The Drow Maiden walked in slowly, and Shen followed. He might still fight them to the death—a very short fight it would be—but until then, there was nothing wrong in following the Maiden as she investigated her own issues.

Who knows? They might even fight together, though he doubted it. She had seemingly tried to use her domain when she wasn't supposed to but then had come to bow her head to her superiors instead of doing anything else.

"Have no fear," the male said as they went through the door.

"Our ancestors have seen and dealt with more than you imagine," a female agreed. "Find comfort in the fact that you're not special or unique. You're just drow. We all are."

"We only want the best to all drow," the second female insisted. "If you are to die after our judgment, die knowing your faulty existence will assist us all in growing stronger."

And finally, the Maiden spoke. "Will it, though?"

The anger in her voice spread through the air, which trembled—for an instant. She might be powerful, but those three beings...

Shen still had his spear out. He clenched it firmly. The more he stood there, even without the previous overwhelming pressure, the more he became sure he wouldn't leave this place alive.

He was prepared to fight—

"Good instincts, but too fearless," the first female to speak said, turning to Shen.

Just like that, he found himself without strength.

He fell to his knees and uselessly tried to breathe. He couldn't. There was no air available to him, and even what had been in his lungs an instant ago seemed to be missing. So was all the energy he could use to move, including all the qi in his core—everything had just vanished. It was quickly followed by all his senses. Soon, there was only darkness and pain.

He hadn't felt them do anything, yet they had completely put him at their mercy. It reminded him of his experience in the Void.

"Impressively, no hidden powers to justify his disrespect, only a D-rank," the male completed, his voice somehow heard through Shen's deaf ears.

Then, Shen's power and energy returned.

He found himself lying on the ground beside the Maiden, who had kneeled in front of the three drow. His spear had disappeared, which he took as a point of pride; at least they felt some respect for his abilities. As much as he might feel for an ant with particularly sharp mandibles, he guessed.

The pride was followed by anger, which Shen killed almost before it could be born. Now wasn't the time. He would fight if it came to it, but he obviously wasn't in the position to decide whether there would be a fight.

In fact, he almost appreciated their reminder: B-ranks could go through all his defenses if they wanted. His innate soul defense and True Path meant nothing to them.

Waiting and seeing was definitely the best choice here.

"A drow should not bow easily," the second female said.

"We approve of him," the first agreed, then turned to the Maiden. "Speak."

"I was contaminated by nuance," the Drow Maiden replied.

Her voice was still angry, but the air didn't react to it anymore. In hindsight, Shen also noticed the mana in this place hadn't reacted at all the previous time. The three drow had a tight hold over the room's mana.

"Explain," the male demanded.

"A discussion over drow resentment," the Maiden started. "That was the trigger. My charge's reasoning is astoundingly lacking for a being with a mind with his potential. He pointed out how drow aren't supposed to resent anyone, yet we resented the True Enemy enough to build an entire culture around that."

"The line is drawn at attempted genocide," a female said.

Shen immediately felt embarrassed. That made perfect sense. As the Maiden had said, for all his supposedly superior mind, he had not thought of that.

He had disliked the idea of sacrificing his blood essence and some power—even temporarily—and searched for a weakness to exploit on the Maiden's argument. Being capable of quick rational thought didn't mean he would always use that rationale well. Any idiot could think of the genocide "line," but he willingly blinded himself to it to make a point.

That was an old problem for cultivators and maybe Guardians, too. Their willpower was so strong that they could set their minds on something and ignore everything else. While required to keep walking their Path, it could also lead to shortsightedness.

Shen would make sure to remember that.

All that made him even more surprised at the Maiden's earlier reaction.

"I know," she replied. "Yet, I double-checked the validity of such a simple truth. I am currently pursuing possibilities about A-ranks, and the first step is to review everything I believe in. When my charge asked me that, I reviewed the most important Creed of the drow race. I should not be capable of that."

"You did not stop at that," the male extrapolated.

"I did not. I quickly reviewed the entire doctrine. Everything. I found all nuances and reconsidered them. I redrew many lines I disagreed with. I currently see myself as superior, wiser, and freer than most of my peers. And it is to such a degree that I almost fled instead of coming here. I know I have failed my entire race. Yet, another part of me is sure I am better off not getting re-indoctrinated. Please, guide me."

Shen didn't let his surprise show. She came here to get herself shackled? That was unthinkable to him.

He was his own. His mind, his Path, his life. He might bow and submit to those he chose to but not let his mind get... rewritten like that.

Would she even be herself after they were done with her?

"Indoctrination can only go so far," a female said.

"We control, but we also teach," another added. "We command, but we also show why that is for the better. We demand, but we also hope."

Then, they all spoke one after the other in perfect synchrony.

"The first drow were free," the male said. "And free as they were, they sacrificed themselves to protect us all. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. They were weak."

"The Alliance brought us power. Yet, power is poison to the good and nectar to the evil."

"So to prevent the poison from finishing us off, we control us all. And on every Creed is the basis of our wisdom."

"So to keep the evil from their strengthening nectar, we wisely command us all. And the basis of our wisdom is the history and the practical reasons why such commands are needed.

"So to guarantee our eternal survival, we reasonably demand obedience from us all. And at the heart of every reason is the hope that should we ever set ourselves free, we would agree it's best to protect us all at the cost of our individual selves."

"B-ranks aren't controlled, child. They can't be. They are the masters of the very Laws that govern our Reality. How can words restrain them? How can competing Laws from another B-rank compel them?"

"They can't."

"Maybe we could do it if we were A-ranks."

"We aren't."

"And thus, B-ranks are free."

A heavy silence followed that. Shen only got the very gist of it. The drow indoctrination was powerful enough that it was forbidden by Alliance law.

It still had limits, though—and the Maiden clearly hadn't expected that. Her eyes widened ever so slightly for an instant, and then she kept silent for a long time.

Shen had one question: why was he here? That dialogue sounded like a secret. Why were they telling it to him? Would he actually get killed, after all?

"Don't worry, child," a female said, turning to him. "You are drow."

"Maybe you worry about another inconsistency in our doctrine," the male mentioned.

"Your mentor didn't cite it, but she undoubtedly noticed it too. You are drow, yet she only promised to protect you for a price: the antidron."

"We were told of your deal, though she has yet to give it to us."

"Don't worry, child," the first female repeated. "Regardless of what that might make you think, you are drow."

"Privileges and responsibilities, benefits and duties, the lines blur. We often are left poorer when we give too much to the adopted drow and receive too little from them. The Alliance limits us. Alien culture makes it impossible for you to fully blend."

"Yet we teach, protect, and care. We always do. To all drow."

"Like no one in the Alliance ever did to us."

The last sentence would've made Shen's hair stand on its ends if he wasn't controlling his body. Not that he hid his emotions too well if the three had noticed his discomfort.

They could be lying, of course. Yet, if they weren't, didn't that single fact make them better than the Eternal Empire already?

They weren't heroes going around saving Earth, but the Drow Maiden had come personally for Shen because he was officially one of them. The emperor, however, hadn't come to protect his own race, humans.; he had only sent a time-bomb. Even if Shen ignored the bad part of the antidron, it still would pale in the face of what the drow had done for him. After she had talked about prices, he understood a little better how much her help was.

The antidron might be worth more SC, but she had saved his life simply because she considered him drow, and that was enough reason.

"They aren't lying," the Maiden mentioned. Her voice was considerably more subdued. "Not that I can tell. When I was sent to Earth, they told me they were bothered because a drow, you, would be left without care for too long. The original plan was for me to only teach you after one Earth year."

Shen raised an eyebrow and turned to her. "Am I that easy to read?" First, the three drow, now, the Maiden.

Liya smiled slightly, but it was a heavy smile. She was postponing the real talk she should be having. "Yes." Then, she sighed and turned to her leaders. "Why not tell me? Why wait for me to figure it out on my own."

"By not telling, we researched the effects of both C+++ stats and continued exposition to a softer alien culture."

"Your individual happiness, comfort, and emotional well-being are irrelevant."

"You are free, but you're also still drow."

The Maiden was still having some trouble wrapping her head around it. "What if I had run away instead of coming here?"

"Then you would join the Lost Ones. Depending on how many still live, there might be thousands of them out there."

"Some of them send regular messages through untraceable means."

"Others help us without our knowledge."

"Yet others seek to dispose of the Triarchy for what they see as the good of our race. Unless we get an A-rank first, and that A-rank gets rid of us first, they will succeed one day."

"We can only hope they will do a better job staying alive than us."

The Maiden shook her head. "Why not kill them when they are leaving? I doubt you couldn't if you wanted."

"We don't kill drow, child."

"We are connected to the wills of our ancestors. We understand their wisdom and the purpose behind all Creeds better than anyone."

"Despite what your charge thinks, we will never kill him as long as he doesn't betray us."

"We don't kill drow," the three repeated in unison.

During all that conversation, Shen's only solace was that the Maiden seemed as confused as he felt. He sorted through things and got to a simple conclusion.

The Creeds were the fundamental tenets of the drow beliefs. All drow were brainwashed into those beliefs. Yet, either by design, the method's incompetence, or the indoctrinated's limited minds, the indoctrination was left with gaps.

Whenever a C- or B-rank found out about that, they either ran away to do whatever they wanted or stayed to ask for help. The Maiden was the latter. And now...

"What now?" she asked.

"Now, child, you're free," the male answered.

"You can rank up whenever you want. You can explore the multiverse or come help your people survive."

"If you choose the latter, you'll serve under us. Not blind obedience. No rebellious obedience either."

"We have rules. We'll share them with you after you become B-rank. You won't understand before that."

The Maiden squinted her eyes. "So I can just rank up?"

"You're free," a female replied.

The Maiden still wasn't buying it. "What about the Maiden-in-training? Can I really become B-rank without affecting her? What about the antidron? What about—"

"You're free," the three interrupted together, smiling.

"Deciding what to do with your freedom is up to you," the male added.

"Will you honor our traditions? Keep your word to those you gave it to? Keep postponing your progress for someone else? Research how significant such delay even is?"

"We won't answer anything until you become B-rank."

"If you want to learn how to be free, why not ask your charge?" the male asked.

A female chuckled. "By your tale, he seemed keen enough on showing you the true meaning of boundlessness through stupidity."

"Ah, a novel way of teaching comes to our lands."

"We now see why he was favored by the Orc Rising Star."

Shen stopped his eye from twitching.

Had he just been mocked by 3 B-ranks?