Minato froze. The words hit harder than he expected, and for a mont, he couldn’t bring himself to respond.
"What was the best mory you’ve had?" she continued, her voice quieter now but still steady. "If you tell ... I’ll not only bring back your friend, but I’ll erase the Eternity System from you completely."
Minato’s eyes widened slightly. "You can bring soone back from the dead?" he asked, his tone mixed with disbelief and hope.
She leaned forward slightly, her expression unreadable. "That’s not my question," she said firmly.
Minato went silent. His eyes drifted downwards to the field beneath his feet... He tried to think, but nothing ca to mind. The old lady stood there, patiently waiting for his answer.
"Well?" she asked softly.
"...I don’t know," Minato finally said. "I guess... I never really had one. Not one that stood out."
The old lady nodded slowly, folding her hands together. "Exactly as I thought."
"What do you an?" he asked, his voice unsteady, still trying to process her words.
"It’s usually the people that claim to have sothing," she replied calmly, "that end up having nothing at all."
He stared at her for a long mont, his chest rising and falling as his mind raced. "Then why ?" he finally asked.
"Because," she said, a faint smile forming on her face, "the Soul Tree chose you the mont you entered my store."
Minato took a cautious step back, confusion mixing with disbelief. "Soul Tree? What are you talking about?"
She lifted her finger and pointed ahead, towards the tree with blue and green leaves.
"This... tree," she said simply.
He turned to look where she pointed. "This... tree?" he repeated.
"Yes," she nodded. "You have a very unique soul color, Minato."
He frowned, trying to understand. "Soul color?"
"The average human soul color is white for good, and black for evil," she explained. "But you... yours was gray."
"Gray?" Minato repeated. "What does that represent?"
The old woman smiled a little, as if rembering sothing distant. But before she could answer...
"Minato..."
"Minato!"
A second voice, softer yet urgent, echoed from sowhere else.
The old woman sighed. "Looks like your ti is up."
"Wait," Minato protested, his tone desperate. "I still have things to ask you!"
But before he could move, her image began to fade, and the world around him started to dissolve.
The next thing he knew, he was back in his bed, drenched in sweat.
"Minato..."
He turned sharply... Radelia was leaning over him, her expression tensed up.
He exhaled, still catching his breath, and anger spread across his face. "Radelia... what is it? What do you want?"
Radelia stepped back slightly when she saw the look in his eyes. Her hands were behind her back, fidgeting nervously.
"There’s... sothing outside," Radelia said quietly. "A portal is forming."
Minato rubbed his face with one hand, trying to steady his breathing. His heart was still pounding from what he’d just seen... the dream, or maybe the vision.
Then the word ca to him now that the sleep had faded. "Did you just say a portal?"
"Yes."
Minato swung his legs off the bed and stood up imdiately, his fatigue gone in an instant. "Where’s Alia?"
"She’s already on the roof," Radelia answered quickly. "She said she sensed it before I did."
"Of course she did," Minato muttered. He walked over to the window and pulled the curtain aside slightly. Outside, just beyond the hotel’s entrance, he could see a big red portal opening.
"God, another portal again," he said under his breath.
He rushed out of the room, ignoring the sting in his legs from moving too fast. As soon as he reached outside, Alia dropped down from the roof, landing gracefully in front of him.
"Minato, you’re awake?" she asked. Relief could be seen in her eyes.
"Yeah... Radelia woke up," he replied, looking at the opening portal.
Imdiately, Alia ford her blood sword in her hands, while Minato activated his blood axe, waiting for whatever ca through.
==================
[DING]
[AN UNKNOWN GATEWAY HAS BEEN OPENED... CONTENT UNKNOWN...]
====================
Minato frowned. "So it’s not a portal... but a gateway." He turned slightly toward Radelia, who had just stepped out of the hotel. "Is this your doing?"
"Huh?" she shot back imdiately. "What kind of stupid question is that? Have I even been able to do anything by myself these past few hours?"
Minato cleared his throat. He didn’t like the way she talked to him, but it was understandable. He did ask a stupid question.
His eyes then went back to the gateway, now fully open. The atmosphere around it rippled, and then... a figure stepped through.
A young-looking man with bright red hair and sharp red eyes, probably in his late twenties, wearing a white coat lined with gold chains. Behind him, a formation of knights erged, all in white and red armor, their weapons reflecting the sunlight.
Then, from beside him, Alia’s voice ca out... soft, shaky, and almost in disbelief.
"...Big brother."
"Huh?" Minato turned to her, his grip tightening around his axe.
"Big what..?" Minato blurted out, his face twisting in confusion as he glanced between Alia and the red-haired man.
Before he could say anything else, Alia suddenly rushed forward, her blood sword fading away as she threw her arms around the man. "Big brother..." she said softly, her voice trembling slightly.
The man smiled widely, placing a hand on her head. "Alia... my sweet little sister."
For a mont, everything went quiet. The soldiers behind the man lowered their weapons, watching silently as the two reunited.
Minato blinked, still trying to process what he was seeing. He had not seen Alia with that kind of expression and tone. "Wait... that’s your brother?" he asked, pointing at the man.
Alia nodded without looking back. "Yes. His na is Lucas... Lucas Alexander Earhart."
The na made Radelia tense up imdiately. "The Mad Warlord of the blood continent?" she whispered under her breath.
Lucas looked up, his red eyes settling on Minato. The warmth in his expression disappeared almost instantly, replaced by sharp focus and hostility.
"So," he said coldly, "you’re the human my sister had been fooling around with..."
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