Fatima held the crying Lana. Although she was gifted and mentally mature, no eight-year-old child could easily accept the sudden death of her father. Although Fatima was heartbroken, especially when Lana asked if she could Resurrection her father, she gritted her teeth and indulged her daughter's request.
"Lana, do you want to eat ice cream?" Fatima asked, and Lana reluctantly nodded.
"Come on, let's make our own ice cream like before." Fatima did not use any powerful spells, nor did they summon ice cream from the food dimension. Instead, they took various raw materials, made them from scratch, and used basic spells to mix them to create various strange flavors.
When Lana mixed the "Frenzied Dream" flavor and the "Ice Volcano" flavor together, Fatima scooped up a little of the ice cream she made and spread it on her nose. "Mom," Lana complained, and then poured her milk over. Fatima dodged, but this only made little Lana more excited. A food fight broke out in the kitchen, with food crumbs splashing everywhere.
The two had a great time, and then Fatima took her to take a bath. Again, no spells were used, and everything was done in the most traditional way. After the bath, Fatima made Lana's favorite food (Lightning Rabbit stew) and played her favorite cartoon for her. It was a cartoon about an anthropomorphic rabbit traveling through different dimensions and having countless adventures. Looking back, Fatima realized that Empire had been preparing the populace for years through the media for Exploration Era.
Lana fell asleep watching the show, and Fatima gently carried her to bed. She suddenly remembered something. "Kadija, why hasn't the government arrived for so long?"
"Ma'am, I've done everything I can to buy you as much time as possible. They should be here soon."
"... thank you."
"At your service."
Kadija's prediction was correct. In less than ten minutes, Mage Tower sensed the space energy fluctuations in this plane. Less than thirty seconds later, a huge Floating City hovered above Mage Tower. Floating City immediately wrapped Mage Tower with a protective force field, creating a more complete isolation than the previous agreement.
Fatima was waiting in front of the portal. After a few seconds, two people appeared. "Your Majesty," she saluted immediately.
"No gifts," Tsunade said, and Wiz also smiled politely.
"I understand that the patient is your daughter?" Tsunade asked.
"Yes."
"With a mother like you, she is very Luck," Tsunade nodded. "Don't worry, we will do everything for her good plan." Fatima smiled bitterly. What is best for Lana may not be in the Empire's interests. She understood this and nodded politely. Tsunade didn't say anything more and followed Fatima to check on Lana's situation.
As soon as they met, Tsunade made a hand seal, and her eyes turned into a strange blue color with a red cross. Wiz cast a spell, created an eyeball, and scanned Lana's body.
"I can't believe you made it," Tsunade commented. She had seen Lana's case during her research and concluded that the poor girl was hopeless. But now, she was witnessing a medical miracle.
"You are truly a unique soul healer," she praised.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Fatima nodded quietly.
"Look, the golden Soulfire," Wiz murmured, and Tsunade immediately went over to take a look.
"It seems Ian's theory about Soul Divinity was correct," she muttered.
"Not just her Soulfire, but her soul and Soul Dimension too. I just checked out the stability of this golden Soul Dimension and it's unlike anything we've seen before," Wiz added.
"This operation not only saved her, it seemed to turn her into a genius."
"With so much Divine Power used, that's to be expected," Wiz added.
"Putting aside her extremely unbalanced affinity for shadow magic, her talent has broken our measurement standards, and there are very good reasons to believe that it has reached the same level as Ian," Tsunade murmured.
"Yes, Akashic Records would probably rate her magic talent as [extremely high]," Wiz nodded. "But have you found the source of her Cthulhu ability?"
"It's a pity," Wiz shook his head. Wiz's dual attributes of being both an undead and a living person made her extremely resistant to the power of Cthulhu monsters, so Ian gave her full responsibility for the entire project.
"Show us the video of her using that power," Wiz demanded. With the authorization of Fatima, Kadija called up the footage at that time. "The data shows that it is indeed Cthulhu Power, but we need further verification."
"What do you suggest?"
Wiz looked at the little girl, then at Fatima. She saw the worry and sadness in Fatima's eyes, and sighed, "Let's use time magic to recreate the scene at that time. We can get the data directly from the source."
"Okay." Everyone quickly walked to the treatment room before Lana and recreated the scene when she lost control. With the perfect reenactment of the scene, Tsunade and Wiz were able to collect the original data of the incident.
"It is indeed [whispering]," Wiz confirmed.
"But why can't we find the source of this power, which is any energy or mutation of the soul or body?" Tsunade asked. Cthulhu Monsters have their own powers and unique bodies and souls, but from all aspects, Lana is just a normal human being.
"Take her back to Floating City for a more comprehensive scan," Wiz suggested.
"Can I come with you?" Fatima asked immediately.
"Of course." The sleeping Lana was taken aboard the spacecraft and more advanced diagnosis was performed, including Divination even directly using the power of fate. Unfortunately, the results remained the same, which made both Tsunade and Wiz frown.
Fatima noticed the heavy atmosphere and asked, "What should I do now? What will happen to my daughter?"
"The mere fact that her soul has undergone the apotheosis process means that her existence will be top secret and must be closely protected and monitored," Tsunade revealed.
"The problem is Cthulhu Power. We can't find the source of her powers, which means we can't determine if she's a security risk," Wiz commented.
"She's just a little girl," Fatima said.
"You know very well that the situation is different. More importantly, Ian doesn't think so," Tsunade sighed.
"With his paranoia, his biggest fear is the unknown," Wiz added.
"So, is my daughter hopeless?" Fatima asked with a pale face.
"Don't worry. As long as we are here, the worst case scenario is to exile you," Tsunade said. Things have not reached that point yet, because they have other options, such as asking for help from higher dimensional powers. However, if all else fails, they will convince Ian to send Fatima and Lana to another universe and monitor them.
"Interesting."
"Who?" the three shouted in unison, summoning their staffs at the same time, preparing to fight. Tsunade and Wiz are Tier 9, and Fatima is Tier 8, but someone actually approached them unknowingly. This thought is really frightening.
"Master Merlin?" Tsunade asked. However, old Merlin ignored her and looked at Lana.
"We have tried so hard to study and replicate their power, but have failed, and yet this little girl was born with this power integrated into her very being. It must be a miracle. No, there is no coincidence or miracle in this world, so why did this happen suddenly?
"Is this a desperate counterattack launched by our Chaos Universe to save himself? This is both good news and bad news," old Merlin sighed, and then turned his attention to everyone.
"This child is so important. I must take her away."
Fatima's face turned pale, but she did not immediately take aggressive action. She had seen how terrifying this man was, and also saw how respectful the Empire queens were in front of him. So, she looked at them, hoping they could do something.
"You are her mother, right?" asked old Merlin.
"Yes."
"Believe me, I don't want to do this, but her existence is more important than you think."
"But she's just a little girl."
"A little girl who unfortunately has a great destiny," old Merlin sighed. Fatima immediately realized that it was inevitable that her daughter would be taken away, so she changed her strategy. "Then, can I go with you?"
"Even if you don't come with us, you won't be able to see her anymore. You are too weak now and are a burden to her survival."
"How strong do I need to be to see her?"
"If you can reach Tier 12, I promise to let you see her briefly," old Merlin said, but these words made Fatima look pale. She knew that the highest level in the world was Tier 11, and only the wizard race had reached that level.
"What? No confidence?"
"I don't, but as long as I can see her again, I will try my best to make the impossible possible," Fatima said through gritted teeth.
"That's the good thing," old Merlin said with a smile. "I do feel sorry, so I give you a few choices. You can stay and develop with the Arcane Empire. Ian is my disciple, and he will provide you with all the support you need. Or, I can bring you to a teacher. She is Tier 14, who is also a soul master."
"What are the benefits of each choice?" Fatima asked immediately.
"Your teacher has more knowledge and resources, but if you serve under her, you will be involved in a war you can't imagine. You will grow very fast, but the chance of dying young is also very high.
"If you stay at the Empire, your growth will be slow and steady, and the risks will be reduced exponentially."
Fatima hesitated. She wanted to see her daughter as soon as possible, but if she died in the process, it would be meaningless. However, what would happen if she didn't see her daughter until thousands of years later? She gritted her teeth and replied, "Take me with you."
"Are you sure?"
"I want to see my daughter, I want to watch her grow up. I will do everything I can to achieve this goal."
"I think Mary will like you," old Merlin said with a smile. "Well, there is one last thing before leaving." He glanced at Tsunade and Wiz, and released a ray of light that shot into their foreheads. "I need to protect you to prevent this news from leaking out."
"We understand," they nodded.
"Very good. You have to work harder, otherwise you will not be able to follow Ian to the end of his journey," Merlin said and disappeared with Fatima.