I glanced at the monster's drawing in the wall, and then back at Sidus, before remaining silent for a while. 'Something seems to be calling for him from that particular chasm, huh,' I inwardly mumbled as I turned my attention back to the various obsidian monsters on the wall.
"First of all, the main problem lies with the fact that we have no idea what motives this unknown entity has for calling out to you," I said with a deep frown to which Sidus nodded solemnly in agreement.
"It's also difficult to accurately measure its level of strength making the entire plan one fraught with danger," I added, while Sidus remained silent waiting for me to finish.
"If I'm being honest, there are too many unknown factors in this entire situation, all of which makes me hesitate to go through with the exploration of this chasm. You might have gotten lucky so far and not encountered anything truly dangerous, besides-" I slowly raised my palm and tapped at the picture of the 'boss' monster before continuing, "Even when faced with 'it' you still managed to escape without any serious injuries, thus I'm not too concerned about this monster, but rather with what comes after it, do you understand?" I asked with a serious expression.
Sidus had an expression as If he was saying that he already expected such an answer from me before nodding, "I understand brother, and I'm well aware of th dangers I might encounter along the way," He said.
"Still, you are willing to go through with It?" I asked.
"Yes!" He replied without any hesitation, his eyes seemed to shine brightly with resolution as he stared straight at me, showcasing his determination when It came to this matter.
Seeing that there was no changing his mind, I let out a small sigh and shook my head before asking, "Is there any reason why you are willing to go so far?"
Hearing my question, Sidus fell silent for a few moments as if deliberating on how to reply, before he ultimately spoke. "I have a feeling that If I go there, I might find what I'm looking for,"
A frown made its way to my face as I asked, "What you are looking for? And what Is that?"
Sidus's eyes seemed to burn with a flame of desire as he stared at me with a resolution before he replied, "A way to get stronger,"
"A way to get stronger..." I subconsciously repeated as I brought my gaze to study Sidus. Ever since we were born, he was always chasing after power, as If he had something to prove. After his first loss against me, I honestly did not think he would take it well, nor did I expect things to work out between us.
Still, reality is often different from what we perceive, although It had clearly left a mark on him, Sidus still did not allow his will to be broken, he continued working hard in his own way, constantly striving to catch up and not fall behind me.
I did not pay much attention to It in the past, but this matter is clearly very important to him. It does not matter If I go or not, he would still attempt to challenge that chasm alone, this was his determination, his pride...
He must have felt a sense of pressure after I came back from the land of the Gods, and obtained the affinity with Earth mana. Another sigh escaped my mouth as I glanced at my troublesome little brother who was calmly looking back at me while waiting for my response.
Seeing that, I steeled my resolve and spoke, "Alright, since It doesn't seem like there is any way to change your mind, I'll respect your decision and will follow you to this chasm, but," I deliberately paused for a few seconds as Sidus's eyes seemed to lit up, he then straightened his back and waited for me to continue.
"If I deem the situation to be too dangerous for us to handle at any time during our exploration, then you must not be stubborn and listen to me If I order you to retreat, is that clear?" I asked in a serious tone.
Hearing that, Sidus's expression softened a bit before he nodded and replied, "I understand, I will follow brother's command,"
"Good, well then since we don't have much to do anyway, and since I'm still okay after the previous fight, we can head there now, that is of course If you are also up to It, otherwise we can wait until you recuperate to your optimal state,"
Shaking his head, Sidus calmly replied, "I'm also good to go, I did not expend too much energy when dealing with the Ember's siblings, especially with Ynos holding them back while Immy and Essie provided support, I have already recovered and am ready to head out,"
Nodding, I motioned towards the exit of the cave with my head ushering him to lead the way. Sidus didn't say anything as he calmly made his way out while I followed behind him. My eyes casually glanced at Ynos who was fast asleep next to his small mountain of fairy skulls, this was a rather unusual sight since it was still bright outside.
'The battle from earlier must have tired him out,' I mentally noted. Although Ynos was freakishly strong, It was still not an easy feat to hold off three young dragons, although Immy, Sidus, and Essie provided support, Ynos took all the attacks of their opponents head-on shielding the company from harm.
Once outside, Immy didn't open her eyes as she remained motionless on the ground, the sun reflecting off her scales, making them shine brighter as they appeared to look like precious gems. Essie who was laying by her side, on the other hand, peeked at us in curiosity before asking.
"Big brother Aether, brother Sidus, you are heading out?"
Sidus turned his attention back towards her and replied with a rare gentle tone, "Yes, there are some matters I need to care off, brother Aether agreed to help me," He said without further elaborating.
Essie seemed to sense that there was a deeper part to the matter, still, she did not pursue it any longer and gently nodded at him before speaking, "Good luck!" She then turned her gaze towards me and continued, "Take care, big brother!" to that a smile subconsciously made its way to my face as I nodded in acknowledgment.
Sidus then instantly launched himself to the sky turning into a streak of black light, I swiftly followed behind. We continued our journey in silence, neither of us spoke, yet the mood was not awkward, quite the opposite, It was a good type of silence, one that I didn't mind.
Ever, since I gained my initial control over cosmic mana, one of the most useful abilities I have gained, was the power to open a tear into the void and teleport where I want to. Although it sounds great, It was not without flaws.
Firstly, I still lacked experience in this matter, hence why my teleportation range was still rather limited. Another flaw was that for the moment I could not take anyone with me. I sighed in regret at that thought, If my control was better then the journey would go much smoother and be much safer than it was at the moment.
I subconsciously raised my head to glance at the multicolored mana stream flowing in the sky above. Teleportation was rather interesting, I would use cosmic mana to establish a link with the stream, then using that link, I would then create another one at my destination which would, in turn, allow me to teleport my body into my targeted area.
Using the link to the stream, I would open a tear in the void and follow ‘it’ so in that case, I would not get lost somewhere in the void before emerging at my destination. There were a lot of experiments I wanted to try, and just as I was thinking about all of that, Sidus’s voice resounded in my ear.
“We are here,”
Thank you for the chapter
I wonder when Aether will get back to the poisonous dragon core/crystal in that battlefield and Sidus is called by something similar.
Especially since his water Magic might’ve compatible with poison magic.
Ooh, sciencey stuff! Well, magicy stuff!
Thanks for the chapter
Thx for the chapter!
tftc