"Are you sure you want me to open the book?"
Getting no answer the first time he asked, the old man asked once again with a mysterious smile on his face.
"Is there a reason you shouldn't?" Instead of answering directly, Azekiel also asked a question in return.
Lia blankly looked back and forth between the two people. It was as if there was a competition between the two to see who could be vaguer in their answers.
The old man chuckled. "Reasons to not open the book are many, yet if you ask me to open it, I promise I'll do it. But only if you won't regret it later on."
"So, should I?"
"Yes, open the book." Azekiel decided to call the bluff, holding onto the man's words.
Even if the man wasn't the Soul Demon, Azekiel still couldn't miss the opportunity. He needed the book opened. He needed to know the direction that led to the stone of time. And he needed to get rid of the curse.
"You do make some foolish decisions, affected by your fear and worries of the uncertain, missing out on the infinite opportunities before you. The girl before you was completely unlike you. Then again, I don't dislike your qualities. You aren't supposed to be flawless. You aren't supposed to be invincible. You are meant to make mistakes and learn from them, but..."
"I hope you won't regret your decision."
The old man slowly opened the book, turning to the page which held the map before standing up.
"Best of luck on your journey, young man. I look forward to the day we will meet again."
The old man tapped the middle of the chessboard, making it disappear. At the same time, his body also started becoming illusory before ultimately disappearing.
Not only the man but the bag of apples also disappeared with him, along with everything that was inside the house.
It was as if a curtain of illusion was removed from the surroundings, revealing a completely empty house. The chairs they were sitting on were now small wooden boxes. Dust was everywhere on the floor as if this place wasn't cleaned in a really long time.
"Illusion?" Raphael frowned as he stood up.
"Well, that was definitely not weird at all." Lia sarcastically stated. "Though, in all honesty, I don't think it was an illusion. Even the illusion couldn't have been so realistic. It was as if the entire aura of this place had changed suddenly with the disappearance of the old man."
She herself used illusions more often than not. She understood the essence of illusions and the burdens they came with. An illusion could make things look realistic enough to fool anyone, but even it couldn't change the entire essence of the place to this extent.
If there was one thing in her life that she was certain about, it was that this wasn't an illusion!
"I also feel that this wasn't an illusion," Azekiel agreed with Lia's assumption. "If this was an illusion, that meant the apples were also an illusion. The tree was also an illusion. But if everything was an illusion, then how could the apples he gave us be real? And if they weren't real, how could they satiate my hunger?"
"If that wasn't, then what was it?" Raphael grimaced. "Just where are we...?"
Unlike before, there were no windows anywhere. There was only one door that was used by them to enter last time, but even on that door, cracks could be seen.
Even though Azekiel was also concerned about his surroundings changing and this weird phenomenon with the old man, he knew this wasn't the time to think about it. The first book was lying open before him. It wasn't a moment where he could waste time.
Everything else could be done later. The map was his main goal for now.
"Raphael, you check the surroundings. Lia, provide me protection." Azekiel issued instructions as he moved closer to the book that was now lying on the ground as the table wasn't there. The book was still open on the pages that held the map. "I'll memorize the map. We can deal with everything else later."
Raphael went to the door to check the outside, wondering if this strange disappearance only affected this house or if it affected the entire city.
At the same time, Lia called forth her Staff that could amplify her spells. Since this world allowed her to touch things and do anything an ordinary person could, she believed she could also use her spells without being summoned.
As she prepared to keep Azekiel safe, the words of Osiris once again echoed in her heart. She could never forget those words... "Keep Azekiel safe if you don't want to lose everything once again."
The first half of the map that the first book held was the most important part of the two since only this map could show where they needed to go. However, without the second map, understanding this map wasn't easy either.
Azekiel opened the second book's map, placing it right beside the first in proper alignment.
"The forest of rainstorm was here. And we traveled in this direction." His fingers traced the path that they had taken so far.
"That means we are... Hmm?" Azekiel's expressions changed. He was taken aback to read where they actually were at the moment.
"This place... It's not a village or a town."
"What is it then?" Lia asked. "What does the map say?"
"The map says that this place isn't a village. Instead, it's mentioned as a prison..." Azekiel grimly stated.
"Prison? If it's a prison, then who is the prisoner? Who made this prison?"
"I don't have the answers to those questions. All I know is the name of this Prison which is marked on the map," Azekiel answered.
This information came as a surprise even to him.
"What's the name?"
"This is the Prison of Heaven... As for the prisoner in this prison, I suppose I might have an idea." Azekiel stood up, memorizing most of the map. "We need to warn Raphae-"
Boom~
Azekiel wasn't even given the opportunity to finish his sentence when an explosive sound came. The wall was broken, and a figure came flying inside. Unfortunately, that figure belonged to Raphael, who didn't seem to be in control as it crashed into the other wall.
Raphael landed on the ground and wiped the blood from his lips before speaking, "I think we might have a problem at our hands."
"Hahaha, This Lord is finally free! I am finally free!"
