The Celestial Fox who had caused a not insignificant chunk of these plights was not much better off herself. Having practically doomed a huge number of her peers, she knew just as intimately as them how dangerous foreknowledge could be.
That was why she had gathered extremely powerful and numerous forces under her command, far exceeding what most other Supreme Pillar heirs had achieved. Whilst this couldn't ensure her safety, it at least significantly improved her chances of making it out of anything unfortunate which might occur.
With the help of Hercyna and many more of her trusted helpers, she had spent the last year on bringing together all of her Subordinates and the respective forces which they had built up in various parts of the event venue.
Although there wasn't technically a limit to how many Servants anybody could bring along with them, she didn't make all of the various Heaven's Chosen and native experts into her own Subordinates. Instead, she had her trusted supporters accept them as their Followers, Retainers or Slaves.
By extension, her Subordinates' Subordinates were technically her Servants as well, which made it possible for them to be brought along without issue. That aside, whenever a Heaven's Chosen joined her camp in such a manner, as the very top of the food chain, their Heaven's Chosen Level would be transferred to her too.
"Young Mistress, Shelly's group has just arrived. Everyone is finally here."
From outside of her chambers, Hercyna's report reached her fox ears. Her eyes fluttering open, she rose to her feet, a bewitching smile on her lips. Her tail was swishing along gracefully as she strode outside, the aquamarine runes on it gently glowing. It was a wonderful sight to behold.
"Have her meet me for dinner after she's settled in."
Amongst Rheya's retinue, Michelle Perrier was one of the most important. Originating from a relatively unremarkable Named Family that not even the majority of Pillars would pay any attention to, she was the first proper and true brilliant genius who the CFC's heiress had discovered herself when she was younger.
She didn't especially excel in terms of cultivation, fighting power or survival skills–rather, she was the most gifted inventor and craftsman who Rheya had ever met! Back when both of them had been barely older than kids, she had already been capable of cobbling together many fascinating creations.
Originally, her visit to the Perrier Family had been a coincidental one, as the merchant caravan that she had been temporarily staying with during her lessons had casually chosen to stop by their main world to stock up on some supplies. They did naturally also sell as many of their wares as they could.
Whilst accompanying one of her mother's Subordinates and touring the world, she came across Michelle, who was testing one of her inventions out in the open. Although it wasn't exactly stable yet at the time, it did look very promising. As a result, the two got to talking–and the rest, as they say, was history.
Calmly awaiting her old friend in the dining room, Rheya sipped on a cup of tea, reading through a couple of stacks of reports that Hercyna had handed to her. Although she was aware of almost all of this information–and most of it was inconsequential–she liked to be thorough. Whatever was actually reported to her had already been filtered numerous times, therefore there was always a chance that some genuinely important but overlooked or underappreciated information would turn up.
"Yo, Rhey-Rhey! It's been a hot minute, hasn't it? How've you been?"
Nonchalantly swaggering over to the two Celestial Foxes after barging in without a care, Michelle plopped herself down on the chair that had already been prepared for her. She had rather dishevelled, shoulder-length pastel pink hair, which had been tied up into a relatively short ponytail. Wearing her still soot-covered workshop clothes, she seemed oblivious to the fact that she was dirtying up the place.
"Sheesh! How often have I told you to at least take a shower?! Come, sit still!"
Furrowing her brows in annoyance, Hercyna rushed up to the new arrival's side and pulled out a handful of wet handkerchiefs, wiping off as much of the filth as she could. Slowly but surely, the considerably good-looking face of her friend was eventually revealed.
"Sorry, Cyna, I forgot! I'll do it next time, okay?"
Unfazed by all of this, because she had grown used to it many years ago, Michelle shot her an innocent grin. Her mind was always focused on her various projects, rarely if ever considering anything outside of them–especially unimportant matters like keeping up a proper appearance. She simply couldn't be bothered with it.
"You always say that..."
Grumbling underneath her breath, Hercyna shook her head, then returned to her usual spot at Rheya's side. The Gold Family's Young Mistress had observed the two of them in amusement until now, finally taking this chance to speak up.
"Worry not, Shelly, I've been perfectly fine. You, on the other hand, took your sweet time, didn't you? But oh well, at least you still made it..."
Shooting her a long and accusatory glare, she waited until Michelle grew a bit uncomfortable, then she stopped bothering her. This old friend of hers was anything but normal. She didn't care a whiff about authority or someone's background–or even their actual strength. If she were to ever meet the Heavenly Empress, Rheya feared that she might behave exactly as casually...
"I get it, I get it! Didn't mean to worry you, sorry about that. I just got a couple more Defensive Armaments ready, enough to equip a few thousand of your best."
Giving a short apology, whose authenticity was up for debate, she quickly switched the topic of conversation to something that she actually gave a damn about–and also to what Rheya was considerably interested in. She was the one who had asked her to work on those handy gadgets, after all.
They were mostly meant to serve as one-time, disposable protective measures in case of an emergency, and were advanced enough to withstand at least one full-powered blow by someone an entire cultivation stage stronger than the one utilizing them.
"Oh? Colour me impressed, I assumed you simply got distracted again. But we'll talk about all of that later. Let's dig in for now, shall we?"
Although none of them technically needed to consume food anymore, the act of sharing a meal with those close to her was still something that Rheya looked forward to every now and then. One never knew when such luxuries would come to an unexpected end, therefore she had to indulge in them whilst she still had the chance.
In a very distant corner of the event venue, a certain exceedingly pale-skinned beauty with pitch black, frizzy hair opened her grey, cloudy eyes, not too much emotion to be seen on her face.
Just now, she had taken a glimpse at many of her peers, but far more stealthily than usual. From what she could tell, none of them had actually noticed her this time–not even Theodore, Rheya, Lucas or Barrett. Considering that she didn't truly wish any of them ill, this only served to further reduce the chances of them ever sensing her spying.
With the second round being close at hand, she had decided to get an up-to-date overview of everyone she knew. Most of them had done well for themselves, which was a joy to see. However, there were also some who had not exactly been as fortunate–and a select few who were no longer around.
'... may you rest in peace.'
Observing a moment of silence in honour of her fallen acquaintances, she eventually recalled what she had seen when she had checked on her 'friends'.
'That damn little fox is doing as well as ever. I can't really say I'm surprised, though, she's always secretly been the best of us. Lucas, on the other hand, is in for a tough time. I wonder, can he actually make a dent in her forces when they eventually meet? I'll have to prepare some popcorn in advance.'
Smirking ever so slightly in anticipation, she checked her Storage Rings, only to rejoice at the fact that she had already stocked up on these snacks long ago.
'As for Barry... I'm honestly not sure what he's doing. He's a bit too far away to get a clear read on him. But from the bits and pieces that I've managed to make out, he appears to be fine, at the very least.'
Barrett had always been renowned for his martial capabilities, surpassing everyone else in their 'friend' group in that regard. But otherwise, he had never shown too much excellence. Still, she would have been shocked if anything unusual had happened to him this early.
'As for Theo... Hmph, it looks like not only is there a potential thieving fox skulking about, but even a thieving dragon! At least the latter one is just small fry and barely worth paying attention to. Still, I suppose her clones are fairly decent.'
Recalling the two Supreme Pillar dames temporarily and tangentially orbiting around the one who she had–at least in her own head–claimed for herself long ago, her mood soured. Snorting unhappily, she chose to give them one hell of a beating should either of them ever try to become her rival. The girls who Theodore was already with, however, didn't really bother her–after all, they weren't even from Supreme Pillars.
'... that aside, what is Arvy up to? He's entirely out of my range, to the point that I can't even figure out which direction he's in...'
Recalling the sole other childhood friend of her and Theodore, she felt a wave of helplessness wash over her. Her Talents were extremely impressive, that was for sure. Yet, due to the unreasonable vastness of the event venue, not everyone who she wanted to keep track of could actually be located.
Arvystas had always been very much an oddball amongst their peers. He had been absurdly tranquil and unfettered from the beginning, and never experienced any change in that regard. Even more outlandish was the fact that he was legitimately loyal to those who he considered his friends. Fortunately, there weren't too many of them.
This personality trait in particular should have served to hinder him quite a lot, potentially harming him once one of his treasured few betrayed him. But even throughout his illusory lives, where such instances were aplenty, he always stayed true to himself.
Whilst his nature might not make it seem so, he was ridiculously powerful and gifted. Both Evangelina and Theodore were convinced that he was a strong contender for the position of Heavenly Emperor. The sole thing holding him back was that he didn't care about it whatsoever.
If it wasn't for his family practically begging him to represent them and fight for their benefits, he might have simply tried to help his two closest friends without expecting anything in return.
'I just hope that he won't have to endure too much heartache.'
Knowing far too well about the generally rather twisted nature of their peers–herself and Theodore included–Evangelina feared that there would be plenty of individuals aiming to exploit poor Arvystas once they figured out how kind he was. And although he would definitely make it through those tough times, she still wished for him to have to endure less of such depressing moments.
'He'd better do as he promised and keep track of everyone who dares to go too far.'
Usually being too forgiving, the ones who mostly sought justice for Arvystas had always been her and Theodore. Out of worry and care, they had pressured him into reassuring them that he would keep a list for them to peruse.
Once they ran into him again, many a Heaven's Chosen would rue the day that they had lived up to their parents' expectations and been an absolute scumbag to the wrong person.