"You have surrounded yourself with some really interesting ladies, Lord Erebus." Leilah finally spoke after scrutinising him for minutes.
They were seated inside a drawing room now, and it was nearly 2 am. The party had ended half an hour ago, and after bidding everyone else farewell, Keith brought the Princess here to talk privately.
Her words made him frown. He knew that nothing could hide from her eyes that could even see through the eternal darkness. However, he was still hoping that she would not discover all his secrets.
"Are you here to talk about the ladies in my life?" He smiled and asked, and watched her smile back at him.
"Why not?" She asked. "They are interstsing enough, especially your Wife." She meaningfully spoke. "And it is quite generous of you to give your intended the Ring of Bilqis, the one that Solomon had himself crafted for her as a wedding present. It is a special ring, you know?"
"I have heard the tale, yes. And it is said that the black metal used in that ring is quite special. It is not found anywhere in this world."
"You have me curious about where you heard this tale from." She smiled and looked him in the eyes. "And indeed, it is a special metal not found in this world. It's called Black Empyrium, and it is used to craft Magical Artifacts." She informed him. "I was the one who gave it to Solomon." And then she said something that made him sigh in his heart.
"I see." He did not show any surprise and looked her in the eyes. "What do you want, Lady Nyx?"
Leilah did not answer him and kept smiling at him. And then when she saw him frown, she finally spoke. However, it was not an answer but a question.
"When do you plan on helping her awaken her powers, Lord Erebus?"
Keith felt a chill run up his spine when he heard her words. He sighed again in his heart when he realised that she had seen through Rebecca's secrets. But he was not too surprised about it, after all, it was not something that could stay hidden from the Lady of the Night.
"Soon." He said and then sank back onto his couch. "Did Caspian sense it too?"
"He did." Nyx nodded to him. "But no one else should be able to tell her secrets." She assured him. "Do you want me to help her with it? I can do it right away."
"No." He shook his head. "What do you want, Lady Nyx?"
"You are not the only one who wants to know that answer, Lord Erebus. But let's just say that right now, I am just interested in you."
Keith remained silent at her words and kept looking her in the eyes, waiting for her to tell him what she wanted to tell.
"You know, the legacy of Erebus is quite special. In fact, it is protected by the Divine Laws themselves." She spoke, seemingly sure that he understood what she was talking about. "And for someone to find it, they must be protected from the eyes of the Divine Law of Destiny." She amusedly said. "Do you now understand why I am interested in you?"
"I see. But it is not something I can answer since I don't know the reason behind it."
"Oh, I know." She smiled at him. "You do know that you are the sixth to Inherit the Powers of Erebus?"
"Yes."
"And do you know what happened to the five Inheritors of this legacy before you?"
"All I know is that they are dead and that there is no other living Inheritor of the Eternal Darkness." He said and curiously looked at her.
"The very first one to Inherit this Legacy was quite a talented young man. However, he was not the True Inheritor. The Power of Darkness corrupted him, and unfortunately, he met an untimely end." She told him. "The second one suffered the same fate. The third one was quite special, and he belonged to a very special race. However, he too met an untimely end as he was not the True Inheritor. The fourth one was an Evil Genius. He used a very ingenious method to escape from the eyes of Destiny, and forcefully became the Inheritor of the Power of Darkness. He too met his end. And the one before you, perhaps, the most powerful of them all. Unfortunately, he had to die too." She sweetly said. "I can tell you that I had a hand in the death of each one of them. In fact, I killed the Third, Fourth, and the Fifth by my own hands."
As soon as Keith heard her words, a chill spread in his heart. However, he kept his composure and stayed silent.
He knew very well that the woman before him, even if she was a mere clone of the true Nyx assigned to this world, was capable of turning this planet to dust within a blink of an eye. There was no way he could fight against her to protect himself. And for some strange reason, he did not feel scared of her.
"Scared?"
"No." He looked her in the eyes and said.
A hint of surprise flashed in her eternal black eyes as she scrutinised him.
"Interesting." She giggled and then waved her hand, forcing his God Ring to appear on his finger and then leave it to float towards her waiting hand. "Do you know what is the difference between the Inheritors of the Gods and their True Inheritors?"
"True Inheritors are born with those Powers by the meddling of the Divine Laws. But they all must go through the Trials to awaken the full extent of their Powers."
"Not all of them." She shook her head. "Some do not have to go through these Trials and can awaken more Powers as they become stronger. But of course, there are only a handful of such Legacies." She played around with his God Ring and smiled as she watched it tremble in her hold.
Keith frowned when he sensed the Darkness ooze out of his Ring, and he felt rage bubble up in his heart. However, before he could think over it, Nyx let go of the Ring and it returned to his finger.
"The Ring resists me." She delightedly said and then looked him in the eyes. "Interesting."
"What's Interesting?" He frowned.
"The Powers of Erebus would never resist against the Powers of Nyx, unless its True Inheritor has been chosen and that he does not trust me." She grinned.
"So I am a True Inheritor?" He frowned some more.
"Yes. And that is why you are still alive, and that is why I address you as Lord Erebus" She informed him, making his heart tremble in apprehension.
Keith was relieved to hear that his life was not in danger at her hands, but that did not mean that he trusted her. However, it did confirm one thing for him. He had always been curious why it was so simple for him to be accepted by this Ring.
"How long are you going to stay here?" She curiously asked, and Keith knew what she was talking about even if she had not explained it.
"10 to 12 years." He said and then looked at the Ring in his hands.
"You know, you could stay here for much longer? The longer you stay, the stronger you would become, and it will give you enough time to prepare for what's about to come your way in the next world. But of course, there are limits. You should not follow in the footsteps of Caspian."
"Why don't you make him leave this world then?" He smiled and asked.
"I will... eventually." She said and then curiously looked him in the eyes.
Keith knew that she was searching for an answer, but he did not know what she was looking for. However, his instincts told him that she could not see past all his secrets, and he was immensely relieved in his heart about it.
"The reason why your Team refused to sell the land to me is that you want to become a part of Noxville. Right?"
Keith sighed in relief when they finally talked about something unimportant.
"Yes. I have plans for the land, but you can get the land you need in return for 25 % of the Noxville. If you agree to it, my wife will help you design the City, and I will invest over 25 Billion Neris into the Noxville Project over the course of three years, which will help you finish it up in four years instead of six." He told her, and Leilah just smiled at him.
"Just 25%?" She playfully asked. "You can have 50% of it."
Keith frowned when he heard her words. Of all the things he was expecting her to say, this was not one of them.
"May I ask the reason for your generosity?" He narrowed his eyes.
"Does it really matter? After all, you are only going to stay in this world for a short time. And Noxville will always belong to me." She lightly spoke, and Keith frowned at her words. "I am even open to giving you shares of Noxville in whatever world the Divine Laws send you in."
"It is not something I wish to talk about right now." He said and then stood up. "However, I will take you up on your offer of 50% in the Noxville you plan on building here." He smiled at her. "And I want you to remember that if you ever ask me to do something for you, it must never come at cost of my Family."
"You are too weak to help me with anything, Lord Erebus. But I will keep your words in mind for when the time comes." She stood up as well and then walked up to him, coming close to him, and looking right into his eyes. "Interesting eyes, Lord Erebus. Amethyst, Red, and Black are my favourite colours." She sweetly smiled before turning around and walking out of the room, leaving him stunned in his place...
