"That..."Cora’s hands trembled slightly as she stood in front of Arthur. The air between them felt heavy, almost still.
For a brief mont, neither of them spoke. Her chest rose and fell as she tried to calm herself, taking in a slow, deep breath before exhaling shakily.
Her fingers brushed together, and she pressed them against her palms as if trying to suppress the faint quiver that ran through her body.
She forced herself to et Arthur’s eyes but could only hold his gaze for a heartbeat before looking down again.
Her voice ca out low and uncertain at first. "That na..." she said softly, the words nearly caught in her throat. Her lips trembled as she spoke again. "It confirms everything."
Arthur said nothing. He simply watched her quietly, his eyes steady and calm.
His expression did not change, but there was patience in the way he looked at her, as if giving her all the ti she needed.
He stood still, hands by his side, and waited without interrupting.
The flickering light around them cast a faint glow on his face, making the mont feel even heavier.
’This has burdened her much more than I thought,’ Arthur understood.
Cora’s throat tightened. She swallowed once before she continued speaking. "The reason my sister and I crash-landed on this Mortal plain wasn’t an accident," she said.
Her tone was filled with restrained pain. Each word ca slowly, carefully. Her voice trembled as she rembered, and she took another deep breath before continuing. Her hands, which had been hanging by her sides, curled into fists.
"We were attacked," she said quietly. Then, after a pause, she added, "By a sect in the upper realms called the Evil God Sect."
Arthur’s calm expression shifted imdiately. His eyes sharpened, and the relaxed air around him grew colder in an instant.
"Why?" he asked simply.
Cora’s gaze lifted for a mont before falling again. She nodded slowly, her jaw tightening as if she was holding back the weight of countless mories.
"We were sworn enemies with them for centuries," she said. Her tone was heavier now, carrying bitterness and sadness at the sa ti. "They always wanted sothing my sister carried. It was a treasure. A special artifact connected to her research."
She paused there, taking a short breath. Her eyelids fluttered as she steadied herself once more.
The mory seed to replay behind her eyes as she continued in a quieter tone. "It was the core of the thod she developed for creating artificial martial spirits."
Arthur’s gaze deepened. He understood imdiately what that ant. "They wanted to steal it," he said flatly.
"Yes," Cora replied with a short nod. Her expression hardened. "That’s exactly what they wanted."
Her voice lost so of its earlier shakiness and turned grim. "They ambushed us while we were traveling," she went on.
"The battle was fierce right from the start. They ca prepared. They brought many experts. It wasn’t just an ordinary assault. It was a siege planned down to the last detail."
Her eyes unfocused slightly as if she could still see the scene. "We were outnumbered. Every ti we pushed them back, more ca. Every technique we used was t with sothing stronger. My sister fought with everything she had, and so did I, but it wasn’t enough."
Her fists clenched even tighter, and her knuckles turned pale. Her shoulders stiffened as she forced herself to continue.
"In the end, the spatial formation we were using collapsed. Everything around us twisted violently. The air itself beca like a blade. The ground tore open, and the sky warped. We lost control completely."
Her voice dropped to a whisper. "We were torn apart by the unstable space."
Arthur remained silent. His brows furrowed slightly as he listened. He didn’t interrupt, letting her speak out everything she needed to.
Cora’s voice softened even more. "My sister and I were separated," she said. "When I woke up, I found myself here, on this realm. She was nowhere to be found. I tried to sense her, to find any trace of her energy, but there was nothing. It was as if the world itself had swallowed her whole."
She lowered her head again. Her shoulders trembled lightly. "We fell into different locations on this realm. We had no way to contact each other. We had no idea if the other survived." Her breath hitched slightly at the end.
For a mont, silence filled the room again. Only the faint sound of wind outside broke it. Then, slowly, Cora raised her head.
Her eyes t Arthur’s. Though pain still lingered in them, there was sothing else there now—a quiet determination, steady and unwavering.
"So I can understand why my sister nad her sect the Evil God Exterminating Sect," she said. Her tone was firr now, clearer than before.
The words ca with deliberate weight, as if each one carried years of bottled emotion. "It wasn’t just a title she picked randomly."
Arthur could see the firmness returning to her posture. The slight trembling that had been in her voice earlier was gone.
She stood straighter now with the look in her eyes becoming steady.
Her voice carried a quiet strength as she continued. "It was a declaration. A promise of vengeance. A reminder of the sect that destroyed our lives and forced us into this plain."
The air between them felt heavier again, but in a different way. Not with pain, but with resolve.
Cora took another breath. This ti it was slower, steadier.
The tremble that had lingered in her hands began to fade. She opened and closed her fists gently as if grounding herself back in the present.
Arthur watched her quietly. This was the first ti he was seeing her like this.
Then, without saying anything, he stepped forward. His movent was calm and unhurried.
When he reached her, he reached out and gently took her hand. The touch was warm and steady, grounding her even more.
Before she could react, Arthur pulled her slightly closer and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug.
Cora froze for a brief second, caught off guard. Her eyes widened slightly as she felt the sudden warmth of his body against hers.
The tension that had built up inside her began to lt slowly.
The warmth spread from her chest outward, easing the ache she had been holding back.
Her hands hesitated for a mont before she lifted them and hugged him back, resting her head against his chest.
For the first ti since she started speaking, she felt calm.
The sound of his steady heartbeat filled her ears, and it brought her comfort she didn’t know she needed.
Arthur’s voice ca softly above her head. "It’s okay. Your sister is probably still alive. Like I already promised, we’ll find her, okay?"
His tone was gentle but firm. There was confidence in his words, not as a guess, but as a statent of fact.
Cora’s lips curved faintly. Her grip around him tightened slightly.
She nodded slowly, obediently, still resting her head against his chest. Her voice ca out small but filled with trust. "I believe you."
Arthur’s hand moved slightly, patting her back once in reassurance. The mont lingered quietly between them.
Outside, the wind continued to blow softly, and the world seed to grow still around them.
The pain that had filled the room earlier now faded, replaced by sothing steadier—hope.
Cora stayed in his embrace for a mont longer, feeling the calm spread through her.
The tremble in her body had completely stopped. When she finally lifted her head slightly, there was a faint light in her eyes again.
Arthur smiled faintly when he saw it.
============================
A/N: So guys, if you have read so far, the most recent Chapters are not so much about Arthur’s personal goals.
The reason is because, I had left out on building the relationships around him. This might not be so obvious to so but down it line it makes the other characters feel lacking.
So the next Chapters will still be about tying up loose ends and possibly plot issues.
Then the story can really pick up the pace again because the foundation has really been set.
Also, I’m not the type to introduce characters whose relevance stops in the lower realms and never to see them again unless they were the MC’s love interest.
Let’s say that’s sothing l learnt from my various favorite ani series and I’m trying to replicate.
Thank you all for your support so far.
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