Chapter 18: Absolute Rule
Inside the small room, the Fiery Empress, wearing the mask, stood calmly in front of Miguel.
Miguel has long been curious about this beauty that was rewarded by the System.
He circled around her and observed her carefully.
She was as tall as him, standing around 1.80 meters in height.
She was wearing a gorgeous red dress that accentuated the curve on her waist. Her long, slender white legs were visible through the thigh-high peekaboo slit on the right side of the dress. She was wearing a pair of red-black strappy sandals that highlighted her long, slender legs even more.
Her origins were not a mystery and were provided by the description in the grimoire. According to it, the Fiery Empress' Aaliyah was a talented woman in the Red Clan who fell and died early due to an inside conspiracy and conflict in her clan.
However, what Miguel could not understand was how the system managed to somehow revive her even though she died long ago. Although technically she was in a different 'form', being revived through space and time was still a mystical thing, just like the case of his transmigration.
Even after reaching the peak of studying and cultivating the Heavenly Dao, even Miguel from his previous life still had not fully grasped this kind of universal wonder.
Reincarnation, transmigrating through space and time, reincarnation, and being revived were just some of the many wonders in the universe that many would not be able to fully understand.
Was it because he was still weak?
No. Miguel had definitely reached the peak of cultivation prowess in his previous life. He had also seen a fair share of people who cultivated time, space, and other mysterious elements such as life and death.
The Necromancer's that can revive the dead, and the Angels that can revive those who died in a short period of time. Both of these two powers have their own weaknesses and shortcomings.
However, the case for Aaliyah was clearly different. It seemed like a perfect revival. It was not as simple as the revivals he had seen in his previous life.
He had reached a ceiling in strength that could not be surmounted by just talent and hard work alone. This ceiling was all around the universe. He felt that, in order for him to break through, he must first escape the shackle of the universe.
He felt it at that time.
He needs a catalyst to break through to the highest level. Hence, the idea of creating a new form of more powerful energy was born inside him.
There were laws concerning such broad topics as life and death in his previous life. He had also dabbled in it and was even considered an expert on the field.
However, understanding the topic doesn't mean that he would be able to apply and use it. When he tried to revive someone before, all he created was the corpse of that someone. The soul has long been lost through space and time. This was also the reason why the Angels and the other Holy Race could only revive those who had died not too long ago.
Rule and Order.
Miguel believed that the universe existed along with rule and order, or the so-called laws and authorities.
The life and death of an individual was a rule that any cultivator, strong or weak, should not meddle. They can study and understand it, but they won't be able to make full use of it.
This was an Absolute Rule.
He felt that only the Heavenly Dao, or whatever it was controlling the rule and order of the universe, had authority over these kinds of things.
'This system... Just how powerful is it, and just how high is its authority in these kinds of rules? '
Miguel shook his head with a smile as he discarded his useless thoughts.
He focused on observing Aaliyah.
Miguel stood in front of her unmoving figure, staring right into her bright red eyes.
Aaliyah stood unmoving, as though not bothered by his gaze. She remained standing, staring in front as though in a daze.
Miguel lifted his hands towards her face, tracing her smooth chin and cheek.
His hands lifted the mask away, revealing Aaliyah's stunning face in the process.
This was the first time that Miguel had seen Aaliyah's face in real life.
"How beautiful!" he praised softly as he caressed her cheek.
The ethereal mark on her forehead glowed for a moment before it returned to normal.
Aaliyah still seemed unbothered and allowed him to do as he pleased.
Contrary to her fiery powers, her expression was actually cold and detached. Underneath her cold expression, Miguel knew there was a seething hatred and rage that needed to be quenched.
Miguel smiled as he put her mask back on, covering the upper part of her face, only revealing her lower cheek and chin as well as her red, supple lips.
He extended his hands towards hers and said, "Please take care of me from now on."
Even his jet-black grimoire has its own emotion. Miguel did not believe that she didn't have her own.
She was his Innate Beast and would basically not betray him.
However, he knew that it was still better to appease than to neglect her.
He had already experienced a lot of betrayal in his previous life, some of them so unlikely that he felt devastated upon knowing.
The latest betrayal took a toll on him.
The Harem Emperor was someone he had raised since he was young. He created a special dual-cultivating technique for him, as his talent was not enough to stand beside him.
The Harem Emperor was the person he thought wouldn't betray him. However, it still happened in the end.
Of course, as usual, Miguel won't be caught up with things like betrayal anymore. He will have his revenge, of course.
He could understand Aaliyah's emotions. She was also betrayed by the internal conflict and conspiracy in her clan and wanted to take revenge.
Both of them, who experienced betrayal and were unwilling to fully trust another person anymore, were now bound together by an Absolute Rule of the grimoire.
An Innate Beast could not betray its master. It will follow the master through thick and thin, joy and pain, until death do them apart.
This was an Absolute Rule.
Aaliyah looked down and looked at Miguel's extended hand.
She could feel the sincerity behind his actions and words.
Her unmoving hand slowly lifted up, meeting Miguel's hands in mid-air.
The moment her hand came into contact with his, she raised her head once more and stared straight into Miguel's eyes.
"Thank you!" Her lips moved as a soothing voice was heard by Miguel.
The ethereal mark on her forehead glowed in resplendent light but was blocked by the mask.
Only simple words escaped her mouth, but tears started to well in her eyes at the next moment, threatening to fall at any time.
However, before it could fall and be seen by Miguel, Aaliyah transformed into a streak of light as she traveled back to the grimoire in haste.
Through simple but sincere actions, the feelings were conveyed as the Innate Beast and the Master connected through their emotions.
Miguel shook his head and unsummoned the grimoire back to his inner world.