After leaving The Skull City, Vicente and Layla would travel for three days along the border between the Chutha Dynasty and the Seidel Kingdom.
Finally leaving their home state behind and entering the continent's first relatively powerful state, Vicente and Layla would soon reach the first city in this new territory for them.
They casually chatted as they walked side by side along a dirt road about a kilometer away from the first city in the Chutha Dynasty.
"Vicente, don't you believe in my religion?" Layla asked, having given the subject a lot of thought since Vicente's words to the previous group a few days ago.
Religion was a very sensitive topic in Polaris Realm, given the wars and historical disputes that had shed so much blood across the continent.
As much as there was a dominant religion, not everyone believed in the things it proclaimed, and there were different opinions everywhere.
But after days of thinking about it, Layla couldn't stand it anymore and asked about the subject that was bothering her.
"No, I don't believe in what the Congregation of Revelation preaches," Vicente said.
He would not talk about this in public, let alone with Nina, because such a thing in itself could cause problems for his family. But Layla had a profound relationship with him, and telling her the truth would be no danger.
He continued. "I don't rule out the possibility that your faith tells some truths. There may be more than one truth about life or the afterlife. But I have things that make me think that the idea that the Congregation of Revelation is promoting is wrong.
I don't know if it's a sincere mistake or something else. But I can't ignore the possibility that it's a well-crafted lie by powerful people who can take advantage of it.
Let's not pretend there aren't advantages to having the trust of countless people across the continent... There are many interests at stake." He smiled. "That's a much better business than mine, I suppose."
Layla didn't like that as she looked at him thoughtfully. "Aren't you afraid of being punished for speaking and thinking like that?"
"The universe doesn't care what someone as small as me believes," Vicente commented. "The only ones who care are beings with very specific powers and interests. But I doubt that there is any magician powerful enough to punish me looking at me right now."
"Tsk!" She clenched her fists and looked away, not knowing if he was saying it to annoy her or if he was being sincere.
"I hope you don't haunt me when you die," Layla said. "Personally, I don't think of myself as a saint. But at least I have a clear conscience. But you'll pay for your twisted thoughts sooner or later, Vicente."
"Oh? And acting alongside me won't corrupt you?" He asked with a mischievous smile on his face.
"Not at all. I'm trying to save your soul and direct you to the higher realm." She looked at him and said it with pure sincerity.
"You believe that... Interesting." He commented as he looked into her gray eyes before focusing on the cherry lips of this beautiful woman.
He smiled and spoke. "But don't worry, I think this is my last chance. If I die, I'll disappear from this world. I feel like I won't get another chance." He looked strangely at the sky, attracting Layla's attention.
He had experienced reincarnation, so he believed in it. But as someone who had been reincarnated once, he had no hope of being reincarnated again.
What is wrong with him? Layla wondered, sensing that he wasn't joking, even though he seemed so annoying on the surface.
Meanwhile, Torne listened to their conversation and felt something different. 'With such a supreme magical form, maybe you won't have to die.' He looked at Vicente's second Magic Gem.
'If you can become a legendary Magus, you will transcend life and death, my master.' Torne thought to himself, remembering the old legends about the magical path in this world.
The level of an Archmage was already legendary enough. In the entire history of the continent, there were only a few human beings who had reached such a level.
Other races in Polaris Realm had more Archmages than humanity, but even the most talented and monstrous races had no more than a few dozen Archmages in their history.
However, there were legends that magic was infinite and that there was a level above that of an Archmage known as a Magus. According to the stories, a single Magus could dominate the Polaris Realm in a single day, turning the heavens upside down and changing the laws of men.
A Magus should have such high vitality that they should be considered immortals superior to vampires!
In the legends, there were no names of people associated with this legendary level, which meant that no known person had ever surpassed the level of an Archmage on the continent. But given Vicente's supreme powers, Torne did not doubt that his master would one day reach such a level.
Never before had someone with two magical forms appeared on the continent, so Vicente had a better chance than any of his predecessors!
But he didn't say anything to his master because he didn't want to disturb Vicente by putting distant ideas into the young man's head.
For now, he just wanted Vicente to focus on what he was already doing and eventually follow his advice to find the ancient sites of the Cataclysm Order.
Vicente had already reached the level needed to go to certain places associated with the Dark Path religion, but Torne was waiting for his master to complete his current mission and advance to the 4th stage to lead him to one of those places.
He had planned to do this earlier, but since he had been unconscious for a long time, he wanted to give his master time to finish what he was doing before leading him to such a place.
Anyway, while each of them had different thoughts in mind, Vicente and Layla passed the entrance of the first city on their way.
It was a small place of 35,000 inhabitants, a simple area located in one of the weakest areas of the state.
The Chutha Dynasty had a very uneven distribution of power, but the areas bordering the Seidel Kingdom were generally considered weak, while the areas bordering other states were stronger.
That was the case for the border with the Kenyth Empire, the dynasty's great enemy, where many of the state's strongest sects and families were located.
There was almost no danger around the city Vicente and Layla had just entered, so the forces there were simpler and weaker.
Still, this city had an average power similar to that of Millfall, a sign of how much stronger the Chutha Dynasty was compared to the Seidel Kingdom.
