It was quite unexpected.
Linthia actually found spies who were stationed to keep tabs on Haxel.
Both were seasoned spies.
From what she explained, one of them was acting like an old rchant near the main street, while the other is a drunkard. No cues that they were spying on Haxel. Their auras were hidden well to the point Linthia couldn’t sense them, and their acting was also flawless.
The only thing that gave them away was their thodical glances.
It was only possible to catch them glancing because they couldn’t sense Linthia.
Linthia is now a Dark Drifting Spirit.
She is unbound by the power of this realm and also the Mortal Realm. Her soul—and body are now tied to the Well of the Untold. Now, the energy she was spouting would raise a brow. It felt odd and also foreign at the sa ti.
The less capable people wouldn’t be able to sense her aura, and the capable would feel ill whenever she was nea like sothing bad is going to happen. Even now, Rex was still adjusting to having to sense her energy.
An energy that shouldn’t exist. Or rather, an energy that a living being shouldn’t wield.
And with her power, she could swim underground like a shadow to tail soone unnoticed.
It was how she could observe the two spies from underneath.
"I knocked them out and kept them unconscious with my power," Linthia raised her hand. From both of the spies’ bodies, shadowy energy flared, showcasing that they were under her influence. "However, I can’t find any identifier from them. I don’t know who sent them, but it must be the empire."
Linthia thought they were spies from the empire.
But had they been from the empire, they would’ve made a move on Haxel.
They could set a trap or even contact reinforcent to take him down, but they only watched.
After all, Haxel is now a fugitive, soone who would need to be punished.
Their lack of intention made her uncertain.
"The empire is busy with the missing empress and ," Rex squatted down to scan these spies. "Doubt the empire has ti to spare their attention for a small fry like Haxel. It’s Princess Davina. She’s most certainly the one who sent these spies."
Coming to that conclusion is easy.
Princess Davina is in search of him. Desperately searching for him, if quoting from what Mira said, and she’s also incredibly competent and sharp.
She must know that finding him in the wild is hard.
Instead of relying on hope alone, she decided to make it so that he was the one who was coming to her. She didn’t see Haxel since he was camouflaged back then, but she knew the incident with the Immortal Slug was no accident.
Soone was responsible.
And that soone could only be Haxel.
Rex would make sure to take Haxel out, so she sent spies to find and follow Haxel.
It would’ve worked had it not been for Linthia.
"It’s good that you didn’t kill them," Rex nodded, seeing that the System managed to find a few items these spies wear that would send a signal upon death. "Keep them unconscious for an hour more. Make do of them as you wish after."
"As you wish, Your Majesty," Linthia bowed respectfully.
Rex stretched his arms and then headed downstairs.
Still more things to do.
He gave a parting wave, "Clean this up before you leave."
Later, Linthia slipped out of the bubble and found Rex not too far away, sitting on a waist-high stone.
She could hear music. Muffled by the sound of the rushing black wind, but it’s there. A lodic hum of a woman singing a lullaby. As she approached closer, she noticed a doll head beside Rex—one that she instantly recognized.
"Is that the Voidal Knight’s head?" She stood a few paces before Rex, staring at the head.
"Yes," Rex glanced at the Head of Sonanta and smiled. "I got used to listening to her in the Forsaken Tower. Helps clear my mind, and fill the void." He grabbed the singing head and placed it gently on his lap. "There are a few thes, but I mainly used the sad one."
Linthia stared at Rex, reading his facial expressions.
’The tower is influenced by the Ti Echo. How many years did he spend in there?’ Her eyes narrowed, feeling that there were more things that happened in there than Rex let out. ’Being away from ho must be taking a toll on him.’
Unlike him, Linthia barely has anyone back in Dargena City.
Most were killed in the Humming Damned Forest, and the one she saw as her big sister, Dindora, was now gone. It feels odd to be in a different realm. Other than the obvious schematics, the thought of knowing nothing about this world is an odd feeling.
But she didn’t feel the toll of hosickness that much.
It was completely different from Rex, though.
"April knew that I often listened to this humming when I’m alone, but she pretended not to know," Rex added, shaking his head at the thought of the Forsaken Tower. "That girl is really considerate. Hmm. She’s too... soft."
Linthia frowned.
Seconds ago, Rex was talking to her, but right now, it sounded like he was talking to himself.
She was also confused as to why there was lancholy in his voice when he ntioned April’s na— almost like he was never going to see her again. Amanir was sent to find April and Ethan, so the two of them should be back at base.
Odd for him to talk like this.
But she kept this thought to herself.
"What are we doing here, Your Majesty?" She asked, looking around in confusion.
Haxel is now gone.
Both of them should be on their way back to the base by now, but Rex sat down here.
"To wait," Rex answered as he put the Head of Sonanta back in the inventory and turned to the distant left. He was staring at sothing out there, but Linthia couldn’t see what. "I still have things to do. Oh, there he is."
A monstrous figure erged from the blackness.
His silhouette was akin to a shadow wraith with two glowing eyes.
Linthia floated up and channeled her power, ready for a fight when this figure decided to attack.
But Rex waved his hand, gesturing for her to co down.
"He’s with us," Rex said nonchalantly. "One of the Shade Crawlers."
Now that she was one with the Well of the Untold, she could see through the Black Rift even better than she was before. Anything in a two-mile radius would be picked up by her clearly, and she can vaguely sense the things beyond that up to the five-mile radius.
Yet this... Shade Crawler was able to bypass her senses completely.
It caught her off guard.
But they had been spending in this realm for longer, so Linthia recovered quickly.
"Have you found it?" Rex asked, standing before the shadow.
"Yes," the Shade Crawler answered, slurring slightly. It seed it had been so ti since he talked like this instead of growling and howling. "Varya is already waiting at the location. She sent here to bring you to her."
"Okay," Rex nodded and glanced over his shoulder, looking at Linthia. "Go back and protect Ethan and April. I’ll be back soon."
"Your Majesty..." Linthia stepped forward in protest.
The Shade Crawlers are basically voidal monsters, and she didn’t want to leave Rex alone when these monsters could turn and attack him. Even if Rex believed them, Linthia didn’t. She won’t trust them at all until they prove their loyalty.
"You can’t co with ," Rex said as he stepped into the shadow.
"But—"
"Relax," He cuts Linthia off before she could say more. "And do what I told you to do."
He walked away, following the Shade Crawler closely.
Just then, a notification appeared in his vision.
Buy it.
...
Amanir was sitting idly on the edge of the cliff, playing with rocks, with distant growls as music in the background. His tasks were finished, so he was now only waiting for Rex to co back, ’Just wait a bit, he says...’
He clicked his tongue in displeasure at what Rex said to him before departing.
Sitting around is easy, yes, but not with two depressed people right beside him.
"I’m going to take a walk," Ethan stood up, dusted his hands, and walked to the other side of the cave.
His walk was asured, unhurried. His shoulders are slouched slightly.
Probably still in shock at what Rex’s sudden change.
"Don’t go too far, or you’ll be eaten!" Amanir shouted at him, warning him that the place isn’t that safe, even though Rex had already taken precautions. He caught sight of sweat on Ethan’s nape and sneered, "He should just accept Rex’s deal if he’s that scared."
His eyes caught sight of April not too far away.
She was sitting down with her back against the wall, and she was also hugging her knees and burying her face in them, a posture-perfect of a depressed person. For soone who ca here beaming with joy, this was a distasteful ending.
One that irked Amanir more than he would admit.
He exhaled roughly through his mouth, "If you want him to change his mind, to accept you as one of his, then don’t act pitiful. Pity is not going to bring you anywhere. It will only affirm him in his choice."
April lifted up her head, "I’m not trying to be pitiful."
"Yeah?" Amanir flicked a rock with his ear, shooting it far into the darkness. "You looked pitiful."
Despite her annoyance, she couldn’t deny that.
April placed her cheek against her knees and stared at Amanir, "Say—what do you think is the reason he changed his mind?"
"Probably because you’re a pitiful brat who was coddled since birth and kept inside the safety bubble of your powerful family," Amanir answered without even looking. His eyes were still fixed on the next rock, tongue pressed above his upper lip as he aid for a stronger hit.
A vein bulged on April’s forehead upon hearing what Amanir said.
She was sad, and now Amanir is mocking her.
"You’re mocking ," She buried her face again. "It’s a mistake to even try to talk to you."
Swoosh—!
"Oh? That one is for sure the furthest one yet," Amanir placed an ear over his eyes, staring at where the rock flew to. He then went to hit another one, "I’m not mocking you, though. I’m pretty sure that’s what made him change his mind.
"You don’t have even a sliver of darkness in you. He believed soone needed an extre drive to survive in his world. Extre negativity that kept you going," He turned to look at April sternly. "In his eyes, you’re fragile."
Amanir knew it intently.
In Rex’s eyes, April is akin to a glass prism, catching and casting pure color. To him, sothing so flawless, refracting only light, would be vaporized by the raw, unfiltered intensity of his reality.
Not that he was true, but that’s what he believed.
"I’m not fragile," April retorted sharply. "I’m stronger than I look. And positive drive can also be an equally strong force. Love, for example."
"But your love is untested," Amanir cackled dismissively. "You haven’t felt extre pain, and soone like him could feel it. And don’t get wrong, this is not an insult. It’s just that for Rex, accepting you would an accepting that you’d probably die soon."
"So, what are you trying to say?" April clenched her fists hard, staring intently at Amanir. "How can I change that?"
"Normally, you’d have to accept parting with him for the ti being, and work on yourself," Amanir said, rubbing his chin with his ear like an old man giving out wisdom. A gesture that would make Devo laugh in mockery if he were here. "But you’re in luck, as the golden opportunity is right in front of you."
"In front of ?" April tilted her head. "You? You’re going to help ?"
"Of course, not, you silly coddled girl," Amanir cursed. He would not be able to change Rex’s mind, no matter what he does. Only the Silverstars could do that. "The golden opportunity is his vendetta against the empire. Abandoning your birthplace in favor of him...
"Now that," He grinned mischievously. "That’s a tested love, don’t you think?"
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