Chapter 163 –

Eiya looked at the obelisk with glowing lines on it. The pod that was inside the obelisk was obviously empty. There were traces of dried blood too. It was obvious what happened. She would feel them otherwise. “Life’s a cruel a journey...my sisters.”

“Are you okay?” Archie asked while scanning the humongous cavern. He has been escorting Eiya around various places to set up a barrier of mist that would protect the Livia Continent from invaders. The cavern was obscure and it took them days to find it because of the land around the area has changed. It wasn’t for Eiya’s ability to communicate with the earth then she would not have found the cavern.

“I am,” She responded to Archie. “There was a bit of hope inside me that prayed that they might be still alive. But the reality is a cruel mistress.”

Archie smiled bitterly. “It is. But maybe we will find someone alive?”

“I don’t think so,” she shook her head. “These obelisks are connected to the root of this world. They are interconnected and if my sisters were alive I would have felt their life force. I did not feel a single thing. It could only mean they are already dead. I must have been the last one.”

Archie could recall that the entrance was dug out. There were traces of tool marks and dried out footprints. It doesn’t help that there was a trail of dried blood on the stone floor of the cavern. He thinks it is sad that they were killed.

“Who are these people?” asked Archie.

“They are minions of the High Lords.”

“High Lords? What are they?” His interested was piqued.

“Beings that is as ancient as me. They are blood drinkers, people who were blessed by the Moon Mistress Luna with long life spans and the ability to nourish themselves. They are mutants who are stronger and faster. They have obsessions of rule and orders.”

“Why are they trying to killing you?”

Eiya shook her head. She lifted her hand away from the obelisk. “We fought them before. They hate us for our intention of letting the world stay as it is. But we allied when ‘them’ attack. We had no choice.”

“So now that they found out that you are alive. They are trying to rid of you,” Archie crossed his arm. He could not wrap his head around why did the High Lords want Eiya gone.

“Yes,” she said calmly, “they want to kill me. The High Lords hate us for our abilities. We are naturally blessed by the sun and the moon. And we have the ability to resist their bites. We once fought them in a bloody battle that ended in their defeat. They are superhuman and could break boulders with their hands. But they are only a few. Their blood is diluted and those who fail to become a High Lord turns into a ghoulish monster that takes pleasure in violence. So why would they not kill us? As far as I know, they have already succeeded. Maybe they will completely erase our existence the moment I get killed.”

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Eiya has been researching. She found no record of her race other than the scrolls that were provided by the King of Maltius La Fende. It was a heartbreaking discovery that most of her race was excluded from the history books. As if they vanished out of thin air. But she knew that the High Lords have murdered the entirety of her race.

“Still,” Archie said to Eiya, “why would they want to kill you?”

“The mist barrier probably,’ Eiya guessed. “I am the only one who knew how to create the barrier. They must be thinking that I am dangerous and needed to be put down. Maybe they don’t want this continent to be shrouded by a barrier of mist.”

“That means,” Archie realized. “They might be scheming to turn over the whole of Livia to the Empire?”

“Possibly,” she replied dully. She glanced at the ceiling of the cavern. “Doing so might grant them the governance of the whole of Livia.”

“Why would they do that?” Archie asked.

“Who knows?” Eiya said. “It might be their current ambition. But this all speculation and they might have a different ambition. But one thing for sure is that they are cunning and I give them that.”

Archie nodded slightly. He then looked Eiya in the eyes. “Are you going to go after them after erecting the barrier?”

“Yes,” she said directly. “I will have them explain even if that means I’d scour this whole city upside down.”

“Revenge huh,” Archie’s expression stiffened. He was in deep thought.

“Maybe it is indeed revenge,” Eiya said while giving this complicated look. “Still, if I ever have that chance. I want to know why they killed us all. I want to know what they are planning to do.”

The conversation ended after that. Eiya prayed for her sisters and started erecting the first pillar for the barrier of mist. The pillar was made of pure earth and energy. The pillar looked like a coiled tree. The top of the tree was spewing out mists and was starting to envelop the humongous cavern.

The two left before they would get blinded. Outside, the afternoon sun met them. Their work here was done so Archie too the voice box that was provided by him and radioed for Alexander. It took a while but Alexander replied back and that he will be coming.

The two waited for the skyship and by the time it arrived, it was already near evening. The skyship landed on a clearing. The landing caused the wind to blew hard and carried snow towards the two. They shielded themselves with their arms and walked to the rampart. There was someone waving a flare near the rampart. Archie got closer to the skyship and saw that it was Joshua.

The two took a step on the rampart. Archie led Eiya inside while Joshua radioed Alexander to close the door of the skyship. The skyship made a mechanical sound before the rampart was tightly closed. The two could hear the thrusted and know that they weren’t still done. Archie told Alexander their destination. They wanted to erect the barrier as soon as possible.