"It's rare," Milson said, his voice smooth, deliberate. "To et soone with the Divine Garden."
Ace didn't answer imdiately.
His eyes traced over the man's composed posture, the way he held the brush with casual precision, like soone accustod to control.
A faint tension coiled in his gut, but he pushed it aside, letting a smirk tug at his lips.
"Likewise," he finally replied, lacing his words with sarcasm.
The man chuckled, unfazed. "The na's Milson. Milson Edinburg. And yours?"
"Xiao Zhi," Ace answered without hesitation.
"Alright, Xiao Zhi," Milson said, resting his hands on the table. "I'll permit you four questions."
Ace's eyes narrowed slightly. "I can ask anything?" he asked, wary of any hidden conditions.
Milson nodded. "Yes, anything. But don't expect solid answers for things I know nothing about, well, let's see... like immortality, eternal life, or maintaining beauty for life."
He smirked. "Now, you have three questions left."
Ace's lips twitched.
Ace settled into his seat, his posture relaxed as he closed his eyes for a brief mont.
When he opened them again, his gaze was sharpened.
"How does the Divine Garden even co to existence, more so, why across the continent?"
Milson fell silent, his fingers lightly tapping the table as he pondered the question. Then, after a mont, he spoke.
"Let tell you a story," he began, his tone slower now, more asured. "It's very ancient, so ancient that only The Fool believes it to be true. According to him, this is the history of the Divine Garden."
Ace remained still, listening.
"Once upon a ti," Milson continued, "there was a garden that held that one thing. The very thing, everyone in the world, then and now covets. Eternal life."
He leaned forward slightly, his eyes flickering with sothing unreadable.
"Two people lived in this garden—one man, one woman. They were ant to live forever, true immortals in every sense of the word. But even that ca at a cost. For eternal life, they were trapped in their garden, never to leave, never to reproduce."
"The garden was Eden and the two owners had grew tired of the repetition. The cycle never changed. The woman, unable to reproduce, watched other species bring forth young. She saw the joy it brought. She also saw the grief when death reclaid them."
"But that didn't scare her."
Milson's voice grew quieter, as if he were recalling sothing distant, sothing forgotten.
"One day, while the man wasn't looking, she sat beneath a tree, a tree whose fruits neither of them were allowed to eat.
"The God's Tree. The Tree of Knowledge. The Tree of Temptations. The Tree of Wishes. It has had many nas."
His fingers tightened slightly against the table.
"She plucked a fruit and held it in her hands.
"She had seen other creatures eat from it. She had seen their eternal life stripped away the mont they did. Yet they lived a far happy life compared to her living for eternity.
"Slowly, she raised the fruit to her lips—only to hesitate.
"And in the end… she threw it away and ran back in tears."
Ace's expression remained unreadable. "What use is eternal life," he finally asked, "if all it brings is solitude and sadness?"
The mont he said it, Milson's gaze darkened.
A smirk played at his lips, but it was thinner now, less certain.
"Annoying brat," he muttered, abruptly ending the story. "Fast forward to the end, the garden broke apart, and pieces of it fell to this world."
Ace studied him for a long mont before letting out a quiet sigh.
"Alright. My next question." His tone remained as calm as before. "What are you?"
Milson stiffened just slightly, his smirk twitching at the corner.
Yet before he could respond...
"And my fourth question," Ace said, his voice just as even. "How do I get out of this illusion?"
Milson's expression didn't change, but there was a flicker in his eyes, a mont of wariness.
Ace rely smiled.
Milson then chuckled, his voice carrying a hint of amusent.
"Two things," he said, raising a finger. "One, this isn't an illusion. Two, once I'm satisfied, you'll eventually get out of this space."
Ace remained silent, his gaze sweeping across his surroundings. His eyes lingered on the sky before narrowing slightly.
"That's the eye of the formation, isn't it?"
Milson's smirk flickered, just for a second.
Ace didn't wait. He leaped, striking before hesitation could settle. The mont his fist connected, the illusion cracked apart, reality splintering like glass.
Milson let out a slow clap, unfazed by the destruction unraveling before him.
"Good, good," he praised, watching the remnants of the illusion fade away. "What gave it away?"
Ace turned his gaze forward, and this ti, he saw Yuu, Xie Ninger, and Shan Yifeng tied together with ropes.
His expression remained calm as he answered recalling how liu i actually left when told to leave them alone, "My disciple doesn't listen to strangers."
Milson blinked before bursting into laughter. "Hahaha! That's it? Sothing so simple?"
He shook his head in amusent. "As expected of soone who holds the Divine Garden."
Ace remained unbothered, his attention shifting back to Milson. "And what about you?"
Milson shrugged. "I only own a shard. I'll give it to you… if you do a favor."
"A favor?" Ace's tone remained neutral.
"Nothing so troubling," Milson replied smoothly. He snapped his fingers, and yet another formation unraveled.
As the formation disappeared, Ace finally saw the true surroundings, one of ruins and devastation.
And among them, Yuu, Shan Yifeng, and Xie Ninger weren't tied up at all.
Instead, they were actively working alongside soldiers, helping evacuate the remaining residents.
Milson smiled. "I was sent by Princess Soho Verilith. I ca here to assist you, but it seems you've already done an excellent job surviving on your own."
Ace let out a slow exhale, leaning back into his chair. "Hah… and what's this favor you need to do?"
Milson's smirk deepened. "Teach."
Ace arched a brow.
"I want you to open a school and teach so kids."
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