Aaron had no idea what had caused Zavi to change, nor did he know whether that "death" had been part of the plan or something else entirely.
Aaron crossed his legs and let out a sigh.
"Actitus, did you place something in this room?" he asked, feeling a slight chill run down his spine.
Zavi looked at him for several seconds. Instead of answering, he decided to test him instead, saying in a somewhat cautious tone, "Well then, think about it."
"Think about it?" Felina repeated, confused.
The confusion lingered. The living room felt stuffy and silent, so silent that the two of them could clearly hear the beating of their own hearts.
Aaron uncrossed his legs and sank into deep thought.
'Something to keep sound from escaping? Does a Prisoner possess an ability like that? Besides, considering that Actitus always resorts to extreme measures without caring about his own well-being, could this be his doing?'
He glanced at Celvira, rubbed his chin with his fingers, then shifted his attention back to Zavi.
Felina did not dwell on it much, considering that her primary objective was to awaken Zuhen Mudelk from his long slumber.
However, something had been troubling her ever since Zavi arrived at the inn.
Yes, she was worried. Would Zuhen still follow Zavi Actitus and Aaron Kwok in carrying out his mission of revenge?
She knew Zuhen's personality better than anyone, because "he" had become the sun that illuminated the darkness within her heart.
Felina had always followed him, finding a precious purpose in life amidst the emptiness that had filled her heart for half a decade.
Yet for some reason, that very concern now brought a warmth that soothed her heart once again this year.
Engulfed by the suffocating silence of the room, Aaron and Felina exchanged glances as though they were sharing the same thoughts.
'I don't know. I'm just not that interested in this conversation.'
After giving it some thought, Felina turned to Zavi, looked at him for a few seconds, and asked, "Because of your old friend?"
Zavi's lips twitched as he found himself at a loss for words.
'You could say that, yes... but...'
He pointed toward the ceiling, causing both of them to instinctively look up.
Aaron flinched, a bitter smile forming as he noticed something strange overhead. Felina parted her lips slightly, having already suspected there was something unusual in the room after sensing interference with her spiritual perception.
She looked at Zavi.
"How did you do this?" she asked seriously, the corner of her lips almost curling upward.
Zavi let out a sigh and calmly pointed at Celvira.
"She wants to join us on this journey," he said evenly.
Since the conversation had already reached that point, Aaron immediately sought confirmation.
"What's your friend's name?"
Zavi seemed to struggle to say it.
As he stared at the rough, speckled vines and the various flower-like shapes reflected above them, he made no attempt to describe those bizarre forms.
Once his hesitation faded, Zavi finally answered with a sigh.
"Celvira."
'Say something. At least yes or no, you damned woman!'
'Silence!'
Because of the contract binding them together, whenever Zavi wanted to speak to her or think about her, they could communicate through their thoughts.
Forging that contract had been extremely difficult, especially because the Phantom sent by the fifth-tier evil spirit, Mastering, had interfered with the process.
Following Celvira's instructions, Zavi managed to eliminate the phantom, even though it expressed its resentment through the mist.
Even so, Zavi trampled the mist before continuing with the Five Symbols Contract.
The rough, speckled vines above their heads were formed from the manifestation of their combined thoughts, supported by Celvira's spiritual power.
Maintaining her human form was spiritually exhausting. Remaining silent was Celvira's way of effectively reducing the strain caused by sudden bursts of spiritual energy.
If such a release were to occur, she would undoubtedly lose control, and even worse, her plan would fail because she would be erased from the world's history.
As for Northerlheim, the place that erased the history of Moreira Lounge's existence, its connection to "that place" allowed the two of them to retain faint memories of it, preserving the history and proof of Moreira Lounge's existence in this world.
His three friends, and indeed everyone who had ever known Moreira Lounge, regarded it as nothing more than a fairy tale. More precisely, they believed that "she" had never existed at all, causing the memories of those closest to her to become fragmented.
Strangely enough, because he had been dragged into "Northerlheim" while trying to break through the third-tier spell, Domain, on the road leading to the plaza, Zavi was still connected to "that world" because of his cat.
Yes, the mist-covered entity seen by Moreira and Shuisa was none other than the manifestation of that cat's existence, which still remained in that world.
Zavi knew nothing of that fact, nor did he know anything about Northerlheim.
The same was true for Celvira, who only knew of Moreira's disappearance because she had already made Moreira her "Host."
That was why both of them still retained faint memories of her, yet neither of them knew whether Moreira Lounge was alive or dead.
"That's a unique name," Felina said with a nod.
"So... can you ask her to heal Master Zuhen?" Felina asked with a grim expression.
Zavi hesitated for a moment and exchanged glances with Aaron.
'Zuhen, huh? He's still useful, and reliable too.'
After taking a deep breath, Zavi said, "I suppose we have no choice. Aaron, I'm counting on you."
"Understood."
With that, Aaron led the three of them to the room where Zuhen Mudelk had lain unconscious for four months and several days.
Click.
The door opened, followed by the sound of the light switch being turned on.
Aaron walked steadily to the side until he was standing directly beside Zuhen.
He looked over his shoulder, his gaze sharpening as he said flatly, "Step back if you don't want to die."
Zavi swallowed hard and pressed himself against the corner of the wall, and the others followed suit.
Meanwhile, Celvira stared into the depths of Aaron's spiritual essence, her pupils turning pitch black like the void itself.
'He's an Exorcist Receiver, isn't he? What rank... Three, One, or Two?'
Seeing no significant physical changes in Aaron, Celvira ruled out Rank Four and above.
A dark substance spread throughout the room, dimming the lights overhead, while a gust of wind hissed through the air despite the room being tightly sealed.
The three of them instinctively looked up before turning their full attention to Aaron's movements, watching closely.
Calmly, Aaron drew in a breath and held it as he moved his hand from Zuhen's feet to his head.
Then, through physical contact, he grasped Zuhen's soul with an ethereal grip and guided it back to where it belonged.
Aaron stepped back. Without turning around, he said, "Let's head downstairs. He'll remain like that for a while."
The two of them nodded and hurried out of the room.
The door closed. For a brief moment, Aaron watched their retreating backs before turning his gaze back to the door.
'What a nuisance!'
After that, Aaron returned to his seat, keeping one hand against the wall to guide his steps.
Once he reached the living room, he sat down again.
They were already waiting, and the discussion resumed.
"Actitus, have you figured out the effects of using those artifacts?"
Aaron made a dismissive gesture with his hand, as though he didn't want the two of them to know the truth.
Zavi gave a wry smile.
"No. Information about those artifacts is extremely difficult to obtain. On top of that, the method for raising their ability level falls into the 'nightmare' difficulty category in a game."
'A game?'
Aaron wondered what kind of game he meant.
'Huh? "Nightmare" difficulty in a game?'
Only then did Felina realize the hidden implication behind those words.
"Speaking of games, I remembered when we fought the members of the 'Intersection Society' order at Zen University," Felina said in a somewhat apathetic tone.
Zavi remained silent, lost in thought.
'Zen University and the Intersection Society order, huh?'
He recalled their objective: to find clues through those two entities.
Zavi leaned forward, folded his hands together, and asked seriously,
"So, was it true that the order had 'Receivers' of the 'Prisoner' pathway, just as Master Zuhen said that night?" he asked, seeking confirmation.
Felina nodded confidently.
"It was true, but that person has disappeared," she replied clearly and firmly.
Zavi leaned back in his seat and let out a long sigh.
"...However, Master Zuhen managed to obtain information from him before our joint effort to destroy that winged creature," Felina continued, her gaze as cold as ice.
Zavi paused to think. Two seconds later, he asked, "What information?"
Felina looked at him.
"Who knows?" she answered briefly and bluntly.
Zavi let out a short sigh.
"All right."
He rose from his seat, took a few steps, and said quietly, "Take good care of yourself."
Aaron instinctively glanced at Zavi as he passed by on his right before heading toward the kitchen.
'What exactly does he mean?'
When he looked ahead again, something unexpected startled him once more.
'Where did that woman go?'
He turned to the left and saw Celvira walking after Zavi.
Felina stood up, leaving Aaron alone in the living room, and returned to the room where Zuhen was resting.
The living room lights went out, leaving only the moonlight filtering through the gaps in the building and the ventilation openings.
Silence and gloom once again filled the room.
Realizing this, Aaron sank into thought, deep concern taking root in his mind.
'Who exactly is that woman? Where did Actitus find a being like her?'
Aaron did not regard Celvira as human. Instead, he was troubled by how "she" had managed to conceal her existence from his Exorcist detection.
It baffled him.
'I know that Level 2 isn't strong enough to deal with a supernatural entity whose spiritual energy surpasses that of the Exorcist using it.'
Aaron chuckled to himself, causing Zavi, who had just come out of the kitchen, to raise an eyebrow.
Zavi went back into the kitchen and shouted, "Is there no food on the shelf?"
His voice echoed briefly before being swallowed by the silence.
"There is. Look more carefully," Aaron shouted back, his voice remaining low.
'It seems that after obtaining that "Recipestele," they really did abandon this house.'
With that realization, Aaron understood that killing them before they returned to their companions would be the best course of action.
As he thought about it, Aaron was suddenly overcome by a dark sense of nostalgia.
'Celina, huh? She's probably planning to kill me. But why am I still thinking about her ever since we met that night?'
Aaron almost smiled at the thought, but the smile faded as his mind drifted to something related.
'Naseka Yashiki, right? What about the plan to track them down? Should I continue pursuing her objective?'
He had considered adopting the idea, but decided to set it aside for now and ask Zavi what he thought.
After all, he was already in the same group as a wanted fugitive, and pursuing that idea would significantly shorten the search.
Aaron stood up and turned to the left, watching Zavi and Celvira walking toward him.
"Have you eaten that bread?" Aaron asked in a somewhat indifferent tone.
Zavi sat down on the long sofa with a faint smile.
"Yeah, but the bread was pretty hard."
He touched his cheek. His molars were still throbbing.
Zavi suppressed a groan when he realized Felina was no longer in the living room.
"About those artifacts..." Zavi glanced at the suitcase beside him on the sofa.
Celvira, seated to his left, looked at the same object.
After a brief pause, Zavi looked at Aaron and said, holding his breath, "We're going to the Arum Archipelago to search for what we originally set out to find, and..."
"And what?"
Aaron's curiosity deepened as he noticed the furrow in Zavi's brow.
"And to search for that mysterious figure in the beautiful world beyond the mountains."
"Wait, wait," Aaron said uncertainly. "Did you say the Arum Archipelago?" he asked to make sure.
Zavi nodded innocently, forgetting to mention an important detail.
"As for the Arum Archipelago, it's currently located southwest of the Chynoria continent."
"You mean near the Kingdom of Yessaka?" Aaron asked for confirmation.
Zavi nodded.
"Strange, isn't it? I was surprised too after finding that out. Besides, I can't explain the details until we make our move to Synomia."
Aaron looked at him seriously.
"Are you certain you're leaving for the Kingdom of Synomia tomorrow morning?" he asked earnestly.
Zavi raised one hand with a smile, straightening his arm.
"Yes, of course. To evade the bounty hunters and search for those demons."