The Beginning After The End novel Chapter 140

Chapter 140

Chapter 140: Ultimatum

Scenes of the memories I thought I had forgotten flashed in my head at every blink, haunting me in broad daylight as we prepared to make our way to the designated location where we would meet with the messenger.

‘Are you okay, Arthur?’ Sylvie’s concern touched my mind.

‘I’m fine, Sylv. Other than the fact that you call me by my name now,’ I replied, scratching her small ears.

‘Grandfather said that it’s important that I uphold the dignity of the dragons.’ My bond held her tiny snout up high, she sauntering beside me as we came out of the teleportation gate that Aldir had conjured.

We just had arrived near a small fishing town called Slore more than a dozen miles south of Etistin.

‘Well, I can’t say you weren’t cuter before when you used to call me “Papa,”’ I smirked.

‘Don’t worry. I still see you as my papa!’ she comforted, rubbing her side against my leg as we walked.

“I still don’t feel right about doing this meeting without any backup,” Virion said warily.

We were in a small clearing on a rise just above the town of Slore. The occasional moist breeze carried with it a strong smell of the sea, making me sticky despite the frigid air.

“If this messenger has the audacity to act against us, I will have every right to intervene,” Aldir assured, a slight smirk appearing from his lax expression as his single opened eye stared straight ahead.

“With the way the Vritra’s side has been planning everything—breeding asura half-bloods, creating mutants with our continent’s mana beasts, and now the ships—I can’t imagine how long Agrona has been planning this. And I can’t shake the feeling that this war is more of a game to him than some passionate endeavor.”

“If Agrona was so easy to predict, he never would’ve gotten this far,” Aldir acknowledged reluctantly. “Since he, like all the other asuras residing in this world, is prohibited to participate in this war directly, he’s been coming up with ways to go around that by being the almighty hand that moves his chess pieces—at least for his side.”

“And who is the almighty hand that moves the pieces for our side?” Virion asked with a raised brow.

“You are the one leading this war, are you not?” Aldir reminded. _{freewebnσvel.cѳm}

Virion shrugged skeptically. “That’s what I tell myself at night.”

“All right,” I intervened. “Is this the meeting place?”

“Of course not,” Virion let out a sigh, tying back his long white hair.

“This is the farthest I can take us before we traverse to our real destination,” Aldir clarified. “Our destination is in the middle of the ocean.”

“Lead the way,” I gestured.

Aldir’s feet slowly rose from the ground as a milky aura covered both him and Virion. Soon, the aura lifted Virion into the air as well. Virion’s lips shut tight as every muscle in his body tensed like a cat picked up by its scruff.

As the two of them shot up above the clouds, Sylvie suddenly scampered towards the edge of the cliff.

‘Jump!’ Sylvie chirped as she suddenly leaped off the edge.

Without a second thought, I followed my bond. As I propelled myself up off the steep edge, I took the time to admire the hawkeye view of the bustling town directly below me.

Just as my body began to descend, Sylvie’s massive figure appeared below, scooping me up from the air with a snap of her powerful wings. I patted the base of her long, black neck as we sped through the clouds.

‘Sylvie, did you gain weight?’ I joked, spotting the two tiny figures of Aldir and Virion ahead of us.

‘That joke is getting old, you know,’ Sylvie grumbled.

‘Not to me.’ I let out a refreshing whoop at the top of my lungs that was blown away by the harsh wind slicing against us as we sped faster.

Sylvie stayed a few dozen meters behind Aldir as we surfed the top of the clouds. This far up in the sky, the only sound that could be heard was the sharp whistle of air around us, making the journey peaceful despite the purpose of our trip.

As I stared in a daze at the blue and white scene around us, my mind wandered back to Epheotus after I had just finished my training. The brusque king of asuras had wanted to see me before I headed back to Dicathen. That was the second encounter I had had with Lord Indrath, and also the moment I realized who Myre was.

The elderly asura that had healed me and taught me how to read spells using Realmheart had been seated right next to the stone-faced Lord Indrath with an amused grin on her now-youthful face.

As I stood speechlessly with my mouth ajar, Lord Indrath beckoned me with a simple, “I’m sure you remember my wife, Myre.”

Needless to say, the meeting hadn’t gone as I had thought it would. For one, Lord Indrath had been much less critical this time compared to the first time we had met; he’d even—barely—acknowledged my improvement, although he had added that if I hadn’t learned with Myre’s help, then I would’ve been a lost cause.

Before leaving, Lord Indrath had left me with one piece of advice. What was odd was that he had activated his aether ability, freezing time for everyone present—even his wife—except for the two of us. As I stared blankly at the king of the asuras as Myre, Sylvie, and the guards remained static, he had left me with a cryptic message:

‘It’s wisest to close your heart to the elf princess’

That was all he had said before withdrawing his powers and having the guards escort Sylvie and me back to Windsom and Wren who were waiting for us outside.

‘We’re almost here,’ Sylvie announced, snapping me back to the present.

Aldir and Virion had stopped above the clouds, waiting for us to catch up.

“I’m sure I don’t need to say this to you but I will anyway. No one knows how much the Vritra actually know so it’d be wise to keep your true strength hidden during this meeting.” Aldir’s voice rang uncomfortably in my ear as if he was whispering right next to me.

“What about Sylvie?” I shouted, unsure if Aldir would even hear me.