“Returning to our earlier conversation,” Aurianna remarked, her gaze lifted to meet Eva, who was seated beside her.

“Leila has just arrived, so you can ask for King from her," Eva suggested with a warm smile.

"King?" Aurianna queried, her expression reflecting confusion at Eva's statement.

"Given that you possess half of the Round Table, it's logical that Leila holds the other half," Eva explained, prompting an attentive nod from Aurianna.

"King is one of the strongest members of the Round Table," Eva emphasized.

"But I thought the Queen claimed to be as strong as the King," Aurianna interjected, a perplexed look crossing her face.

"While they are rivals in strength, their qualities differ," Eva clarified, capturing Aurianna's attention for further explanation.

"King does better at swiftly defeating powerful foes with a single attack, but his time duration is limited to mere minutes. In contrast, Queen can last for several hours, though her attack power is comparatively weaker to King," Eva detailed, prompting Aurianna to nod in understanding.

"I see. With King, I have the chance to destroy this entire place in one big attack!" Aurianna grinned, reaching that conclusion.

"True, but be aware that after that, you'll lose consciousness within an hour. King's attack would place a huge strain on your body," Eva warned, her tone serious.

"I don't mind, as long as I can kill these people. Especially those who dared kidnap and sold me as a slave. They shall pay the price," Aurianna declared with an evil smile.

"Now, let's head to the Training Grounds," Aurianna proclaimed, prompting a smile from Eva, who snapped her fingers, causing Aurianna to vanish. Eva then swiped her hand, leaving a fabricated copy of Aurianna in the room, appearing sad and gloomy, before she, too, disappeared.

__________

"Aurianna..." Leila uttered as she materialized before Aurianna.

"Leila!" Aurianna exclaimed, moving to hug her, but Leila halted her, fixing her with a stern glare.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Aurianna inquired, confusion etched across her face.

Tears welled in Leila's eyes, her hand trembling as she struggled to speak, "Why did you enter an evolution state at that time?"

‘Why is she so sad? For some reason, it's making me feel sad too,’ Aurianna thought, placing her hand over her chest and shaking her head.

"Leila..." Aurianna extended her hand, and Leila suddenly embraced her.

"I'm sorry. How could I blame you for this? We both evolved at the same time. I just blame my own weakness!" Leila cried, biting her lip.

Uncertain of how to console Leila, Aurianna gently patted her sister's back, and they sat together on the sandy ground in an isolated land.

"Would you like to talk about what happened?" Aurianna asked, sitting beside Leila. Seeing Leila in such a state, Aurianna struggled on how to react. She was just used to Leila's usual calm and mature demeanor.

"Since when did you become interested in listening to others' problems?" Leila asked, a cheeky smile gracing her lips.

"Don't test me, Leila!" Aurianna growled, raising her fist playfully.

"I'm just kidding, dear sister," Leila chuckled lightly, meeting Aurianna's gaze.

"I lost someone very important to me while I slept. If I had been awake, maybe he would still be alive," Leila lamented, gripping her palm.

"Humans... why can't they accept peace and instead persist in continuing this foolish war?" Leila gritted her teeth.

"People often want to kill anything they perceive as a threat. Perhaps the humans attacking you view the people you live with as a threat," Aurianna speculated.

Leila sighed, her shoulders slumping as she recounted the words she heard when she first woke up. "It's just... I feel the weight of their lives on my shoulders, since I'm supposed to protect them. Every loss, every person who doesn't make it through this senseless conflict, it haunts me. However, it's foolish for me to think like this since I also take other people's lives.”

Whoever, Aurianna thought otherwise as she looked at Leila coldly hearing her words, ‘I still don't know why she can still choose to protect others. Maybe it's because I have nothing that I want to protect. But in the end, wars would continue to get rid of the stronger race, just for power,’ Aurianna thought as she stared at Leila.

Leila nonchalantly expressed as she heard Aurianna's thoughts, "Well, that's understandable; we're much stronger than them. It's easy for demons to gain strength, but for humans, it's a long journey, often relying on pills and potions, as well as fighting in dungeons," to which Aurianna simply nodded in agreement.

Aurianna, with a hint of disdain, remarked, "Well, I smell jealousy and greed."

Leila scoffed, "Yes, greed. Some foolishly believe taking my master's horns and eating them would make them immortal. Dumb humans! If you want to extend your life so bad, just get stronger."

Aurianna, laying flat on the ground without a care for the dirt, asserted, "I'd kill anyone who dared to offend me."

Leila chimed in with fiery determination, "So would I. Once I get stronger here, I'll avenge him," gripping her palms with intensity.

Suddenly, Aurianna heard Carol’s voice, “Aurianna, Leila! I miss you both!" She cried as she descended and embraced the surprised Aurianna and Leila.

"You were supposed to come a year ago. What happened to you both?" Carol inquired, casting a curious look at the two girls.

"We went into evolution, I guess," Aurianna blurted out.

Carol, intrigued, asked, "Oh, what kind of evolution?"

"Well, my body is able to transform into light," Leila revealed, demonstrating for Carol by making her hand turn into light and Carol looked surprised.

"Same for me. I can move parts of my body around like a liquid. I could already do this before if I activated the black playtime in my body, however, this one seems better," Aurianna explained, staring at her hand.

"I could just recently do this," Leila added.

Carol acknowledged with a proud smile, "I can see that you both have gotten stronger."

"Indeed, ever since those black chains shattered," Aurianna reminisced about the war.

"Black chains? You also had black chains?" Leila asked in surprise.

"Yes, how many did you shatter?" Aurianna inquired.

"I think it's three," Leila answered, raising up three fingers.

"Same for me! Also, how many souls did you eat?" Aurianna asked.

"You already started eating souls?" Leila gasped in surprise.

"Yes, why?" Aurianna wondered, tilting her head to the side.

"I'm just surprised. I also began eating souls and I ate more than 100,000 souls," Leila revealed, brightening up Aurianna's face.

"This sparked our evolution. Once we both got the same number of each of them, we both activated our evolution!" Aurianna exclaimed, causing Leila's eyes to widen in realization.

"I see, it all makes sense now," Leila said.

"It's like they've forgotten about me," Carol sighed as she sat down and watched them both talk.

"Hmm, Leila Round Table, do you have it?" Aurianna asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, I have Round Table," Leila confirmed with a nod.

"How did you get your skill or know how to use the skill?" Aurianna inquired curiously.

"I saw a strange woman who was called the White Gemaris, fighting another person, and she summoned Round Table," Leila explained with a serious expression.

"Same for me!" Aurianna chimed in.

"So we have been having the same dreams?" Leila wondered, and Aurianna nodded.

"The woman is the former White Gemaris!" Aurianna declared.

"I agree. But she's strange," Leila commented, placing her hand on her chin.

"Yeah, since she's always trying to kill me," Aurianna sighed.

"Kill you? What do you mean?" Leila asked, surprised.

"It's like she's eating my soul," Aurianna pointed to her chest.

"A large white soul on top of yours, right?" Leila stated, and Aurianna looked at her, surprised. Aurianna blurted out, "Yes, how did you know?"

"Because the same thing is also happening to me, same for those black chains," Leila revealed.

"When your black chains shattered, you felt different, right?" Aurianna asked.

"Yes, like my life extended, and it became easier to use my powers," Leila stated, opening and closing her palms.

Aurianna leaned forward, captivated by the revelation. "Tell me more. What else happened when your chains shattered?"

Leila took a moment to collect her thoughts before continuing. "When the chains shattered, I felt a surge of energy coursing through me. It was as if the barriers holding back my potential had been broken. The same goes for the souls I consumed. It was like a catalyst for unlocking these chains. They strangely tasted sweet.”

Aurianna grinned hearing Leila's words and blurted out, “The souls were super delicious and my body felt lighter! However, that White Gemaris woman… When I woke up I noticed that her soul got weaker.”

“Indeed, so the more souls we eat, the weaker she gets.”

Aurianna grunted, “But, ever since I woke up, I always feel hungry. It's like a hunger that doesn't quell, no matter how much I eat,” rubbing her belly in frustration.

Carol chimed in, “It's because you got a taste of souls, so now your body craves souls. But you need to eat normal food too.”

“Oh, yess, Carol! I forgot you were here,” Aurianna blurted out, and Carol, fell to the ground, got up, and nervously looked at Aurianna and Leila with her eyes which twitched.

“You brats…” Carol seethed, tears welling up in her eyes.

“Carol, please, I need your help,” Aurianna said, giving Carol a serious look.

“Oh?”

“I want to get stronger,” Aurianna declared.

“Well, that's why you're here, dummy,” Carol scoffed, arms crossed.

“I want to increase my poison magic!” Aurianna clarified.

“Ohh,” Carol grinned.

“I'm trapped in a slave auction house being run by powerful people, and I can't easily escape. I know using strength alone would not be easy for me to get out of such a situation. So I need to increase my poison magic,” Aurianna explained with a serious expression.

“Hmm, why?” Leila asked curiously.

“So that I can create colorless poison. Before the day I'm sold, I'll release the poison, which would weaken them greatly so I can kill them!” Aurianna declared, gripping her palm.

“That's a good idea. Wow, my sister is finally becoming smart!” Leila praised, and Aurianna blushed slightly.

“Of course I am, ch, chi, chi. Hey, what do you mean finally becoming smart?! Are you implying I was dumb??” Aurianna yelled, glaring at Leila.

‘So cute,’ Leila thought as she looked at her sister.

“So then, Carol, please help me get stronger,” Aurianna went back to her question.

“I'll help, but Leila, what would you like to do?” Carol asked, looking at Leila.

“Well, I also want to get stronger. And I like Aurianna's approach to using poisons, so I don't mind,” Leila said with a captivating smile.

“Well then, I guess we have to go to the poison region,” Carol suggested as she got up.

“Poison region?” Aurianna asked with a confused expression.

“Yes, it's controlled by someone as strong as me. I really hate seeing him though. But he's also a Ruler, so his strength is something else,” Carol sighed, the thought about that man making her scrunch her face even more.

“Why do you hate him?” Aurianna asked curiously.

“You'll know once you meet him. But when it comes to poisons, he's the most deadly, and so is the region he controls. So I'm sure he can help you girls,” Carol said.

“But first…” Carol blurted out as she immediately placed sleeves of Astral rocks on Aurianna and Leila's arms and also some that covered their entire legs.

“Arghh, Carol, what is on my arms and legs? I can barely lift them up!!” Aurianna cried as if she was carrying a mountain, and the Astral rocks were crushing her.

“Well, Eva told me that your days here have increased to five days, and the hours in the real world have extended to 12 hours. So I'm going to make use of this time to make you girls even stronger!” Carol declared with excitement, her face sparkling.

“I only have three days before I'm sold,” Aurianna pointed out.

“Well, the time has been extended to 50 years here, so you have 150 days to get stronger!” Carol declared.

“I still find it weird. The other Germaris are clearly getting stronger without relying on something like this. We use too many years but get such little result,” Leila said with a frown.

“Dumb girls,” Carol scoffed, arms crossed.

Carol exuded confidence as she declared, "If you both were to fight with some other Diamonds, I'm confident you would win, or at least escape with your lives."

Aurianna, curious, wondered, "How so? They have a higher level than us."

"That's the thing, don't worry about them but yourself. I'm not training your levels but your strength! And don't forget there are also seals on you, limiting your growth and lifespan greatly," Carol explained.

Aurianna, suspicious, asked, "How did you know?"

"Well, Eva told me," Carol revealed.

"You're going to defeat a lot of monsters and devour their souls and hearts!" Carol added. "By these three days, you must reach level 1000, each of you!"

"Hahaha!"

"Chi, chi, chi!"

Aurianna and Leila both laughed together.

"Why are you both laughing?" Carol asked with a confused expression.

"I know it may not be possible or that easy, but I'm willing to try and see how far I can go!" Aurianna declared with a determined expression, though the weight of the Astral rocks made her sweat profusely.

"Indeed, I would like to even reach level 1500," Leila declared with a smile.

"Then we've agreed then. These years would be used to increase your level, so let's go!" Carol grinned as her body grew bigger, using her Harpy legs to grab Aurianna and Leila by the waist and took off to the skies.

[Congratulations! Gemaris Synchronization process has been completed. First Awakening has been completed, resulting in a body evolution. Second Awakening process shall begin 3%.]

"Well, aren't you a bit too late for that notification system?" Aurianna scoffed.

"Ah, yes, Leila, I have something important to ask you," Aurianna blurted out.

"Oh, what is it?" Leila asked calmly.

"Did you have a dream about our mother?" Aurianna nervously asked.

"While I was asleep? Then yes, I dreamt of her, but the dream is a bit blurry," Leila said, and Aurianna pursed her lips.

"What should we do?" Aurianna asked.

"Well, we have a mother whom we don't know is dead or alive, and we also have a sister, and it would be obvious who it is," Leila said with a smile.

"Ehh, who is it?" Aurianna asked with a dumb expression.

"Iris, rank 1 on the Gemaris list.”