The Bored Immortal

"Let's even forget about the problem between the High Elders and your choice of fiance. I hope you won't take this crisis lightly and find out the dark forces that threaten our world. Not even I could look into them, and that only means that somebody really powerful is protecting them. But don't worry. No matter what you decide, I will help you find out where your fiance is right now," Maura said as she gently held Nyissa's hand.

Nyissa didn't remove her hand since she felt like her mother was trying her best to show her sincerity.

Even the request she had was about the unknown crisis, and she wasn't lying about it since not too long ago, Nyissa had come upon some suspicious operation in a warehouse. Taya and the others witnessed the strange experiments as well. Surely, Maura's words weren't wrong, and even without her asking, Viktor would get involved in this, especially since it was happening on Earth itself.

Nyissa also felt that they couldn't ignore this crisis, considering the fact that even her mother, who was a powerful oracle, couldn't divine any important information.

"Okay. Even if you hadn't told me, Viktor and I would have definitely looked into anything that threatened our world. Now, please…can you divine his whereabouts?"

Maura stood up as she said with a gentle smile, "Of course. You can call your friends inside."

Nyissa nodded as she turned around to see the door open.

Taya, Umilia, and Vanessa entered the pagoda and saw Nyissa sitting on a chair far ahead of the hall and also large parted curtains behind which a graceful middle-aged woman was sitting.

Taya wasn't expecting Nyissa's mother to look so elegant despite being so old. She couldn't help but think that odic users never had to worry about aging gracefully.

"Welcome, Taya," Maura greeted with an amiable smile, making Taya return a respectful smile as she bent her back by 45 degrees to greet her. Since Maura was a powerful senior who was born even earlier than 1000 AD, Taya made sure to not show the slightest disrespect.

She was inwardly nervous, but she also knew how to maintain a calm disposition before powerful people.

"Welcome, Princess Vanessa," Maura said with a subtle head bow, to which Vanessa hummed in acknowledgment as she greeted her back elegantly. Vanessa's kingdom was stronger than the Azure Sea Clan, but even then, she couldn't ignore the power held by an oracle like Maura, especially since oracles were rare in the first place.

However, Taya was surprised to see Maura suddenly bowing in her direction. Obviously, she realized it wasn't for her and saw that Maura was welcoming Umilia with respect.

Only then did she realize that Umilia was the most senior figure in this hall, and Maura must be respecting her seniority.

"Welcome, Aunt Umilia. After I married into the Fujo Clan, I came to learn tales of your bravery and sacrifice. From that moment on, I considered you as my role model. I am glad that things are well for you now," Maura said with a respectful smile.

Umilia wasn't surprised that Maura knew about her past and said with a soft chuckle, "Thank you, Maura. My past is kind of foggy to me, but all I care about now is the present and the future. I have never felt happier, especially now that my family is together," As Umilia said this, she glanced at Nyissa, who smiled, feeling glad that she got her grand-aunt back as well.

Nyissa also considered Umilia as her role model ever since she was small, and thus when a legendary figure like her came back to life, she couldn't feel happier. The fact that she also got to reunite with her old lover with whom she had ended things on a bad note due to a misunderstanding was the icing on the cake.

However, Taya was confused and surprised by Maura's behavior. Based on how Nyissa described Maura to her, Taya expected her to be an arrogant and haughty woman.

But all she saw was how amiable and polite Maura was even to a Regular like her.

She wondered what kind of talk Nyissa had with her mother before they came inside since she couldn't even detect a hint of hostility coming from Nyissa, which was not the case when they first arrived here.

"Alright, all of you, please take a seat while I try to divine Viktor's location," Maura said as she sat on her beautiful seat on the small platform.

Vanessa, Taya, and Umilia took a seat near Nyissa as they looked on.

Vanessa's fingers were restlessly tapping against her arm, hoping that the vixen Talia hadn't taken Viktor to her realm.

Maura had her eyes closed, and her expression seemed as if she was in deep meditation. However, after a minute, her expression subtly contorted as she sent three small earthenware towards Taya, Umilia, and Nyissa with a wave of her hand.

"It seems your fiance is immune to my divination…how interesting," Taya became worried and disappointed to hear that.

"But fret not. All I need is three drops of blood from each of you. Make sure to think about Viktor while drawing your blood," Maura said with her eyes still closed, making Taya feel that not all hope was not lost and felt no hesitation in giving three drops of blood even though she didn't understand the process.

Vanessa was sitting right beside Taya and used her fingernail to cut the skin on Taya's hand to draw three drops of blood before she could even realize it.

Taya wasn't surprised to see how lightning-fast Vanessa was since she had seen Viktor display such extraordinary feats as well.

Maura waved her hand again as the three small earthenware floated towards her. She moved her hands slowly through the air as the nine droplets of blood began to revolve in the air as their pace gradually increased.

Suddenly, the nine droplets of blood shone brightly before coalescing to form a giant blood bubble, displaying a projection that made Taya, Umilia, Nyissa, and even Vanessa's jaws slack.

"What in the god's name…"