章節 94: Chapter 49: A Parent And A Child (Part 1)

Ethan: "You were the only one to escape from the black hole, you say?"

The woman sitting in front of him with her gaze lowered at the ground nods in response.

Sneha: "It almost felt like the black hole started to disappear because Kais had been sucked in."

The timing of the black hole starting to close was the peculiar detail that led to Sneha thinking so.

Ethan: "What you are saying is not making any sense to me."

To a depressed looking Sneha, Ethan says with a dejected and confused face.

Ethan: "If that hole really started to disappear that conveniently after sucking in Kais then it might have been there just to do that. But, I know for a fact that Ozyllus left this place before I came in and there's no way he could have slipped in without me noticing."

Sneha's eyes twitch on hearing Ethan's words, and so she voices her question,

Sneha: "Are you sure about that? You haven't forgotten what happened with Walter Schmidt, have you?"

Ethan: "I haven't."

The incident Sneha is referring to is the one that happened at the beach, when Walter was able to deceive Ethan by exuding power of such a degree that even Eyes of Truth could not see through. It only stands to reason that someone like Ozyllus would be able to do something Walter could. However, Ethan's confidence in not without its own foundation.

Ethan: "There's a difference between being powerful enough to deceive Eyes of Truth and being powerful enough to make Eyes of Truth unnecessary."

Even if Walter Schmidt is the strongest person on the planet today, that doesn't mean he is a match for Ozyllus himself. And the difference in their power levels can be justified with just this –

Ethan: "I don't need Eyes of Truth to detect him. He's so powerful that once you have felt his aura, you can detect it even without any special means of detection. Basically what I am saying is that he's so powerful that it's impossible to hide his presence without the most complex of mechanisms done through psychic beyond what anyone today would even dream to do."

Sneha: "I get what you are saying but why couldn't he have used those complex mechanisms you are talking about?"

Ethan: "Because he can only hide himself using those mechanisms from those who do not have Eyes of Truth."

As she hears that, her eyes widen on realizing the double-edged sword that Ozyllus' power has become for him.

Ethan: "Simply put, if he doesn't try to take enough measures to hide himself, pretty much any creature can detect his freaking large aura. And if he does go to the extreme lengths of hiding himself using very complex mechanisms, Eyes of Truth will be able to see through those mechanisms because, in the end, those mechanisms would just be a combination of much simpler uses of psychic energy that Eyes of Truth expertise in finding."

Basically, Ozyllus had become so powerful that he would never be able to hide himself from someone who has Eyes of Truth.

Hearing so, Sneha sighs as she understands what Ethan said and, even if unwillingly, starts admiring the level of power Ozyllus has achieved.

Ethan: "But anyway, coming back to the topic, I suppose you don't know anything of what happened to those three after that point."

Ethan makes a simple guess that should be answered with a nod, but doesn't. Much to his surprise, Sneha denies it.

Sneha: "I don't know everything of what happened after that but, I do know some things."

Ethan finds himself honestly surprised and curious on hearing so and fixes his gaze on her. Because of his Eyes of Truth, he can see fluctuations in the energy surrounding someone as they lie. So, he knows Sneha is telling the truth. Though, there shouldn't have been any reason to really doubt her in the first place, he just couldn't help it.

Ethan: "So,"

He asks with a little bit of nervousness finally coming to his face,

Ethan: "what happened after that?"

Sneha turned to look at him as she answered,

Sneha: "After some minutes had passed since the black hole disappeared, I found her lying here."

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Ro: "Looks like we have completely lost."

Ro whispered to the dragon. Even if the two who defeated them heard them, there won't really have been any problem. But still, Ro decided to whisper. So, in response, the dragon answered in a whisper too.

Dragon: "I suppose that's true. But still, one can say we lost the battle, but won the war."

The dragon said with a faint smile.

Dragon: "After all, we were able to buy enough time for Kais to go in the tomb."

Ro: "Is that really us winning the war though?"

He asked doubtfully as he glanced at Walter.

Dragon: "I see. So you noticed, huh?"

Ro: "It's true, isn't it? He knew all along that he would fall short on time but still didn't try to run after Kais."

The dragon nodded.

Dragon: "He deliberately let Kais go in the tomb. But, no matter what he thinks, I can guarantee that Kais would not join the ghost's side after coming out of the tomb, no matter how much they preach."

There was an unexplainable confidence in the dragon's eyes and seeing that made Ro feel guilty for being doubtful.

Dragon: "Ha! Ha!"

The dragon chuckled seeing the guilty expression on Ro's face.

Dragon: "There's no reason for you to try to hide your doubts. I understand perfectly well why just me saying that would not convince you. In fact, I would advise you to keep up that attitude; it will surely help on a future occasion."

The dragon accepted his doubtful expression. Ro, on the other hand, was still stuck between guilt and doubt, even though some of his guilt had been lifted after hearing the dragon's words.

Dyne: "Hey, you two, I want to ask something."

Ro and the dragon turn to Ro, who was looking at them with one hand on his waist.

Ro: "And why exactly would either of us answer you?"

Dyne sighed exasperatedly on hearing Ro's response, however,

Dragon: "Well, we can at least listen to what he has to say. Maybe it would be something we can answer and there'll be no reason for pointless hostility that way."

Ro stared at the dragon with narrowed eyes as if to say, "You know they could ask us a trick question that we can't refuse to answer." The dragon blinked as if to say that he knows that but is still willing to let them ask.

The kind of thing Ro was worried about was a question which if they refuse to answer, Dyne would automatically be able to interpret the answer according to just that. If they refused to answer from the start though, then it won't be so easy. However, the dragon, knowing all that, had still agreed to answer if he can.

Dyne: "Well, do you guys know why time is suddenly running so fast?"

Ro: "No idea."

Dragon: "Same here. Though if I were to take a guess, it's Ozyllus' doing."

Dyne narrowed his eyes on hearing that but very soon accepted the dragon's answer.

Dyne: "His ghost's doing this, is your guess, correct?"

The dragon nodded.

Dyne: "Well then, is this the first disturbance that has been caused like this?"

Ro: "No, it's not."

Ro immediately gave his answer as he reminded himself of the time when this happened before.

Dragon: "Although no one on the island felt that way, a disturbance was caused back when Ro, Barry, Ethan and Sneha had come to the island as well."

Walter: "I see. That's peculiar."

Walter, leaning next to a tree with folded arms, said so.

Walter: "So he messed with both time and people's sense of time back then but not now. Why?"

Dragon: "I believe it is related to my death."

All three turned to stare at the dragon with varying degrees of shock on their faces. Ro and Walter were not that surprised to hear so but Dyne was utterly baffled.

Dragon: "Strictly speaking, five days were left for me to live back when Kais was first brought here. However, the thing that would kill me is not psychic. It's demonic, so …"

The dragon trailed off seeing all three of them understanding what was going on.

Walter: "So in other words, even if you don't believe your time is up, whatever kills you will be activated and you will die."

The dragon nodded to give an affirmation to the summarization of the understanding Walter had gained of the situation.

Dragon: "In the case time is running slowly, whether I realize it or not, I'll live longer. Since I was being quite loyal to him back then, that's probably why he slowed the time so as to make me live longer and carry out the orders he gave me to the fullest."

The dragon continued, unfazed.

Dragon: "However, when the opposite of that started to happen, he started to make my end come sooner. As the time is right now, even if I try to convince myself that my time is not running out so fast, it wouldn't matter because the time of death will come sooner."

It is a sickening concept. Or so Ro thought at least.

Ro: "So I suppose this 'thing' that kills you is, in the end, a contract, huh?"

Only contract could have such conditions that can completely ignore psychology. Ro was well aware of this much at least.

Dragon: "Yeah, I made that contract with him. In exchange for giving me a human form, I would have to agree to his demands. The result, as you can see, is this form, a replica of his appearance."

The three find themselves surprised and losing composure on hearing that. For what reason could the dragon have wanted a human form so badly that he would have agreed to such a contract? Seeing their reactions was enough to let the dragon know that was what they were thinking. And so, the dragon answered.

Dragon: "The reason I wanted a human form was because I was threatened."

He said without showing any hint of sadness in his voice. There was absolutely no emotion in his voice as he said that, all was buried underneath. The emotions that would not come to his face when they are felt by him, for once, they were helping him deal with a painful situation.

Dragon: "He threatened to destroy the whole dragon race if I didn't agree to that contract."

Dyne: "Seriously, he couldn't have been serious, right?"

Dragon: "He killed a five of them in front of me and then gave his threat."

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