It was a harsh truth Siara had to face. She was used as a pawn there. Later, it was revealed that the reason behind attending so many negotiations—rather than accepting or denying the terms—was a scheme by Siara's father.
Upon hearing the news of Siara being captured, her father tried to avoid any direct conflict with the opposing kingdom and essentially forgot about her.
Later, when the news spread among the aristocrats, her father made the decision to confront the representatives of the opposing kingdom.
Just after the first negotiation, Siara's father decided to reject all terms and leave Siara in their custody.
But the friend who started feeling guilty reported the matter to the King of Qetch.
After the king found out about the situation, he summoned Siara's father, who held the rank of baron.
There, the king discussed a plan with him.
They decided to eliminate the opposing kingdom in the name of saving Siara.
After several discussions, as the opposing kingdom began loosening its security for the talks, Qetch soldiers drew hidden weapons during one session and assassinated all the guards. At the end of the discussion, Siara's father stepped out of the room where negotiations were being held and led the soldiers in slaughtering everyone in the area. After their initial success, they summoned reinforcements to the area and marched toward the aristocratic district.
They had planned to launch an aerial attack, but the enemy defenses were too tight for that. After carrying out the assassinations in the opposing kingdom's aristocratic district, they retreated. And the very next day, they declared formal war against the opposing kingdom. Even the king of the opposing kingdom could not handle the pressure. His generals, barons, and advisors were already dead.
The Qetch army launched an all-out bombardment against the kingdom. It was thanks to the quick wits of the opposing king that he safely escorted his son—the prince of the kingdom—and Siara to a basement bunker. It was pure fortune and kindness of the opposing king that Siara was safe. Later, Qetch soldiers found the bunker and executed the prince on the spot right before Siara's eyes.
That's not how people should've behaved toward an eleven-year-old girl. Her own kingdom didn't even care about her safety.
On the other hand, her very own father was already prepared for a funeral and had commissioned Siara's portrait. Obviously, the portrait was for display purposes and to maintain his dignity among the noblemen.
Despite all her efforts to the contrary, Siara came back alive. Siara even found out about the portrait, but she didn't react much. Maybe she had become used to it in eleven years.
[Present]
Siara walked past the reflection of her birth.
After crossing her birth, she couldn't see anything in front of her.
There was no longer a black, starry floor beneath her. She was shocked. Her last sliver of hope began to dissipate.
What else could she do?
At that same time, someone was constantly watching her. From the moment she was trapped in that dark and starry region, she was under the surveillance of an unknown entity.
Through a mirror-like object, her every movement was streamed to the observer's side.
"Hmmm... interesting. The stories seem both familiar and unfamiliar. What else remains?"
A concentrated, straightforward voice spoke, explaining the curiosity built on the bricks of Siara's fairy tales.
"If we ignore her personal reaction, the stories are quite interesting... sigh... she is trapped inside the replica."
On the other hand, Leon came out of the mansion in his fancy attire. He wore a full black suit with matching shoes and gloves, and a black half-cape attached to his left shoulder. The cape featured flame-like designs in red and blue.
But this time, something was different. Earlier, his attire was a simple outfit he wore inside the mansion. But as soon as he stepped out under the moonlit sky, his red and blue flame patterns glowed. The blue pattern glowed a little brighter than the red one. The pattern was not completely blue, but rather a mix of blue toward the center with azure sparks, and the edges had silver ends.
Along with him came a fine and extremely beautiful lady in a black-and-white maid outfit, wearing a pair of black gloves. She was a saint with jade-like skin. Yet her eyes... they were dull and emotionless, constantly looking at the ground.
"Come on, you idiot!" Leon yelled.
Just as he yelled, a sudden noise rang out, as if something heavy made of glass had broken.
A dwarf man with a gray jacket and a blue hood stepped outside. He looked like a weak old man who barely had the strength to walk.
When the dwarf came in front of Leon, a funny moment took place. Leon, seeing the old dwarf walk so slowly, kicked his back and yelled, "Walk fast, you old eccentric!"
Leon's face looked annoyed, as if he had been irritated by the old dwarf for ages.
Seeing Leon's mood, the old dwarf increased his speed and started heading in a specific direction.
The dwarf was following the exact route Siara had taken earlier.
"When will you die?" Leon asked the old dwarf in an exhausted tone.
"Just ask what you want to." The old dwarf didn't remain polite either and gave a straightforward reply.
"We have been walking for so long. How could a mundane girl walk this distance when only half an hour has passed since she left?"
"Maybe she is not as normal as you think." The old dwarf, tired of Leon's taunts, gave him a direct reply so he wouldn't pester him anymore.
Leon reconsidered his perspective as he walked. He had assumed Siara was a girl who ended up here accidentally because of a collapsed portal, but the situation was not as simple as he thought.
Earlier, Leon thought Siara was traveling toward a place through a portal, but due to some mishap, the portal collapsed and threw her out—which explained why she landed on a Core mountain. But according to Leon, someone who could land on a Core mountain should not be a normal person either.
Leon argued with the old dwarf, "Ugh, she must have her secrets; why bother to investigate them?"
The old dwarf didn't answer and continued walking the route from where Siara had run earlier.
Leon, getting no answer from the dwarf, got frustrated and yelled, "Could you be a little more useful?"
The old dwarf replied, "The concentration of Sky energy is increasing here."
Leon wasn't shocked hearing this; he already knew Siara possessed Sky energy. Even the first time they met, she was covered in a dime of Sky energy.
"What's your appraisal?" Leon asked.
"Extravagant," the dwarf immediately replied.
Leon, whose heart skipped a beat hearing the dwarf's appraisal, controlled his emotions and ordered him to follow the trail.
The trail led to a deep patch of lush shrubs.
"How could she possibly run this far?"
"Raven, look!"
Just as Leon was concentrating on the fact of how Siara came that far, a hoarse, rough, and slightly weak voice spoke up.
"Old man, stop calling me by that name—at least not here," Leon addressed the old dwarf.
The whole time, Leon's saint-like maid remained as cold as ice—no talking, not even a flinch. From her expression, it seemed as though she were not interested in worldly affairs. Her hands remained in the same position as before, crossed and held down.
On the other hand, the voice of the mysterious figure echoed once more. Though he never appeared, a mirror-like object was visible, placed in a harrowing room. The mirror-like object was attached to the room through black rocks connected to the walls and pillars.
The unseen mysterious figure said, "She is..."
Before he could finish, another voice cut in. It was thinner than the mysterious figure's voice, yet equally concentrated. Although their pitches differed, their bass had little distinction. Yet, they were clearly the voices of two different people that could easily be distinguished.
The thinner voice commented on the mysterious figure's speechlessness: "She moved fast because it was a replica."
On Siara's side, things were completely different. The only thing that had carried her all the way back to her birth was her sheer willpower. Yet after the reflection of her birth, the path ahead was nowhere to be seen.
She considered moving toward the reflections of her future, but her body was exhausted. She tried thinking of ways forward, but couldn't.
Firstly, she was completely new to this world, so she didn't know if moving in that direction was safe.
Secondly, she wanted to quit. She was exhausted... No... she was not only exhausted from running along that starry river. She was exhausted from running through life itself.
She ran from her parents. She ran from the party. She ran from her marriage. Even the first thing she did after arriving in this new world was run down a mountain. And it hadn't stopped there. Even after Leon offended her with his lack of courtesy, she ran. Over that starry river, the last and first thing she physically did was run.
She lay on the starry floor. She didn't want to cry, so she forced herself to get up. She looked at the expanse ahead. It was pure darkness, empty, just like a void.
She took a deep breath. Without thinking twice, she jumped.
"Noooooooo!"
On the side of the mirror-like object reflecting Siara, a hand equipped with a black leather glove reached toward the glass, screaming in shock.
Judging by the hand, it could be guessed that the person was wearing a black leather coat. The voice belonged to Siara's first observer.
The second observer said, "It is just a replica, you know that, right?"
The first observer put his hand down and replied in disappointment, "That void was unintentional... It was connected to the real replica."
The second observer's voice choked; he was in complete shock. "Quickly release that girl! You know something bad is occurring there, right? If she goes there, she will immediately initiate the TrialsofAscension."
"Well, not immediately. They are sealed... but sure, if someone lays hands on those broken fragments, it will initiate the trials."
"So send her! What are you waiting for? If she initiates her trial, you will never be able to pull her back, and she will certainly die."
"We have to wait... until... um... until her acquaintances come finding her."
"Why?"
"She was actually attacked by a soul eater."
"You're sure her acquaintances will come?"
"I don't know either, but the moment I pull her back, she will be sent back to her physical body, and the soul eater will end her life at that exact point."
"Well, let's watch her for now, but the moment she sees a fragment, send her back."
The last words which were said by the second observer were echoed in the room in a cracked tone as if he was really sad. The second observer made the moment as if someone was really going to die at the next moment.