For some strange reason, the woman didn't say anything. Even Gabriel remained silent.
But the silence didn't feel uncomfortable or awkward, as both of them seemed to have an unspoken understanding. They simply enjoyed the tranquility of the meadow and the company of each other.
Even though it was Gabriel's first time accompanying this woman, but he didn't know why, he felt strangely comfortable next to her. As if he wouldn't have minded even if he had to stay here for an eternity.
It was a moment of serenity that Gabriel would always hold onto, even when he would eventually leave this place.
Unfortunately, he knew that he couldn't stay at this place. He had to get back! There were things he had to finish! There were loose ends that he had to fix. And there were people that were dear to him that he had to protect.
More importantly, there were people he had to kill.
Gabriel pushed away those dark thoughts and stood up. He took one last look at the peaceful scenery, before turning to the woman.
"Who are you? And where am I?"
The woman raised her beautiful eyes, glancing at Gabriel. Her lips revealed a beautiful yet calming smile.
"You have a similar personality to him..." After a long pause, the woman finally spoke.
Her voice was melodious and beautiful, and it was ethereal. It was as if it was a goddess.
"Who are you talking about?' Gabriel inquired, frowning.
"I'm talking about the one who created all of this," the woman replied, gesturing towards the peaceful surroundings. "The person whose skeleton you seem to be using."
"I knew he died. But I didn't expect that even her remains would be used like this..." She further added, letting out a deep sigh.
Hearing her response, Gabriel was taken aback. He took a few steps back, preparing for a fight.
The woman knew the person who had destroyed the entire Nether Realm with his fight? That meant she wasn't much weaker than him either. Moreover, she seemed to be a friend of his!
Gabriel wasn't sure if she was going to try to kill him because of what they did.
"Don't worry. I can see that you weren't involved in his death," the woman noticed the hesitation on Gabriel's face.
"If you were, I would've already killed you before you even stepped a foot in here."
A look of reminiscence flashed in the girl's eyes as she looked at the pond in the distance. "The person I knew... He's long dead. And then your friend can't bring him back."
"My friend?" Gabriel frowned, wondering who she was talking about.
"The one who's listening to our conversation?" The woman asked as her pearly laughter resounded in the surroundings.
****
In another place, Karyk frowned. He didn't know who that woman was, or why she was able to sense him. However, he could feel that her strength was something even he couldn't understand without being physically present before her.
However, from his initial guess, he had a feeling that she was much stronger than she seemed.
He wanted to keep an eye on her and try to gather more information about her without exposing his presence. Unfortunately, she already knew about him.
"Don't worry. I won't kill the little guy before me. If anything, meeting me might be a blessing for him." The woman spoke. However, her words sounded like they were directed straight toward Karyk.
The woman stood up, gracefully waving her hand.
A terrain of strange energy fluttered in the surrounding while the water in the pond split apart, opening a path that led to the depths at the entrance of an unknown place.
"Come with me."
Karyk hesitated for a moment, but he knew that Gabriel had to follow her if he wanted to get some answers about what happened to the Nether Realm in the past, and who these people were.
Gabriel cautiously followed the woman towards the opening. He stepped down the straight yet old stairs.
Each step creaked beneath his feet, and he couldn't shake the feeling that this place was ancient, older than anything he had ever seen before.
As they descended deeper into the underground, Gabriel spotted strange etchings on the wall that glowed a faint blue, illuminating the passageway.
There were strange markings, depicting some kind of battle. However, the etchings were so old that it was hard to understand them properly.
One thing was certain. He couldn't understand the writing on the wall since it was a completely unknown language. But he felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if he had seen these symbols before in a dream or some forgotten memory.
It was as if he had some connection with them. Moreover, for some reason, he felt that the symbols and the writing on the wall here was somewhat similar to the strange characters etched on the bones of the ancient skeleton.
The only difference was that these words don't seem to contain any mysterious power. On the other hand, the characters that were carved on the bones appeared to encompass a power beyond measurable.
As they continued further into the dark caverns, Gabriel couldn't shake off the feeling that they were being watched by ancient, unseen eyes. There appeared to be many ancient traps everywhere, as if they were made so that no one unworthy could enter this place.
Fortunately, since Gabriel was accompanying the blue haired woman, he didn't need to worry about the traps. He could keep marveling at the surroundings as he followed her.
The woman seemed to know her way around the place, leading them deeper into the heart of the underground. Gabriel couldn't help but wonder what kind of secrets this place held and what kind of origin did these people have.
One thing was certain for him. They weren't from the Upper Realm.
At the end, the woman finally stopped before an ancient stone wall. There appears to be no opening in the wall. However, the woman created an aura Sword, that condensed on her fingertips.
Even though it was only a basic use of her abilities, Gabriel could feel the strength from that aura Sword. It felt no weaker than a world tier spell.
