Death... and me

Xiria, obviously, was confused over what just happened. She saw Rean appear for a moment, bid farewell, and leave. She knew that Rean had to come back to where Roan was since she was in Sumeri's room during that time.

Even though that was the case, she still could not help but think, 'Still, why does it feel like something is different?' After all, Rean and Qia seemed to be ready to stay apart for a very long time.

Another thing was that this was the first time she saw Agis. Frandin's appearance had also changed once he came out of the Dimensional Realm. Well, the part where Frandin was using a different appearance didn't surprise Xiria. The same could be said for Calina, Qia, and Malaka. After all, Gian told everyone that he couldn't talk about his identity from the very start. Using another face made total sense in that context.

"Gian, you actually had one more human in your group," said Xiria as she looked at Agis.

Frandin nodded, replying, "Yes. He was the last member of my group. Well, you'll see him a lot from now on, so there's no point in keeping him hidden." Following that, Frandin changed the topic as he said, "By the way, you don't need to call me Gian anymore. You already have taken the poison, so I can trust you with my real name at the very least. You can call me Frandin from now on."

Xiria nodded, still feeling a bit lost over everything that was happening. However, the next thing that happened truly surprised her.

*Clack, clack, clack...*

One by one, Agis and the others removed their slave collars.

"Sigh...these fake collars are seriously annoying. It feels like someone is grasping my neck all the time," Malaka complained.

Calina and Qia agreed with her as one of them responded, "Indeed. Well, make sure to keep them since we might need to enter a city again."

Agis then came forward and asked everyone, "Shall we go, then? The next city on the map should be Havares. However, I would rather avoid that one and head to the one after that. We need to make sure that we're as far as possible from Vanesi before the Soul Rulers arrive. After all, we don't have Rean and Roan's Dimensional Realm."

Frandin agreed with Agis, saying, "That's true. On the other hand, we have a lot of Spirit Stones now. We can totally avoid all cities in this country and head straight to the next."

Eventually, Xiria couldn't hold her curiosity anymore, asking, "Ahem...what's happening here? Why do I feel like the way your humans are treating you is different now, Gia- I mean, Frandin? Also, what about those fake collars? Could it be that you trust them that much that they don't need it?" In fact, she quite admired it since it proved that Frandin truly liked humans, just like her clan.

Frandin couldn't help but laugh out loud as he replied, "Hahaha! My humans? They had never been my humans to start with. They're just my companions. By the way, it seems like you haven't checked their cultivations with your Spiritual Sense yet. Why don't you give it a try?"

Xiria was taken aback for a moment before she spread her Spiritual Sense. At the very next moment, she looked like she had seen a ghost.

"Co-Core Formation and Co-Core and Soul Fusion!"

Calina and the others didn't try to hide their cultivation, so even Xiria could see it with her Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation. As expected, she was shocked by that sight, prompting her to ask, "Wh-What's happening here?"

Frandin then put a hand on her shoulder, saying, "Hahaha! Don't worry, you will get used to it."

Following that, he explained, "Do you remember when I said that this journey would be very dangerous? This is one of the reasons. There are other problems as well. Then again, you'll come to understand it as time passes."

Xiria couldn't help but ask, "Are you...really a member of the Celestial Lands?" Sure enough, that question appeared, and it surprisingly did not take long to arise.

However, Frandin just shrugged his shoulders while replying, "Have I ever told you that I was part of a Celestial Land?"

Sure enough, Frandin was right. Indeed, he had never said he was part of a Celestial Land to the members of the Asume Clan, not even once. The only ones who got that excuse were the Imperial Guards, or to be more specific, Firmel and Clad.

Immediately, Xiria felt like her clan had been fooled, asking, "What do you intend to do with me?"

"Nothing," said everyone as they answered Xiria's question in unison.

Naturally, that made Xiria confused again. What did they mean by nothing?

Frandin then took a bottle with a pill, the same one Xiria had a few days ago, before giving it to Xiria as he said, "Here you go. This bottle has a pill that can completely cure your poison. Well, you probably know that already."

Following that, he pointed in a certain direction as he continued, "If you follow that path, you will eventually arrive back in the city. After that, you can simply head back to your normal life."

Frandin then moved to everyone else's side and continued, "However! There is one thing I didn't lie to you about. You can definitely become much stronger, far surpassing any of the geniuses of your clan. As long as you follow us and not die, I can guarantee you that much. Remember, great dangers are always followed by great rewards."

None of Frandin's group did anything. Xiria seemed like a nice Zasfin, so they had no intention of making things difficult for her now that they already got what they wanted. If she wanted to give up, she had the freedom to do that.

Xiria narrowed her eyes as she pondered over it. The fact that the humans in front of her were that strong and young was proof enough that Frandin was telling the truth. Not to mention that Frandin himself was already very strong for someone at his level.

Eventually, Xiria remembered why she decided to leave and gritted her teeth, throwing the healing pill back to Frandin again as she said, "Fine! I already expected that things were not totally as I thought they would be. The fact that Calina and the others were much stronger than you or me was truly shocking. Nevertheless, I have an objective to fulfill. If following humans around is what it takes, then I accept."

She then turned around and began to move away from Venasi City, saying, "Let's go. The further away from the city we are, the better. Didn't you say that before? Then, let's pick up the pace."

"Such determination..." Frandin and the others were surprised by that. They truly thought she would turn back as soon as she found out the truth.

It was then that Malaka had an idea as she asked the others, "Do you really think she's determined?" Everyone looked at her, waiting to see what this girl was planning to do. Soon after, Malaka ran ahead and called Xiria's attention, giving her a piece of paper. "Xiria, here's your training routine. It had been prepared for Frandin, with just a few modifications based on your Elemental Affinity."

Immediately, everyone understood. Roan had revised Frandin's routine after they got Soul Power. Now it was even more terrifying than when Frandin showed it when they visited the Asume Clan for the first time.

Seeing that, Frandin sighed as he took the bottle with the healing pill out and murmured, "Well, it was good while it lasted. I better give her the pill already before she forgets it and runs away."

Calina, Qia, and Agis nodded in agreement to Frandin's words.

Soon after, they saw Xiria's expression turn ghastly pale. The more she read the things on that paper Malaka passed to her, the worse it became. She then looked at Frandin and the others while her whole body trembled. That routine couldn't be possible! However, she only saw Frandin and the other holding other pieces of paper, describing their own routines as well.

"Don't worry. We all know how you feel."

Xiria gulped a bit of saliva as she slowly looked by her side. There, Malaka was also holding another training routine made especially for her. Sure enough, it was as terrifying as everyone else's...

"I...I...I'm fi-fine...I can...do this..." Xiria then sent the training task into her Spatial Bracelet as she said, trying to muster up her courage.

*wow!*

Sure enough, her words surprised everyone.

"Now that's what you call courage!"

"Well, it's not like it's any easier for us."

"Yes, but she had never gone through Roan's craziness before."

"Indeed. I totally expected Xiria to put her tail between her legs and run away."

"Perhaps she has a stronger will than we thought."

"I think she's just pretending."

"She might be. If you see Xiria run away a few days from now, we will have our answer."

"I bet 100 Spirit Stones that she'll run away!"

"I bet 200!"

"I bet 300!"

"Hey, hey hey! If everyone bets she'll run, what's the point?"

Xiria's mouth twitched as she could not help but say, "Do you need to say all of that out loud?! I can hear you, you know?!"

Everyone laughed as Malaka and Calina grabbed her arms. "Welcome aboard."

And just like that, they began to make their way through the cold lands. No one other than themselves knew where they'd be going or how long it would take until they met the twins again.