Death… And Me

Chapter 4542: Downwards

Arcis also noticed the purple stone in Thery’s hand. His expression immediately became more serious. "I guess we will have to change locations. Throw it away, and let’s go to the next secret hideout. We can’t afford the possibility that we can be tracked through this thing."

"Wait..." Thery narrowed his eyes as he examined the stone again. "If such a thing were possible, why would someone send a message through it? It would be much better to track us down in silence. Whoever sent the message would have no reason to warn us if their actual intention was simply to locate us."

Flugel wasn’t as confident. "I still don’t think it’s worth the risk. Whatever the reason, we don’t know who is on the other side. I’ll tell Roan to meet us at the next hideout instead. We can discuss this properly once we’re somewhere safer."

"That’s fine." Thery wasn’t against changing hideouts either. He also understood that it wasn’t worth taking unnecessary risks now that he remembered the Purple Stone. Still, curiosity got the better of him. "However, let me see what the message is first. Then we can move to the next location."

Thery touched the stone with his forehead and carefully sent his Celestial Sense inside. By now, he already knew how these things worked, and the principle was indeed very similar to that of communication talismans. The difference was that these stones could be used a limited number of times instead of being consumed after a single message. On the other hand, their range was many times shorter, making them considerably less useful over long distances.

What came from the other side, however, was not a message from Fornetia.

That possibility had been the first thing Thery considered. Fornetia had the other half of the pair, and normally, only the matching stone could communicate with the one Thery was holding. Since she wasn’t the one contacting him, she had obviously decided to hand her stone over to someone else.

...Or so one would imagine.

Yet the message inside wasn’t from anyone in Rosvelt either.

-You can leave, but no one else. You should not try to let anyone else leave Woster again. Leave Woster now. Don’t come back. You have the Tablet Key, so you can use the array I’ll point you toward.-

"This..." Thery was taken aback.

He had expected a message from Fornetia, or perhaps from Rosvelt’s experts trying to reach some sort of deal. Considering everything that had happened recently, a demand for surrender or even an attempt to arrange a meeting wouldn’t have surprised him.

This message was completely different.

"What did it say?" Arcis and the others immediately asked when they noticed Thery’s expression.

Thery was just about to answer when the purple stone suddenly began to tremble in his hand.

*Crack, crack, crack...*

Thery’s eyes widened.

*Plang!*

Before he could even react, the Purple Stone shattered completely, breaking apart and turning into nothing more than several pieces of rubble in his palm. Everyone stared at the remains in confusion.

"Wasn’t it supposed to have two more charges?" Haniala asked.

Thery narrowed his eyes. "The thing is..."

He slowly looked at the broken pieces, still trying to understand what had just happened. The stone still had uses remaining. There was no reason for it to break like this unless the person on the other side had deliberately done something.

Thery then told Arcis and the others exactly what the message had said, making everyone’s expression turn serious. He also gave them the location of the teleport array mentioned by the mysterious sender.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Arcis finally pondered the situation before shaking his head. "We can think about that later. Right now, let’s get out of here and go to the next hideout. Everyone, jump on my back."

Thery nodded. "Very well."

He threw the broken Purple Stone away, although he still couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something strange about the entire exchange. Whoever had contacted him knew about the Tablet Key, knew they were outsiders, and apparently knew enough about their situation to offer them a way out. Yet, for some reason, that person only wanted them to leave.

As Arcis took flight, Thery took the chance to update Rean, Roan, Celis, and Kachia about what had just happened. Their RC network was still up and running, after all, allowing them to communicate despite their distance.

—

Still flying back toward Dlaval City, Roan saw his RC activating and answered the call. Kentucky, Celis, and Kachia were also added to the conversation shortly afterward. Finally, Thery told them everything, from the strange message to the location of the teleport array.

Roan’s expression darkened as he listened.

-Only you can leave, no one else...- Roan repeated thoughtfully. -Whoever sent the message was definitely talking about Coyui.-

Arcis agreed with Roan. -I think so too. Even worse, the fact that this person mentioned the Tablet Key, which had the coordinates we used to teleport into Woster, proves that our arrival hasn’t been a secret from the very beginning.-

Thery nodded. -They saw when Fornetia gave me this Purple Stone. Fornetia either gave the Purple Stone to someone else, or she was involved with this from the very start.-

Roan remained silent for a moment as he considered the possibilities. He had heard about Fornetia, but based on everything Thery and Arcis had told him, he found it difficult to believe that she was involved.

-Something is wrong. Why would we only be contacted after the news about our arrival spread throughout Woster? Why not sooner? If this mysterious figure knew we were here from the very start, why didn’t they intervene while we could barely move under the Godly Pressure?-

Roan shook his head.

-No. Whoever it was, they definitely didn’t know we were here from the very beginning. It’s not that they couldn’t identify us if they wanted to, but because this individual never expected outsiders to enter Woster in the first place. That’s why we only received the message now. This cultivator only found out about us after the news spread, just like everyone else. They had no idea we existed in this place during the past decades.-

Roan’s theory made a lot of sense. The one thing they couldn’t deny was the timing of the message. If this mysterious person had known about their existence all along, there was no reason to wait until now to contact them.

They could have approached them when the twins’ group had first arrived. At that time, Rean and the others had barely been able to withstand the overwhelming Godly Pressure of Woster. They had also been completely unfamiliar with their surroundings.

That would have been the perfect opportunity to make contact and demand anything. Instead, the mysterious person had remained silent until the outsiders became known throughout the entire world.

-Does that mean we can believe this guy’s story about another teleport array that could send us out?- Celis asked.

-I wouldn’t go that far,- Roan replied. -I think my theory is correct, but that doesn’t mean we can trust the person who sent the message. It could still be a trap. Who’s to say that once we teleport, we won’t end up inside the Rosvelt Sect’s secret area, just like Coyui did? Without certainty, we should only go to this teleport array if we truly have no other choice.-

-Understood!-

Everyone agreed with Roan’s view.

The mysterious sender had given them information they couldn’t easily verify, and the offer was suspiciously convenient. There was no reason to rush toward an unknown teleport array simply because someone had told them it could lead outside Woster.

They would keep the information in mind, but they wouldn’t blindly follow it.

-By the way,- Thery interrupted. -Why can’t I reach Rean? I tried to add him to this conversation as well, but the signal doesn’t seem to be reaching his RC. Or maybe he isn’t answering it?-

Roan wasn’t concerned. -Don’t worry. He knows what he’s doing... most of the time, that is.-

—

Going back to the Rosvelt Sect, following the passage beyond the door with the password, one would find himself going deeper and deeper underground.

Coyui had been right when he talked about his strange feeling while being carried away. He had indeed been taken upwards in circles. At the time, he hadn’t been able to understand what was happening because he had been unable to see his surroundings.

Rean could see why now.

The passage eventually opened into an enormous chamber that looked more like the inside of a gigantic silo than an underground room. It was so large that its true size was difficult to determine at a glance. Even so, Rean estimated that the chamber had a radius of no less than a kilometer.

He slowly looked around, taking in the strange environment. The ceiling was still visible far above his head, but the bottom disappeared into the darkness down below. Yet, what immediately caught his attention was the structure at the center.

A massive pillar stood there, covered from top to bottom in countless ancient inscriptions. It was clearly not something constructed recently.

The pillar extended downward into the depths of the chamber, disappearing into the same darkness. Above, it continued all the way into the ceiling. The ceiling was easier to guess.

-We are definitely right underneath the meeting hall, no doubt,- Rean thought to himself.

*Rawr...*

Suddenly, Luxa called Rean’s attention before sending him a Godly Sense Message. ’Rean, I can feel something.’

Rean immediately became more alert and looked around. ’What is it?’

’It’s down below,’ she explained. ’Something familiar... It’s very faint, but it feels unwilling as well.’

Rean’s expression became thoughtful. He looked toward the stairs that followed the walls, spiraling downward toward the deeper sections of the underground chamber.

’Familiar, huh? Since you were also born from a similar womb, you probably can feel this other one. We know this pillar is related to the womb, after all. The only doubt is this unwillingness you mentioned. Can you elaborate?’

Luxa shook her head. ’I cannot... It’s just what it feels like. I don’t know how else to explain it.’

Rean didn’t press her any further. If Luxa couldn’t put the sensation into words, there was little point in forcing her to try. Whatever she was sensing, they would probably understand it better once they reached the source.

Rean stroked her fur, smiling. ’I see. Then we might as well go down and take a look.’