'Creak'
Kai gradually made his way down the groaning stairs, each of his steps careful yet purposeful.
Eve descended just two steps ahead of him, oddly enough, she clung to the wall of the basement which Kai instinctively mirrored.
Each step they made, produced faint light in-between the wooden stairs.
"Why is it so eerie?" Kai asked, his voice barely a whisper.
Pausing to answer him, her expression darkened as she spoke. "I didn't build this house." She didn't say another word and just strode forward.
'What's that supposed to mean?' Kai thought, sighing silently.
[It seems she means, this house existed during the third genesis or even farther back.]
'Legion don't be negatively influenced by Alpha.'
[Why do you think it's my fault?]
'No idea.'
Eve finally reached the last step where a wooden door stood thereafter, no space or anything just steps leading to a single door.
"Come on." Eve said, addressing Kai.
She slowly opened the door, but what lay behind it, left Kai stunned.
"Wow." Kai muttered.
The room that stood behind the door was a stark reminder to him, that he was still in a fantasy world.
The room was made of the same mysterious material as the locked room, immaculate white that made the room feel like it wasn't of earth.
Looking back at him, Eve smiled. "You haven't seen such a training ground before have you?"
Kai shook his head. "No, actually I have."
She raised a brow. "Is that so?" Her tone was laced with a bit of confusion.
"Priste is a rare mineral." She mumbled to herself.
"It was back at the academy." Kai answered, clearing her doubts.
She nodded to his words. "That makes total sense, that bitch Lisa Arundel will stop at nothing till she gets it."
'Bitch, that's a strange choice of words.' He thought, drawing closer.
Eve lowered her body and sat on the ground cross-legged, signaling him to do the same.
Without even a word, Kai sat opposite her.
"So can you tell me about your world?... Before that, why exactly did you tell me something so sensitive." She added. "You could have just kept it to yourself."
Kai waited for a moment before answering, his hands resting gently on his lap. "I told you I read this world in a novel remember, that also means that I know all the characters too."
Eve placed her delicate palms on her jaw, pondering. "Was your world affected by the cube?"
Kai shook his head in response.
"Hmm... Are you sure you aren't just hallucinating?"
Kai shook his head again. "Even Alpha, the voice that you heard, confirmed that I am from earth, and how else would you explain me knowing the future and the characters in the novel."
Eve's gaze then met his. "The voice in your head might be a demonic possession, maybe you have the ability to see the future."
She continued. "Or you're a regressor whose memories became distorted, but I refuse to believe that there is a world out there unaffected by the cube where stories are told about another world's future..."
Kai gestured for her to stop. "What do you mean by not affected by the cube, isn't this world the only one?"
Eve took some time before answering, she waited then shook her head. "There is some information that you can't possess at your rank but yes, there is more than one universe and more than one cube, there are probably infinite..."
Leaning forward she continued. "But never have I heard of a world not affected by the cube, it might not be as bad as ours but at least some form of power... That is why I think you just saw an alternate future."
Kai sighed, he could have been convinced by Eve's words if not for him meeting Elia and his past life's trauma being too vivid and realistic.
"I'm not the only one, someone else my friend also came from my world, and... and you can't say I'm a regressor since I know almost every detail about every character and their perspective of life." He debated.
His ocean blue eyes fixed on the beautiful figure before speaking again. "Like you, I know you have always felt like an outcast, you loved Leo your coven member but it wasn't reciprocated."
Her gaze darkened at his words, but he continued. "You stopped using your ability in fear of hurting someone, and you never got close to anyone due to your obsessive and overprotective attitude, my list can go on and on."
Eve couldn't comprehend his words, it felt like a joke, but the young man's words contradicted every type of vague explanation she was trying to give.
She couldn't just imagine herself as a character of a novel people read, but it was true, the man had just said things even century-old friends didn't know and she doubted that was all he knew.
Scratching her head she replied. "You win." Her gaze fixed on him once more but this time softer. "But why exactly did you come to meet me of all characters."
'Finally.'
Kai smiled then replied. "Two reasons actually, first I need someone to sell the potions I make without going through the long process and secondly, I need a master."
Eve's eyes widened. "A master."
Kai nodded. "Yes, you see..."
Kai continued to explain to Eve his current predicament, his abilities and the stranger's sword dance he knew nothing about.
She just stayed quiet the whole time observing him, till he finished.
"I get the gist of it." She added. "But Kai, why exactly do you want to get strong so fast, is it because..."
Kai didn't even let her last words drop and nodded. "A lot is going to happen in the next two-year span, but before that the academy..."
Kai had another reason he came to visit Eve, he needed someone's help during the Deerheart incident and other major academy incidents and he wasn't sure Elia could make Matthew become Radiant Sword's disciple.
Seeing his darkening expression Eve stood to her feet. "From the way you look, I can tell it was really hard on you before you got here, so I won't give you any trial to take you in." She slowly stood to her feet. "But from today, I will be your master and you will be my first and only sword."
Kai's eyes widened at her words, she hadn't even said those words to Matthew after their training and only told him to find someone that he could really learn under and be their spear.
But now, the character that he always thought was nonchalant and only served the purpose of training Matthew and giving him some information about the world, was now his master.
All Kai could do was smile while lowering his gaze.
"What's with that expression." She said. "You should be grateful, I'm the only living Overlord ranked mage, I think. So be grateful that I'm taking you as my first and last disciple."
"It's nothing like that master, it's just that I can't get over the fact that you are over 15 times older than me, even if you count my past life."
Eve's beautiful silver eyes raged with fury. "Do you want to have a lesson before your main lesson?"
Kai flinched before shaking his head.
Kai and Eve spent another hour in the basement, before Kai received the alert from Ren.
Unlike with Cassie, Kai was sure that Ren wouldn't betray him whatsoever, since he would willingly devote his life to him, so Kai had no reason to purchase a contract.
After they left the basement, Kai and Eve who had locked her shop, putting all her things into a spacering went straight to the bike merchant.
After a long argument with the dealer who was drenched in his own sweat due to Eve's persistence on getting a particular bike.
Kai could already feel her overprotective nature slipping out in less than a day of their meeting.
At the end of the day, the poor slightly robust man had to sell the motorcycle for a really affordable rate, even though Kai knew that it was blatant scamming but power meant everything as people said.
"You know that was unnecessary." Kai said, his words drowned by the air that blew as they sped past a red car.
"What was that?" Eve asked, gripping him tightly from the back.
"Nothing." Kai replied but he doubted she heard it.
'Legion, I know I'm into older women but not grandmas.'
[I do hope she hears that part.]
'Shit.'
Kai knew it wasn't safe to turn while on a highway but he had to check, he tapped a screen that replaced a speedometer making the motorcycle enter autopilot.
He turned to face the figure sitting on the obsidian motorcycle, wearing a helmet over her long lilac hair, clinging to him like a child would to their father.
"Are you comfortable?" He asked her.
Turning to face him, her eyes opened wide in shock as if wanting to drop dead. "What are you doing you brat, face front." She screamed.
"But it is in autopilot." He answered.
"Autopilot? Forget that, do you want me to die? Do you hate me that much? This is why I hate kids and their technology." She ranted.
"But it's just an auto drive feature and you can literally destroy this planet if you felt like it, why would a car accident scare you?" Kai asked.
"If you keep up this mentality, you would get yourself killed, I tell you this, there is nothing that can't kill."
"But..."
[Kai, let the woman cook.]
Kai sighed, switching the auto drive off and speeding up, he was honestly tired of seeing so many strange people.
'At least I learnt a new thing about, Emperor Eve... She is no different from a grandma sometimes.'
-------
Soon Kai reached the location, given by Matthew and the rest.
Unlike what he thought, it wasn't in the duchy, but instead in an ancient ruined temple.
Stopping the bike just a few meters away from Bethel's car, he glanced around, noticing his friends.
Waving his hand to signal his presence, he drew closer to where they stood.
Their trip was finally coming to an end.
But not everyone was happy about his arrival, not at him per se, but at the person who stood behind him.