After Avon and Arcadius went downstairs, they saw Sara and Vernara playing chess. Vernara was losing badly, and Sara looked bored by how easy it was.
"Are you even trying?" Sara said sarcastically.
Vernara stared at her, a mix of anger and tiredness in her eyes. "Oh, not yet. You have yet to see the greatest move of all time."
Sara looked at the board; there was only the king and a single knight left. "A knight in shining armor serving a loser king," she said lazily. "Amusing."
Vernara moved her knight, taking one of Sara's pawns. A smug expression crossed her face, proud that she was finally able to do something in the game. Sara simply moved her queen to checkmate Vernara and said, "Checkmate."
Vernara took a sip of her tea and walked away, still proud of her small victory.
Avon and Arcadius watched as Vernara passed them, looking happy. They were confused and looked at Sara. "She killed a pawn, yay," Sara said.
Arcadius repeated, "Yay."
Avon looked at him, and Arcadius said it again, "Yay."
Avon gave up and sighed, "Yay."
Avon shook his head while laughing, as did Arcadius. He walked toward Sara and hugged her. "I'm sorry if I was rude to you," he said.
Sara hugged him back. "No worries, bro."
"I have some news," Avon said happily.
Sara looked at him, confused. "News?"
Vernara returned with a sandwich. Arcadius was surprised. "Where did you get that?" he asked.
"From the kitchen, duh," Vernara replied.
"The kitchen is downstairs," Arcadius said.
"Oh, yeah? Then what is that thing?" Vernara pointed behind him.
Arcadius walked upstairs, and his jaw dropped. He saw a kitchen full of luxury food and things he didn't even recognize. "Since when?" he asked in disbelief.
"What are you talking about? It was always there," Vernara said, completely normally.
Arcadius tried to remember but was too sure that the door itself wasn't there to begin with. He started mumbling to himself, "It must be that I'm tired, hehe, hehe." He walked back downstairs, and the four of them were finally together.
"What I'm about to say might seem weird, but... I believe I have talked to my big sis," Avon said.
Sara's eyes widened, and Vernara stopped eating, her gaze turning serious. "Big sis? What are you..."
"I know," Avon said. "Like I said, it might sound weird, but when I entered the bathroom and closed my eyes, I imagined her because I wanted to seek guidance. But... she felt too real... her warmth... her smell... everything."
"It's not magic, is it? Please tell me you didn't use magic," Sara said.
Avon waved his hand. "No, no, I would never do that."
"Bullshit!" Vernara said angrily. "If it wasn't magic, then what was it?"
A man's voice suddenly spoke. "It was the Double Soul Factor, or what we now call the Connection."
They all looked to where the voice came from and saw a man wearing a black coat and a pair of glasses. He seemed too modern for their understanding.
"Who allowed you to enter without knocking, mister?" Arcadius asked, implying he should introduce himself.
The man chuckled. "Oh, where are my manners? I am Professor Landos, Class S-2."
"Professor Lando?" Vernara asked.
"Yes," Landos said. "I apologize for getting in without permission, but I dare say I knocked so much that my hand started to hurt. Ouch."
They looked at his hand and saw it was deep red, which showed what he was saying was true.
"But we didn't hear any knocking," Sara said.
Landos nodded. "I knew about that. We have a new invention called the Ringtone, where you press a button and it will ring in a deeper part of the house so you know someone is at the door."
"That seems useful," Arcadius said.
"I mean, if it's a small house, we can just call out, right?" Avon said.
"Right," Landos replied. "But this is better than shouting, making less noise and not bothering your neighbors at all. Sorry, I think we got off track here."
He removed his glasses and cleaned them. When he put them back on, he noticed the shattered glass and the broken picture on the ground. He pointed at the picture. "That one is three hundred years old," he said.
"That's... ahem... it fell by itself," Arcadius said, clearing his throat.
Landos said in disbelief, "Fell by itself?" He also noticed the broken cup. "Did that also fall by itself?" he asked sarcastically.
Arcadius nodded awkwardly, looking at the group as if to say, "Help me."
"It was me," Avon said. "I threw it in anger. I am sorry."
Landos smiled a little, happy that he admitted his mistake. "No need to apologize. Now, back to where we were speaking."
"The Connection," Vernara said in a small voice.
"The Connection is an old theory that Lady Aria herself initiated the study or the research of," Landos said. "It was said that only some special people have this type of Connection."
Avon shook his head. "I'm not special... I'm just a normal man."
Sara got up. "None of us are special," she said, looking at Avon.
Avon nodded to her. Landos saw how they looked at each other and talked. He noticed something very special between them.
"This Connection is not something to be underestimated, God damn it," he said with frustration. "There's no need to hide it. You have a fragment of someone inside you."
Sara's jaw dropped. She looked at Avon. "A fragment of someone... a soul?"
Arcadius's eyes widened. He was amused by how fast she caught on. He looked to his right, and Vernara was there, looking gloomy at him while taking a bite from a fancy sandwich. He knew that she knew. He didn't say anything and tried to avoid her gaze.
"It's something only the true descendants of the Order Emperor himself are capable of doing," Landos said.
"Is it magic?" Avon asked. He knew the answer was no, but he wanted further confirmation.
"No," Landos replied. "It has nothing to do with magic."
Avon was relieved to hear this.
"Something in your soul is connected to all who are dear to you," Landos continued. "We haven't confirmed that yet, but it's still a theory anyway. The most possible answer is that something inside you has changed."
Avon remembered the blood he drank, as the others did. Landos said, "Something happened that awakened something inside you." But Landos wasn't referring to the blood, but something else.
Avon and the others were confused. "What do you mean, 'awakened'?" Vernara asked.
"It is said that these Connections happen only when a deep emotional feeling turns on," Landos said.
Sara looked at Avon and whispered to herself, "Deep emotional?"
"Meaning?" Arcadius asked.
"Meaning, when that person refuses to move on," Landos said. He looked at Avon. "You couldn't let her go, could you?"
Sara didn't want to admit it, but she also had that Connection with her mother. Only Avon and Sara were connected to their families because they were the only ones who had that deep emotional attachment, as they witnessed what nobody else could.
"And I never will," Avon said.
"Dear Avon," Sara whispered.
"Brother," Arcadius said.
"I'm sorry I came at the wrong time," Landos said. "But you were about to say something before I interrupted. If you want, I can leave."
"It's fine," Avon said. "If you know about it, that means it's no secret." He looked at Sara. "Long story short, I talked to my sister. She told me why we are connected and the reason behind it. She told me we have to go to Arcadon... the City of Champions."
"Arcadon!" Landos said in shock.
Vernara, Arcadius, and Sara didn't know what Arcadon was.
"Arcadon? What is that?" Vernara asked.
"Never heard of it before," Arcadius said.
"Me neither," Sara said.
"It's a human-populated kingdom," Landos explained, "and one of the few who survived the Shattering."
"The Shattering?" Sara asked, confused.
"Yes," Landos said. "What happened fifteen years ago when the sky shattered like glass. We call it the Shattering. Not many in this library know about it—only a few."
Avon was hesitant to ask, but he wanted to know more about Lady Aria. "If I may have a question that's rather personal..."
"Of course," Landos said calmly.
"Lady Aria said she served the Order Empire and the Emperor himself when it was in its prime..." Avon continued. Landos looked prepared for the question. "That was centuries ago, wasn't it? To be precise, somewhere around four hundred years ago. A human life span is between sixty to one hundred years only, so... how did she manage to live for that long without aging a single day?"
The others were not surprised, as they also wanted to know the truth about her immortality.
Landos closed his eyes. "I would rather Lady Aria herself answer this question... but since she isn't here, let's say that she used to be something beyond what you can understand. Her life isn't much different from yours, but she dealt with it in her own way, using whatever she had to make sure to get what she wanted."
"But even if she did that, not everything can be achieved," Sara said.
"That's why she is different," Landos said. "She will do the impossible to achieve her goal... and she did. Everything she wished for was done in the most perfect way possible."
"You said she was beyond what we can understand... I dare say I really don't understand," Arcadius said in confusion.
Landos gave a small chuckle. "She wasn't always called Lady Aria. Once she used to be called Aria the Executioner. Her title was the Royal Executioner, not because she was good at executing people, but more because every single fight she was in, she came out victorious, standing on a mountain of bodies, and she... without a single cut on her body. That's how good she is. So don't underestimate her because she's smiling. When she is serious, even the devils themselves tremble in fear."
"That makes me curious about how real she was," Vernara said.
"Trust me... the real Lady Aria is terrifying," Landos said.
When he said that, they all got chills. An image came through Arcadius's mind, a female in full glorious armor holding two blades that glowed purple and white. She was standing on a massive mountain of decapitated bodies. As Arcadius looked at her, he felt something different. She slowly turned her head toward him, and he saw a glimpse of her eyes glowing dark red, with small particles coming from the corners of her eyes. In the blink of an eye, she disappeared. A moment later, she was beside him. Arcadius noticed her too late; she was already swinging her blades directly at his neck. He saw nothing but emptiness in her eyes—the star-shaped, dark red glowing eyes that he had never seen before. Right when the blade was almost touching his neck, he awoke.
He looked at his hands, and they were completely shaken. He couldn't shake the feeling that the duelist was Lady Aria herself. He kept shaking and sweating, putting his hand on his neck exactly where she had been aiming. Landos noticed but couldn't make anything out of his studies.
Meanwhile, on the moving stairs, Lady Aria, Rayun, Rollana, and Lucy were on their way to Avon and the group's room. Lady Aria touched her heart; she noticed someone almost saw the real her. She knew. She was remembering something, and in that moment, her gaze turned serious, and her star-shaped eyes were about to turn dark red. But once she heard the voices of the three young teens, she snapped out of it and was back to normal. She looked back at them, smiling and chatting, and for some reason, she looked sad.
"Not now... not yet..." she said in her thoughts. She clenched her fist so hard, then looked at her fist and held it with care, knowing that she still had the strength—the very same strength she had when she served as the Emperor's duelist. She thought she had gotten weak, but it was the complete opposite; she had gained strength beyond her own understanding. Something inside her was pushing it... upgrading... learning to adapt.
The stairs finally reached their destination, and they walked out.
In Avon's room, Landos said, "Arcadius, are you okay?"
Arcadius looked at him with a confused expression, as his mind wasn't completely restored from that vision. He nodded.
Vernara was also sweating for some reason. Avon and Sara noticed.
"I will be going to my lab now," Landos said. "I'm sorry if I said things that weren't meant to be said, and... I might get a long lecture from Lady Aria herself."
"She wouldn't know, would she?" Avon said.
"Yeah, there's no way she could know you said this to us," Sara added.
Landos smirked and said in a defeated way, "Oh, trust me... it's Lady Aria we're talking about. She knows everything."
Landos then took off. Once he opened the door, there was no other than Lady Aria herself, staring at him with dead eyes. He felt chills down his spine. "My Lady..." he said.
"Landos," Lady Aria said in a strong voice.
He nodded to her and left, passing Rayun and the other girls.
Lucy approached Lady Aria. "Is Professor Landos here?" she asked.
"He was introducing himself to them," Lady Aria said. "Come, follow me."
She went inside the room, and the young teens followed her. Rollana closed the door. Lady Aria reached the upstairs and saw the shattered glass and broken picture. "Hmm, amusing," she said.
Avon and the others were surprised by her appearance. Arcadius stood on guard as soon as he saw Lady Aria. He was imagining the knight lady beside Lady Aria and saw that they were a spitting image. His stare was serious, and his hands were shaking. Lady Aria stared back at him and noticed. She knew it was him.
Avon saw Arcadius and approached him. He touched his left shoulder and shook him a bit. "Bro, snap out of it," Avon whispered.
Arcadius closed his eyes rapidly, then looked at Avon with a worried expression.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Avon continued. "Ever since you heard her story, you started acting like this."
Arcadius stood back. "Y-yeah... s-sorry about that... I just... I just saw something I wasn't meant to see." He looked at Lady Aria.
"What something? Elaborate," Avon said.
"I will talk later," Arcadius whispered to him as he regained his composure.
Lady Aria was standing right beside them. They didn't even notice her. With her arms behind her, she leaned in and whispered, "What are you both whispering?"
They backed off in shock, not noticing her approach. Meanwhile, Vernara was silent the whole time.
Lady Aria noticed the bad mood around them and wanted to freshen up the air. She ordered Rayun and the other girls to go upstairs for a moment and close their doors. Once they had done that, Lady Aria said, "What's wrong, dear lords? I noticed you all are in a bad mood. What happened?"
Arcadius didn't want to meet her gaze, as she kept looking at him.
Avon looked around. He noticed they were all in a bad mood. "Great, now I'm the only sane one here," he said.
Sara approached Lady Aria. "If I may, can I ask you something?"
Lady Aria nodded.
"Tell us more... about your life, Lady Aria... about your past."
"Landos told you, didn't he?" she said.
Sara nodded. "Yes."
As Vernara finally snapped out of her trance, she approached Lady Aria with a mix of worried and shocked emotions. "He told us a glimpse of what you really are, my lady... can you please tell us everything?"
Avon was shocked by how brave they were to ask her. Arcadius was mumbling to himself, "Great, they're going to get us all killed now... smart girls."
"Ain't nobody going to ask about the other kids who went upstairs?" Avon asked.
No one noticed his question as Lady Aria was staring at the girls, and the girls stared back. "Sure," Lady Aria said. "You deserve it, after all. I know you are eager to know and to learn, and I will help you with that."
"Why are you really trying to help us?" Arcadius asked. "Is it because we are the only choice here, or because we are the very last descendants of the Order Empire?"
Lady Aria was amused by his question, as she also wanted to discuss the matter of his vision. "No... neither," she said. "It's because you are the only people who are willing to stand against what the non-humans have built. Your bravery is unmatched. Your skills and youth are nothing like I've ever seen."
"In my theory, you are braver than us all," Vernara said.
Lady Aria nodded. "True... but I wasn't the one meant to save the human race. As I have the power to do it, I would rather let the true ones do it."
Lady Aria stood beside the broken picture. "I am here only to help you achieve the ultimate fate... the hope for all humanity."
"Why?" Sara asked.
"Because this... is my choice," Lady Aria said.
She picked up the picture that represented the angels, and her hand turned slightly red as the picture began burning to ash. "I don't intend to take credit for it... but if the chance appears once again, and it will... I shall also draw my blades alongside yours."
She opened a small portal between realities and drew her purple, demonic-looking blade from it. The blade's aura was too formidable. Avon and the others had never seen something like this. Arcadius, however, saw the same exact blade from his vision, and chills filled his body. He couldn't believe it.
Meanwhile, Rayun and the girls were in the room having a tea party. Rayun was serving the tea while Rollana and Lucy were acting as guests. Rayun heard their talking but couldn't make out what was being said. "Looks like they are discussing something important," he said.
Lucy took a sip of tea. "They definitely are... but I assume she is telling them about us." She pulled her tongue out from the hot tea. "Ouch, so hot!"
"I am so sleepy..." Rollana said.
Rayun chuckled. "We will rest after she introduces us to them."
"Can't wait," Lucy said. "I hope it's worth our time."
A moment later, they got sleepy and fell asleep in the warm bed, and Rayun slept on the ground.