Back in the real world, at the very moment Michael touched the Antique... nothing happened.
His hands carefully grasped the rough surface of the bone and remained there, frozen. His eyes stared deeply into the Antique, as if he was trying to solve something in his mind.
A few seconds passed, and this small ’pause’ turned from normal to a little bit strange.
"Kuhahahaha! History nerds are so weird!" exclaimed Zovirru. For him, he saw nothing but a boy so obsessed with the Antique that he seemed to be frozen in time trying to unearth the mysteries of the world.
Katarina stared at Michael, her eyes gazing over his eyes.
Now, this shouldn’t seem strange to her. She had seen her father make the exact same face whenever he was too busy trying to study an important historical artifact. And since ’Keo’ was his protege, it wasn’t a stretch to say that he inherited his weird studying antics.
However, there was something weird with Michael’s actions, or more importantly his lack of one.
His eyes remained stagnant in one place, his gaze looking through a deep distance. It seemed as if he wasn’t even actually looking at the Antique, but rather dazing off.
"I didn’t think that he would be so brave," Zovirru said. "Even I felt a little prick when I first touched it. But he didn’t even flinch hahahaha!"
Katarina’s eyebrows raised. "Prick?"
"Any person that touches this Antique will get their blood taken," Zovirru explained. "It’s some kind of test or something."
Katarina kept her expression neutral, but on the inside, she was freaking out. Her organization has been gathering lots of information about the history of the Ancient Era. And whenever there was something from that Era that ’pricked’ the blood of whoever came into contact with it, they would always turn out to be an extremely precious artifact.
As far for why, they had only one clue: Unity. That was the only power that could be seen through blood.
And as she looked at Michael frozen in place, she couldn’t help but think of a scenario in her head.
His thousand yard stare, his staticness... was it possible that he was making contact with the Antique?
Her eyes imperceptibly flashed with a violet light as she began to look at Michael for any signs of changes in his body.
She scanned him and the bone he was holding.
Yet, even with her Nascent Spirit realm cultivation, she couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
Perhaps she was mistaken.
If there was something happening with him and the Antique, she would have seen it with her own eyes.
And with that, her doubt vanished. ’Keo’ simply was following in the footsteps of the professor and became so engrossed with the Antique that it seemed that he was dazing off into nowhere.
But in truth, another possibility slipped her mind. A possibility that the power inside the bone beyond the Nascent Spirit realm was actively hiding any activity to the outside.
She would have never thought of this because that kind of power was beyond the realm of her current understanding. It would turn the Antique from a mild importance, to a critical one.
So, blissfully unaware, she approached Michael, raising her hand to nudge him awake.
But just as she did, they suddenly heard a knock that echoed inside.
Zovirru and Katarina both turned to look towards the entrance of the Tower, peering through the mounds and mounds of gold and jewelries with their powers until they saw a clear vision of who was outside.
Just on the front steps of Zovirru’s Draconian Tower was a middle-aged man with a hunched back and a worried look on his face.
"Bastiene?" Zovirru muttered out loud with an obvious look of confusion in his face.
He flew above the mounds of gold and directly headed over to the door.
Katarina saw the look on Zovirru’s face. Whatever matter this was, it was of utmost importance.
She had to know.
So, she turned to follow him over the dragon’s hoard and reached the portal to the outside.
Before she left, she turned to look back at Michael, who was still frozen in place, both hands holding onto the Antique.
Then, she exited the portal.
Once she was outside, she found Zovirru and Bastiene conversing with each other.
"What’s the matter?" she asked, quite rudely.
Zovirru didn’t seem to mind and answered, "This is Bastiene. He’s my butler in charge of my matters here in the Royal Continent."
It wasn’t unusual for Draconians to have servants, so Katarina wasn’t fazed.
"Master Zovirru, there seems to be quite a bit of a problem with your neighbors...," Bastiene said, nervously rubbing his hands.
"Neighbors?"
Zovirru looked around him, his gaze reaching through the different Dragon Towers in his midst. "What about them?"
"They’ve... they’ve found another one, sir."
Zovirrus’ chaotic red eyebrows raised, before his smile widened. "Hoho? They found another one? Are you sure?"
Bastiene nodded. "Yes, master. It’s another bone."
This time, Katarina couldn’t help but sneak into their conversation. "Another bone? Don’t tell me... it’s another Antique?"
She wasn’t letting her true feelings reach her face, but on the inside, she was getting more and more agitated.
Somehow, their business with New Sparta was getting a lot more complicated than what they first thought.
If what Bastiene said was true and that they found another Antique, then it would be of utmost importance for her to obtain it as well.
Perhaps, their organization would have to devote more members in New Sparta in order to keep up with the developments here regarding the Antique.
"But you’re too late, my dear Bastiene. My interest in the Antique has already waned. I have no need for another one."
After hearing this, Katarina immediately spoke up. "If you don’t want it, then I will get it."
Zovirru waved her off. "Sure, sure. Bastiene, tell the professor’s colleague what you know about the Antique."
Bastienne turned towards Katarina and bowed. "Mistress... it is unfortunate to say, but the owner of the Antique can be... well, he can be like Master Zovirru. Draconians have a tendency to hoard, after all.
Unlike the generosity of my master, this Draconian is quite closed off from the matters of the world. They are hard to communicate with and will turn away anyone, no matter who they are."
Zovirru scoffs. "I’m not generous. I’m just bored."
Katarina ignored him and kept on pestering Bastiene for more information. "Then how can we contact them?"
"It will be hard," said Bastiene. "As we speak, there are numerous entities trying their hardest to speak with this Draconian. However, they will all fail.
After all, they do not know the ways of the Draconian. In order to contact them, one must give them something as a gift."
Katarina nodded. Not to brag, but she was probably at the same level of wealth as Zovirru and the other Draconians. She had many extravagant gifts she could part ways with if it meant getting a meeting with this Draconian.
"It’s not any precious stone or artifact," Bastiene said. "It’s a group of people. This certain Draconian has some interest with the Elves."
As soon as he said that, Katarina’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.