Cyntilla sat across from Annabelle as they sipped tea. It reminded her of a happier ti. A ti they all thought they would resu but it had beco a quagmire. A new sister had beco close to them and was now gone.
Lysanna had created a rcantile power and asked to be left alone. She did not turn them away if they ca for business but they could not push it there.
The new grandchildren were still happy to play with them but Annabelle did not even do that!
She had continued to support the clan but from a far in her lonely peak.
Now, it seed so people saw a chance to pry the secrets of the Frey Clan or take a forr wife of Lind Frey from him. He was a savior but he was not everyone's preferred person.
Many human powers envied him and wanted to bring him down because he was a beast. The fact he was forrly human also seed to irritate them for so reason.
Annabelle narrated a few simple approaches to engage in business with her. Her formations were stunningly powerful for half the cost of Qi or Laws. It was reasonable for her to accept the work she wanted.
Yet, so of those approaches turned into full blown proposals. Technically, Lind and Annabelle were still married on paper. They never forrly separated but anyone with eyes could see things were not good between them.
If not for her preparations, naly the decoy in the main reception room, she may have been kidnapped after she rejected them!
She had been forced to lay traps after that as so had co back with her admission tokens to bypass the mist's defenses. It was also why the mists had grown stronger.
"That seems odd, given how any of us would react to news of you being taken. Unless I hear it from you directly, I would never believe it." Cyntilla spoke frankly and Annabelle actually smiled at her.
"So have learned the folly of challenging , but the true concern is the latest one." She summoned a jade slip that was more ornate than anything Cyntilla had seen before. It seed to shimr with a profound aura.
She picked it up and was stunned to see the inscriptions seed to almost project a 3D image without any sign of Qi or Laws being used.
She infused so of her Qi into it and the slip lit up. A stunningly realistic man appeared in the room with them. Cyntilla was waiting for the ssage to begin, but the man looked around with curiosity.
Shock filled her as it was so kind of advanced communication stone!
[Hmm, I see you are still able to hide from . Truly, you are the perfect match for . You should accede to my interest while I am being pleasant. I will get what I want, one way or the other.] The man had robes that seed to shimr like they were being hit by sunlight.
They were gold and silver with precious gems integrated in a pattern Cyntilla recognized as so kind of formation. She also saw his eyes were odd.
For being human, his eyes seed to shift colors constantly. She realized he was trying to use a Talent! He was like Lind!
She was about to speak when Annabelle flicked her finger. It was all she did but the man instantly turned towards them intently. A feeling of pressure actually pressed on her!
[You are not alone? Who is here? Another man would not be good. I will have to kill them. Of course, that dragon would be different. He is of too much importance to people I cannot cross. Still, there are other ways to deal with him. I give you one more year. After that, my people will co for you.] The realistic man seed to fade into mist.
Cyntilla was about to speak but Annabelle stopped her once again. She touched the jade slip and a new formation was quickly carved around it. It was only then that the demoness realized the slip had been sealed!
She had broken the seal?! Why was it not stronger?!
She sotis wished she had Lind's Talent to see Qi like he did but after a short ti, Annabelle finally stored it away.
"He laced that item with many contingency formations. If I was not so good at illusions myself, I would have missed them. I can just barely seal it enough that putting it in a storage treasure isolates it." Shock filled Cyntilla.
That level of potency when faced with soone like Annabelle could only narrow it down to one kind of Immortal.
Sovereign Tier!
A peak Immortal was courting her sister!
"Why?" By the man's words, he did not care about Lind or the Frey Clan. It was Annabelle, herself, that he was after.
A long tired sigh left the beautiful woman before her. She seed to grow exhausted just at that mont.
"I did so digging and he is a rather odd Sovereign Tier Immortal. He is known as the Master of Illusions. His Dao title is also Illusion Immortal. I have never claid my titles but clearly mine reached him." The demoness understood partially.
People had been calling Annabelle the Mistress of Illusions for millennia for good reason. Her ability in not only illusions but formations in general were enough to declare her a Maester long ago.
Even Lind was far behind her in that regard. His weavings were powerful but he could never craft an illusion superior to Annabelle.
"So, what are you going to do?" Cyntilla knew what she would want but it was Annabelle that mattered. The normally bright woman had been missing for far too long. She also did not ask the question that lood in their hearts.
What would Lind do?
On one hand, their separation had gone unchallenged. On the other hand, he was known to tear apart realms to help those he cared about. A single word from Annabelle, and he would do just that.
"I will simply close myself off. I have no interest in being with anyone anymore." Cyntilla repressed a sigh. "I will also move. I will have to cut my final–" A swish of tal through air snapped Annabelle out of her words.
A dark tal blade was at her nose tip.
"You know better. You know isolation does not work and further, a Sovereign Tier like that expects you to move. You are safe here for now but it will not stay so. Your traps tell
you know that much." Annabelle was not a fool. She was far from naive.
The one blind spot had been Lind but that was true of them all. He had been that special to them that his abandonnt hurt more than any enemy she had faced.
"What would you have
do, then, Fellow Daoist Cyntilla?" The cold tone made her flinch. It was a warning that she was now on thin ice but the demoness only smiled back just as coldly.
"Fight. You know how to and I know you can do far more than illusions. You also have people that love you. We will co without being asked." She pulled her sword back as Annabelle seed to turn over the words.
"I will not drag–" A fist slamd onto the table spilling the tea everywhere. The table was sturdy enough but the tea cups cracked from the force of the impact.
"You are my sister. We may not share blood but that does not matter at all to . If you dare say it is not my business, we will be having a very different kind of conversation." It was now her virulent green eyes that held an icy chill.
Tears suddenly ford in Annabelle's eyes as she seed to shrink in her chair. Cyntilla moved swiftly to embrace her. She let her sister cry like a poison was being extracted from her body.
There were no words but the demoness understood well the feeling of being hunted. Unwanted attention was normal for won more than n but the power of cultivators made it far worse.
Cyntilla felt the old scars from when she was wandering forests and deserts to escape her family and betrothed.
It was almost fitting she was the one to learn of her sister's issues as no words were needed to understand it.
A few days passed and Annabelle just slept. The fact she was that tired spoke volus to how much she had prepared for invasion.
Now that they had a possible deadline, Cyntilla began to plan but their enemy was dangerous.
While the Sovereign Tier could not act directly, he could send enough Radiant Tiers to make it nearly impossible to resist.
"You hated Lind for pushing us away but you did the sa thing. Silly girl." The gentle look was not one many knew of for Cyntilla. She was a warrior of near legendary status now. Only Fey was more widely known in the Frey Clan.
She dared not confront the hypocrisy since it was not a direct comparison. Lind simply chose to push away the world from his mistaken understanding of what was happening to him without even trying to confirm it.
Annabelle was facing a true threat that could endanger her loved ones if they helped her. It was not the sa at all.
Still, it proved that even apart, the pair of them were still so similar.
Whether that would be a good or bad thing remained to be seen.
She pulled out a crimson jade slip with the dragon emblem carved into it. It was a powerful Law Grade artifact. It had but one purpose.
[Co to . Our Annabelle needs us.] She imprinted her thoughts and crushed it. A mighty flare of power filled the room before it shot outward.
She knew so would feel it pass but only those with similar artifacts could grasp it.
[To those awaiting an audience. The Phantom Peak is closed until further notice. Compensation will be given by
personally. You have 3 days to pack and leave.] She sent out a local ssage and prepared for the next steps.
The Frey Clan was going to war.
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