Death... and me

Chapter 2987: Mostly Offline

"Hahaha!" Rean laughed and finally decided to talk back. "Alright, Sister Orb, just where are you? What is happening here?"

"Tch..." Roan clicked his tongue. He definitely would keep pretending he didn't hear anything until he left this place.

[That's not funny! Anyway, I'm in the central area, inside the treasure room. Come and take me back. I can't do anything in here.]

"Treasure room?" The twins didn't even know where they were.

Rean was more curious about Sister Orb, though. "How did you end up in this place? Weren't you supposed to be in the Control Orb? Ever since we arrived here, the orb had been mostly silent, only making some warnings and such. We noticed straight away you were not there." Roan also had his doubts. "What happened after the idiot and I passed out back in Lisan?" [Oh! That was quite a complicated matter... First, let me answer Roan's question.] Sister Orb began to explain.

Going back to when the twins passed out, Hex appeared without anyone noticing. According to Sister Orb, he was already inside that new body of his and used some weird technique that made him imperceptible to anyone else.

That wasn't all. Sister Orb mentioned she felt Soul Gem's presence at that moment. The Soul Gem Dimensional Realm opened on its own, and Hex took the Control Orb away. Naturally, she was brought away with it. Soul Gem created the system, so he left some countermeasures behind that made it impossible for Sister Orb to resist. She, who was supposed to be invincible in the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm, was completely hopeless. She couldn't even communicate with the others.

Still, she could see what was happening around her while Hex brought the Control Orb and the twins' souls away. Hex went to some hidden corner of the Universe where a Formation was already activated, waiting for him. Sister Orb didn't have any control over the system's ability, but she had experience. Without a doubt, that was the most advanced and high-level Formation she had ever seen in her time with the twins. Even the Legendary Level Formations they saw before couldn't compare to it.

Such an amazing Formation was used for one thing and one thing only... teleportation! Hex filled the Formations with hundreds of thousands of Divine Origin Energy Cores for that one single teleportation, so one could imagine just how far he intended to teleport. It definitely wasn't within the boundaries of the Lisan Universe.

[And that's how we appeared in this Universe. By the way, do you at least know where this place is?]

Rean quickly nodded. "Although I can't confirm for sure, it seems like we are in the Werdlem Empire. Or, at least, that's what everyone on this planet thinks. That's also what is said in the information available on this planet's internet. The people of this planet seem to know a great deal of things related to the Universe as a whole, which is quite impressive."

Rean then explained everything he and Roan had seen up to this point. How Hex abandoned them. Their time in the village and then their trip to the Gondel Clan. Finally, the contest, their conversation with Foliana about history, and their arrival in the Sunlight Realm.

[So that's why you have these two young bodies. For a moment, I almost didn't recognize you. Good thing my connection with your souls was restored as soon as you entered the palace. I have to admit, Hex did an amazing job. You are perfectly attuned to your bodies. No one would be able to tell that these aren't your original bodies. I can feel it from here.]

Rean didn't care much about it. "So be it. Now, answer my question."

[Oh, right. Almost forgot...]

Sister Orb continued. Back when Hex brought the twins to the Werdlem Empire, the Universe they entered immediately detected Sister Orb's presence. After all, Sister Orb was the sentience of another Universe. It tried to strike her down even though she was inside the Control Orb.

Hex seemed to already expect that, though. He took out an item similar to a little crystal with the same feel as the Control Orb. With that, he pulled Sister Orb's Spirit out of the Control Orb and sealed her inside the item. Finally, he threw Sister Orb away into the Sunlight Realm, where she had been until now.

[Before he put me here, he mentioned this crystal should be able to attune me to the Universes I'm about to visit in the future. He said something about this place being controlled or some shit. I wasn't able to hear correctly due to the suppressing power of the Universe. Now that I think about it, he was probably talking about how the Werdlem Empire can control all the Cultivation Energy of the Universes it controls. The reason for us to be here seems to be related to the fact you two are Universe Owners.]

The twins did indeed gain a title saying that.

[During the past few months, my Spirit did indeed attune to the energies of this crystal, and the Universe's suppression disappeared eventually. That allowed me to spread my senses. Unfortunately, there was only so much I could do. My senses were locked inside this palace, and I couldn't tell anything regarding the outside world. I even thought you might never appear again.]

"Hmph! I sure wished I had never come..." Roan commented with a snort.

[Yeah, yeah... I understand that already.]

Rean shrugged. He could understand Roan's feelings, after all. "Alright, let's not be that bad. Sister Orb, we didn't come here looking for you. Do you remember when I mentioned the Divine Werdlem Stone? Can you see anything similar to it in the treasure room?"

Sister Orb looked around. Before, she didn't know about Werdlem Stones. Now that she does, she might be able to identify it. [Hum... I can't, to be honest. However, how about this crystal where I'm locked inside? It seems to be made from the same thing as my Control Orb, the Universe's Foundation. Of course, not Lisan's, but this one. That's also why the system has been mostly offline until now.]