Chapter 113: An Eerie Existence

“As you… asked in that favor… I went to… Gergrain.” The elderly man’s voice wove itself around the room.

The dragon woman slipped out behind him, closing the door softly and leaving the two old men alone.

The old man’s starry eyes, which swirled like a turning galaxy, settled on the elderly dragon seated before him, his long white hair spilling down his back.

The dragon lifted his pinming bei, filled with a greenish drink, slightly towards the man.

“I will not forget this debt. I know how dangerous it is, even for you,” he said, his face grave.

“This is the least I could do… for an old friend.” The elderly man sipped his drink and fell quiet. He waited a moment, then continued. “As you said… I saw… him.”

The old dragon’s eyes narrowed, almost nostalgically. He stared into the polished stone surface of the table, at his own reflection, and remembered ancient things, memories millions of years old.

“That thing… was different,” the old man said, his voice slow and worn. “Those cracks… were gone, and it… was ‘free.’”

The dragon snapped his head back towards him. “Free?”

“Yes… it seems an… intervention happened.”

“An intervention…?”

“#001… intervened. So… his power… is limited for now.” His eyes widened as the next words tumbled out in a rush. “But… but… Ravels! The Ravels! She has also intervened in this reincarnation!”

“The Ravels…” The dragon’s eyes widened.

Why is that family name coming up now? The dragon pressed a palm to his forehead. And he is ‘free’? The last thing anyone would want is for it to gain that.

Looking into the old man’s starry eyes, each with a white star for a pupil, the dragon asked calmly, “So things have changed this time?”

“Immesely.” The old man set his pinming bei down. “He’s… unpredictable now.”

“But he’s weak now?” the dragon muttered to himself. “What did you see? His fate, I mean.”

“If he… comes here, he… will surely die.”

The old man studied the dragon’s face after saying it. The dragon’s expression almost slid into relief, but before long it clouded with worry again. 

The old man closed his eyes, chuckling lightly. “You… you of all people know… what ‘end’ means.”

“Yes… I know it well.” A forced smile crossed the dragon’s face. “I don’t want ‘end’ to descend on me again.”

“What is… the current Dragon… King planning now?” the old man asked.

“Bashlight?” The dragon sighed. “He isn’t listening to me. He doesn’t understand what it means to even think of opposing Veyra. But right now, the uproar over the Blood God’s disappearance has his full attention.”

“Veyra… have been quiet… in the past few epochs.”

“With their king gone, they should be. They’re trapped in that place right now… But it won’t last forever.” The grinding of the old man’s teeth drew his attention. “Will he…”

“He will… he definitely… will! He will return!”

“I just have to get that idiot to listen to me, and there won’t be any problem.” The dragon leaned back in his chair. “Thank you for the information.”

“I will…” The old man tried to rise, ready to leave, but stopped and sat down again. He narrowed his eyes. “Mmm… Maybe because of my age, I almost forgot.”

“Forgot…?” The dragon frowned in concern. “Even if you’re old, you shouldn’t forget something like this. What is it?”

“He had… another with him.”

“Elina? Let’s put her aside for now.”

“No. Another that is… concerning… very.” The old man’s eyes turned intense. “White hair, crimson eyes… his partner, he said.”

“That woman?” The dragon tilted his head lightly. “But she was just a Vital Lifefo—”

“Don’t… be fooled.” He placed a hand over his heart and muttered, “I… couldn’t read her fate. She… tried to read mine… through calculation.”

“What?!” The dragon stood, planting both hands on the desk. “You, who manipulated others’ fates at will in your prime, couldn’t read her fate at all?!”

“You have… to be careful of… her.” The old man lowered his hand from his heart and pointed a finger at him. “You know… what a mind like that could… do with him. She’s dust… in the physical world, but… omnipotent in the Astral… World.”

Thinking of the combination, the dragon’s fist began to tremble.

“I haven’t heard of… anything… like that anomaly before.” The old man’s expression shifted, almost wild. “She’s… an eerie existence woven from fiction and delusion.”

The words sent a cold shiver through the old dragon, and he felt his heartbeat thunder. “It’s…”

It was a title no one in this world had ever achieved. A brand-new one, trampling those so-called ‘Gods’ underfoot.

“A ‘True God.’”

***

“Noaaa…. Noaaaaaaa…. Noaaaaaaaaaa….”

A continuous chant of his name drifted through the whole room, dragging and lazy.

Vionette lay face-down on the bed, hugging a big white pillow as she muttered his name, her voice muffled by the fabric.

Noa gritted his teeth and scratched the back of his head. He turned in her direction. “What? Stop repeating my name like a fucking idiot!”

He was in the kitchenette of their room in Gergrain’s castle, preparing some apple slices.

“Noaaa… Noaaaaaaaaa…. Noaaa….” The words kept repeating.

Once he finished slicing the apples, he sighed and walked to the bed with the plate in hand. Vionette was still chanting his name idly, clutching the pillow tightly.

“What is it?” Noa asked, setting the plate on the drawer beside the bed.

Vionette released the pillow and rolled over onto her back. Looking at him with a demanding pout, she stretched both hands out towards him.

“Cuddle me.”

Noa sighed. “I knew it.”

He climbed onto the bed and dropped down beside her. After she turned her back to him, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her in, locking her in a tight embrace.

“Better?” he asked, his eyes on her neck.

Her cheeks flushed slightly. “A little tighter.”

So he tightened his arms around her, and a satisfied smile formed on her lips.

Noa rolled towards the wall, taking Vionette with him, where a screen showed the events on the island in real time. It was a favor Vionette had asked for during her talk with Kaimon and Sinia.

The reason all the royals were escorted there is so they can intervene if anything happens to their sponsored students or their children. Vionette closed her eyes, feeling his warmth, deeply satisfied. Well, we don’t need to do that. We can just teleport.

“How’s Lina doing?” Noa asked, looking at the screen.

“Lina was already equal if not stronger than them even before her evolution. She won’t have any problem now.” Vionette smiled softly.

<How’s the work going in there?> she asked.

Elina, now inside a cave with the cult, answered, <They don’t seem to have any problem.>

“Nothing’s wrong with the cult either. Everything’s going smoothly, just as I knew it would.”

“Great. Vio’s the smartest.” He rested his cheek beside her head.

“I can’t help but agree.” She smiled smugly. “Let’s stay like this for a little while.”

“So demanding. Jeez.”

“That’s what happens when you have a beautiful girlfriend.”

They stayed on the bed like that for nearly half an hour, talking, laughing, teasing, and getting annoyed with each other.

Then Noa stirred. He crawled towards the edge of the bed and sat on it. Gripping Vionette’s waist, he effortlessly lifted her onto his lap, wrapped his arms around her shoulders again, and cuddled her as they watched the screen.

“What are you going to do to that Edel guy?” he asked.

“That depends on what happens after I go to their class. So I’ll just put him on neutral for now.”

“Hmm.”

Noa reached over and picked up the plate of sliced apples. Reaching around in front of Vionette’s chest while still hugging her, his other hand speared a piece with a toothpick.

He brought it to her mouth as she enjoyed the scenes on the screen. “Here. Say ahh.”

“I’m not a kid,” Vionette said, parting her lips and biting down on the apple, her eyes brightening. “This is good. Yummy~”

One by one, Noa slowly fed her the slices as they watched together. By the fourth one, Vionette turned her head slightly towards him, curious.

“You aren’t going to eat?” she asked.

“No.” Noa parted his lips and lowered his mouth, biting down on her neck. “I have something more delicious.”

Vionette rolled her eyes towards him, a disappointed expression on her face as she swallowed the apple.

He’s gonna bite the shit out of me again, isn’t he?

*** 

Elina sat on a ledge jutting out near the top of the cave, watching the cultists work below, swinging her legs idly.

“Hey!” she shouted. “Hurry up!”

The head cultist, Gireld, looked up and called back, “We’re trying our best, My Lady! Please be patient!”

They were in the middle of moving the 100 dead bodies onto a raised rock and arranging them in a circle. There were children, women, men. It didn’t matter, as only the outcome was wanted.

Elina watched the scene, humming a tune to herself. But then she sensed something and turned towards one of the cave entrances.

A group of people she had seen before was heading towards them, fully armed.

It was the Lantern Gravers.

The cultists, noticing the arrivals as well, turned towards them and raised their guard, looking confused. Elina spread her dragon wings, flew down, and landed in front of the entrance.

<They’re here.>

<Kay. We’ll come in a bit.>

***

Lucion, Sylene, and two others stood facing a group of students, all with their weapons ready. The opposing team looked poised to attack, yet their faces were filled with fear.

Lucion glanced at Sylene, disappointed. Why her of all people? I could’ve been paired with Adrian, or even Neiscris.

“We…” The leader stepped forward, raising his hands. “We surrender and request to join your team. We know better than to go against Princess Sylene’s strength.”

The next second, a wave of Aether tore towards them and turned to ice, encasing everyone in a frozen shell.

Sylene dusted off her hands, unbothered. “Useless.”

Nice job, trying to join this team, Lucion thought, his eyes dry.

A bolt of lightning appeared out of nowhere, and Sylene’s eyes snapped wide. She immediately turned towards the girl holding their flag and cast a spell.

The lightning was replaced by a cat girl in an instant, her hands stopping just short of the flag, thwarted by Sylene’s magic. She vanished, and the bolt shot towards the ground before fading.

The girl clicked her tongue playfully, her amber eyes locking onto Sylene. “You noticed that?”

Where did she come from? Lucion tightened his grip on his sword and looked around. This is bad…

Sure enough, more and more enemies began to close in around them. There were twelve in total, including the cat girl. The girl holding the flag and the boy beside her trembled with fear, while Lucion reached for his pouch and Sylene began chanting.

In the midst of the chaos, a wild flame erupted.

A student burst from the trees and landed in the middle, startling everyone with his presence. The ground shattered as he touched down on all fours like an animal, blood-red Aether dancing wildly around him.

It was Jeik, his eyes fierce, his red hair now longer and whipping wildly.

Lucion’s eyes widened. Berserker!

***

“Yes, yes. You get what I mean, right?” Lina smiled warmly, tapping the boy’s shoulder. “If we join forces, we can even take down the number one.”

The boy, the team’s leader, looked over her shoulder at the students behind them. Saxs still held their team’s flag, but he also held three more. Now, instead of four of them, there were sixteen in total.

Edel had his sword and a magic spell ready, aimed at the boy’s team, while Mei stood near Saxs.

“Choose:” Lina drew his attention back. “Elimination or survival.”