Chapter 140 A Fair Offer
Lauren descended onto a lone craggy island that showed no signs of life. She entered a perfectly carved out cave and found herself in a center room with several other tunnels leading to different areas. She decided to check each and found nothing out of the ordinary except a few miscellaneous items until she entered the last pathway and found another crystal coffin.
“Ustia.” Lauren approached and opened the coffin before moving a few feet back.
It was silent for a time until Ustia sat up abruptly while taking deep breaths.
“Where are they?” Ustia asked coldly as she climbed out of the coffin.
“Dead,” Lauren answered.
“...Ira killed them?” Ustia’s anger somewhat fell as she had no target to take it out on.
Lauren nodded in reply to her inquiry before speaking, “We’re going to get him.”
“What do you mean?” Ustia voiced her confusion.
“That psychic, Gicae, he took Ira toward the Storm Wall when we saw him last.”
“Then...There’s no way Ira could’ve survived.” Ustia said bitterly.
“He’s alive.”
“How do you know?” Ustia questioned.
“Avery said it was so and I doubt he’d be one to die so easily while his daughter is waiting.” Lauren placed her complete trust in the feelings of Avery and Raveria.
“Daughter?”
“It’s no secret now but that was the reason for our added protection over the Hall. Anyway, I need you to lead me to where the Storm Wall is.” Lauren showed her determination in retrieving Ira.
“...I understand but I’m coming with you.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem.” Lauren agreed.
…
Inside the palace of the Underground City, Rhys found herself in a strange situation...Well, it was more discomforting than strange. Cold-faced Valkyries stood guard around her. It was a hard adjustment to say the least but she could understand why they were present. There was a knock at the door and then a Dark Elf carrying a plate entered.
Rhys looked shocked at the person entering and stood up to bow but she was immediately stopped.
“Please don’t!” Sylvia was in a panic as she rushed over to prevent Rhys from bowing.
Rhys was puzzled at the behavior of the princess but decided it would be better to listen.
“You’re going to be the mother of the Keeper’s child. You don’t understand how much trouble I would be in if I forced you to bow.” Sylvia explained as she placed a silver plate down near Rhys.
“Now…” Sylvia recollected herself, “Ever since the Keeper made his love of pastries and baked goods known we’ve been trying to develop some he would like.”
Rhys looked at the round pastry with the shape of a wolf’s head baked into its crust. Sylvia sliced it into smaller pieces before gesturing for Rhys to try one.
She bit into it before her eyes widened in delight, she looked to the other pieces and then back to Sylvia.
“If you want more there’s no problem.” Sylvia smiled.
Without any more hesitation, Rhys consumed the rest of the pastry before grinning in satisfaction.
“It appears you like them so maybe Ira would too. Everyone’s taken to calling them mooncakes so if you would like more you can just ask one of the attendants.”
Rhys nodded before grabbing her notepad and writing, [Thank you.]
“It’s nothing, anyway, I’m here to check up on your health and make sure your child is growing safely.” Sylvia began to carefully inspect Rhys.
…
In Purgatory, the Will was moving through the dense and ghastly fog with restlessness. She eventually arrived at the trunk of a willow tree that was covered in a layer of spectral energy. Inside, a body was locked in place like it was trapped in amber. It almost looked a human woman but it was clear it was something else entirely. It was vessel compounded of souls from the deceased.
“Soon.” The Will was clearly excited for the growth of the lifeless body. She had constantly fed it souls in order to grow it and the results were clear. All that was left was for her to find an area thick with death and she could summon it into the Mortal Realm.
“Soon.” The Will repeated as she called for more souls and pushed them into the black orb lodged into the chest of her vessel.
…
Ira bit into a cookie as he walked through a crowded street. The atmosphere was full of tension since a dragon died. People were fearful and some were inspired, thinking the uprising to be the cause. In order to quell any potential disorder, groups of guards patrolled the city with weapons ready. People could be detained for making eye contact at the wrong time so everyone tried to keep to themselves as they moved about.
Then, there was Ira who somehow looked the most inconspicious but somehow unnatural at the same time. He was wearing a hooded long coat that hung loosely on his shoulders while his messy black hair fell over his face just barely exposing his bright yellow eyes.
The city he was currently in was quite advanced. In the distance he could see a floating palace sitting comfortably in the sky. In contrast, the rest of the city was on the ground.
Ira finished eating the cookie and wiped his hands before looking around.
“I should make that floating palace fall.” Ira spoke to himself but suddenly his ears twitched and he smiled.
He began walking forward but then made an abrupt turn into a sidestreet.
…
“Did he discover us?” A male vulpes narrowed his eyes.
“Doubtful. Weren’t you the one who found him first? Besides we’ve been following him all day and he hasn’t noticed. I don’t even think he's the one we’re looking for.” Another male vulpes crouching next to him answered.
The two were dressed in dark clothes and were hidden atop a nearby roof.
“...Then should we follow him?”
“Although he’s the closest person we’ve seen all day, the only thing he’s done is steal pastries. I can’t see how he’s the one we’re looking for but we’ve already received instructions.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
“Wait.” A voice interrupted.
Ira appeared behind the two of them with a friendly smile on his face, “Could you tell me why you’re looking for me? Also, no lies please.”
The two were silent as if weighing the choices they had in their head and then one of them spoke.
“We’ve been told to reach out to you in order to see if you’re willing to help with our cause.”
“Your cause?” Ira chuckled.
“Yes, we seek to topple those pretending to be Gods and gain freedom for everyone forced into subservience.” A fervor filled the eyes of the Vulpes.
“And then what?” Ira asked.
“What do you mean? We’ll build from there.”
Ira shook his head as he realized the unrealistic nature of the entire movement. It was more likely for it to collapse on itself than it was to lead to a brighter future.
“If you can find all the Lares connected to a man named Gicae, I’ll help you out a bit. I’ll be in this city for another day or so, so give me answer quickly.” Ira gave them his conditions before he vanished from sight.
They were speechless at Ira’s ability to teleport without any signs of magic but after a few moments they calmed down.
“...Who is Gicae?” The Vulpes were clueless but decided to report back immediately.
If it was a reasonable request then there was no reason for the leaders of the Uprising to deny it. In fact, it shouldn’t even be that difficult considering that the Lares had a lifespan of more than a thousand years.
