a Great One fell in battle," he said, changing the topic instead of answering.
Bella quietly listened.
"As he died, miracles supposedly occurred around his corpse. His veins became Ley Lines. His corpse formed the Mourning Frost Mountains. His blood burned away the White Parasitic Tree forests in the north and east, creating what is now known as the Endless Nightmare Desert. And his final breath.... became a cyclone."
Isaac looked toward Bella while continuing calmly.
"That cyclone still exists today. It contains immense power. Every year, new winds are born from it. Those winds possess consciousness, and they eventually become Mistborns. The cyclone protects them like a mother. It protected them before the Steam Suits existed, and it still protects them now."
"Indeed. that story is well known among our people," Bella replied after a brief silence.
No one truly knew whether the legend about the Great One was real.
But the cyclone itself absolutely existed.
It was called the [Breath of Life].
Every year during the first month, new Mistborns were born from it. Those born on the same day considered each other siblings regardless of status or strength.
The prominent religion in Mistborns’ City itself revolved heavily around the cyclone.
Many of them believed death was not true destruction. They believed they did not dissipate into air, and instead their consciousness returned to the Breath of Life after death before eventually being born once more.
Reincarnation.
A cycle of endless return.
Isaac suddenly stopped walking.
"It’s not true," he said calmly.
Bella froze slightly.
"The cyclone is not some natural miracle created by a dead Great One. It is an Ascender." Isaac slowly turned toward her.
For the first time since leaving the meeting room, Bella’s calmness cracked.
"A powerful Ascender is protecting the [Ten Thousand Life Ginseng] hidden within the cyclone. The plant itself possesses life and consciousness. The Mistborns are born from its breath," he finished.
Silence spread through the corridor.
Bella completely stopped moving.
She gazed at Isaac with visible shock.
That secret was the foundation of the Mistborn tribe.
Only the ruling Lord of each generation knew the complete truth behind the Breath of Life.
Even among high-ranking Mistborn officials, almost nobody knew about the Ascender or the Ten Thousand Life Ginseng.
Yet Isaac spoke about it casually.
As if he had personally seen it.
"How..." Bella’s voice lowered slightly. "Where did you hear that?"
"I have my sources." Isaac smiled lightly.
Bella continued staring at him silently.
Inside her mind, countless thoughts flashed rapidly.
Ascenders were not ordinary existences.
They were beings who had successfully entered the Tower of Heaven and Hell after clearing Great Dungeons. That tower—the enormous pillar of light visible from every region of the world—was considered sacred even among Lords.
Very few people could step inside it.
Even fewer survived.
Every Ascender was a mythical figure capable of changing the fate of entire Cities alone.
The Emperor of Florathi himself was an Ascender.