Nari’s voice had already come from behind:
"Child, you’re preparing to leave, aren’t you?"
Her perception was incredibly sharp, having long detected the turmoil in his heart.
Countless tendrils slowly extended from every corner of the palace, gently wrapping around Ron.
"Yes, Mother..."
Ron did not evade:
"I need to return to the Main World for quite some time. There are important matters that must be dealt with, possibly requiring half a year, if not longer."
Although mentally prepared, Nari’s tendrils trembled uncontrollably.
Hundreds of eyes, varying in size, grew dimmer, losing their previous brightness.
The temperature of the surrounding seawater dropped sharply due to her emotional fluctuations.
Some sensitive Abyssal Creatures, feeling the sorrow emanating from the depths of their souls, began to swim away uneasily.
Even those beautiful luminescent corals seemed to sense something, their glow weakening.
"So long..."
Nari’s voice became extremely faint, as if it took all her strength to utter these words:
"Longer... longer than the last time you left..."
Her tendrils instinctively tightened, holding Ron even closer.
The force was enough to crush steel, yet it turned gentle as the wind upon touching Ron’s body.
Her emotional expression was extremely contradictory at this moment.
She wanted to hold tightly, yet feared harming her beloved.
"I need to complete the breakthrough to Moonlight Level Mage..."
Ron reached out to gently stroke the tendrils surrounding him, feeling the slight tremors at his fingertips:
"And I have to help an important friend treat an ailment; these are not tasks that can be completed in a short time."
Nari was silent for a long time.
Countless tendrils curled up like wounded animals, then reluctantly extended again.
"Mother understands..."
After a while, her voice sounded once more:
"Children eventually have to grow... Mother’s role should not... should not be to hinder your progress..."
As her thoughts spread, Nari’s concerns shifted to more realistic matters:
"Moreover, this time things have completely fallen out with that old coot Maggs... his true form, and the other Supreme Apostles..."
She sighed softly: "They will surely unite..."
"This is also my concern."
Ron’s expression turned serious, a glint of coldness flashing in his eyes:
"That’s why I hope you can also continue to grow stronger while I’m away, as defeating Maggs’ avatar this time has surely startled the snake in the grass."
He paused, his tone growing more solemn:
"Maggs’ main body will undoubtedly inform the other Supreme Apostles about the arena incident; they won’t stand idly by as an unpredictable variable develops."
Ron was worried that after his departure, Nari might either sleep soundly or retreat to deeper layers of the Abyss, using the time dilation there to quickly exhaust the precious growth period.
These words stirred Nari’s maternal instincts to triumph over the sorrow of separation, igniting a fierce flame in her hundreds of eyes:
"Mother understands!"
Her voice regained firmness, and her tendrils began emitting a dangerous aura:
"Mother will grow stronger, strong enough to protect our home, strong enough to instill fear in any enemy daring to threaten your safety!"
As she said this, she suddenly changed her tone:
"However, Mother is not entirely unprepared. There are some things it’s time to tell you."
"What do you mean?"
Ron keenly detected the change in Nari’s tone, his curiosity piqued.
Since they’d known each other, this Innate Apostle had always been shrouded in a certain mystery.
Her source of power, her true identity, her connection with other Abyssal entities... these questions had never been clearly answered.
"Child, Mother wants to tell you a secret."
Nari’s voice turned solemn:
"The reason I’m an innate Chaos, and possess such formidable power... is because I was personally conceived by ’Her’."
"’Her’?"
"The ’Mother’ of the Abyss."
Upon hearing this title, Ron’s heart skipped a beat.
He recalled the open conversation between Maggs and Nas in the first half of the arena.
That mysterious ’Mother’ who stood on par with the ’Four Cornerstones’? A terrifying existence even revered by Supreme Apostles, turned out to be Nari’s... creator?
"Are you saying..." He asked, somewhat incredulously:
"You are the direct descendant of ’Mother’?"
"You could say that."
Nari’s tendrils swayed gently in the water, conveying a hint of uncertainty:
"Mother is an awareness shard that ’Mother’ accidentally produced during her long slumber, inheriting part of ’Her’ essence.
I seemed to have some predecessors who died early; you should have heard of them."
She paused, her eyes showing complex emotions:
"That’s why Mother has always been so... solitary.
While Mother sleeps, other beings are deterred from approaching Mother’s chaotic nature."
Ron listened quietly, gaining a deeper understanding of Nari’s plight.
An entity with a terrifying lineage, yet unable to gain true wisdom due to her chaotic nature, leading a solitary existence over long years.
Until meeting him, for the first time experiencing genuine emotional connections.
"But recently, Mother has sensed some changes."
Nari’s voice deepened:
"With the acquisition of reason, my connection with ’Mother’ is gradually restoring.