Chapter 903 Upside Down

Inside the cherry forest, the four made themselves at home. Ai and Layla looked through the woods together, looking for the source of the voices. As for Arthur and Rain, they sat together by the tomb on a tree root.

"I have lived for a long time," said Rain as she stared at the tomb. "I have seen countless men lose themselves in hatred, and I thought Lyle was the same. Most of those men forget the reason, but they live on hating. Hate becomes all they know."

"Did that perception change about him after witnessing this place?"

"Lyle has never forgotten his love, which was why his hate never faded. It sounds poetic, but I wish he had moved on. I wish that love were something that fades once the need for it disappears. How I wish it were just an urge to procreate which fades as long as the goal is achieved via other means?"

"As the Sin of l.u.s.t, it is natural you would find it hard to understand," said Arthur while sitting crossed-legged. "If we feel for a purpose, then those are not feelings. Emotions are erratic and unreasonable, which might be the weakness humans never overcome."

"You might be the first one to overcome it," said Rain as she stared at Arthur. "I know about your contract with Rexus, the Spirit Sovereign. It was a knowledge I received at birth, and it contained so many more of your tales."

"That is useless knowledge," said Arthur with a chuckle.

"It was, and I lamented not knowing how to fight or control my powers, but now, I realize I gained the most valuable knowledge there is."

"And what is that?"

"The wisdom not to fight you," said Rain with a sigh. "I remember how I was killed in the Battle of G.o.ds. A part of me vowed that if I were born again, I would never fight the creator. I would be bound to lose."

"Thus, you decided to bed him," accused Arthur, making Rain grin at him. Seeing her expression, he resigned the topic. "Forget it. You are still the Sin of l.u.s.t, so there is no way of changing your thoughts."

"I am a woman, and since ancient times, women have loved strong men. Many tried to woo the creator in his glory times, including my previous self and the Deity of Seas. However, his apathy and aloofness made both of them hate him."

"Deity of Seas?" repeated Arthur with a frown as a frightening memory appeared in his mind. "I once met a spirit with that name, and she treated me with affection and hate. Can it be that history?"

"Hahahaha," burst out Rain, laughing while holding her stomach. Arthur glared at her until she stopped, and she apologized while wiping away the tears. "I never thought you would meet her. I have vague memories of her existence, but I remember that the Sin of l.u.s.t used to be her enemy. However, the mutual hate they had for you made them allies."

"…this is what the slaps were for?" asked Arthur with a speechless frown. "I knew she knew the past me, but I deserved none of those slaps. I was scared that she was crazy."

"As I heard, the Deity of Seas loved you even before you came to our world. Following your arrival, she descended to our world, but you refused her love, which turned her into an enemy. Although the heart does not have control over its desire, it was one of the stupidest reasons to fight someone."

"You fought me for that reason too."

"As the Sin of l.u.s.t, we have no combat abilities. Thus, our battles are different. Ours are about seduction, and whoever falls victim to our honeytraps will lose his strength."

"…and you tried to do that to me?"

"I wish I could," said Rain as she hugged her knees. "Although you are the creator, I realized that was just a fraction of your powers. After realizing that you are Eragon, I don"t want to sleep with you. What if you devour me too?"

"Devour…"

The word left Arthur pondering. It seems that he never considered his powers to be of such a nature, but even King Arthur said they were something he never knew existed. Both of those beings were still trapped in his sea of consciousness to be summoned by his will.

"Are you still angry all the time?" said Rain, tilting her head. A few pink petals have now rested over her silver hair, which now had a pink hue.

"Are you l.u.s.tful all the time?"

"I am."

"…that answers the question. However, I found a way to restrain the anger inside me. I cannot build a peaceful world with wrath."

"You learned to restrain it by remembering her, right?" asked Rain with a smile. She seemed no longer jealous or confused about his love, and Arthur nodded at the question. "That explains the flowers that sprout."

"I wish they did not. Imagine trying to fight someone while being covered in golden flowers. No enemy would take you seriously. However, they appear when I restrain my Ageless Breaker from interfering with my abilities."

"A wrath that turns into golden flowers," said Rain, shifting her gaze toward the lake. "That sounds like something from fairytales."

"I think no fairytale matches the one we are living," said Arthur as he rose from his seat. Then, he walked toward the lake"s sh.o.r.e before creating a rune. "Come with me on a ride toward the center."

"The center of what?" asked Rain as she rose from her seat and followed him. Arthur did not answer and used his rune instead. An ethereal blue boat appeared from his rune before landing on the water.

"This place is special somehow, and I want to see why. The voices are coming from somewhere, and it seems that Ai and Layla have yet to find the source. That means it is in a place no one could reach."

Rain understood what he meant, so she boarded the boat with him. It started moving under his command, cutting through the lake slowly. The two could see the petals parting way under the boat.

As they cut through the lake, the voices grew louder. It started sounding real, like children were playing in the forest. Rain glanced at Arthur, but he returned a smile.

"Does this scare you?" asked Arthur, but Rain scoffed.

"I am too old to be afraid of ghosts. However, something is soothing about these voices, as if I can feel their joy."

"If these voices could transmit emotions, it would be more than just a simple phenomenon. I suspect that magic is involved."

"Magic…"

Abilities were not considered magic by most scientists. They have been normalized and explained, so the word did not apply. However, there were still many phenomena that happened worldwide that science could not explain.

Those were called magic.

As the boat reached the lake"s center, the voices were loudest. However, they also stopped as soon as they arrived. Then, the voices turned into whispers. Rain and Arthur could suddenly understand what the two were saying.

"Shush, someone is here!"

"You heard their voice as well?"

"I did! I thought we were the only ones here!"

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Arthur and Rain met each other"s eyes, and they could see the shock in them. Despite hearing voices, the two knew that no humans were around them. Thus, the two stared at the water.

"Can it be coming from the bottom of the lake?" asked Rain, making the voices panic. One of them told the other to run, and before long, they disappeared. Rain was speechless.

"I will let us dive into the waters," said Arthur as he stood inside the boat. "You should prepare since it will get quite unsteady."

After that, Arthur turned the ethereal boat into a bubble. Rain held into the edge, which aided her to stand. After the sphere was complete, the two started diving into the waters. Arthur turned toward Rain.

"Do you have an artifact for the light?" asked Arthur, and Rain raised a brow. He knew she was going to say something obscene at that moment.

"We don"t need to…."

"Just turn it on," said Arthur, interrupting. Rain snickered as she took out the artifact. As soon as it was activated, the light illuminated the whole like. It allowed them to see what was below the surface.

Nothing.

Not a single creature was swimming in the waters. Although the two of them could already sense that, it was still a bizarre sight. There were not even plants around. Instead, there was just a glow at the bottom of the lake.

The bubble started diving deeper into the waters and heading toward the lights. The glow was pink and grew more prominent the deeper they descended. At one point, the glow was so intense that they could not see each other, but they kept moving in the same direction.

Arthur was dazed all of a sudden, and he staggered. Rain was there to catch him, and he shook his head. However, he stared at the new blue glow coming from the distance.

"…the world… has turned upside down?" muttered Arthur with confusion. However, he kept diving in the same direction, even with the feeling that something was wrong. Soon, he realized what it was.

The bubble broke through the water"s surface and floated atop the lake. All of a sudden, the blue sky was over their heads. Arthur then realized that the world did not turn upside down, but they did.

"Are we back to the surface?" asked Rain with confusion. However, a single look at the surrounding told them it was far from the case. The two of them were in a completely different world.