After the war ended, Audrose quickly boarded a starship to return to the capital star for a more complete physical and spiritual power examination using more sophisticated equipment.

He had brought his most beloved person when he came, but returned alone.

Upon confirming the itinerary of this Marshal and Prince, a welcoming banquet was held for him at the palace on the evening of his arrival at the capital star.

The emperor sent an invitation to his eldest son with near nervousness.

But to his disappointment, Audrose's starship went straight back to the prince's mansion and never came out again.

All that arrived was an apology letter stating he was unwell and unable to attend.

Regarding Audrose skipping the banquet the emperor had personally prepared for him, everyone was exceptionally magnanimous in expressing their understanding.

In this situation where the imperial citizens' worship and support for Audrose had almost reached its peak, no matter what he did, there would be almost no one voicing criticism.

Even though the protagonist was absent, the joy brought by the victory of the war still made the guests who came to the banquet in high spirits. They talked about their insights on this war with near enthusiasm, exchanging some harmless gossip with each other.

Of course, the center of people's topics still revolved around the greatest hero of this war, Marshal and Prince Audrose.

The revelry in the palace continued late into the night without ceasing. People's relaxed moods seemed to spread farther with the laughter, passing through the roof, and the prince's bedchamber not far away was also brightly lit.

But it was very quiet here, with only Audrose alone.

He sat on the bed, his head slightly lowered as he flipped through a book with a lacquered red cover in his hands. His light golden hair had grown long without being trimmed, loosely tied behind his head. Some loose strands that couldn't be tied back scattered between his sharp brows, falling in front of his azure eyes.

Except for the occasional sound of turning pages, there was no other movement in the room.

A wave of invisible fluctuations flashed by, and a black figure appeared from head to toe.

It was Prince Audrose's energy beast, a western dragon as cold and powerful as himself. When it showed its complete form after evolution, its body length could reach a thousand meters. The empire's top-secret documents had already recorded its shape in detail.

The dragon was coiled on the beam engraved with exquisite golden patterns, its black and huge body making the originally thick and magnificent beam look extremely slender.

It was coiled in a distorted shape, its wings with protruding bone spurs and membranes slightly spread open on both sides behind its body. The black scales on its body were slightly opened, emitting a cold, dark luster under the illumination of the splendid chandelier hanging high in the center of the bedchamber.

Its ice-blue beast pupils were lowered, staring intently at the figure on the bed, the pupils narrowed into a cold line.

If someone were here at this moment and saw this scene, they would definitely be so surprised that they wouldn't be able to speak!

-- Scales raised, wings spread, shoulders tense, pupils narrowed, this was undoubtedly a sign of attack for most winged beasts!

How could there be an energy beast that would make such a threatening move towards its master?!

Energy beasts are a reflection of their master's inner heart. Who would want to put themselves in mortal danger?

Unless that person was a madman! A complete desperado!

The dragon's body was still tense, its muscles knotted with the hardness of boulders. The light flashing from the bone spurs on its wings became increasingly sinister. It moved its body, its sharp claws tightly gripping the edge of the beam. Its huge head lowered, its dragon breath almost spitting on top of Audrose's head. Its long black tail covered in hideous scales swept down from the beam, falling on the bed, pressing a deep mark into the fluffy quilt.

It surrounded its master, but not in a protective posture, but in an unmistakably threatening manner.

Audrose raised his head from the book scroll and looked straight up, meeting his energy beast's pair of bright and scorching beast pupils that were so close, as if magma was rolling within them.

There were too many emotions surging inside, extreme indifference mixed with pain, hatred... and some things he dared not touch.

His dragon stared at him with near hatred until it let out a low, hoarse roar from its throat. Audrose understood what it was saying, because it was the voice from within his heart.

It said, "You lost him."

With a rustle, the crimson scroll in Audrose's hand fell onto the bed.

It was an ancient book from the old Earth era, a long poem written by a poet named Dante, called "Divine Comedy".

On the open page, in flowing cursive, it was written:

"Through the city of misery, I fled in haste;

Through eternal sorrow, I soared away."

......

At the same time.

"Loading prop effects—"

"...98...99...100! Prop effects loaded! The body has been shaped according to the 'Replicate Original Form' option you selected! Congratulations on having a brand new life again!"

After confirming that he hadn't misheard the price and the mall couldn't offer a discount, Su Duan gritted his teeth and bought the box with tears in his eyes.

— He had just earned six thousand from Audrose, but had to spend seven thousand for him. This deal was really not worth it!

Actually, meeting in the next world would have been fine, but once the thought of going back to see Audrose took root, it stayed in his heart and couldn't be dispelled.

Just as he had overheard humans lament, love really does make one poor.

The moment he selected the mode and clicked to use it, Su Duan's consciousness unexpectedly fell into a daze, and he also lost his sense of time. Only the constantly rising numbers remained in his mind.

It wasn't until the numbers slowly reached one hundred that his mind became clear again.

However, upon regaining clarity, he discovered that something was wrong—

Why did he have so many flowers on his head?

Pink, purple, fiery red, light blue - all kinds of gorgeous and charming flowers bloomed softly in a cluster, stretching to an invisible distance. As the breeze blew by, the fragrance assailed the senses, and countless beautiful petals fell, merging into the sea of petals that had already blanketed the ground.

Objectively speaking, these flowers were indeed very beautiful, beautiful enough to make one feel as if in the clouds. But for a plant spirit like a Poria, they weren't so wonderful.

Every inch of air contained countless pollen grains. Su Duan was about to faint. A petal fell on his head, and he reflexively wanted to reach out and brush it off.

But then, he discovered something even more terrifying.

— Where were his hands?

...Not only his hands, but his feet also seemed to be missing!

— Wait a minute, something wasn't quite right. It seemed he wasn't in human form right now?

Amidst the ground covered in flowers like satin, the little black potato shook its little leaves in confusion.