At the foot of the Supuha Mountains, in Sutherland's dwelling place, forty-five minutes until the beacon tower rises.

Leading the griffin, Ivy carefully walked along the thousand-meter-high rock wall. In the abyss below her, the crimson lava churned endlessly, and the heat was oppressive.

Evie asked Rachel, who was standing ahead, "How much further?"

Rachel: "We'll be there soon after we pass through that cave."

Ivy glanced back and saw a winding line following behind her, stretching as far as the eye could see.

The Valkyrie, the aliens, and several elders who were responsible for guiding them.

Ivy turned around, holding the griffin's reins in one hand and the sword at her waist in the other, staring intently at Rachel in front of her, her brows furrowed.

Seemingly sensing the gaze from behind, Rachel turned around, smiled at Evie, and said softly, "You'll soon find out that I'm on your side."

Ivy didn't speak, but tightened her grip on the sword hilt.

The group walked for another ten minutes, passing through caves, and finally arrived at a spacious and expansive natural cavern.

The moment Ivy stepped into the cave, she could hardly believe her eyes.

People, people everywhere.

There were men, women, and children everywhere; at least a thousand people. Judging from their attire, they were clearly members of the elders' council.

Everyone knelt on the platform, bowing towards the depths of the abyss. No one made a sound; only endless piety remained on each person's face.

Ivy followed behind Rachel, making way for the crowd kneeling on the ground: "What's going on with these people?"

Rachel: "They were all followers of Sutherland."

Evie looked around and asked, "Where's Todd?"

Rachel: "It's just ahead."

After saying this, Rachel walked to the front of the crowd, found Elder Iliad who was deep in thought, and said, "I have fulfilled my promise."

Eliard slowly opened his eyes, glanced at the aliens behind Rachel, and said softly, "I see them."

"I want to see Todd," Rachel said in a deep voice.

Elijah: "The ceremony has not yet begun; it is pointless for you to go see him."

Rachel emphasized, "I want to see him!"

Eliad sighed, stood up, and stepped aside, revealing a narrow cave behind him, just wide enough for one person to pass by while bending over.

Watching Rachel duck into the cave, Evie turned to the other Valkyries and said, "You stay here and secure our escape route."

After saying that, Ivy handed her griffin to the other Valkyries and then ducked into the cave.

Inside the cave is a winding path that slopes downwards.

Some passageways are so narrow that one has to use both hands and feet to get through.

As the path descended further down, the air temperature rose higher and higher, and visible heat waves slowly seeped in through the cracks in the rocks, blurring the view ahead.

Finally, Rachel and Evie reached the end of the path and entered a small island that seemed to float almost on top of lava.

The stones on the ground had softened and turned red due to the high temperature, and stepping on them even felt like stepping on a soft mat.

Using the light of the rising lava fire around her, Ivy looked toward the center of the lava island, where a huge figure was so familiar and so conspicuous.

A giant dragon, gleaming with a faint metallic sheen, lay coiled up in the center of the island, showing no signs of movement.

Evie darted forward, shaking off Rachel, and rushed in front of the dragon, only to discover that there was a woman standing beside it.

The woman was completely enveloped in raven feathers, her face was completely covered by a raven mask, and she held a crimson spear in her hand. She stared at the two people who were approaching, as if she was on guard against something.

Rachel stepped between the two wary women and said to the raven-feathered woman, "Meredis, we meet again."

Meredith raised his spear, pointing it at Rachel's face, and said coldly, "You know all this, don't you?"

Rachel shrugged, tacitly acknowledging the accusation.

Ignoring everyone else, Ivy rushed to the dragon's side, knelt down, touched its scales, and asked anxiously, "There's no reaction at all, what's wrong with Todd?!"

Meredith looked at Ivy and said, "His soul was extracted by Sutherland and taken into the latter's soul space."

Ivy turned her head and shouted anxiously, "Is there any way to retrieve his soul?"

Meredith shook his head: "We can't do it. All we can do now is wait."

Rachel: "Sutherland won't hurt Todd; he needs Todd."

Meredith sneered, “That old guy hasn’t changed over the years. He’s always been a complete bastard. In his eyes, nothing and no one can evoke any feelings in him; they are simply distinguished by whether they are useful or useless.”

Holding Todd's dragon head, Evie shouted at Rachel, "Where can we find that damned sage! Tell me!"

Rachel looked at the lava sea at the edge of the island and said softly, "We don't need to look for him, he will appear soon."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a huge tremor suddenly came from below the island.

The magma, which had been flowing quietly, began to bubble up like boiling water.

Flames, thick smoke, and ash enveloped the entire island.

Immediately afterwards, a powerful earthquake struck the island.

The entire island shook violently, and everything on the ground was thrown into the air and then crashed down.

Evie gripped Todd's dragon scales tightly and shouted to the other two, "What happened?"

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