A Heart of Darkness and A Heart of Light

"My Lord... we lost tracks of the Chosen of Sulestia..."

Somewhere in the Universe. Inside a room shrouded in darkness, only a bony throne was present.

Its form was so disturbing that the atmosphere was creepier and arid.

Seated on it, a creature hidden by a grey cloak stood motionless as if it were only another part of that macabre thing.

The creature only emitted a shred of presence when a rough voice came out from under the hood.

"Is he dead?"

"We don't know, my Lord... The link with His Majesty's curse disappears, yet the situation is strange... Before his disappearance, he caused huge problems around our territory, as if his memories were flaring up again, and then he vanished. But there is no one in those waters with enough power to kill him without alerting the Grand Elders..."

"Hmm..."

The room turned quiet until the strange voice reappeared: "The Progenitors can't directly meddle in that world, so there is only one possibility... someone has infiltrated our territory."

The other presence remained silent and listened attentively.

"Look everywhere for their tracks...but don't cause more trouble than you have already generated... or we will alert those old monsters of the Divine Sects."

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"Sister Rose... How are you? I just came out from my seclusion and heard about you... I'm so sorry..."

Inside a small room in the Inflamed Chalice City, two young women were talking amiably.

Their interaction showed that their relationship was quite close, yet there was no actual blood relationship between them.

"Big Sister Aurora... I'm fine now... don't worry."

"Don't lie to me... Your face is still pale, and it's clear that something is bothering you. We are alone, so tell me the truth..."

The young woman at Rose's side was Aurora, the famous nephew of Val and Elisabeth.

Like Val said, her beauty was remarkable. She had long black hair that was a shade of blue and a face that could make any man dream of her every night.

Indeed, something was bothering Rose, yet she wasn't sure what that strange feeling was. Maybe she knew, but she didn't dare to believe it.

"Big Sister... don't worry. I'm still a bit tired from the long journey. I will be fine after a few more days."

"Hmm... you are a little liar... But I will not insist." Aurora sighed in disappointment that her friend wanted to keep such a secret from her and continued: "At least tell me... why the hell did you go to such a dangerous place... You can't do such a stupid thing... I was so worried for you..."

Even though this question was a bit difficult to answer, after thinking carefully about it, Rose revealed something to her friend: "I went there for this..."

A giant peach appeared on her palm.

It was slightly bigger than normal fruits, and its body emanated an intense warmth.

"Is this a Burning Heart Peach??" Aurora asked doubtfully.

"No... it's something from the legends... the Celestial Scarlet Peach..."

As Rose whispered those words, her attention was focused entirely on the surroundings.

After all, this was a Divine Treasure that existed only in legends.

Initially, Aurora was confused because that name was somewhat familiar, yet she couldn't remember where she had read about it.

Only when she noticed the strange phenomenon on the Divine Fruit's peel did an event of the past resurface in her mind...

"It's truly the Legendary Celestial Scarlet Peach... So, you went there for your mother's sake..." Aurora sighed again, and it took her a while to express her following words: "At least, you should have waited for me... You can't do something so stupid alone... I'm worried about Aunty, too. You should know that..."

Rose lowered the head, too embarrassed to look at her friend's eyes, and narrated in great detail what had happened to her before the arrival of Atlas.

Sure enough, her words brought another wave of confusion to Aurora's mind.

It could be possible for her to appear there merely by luck, but what about the strange barrier that had protected her for several days? And what about her instinct warning her of the perils.

The last two matters were simply too fishy for her, and it was evident that someone was behind her best friend's encounter.

But who could be so strong to toy with her in such a dangerous place?

None of them knew the answer, so they left that matter apart and discussed something else.

"So... it was Atlas, the one who brought you home... How was he? Grandpa Val spoke a lot about him. Actually, all that happened recently to my family is somehow related to him. It's so strange..."

After hearing that name, Rose's eyes turned bright: "Him?! Well, I'm not so sure... our encounter was quite unbelievable, too." Rose turned her head to the side and continued: "He ventured into such a dangerous place and brought me back alive... Even I can't believe it."

"Quite remarkable for a young man... and fishy, actually. I heard from Uncle Oakur that he completed the task alone..." Aurora praised, yet her expression was a bit serious.

"I'm not sure about that because we encountered problems on the island, and I had to expend all my energy to escape a difficult situation. So, I don't know how we got back. It's a shame...."

Rose gave her no information about what truly happened between her and Atlas. For some reason, she was somewhat reserved about that, even with her best friend.

"So, he didn't do anything strange to you?" Aurora asked in a severe tone, still worried about her friend.

"No..."

Her answer was simple, yet her thoughts were in disarray because a lot had happened between them, nothing serious yet enough embarrassing to keep them a secret from others.

The two talked about some random thing for a while until the matter of the Celestial Scarlet Peach was brought up again.

"So... since you obtained what you were looking for, we can save your mother. I will be with you when that time comes..."

Rose's expression had improved in the last few hours, yet hearing Aurora's words made her sad again.

"Not really..."

"What do you mean?"

"Well..." Rose looked at the letter on top of the nightstand and said: "... I must verify something before giving her the fruit..."

"Are you worried about the side effects? We checked repeatedly and came to the same conclusion... this fruit is the only valid option for her."

"Mmm... but I discovered something else along the trip... and I think those ancient scripts are only speculations. We can't risk my mother's life before we are absolutely sure."

"Fine..." Aurora didn't doubt her friend anymore and asked: "So... where are we going next?"

A beautiful smile appeared on Rose's face because the thought of her next destination gave her a sense of happiness.

"The Village of Nevery..."