Forg had just left the Knights presence.
She ran to a sanctuary she had. This had been made inside the trunk of a tree, It was massive, spanning wider than the palace, and even higher. In here were only plants she had made herself, using her special skill {Botany}. She had inherited the skill and this place from her great, great grandmother. As she entered, pixies, ferries and spirits surrounded her.
Form behind the smaller trees inside a tree that she had made, many animals appeared. These had no souls, so they couldn't be used as beasts to train. Even though a few had souls, they had not unleashed, so they could not be trained either. Since forest folk eat the nutrition provided by the trees and those with culinary skills, they had not come to eat much, if not any animal meat.
There was no law against it, and they could eat it as they pleased. It seems another side effect of being a forest folk manifestation was that it made any form of meat taste extremely horrid. Beyond even the foulest of things. So, they either avoid animals or play with them like her.
The ones in here, she had brought them here herself. Her grandmother didn't like animals. She had tried some meat at a famous restaurant, hoping that it would change. That simple taste seemed to always haunt her whenever she was around animals – thus she came to despise them. This made those who knew the story burst into laughter.
'I really don't know if I should go guys.'
She thought as she pet the spirit of a lost boy. It didn't have the strength to make a form, so it was just a floating blue sphere. There were many ways to become a spirit, like being cursed before death, however, she didn't know how they ended up here.
She could ask her mother to send them to death, but she had promised to help them pass on their own. Some here used to be vengeful spirits, but she had tamed them by force. So, they were her own entourage.
Her grandmother used to be part of these spirits. But after teaching Forg about her special skill, she went back to the realms. That lady was arrogant but wasn't as strong as she had claimed in her stories. Forg had found this out after her passing.
She sat there thinking about having to leave everything. And by the sounds of the journey, she might even never have to come back. It wasn't that she didn't want to go. She just felt weary about having to journey with the Knight.
"You know what Henry; I tried talking to him. Trying to show my thanks for saving me, but he just stands there, as if I'm not even there. He also kind of scares me. I saw his soul expand with my own eyes when he woke up. And on top of all of that I bore witness to the carnage he wrought when rescuing me and the others.
The real problem is that I don't know what to expect from him."
After a dozen or so hours passed, after she had calmed down by going through the whole ordeal slowly. Her mothers' words are final, and they had been preparing for a journey. She just hadn't thought she'd be the one to be sent out. She didn't stand out from them at all. She was still in the middle of accepting her fate – when a thought occurred to her.
She then began sprinting, this place was far from the palace, so she burst into mack speed.
'You idiot, stupid idiot. Why did you think he would know that the royal archives were below the palace library.'
She then ran past everyone. She then entered the library, finding the Knight in the middle of reading, and with a straight, red, and flushed face she raised her hand and pointed.
"I'm so so-sorry, the ro-royal archives a-are down sta-stairs."
The knight looked at her. Now it realised why all these books seemed like nothing worth taking an apprentice for. But having read all this, it didn't mind. All this extra knowledge – [Greed] certainly didn't mind.
"One can never learn too much."
She looked at the Knight still beat red but relieved. "L-let me t-take you-u."
The Knight followed her as she walked towards this winding set of stairs. She then opened a strange soul like lock. And a door appeared on the wood – same tech used in Abio doors and most secured areas. And where there was a wall just a second ago was a long tunnel. The sheer thickness alone made it impossible to break into. Worse still, considering that the palace is still immune to through the wall teleportation's.
After a brief walk, they entered this place. Only Seven books here. And these books emanated so much aura that they almost convinced the Knight they were alive. They almost even seemed as well made as those of the wisdom series.
She then sat down to catch her breath. Even after that she just sat there lost in thought. She didn't leave this time. The Knight then paced through the first four books, and actually gained its first ever level up, of one, after unleashing the second seal, and this was an accumulation, that included much more.
However, when the Knight picked up the fifth book, it felt something strange. After reading this single book, it felt it had finally gotten what it had wanted. It was starting to think this whole thing was a bust. And because of [Greed] it quickly read through the other two.
Then as it was about to leave, it looked at the chair. The princess lay, there asleep. Making the Knight wonder, just what kind of princess sleeps in the presence of a void being. Cathina had failed to do so on her first couple of times.
'I guess I have gone through great-ish lengths to not seem like a void being.'
Right when it was about to leave, Mugaw spoke.
"You're going to leave her here?" – it had floated here from the room – this place is made to allow non-malicious permitted spirits to pass through the walls. And the queen knew about Mugaw.
The Knight knew Mugaw probably had a point to talk about, but instead of listening to it, it just picked her up and left the library. The place closed automatically, leaving no trace of its position except the downwards winding stairs and the lock.
'That's convenient.'
To avoid any misunderstandings, the Knight used [Camouflage] to make itself invisible. [Sense Manipulation] to affect the senses. And manipulated the guards' desires to stay vigilant, almost making them vanish. And by using teleport in the hallway, it managed to pass by the guards without alerting them.
It then passed other guards in a similar way. It then reached her room and then placed her on her bed and left. Even after going through all that trouble, it seems the eldest heir – eldest prince – Vurion, had actually caught the whole seen.
This made sense since he had survived the darkness raids. This meant he had a specific set of skills, powers, and experience that made him survive in a senseless place such as the void. Meaning he had seen through all the skills and desire manipulation.
The Knight had realised this as it passed him. He was on the way to Forg's room anyway. And he had caught the Knight placing her on the bed, but still invisible, which helped the context of the situation.
Later on, Forg woke up with her brother sitting idly on a chair.
"what is it brother?"
Then he discussed what he had wanted to discuss with her. And just as he was about to leave, she said. "Thanks for bringing me back here. Sorry for falling asleep in the library again."
"I'm not the one who brought you back here."
"Then who did."
"Your hero friend…"
Then he left. She was surprised to hear that, but realising who it was, knowing better than most, she knew that this had no secondary meaning, so she just went back to sleep. But this somehow made her feel more comfortable about having to go with one as terrifying as the Knight on a journey of growth. As she drifted to sleep, she finally came to terms with her mother's decision.
***
The Knight then reappeared elsewhere and walked back to its room. It entered. It found Kitrino, sloppily sleeping on the bed. She had indeed gotten bored, but she didn't bother the Knight at least.
She didn't need sleep either, but she had kept her mortal side habits. So, unlike the Knight she could in fact sleep naturally, even if it was more of a hobby than a necessity.
On another corner of the room, Guilos sat there, on the chair looking out. Cathina and her brother were probably in the palace garden. Finding a place had seemed hard, and since the queen didn't mind so long as they shared the room. The Knight barely used it anyway.
The Knight had learned a lot from Guilos, to the point she had just barely any more information to share with the Knight, but Kitrino was still refusing to let it kill her. It could go against her wishes anyway, but the insubordination meant she would be a pain to dealt with. And because of the Knight she was formidable herself. And on the plus side, she presented many opportunities for the future.
In the end, the decision was based on the fact that killing Guilos was not worth losing Kitrino. Afterall, what use did the Knight have of a single human soul, it had an entire batch of them in it now, ready to be consumed.
She too had come to accept her situation. So, she turned looked at the Knight.
"You're back."
…
The classic, no answer. She had come to realise that it was not because it didn't want to, but it rarely wasted a breath on things such as simple conversations. In the Knights defence, it didn't age and had no need for fleeting connections. The only things on its mind were knowledge and power – simple.
But to keep herself sane, she began to converse with her captor, one who was an inch away from murdering her in cold blood. She still shook in his presence, as the fear she had felt during its fight against Ill/Axis, never left her system and never will.
But it was the one of the only forms of interactions she had, so she greeted. People didn't know she was here, outside those the Knight let in here. Cathina, Ujinski, and Kitrino. Things were extremely awkward with the first two. And it didn't know how to treat Yellow; she was still refusing to accept calling it Kitrino.
And this left it with the Knight. The only one it could have conversations with. The problem was that after running low on the information she could share, conversations became almost impossible to start.
She had eaten and drank water. She wasn't treated like a prisoner, and she didn't feel like one. The only chains on her were the ones she made herself. So, with nothing else to do she crept onto the bed, making sure not to touch Kitrino. Kitrino gave her a strange and chilling feeling, similar to the Knight, but it felt worse since she used to know her.
The Knight then started experimenting on its own, it would bother Kitrino later. Getting her to sleep later might be impossible. Even though this meant the Knight could not immediately put its newfound wisdom into practical use, it still let her sleep.
This did not mean it could not absolutely do nothing else. It did have its own skills to use. So, it did. Experimenting with the monster souls the army had been hunting, and by the looks of things, it was going to work, it just needed Kitrino's power to finally finish it, once and for all.
The Knight then heard a knock on its door. It walked out; it could not let Guilos be seen. Outside it found the eldest heir – Vurion. He stood there, proud in his Ellerian armour.
"Could I spar with you sir?"
'There's that useless word again – 'sparring'. Just how many souls do I have to let go free? Have they no idea just what kind of damage [Greed] wrought over draining energy but receiving nothing in return.'
Even still, the Knight left the room and joined him in the training room. It had no time to spare, but it had a feeling this time a fight isn't what the prince wanted. And even though the option to refuse was open, this possibly meant offending the queen, which would in turn piss of Adriel, who the Knight didn't want to frustrate – considering that even she had gotten stronger – In fact her level was still higher than the Knights.