Chapter 31: His Beloved Anet

The door to the Soul Tempering Chamber opened abruptly. Nikita who waited outside, pondering if she should stay or go as nothing else that was not related to obtaining the Sky Blooming Orchid seemed worth doing, jumped in fright and stumbled backwards.

“Senior sister Anet?!” She looked at her hastily departing figure. “He training session isn’t over. Did something happen? Should I tell cousin?” She picked up her Caller and typed the number. She might not be able to tell Grent where Anet left to, but there were only so many places she used to hang out at. With his contacts, Grent will not have difficulties locating her in Kingdom Earth.

“Damnable brats, do you think this Soul Tempering Chamber belong to your father?!” Superintendent Ten’s yapping voice resounded from his maintenance building.

“Err...” Nikita’s complexion paled. “It wasn’t me!” She yelled and ran away.

Though it was a habit resulting from the frequency of her absences, this time it was intuition that pulled Anet out from her meditative state to check the messages in her Caller.

The sender’s number was familiar, His mother, but the message was strange.

“Please come tomorrow to the Zel’s farm. It’s important, can’t be talked to on the Caller, had to be done face to face!”

It was not Laylen’s typical writing style. In previous dialogs she phrased herself patiently via extended wording and with repeated interest to her health and daily activates, as if she actually was her daughter in law.

Anet had a Sun K version, bike like vehicle that was particularly made for the rough and woodland terrain of Valgarel. Its top speed could match a Peak phase Mist Lord and was sustainable for seventy two seconds. Because of its extremely expensive, quickly depleting energy source, she drove it only when leaving for the distant Savage Caves.

That strange gut feeling she had from Laylen’s message made her uncomfortable, goaded to see her as soon as possible. Nevertheless, she did not dare speculate what matter was so pressing. She feared that beneath the deception of wishful thoughts she will find yet another painful tragedy.

Zax watched from the side as Liz munched the meat of a sauced, short rib. She and grandpa Ger seemed most enthusiastic for having barbecue and surely intended to eat for their hearts content. As for him? After his mother notified him that Anet on her way, he had no appetite, for the sake of it or otherwise.

“You’ve been through a lot above ground. So many challenges and discoveries, yet I feel that you haven’t told us everything”. Zetsa came, offering a plate spicy sausages and wings.

“I still don’t want to”. Zax refused.

Zetsa shrugged and began to eat on her own. “In Master’s cave I hope you tell everyone all that you experienced and not feel like there are things to hide from us”.

“Be at ease. I also brought a few things to aid your cultivation. Shame I could not find anything to strengthen the physique of non cultivators...” Although there were natural treasures to improve the physique of people in the lowest level of cultivation, they were not easy to find and those on the market, either in New Earth or Ercas Mir, had requirements for before and after consumption.

Glance at their parents, grandparents and little sister, Zetsa released a deep sigh. “If grandpa Ger was younger ... I tried once to diluted the juice of a certain medicinal plant that wild beast eat to prolong their life, though it’s not my a lot. Grandpa could barely handle one drop of it and in the end I had to help him circulate his mist energy to spread the nutrients of the drop. Eighteen hours passed before he got better and to this very day I’m not sure the distilled drop did anything to his lifespan”.

“It’s complicated”. Zax said and lowered his voice. “When I’ll return to Ercas Mir I’ll ask around. There are some people who might be able to help”. Gid Chu is one. “She is coming!” The Soul Sense he used now and then in waiting for Anet, at last detected her.

She just crossed the tunnel to cave twenty five and if his perception was not in enhance state; by the speed she was driving he would have seen her with his own eyes within couple of seconds.

“I’m going”.

“Be subtle. It’s a Sun K-RV2. If you’ll startle her she’ll lose control of it”.

“Don’t worry; I won’t let anything happen to her”. Zax said impatiently and vanished.

“I know, stupid”. Zetsa said, talking to herself. “But this Sun K model is pretty pricy”.

Her driving speed was alarmingly fast, yet when he showed up next to her, it was as time stood still.

‘She changed haircut’. She loved her long hair, he loved it too and he loved the new cut just the same. ‘Mm? This troubled intent... ‘ He touched her hand and sensed the burden she carried by the undulation of her soul. It was massive, weighting more than his parents’, Liz’s, grandparents’, even Zetsa’s. ‘I wrong her’. He channeled his soul energy, just as he did for his family, and let go.

Time gradually resumed its standard pace.

Anet felt an air of enigmatic calmness blowing on her face and her Sun K-RV2 slowing without her using the brakes, till it reached a stop. ‘Am I out of fuel?’ It did not seem the be the situation, but how could she, a Peak Mist Lord could sense the attribute energy of the world, specifically dark, holding in place her vehicle?

She lightly frowned, realizing that something is wrong. ‘It’s stuck’. Could not be that she was being pranked by a passerby Core Master, right?

TUMP!

A strong throb pulsed throughout her body. A foreign energy intruded into her sea of consciousness and by the time she noticed it already encompassed her soul. Despite that, instead of being disturbed or alarmed, she sunk into familiar comfort.

TUMP!

A second strong throb derived from the revelation. ‘What is this energy? Why is it feels like him?’ The comfort waned as doubts arose and she suddenly found herself submerged in what have been all her bottled up emotions, as they were in the midst of swelling, about to explode.