Heaven, Earth, Me

Going up the mountain was not a problem before the clouds. They could spot a few high-level beasts, but overall, they were not too strong. Yasenia and the others took turns to fight off any beast that approached them, and currently, Evelyn was the one fighting.

Evelyn was not alone, having summoned Sierra to help her with the combat. Thanks to their contract, they were both like one, so fighting together was the standard routine for both of them. Evelyn flashed around with terrifying speed and appeared right above the beast, her spear surrounded by terrifying white and black currents of electricity. 

In that second, Sierra lunged forward, biting the beast by the neck.

RUMBLE!

BOOM!

Evelyn descended like a lightning bolt, landing straight on the beast's back. The hill-sized beast's body bent down due to the powerful impact, a burst of blood exploding from its mouth. Evelyn then ran up the beast's curved spine and accelerated along it, her body gaining a great load of electricity as arcs of lightning covered her figure.

"[Luminous Charge]."

The rumbling sound of lightning burst from her as her body glided along the spine, leaving a burnt trace, and eventually, her spear accurately struck the back of the beast's head.

BANG!

Evelyn pierced through the head of the giant beast, leaving a massive charged hole, and then landed on the ground gracefully, taking just a few steps to kill her momentum. Looking back, she saw Sierra open her mouth and let the giant beast fall down. 

"Whew!" Evelyn smiled and said. "Great job, Sierra!"

Sierra chuckled, shrinking down into her human form. "Those are my words, Evelyn. That was a great combo."

Evelyn stored her spear and placed her hands on the back of her head, laughing. "That worked out because it was slow. If it could react to the first blow, I wouldn't have the time to run all that distance~. Well, it worked, so I am happy with our results."

Evelyn felt two large, soft mountains engulf her head and heard her favorite person's voice. "You did great, Dear! Here is a hug as a reward!"

Evelyn wouldn't lose a chance to enjoy the holy softness of her dragon lover's tits and buried her face even more deeply, taking deep breaths. "Ha… This is a paradise~."

Dragging Evelyn while hugging her into her bosom, Yasenia smiled. "So, who wants to fight next?"

Angel looked at Evelyn and said quickly. "I will go if I can do that later!"

Yasenia lifted one hand in an ok sign. "Deal."

Roar!

A beast roared in the distance, attracted by Evelyn's attack's noise. Angel's eyes lit up, and she quickly took out her sword and shield. "Oh! Come, come! I need to earn my Yasenia's hugs!"

The quadrupedal beast was a mix between a bear and a seal, looking quite adorable. However, that cuteness didn't really enter Angel's hungry gaze.

The beast was not completely stupid, though. So when it saw that the group it was attacking didn't flee, and instead, one small creature was running at it with a large smile, a chill rushed along its spine.

Without taking time to evaluate the situation further, it turned and fled. 

Angel blinked a few times and frowned. "H-Hey! Where are you going? Come baaaaack!"

The beast fled even quicker when it saw the tiny creature go in pursuit. 

Evelyn looked over and laughed. "Even beasts flee from you now, eh? Perhaps you've become a little too strong, Little Angel!"

"Tsk… Coward beast… Stupid beast…" Angel mumbled and returned to the group with a pout big enough to hang a pot. Andrea pinched her lips softly once with a laugh. "Don't worry, the next one that charges at us is yours. We just need to be attacked!"

Angel asked, curious. "Speaking of which… This mountain is bigger than expected! We've been climbing for a week, and we have yet to reach the clouds!"

Tatyana looked up and commented. "Its size is very deceiving. The location where we separated seemed to be at the base of the mountains, but there was an extensive tundra before we actually reached the base of the mountain. I wonder what methods they use to prevent people from entering this place?"

Cecile commented. "Probably none. Coming here in the first place is quite complicated. The turns and distance we covered on foot were not small. Then, for non-peak-level fifth realm cultivators, this place is a death trap. Not many would be able to traverse this zone without dying."

Kali skipped around, her four tails wagging as she excavated into the snow. "Well, either way, it's great! There are so many interesting plants here! I bet I can make a pill to protect us against the heat in the Magma Caves from them!"

Seeing the happy fox doing fox things like excavating in the snow made everyone feel a laugh bubbling up in them. The dragoness muttered. "Honey, you are too cute~."

Kali looked back while plucking the herb from the ground. Her fox ears flicked adorably, cleaning the snow accumulating on her beautiful orange-colored hair. "Hm~? Thanks?"

Andrea asked with a smile as they all continued moving up the mountain. "Kali, I know that you have probably created that pill already, right?"

"That pill?" Kali asked, curious.

Andrea smiled. "The pill to cure your scars." 

Kali paused, her face showing a moment of hesitation. "Indeed. It is done. It's a slightly weaker version of the [Beauty Pill] Yasenia ate. However, not by much. It is more than enough to heal my soul and physical scars."

Angel blinked and happily grabbed Kali's hand. "Really!? Then, why haven't you eaten it?"

Kali frowned faintly, her scarred face showing confusion and hesitation. Clutching Angel's hand slightly tighter, she sighed. "I am honestly not sure…" Her face flickered with a touch of confusion. "I feel strangely reluctant to take them."

Cecile looked at Kali, her usually cold eyes and voice being as blunt as ever. "How so? Won't you get healed once you take them? You will also recover your beauty and won't have to wear your veil as often, right?"

Kali's lips faintly arched. Cecile's way of saying things as they were was like a breath of fresh air. "Well, when you put it that way, it really feels that I have no reason not to take the pill." She sighed once more, her fox ears swinging slightly with her deep thoughts. "However… Don't you feel that the scars are now like another part of myself?"

Yasenia looked at Kali and approached, grabbing her hand. "Honey." Kali saw Yasenia's unwavering golden slit eyes landing on her like the gentle sun. "They are not part of yourself." 

Kali was somewhat startled. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Yasenia smiled faintly, looking at her gently but with a touch of understanding in her eyes. "You feel that they are part of you because you've lived with them most of your life. However, those scars are not part of you. They are not yours to begin with; they were inflicted on you maliciously. Holding onto them in acceptance is like letting your trauma linger."

Kali looked ahead and muttered, her hand reaching to grab Yasenia's. "Isn't that a good thing?"

"It's not." Yasenia gently caressed Kali's fingers. "You don't need to… accept them. You need to face them and overcome them. That kind of past is supposed to hurt, and that's not a bad thing. We should be hurt by our past mistakes and traumas to avoid repeating similar situations. If we accept our mistakes, then we will eventually make them again."

Yasenia chuckled gently and said, her loving gaze never leaving Kali's face. "Kali, don't make your trauma your trait. You need to push ahead, even if it hurts. I don't mind if you take a long time making that decision, but I won't allow your darkest day to become part of yourself."

Kali looked at Yasenia's profile and couldn't help but fall into a short daze. Her lover, the mother of her child, has always supported her since the beginning. She never cared about her scars and never really forcefully pushed her to take a step forward. Instead, she always gently supported her back and prevented her from taking a step back. 

It felt like with Yasenia around her, forward was the only path. That she really didn't need to do anything other than being herself to keep pushing ahead. Kali smiled faintly and nodded. "Okay, I'll take the [Soul Beauty Pill] once I return."

Andrea spoke, impressed. "That's the name you gave it? It is great!"

Kali raised her eyebrow. "Is it? I just gave it the name of what it does~."

"Beautifying the soul?" Evelyn asked, curious.

"Indeed," Kali commented. "The pill has a mix of herbs that allows it to penetrate into your soul and see the true form of your own self. The pill's effects then take effect and heal any imperfections it might have. Therefore, it beautifies the soul in a healing manner. A pill I created using the parasitic principles of one of my babies~."

Valeria was not stingy with her praise. "When she told me about it, I was honestly impressed. The [Soul Beauty Pill] is Kali's expertise in poisons, medicine, alchemy, and parasites, culminating in a single item. A piece of art in the standards of a standard cultivator."

"Wow." Yasenia squeezed Kali's hand and laughed. "That's honestly impressive. It seems that you didn't really pull any punches creating it."

Kali pouted playfully. "What did you expect when a certain dragoness is so worried about me? If I didn't create the best pill I could, then I would not be at peace with myself!"

Alaia suddenly shouted. "We are approaching the clouds! Be careful from now on and pay attention."

Everyone took out their weapons, and Evelyn muttered. "Finally. We've been on this journey long enough already. We only have eleven more weeks to explore!" 

Andrea smiled. "Less if we take into account that we have to be there precisely three months from when we departed."

"Ugh… True."

Evelyn grunted and twirled her spear. "Do you think that we'll be struck by lightning inside of there?"

Zephyrith asked, her tone sounding exasperated. "Why do you sound so happy about it, Evelyn?"

"Tsk, tsk. A bit of a tingly sensation from the lightning bolts won't kill anyone!" Evelyn protested, stabbing her spear on the ground.

Yasenia ordered. "Okay, let's go. We need to continue forward. Be careful of your surroundings!"

They all rushed ahead and quickly traversed the cloud section. Their visibility during this zone was terrible, making all of them squint as they looked around and tried to investigate the area deeper.

Yasenia's pupils suddenly shrunk as her sense of danger activated. "Be careful! Right!"

A swift creature rushed from the clouds, grabbing onto a maid and dragging her into the clouds. Everyone in the group reacted the instant the creature entered their detection range, and several movement techniques were activated.

The snatched maid wouldn't let herself be taken away and quickly activated a burst skill. "[Battle Maid Art: Divine Bastion]!"

Her body gained a golden glow and exploded with a violent burst of energy. The beast grunted and lost its grip on the maid. Right after, Yasenia's group surrounded the beast, and Yasenia shouted. "Don't kill it! Capture it!"

The beast had no chance of resisting and was quickly restrained.