Silence filled the rock-garden as no one uttered a single sound.
Laia's eyes went wide with shock, disbelief, and every other emotion one could feel in such a situation as she finally heard the truth of herself, her true identity. John shifted his gaze back and forth between the two, the helpless feeling he felt growing by the second.
How would Laia react? Would she refuse to believe she was created by Lilian's shed soul-half? Would she curse Lilian for leaving her behind in such a situation, a fate of pain and doom? Would she hate Lilian for her actions?
Lilian's expression, firm yet wavering, seemed to indicate that she expected such an outburst of hate and anger at any moment. And yet the firm expression revealed she would accept any hate thrown her way, as she no doubt felt she deserved it.
Laia's stunned look eventually faded away, and then to both John and Lilian utter surprise, she smiled. Her smile wasn't just a normal smile, but an absolutely radiant smile, one of incomparable joy and relief.
"Thank you," Laia said to Lilian, her voice trembling with emotions, "Thank you for telling me the truth."
"You…You don't hate me?" Lilian asked, stunned at Laia's reaction.
Laia's head cocked to the side, as if she was slightly confused.
"Why would I hate you?" she asked, truly not understanding why Lilian would expect such a reaction.
Pain returned to Lilian's face as she took a step towards Laia.
"Because I left you," Lilian said, her voice growing louder with emotion. "When I fled, I left half of my soul behind. That soul became you, and you inherited the terrible fate I fled from in the first place. I am the reason you are suffering. I am the reason you will be…" Lilian's voice faded away, not wanting to say the last part.
Laia didn't know about the Asura, and she didn't want to fill Laia with even more fear that she already felt. Laia instinctively felt fear towards her father as she had inherited some of Lilians emotions during the soul-splitting, but shouldn't know much otherwise.
"The reason I will be given to that creature?" Laia said, filling in the rest of Lilian's unfinished sentence.
Both Johns and Lilians eyes went wide with surprise.
"You know of the Asura?" John asked, bewildered. When Lilian had split her soul, she kept all her memories. Laia had only inherited emotions and feelings, and so memories of the Asura or her fathers betrayal should have been known by Laia.
A saddened smile appeared on Laia's face as she glanced at John.
"I do," she said softly, looking back to Lilian. "And I do not blame you for my fate. If you didn't do what you did, I wouldn't even exist," Laia said smiling.
Lilian was taken aback, still not sure how to process it all.
"Did you know the soul-half you shed would survive and become me?" Laia asked Lilian.
"No," Lilian replied after a short silence.
"Then I cannot blame you for what you did, and I do not feel any hate towards you either," Laia said, the smile returning to her face. A wave of emotions washed over Lilian's face, who breathed out deeply after a moment, as if a massive weight had fallen off her shoulders.
"How do you know of the Asura?" John asked after a while.
"Just before you entered the Divine Realm trials, my brother Zeras revealed the truth to me," Laia said, her words surprising John and Lilian.
"He did? Why would Zeras reveal the truth?" Lilian asked, almost not believing it. "That doesn't sound like him at all."
"I'm not sure," Laia said softly. "Perhaps it was guilt, or perhaps it was for another reason, but he revealed the entire truth to me. Well, other than the truth of my identity," Laia said as she glanced at Lilian.
"He seemed to enjoy my look of despair as he told me the truth, so perhaps it was just for him to satisfy his sick desires of watching others despair. I cannot know for certain what his reasons were," Laia added, and then sighed.
"Regardless, I learned of the truth, and knew I needed to do something, as Zeras also told me of the creature's plan to capture and kill you," she said to John, her eyes unfocused, recalling the memories of the past. "And so one day when my father was in his chamber, in conference with an important person of unknown origin, I snuck into his palace and strode in. That was when I first saw…it," Laia said, shivering slightly as if just the memory of seeing the Asura filled her with incomparable fear.
John and Lilian glanced at each other, surprised she had done such a thing, but remained silent for Laia to continue her story.
Laia eventually regained her composure, and breathed in and out before continuing.
"Father was absolutely furious that I had entered his chamber, and wanted to remove me, but was instead stopped by that creature," Laia continued, although with some difficulty. "Although I felt like running the very moment I saw that thing, I knew I couldn't. I needed to learn more about what my father was planning. And so I strode into the chamber, before father and the creature. My confidence seemed to impress the creature, who instructed my father to let me speak."
She paused for a moment, gathering herself, and then continued.
"I then revealed to my father what Zeras had told me. It seemed that father would leave the palace and execute Zeras right then, but he managed to control himself. The Asura seemed amused by it all, as if the petty squabbles of our family were nothing more than a game to him," Laia said. "I told father that I know of my purpose in their plan, that I would like to make a request in exchange for my help. Father told me I had no ground to negotiate, but I informed father that their entire plan revolved around me raising my strength to be able to heal the creature, and if they did not agree to my request, I would sooner die than cooperate."
Laia shuddered, as if the next memory was almost too much to bear. She took a moment to compose herself, and then stared at John, her eyes steeled with resolve, surprising even him.
"The creature reached out and grabbed me, and lifted me to his face," Laia said, lips trembling. "His eyes, brimming with anger that I would oppose his plan, his gaping maw of bloodstained teeth, that sinister aura of pure evil, all of it nearly overwhelmed me. I thought I was about to die, and perhaps I was, but father interjected before the creature did anything, asking for it to put me down and for them to hear my request.
The Asura did so, but its gaze made me realize that anything that interfered with its plan would result in my death right there, regardless of my purpose for him in the future. With that in mind, I said I would fully comply with their plans and focus on my cultivation with utmost haste, as long as they were willing to spare my life when it was all said and done. I knew if I pleaded for your safety, they would refuse, and so I made a request that would seem true to selfish bastards like them. They only think of themselves, and so a plea to save my own life would resonate with them, and make them believe me. And they believed me, the arrogant, selfish bastards."
Laia paused again for a moment, composing herself, and then continued.
"And thus, once I gained their trust, they started speaking of their plans before me as if even if I knew of them and wanted to stop them, I was far too powerless to do anything about it," Laia said, staring directly at John. "And it was during the time when you were in the Divine Trial Realm that I learned of their next plan. A plan to capture you as soon as you leave the monastery."
