Death... and me

Rean and Kentucky were surprised to see that. Her eyes became pretty much the same as the Dark Beast. Not only that, an Angel doesn't have Dark Element in their bodies. Yet, as soon as Aelrie's eyes changed, Dark Element began to come out of it, as if it had been hidden deep in her Dantian all this while. Not even Rean and Kentucky had detected that before.

Alerie put her hands on her chest, trying to suppress that feeling of something wanting to escape. It was pretty obvious she was having a hard time doing so.

Rean then turned in Lotar's direction. "Hey, stop! You are hurting Aelrie!"

Surprisingly, Lotar did exactly that, causing Aelrie's eyes to return to normal. "Now then, are you open for a deal?"

Rean's expression was terrible, though. "What fucking deal? What did you do to her?"

"I did nothing to her," Lotar answered. "I only released some of my own bloodline's power, which has a very close relation to the Queen. When she felt it, her own bloodline reacted, knowing that its brethren were close. It is only normal for her real self to want to return to us."

Aelrie then stabilized, looking at Lotar with fear in her eyes. Yet, she couldn't deny that the connection Lotar mentioned was truly there. She didn't know how, but she could feel it was something that had always been inside her. "How's that possible? You say I'm your Queen, but it doesn't make sense. I've been an angel my entire life."

Lotar shook his head. "Wrong. Have you ever heard about something called Soul Copying Spheres or Cubes?"

Rean's group looked at each other. Obviously, they heard about it. Rean got a lot of information from the Light Beast before. That's why he knew this Aelrie might not be the real one. In the end, Rean, Aelrie and Kentucky nodded.

Lotar was surprised to see that. However, he was also satisfied. "Then there isn't much I need to explain. You said your name is Aelrie, but that is the name of the real Aelrie's body and soul. Both the body and soul you have at the moment aren't the real Aelrie. Without a doubt, the real Aelrie died a long time ago. It's just that the real Aelrie and you look extremely like each other. Well, I'm talking about your angel form."

In the same way that Demon Beasts in the Realm of Gods could attain a humanoid form, the Angel Beasts in the Heavens could change into angel forms as long as they reached a high enough cultivation. It was that simple.

Lotar continued. "In any case, you don't really need to keep this angel form anymore. Just let it go, and you will return to your real Shadow Feral Form. Now that you are here, the seal put on your bloodline can be easily undone."

Aelrie quickly shook her head. "But I have no memories from you. All my memories are from Aelrie. How do you explain that?"

Rean and Kentucky looked at her. Obviously, they knew Aelrie had the answer to that question. This Azum Dimensional Realm had the power to alter one's memories, so why couldn't it take someone's memories and put them into someone else's body? It seemed something simple with such a power.

Lotar didn't mind it and simply explained. "This Azum Dimensional Realm has the power to-"

"Stop!" Aelrie spoke. "I know that. I know... but... still..."

Rean sighed and then asked Lotar directly. "Can you tell us about how this all happened? How did your Queen get sent out of this dimensional realm and take someone else's identity? Also, it would be good to hear about your... errr... Shadow Feral, was it? Anyway, your Race's situation."

Lotar nodded. "It would be a lot faster if we just touched each other and I sent you a Divine Sense message."

Rean snorted in response. "There is absolutely no way we will get close to you anytime soon."

Kentucky and Aelrie nodded. What if everything was a lie? They needed to hear the whole story first.

Lotar narrowed his eyes but decided to talk. "First, I'll tell how we lost our Queen. It all happened 210 years ago..."

Aelrie's body trembled when she heard that number. 210 years ago was exactly the year she died in the Azum Dimensional Realm and was teleported outside. Of course, the real Aelrie died at that time. Rean and Kentucky also noticed that since Aelrie had told them about her first time in this place before.

Lotar didn't notice that and simply continued to talk. "Back then, we were once again trying to invade the Kanlas City. By Kanlas City, I mean the city behind you. We believe that's where we can find a way to escape this place. However, we were fooled, and our Queen, the girl on your side, was captured. After that, we never saw her again... until today."

Lotar then answered the other question. "As for the thing about being trapped here. I'm not too sure either. Out Shadow Feral Race has been living in the bottom of this Chasm as far as I can remember, and I'm already the oldest Shadow Feral of my Race. Our Queen is still young. Back when I was young, I heard the elders saying they lost some kind of bet, but they never got into details regarding it. By the time I had the power to force them to talk, the ones who knew anything were already dead."

Rean and the others obviously noticed how Lotar left out many details, using the simplest way to answer Rean's question. "This is not enough. I'm sorry, but we will bring Aelrie with us and then leave this place."

"Rean..." Aelrie was moved. She found it hard to deny Lotar's words since her own body seemed to want to answer to him.

Lotar, however, warned them while feeling worried. "If you go, our Queen will absolutely die."