"The ether here... it's too thin, and almost impossible to manipulate."
The petite scholar looked around, gazing up at the endless spikes and down into the bottomless abyss, murmuring, "How was this world... ford?"
"Is it down there?"
Ansel suddenly asked.
"Uh... about one and a half million ters down."
Flalle answered casually, "Tyr and the others are already waiting below, Falcon is ascending... oh, we've arrived."
In this eerily silent and bizarre world, suddenly a towering whirlwind surged from below.
Accompanied by a crisp cry, a massive falcon burst out of the dark void below, its wings streaming with blue currents that shredded the unsettling black matter, finally landing smoothly before Flalle.
"Master, I apologize for the delay."
Spoke the gentle and lodious Falcon with a flustered apology, while Flalle, with a smile, affectionately stroked its head. "Such words are unnecessary; without you, the final ingredient would have remained elusive... You have labored diligently during this period, Falcon."
The majestic and commanding falcon responded with joy and pride, "This is where Falcon finds its purpose."
"What are Tyrus, Torado and the others engaged in at present?"
"They await your command... As per your directive, we have refrained from striking the prey."
"Comndably obedient; I had presud they might succumb to impatience and attempt a premature strike."
"...In truth, Lawrence has already made an attempt, ceasing only after succumbing to death two hundred and sixty-seven tis."
"Ha, that impetuous guy..." Flalle chuckled and shook his head in amusent, "No matter, it is of little consequence. Dive again, and rember to safeguard those two young ladies."
"Falcon understands... my young misses."
It spread its wings and flew before Ansel and the others, bowing its head, "Please, be seated upon the Falcon's back."
The two girls almost simultaneously turned to Ansel, who rely smiled and shook his head:
"Accompany the Falcon; I shall follow my father."
With these words, he tapped the boulder beneath him with his scepter, propelling himself towards the stone where Flalle awaited.
"..."
Helen watched Ansel's retreating figure before swiftly averting her gaze to climb onto Falcon's expansive back.
Flalle's Head of Wind fluttered its wings, enveloping Helen and Seraphina, along with itself, in a cyan stream of air before plunging directly into the abyssal depths.
The descent of one million five hundred thousand ters would require considerable ti, and seizing the opportunity, Helen, with hands gripping the Falcon's feathers, inquired:
"Your Excellency Falcon, Father... he seems quite resistant to this place—not here specifically, but to the Zero Realm Enigma."
"..."
Falcon, in its rapid descent, glanced back at Helen, its piercing cyan eyes that seed to discern all, which Helen had long been acquainted with, but now she had no secrets to conceal.
"Why would you think so?" Falcon replied.
"Ansel... he does seem to be in a foul mood today," interjected Seraphina, "But I'm curious too, how did you find that out, little one?"
"Intuition, and... understanding."
"Understanding?"
Seraphina snorted, "You understand Ansel? Do you comprehend him as I do?"
Helen slowly turned her head, "How old is father this year, down to the day?"
The question imdiately baffled Seraphina, who, upon regaining her composure, retorted, "Are you mad? Who would keep track of such a thing!"
"Sixteen years, eleven months, and nine days."
Helen calmly adjusted her glasses, "I am one to rember such details."
"Rembering such details… doesn't an you understandAnsel! I... I also know—"
Seraphina's mouth opened, but she suddenly faltered.
She realized that although she could acutely perceive the subtle shifts in Ansel's emotions, she found it challenging to comprehend his thoughts, let alone grasp the specifics.
In reality, this sensitivity was quite sufficient, but in the heat of the mont, Seraphina had to admit a truth: while she could empathize deeply with Ansel, she lacked… a direct "understanding" of him.
...Wait, do those, ahem, postures and positions count?
"Your expression suggests you're considering whether bedroom skills could be included in understanding Father," Helen stated emotionlessly to Seraphina.
"I am not!"
"I have no interest in arguing about this... Lord Flacon, I do not wish to trouble you, I rely seek an answer."
After confronting Seraphina, Helen slightly lowered her gaze, "Nothing that upsets or saddens father should ever occur."
"Has the young lord shown any unusual behavior?"
After a brief silence, the Falcon seed inclined to answer.
"Father... did not inform or Miss Seraphina about today's journey to the Zero Realm Enigma. We are here because Mr. Flalle revealed this matter."
"Because the master has already regarded both of you as the young lord's pact heads... Miss Helen may need so ti, but it's inevitable. However, the choice on the young lord's part..."
Falcon pondered for a mont, then shook its head, "Apologies, Falcon cannot think of a reasonable explanation. The Zero Realm Enigma is not considered dangerous, and with the master's protection, it is unlikely that anything untoward will happen."
anwhile, next to Flalle, Ansel's expression was serene; he indeed did not want Helen and Seraphina to co, but the reason was quite straightforward.
Because he could not guarantee that he would control his emotions well—during this short journey with Flalle.
And he especially did not want his uncontrolled emotions, detected by Helen, to beco a weapon used by fate... as had happened with Seraphina before.
But the unwanted event still occurred; Flalle had designated Helen and Seraphina to accompany them, and Ansel was the first to disbelieve that fate had no hand in this.
"Annihilation, void, devouring, destruction..."
Flalle half-closed his eyes, his hands waving lightly and joyfully, like a conductor of an orchestra, he exclaid:
"Truly... perfect. Such a multitude of annihilation elents blended together, yet achieving an ultimate balance—this is what I've been missing... the final ingredient."
He reached out obsessively towards sothing that didn't exist, only a void filled with pitch-black substance:
"The final... fuse."
Mature Hydral's fingertips trembled slightly, his sea-blue eyes, almost identical to Ansel's, sparkled with a madness that even the pitch-black substance seed to retreat from. With a casual grasp, the pitch-black "ocean" created from endless annihilation and destructive elents was directly scooped out, instantly condensed by Flalle into a tangible entity.
Without a second thought, he tossed the pill into his mouth, and then his entire body shook even more violently, not from injury, not from fear, but from... ecstasy.
"Right... this is the taste, this is the feeling, this is the kind... of corrosion and destruction that even I am subjected to."
The crazed Hydral sighed contentedly, then turned his head to look at Ansel.
"It's almost over, Ans."
In the endless darkness, Flalle smiled and patted Ansel's head: "After today, everything will proceed towards the perfection I have planned."
It was just a mont, in the instant he turned his head, the chaos and madness in his eyes dissipated instantly, leaving only pure affection and gentleness.
"I promised your mother, and I promised you."
The dood late-stage divine being whispered:
"I will give you... a perfectly happy life."
*
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