When Petra returned to the Tower Spider, Levy was already waiting. She took the exhausted Petra and the unconscious twins to the second floor for treatment.
As Levy treated Petra's wounds, the other girls all surrounded them in worry. Wind wanted to ask what had happened, but Levy stopped her and simply told them that Petra just needed to rest.
* * *
That night, Petra found herself standing in her Sea of Consciousness.
Her body was too weak to move, but her mind was ridiculously active.
Petra looked around, finding that her Inner Library had changed.
Surrounding her were thousands of butterflies. These black butterflies weren't the same as the Ethereal Echo Silverwing that she had contracted, instead, they seemed to be darkness elementals formed from the entirety of the Dark Stone Mine.
Even Petra found this hard to believe, but it was too difficult to dismiss when the truth was right in front of her. She held out her hand and allowed one of the butterflies to land on her fingertip.
Petra felt as if she could absorb these elementals in the same way that she could absorb the darkness element to cultivate. Despite that, she felt somewhat conflicted. These black butterflies were vaguely 'alive'. Petra may be heartless to her enemies, but there was something about extinguishing such a 'life' that made her uncomfortable.
Tock!
Just at that moment, something fell from the floor above her head.
Petra looked down to discover that a loose book had fallen from a distant shelf. The book split open to a page too specific for Petra to ignore, almost like it was beckoning her over.
Petra crouched down and looked.
This was a basic book on cultivation.
The page that had been 'accidentally' opened was all about a specific cultivation technique used by the elves. It was a basic technique that could barely be called anything more than common sense. Despite that, Petra's eyes flickered with enlightenment.
The book described how the elves would cultivate together with nature and create a mutually beneficial relationship with the forest. It was the equivalent of how plants on Earth created the oxygen humans needed to survive, and humans created the carbon dioxide that plants needed to survive.
Could she... build a forest of darkness in her head?
The thought flickered like a storm. This idea would become the core of Petra's future, the foundation that would tie her three pathways together perfectly.
In the end, Petra couldn't resist looking up. She wanted to see if whatever knocked down this book was still there. Unfortunately, when she looked, it was already too late.
Petra looked away.
She knew in her mind that she had things to do.
Tonight was going to be busy...
* * *
The next morning, Petra spontaneously broke through to the second realm of the Immortal Pathway, 'Foundation Establishment'.
With this, when needed, Petra barely needed to eat.
After getting out of bed, she immediately realised that her body felt much lighter. She seemed to almost glide on the air as she walked to the door.
Feeling good, Petra immediately wanted to go for a run, but the door was thrown open and the two twins rushed in. They crashed into Petra, knocking her down in a passionate hug.
Lilly and Luna cried, their suppressed emotions erupting together.
They were really worried!
The last thing they remembered was the dark stone pillar exploding and the world being engulfed in darkness. When they finally regained consciousness, it was the middle of the night, and they were told that Petra was injured.
Although happy, they were also extremely worried.
They were the only two to see what had happened, so they were also the only two who fully understood just what kind of 'corruption' Petra had been exposed to.
Seeing their little green-haired master safe, they were relieved.
-
Later in the day, Petra went out to stretch her legs.
The first person Petra ran into was Wind, who seemed to almost be waiting. She immediately commented that Petra seemed to be different.
"What's different?" Petra asked.
There was a pause.
Wind just shook her head. "I'm not sure, you just feel different."
Petra snorted, mistaking what Wind had felt for her improved cultivation. In reality, Wind was feeling the 'enlarged shadow' that Petra had begun to cast.
The two girls walked together, quickly finding their way to the third floor, where Wind had begun to build a navigation room.
As they walked, many of the worried maids greeted them with relief.
Although they were only together for a short few weeks, Petra had already started to build a real family with the many girls. She had become their cornerstone, an anchor that held them firmly together.
When they arrived, Wind began explaining their route.
Unlike the northern region, which had very few, but very long, roads, the central region was a complex network that spread out and crossed around, over, and under the many mountains in the Blackstone Mountain Range. Some paths were old and abandoned, often becoming the targets of bandits, while others were dilapidated and dangerous, too risky to use.
Wind had taken it upon herself to map out these paths and deduce the best possible way forward. By combining all the information that they had collected before entering the Blackstone Mountain Range, Wind mapped out the best possible paths.
She pushed the three maps to Petra, wanting her to choose their final path forward.
Petra looked at the complicated tangle of colourful lines and felt her mind spin.
* * *
The journey through the central region was long and arduous.
Petra sat in the small carriage with Lilly, Luna and Wind.
It began as an endless track through blackened mountains that rose and sank in unnatural waves, past deep ravines that had filled from the floods, and through territories plagued by hostile wildlife and unpredictable traps.
They stopped at four settlements along the way, three villages and one town.
The three villages were relatively normal, but the small town was built under a mountainous overhang. Their buildings dangled down and opened from the bottom, interconnecting with thick rope bridges that covered the cliffside and intertwined with the town's infrastructure.
Unlike the northern region, the locals here were more educated and often communicated with each other. This allowed Petra to better understand the surroundings and gave her an idea of what dangers may lie ahead in their journey.
Moving on, Petra began the next stage of their journey.
Once they passed through the outer ring of the central region, the mountains began to rise higher with each wave. Small forests and magical environments began to emerge amongst the volcanic desolation, tucked within the undiscovered cracks of the increasingly steep mountains.
The roads had evolved from crude and unpreserved pathways to something more actively maintained.
With each day that passed, as Petra drew closer to the Sky Tower, more travelers appeared along the road. People from every walk of life, ranging from hundreds of races, all converged as if part of a massive pilgrimage.
The settlements grew larger, and soon, even small cities started to block the path ahead.
Vibrant green grass started to appear across the land, and luminous life became increasingly common in its crevices. Petra encountered hundreds of species that had long been absent from her catalogue, each new finding filled her with an increasing excitement.
During this time, Petra passed through two more towns and two small cities. Unlike Sevensen, these cities were much smaller, only barely managing to hold onto that title.
As their altitude increased, the aftermath of the mass flooding became less apparent.
Soon, the path had tired into a painful climb, one that easily weeded out the weaker travellers.
Petra chose to retract the carriage, deciding to use the Tower Spider to make the rest of the journey.
The final leg of their journey was both the easiest and the hardest.
At this point, the Blackstone had begun to turn grey, and the greenery that surrounded the rising roads became abundant, livelier. Petra even saw her first plant spirit during one of their short stops.
It was a small green vine that would 'accidentally' slap attractive women on the butt when they passed by. Petra found this little guy because it slapped Wind, Levy, Nebula, and Rose… in a not-so-subtle way. The frustrated child demanded that it slap her too, but it resolutely refused, shaking its vine in disdain.
When she casually pointed out that Rose was, in fact, a 'guy', the little vine began to go through some kind of internal crisis.
After trapping the little bitch in a cage, Petra continued on.
The heavy mix of metallic smells that infested the air around the lower mountains began to disappear, leaving one refreshed and overwhelmed by the floral scents that drifted on the wind.
Ascending further, the air became purer, and the view became breathtaking. This was the last opportunity to take in the view of the vast world before passing through the clouds above.
Looking beyond the mountains, one would be struck by the awe-inspiring sight of the Cross Continent. It was an artistic masterpiece, one that called back a memory that Petra had once had. She remembered reading about Nebula's father, his legends, and his claim that this land was artificial, something created by him.
Regardless of such a thought and its hidden implications, it failed to take away from the current view.
The girls took a short rest, choosing to all gather in the central pavilion atop the Tower Spider. They sat together in the rooftop garden, eating and playing in a night of fun.
This was an unforgettable moment for many, one that would have been impossible at any other time.
A few more days of climbing allowed Petra and the Tower Spider to finally break through the cloud layer. The world below vanished beneath a vast, billowing sea of white clouds. Flocks of birds drifted through the sea of white like schools of fish, while monstrously large birds hunted like predatory whales.
The Blackstone had become white like marble, green grass blanketed the ground, and the growing forest completely covered the way ahead.
The road had changed from a steep climb to a laborious zigzag back and forth. The time it took to climb even a single mountain was now calculated in reversals, not time.
Fortunately, the Tower Spider didn't care about any of this.
Petra zoomed past the thousands of explorers, bypassing the road and its many entanglements, and arriving at the end of the pathway in record time.
The Tower Spider made what should have been a few days journey in only a few hours.
Soon, Petra arrived at the feet of the final mountain.
It was a massive mountain that ended in a vast, flat plateau. Its white marble-like shell flickered with countless golden birds. Vibrant forests wrapped around its body, and unending waterfalls cascaded down its curves. Standing tall atop its peak was an overwhelming nine-story tower, radiating a powerful magic that could be felt from far away. Majestic and awe-inspiring, the Sky Tower stood as an unrivaled legend to the strength of the human race.
Petra's eyes widened at this amazing creation. She, like all the other girls, couldn't pull their gaze away. Even Petra, who had witnessed countless virtual forms of 'paradise' back on Earth, found herself momentarily frozen.
Her little mouth gaped, and her big black eyes sparkled with an uncontrollable excitement.
The draconic emotions that were usually controlled began to bubble up.
Petra didn't know if it was greed, destruction, inspiration, or something else, but she could practically feel the fortune that lay just beyond the mountainous road. Her tiny mouth slowly rose into a mischievous grin, one that carried so much meaning that it could send a shiver down your spine.
The final stone road cut through the towering mountain, twisting and turning as it passed countless wonders hidden along its path. The Tower Spider advanced, ready to face whatever changes this grand Gathering would have.