Although I had hundreds of questions that were swirling around in my head, I knew I shouldn't bombard her with everything at once. So I decided to ask her the question that seems the most obvious to me.

"Hey, how many domains can one person learn?" I ask with the sound of curiosity tinging my voice.

"Only one." She replied.

My body froze. I started cursing myself for not taking enough precautions before absorbing the stone of enlightenment. Maybe the right thing to do was to consult with her about my mental powers first. Having a headache beats being dead any day. While my thoughts start taking a dark and gloomy turn, I managed to curb the train of thoughts and follow up with another question.

"So what would be the consequence of someone having two separate domains?" I ask with the usual smile while trying to hide my concern and anxiety.

"None. It is impossible to absorb a second enlightenment stone. There are a few exceptions if someone wants to absorb it, but that does not matter as it either involves transforming yourself into a monster or giving up your humanity. A price no sane person will be willing to pay." said replied.

That helped me calm my nerves, although it is still disconcerting that I have two domains now. I know that I have not transformed myself into a so-called monster, neither have I given up my humanity, yet somehow I assimilated the enlightenment stone of Knowledge. Maybe it might have something to do with not absorbing a stone of enlightenment for the soul domain for my abilities to manifest. Not that I can be sure that no one snuck into my room four years ago and made me absorb the enlightenment stone of soul domain. I have too little information to make any reasonable conjectures at this point.

I started noticing I was hungry. It should be a given since I had skipped dinner last night. I think it should be the same for her, considering she may not have had food for the last day or two. There is an implicit assumption that beings like her even have to eat in the first place. But the assumption seems reasonable since I feel I could eat a whole roast pig all on my own even though I also have powers like her now.

"So Alissa, you should be feeling hungry right? I know I am starving." I said.

"Not particularly," She replied. But I could feel her embarrassment and pride preventing her from asking me for food. Not that her impassive face gave anything way, I got it by sensing her emotion.

"Okay then, I just have to cook one person's worth of food I guess," I said.

I could feel her slightly panic. I might find teasing her like this addictive. "Just joking, I cannot let any guest of mine leave without having to taste my horrible food and fall sick later. It has never happened before, and it sure isn't happening today. Let's see what I can cook up." I said as I make my way to the kitchen.

I usually have porridge as it is the easiest to make. But since there is a guest today, and I was hungry as hell, I decide to go for something fancy. Not that I knew large varieties of dishes, but some simple meat dishes was well within my capability.

An hour later, the food was ready. It seems to smell quite pleasant and looks appetizing. Or it could be my hunger just tricking me. Either way, I was going to enjoy everything on the menu today.

"The food is ready," I shouted out loud, as I was not sure where she was at present. I brought the big container of porridge and two simple meat dishes to the table, with the required cutlery.

By the time I finished filling both out bowls with porridge, she had arrived.

"Feel free to help yourself to anything you like," I said.

She nods. Not sure what else I was expecting from her. Half of my concentration was on the food in front of me. Just like I expected, everything tasted delicious, with the hunger amplifying the taste. The other half was on Alissa. She was trying to eat in a prim and proper manner, although she must be feeling much more hungry than me. It was easy to conclude that from the whole slew of pleasure she was feeling, tinged with a bit of frustration as she had to restrict the pace at which she ate. She was elegant while handling the cutlery, which makes me look like a barbarian by comparison. So it was not hard to guess that she was from a very well off family. I don't think she would answer any questions in that area judging by the emotion I felt while asking her what happened to her earlier.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Pretty soon, both of us emptied all the dishes.

"I'll wash the dishes," I told her while collecting as many utensils as I can so that I don't have to come back a second time.

"I'll help," she said while collecting utensils of her own.

It was clear that she had no idea how to wash a dish. Not that it was a complicated process in the first place. I patiently guided her on how to apply soap, and to scrub the dishes without scratching them.

Now that both of us had our fill, I thought it would be a good time to bring up a few more questions.

"You said that the Soul Domain does not exist anymore, right? What would happen if someone finds an enlightenment stone of Soul and absorbs it?" I asked.

I knew that she would not suspect me, as I had already assimilated the enlightenment stone of Knowledge.

"If that happened, the person would be hunted down by the whole world. The soul power is said to be the most sinister out of the lot. It is said to be able to access the mind, change emotions, and do all kinds of unspeakable things. It is very risky to have someone like that by your side as you would never know how or when he would be manipulating your emotions. I don't know the full extent of the ability of the Soul Domain, but each ability is said to be more sinister than the next," She replied while feeling very generous with her words. Probably because of the fulfilling meal we just had.

But little did she know that a so-called sinister person was sitting right in front of her. It means that I will not be able to talk to anyone about my mental powers. I was glad I never discussed this with anyone in the village since I thought they would consider me a freak.

"Do you want to travel with me?" asked Alissa. I was blindsided by the question. I can feel that she was very uncomfortable asking me this question, yet she was forcing herself to continue. It seemed out of her character to ask for a favor.

I looked at her in a confused manner, awaiting an explanation.

"Although people like us have a better physique than the rest, and could regenerate from wounds much faster, my injuries were too severe. So I had to sacrifice the vast majority of my powers to recover this fast. At present, I am not too far off from a normal person. " said the person who crumbled a steel glass as if it were a piece of paper. But I could feel how much this hurt her pride.

"If I have to fight again, chances are my internal wounds would open up. It would take at least a couple of months for all the internal injuries to heal. Even then, my powers will not be restored to the former state automatically. I am not asking you to do it for free. I will give you information related to the Knowledge Domain, and the supernatural world in general." She continued, trying to strike a deal with me.

My mission of acquiring another power has indeed been accomplished. But I had no clue when the crazy headache with strike again with a new unreasonable demand. Besides, I need to find a way to get rid of the headache for good. If I keep staying here in the villages, the chances are that I will never get rid of it. And besides, she seems to know her way around the supernatural world quite well. So I would not go wrong by following her.

"I am not reluctant to the idea. But why don't you rest in the village until you completely heal?" I enquired.

"I can't. The people who injured me might still be after me. Although it is unlikely that they would cross the border of the Kingdom to get me, it is quite dangerous for me to stay in the same place for a long time. Especially a village like this, which is at the border of the Kingdom." She said.

"So it is safe to say that you are not a resident of this Kingdom, correct? You would be from the Trisatael Kingdom then. Not that it matters much." I said, assuring her that I don't care about her nationality.

She did not say anything, which I took as recognition of what I said. Now I have an additional factor of safety to consider while traveling with her. She seems to have enemies chasing after her. But from her description, it is unlikely that they would continue to pursue her across the border. We should technically be safe if we can reach the inner areas of the Apricus Kingdom. It also means that we would need to leave the village as soon as possible.

"So when do you want to leave?" I ask her.

"Immediately," She replied. "But first, you need to make a promise in the name of the abyss." She continued.

"That is not happening. I don't have much of a problem traveling with you and protecting you if it is within my power, but I would not be making any oaths. If you don't trust me, we can call this idea off and part ways here. You have already fulfilled your end of the deal, so there are no further restraints on you." I said, with as much seriousness I could muster.

It is not that I plan to backstab her while traveling. But having heard the strange whispers that came about when she made the oath, I want nothing to do with it. And besides, I detest the idea of being bound by some lame oath that could potentially cause me to plunge into my demise knowingly, in the name of protecting her.

She seemed unhappy at my refusal to take an oath. It could be because I forced her to take one yesterday. But she does not seem like the type who would spend her energy arguing. She would either accept my conditions or decide that it was too dangerous to travel with someone without having an oath in place. I think I would be fine with traveling alone. But it would be much more beneficial for me to travel with someone well-versed in the supernatural side of things.

"Okay, you don't have to take the oath. But you cannot ask me about my past or question my actions. I cannot divulge the information to someone unless he is strictly bound by an oath." She conveyed.

I wanted to know about her history, but it seems like I cannot find out about it unless I sacrifice a bit of my freedom. My curiosity is not worth my freedom, no matter what. So I did not have to contemplate too much about it.

"It is a deal then," I said. "So where are we going?" I asked.

"You don't have to know for now," She replied with an ever impassive face. But I could feel the smugness as if this was her way of taking revenge.

"Touche," I said, acknowledging her victory in this clash of words. She deserved at least one win today.