Silence followed after Riona was done talking with Arwen staring at her for a bit before remarking in a wary tone. "You need my help?"
"Indeed, I need your help with escaping this place. I’ve been trapped here for so long, it’s a miracle that my sanity is still intact." Riona responded, her tone laced with a slight trace of desperation.
Arwen didn’t dare to let her guard down as she understood that she was not in a friendly location. "How did you get trapped in the Afterlife?"
"I dared to dream big only to end up crushed under the weight of it all."
"I’m going to need you to speak clearly." Arwen intoned.
"I would but I fear that doing so could lead to unsavory repercussions for you. Haven’t you heard the saying, too much knowledge kills?"
"I have also heard the saying, many have died out of ignorance so forgive for wishing to understand a bit more."
Riona’s expression shifted, but ultimately, it went back to normal as she remarked. "You have a point. Fine then, I’ll tell you this; I dread of conquering death, but at the last mont, just before I achieved that, sothing went wrong, and my pneuma was separated from my Soma. Currently, I am trapped here while my Soma continues to persist in Eventide."
"You wished to conquer death?" Arwen grew curious as she inquired. "How?"
"We do not have all the ti in the world, my dear."
"If you want to hear your plea for help, you will tell what I want to know," Arwen remarked in an unyielding tone, leaving Riona no room for discussion.
Letting out a sigh, Riona inquired. "What do you know about the Afterlife?"
"It’s where the dead of Eventide reside."
"Indeed, but do you know what created it?"
"What?... Isn’t everything created by the Absolute One?" Arwen asked.
Riona smirked as she replied. "You could say that, after all, the Branches of the Absolute One are portions of the Absolute One’s omnipotence."
"I don’t understand."
"The Veil, dear child, haven’t you heard of the Veil?"
Arwen pursed her lips, parsing through the knowledge she was familiar with before remarking. "The Silent Veil?"
"Indeed," Riona remarked. "The phenonon that reveals itself during the peak of the month of Astra in places that have been graced with a large number of grueso deaths."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"I’m sure you believe that the veil is rely a visual phenonon, but what if I told you it is not? What if I told you that it is the projection of sothing more powerful, a Branch of the Absolute One."
"This..." Arwen’s expression went blank for a mont as she felt like a mystery of the world had been revealed to her.
The aether stirred as she suddenly gripped the side of her head as a terrible headache assailed her senses, leaving her dazed.
Seizing the opportunity, Riona continued speaking. "The Veil is the creator of the Afterlife, dear child, it is the reason death exists, so to conquer it is to conquer death!"
"Shut up!" Arwen cried out as she extinguished the black and white flas in her other hand so she could cover her ears.
Riona’s expression turned ghastly, revealing traces of madness as she continued. "Didn’t you wish to learn, dear child, didn’t you wish to hear my truths?"
Arwen scread as she turned and tried to flee but Riona wasn’t about to let her.
Her body exploded with eerie green flas while her beautiful physique faded away to reveal a skeletal fra covered in rags.
"Co back here and listen to my truths!... Co back here and save !" Riona’s voice traveled directly into Arwen’s head causing her to lose her footing, crashing to the ground the next second.
Seeing this, Riona charged at her like a wraith with her mouth wide open, appearing as though she wished to devour Arwen.
Such a terrifying sight caused Arwen to nearly lose herself in the terror but she sohow managed to pull through to counterattack, unleashing a conflagration of pale flas that consud Riona.
***
Ulysses found himself in a dark room illuminated by a single candle.
The fla flickered precariously, almost like it was on the brink of dying out but sohow managing to remain alight.
Gulping nervously, he looked around, adjusting his eye lens so he could see better in the dark.
The room was filled with polluted water, reaching up to his ankles with remnants of what appeared to be a bedroom floating about.
Surprisingly, the table the candle was placed on was stable, along with two chairs placed side by side, and on the chairs were two humanoid skeletons, causing Ulysses to turn away in fright.
Taking a deep breath, he resolved to steel his nerves and handle the situation as a seasoned explorer.
Was this the first ti he had experienced danger?... Of course not!
He still had trauma from the last incident that claid his father and other relatives, but that didn’t an he would forget the core principles of exploration.
So, with that, he decided to head for the exit and explore this new region.
But then, he took the first step forward and was forced to stop as he felt like he’d heard a footstep apart from his own.
He looked back but saw nothing of note causing him to push it aside as a fignt of his imagination.
Taking yet another step, he paused once again, once again hearing the sa set of footsteps.
Pulling out a card from space, he prepared to exert his Will at a mont’s notice and once again turned around only to be t with nothing.
Gulping hard, he scrutinized the area thoroughly before proceeding to hurry toward the exit and at the sa ti, a different set of footsteps chased after him.
He imdiately turned round, intent on utilizing the card he held only for several pale hands to grab him from underneath the polluted water and drag him down.
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