"Well, hello to you too" she answered with a smile. She didn't mind his reaction. It didn't matter.

After the scare came the many realizations. The first one was his inability to move. The second was the lack of sight on one side of his body. The third one was the pain felt throughout his entire body except his right arm. He couldn't feel that one at all. He might have ended up becoming one-armed... He breathed in deeply and calmed himself down.

He looked around with its only eye available and took in the sight on his left. He recognized that this was the arena he fought in. There were still some of the cracks made during the battle. And the paintings on the floor were identical too. He saw the surrounding white. It had the form and width of the barrier. Did it change color or also properties? Not like it was the most important thing right now though...

The most important thing...It would have to be this stone statue. It was a living entity and he was at its mercy. At her mercy if he considered the appearance of the statue. He gulped. If the next trial was to fight that... No, it was impossible. Hae-Hyuk would have mentioned it.

Then, as if sensing that he regained control of his mind, she spoke: "So, are you ready to hear me out now? We don't have time to waste"

He planned to nod but realized as he tried that he couldn't. He was still unable to move even a finger. He could only speak: "Yes"

She nodded. She sported a smile as she explained to him: "This is a special area made solely after the first battle. It grants us, remnants of predecessors, to interact with members of the next generations"

He interrupted her with a question: "So, you are an ancestor?"

She didn't feel bad about him cutting her half-speech. Instead, she nodded approvingly. He wasn't cowering in front of her which was a good sign. And she had to explain this part anyways: "That's right. I am Sarina Sempress, nicknamed the Blade Fairy. Though, right now, you are only interacting with a remnant of my soul I left behind after reaching the 70th stage. It was already thousands of years ago so, of course, you wouldn't be familiar with my name or title"

He agreed with her on that last part. Even if she had been alive at this moment, he wouldn't know of her. He never cared about history or politics. He was many times more interested in the fact that she was only the remnant of a powerful expert. Just how strong would you become at the 70th stage to be capable of leaving a remnant behind for thousands of years? It was worth considering and apprehending. In a way, he was alone with such a powerful entity.

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Powerless.

At her mercy.

Those could describe his situation. Yet, his gut feeling was telling him that she was not a danger. He trusted in his intuition most of the time since he honed through countless battles. But he wanted to know. Not having anything to lose but his life that might already be forfeit regardless, he decided to ask: "And, why are you here?"

She chuckled. She quite liked his personality. She answered him: "At the end of the first fight, us remnants are given an opportunity to teach the champions we took a liking to. Or champions belonging to kids related to our bloodlines, clans or sects. After all, even now, we do want to help our descendants. It is, in fact, our only reason of existence"

Jin found her words contradictory. It could be understandable that they would want to help their descendants and such but why pick champions then? Only one would survive. It meant that most of what they taught would be for naught. He was skeptical about the practicality of it and didn't think the ancestors were this stupid. She seemed to realize his thoughts as she began to explain everything:

"There are two times when we are active. One happens when youth with high potential are brought in this room. If we like them or they are linked to us, we spend our accumulated time in the room to exchange for time to teach them. A room like this is created with a 100 to 1 ratio in years"

"So, you have to spend a hundred years to be able to teach them for one?"

She nodded at his question. It proved he was listening. She was delighted by his next question: "So, you spent years to be here?"

She nodded again as she smiled delightfully and explained: "Right. This is the second time we are active. During the trial of The Peak, right after the first battle. It is the only one taking place in this room in fact. Powering it costs a lot since it has many arrays built in. Anyways, I spent my years to exchange for this opportunity"

"Why?" he asked

She answered: "Because I see worth in you. There is something I want and you might be able to be the one to be capable of helping me"

He wondered what she meant. How could a remnant from an expert that lived eons ago even need from someone like him who was at death's doors? He chuckled at the idiotic idea and stated: "Even though I am dying?"

"You are not dying"

This sentence struck him hard. From the moment he failed to withtand the last blow of the monster, he kept thinking of dying. But wasn't he still alive right now in the end? It was weird. Even if he survived in his soul sea, his body shouldn't have been in a state where it would survive. No, rather than that, he should have already passed away. He should be dead by now. Let alone being able to speak, he was certain his body had been broken beyond any chances of it living.