Third Rebirth

Within the public resting area, a woman who had otherworldly beauty, wearing a black kimono, sat calmly with her head resting against the back wall. Her black hair cascaded down her back all the way to her waist. Her eyes were as beautiful as two crimson sons.

Ayla had watched the battle between Shota and Ryu as it piqued her interest a bit, with them being equals with opposing elements. After the fight ended, she closed her eyes again and rested.

The attendants carried away Ryu and Shota and brought them to the place to get their injuries healed, as the judge announced the next match. "Yori Toridasu versus Minamoto no Tokiwa!"

Two men passed by Ayla as she frowned. She could sense a strange energy core within the body of the second man that had passed by her. It was demonic. A strange desire suddenly built inside her—this caused her to drag out the demonic energy from the man and hastily store it away within her shadow realm.

She frowned as she opened her eyes and stood up. 'Could that desire have come from my core? I am a dragon of darkness after all.'

She shook her head slightly, hid her frown, and exited the public resting area. She was getting bored of watching the fights, so she decided to absorb the demonic energy core. In her opinion, it was better than sitting and watching fights between humans.

As she passed by the woman's bath, she turned back and entered it. She decided to take a bath first before doing anything else. Not because she necessarily needed it, but because it was a way for her to relax. And overall, she just enjoyed it.

The bath wasn't anything special, but it was much larger than the one at the Sakura Inn. Fortunately, there was no one inside, as there weren't many women who had reached the top 32. And those who did were either in the public resting area, watching the other competitors' matches to figure out their weaknesses, or in their own private resting area, either resting or meditating.

Taking off her kimono, she folded it and set it to the side in a place where it wouldn't get wet. She tied her long hair into a bun using shadows as the hair tie. She dipped her right foot in and gauged the temperature; it was lukewarm. The temperature was just to her liking.

Climbing the rest of the way in, she sat down as her breasts floated up a little bit like buoys in a lake. Lastly, she rested her head against the rim of the bath and closed her eyes.

"Finally... some peace and quiet..." she muttered under her breath, a smile forming across her face.

***

She remained relaxed as a phenomenon was occurring within her shadow realm, unbeknownst to her. The demonic energy core she placed inside had become chaotic, with the energy ravaging in every direction, trying to break out.

Boom! Demonic energy exploded out, covering the entire area of the woman's bath in chaotic demonic energy.

'What happened?' Aurora asked. She had been just resting when a load of chaotic demonic energy appeared, covering the entire area.

[After you placed the demonic energy core in your shadow realm, it became unstable. It exploded after pushing the shadow realm to its breaking point.] Cynthia responded.

'Why didn't you tell me it was unstable before? I could have prevented this.'

[I-I didn't want to disturb you when you were relaxing.] She seemed sincere, but that didn't convince Ayla.

'I don't care about the reason why. We have more pressing matters to deal with.' Ayla said, 'Can you cast a domain around the woman's bath while I absorb the demonic energy.'

Cynthia nodded, sighing quietly to herself as Ayla didn't force her to say the reason. She did as told and conjured a domain that covered the entire woman's bath. It kept the demonic energy from escaping and prevented others from sensing anything going on on the inside.

'Thanks...' Ayla, who sat naked near the edge of the bath with her legs crossed and her eyes closed.

Her concentration and visualization gradually increased over time as the demonic energy slowly floated towards her.

Soon, the demonic energy shrouded her entire body. She manipulated the demonic energy to gradually flow into her body as she absorbed it.

The longer she absorbed the energy, the more her rate of absorption increased. Her body felt rejuvenated, as if this energy had always been part of her. She felt as if she had been reborn a third time.

'This is… bliss.'