Chapter 431 - I Know Where They Are
Elliot stared at Seungju, waiting for the man to say anything else. After Seungju asked the question, he was silent after.
"Is the anything wrong?" Elliot asked. "Why are you silent all of a sudden."
"Interesting," Seungju smirked. "I guess our conversation ends here for today. Your friends are almost here."
"Ffends?" Elliot asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion. "I don't think I understand."
"My eyes sees an army of a hundred people coming to this direction," Seungju said. "You need to wait for them. They're traveling underground and they'll be here in three days time."
The pink-haired man left Elliot alone at the back of the tree. The boy just stood there, watching Seungju retreat to the city without saying anything else.
"What's wrong with him?" Elliot asked himself.
He scratched his head and looked around the serene fields. This place somehow represents the actual world it duplicated from. But there are just some things that can't be copied by any magic.
Elliot leaned down to face the flowery grass. He took one flower and sniffed it. It was a dandelion and it has the same scent as dandelions in Terra.
The boy closed his eyes and felt the flower. There, he can see how it differs from the one in his realm. Their auras were different from each other. One was pure and made from life, and the other was artificial and made from magic.
Elliot opened his eyes and looked at the skies, a question lingering in his mind as he did.
"Can I conjure such a vast magic like this?"
While Elliot was pondering in his question, the reinforcements from Avancia were almost at the spot Jon told them about. The Earth Master, Frederick, Luck, and even Zeus were worried that something happened to Kusa and the others.
"Are you sure they're not dead or something?" Luck asked bluntly, earning him an elbow from Fredrick. "What?"
"Don't talk like that," the red-haired man whispered. "He's close friends with that Fire Master. And it's not like we can talk to him like how we talk to our peers. This part of the world is different."
"Right," Luck whispered back. He turned to Jon who was still in he form of a baby humanoid beetle. "How can you differentiate death and this apparent sudden vanishing?"
Frederick could only facepalm while Zeus cracked into a fit of laughter. Jon was baffled for a moment before he finally understood what Luck meant.
"Oh, that's easy," the man said, raising his index finger in the air. Sands gushed out from the tip and formed a human doll. "Let's say that this represents a human's presence."
The sands slowly vanishes into the air, starting from the legs and into the head. "Vanishing slowly means that they died. When a person or a creature dies, their aura is scattered into the air and slowly fades into oblivion."
He raised his finger again and formed the doll. This time, the doll disappeared in an instant. "This represents what happened to Kusa's aura. It just vanished into thin air. I can't rule it as death since it didn't happen. You saw the difference."
"What if someone dies in a blink of an eye," Luck asked. "What if their body was ripped apart with a very powerful energy that nothing's left."
Jon sighed. He opened both his palms and conjured two floating orbs above them. One of the orb had softer surface while the other had a rough, almost thorn-like surface. He stopped in his tracks and looked at Luck in the eyes.
From the center of both orbs, a small strand of sand connected them. The sand got thicker and thicker until it was the size of a quarter of the orbs.
"The soft surface represents the physical being, and the rough represents the magic," Jon said. He closed his right palm that had the soft orb and crushed it inside. The sand leaked out from his palm, bit by bit disappearing into nothingness.
"This represents your scenario. A death that made everything fade," Jon continued, looking at the other sphere. "And this represents the magical aspect of a human. You see, it doesn't disappear instantly. The string that connected them is also still in place."
"So?" Luck tilted his head. "What does this mean?"
"The soul remains in land even when the body rots," Jon replied. "Especially those who held grudges or are attached to something that has enough magic to keep their souls in this realm–"
Jon suddenly stopped. His eyes widened and he looked up. "T-That's it!"
The beetle flew forward, dashing into the darkness without any hesitation. The others behind him looked at each other with nothing but confusion painted on their faces.
"What's it?" Luck yelled. "Hey Jon?"
His voice echoed in the silence of the cave. No other sound could be heard after his voice other than the constant sparks of the flames that lit up their path.
Not a couple of seconds later, a flapping of wings was heard and it was approaching them. The noise got closer and closer until Jon's beetle-like face appeared from the darkness.
"I know where they are!"
–
Seungju was walking into the city to talk to someone. Since not everyone was aware of his identity, he easily managed to get inside and not cause a ruckus. There was a question left unanswered after he peeked at the memories left in his soul.
The man didn't bother asking for directions since hnew where this person was, so he just walked to their direction and pulled them to the side.
"What's going on?" Lance gasped after he was pulled through a wall and into a dark room. "What is this place?"
It was like he was transported somewhere else just by a split second's time. Everything was black but he felt an aura of uneasiness surrounding him, as if it was wrapping all around his body.
Right in front of him, Emperor Kang Seungju appeared. He wore a green traditional clothing and was holding a wooden fan with lotuses as decorations.
"Seungju–"
"What is the connection between Elliot and the previous owner of the Manual?" Seungju asked without any hesitation. "I owned it before, and I know you know something."
"What do you mean?" Lance asked, tilting his head to the side. "I don't think I know–"
"Don't play like a fool, Lance," Seungju said. "I have read your memories and found… nothing."
Seungju paused for a moment. He tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes. "You… why don't you remember anything?"
"What should I remember?" Lance asked, taking a step forward. "Is it something about Elliot?"
Seungju's eyes suddenly widened. He looked around and pushed Lance away, making the boy pass through the darkness and get spewed out by the wall he was pulled in.
The pink-haired emperor looked behind him, seeing a blue flame burning brightly. It was big and radiant, yet the room was still filled with darkness.
"Who are you?" Seungju asked. "How did you get inside my realm?"
A man with a harlequin jacket hanging around his shoulders walked out of the flames, followed by a larger man that was as hairy as a bear.
"We can answer your questions," Frederick said. "How about we start by how we met Melissa?"