Gabriel was immersed in his thoughts. He could see some scenes in his mind where the Stone Lion was being created. The small speck of light contained the entire process of creation, along with something more. Unfortunately, he still couldn't see the face of the sculptor.
As Gabriel was standing silently like he was also a statue, Jia was looking at him with great curiosity.
"Old man, for you to try to help this kid like that... And for him to have that Ancestral Staff... Why don't you be direct and just tell me who he is? And why are you so helping toward him?"
"Do I need your permission to help someone?"
"I don't think I've ever heard you help someone else. In fact, you were always such a loner, only association with the Death Star. After the death of Karyk, you also disappeared. To think you appeared again, and for this kid... Why?" Jia's heart was still filled with curiosity. Unfortunately, she couldn't think of a reason.
"Wait a minute!" Her eyes lit up suddenly, revealing a trace of shock as she stared at the Ancestral Staff in Gabriel's hand and his aura. "Don't tell me he is...?"
Alion's face turned darker, glaring at the little girl before him. A trace of killing intent flashed in his eyes as he thought that she found out the truth.
He couldn't let this leak, no matter what. He clenched his fist, ready to attack the girl.
"Don't tell me he's your secret son?!" The little girl exclaimed, blankly staring at Alion. "Since you've been loyal to Karyk, it would make sense that Karyk left his Godly Staff to you before his death! You gave that staff to your son? No wonder you're helping him so much!"
Alion's face twitched uncontrollably as he heard the little girl spot nonsense. She already thought she was stupid, but even he hadn't expected her to come to this conclusion out of nowhere.
"Nonsense! He's not my son!" Alion snorted coldly.
"Not your son? Then is he Karyk's son?" The little girl was somehow still stuck on the possibility of Gabriel being the son of some great person to have such qualifications.
She was sure of one thing. The Ancestral Staff of Karyk contained his will! It couldn't be taken with force. Even gods couldn't touch this staff, let alone use it. And with the kind of personality that Karyk had, he never would've let strangers use his staff, even after his death.
For the Ancestral Staff to acknowledge Karyk, Jia was sure that Gabriel was somehow deeply associated with Karyk. She just wasn't sure how.
Alion could only facepalm himself.
****
On the other side of the City, Elora and her team had also entered the City. Thanks to the compass of disasters, they had somehow managed to avoid dangerous places.
Unlike Jia, they didn't touch anything on their way. If anything, they were even more cautious than Alion.
Elora occasionally kept looking in the direction of the City where Gabriel was standing as she heard some sound of battle. She was really curious as to who was fighting... Who was strong enough that they could change the direction of the wind and make the ground tremble.
However, just as she was considering the possibility of going there to see, she heard Maya call out to her.
"That direction... It's dangerous!"
Maya pointed in the same direction where Gabriel was present. For some reason, her compass kept pointing in that direction, trembling as if the dangers in that direction were the highest in the entire city.
Thanks to Maya's warning, Elora dropped the idea of checking things out. She progressed further with the help of the map, even improving the map herself, marking all the new things she found along the way.
Even though they had only walked one kilometer inside the city, they had still seen a lot of things that they had never seen in their lives before.
Even the outer layer of the city was filled with the purest aura of heaven and earth, which was quite similar to the aura of their Holy Region.
****
Gabriel opened his eyes after close to an hour. He appeared slightly distant as he woke up, looking at the broken pieces of the Stone Lion.
"How are you feeling?" Alion asked. "Did you gain something?"
Gabriel nodded. "I think I gained a lot of understanding about the statues. They're strong yet fragile at the same time..."
"That's good. As demigods, we can't use that comprehension or we'll only taint our own source but you're different. It can be considered a gain for you."
"However, this is just the outskirts of the City. So the dangers here are limited. The deeper we go, the more dangerous it'll be. So this time, don't play around."
Even though Alion talked as if he was speaking to everyone, it was clear to Gabriel that he was reminding the little girl who forgot his instructions again and again.
Gabriel also knew that Alion wasn't joking. The City was the only way that led to the region between life and death. And that place was something which even left mortal wounds on Karyk once upon a time.
They really couldn't afford to play around anymore. He knew that he had to make sure that Jia didn't do anything stupid anymore.
He stepped closer to Jia and held her soft hands. From a distance, it looked as if an elder brother was holding onto the hands of his little sister.
"What are you doing?" The little girl raised her head to look at Gabriel who was a lot taller than her. Out of nowhere, Gabriel held her hands. Jia's face had an unusual shade as her expressions shifted.
"This city is dangerous. We should walk together so we don't get lost," Gabriel said, making up an excuse.
After spending so much time with Jia, Gabriel was already sure that the more he forced her to do something, the more she was going to do something entirely different. He couldn't be headstrong with her, leaving him with a gentler approach.
As long as she could hold her hand and walk with her, he could make sure she didn't leave suddenly like before, bringing dangers to them.
"Why don't you hold that old man's hand then?" The little girl asked. There were two demigods here but Gabriel was only holding her hand, despite knowing Alion for much longer.
Since Gabriel was quite tall compared to Jia, it was uncomfortable to talk to her like that. He went down on one knee before the little girl, still holding her hand.
His eyes looked deep in the little girl's beautiful yet innocent eyes.
"I care more for you!"
Even though his meaning was that he cared more about the little girl bringing dangers to them with her nativity, to the little girl's ears, the words held a completely different meaning which made her stunned.
A red shade appeared on her cheeks. With her personality, people only ran away from her. She had been all alone, traveling and fighting with others. People were either scared of her, or avoided her, calling her crazy. It wasn't wrong to say that she had been alone all her life, not even having any friends.
It was the first time someone came close to her intentionally and even held her hand, telling her that they cared for her. In her ears, those words implied that she was precious for Gabriel, which sent her in a daze.
What was even worse was that Gabriel's eyes were so beautiful that she even lost herself in those eyes, not even realizing how fast her heart was beating. It was the first time she felt that strange and unfamiliar feeling.
