Lady Miral's arrival was not merely an inspection visit; it felt like an atmospheric collapse over Sector Four. From a hundred meters away, ordinary slaves fell to their knees, vomiting their bile. The spiritual pressure of a (Rank 3 - Sovereign) cultivator requires no hostile intent to kill; its mere existence is an insult to gravity.
Miral descended from her spectral carriage drawn by four wolves of black smoke. She didn't wear golden armor like Arkon, but a simple ash-colored silk dress, and her eyes were like twin lakes of cold mercury.
"Rank 3... the stage of 'Spiritual Sovereignty'," Ether thought, standing at the tunnel entrance, bowing his head at exactly a 45-degree angle—the precise angle that expresses submission without displaying excessive weakness. "At this stage, the phantom does not live within the body; the body becomes an extension of the phantom."
Miral advanced with soundless steps. The two guards behind her were at (Peak Rank 2), yet they were sweating profusely just walking within her aura's periphery.
"So, you are Overseer Ether," Miral said. Her voice didn't cross his ears; it echoed directly within his skull. "The miracle survivor who witnessed the immolation of Arkon and Paul. Raise your head."
Ether raised his head, and committed his first mistake.
Driven by scientific arrogance and to test his new power, Ether secretly activated his (Icy Raven's Eye) to pierce the "crust" of Miral's aura and read her energy level. He assumed his icy camouflage would protect his insight.
But the moment his spiritual gaze touched the edges of her aura, he felt as if a molten needle had pierced his right optic nerve. Miral's aura wasn't just a shield; it was an offensive "reflective surface." Ether swallowed his scream and forced the blood vessels in his eye to freeze over, preventing them from bleeding in front of her.
Miral offered a barely visible smile. "Insolent eyes for a lucky slave. Do you know, Ether? Arkon was just a foolish 'tax collector' for our family, and Paul was a guard dog. Their deaths do not concern me personally, but they represent a 'budget deficit'."
She stepped closer until the silk of her dress brushed against his overseer rags.
"The reports say it was an accident caused by Arkon's foolish experiments. But an accident that leaves no corpse, and leaves a slave to ascend to the overseer position... is an 'investment' made by someone. My question to you is: Who do you work for? Which family hired you to purge this sector?"
"She doesn't buy the accident story at all, nor does she believe a slave alone could kill a Rank 2." Ether realized the magnitude of his predicament. "If I deny it, she'll kill me to extract the truth from my corpse. If I confess to a fabrication, she'll look for evidence and expose my lie."
Before Ether could open his mouth, Miral's sovereign pressure erupted like an invisible hurricane. The rocky floor ground into dust. Instinctively, Ether was forced to release a fraction of his concealed (Peak Rank 1) energy just to keep his ribs from being crushed.
At that critical moment, Kai intervened.
Kai didn't intervene foolishly, but with a pure malice born from his new "Mutation." Crawling on the ground, ignoring the sovereign pressure tearing at his skin, Kai opened his mouth and swallowed the "Spectral Sulfur Gas" leaking from the floor's cracks agitated by Miral's pressure.
"My Lady... please..." Kai panted, his blue veins pulsing terrifyingly as he digested the toxic gas. "Overseer Ether works for no one... He used the remnant energy from the accident to... to modify me. I am now a 'Toxin Detector' for the mine. If you kill us, the hidden gas pockets in Sector Four will explode, and the Raven family will lose the entire mine."
Miral looked at Kai with disgust mingled with curiosity. She read his energy flow and saw that he was, indeed, feeding on the toxins.
"Fascinating," Ether thought, observing Kai. "He used the Raven family's weakness—greed—to forge a 'political shield.' He tied our lives to the mine's productivity. Kai is no longer a tool... he has become a speculative partner."
Miral took a step back, her pressure receding. "Interesting. A slave mutates to become a poison filter, and an overseer hides more power than he claims. I will leave you alive to compensate for Arkon's losses. I want double the production from Sector Four by the end of the month... otherwise, I will turn you into spiritual fertilizer."
Miral turned and departed with her guards.
Ether stood, trying to catch his breath, but fell to one knee and coughed up golden blood. He looked through the (Spiritual Microscope) at his chest, his eyes widening in genuine shock for the first time.
Miral didn't unleash her sovereign pressure to intimidate him. She did it to force him to "inhale" her energy to defend himself. And during that inhalation, she had planted the (Seed of Sovereign Obedience) in his left lung.
"Damn it... I've been hunted." Ether realized Miral had been playing with him like a cat with a mouse. She knew he was Arkon's killer, but instead of executing him, she turned him into a "High-Grade Slave" to work for her, with the seed as her control mechanism.
Kai stood up slowly, wiped the blood from his mouth, and looked at Ether coldly.
"You lost this round, Ether. Lady Miral is stronger than us, and smarter than us. Now... what will you do to get us out of this chain before the seed sprouts and tears your guts apart?"