Chapter 796 I Trust [Ko-Fi Donation Bonus Chapter]
Sylas' eyes snapped open.
The first thing he felt was the waves of comfort, and then came the confusion. He shouldn't have felt so comfortable right now, all logic told him that it was simply impossible.
What happened to him?
His vision slowly cleared and he found himself looking through a sheer violet gauze that barely covered the embroidered ceiling beyond it. Ambient, warm lighting filled a dim room and a delicate fragrance hung in the air.
A soft and pliable bed lay beneath him, and his head was cushioned by an even softer pillow.
Sylas shifted uncomfortably. He wasn't a fan of soft beds and had always preferred hard mattresses. Still, he couldn't help but admit that this was the most comfortable bed he had ever laid in.
The real reason for his discomfort was the fact he didn't understand his situation at all.
His injuries were completely healed, his mind felt refreshed and unburdened, and… he was completely naked for some reason.
Well, not completely. His Scorned Wraps were still tightly bound to his wrists, forearms, ankles, and feet. In addition, his Madness Key still hung from his neck.
This wasn't too much of a surprise. Even he couldn't take off the Scorned Wraps, let alone others. In addition, the perception of those around him toward the Madness Key had always been odd.
Sometimes they could tell it was there, sometimes they couldn't, but what was true nonetheless was that it was almost impossible to interact with, and there seemed to be a veil over it that made them "forget" that it existed at all.
Truthfully, these were the only things Sylas cared about. All of his valuables were in his Madness Key, and since others couldn't perceive it, they obviously also couldn't rob him.
But none of this answered the question he most wanted to know the answer to…
Where was he and what had happened?
Memories came flooding back to Sylas' mind and the images of his loss replayed. He frowned for a moment before his gaze slowly returned to indifference.
Lorien Mist…
He didn't know anything about this woman, but from the first moment he saw her in the Beast Master Tower, he knew that there was something up with her, even if he couldn't explain what that was.
Now, he couldn't help but wonder…
How had she escaped?
Sylas didn't believe for a moment that Lorien would hand the treasure off to Ulrik, not after exposing herself as much as she had. If Sylas was correct, she had likely had a contingency plan ready. If he was more than just a little correct, then he wouldn't be surprised if that contingency plan managed to use him as a shield at the same time.
That woman had gotten him into several tidbits of danger, and she had made use of him more than once.
But therein lied the question…
If he had lost consciousness due to the damage to his Will, and his main body had been on the verge of death thanks to the second round, then how was it that he was here now?
Had they taken control of him?
'No, how long could it have possibly been? My ticket has a limited time.'
Sylas' expression changed when he had this thought and he quickly checked his window.
—
[00:23:32:29]
—
Sylas exhaled a breath in relief.
Before, the time had been frozen on 23:59:59. Now, it was frozen about 28 minutes short of that. This meant that Szorn had noticed the time dilation stop working and acted to freeze it again.
This was good. If this didn't happen, Sylas would well and truly be screwed over this time around.
A day of time in the outside world was around three months or so. This meant that Sylas had lost almost two days with this time slippage.
The trouble was… how much of his Golden Aether had Szorn used already? Was there still the last batch left? Or was he already on this last batch?
Sylas set his teeth.
The problem wasn't a feeling of being trapped. Because Sylas was here on a ticket, he would be automatically teleported back after the 24-hour timer was through.
The trouble was, in order for the timer to run properly, his time distortion couldn't be active. But if it wasn't active, then he would be forcing Cassarae and the others to fight that war on their own for months.
This was simply unacceptable.
Sylas had, of course, known this. He thought that he would be able to return on his own, but he didn't expect that he would end up in a situation like this.
Although he wasn't restrained, Sylas would be a fool if he believed that someone had saved him out of the kindness of their heart.
With how much trouble he had stirred, the amount of pressure this person was bearing just to keep him safe could be imagined. This person was obviously making an investment in him, and no person with such foresight would so easily let him slip out of their control.
It might even be possible that they had a way to circumvent the ticket and force him to stay. Sylas had no idea and no way of confirming this.
Sylas was in the middle of trying to decide whether he should just keep trying to pretend to be asleep now, or if he should be trying to escape, when the click at the door came.
His gaze shifted. He knew immediately that it wasn't a coincidence. This person knew that he was awake.
A beautiful woman with lavender skin walked in. Her sclera was a shocking black, but it only accentuated the sparkling amethyst that was her irises all the more. Her gait was almost aggressive, yet elegant, a perfect combination of a woman who knew what she wanted and would assert herself to get there.
Nyssa Valeria.
The Florineth smiled lightly, taking a seat on a chair by Sylas' bedside.
"I trust you're doing well."