Isaac stared at Kaida, taking a second to process. "Did you at least tell Sir Lucien?" Sighing exasperatedly, he didn't want this to get any worse.
Kaida nodded; it was apparent to tell him, considering she'd already fought Alaric alongside him — the Underworld was the last place she'd work. "Of course, I explained it to him a few months before I had reached Core." Her voice was still dry, yet even then, for Isaac, he could tell, having been with her for a longer time now.
"You know, you should show more emotion with people who don't know you." His tone was sharp, and he sounded annoyed, but at the edge of his voice, he ended with a hint of concern. "Even if you don't want to, at least try."
"... He's probably right, I've been distant and haven't gotten to know anyone other than Akari and him, and somewhat with Amaris." Kaida thought to herself, without ease. She adjusted her stance and lowered her gaze.
"Whatever. Right now, you should focus on clearing your name of being an Underworld member." Isaac trusted Kaida, especially since she didn't seem like the type to work there, but she could also be incredibly good at her job.
"Also, most of the Underworld members who are sent here fail the test or are too strong; some of them can bypass, but they act too erratically or suspiciously. We recently had someone who disguised himself as Akari's friend for the longest time, at least until she reached Astral Formation."
"Him... Well, that's good. I was going to take care of him myself, but I guess she could." She paused for a moment. "I will, only once they begin asking me." She continued before Isaac could say something. "I'll be going now, I have to explain to Akari first, if she even cares for it."
Isaac rubbed the bridge of his nose, not liking that she cut him off, but also finding it remarkably like her, so he knew it wasn't someone posing as her.
While walking, Kaida noticed a new area being constructed, and in the center, a rift led to a location she found peculiar. The outline of a dark purple hue, with cracks in the space, made it feel out of place. Leading to a world that shouldn't be touched. The air near the rift tasted metallic, like blood in the rain. Space fractured in pulses rather than cracks — like the world's heartbeat going offbeat.
"...Oh, what might you be looking at, missus?" The voice was feminine, serene in tone, and alluring, yet it felt natural.
Kaida's eyes widened, and she stepped to the side, startled. "... That's the first time something startled me." Her eyes narrowed, yet she showed no anger, but more surprise.
She looked towards the lady, examining her. A pale dress cascaded in a spiral, like a vortex, with a design holding tears and sparkles —not dark, but glowing with a yellow and gold hue.
"...You seem different." The woman spoke. "You're... Young to say the least, yet you're already at Core Formation." She spoke plainly to Kaida.
Kaida only stared, calming down as her heart rate slowed once more. "Indeed, what do you need, though? I haven't met you before."
The lady stared, yet her eyes closed, a veil over her face, and her hair fell from her waist to her knees. Her tone was kind, blissful even. Yet even then, she felt like she knew more than she put up. "Well, if you're wondering what that rift was, it's where I'll stay. I'm new here, and a High Elder~"
"High Elder?" Kaida was confused. She knew that elders existed and that there were disciples of varying levels of cultivation, but she hadn't expected something like this even to exist. "Probably like a Prime Minister." Kaida quickly rationalized it away, drawing on concepts from her own world. "I see..."
The lady, staring at Kaida, asked one more thing. "What's your name?" A pause as even the air became silent. "Before you say yours, the name is Velithrae." Her voice was like a whisper.
"It's been nice meeting you, the name is... Rhea." Kaida spoke softly, unconsciously using Isaac's advice, which she had kept in mind.
"I'll be going, young lady. You have fun~ And make sure to talk to me if you can!" In that moment, Velithrae disappeared, as if turning into the air which was in front of her, not a vacuum, as if she was never there. Kaida watched the air settle, the faint echo of that voice lingering longer than it should have.
Kaida found it weird, feeling a distant connection between that lady and herself. But, for now, she kept it at the back of her mind; she had more important things to do, such as upgrading her abilities like Andromeda and Singularities Edge.
In a moment, she disappeared and reappeared next to Vael. Seeing that he was bigger, petting the flaming draconic creature, she looked off, jumped down, and walked to the simulation room.
However, before she could even begin, she remembered that since she was in Core Formation, she had to get her new home soon. "I'll get everything ready before I go. I need to get Andromeda fixed first."
A single button press, and from that appeared a blank body in front of her, now changing into Caesar. Though, of course, he was still. She hadn't begun this fight.
Moving her hand up, she formed Andromeda, from which it spun. With its spiral look and dark purple hue, it reached her elbow in size, larger than its original first version.
"...Mmmm, I should give each one its own pull and strengthen the center's pull..." Kaida contemplated for a bit, adjusting it ever so slightly to account for the gravitational field and strength of each orb. Along with changing the brightness, it could work like a flashbang, giving her extra time to attack.
From that, she dismissed it. With that, she created a small sphere, glowing bright and pure white, devoid of any color. Even then, she wanted to add a touch of flair. Thus, she twisted the light, releasing it to its inner area, creating a layered effect, orange, light orange, and yellow transitioning to deep orange, like a star, as it was usually portrayed in this book.
"...It would be better for me to do this anyway." A beat. "Why do I need to rationalize this to myself?" Kaida sighed, shaking her head as she made sure she didn't think on it.
Still holding the sphere, she dismissed it, fizzling out like a flame with no more oxygen. "I'll use that later."
Kaida left the room and walked to the front of her home. Noticing a presence that was different from any elder or normal person she'd met, she opened the door.
"Who is it..." Kaida spoke dryly, not wanting to interact anymore, as she just needed some time to herself.
"Hey." The person at the door spoke. Also calm, not dry like Kaida, just showing very little emotion, if any. With such, she recognized the voice. It was Akari.
Kaida blinked, looking up. "You got a makeover from the looks of it."
"Kind of, my hair's turning grey, so I had to get some dye." Akari sounded less than thrilled about it, but on another note, Akari had gotten stronger, from what could be told from simply looking at her.
"So you're already getting old. Sounds about right." Kaida left out a chuckle. She found it amusing that Akari would care about this, but then again, a body's natural lifespan for things like hair would still be a concern
"Well, what are you going to do now? You know, there's a rumor that you're a traitor or something, so people will come and fight you soon. You could get a lot of experience from that." Akari's voice was calm. Though with a hint of annoyance.
"Seriously? Fight me? Aren't they going to try to prove I'm a traitor or not with words?" Kaida sounded exasperated. It felt off, yet so typical. Some things couldn't be escaped even in the most ideal of worlds.
Akari tilted her head. "Well, I heard some people were coming to discuss and argue with you to prove you're a Traitor or not. But that'll be after all the fights, if anything. People are that eager. There are even some at lower realms, which will fight you, so go easy if you can on them...Unless they use some weapon to cheat."
"Weapons to cheat? You mean like weapons which they shouldn't have unless they have some money to spend, right?" Kaida was less than amused, but it was expected from a world of cultivation. People would fight first, and then talk later.
"Anyways, I should probably move away from here. I was going to live in the forest anyway since it'll be better for my cultivation." Kaida spoke bluntly, though her voice was rougher, less feminine than usual. Yet it wasn't consciously.
"The forest?" Akari was puzzled, taking a second. "Oh, that home, yeah, you would've picked that. It's best for you, especially with that passive you have from two paths."
"A Passive?" Kaida was intrigued, raising her eyebrow.
"Indeed, it's for those who follow two paths, though it does feel like cheating. Because you need luck or a certain personality to have two paths."
Akari found it amusing, though. As if the world was against those who stuck true to their path. Yet even then, she knew she had emotions beyond what her realm revealed.
Sure, she was a Void-Born, hard locked into it, as her mind revolved around it. And so did her abilities. But it didn't mean she didn't like nature. Or anything else. She felt freer than those who were Heaven-Defying, not thinking that being on a specific path had limited how she acted.
"Anyways. Akari, I do need to ask. Does your mother actually know everything going on in the empire?" Kaida did want to know more, mainly because of the Taboo on an entire path.
"Indeed, her advisors help, and I sometimes come back to the Empire to talk with her after exploring the Empire in a disguise." Akari was puzzled, wondering why Kaida had to ask this. "What's the problem, Rhea?"
"It was about some Taboo involving Void Born when talking about them, I heard from this noble named Alexandrea." Kaida left the off-handed remark.
"Oh? I still have to teach her how to use flames properly, but I may need to fix her attitude as well." Akari sighed, not wanting more stuff to do.
"Teach her?" Kaida became more intrigued and amused to think a girl like Alexandrea wouldn't be able to keep her arrogance contained when Akari wasn't there.
"Indeed, I took her as a student since I'm a princess, and I was close with her elder brother, Aurelius." Akari was calm, though her eyes wandered somewhere else, as if she had somewhere to be.
"I see... Well, I'll be going. If you want to contact me, come here since I'll be moving things over there very soon anyway." Kaida could already notice it; it didn't feel hard, especially with her hypersensitive senses picking up the smallest movements.
From that, she also noted what was most and least probable; of course, Akari could be unpredictable and randomly appear. But that was not likely to be.
"Alright, Bye Rhea!" Akari waved at Kaida softly with a tiny smile. In that instant, she vanished. It was as if she became a part of the wind. Such a significant difference was probable, especially since she heard that passing this barrier was hard. And grueling, it wouldn't do tribulation, was something she was told by Akari.
"Well, I don't need to worry about it now," Kaida spoke to herself, out loud, not worried about who was hearing her talk since it was insignificant.
Kaida gazed at the calm breeze as the sun began to set. She was going to have an absolutely... Annoying time after this, right now.