?"I did nothing. I just checked your body to see if you had any Elzerian blood." Karyk lied, his face filled with innocence. "I wanted to make sure that I wasn't being pulled into a trap by an Elzerian. I'm sure you can understand."
The woman didn't believe Karyk's words. However, she also couldn't prove that he was lying since she herself didn't remember what had happened. Her mind was still hazy. One moment she was telling Karyk about her past, and the next moment she was here.
"Can you tell your friend there to stop attacking me over a misunderstanding?" Karyk asked as he kept cutting the invisible threads that were chasing after him.
The woman glanced at the hooded figure, raising her hand.
The man instantly stopped, recalling all the sharp invisible threads. The threads returned to his body, merging with him as if they were a part of him.
Karyk remained silent, but deep down, he was quite upset. He still had a lot of questions left. If the man hadn't arrived for only a few more minutes, he could've had all his answers.
All because of such an obstruction, he lost such a great opportunity. He didn't know what the Emperor was talking about with that winged creature. He didn't know what happened after that, or even when the Elzerians first appeared.
He also didn't know how the Dynasty fell to this point, or why the woman couldn't leave this place. It was as if an important past of history was right within his reach, yet still so far.
The identity of the hooded person next to the woman was also a mystery at this point. However, the one good thing was that he had managed to learn the principles of death in this world. All he had to do was learn them physically.
He wanted to try them right now, but he controlled himself. He had barely come up with an excuse to fool the woman. Using the same methods before her was no different than giving away what he actually did.
"You were telling me about the past of the Celestial Dynasty and how it fell. Now that I've verified that you aren't one of them, I can believe you more."
Karyk nodded, maintaining his distance from the woman. He could also feel that she was wary of him, so it was almost impossible to use the same trick again. He could only hear from her.
The hooded figure next to the woman looked at Karyk suspiciously. However, he listened to the woman and took a few steps back.
This time, he didn't leave the woman alone with Karyk. He watched from a distance, not interfering in their conversation. He silently guarded the woman. The woman also didn't send him away this time.
The woman told Karyk the history of the Celestial Dynasty. However, what she said, Karyk had already experienced in her memories. He didn't tell her though.
He silently heard her describe how the Celestial Dynasty was a beautiful place, where millions of people lived in great harmony.
However, it was just as Karyk had expected. She didn't tell him about anything about her training. She didn't mention her father much either, as if trying to hide a lot.
"Unfortunately, one day it all started falling apart. It started with their one visit," the woman said.
Karyk started paying more attention. This was the part he was waiting for. It was what he failed to experience in the memories.
The woman observed Karyk carefully. For a moment, there was only silence.
"Do you want me to continue?" she asked.
"Why won't I?" Karyk asked in return. "To be able to protect my people, I need to know as much as I can."
"I will tell you about the war and the downfall of the Celestial Dynasty, but on one condition." The woman spoke, placing one leg above the other as she sat like a queen.
"You realize you're not in a situation to put conditions before me?" Karyk frowned. "You need me just as much as I need you."
"Maybe that's true, but you're in a race against time, not me," the woman said. "I have already lost what I could. I have no people to protect. The only thing I crave is revenge, but I can wait for that."
"But what about you?" she further asked, her eyes appearing like the eyes of a cunning businessman that didn't want to suffer a loss.
Looking at her reaction, Karyk felt glad that she had gone through her memories and learned her methods. With how she was, it was impossible for her to teach him even if he had begged when she was putting forth conditions just on telling the history of the war, which was of much less significance than her learnings.
"If I don't get this deal, I might have to wait for a thousand more years. I might never get my revenge, but I can still find other methods. But you..."
"You will lose everything you hold dear when they enter your world. It's just as I said, you're in a race against time, and not me."
The woman's face remained emotionless, even as she talked about the destruction of an entire universe, as if it was not worth a single bit of her pity.
"I see." Karyk frowned. "So we're not in cooperation, but a business deal."
"It's just as you said. We're just using each other because our enemy is the same." The woman smiled.
Karyk couldn't help but laugh in response.
"In that case, I'll make sure to use you well." Although he was laughing, deep down, he felt slightly angry but he didn't show it.
"I have only one condition, and once you fulfill it, I'll tell you everything you want to know," the woman stated.
"And what might that condition be?" Karyk asked, his face impossible to read as well.
"I want you to get me out of here!" The woman's words fell in Karyk's ears, surprising him as well.
