Death... and me

3037  Decision

"Someone to meet?" Foliana looked around, not seeing anyone else. "Who?"

Rean put his hand on her shoulder while looking at Little Fisha. "We will be right back. There is something I need to ask you as well, so wait here. Or, you can leave as well. That's up to you. You already helped us enough and got your reward, so I won't hold you back."

Little Fisha was taken aback. Could she finally leave?

Rean returned his attention to Foliana. "Don't fight against the pulling force."

*Zush!*

Foliana felt that force Rean mentioned, and suddenly, her vision blurred. It was almost the same feeling as the teleport formations, but somehow different. Once everything returned to normal, she was now inside the Dimensional Realm. "Wow... what is this place? I didn't even notice there was a Teleport Formation in that room."

"There wasn't, but that can wait," Rean explained. He waved his hand, and the surrounding area became visible. There, Tony already waited for her while Sister Orb watched from a distance. "Go ahead."

Foliana didn't know what was happening, but she approached the Divine Werdlem Stone lying on a table. "What is it?" Divine Werdlem Stones were different, so she didn't recognize it at first.

'I'm not a 'it...' well, I am, but I'm not,' a Divine Sense Message reached Foliana's mind. "Ah!" Foliana had never seen an artifact spirit before, so she was taken aback. She then looked closely, but the stone didn't move at all. "Was... Was it you who spoke?"

'Can you see anyone else? Yes, this is me,' Tony explained. 'I asked Rean to bring you inside so we could talk.'

Rean got by Foliana's side and patted her head. "This is Tony. He has a request to make. However, you don't need to feel compelled to accept his offer. If you think it is too much for you, then we can just leave."

'Hey!' Tony complained. 'Stop trying to scare away my new host!'

"Hos...Host?" Foliana narrowed her eyes. Was she supposed to become someone's host? That didn't feel like a very good thing.

'Ahem...' Tony noticed his mistake, so he had to explain himself. 'It is not wrong that you would be my host, but that is a mutually beneficial agreement between the two of us. Well, then, I'm going straight to the main topic. Foliana, you just so happen to be compatible with me, so I wish to take the place of your Werdlem Stone. I'm a Divine Werdlem Stone, and if you want to ever ascend, you will need someone like me.'

"Divine Werdlem Stone!" Foliana was obviously shocked to hear that. "R-Rean... this Divine Werdlem Stones, could it be..."

It goes without saying that the Sunlight Realm and the possible Divine Werdlem Stone in there wasn't any secret anymore. However, it was also known that no one found it... or, at the very least, no one reported having found it. Now, a Divine Werdlem Stone is right in front of her. Foliana easily added 2 + 2.

Rean nodded. "That's the one and the same. Roan and I found this guy in the Sunlight Realm and brought it out with us. However, it has been left in the Sunlight Realm for so long that it ended up giving birth to an Artifact Spirit, which is the guy talking to you from inside it."

"So you truly got the Divine Werdlem Stone all those top experts were looking for..." Foliana found that even more unbelievable. How did Rean go under the nose of all those monsters to take the stone away without anyone knowing? But then again, she remembered that she saw Rean's Soul during the formation opening.

"Why would you give it to me? I don't understand..." Foliana felt skeptical. It doesn't matter how she see it. She is gaining way too much for just that little bit of help she gave them back in the capital.

"Oh! You got it wrong," Rean explained. "This Divine Werdlem Stone has nothing to do with me helping you. In fact, it is the opposite. If you accept it, you will help me instead. And, believe me, you will help me A LOT! You have no idea!"

"This..." Foliana felt even more suspicious.

'Idiot!' Tony complained. 'The way you talked makes it feel like getting rid of me is the sole purpose of this meeting. Don't talk as if I'm some sort of punishment to whoever gets me.'

"Oh!" Rean nodded. "Sorry, sorry. That's not what I mean. You will be helping me if you accept Tony, but it has nothing to do with you or Tony himself. I can't explain the reason, but I'm also not going to force you. Just know that there is nothing wrong with Tony himself."

'Talking about it...' Tony intervened, 'Why exactly me leaving would help you?'

"That's none of your business either," Rean didn't answer. "If you don't like it, I can totally leave you here in this place."

'Ahem... I don't need to know anything,' Tony immediately gave up asking about it anymore.

Foliana narrowed her eyes. "But Rean... would it be safe to have a Divine Werdlem Stone when I go out?"

Rean looked at Tony. "That question, only Tony can answer. I'm not sure myself. And if you are wondering why I don't use Tony myself, I'm not compatible with him." Rean could have said he doesn't need Tony, but he wasn't lying either. He truly wasn't compatible.

Tony quickly explained. 'You don't need to worry. Once I take the place of your Werdlem Stone, I will act just like any other Werdlem Stone in this Universe. No one will be able to see the difference since I can work with Spiritual Energy. It's just that you could also absorb Divine Energy if you ever find a source in the future.'

"So he says," Rean shrugged. "It is up to you. He is your pass out of this planet, but that also means you will be together with him for the rest of your life. You should think about it carefully. Don't forget that only one Divine Werdlem Stone is available every thousand years in the Millennial Divine Werdlem Stone Contest. If you are confident you can win that contest against all the Transition Realm experts of this planet, then you can simply ignore him."

Foliana immediately grabbed Tony. "I'm counting on you, Tony."

Win the context? She doesn't even like to fight to start with. How could she possibly win anything? She doesn't intend to spend much time getting stronger, only the necessary to stay alive. That was all.

'Great! Finally, a worthy host!' Tony was obviously happy, too.

Rean patted her head. "Good. Now then. Let's swap the Werdlem Stones."

And as always, any Golden Tickets and Stones are welcome. ;)