Elysia covered her mouth, surprised by what suddenly came out of her mouth. She said that subconsciously, and now she was wondering about the four-pointed star crystal in front of her.
At a glance, the color of the star rainbow aurora was similar to the Avrora Crystal she found in Avrora Forest. However, this one was bigger and exuded a holy, sacred aura.
Elysia stepped closer and extended her hand to the star after mustering her courage. However, a golden letter suddenly appeared on the crystal star.
[Receive the little gift. It's not the time for us to cross paths. Get out of here at once.]
"Hmm?" Elysia asked in wonder what the writing meant.
She was completely unaware that a colorless angelic halo sparkling with rainbow aurora light appeared above her head. The four corners of the star protruded from each side, and it formed like a shuriken.
*Poof*
Elysia returned to her group, and the time went back to normal.
"Ely, why are you pensive?" Elena asked confusedly.
Elysia looked at the passage ahead with some consideration, then sighed. "Something invited me there, but it doesn't want us to be here. Let's leave."
"???" Elena and the others stared at each other as she had no idea what Elysia had just seen. Even so, they quickly followed Elysia without asking and exited the ice passage.
*Crackle* *Crackle*
The entrance froze and was sealed right after everyone left.
"I already said that, right? That place isn't something you can handle." Lixue harrumphed as if he had predicted everything.
'Ely, there's something transparent floating above your head.' Elena glanced above Elysia's head and examined it.
'Eh?' Elysia glanced up and found a transparent item there. She tried to hold it, but she couldn't touch it. 'Could this hello be the mentioned gift?'
After saying that, Elysia shared a story about what she experienced in the ice passage.
'You encountered an ancient divine artifact, master. It gave you a gift for an unknown reason, but let's assume it has its own goals. However, it doesn't want to meet us yet?' Rhea contemplated the piece of information from Elysia.
'Anyhow, you look like an angel in disguise now, Ely. Can't we do anything about this?' Ai tried to hold Elysia's transparent halo, but she could only feel it, not touch it.
'Another time stop, huh. This is an overpowered skill for one entity to possess.' Elena bit her nail. She felt that ability was too broken.
'Hmm~' Elysia tried to channel a bit of magical energy into the halo above her head, and it gradually regained rainbow aurora color.
She then summoned her chakram artifact and made it float behind her back. Dozens of aurora blades were stuck there, exuding the aura of a divine weapon.
"They do look alike. The aurora halo and the blades..." Elysia compared the objects and confirmed the truth.
*Sparkle* *Sparkle*
"Hmm?" Elysia saw a gem floating down from her halo mysteriously. It looked exactly like the Primordial Star but only half the size of a little finger.
"A gem? The mini version of Primordial Star? What does that divine halo artifact want from us?" Elena squinted her eyes.
"This halo has just finished taking shape. It's just a gem floating in the middle. Let's call it the Primordial Gem." Elysia felt that the gem was not simple, but she didn't know what secrets were hidden there. That gem then flew back to its original place in the middle of the four-pointed star halo.
"Primo Gem?" Ai observed the four-pointed star gem.
"What kind of thing is that? You have quite a number of divine artifacts... No wonder you are so confident in entering this sacred forbidden area." Luxie frowned when she saw Elysia's sparkling and shiny artifacts.
Elysia stored her chakram back into her Space Storage, then made her halo transparent. She took everyone to the snow mountain where Lixue lived using teleportation.
"Teleportation? Anyway, we're finally back to our starting point. I need you to fulfill your promise to me." Lixue breathed a sigh of relief because this draining thing was finally over. He could return to take care of his problems.
"Lixue, the ice dragon of extreme north. I will say it frankly to stick to our agreement. We are the one you are looking for." Elysia took one step forward and confronted Lixue.
"What do you mean? Wait, are you saying that you are a group of thieves who plundered my treasures!?" Lixue exclaimed loudly. It was heard like a dragon's roar, and a blizzard soon enveloped the vicinity.
"We accidentally broke into your domain and took whatever was under the assumption that it was the abandoned ruins. The reason we were searching for vitality herbs and some treasures. We can return half of your belongings to you. Regardless, we would like to invite you to join with us to save the world." Elysia spread opened her palm in her invitation.
"Are you in a position to bargain with me? You are a bunch of thieves and you say you can only return half of it!? Let alone the world saving nonsense you said. Just return all of my treasures and I will forget your great offense of tresspasing." Lixue tried to think with a clear head. He would be at a disadvantage if he clashed against everyone before him.
"We can provide more than what you can imagine, but you need to be Gio and Cherub's little bro. Join us." Elysia crouched down and stretched out her hand.
"What kind of scam nonsense is this!?" Lixue spread his arms and felt furious. It was as if he was being offended.
"Hmm." Gio and Cherub patted Lixue's shoulder from behind. They told the ignorant one not to overstep his boundaries.
"You are a powerful ancient dragon, but you refuse to save the world with us? Are you not aware of the doom that the world will face in two months? If we fail, there will be no Vrelenia anymore." Elysia put on an empathetic expression.
"What are you saying? What does the world have to do with me?" Despite saying that, Lixue became nervous. He was around for around twenty thousand years and was oblivious to the world's history.
He spent most of his life cultivating and becoming stronger in this isolated forbidden region. Thus, he knew almost nothing about the outside world.
"Of course, it has something to do with it. Do you think you can cultivate leisurely in this place without any disturbances and threats? After one month, you will no longer have anywhere to run away or hide. We will make sure you will help us win the battles even if you don't want to." Elysia smiled faintly.
"What do you want to do? Send the threats to my nest?" Lixue gritted his teeth.
"That might be good, but it's not efficient. We can teleport you to the enemy's domain. That way, we have another Emperor-level powerhouse who will help us eradicate the accursed." Elysia patted her cheek.
"How unreasonable! This is really bullying! First, you plundered my treasures, and now you want me to be your lackey!?" Lixue felt that everything was unfair.
"The world will soon be enveloped in chaos again after all the sealed areas have collapsed. The world's civilization was destroyed a hundred thousand years ago, and many world's inhabitants died. Several races became extinct... We must fight and win this battle of defense. But, do you really don't care about the world?" Elysia asked once more but in a neutral tone.
"..." Lixue was silent for a moment. He had wanted to join this group before but needed to think twice now because he knew these people would probably send him to his death door soon.
"I said I wouldn't let you suffer, right? Come with me, and lend me your power to protect this world from the accursed and Ruvoid Gods." Elysia stretched out her hand and blatantly emitted her divine golden aura.
Lixue was stunned when she saw that Elysia and the other girls also had golden auras. They were all divine beings!?
Regardless of what happened, the ice dragon joined Elysia's group voluntarily after a deal was agreed upon.
Several minutes later, Elysia and her group teleported to a warm land on the Devil Continent. It was time for dinner, and Elysia invited everyone in the Firmament Realm to join her.
"Pfft! I say, little ice dragon. You didn't protect your nest properly and none of the formations, traps, or mechanisms were active when Ely and her treasure hunting group entered your nest. You shouldn't blame us."
"That's probably because it's been dormant for too long in the extreme ice domain. No wonder our master's treasure hunting group thought it was just another ancient treasure trove."
"Yeah, that makes sense. However, our master is a formation master and she can also discover the truth. No traps or dangerous mechanisms can hinder our master, hehe..."
The girls chatted happily after hearing the story about their new dragon junior brother.
"..." Lixue felt awkward and a little depressed. He joined the divine group but felt lost something instead of gaining anything.
He also didn't know there were several other divine beings and that there were still another three Gods moving independently.
And yet, he was there and made a contract with Elysia as a contracted beast. If he had known about the three Gods, he would have chosen cooperation over submitting to the strong. Still, he could only sigh and hope that Elysia would keep her promise.
The delicious aroma from the open kitchen suddenly assailed the depressed little ice dragon's nostrils.
Lixue rushed over to his dragon bros and looked at the row of delicious foodies on the dining table. His senior bros gave him something to taste. It was a moment where he felt the joy of being alive.