?838 Chapter 838: Thread of fate
"I couldn't understand how the Border City could survive your wrath when you had such powerful undead hiding at the depths of this city. If you had sent them, the city would've been wiped in a single day. But that wasn't the case."
"It all makes sense when I think of the possibility. It's not that you don't go out or send them. But it's that you can't."
As Karyk spoke, he kept observing the woman's expressions. With each word he spoke, he was getting more and more convinced that he was right.
"The reason the Elzerian King didn't bother about this place is because he knew that you were a bird without any wings left. No matter how strong you are, if you can't leave this place, you're nothing but a paper tiger."
"I don't know why you're trapped here or why you could only send out weaker beasts, but it doesn't matter. What matters is that you need my help. As I said before, both of us need each other."
He stepped closer to the woman, reaching out his hand towards her. Although she was trapped, he knew that she was still very useful to him. If he could free her, he could gain a powerful weapon.
And even if he couldn't free her, just the knowledge he could gain from her was able to elevate his control over the dead to another level, allowing him to maybe even control the Elzerians.
A pureblood Elzerian could only live for a maximum of two hundred years. Within those two hundred years, they couldn't be killed through usual means. But from what he read, he came to know that even after their deaths, the body of a pureblood never deteriorated.
All the bodies of the pureblood Elzerians were kept buried in tombs at various places. If he could gain the ability to bring the undead Elzerians back to life, that was already a great achievement in itself. Even if they weren't as strong as they were when alive, but just their sheer number was a weapon in itself.
Thanks to Gabriel, he had lost most of his powerful undeads. Creating more was something he really wanted to do. Unfortunately, it was hard to find powerful Undeads like the Generals he had created.
In his eyes, the hooded woman before him was no different than a treasure trove.
"If you take my hand, I will take it as your confirmation to work with me. And if you don't, I can simply leave. I'm afraid if I want to leave, even you won't be able to stop me."
He stood calmly with his hand held out, waiting. He could see the uncertainty and the hesitation in the woman's eyes. She still had some distrust, but she was also wise enough to know what was best for her.
"How can I trust that you won't betray us?" she asked, frowning.
Her eyes made it clear that if she didn't get a convincing answer, she might not agree. Even if she had to wait for a thousand years, she preferred it more than getting betrayed again.
"As I told you, I have my own home to protect. After the threat is over, I'll return to my home. We might create the seal again. You will get your world and I'll get mine. From then on, we will never see each other again."
He spoke earnestly, hoping to ease her concerns. "I have seen a lot of blood and war. I've lost my family in the process. And now that I finally have something to protect, I want to end this conflict once and for all."
The woman looked into his eyes. She could feel that he was being sincere. However, for some reason, she felt that his eyes were that of someone who had lived for millions of years. They were so deep that at times, it was easy to lose oneself in that.
She didn't know if she could actually trust his words. She didn't know if she was being a fool. However, she decided to believe him, hoping she wasn't going to regret it again.
Sighing, she reached out her hand as well, holding his hand. "If you betray me, I will kill you, no matter what."
As she spoke, an invisible thread appeared tied around her wrist. Another similar thread appeared around Karyk's wrist.
"This is...?" Karyk asked. Although he could feel neither danger nor obstruction from the thread, he didn't like being tied like this.
"Since we will be working together, we would need a way to communicate. With this, you'll be able to hear my thoughts when I want. And similarly, you can share your thoughts with me."
Karyk heard the woman's voice, but he didn't see her lips move this time. It was as if the voice had directly appeared in his head.
"Why do I feel like that's not the only purpose of it?" Karyk asked, understanding that the woman wasn't that simple.
Although it took some time, he was able to analyse the thread. It didn't just allow them to hear each other's thoughts. But it also allowed them to locate each other's position, even if they were galaxies apart.
It was clear that the woman still didn't trust him entirely and prepared for an eventual betrayal from his side. The thread could only be broken when both sides were willing.
"You're able to analyse it? That's right. In case you betray me, then even if I can't leave this place, I'll make sure you never have a peaceful moment in your life," the woman agreed as she gestured to the hooded puppet master, telling him to take care of the destroyed street.
Alright the city was mostly empty, she couldn't bear seeing it damaged. This was her first and last home.
"I don't mind. It'll make things easier for me as well." Karyk didn't argue. It just located him and nothing more. Once they were done, they could break the thread willingly. And if she refused, he could just kill her to remove all potential threats.
