"But there are rumors about her, unpleasant rumors."
"And what are those?" I asked curiously, and after taking a deep breath, Grace replied.
"That she is involved in human trafficking, and so is her family."
"Hmm..." I looked towards Aeloria as she moved deeper inside the labyrinth.
"Human trafficking?" I mumbled, stroking my chin with my finger.
The thing is, I know about it. I have done enough research about her, gathering all the information that I needed.
And it's pretty much confirmed that she isn't involved in any kind of business like this.
"Do you know where the rumors started to circulate?" I asked, looking back towards Grace.
"I don't know," she shook her head in reply.
"Hmm, I don't think they're in that kind of shady business," I declared, shrugging my shoulder.
"Then why are these types of rumors circulating?" Frowning, she asked.
"Don't know. Maybe it's some kind of defense mechanism they're using to cover up their actual motives."
"Why, though? They're dragging their name through the mud by doing this."
"Well, what can I say? Maybe there's something they have that's worth the risk," I replied as we arrived halfway through the dome.
'She's really giving me a headache.'
Aeloria Starfayre.
Heir and sole daughter of Viscount Starfayre.
'The gentle sprite.'
A person completely different from her game counterpart and the one who has changed things that I don't have control over.
A reincarnated person who may or may not know about the game's story.
'But if she does know about the game's story, will she change it in her favor?'
That's something that I'm curious about.
Will she try to engage with Aron more, knowing h-
Will she try to engage with Aron more, knowing he will become an immensely powerful person in the future?
But then again, would this woman want to be a mere pawn in someone's collection?
"Eden..." Grace's voice brought me out of my thoughts as I looked back at her.
"Yes?"
"Where were you during the last three years?" I looked at her in surprise as she said those words.
"Hmm... wandering around."
"So you're not going to deny it," she replied, raising one of her eyebrows a little.
"What's the point of denying it? You once knew more about me than I did," I replied, reflecting on the past.
"We were kids back then," she immediately rebuked, clearly not pleased with my response.
"Yeah, it's kind of funny that we used to be so close... Yet here we are," I said, a bitter smile forming on my face as I looked at her.
"We had me once, Eden. Your fault for leaving me... For her," she replied coldly, seemingly unaffected by my words.
"Your hands are trembling," I pointed out, to which she immediately hid them.
"You never told me, Eden. Why did you choose her over me... Why were you so obsessed with her?" Trying to change the topic, she asked the question that must have been eating her up from the inside for years.
"I don't know..."
"What happened when you were missing for a month, Eden? What happened then?"
She pressed for an answer, but all I could remember from that time were blank memories.
"I don't remember what actually happened... I don't remember." I shook my head as I replied.
No matter how much I try to recall those memories, I can't think of anything about it.
'Edda.''
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[Yes?]
'You told me once that in the past, Eden asked you to seal those memories, correct?''
[Yes...]
'Why?''
[There wouldn't be any reason for them to be sealed if you got the answer when you weren't meant to, Eden.]
'So I have to wait to get the answer.'
[Yes...]
'Fucking useless system.'
[....]
'...Yeah, just be quiet like always.'
Sighing, I extended my hand towards Grace.
"What?" she asked, looking at my hand and then my face with skepticism.
"Your hand," I replied, urging her to hold mine.
"And why would you need my hand?" she asked, still doubtful of my intentions.
"Just do it," I replied, and after hesitating for a while, she eventually gave in.
As her soft hand touched mine, I felt a little relief from the inside.
"It's been a while," I mumbled as I looked at her, to which she nodded in agreement.
The last I remember it happened when we were kids, holding hands was pretty common for us when we were kids.
Interlocking my fingers with hers, I asked, "Can you activate your black flames?"
"No, are you an idiot? It will burn you," she replied, trying to free her hand, but I held it firmly.
"Trust me, nothing will happen," I assured her, looking into her eyes.
"No, Eden, don't. My flames burn everything. Don't try it," she protested, shaking her head in denial.
"It's fine, really. I can handle it," I reassured her.
"Sigh... don't cry later," she sighed, her voice tinged with concern, as her fingers began to emit black flames, the basis to her bloodline.
I waited patiently as the flames enveloped both her hand and mine.
Soon enough, the unburnt skin that had been preserved by Sylvia's bloodline began to sear with pain.
"Hish..." I hissed through gritted teeth, enduring the burning sensation.
"Ahh... Sorry."
"Don't stop," I instructed firmly as she made a move to extinguish the flames.
Then, resonating with the fury of my phoenix bloodline provoked by the black flames, I summoned forth my own pure white flames from my fingertips.
The two sets of flames clashed, each vying for dominance in a primal struggle.
It was as if they possessed a will of their own, each attempting to consume the other.
The flames continued to rage, their height growing from a meter to two, and finally reaching a towering three meters.
We both looked at the mesmerizing flames, their heat making us sweat despite our resistance towards the flames.
Yet, despite my efforts, it became apparent that my flames were beginning to falter, gradually giving way to hers.
Releasing my grip on her hand, I watched as my burning skin slowly began to heal.
"That white flame..." she began, her voice trailing off in astonishment.
"Yeah, they're potent, but they're not quite a match for the Goddess of Flames," I remarked with a wry chuckle, enjoying her shocked expression.
"B-but, but my flames..."
"HEY! GUYS, I FOUND THE EXIT," Aeloria shouted loudly as she waved her hand from afar.
"Let's go," I said to Grace as I moved forward.
After walking for a while, we arrived at a large boulder which was shaped like a door.
"This is the exit?" I asked as I pointed at the door.
"Yup, and don't you guys have something to say?" She grumbled as she looked at both of us.
"What?" Grace asked, tilting her head.
"Thank you!" She replied as if she had made an obvious point, "I was the one who carried the group, killing all the monsters."
"Thank you, battle maniac," I said as I put my hands on the double doors.
"I am not a battle maniac!" Aeloria shouted, and I tactfully ignored her.
"Hup."
I put strength into my arms as I pushed the door, and after struggling for a while, the door split open.
Scratching the floor beneath it, the door fully opened up, revealing a room.
"I will go first," Aeloria declared as she moved in, taking the first step.
_Swish_
As soon as she entered, almost instantly, the sound of something being shot was heard.
I quickly tried to grab her hand as an arrow was shot right at her face, but it was too late to shift her position.
"Argh..."
Having no time, I placed my hand in front of her face, and the arrow pierced my palm.
"Eden!"
Grace tried to come forward to look at my injury, but I wasn't in my right mind now.
Because the thing that I was seeing now wasn't letting me.
Quietly entering the hall which was dimly lit, I looked at the pictures that were encarved on the walls.
Ignoring the girls' worries, I touched the pictures with my working hand.
As I moved further into the chamber, I felt a chill creep down his spine, the weight of the engravings pressing down of me.
The walls of the room were lined with intricate engravings, each one depicting a scene of destruction of time that I don't know about—a pantheon of gods falling from grace.
"Huff..Huff.."
Trying to clam my restless heart I looked at the a hall like chamber again.
A sword cutting a lightning bolt.
A sword cutting a trident.
A sword cutting a hammer.
A sword cutting a helmet.
And many more...
But that wasn't the problem.
The problem was that the same picture was engraved on the whole hall again and again and again....
It's as if someone made the same thing multiple times.
It's as if someone made it...
....in a loop.