In a single instant, before anyone could understand what was happening, Arthania arrived before them.
More precisely, in front of the nearest person at the front.
Her hand moved at a speed invisible to their eyes. Even Kyle, with his ability that enhanced his eyesight, couldn’t track her movement.
In that moment, Arthania felt anger... no, it had gone beyond anger and turned into something else.
’Why... why is this happening... I wanted to help them, and this is what happens.’
It was true that everyone had seen Arthania’s gentle side... but what about her other side?
What happens when you cross the line?
The answer was right in front of them now.
Driven by the sight of Adam’s corpse, that person she had known for hundreds of years, and the dark emotions rising inside her, Arthania’s hand shot toward Caius’s abdomen without hesitation.
Caius, who realized what was happening too late, thought of one thing.
’I’m going to die.’
Arthania’s hand reached him, tearing through his clothes, then his skin, and ripping all the way to the muscles beneath.
At that moment, before her hand could pierce his abdomen, space around Caius distorted as he vanished from his spot, while her hand continued through the empty air.
That simple movement of her hand sent a powerful shockwave through the air, producing a loud sound, while dust and sand surged upward in a small storm as it struck the others, who realized what was happening too late.
Arthania turned her head, looking over her shoulder at the spot where Caius had appeared, but her gaze was fixed on the old man beside him.
"Why did you do that, old man?" Her cold voice echoed through the air, devoid of any trace of her usual warmth.
The old man Elias turned his head, looking at Caius beside him, who had realized what had just happened and lowered his head to look at the deep wound that had formed in the middle of his abdomen.
It wasn’t like a hole through the body, but it was still deep and bleeding heavily, enough to kill any ordinary human in a few minutes.
Elias glanced at the wound, his deep voice echoing beside Caius. "Can you handle tha—"
But before he could finish his question, the large wound began to heal at an astonishing speed.
Elias let out a brief exclamation involuntarily. "Oh..."
"I asked you why you did that," the cold voice rang out again.
After passing the first surge of emotion, Arthania managed to control herself and regain some rationality.
Elias looked at the others behind Arthania. They were frozen in place by the pressure she was exerting and by what had just happened.
"Are you planning to kill these poor children you brought here?" His tone was calm and ancient.
Arthania gritted her teeth while looking at Adam’s corpse on the ground. "Look... look at what they did after I was gone for a while... after I treated them well and brought them here."
Elias glanced at Adam’s corpse, which had stopped withering and now looked like an old man who had died at the peak of his age. "I thought I had taught you well not to rush to judgment... but this proves my failure."
He looked back at Arthania as he continued, "You should have at least asked them before rushing to kill this poor boy."
Beside him, Caius remained silent, leaving the old man to handle the matter without interfering.
"Though I think no question is needed, everything is obvious."
Arthania raised an eyebrow. "Obvious?"
Elias nodded. "Yes... it’s obvious they wanted to leave suddenly, but Adam stood in their way."
He glanced at Caius beside him. "Isn’t that right, boy?"
Caius nodded, keeping calm on the outside.
’Just let us leave this damned place.’
"I don’t understand... why... why is this happening in the first place... why are you leaving suddenly, and the moment I’m not here?" Her voice was broken and confused.
And none of the six had any idea what answer they should give.
Should they tell her that this city was just a puppet show, and they didn’t want to become part of it... or what?
So they simply remained silent.
But Arthania could not bear that. She turned her head to the five behind him, specifically Leona.
"Leona... tell me."
Leona bit her lower lip under Arthania’s pressing gaze.
’What should I say... should I tell her the truth?’
Leona hesitated as she recalled those conversations she had with Arthania in her house... for a moment it felt like that had happened long ago.
But not even a day had passed since then.
"We should have left by now... or we may never be able to do it."
Her voice echoed.
"What do you mean?" Arthania asked.
But the old man interrupted her. "Isn’t it time for you to come out of the illusion you made for yourself, little one... look around you at all these strange things."
Arthania looked at Elias.
"From this ridiculous immortality to no one ever leaving the city too far over all those years."
"Or do you think this is just a wonderful blessing that descended upon us?"
Arthania clenched her hand tightly without replying, but the old man had different thoughts. He looked at Caius beside him.
"Did you discover what is happening in this place?"
Caius hesitated at the old man’s strange question, but soon let out a long breath.
"Yes."
’Let’s see where this leads.’
The old man did not expect a real answer to that, so some surprise appeared on his face.
"Oh... then do you mind telling us?"
With his hand on the place where the wound in his abdomen had been, Caius raised his head toward the sky where all those threads had vanished.
"It’s just a guess, and I’m not sure about it..."
"But all of this is just an ascension ritual."
"Ascension ritual... what the hell does that mean?" Arthania asked in a voice full of anger, while Elias remained silent.
At the back, Ellen’s eyes widened open.
At that moment, Caius stepped toward Arthania, closing the distance.
"In your opinion, how do those monsters exist in the higher ranks... those beings at the top?"
"Do they advance through the ranks like we do?"
He did not wait for an answer, but gave it himself.
"Some are simply born there... and others search for a way to the top through different methods."
"That is the ascension ritual."
Caius condensed the little information he knew into a few sentences.
He looked into Arthania’s hazel eyes without hesitation.
"Everyone here is just a puppet for a certain purpose."
He stepped closer to Arthania.
"We only killed that man because he prevented us from leaving... he wanted us to stay and become like everyone else in this city."
"To turn into that thing and lose ourselves like everyone else." He spoke these words while pointing at the sky.
"But you two are different." He said that while glancing at the old man behind him.
He raised his hand toward Arthania, essence rising and swirling around it.
"But you’re the only one I can get out of this without you dying."
"So if you want, I can cut the threads that bind you..."
"Or just let us go peacefully... and stay here in this illusion until that thing lowers the curtain on its play and declares the end."
Caius’s gaze turned into something strange... perhaps contempt.
"But believe me, I’m sure everyone here would have wished for death rather than for their life to end in such a miserable way."
Those weren’t just empty words to persuade Arthania, but the truth itself... at least for Caius.
Just the thought of becoming like them... hollow and devoid of humanity.
Just a puppet for some sinister purpose.
Those thoughts made him want death rather than becoming something like that... and he wasn’t the only one.
Arthania looked at his hand, hesitation clear on her face... even some fear.
But all she needed to make her decision was a small push.
"Just do it, Arthania... do what we should have done a long time ago," Elias’s voice rang out, giving the decision.
Arthania looked at the ground beneath her feet while biting her lip hard.
That anger and impulsiveness faded and disappeared, while new thoughts surged in her head.
’Ascension ritual?... We’re just puppets?... No, that can’t be.’
But whether it was possible or not, the answer was right before her.
With her gaze on his glowing hand, her lips moved without her even realizing it.
"Alright."
"Show me."
With that, Caius extended his hand toward one of the many threads binding Arthania and wrapped his hand around it.
Just as before, he sent his essence into the thread, and the two essences collided.
It was much thicker and stronger than the threads that bound them.
So cutting one thread took the same effort as freeing one of his companions.
Time passed as everyone stared at him.
Then at last, the first thread binding Arthania broke and vanished.
Without delay, he reached for another thread.
It took time to cut them, so the moment he cut the second thread, he felt many souls approaching from the direction of the city.
But unlike everyone here, Arthania did not need to be freed completely.
After all, she was a person at the peak of Rank Five.
All she needed was a push.
And that push had already been given.
So before he reached for the next thread, Caius saw something that made him stop.
All the threads above her...
had begun to burn.