"I wonder how Oliver's doing." Yadrith's impulsive thought broke his concentration. 'I'm sure he's fine.'
He got up from the lotus position and stretched; four days had passed quickly. He still felt like Ethra was a distant concept to him.
'I guess I'll explore the castle a little more.' He slid on his shoes and exited the room.
For the past four days he had been attempting to make progress on learning Ethra, or exploring the castle. He was a bit hungry on day three, and conveniently he found a room with prepared food and water. He remembered licking his lips and quickly devouring the food, though it wasn't like he was starved. After becoming a Rekh user, even his need for food and water was lessened.
A month was probably the most he could go, though the fact he had found food prepared for him right when he had mentioned in the air he was very hungry was odd.
"You're watching me, aren't you?"
There was no response; however, he assumed Teryeon was pretty much always watching. It was unrealistic for him to not have made his way through the castle, so he came to the conclusion she was messing with his mind.
He often explored, found nothing, and ended up back in his room. Outside his room was a long hall with windows, showing the courtyard, and on the second day he saw Mahaya and Teryeon walking in the courtyard.
He tried to break the glass and jump down, but his mind literally refused to obey the command to break the glass.
'Teryeon is far more terrifying than Miel...'
To be able to pilot his mind from a distance and turn him into a wandering fool 24/7 was terrifying. He suddenly heard a creak from a door at the end of the hall.
"...What the hell?" He watched the door slowly open. He focused his eye and couldn't see past the darkness veiling its interior. 'I don't think there was a door there yesterday.'
He quickly jogged down the hall toward the door and stopped in front of it. Its interior was dark, reminding him of a Regalia he had seen in the past.
'Reminds me of those slavers... I forgot his name.' He sighed, remembering the odd number of evil slave traders he had encountered. Sera's group and Karadael's, though Karadael's operation seemed to be on an entirely different level.
Her group was at least filled with Rekh users, not just a ragtag team with synergetic Regalias.
'Enough thought.' He entered the dark room and blinked once.
"There you are, Yadrith; we were waiting patiently for you." Teryeon smiled.
He looked over toward Teryeon's voice and then in front of them, causing his eye to momentarily widen. The preserved corpse of a person was sitting on a large silver throne. A corpse that had elongated ears similar to Mahaya's.
"Who is that...?" He approached Teryeon and Mahaya.
"My husband." She bitterly smiled and pulled Yadrith toward her softly. "He committed suicide here seventy-six thousand years ago."
Yadrith stared at the body in awe for a few moments before swallowing and saying:
"If you don't mind me asking—"
She chuckled before he could finish. "Once Ascendants reach the 'Crowned' rank, suicide becomes a daily instinct to resist."
Taking in her drastic words, he observed the corpse of Veerhun. He had long white hair that cascaded down his throne, a truly divinely handsome face, and dark skin. As for his eyes, they were closed, and his mouth was stuck in a stiff, pleasant smile.
"Are you of the Crowned rank?"
Teryeon smiled and nodded. "Losing focus for even a moment causes me to subconsciously dissolve my own soul. It's a scary feeling, but every now and then I have to fight it."
"What is the correlation of suicide and power? Is there something special about this Crowned rank?" He asked, his eye stuck staring at Veerhun.
Teryeon gazed at her open palms. "It's what we call the peak of Rekh, though it really isn't..." She paused. "At the Crowned rank, your will becomes the will of the world. You wield the power to travel through the sea of stars and even destroy those stars. It's incredible, but it also pulls you closer to the depravity of an entity we call Echo."
'Sea of stars... Destroying stars? Does she mean that people at her level of strength can literally traverse the vacuum of space and destroy stars?' His eye widened at a revelation. 'Then whoever kidnapped me could've literally flown to Earth, picked me up, and dropped me off at Ixia... But, why?' He shook his head and asked, "Who's Echo? There's someone stronger than the peak of Rekh?" Yadrith looked over at her.
"That's not exactly true; Echo isn't a sentient or living entity. Rather, it is what encompasses creation; to put it simply, it is the origin of what exists... As for why it's remaining will force us to crave suicide, I don't know."
'So, Echo is the truest God? Though that would be false considering only its will is around.' Yadrith pondered the identity of Echo.
"As for Veerhun, he attempted to reach a power that exceeds the Crowned rank. Earlier, that is why I said Crowned isn't the peak of power; it's just that the moment he obtained it, he smiled at me... And then dissolved his own soul on that throne." Her words came out a bit stifled.
"That's..." He had no words.
She shared a melancholic grin. "Just like Echo, his will remains intact; that is why I remain in this palace. Though he is truly dead and won't return to life... With his will, I was somewhat able to combat the intruder who had stolen my Regalia."
Yadrith's eye narrowed. "If you're at the Crowned rank, how is it that someone overpowered you?"
Teryeon chuckled, "You must've realized it already, but not all Rekh users are equal, even in rank. The will and power behind one's Rekh and Regalia factor in during a fight. The person I fought had used an incomprehensible combination of Regalias and nearly beat me in a battle of will, despite me having my husband supporting me."
"Oh... That's right. By the way, I'm curious about one more thing."
"Go ahead," Teryeon asked.
"What's the true identity of Veerhun, a snake or dragon?"
Mahaya, who had been mindlessly staring at Veerhun's body, suddenly turned her head toward the two.
Teryeon cleared her throat, and her body suddenly split.
Two of them were now standing next to each other. "Ascendants can create avatars; Veerhun used a more intricate method for the prosperity of demons. The snake who devoured Sefirah's soul and the dragon who founded the race of demons..."
Yadrith looked up at Veerhun. "Then this is the real body?"
She nodded. "Yes, this is my husband's true body. At birth, he was a snake, as you saw during the mural."
"What kind of power did he have to create an entire race? Was it something he got from Sefirah?"
Teryeon thought for a moment before saying:
"Yes, he received it from Sefirah. It was a divine Regalia called 'Creation.'"
"Was such a power passed on? I heard that Regalia was based on lineage."
"Our child Ludo wasn't born with it." Teryeon replied. "Rather, he was born with a Regalia similar to my own."
"What about your other five children? The dragon, owl, wolf, spider, and... I don't know what to call the last one."
Teryeon gave him a confused look. "We only had one child... The True Demons were part of his creations, and the name you don't know is Demonic Human, The race of True Demons he created to resemble a human. They are the only True Demons that can't transform and strictly look like humans."
"That clears up a bit of confusion... I know I said I'd stop asking questions a while ago. But what about Mahaya? I was told snakes aren't demons."
"Whenever Veerhun received Creation, he took on a humanoid form and developed Rekh. Just like with Sefirah, Rekh favored him, and he quickly became an Ascendant. He created five races of True Demons that resembled him." She looked at Yadrith for a moment, thinking about what to say. "To answer your question, Sefirah is not a human. She was a being born from Rekh, and created humans who only looked like her. It's a similar situation for Veerhun, though he was born as a snake, so it's a bit complicated."
"I think I understand..." He looked at Mahaya. "She would be partially a lifeform of Rekh, snake, and spider?"
Teryeon looked at Mahaya and scratched her own head. "Mmmm... That's probably correct, though, since I'm human, she also has human running through her veins.
"So she's like almost everything." He chuckled, "I like the new hairstyle."
Mahaya stared boringly at him, unmoved.
Teryeon smiled. "I did it myself."
Her long hair, which had been around her waist, was cut to a shorter length—a little above her shoulder. Her face was more prominent now that her hair wasn't hanging over it; rather, she had bangs that were parted in the middle.
Teryeon hugged Mahaya. "We've done quite a bit of bonding these past four days!"
Mahaya lowered her shoulders and sighed.
Teryeon's avatar, which had been silently watching their conversation, suddenly faded.
"Now then, Yadrith. We'll see you later!" Her voice repeated in the room, growing quieter by the second.
Yadrith blinked, and Mahaya and Teryeon were gone. He was standing in front of a door at the end of a long corridor.
"This again, huh?" He sighed and opened the door. It opened to a simple room with flowers in it.
'After hearing Teryeon's story, I've come to understand a bit of everything... Echo, Sefirah, and Veerhun zi Aeloth.' He sighed, sitting down in a lotus position. 'It is a bit odd though... Nobody on Earth could manipulate Rekh or use a Regalia.'
Something was off about Teryeon's explanation, or Earth was just too unique.