'Cipher' listened to Typhon's unwavering stance, her gaze drifting toward the dragon's chest.
It was the physical consequence of Typhon's attempt to mimic Long by nurturing all living things within herself.
It wasn't something that could be fixed by simple healing or a boost in vitality.
Similar to Entropy Loss Syndrome, it was a condition woven into the fabric of fate itself.
"I thought you would have chosen self-preservation," 'Cipher' remarked. "After all, if you keep going like this, even a body as vast as yours will hit its limit one day."
"I have lived for more years than I can count," Typhon replied with an open, steady air.
"If I could not bear to leave my children behind, I would have followed in the Father God's footsteps long ago."
In 'Cipher's' eyes, the dragon's candid nature didn't fit the grim title of "The Death Dragon" at all. Typhon seemed utterly indifferent to her own slow decline.
Having been born after the fall of Permanence and survived until now, she had outlasted many Aeons. Naturally, death had long since lost its sting.
What truly weighed on her was the future of the Infernalians.
She feared that once she was gone, they would fall into a slow, agonizing decay—much like the Vidyadhara, forced to watch their race wither away with no way to stop it.
The crux of the matter was that this situation wasn't natural. It had been thrust upon them midway through their history.
The sudden disruption of the Vidyadhara's cycle was something the Inferno people, despite their superior overall strength, could not escape.
If not for this crisis, Typhon felt she could die in peace; the race she nurtured would have continued to thrive. But now, if she vanished, they were clearly destined to become the next Vidyadhara.
'Cipher' nodded. She understood Typhon's perspective, but understanding didn't mean she had a true solution for the Vidyadhara's reproductive issues.
After all, wasn't it only through her direct intervention that new offspring were even possible?
"I get where you're coming from," 'Cipher' said. "But honestly, I haven't fundamentally solved the Vidyadhara's problem either. The few newborn dragonkin over there were all created by my hand; they still can't reproduce on their own."
"Is that so..."
Typhon was momentarily stunned. She hadn't been aware of those specific details.
Since she wasn't close with the Vidyadhara, she only knew what wasn't classified. The more granular information was, naturally, out of her reach.
It did seem a bit inappropriate now that she thought about it.
In terms of form, Typhon was currently the one sustaining her race's prosperity, and theoretically, someone else could take over.
But the problem was that 'Cipher' was a total stranger with no ties to them.
If it were just a matter of asking for a one-time favor to solve a specific problem, that would be fine. A favor could be repaid before she died.
But asking someone to look after her entire race for countless years into the future? That was a bit much to ask.
If the other party had their own faction, it might be easier—the Infernalians were exceptionally strong individuals, if nothing else. They could simply choose to join up, much like the Vidyadhara had done elsewhere.
But the problem was that 'Cipher' was a lone wolf. Among the few Geniuses she was close with, only Screwllum had his own established power base. This left Typhon in an awkward spot.
She had nothing to offer as payment.
Seeing the awkwardness written all over Typhon's face, 'Cipher' could guess what she was thinking.
She recalled Ruan Mei saying that once her reputation was out there, she could use it to win over dragonkin and build her own faction.
The thing was, she wasn't particularly interested in that. And if she really wanted a faction, Amphoreus and the Land of Light were already powerful enough; she didn't exactly need a branch of dragonkin to round things out.
So...
"How about we focus on solving the problem from your end instead?" 'Cipher' suggested. "The Infernalians don't really need a new master."
'Cipher' wasn't that interested in the Inferno dragons as a whole, but she was very intrigued by Typhon as an individual.
The Vidyadhara were relatively weak overall; their High Elders were capable, sure, but they lacked a certain... weight.
Xuanquan was powerful primarily because she was one of the Seven Arbiter-Generals of the Reignbow Arbiter, carrying a relic of The Hunt.
But in terms of how far one had progressed on the Path of Permanence, Typhon was undoubtedly superior.
Furthermore, Typhon's original pursuit—the prosperity of her offspring—veered slightly toward the concepts of Propagation that had been split off.
When that Path was fractured long ago, Typhon must have suffered for it.
"You mean to heal my injuries? I fear that won't be easy."
"You won't know until we try. Besides, we don't necessarily have to approach it from that angle."
'Cipher' pondered the solution. The Infernalians were different from the Vidyadhara; this branch was essentially made by Typhon herself, and even their reincarnation was tied to her.
The Inferno dragons truly represented the parts of the original Permanence Path that leaned toward racial propagation.
In theory, fixing Typhon's issue was easier than solving the reproduction problem for an entire race.
As for Typhon's ultimate wish... unless the Path of Propagation could be merged back one day, or 'Cipher' was willing to take over, it would be a difficult dream to realize.
'Cipher' looked at Typhon. The aura of Permanence was stronger on her; if she could use this to better understand that power, it would make analyzing the Earth Titan character card much easier once she obtained it through the System.
As for Beauty... the Knights of Beauty weren't hard to find, but that Path didn't manifest physically in the same way, making it harder to study.
Since Typhon had delivered herself to her doorstep, she couldn't let the opportunity slip by.
"I'll be blunt: I want to study you. I want to study the Path of Permanence. But I can't guarantee I can solve the problems facing you or your race, so I won't demand that you agree."
"I agree," Typhon replied with a laugh, her heart finally easing. "If the Vidyadhara could do it, so can I."
She could feel the curiosity radiating from 'Cipher'. It wasn't curiosity about her as a person, but about the very essence of her existence.
She was relieved the other party actually wanted something. Otherwise, Typhon wouldn't have known how to pay her back. She had assumed 'Cipher' had already studied the High Elders and wouldn't be interested in another individual.
After all, while Typhon was confident she was stronger than a High Elder, she wasn't a fundamentally different species.
If anyone was truly unique, it was the Great Dragon who pursued individual immortality; that creature's body was distinctly different from other dragonkin. The sheer size alone was extraordinary.
She hadn't expected 'Cipher' to be interested in her broken form. Typhon felt her luck was finally turning around.
"...Alright."
'Cipher' hadn't expected Typhon to agree so quickly either. But a "yes" was a "yes." Even if it meant she'd be busy for a while, at least there was something to look forward to.
"So, when do we start? What should I do?"
Typhon seemed even more eager than 'Cipher'. If someone walked in now, they might think Typhon was the one about to perform the research.
"No rush. Research takes a lot of time. Besides, you can't exactly stay here forever."
Typhon nodded. That was true. Even though she wanted to cooperate, she couldn't just abandon the Infernalians.
But inviting 'Cipher' to Inferno... the environment there was quite harsh for outsiders.
"Let me start by taking some samples from your body," 'Cipher' said. "The power of Permanence is very visible in the flesh. I want to see just how much you differ from the Vidyadhara."
She was curious about the variations between different dragonkin and where their commonalities lay.
Typhon thought for a moment, then reached up, grabbed one of the internal bones at her chest, and gave it a violent tug!
She ripped a rib straight out and, maintaining its shrunk-down state, held it out. "Is this enough?"
"That's way too much... Are you always this reckless??"
'Cipher' stared at the rib. It was about the size of a human's, but its density was so immense it visibly warped the surrounding space. Her mouth twitched.
It looked small, but considering its original size... a massive chunk of a "Death Dragon" rib, just snapped off like that?
You don't need that much material for research. This wasn't some fantasy world where you needed dragon bones to forge god-tier weapons.
Typhon tilted her head. "Then how much do you need?"
"Just a piece of flesh or a bone fragment about this big, taken while you're in your normal state, would be fine."
'Cipher' gestured to show a much smaller size. Typhon stared at her, falling into a silent trance.
"..."
She lost more scales and debris than that just by scratching herself. But giving the other party scraps from her claws to study? That felt a bit disrespectful.
"By the way... can you put that rib back?" 'Cipher' asked cautiously.
Typhon, the Death Dragon, nodded helplessly. She took the rib and clicked it back into her chest with a series of heavy thuds. As a black light crawled over the bone, it returned to its original state in moments.
To avoid any further blunders, Typhon simply extracted a single drop of her blood and handed it over. This way, even if it was too much, it would be easy to divide.
As 'Cipher' filled a large canister with the blood, Typhon suddenly asked, "Are you very interested in the bloodlines of different dragonkin?"
"A little. You all have such different abilities and forms, yet there are shared traits. Approaching it from this angle should yield some good results."
Since she was preparing to eventually understand the "Permanence Equation," 'Cipher' was keen to study as many different types of dragonkin as possible.
Typhon asked again, "Is there a requirement for strength?"
"Hmm? Stronger is better, but it doesn't strictly matter... Wait, why are you asking?"
'Cipher' sensed something was off and looked up, only to find Typhon nodding thoughtfully.
"It's nothing. I've lived a long time and know quite a few dragonkin. I might as well help you collect some materials. You don't need much anyway; for a dragon, it won't even count as a light injury."
Even though 'Cipher' only asked to study her, Typhon felt she was offering far too little.
She felt guilty about getting 'Cipher's' help for free. Helping her collect samples seemed like a good way to balance the scales.
For instance, that big fellow lounging in the Star Vortex who hated moving... Since he was so huge, he wouldn't mind lending a bit of flesh, right?
Typhon certainly didn't think so.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL