In one place, Raphael felt like he was losing his sanity. The more he thought about it, the more he felt like he was going crazy. His forehead was covered in sweat.

Meanwhile, in another place, Lia also found herself to be lost. She was walking aimlessly in the darkness, trying to find Azekiel or Raphael, but she couldn’t find anyone. She didn’t even know if one was actually here or not.

“Azekiel!”

“Raphael!”

“Where are you two? Stop hiding! Don’t leave me alone in this darkness!”

Lia appeared to be somewhat distressed as she walked in the darkness. The more time she spent in the darkness, the more she seemed to be affected.

“Azekiel! Raphael! Don’t do this to me! Come out for instant!”

Lia’s pupils dilated as she clenched her fist. “Please stop hiding! This isn’t a good prank! Come out! I really don’t like to be alone in the darkness!”

“You’re still scared of being alone in the darkness, right?” A soft voice fell in Lia’s ears.

“Who is it? Who spoke?” Lira asked, looking all around her, momentarily even forgetting that it was useless since it was all so dark, she couldn’t even see anything.

“Don’t tell me you don’t recognize my voice, Princess.”

“Princess?” Lia frowned. There was only one person who called her princess.

“Osiris?”

The person went momentarily silent.

“Are you alive?” Lia asked again.

“I don’t know how to answer that question,” Osiris responded. “Still, it’s good to see that you are back, even if it’s in the form of a Spirit.”

“Heh, you’re happy to see me back after you killed me? You’re such a hypocrite, Osiris. You’ve always been one.”

“Why do you say so?”

“You want to know why? Let me see where to start! Shall we start from childhood? You hid your identity from me and became my friend! You were the one who reached out a hand for friendship, promising me that you’ll always be there to support me! But when I needed you the most, you didn’t even bother meeting me?!”

“When I needed your help, you hid inside the palace! Why wouldn’t you? After you become the King, a commoner like me wasn’t worth your friendship, was I?”

“That’s not true. I got busy at work. I didn’t know you needed my help. If I had known, I would’ve helped you!”

“Save that story for the naive Azekiel who believed you. You think I don’t know the truth? You think I didn’t hear the castle guards laughing when they thought I had left about how I kept coming to irritate the King even though he didn’t want to meet me?”

“Hmm?”

“Osiris, I’ve seen your games. I understood what kind of a person you were a long time ago. Just because I don’t go around talking about it doesn’t mean I don’t know. You’re the biggest hypocrite I’ve seen! You always want to be seen in a good light even though you’re literally backstabbing a person!”

“Lia, are you really blaming me for what happened? I didn’t force you to destroy an entire village in a Famine. I didn’t ask you to take the law into your own hands. I didn’t ask you to kill innocents! It’s all in your own hands! As the King, I took the decision I had to take! It’s not backstabbing, but you forcing my hand to stab you to save people!”

“Hahahahaha!” Hearing the response of Osiris, Lia burst into laughter which appeared to be filled with anger. “Was it really me who forced your hand? Was it? Or was it you who forced my hand? Don’t make me laugh, King Osiris!”

“My father and my sister were killed brutally! In my entire life, I’ve only asked for one thing from you! For justice! For help! But you didn’t listen to me! Or rather, you listened yet chose to ignore me as you got busy with your wife!”

“You’re right! I did kill thousands of people! I did it with my own two hands, and if I had the chance, I’d do it again! I don’t care if hundreds of innocents die as long as the killers of my family die with them!”

“I don’t blame you for killing me, but I’m happy to take all the blame for what I did since I’m not a hypocrite like you! I don’t care how many sins this world places on my shoulders; I accept them! They are my sins to bear, and I will carry them for as long as I exist! Unlike you, I’ve never been scared of my sins!”

“Lia, you really haven’t changed. Even your temper is still the same. When you get angry, you become a completely different person. Anyway, I don’t come here to ask for forgiveness. I also don’t come here to insult you, mock you or show my superiority.”

“And I definitely didn’t come here to hurt you. What happened is all in the past, and this is a new beginning for you. And this was also the only chance I had to meet you where no one knows what we talked about.”

“I came here to give you a warning… The tower… It isn’t as simple as you all believe it to be. So no matter what, you must keep Azekiel safe. Make sure he doesn’t die. Trust me; his destiny is now tied to your destiny. His well-being is your well-being. If he dies…”

“No matter what, you must not let him die at any cost! As much as possible, don’t let him put his life in danger. And also, be wary… Be wary of the Originator.”

“Originator… What?” Lia didn’t understand what Osiris spoke. What Originator?

Unfortunately, there was no one to answer. It was as if Osiris was gone now.

“Osiris, just what was this warning? What were you trying to tell me? Tell me!”

“Tell me! Tell me what I don’t remember!” In another place, Raphael roared like crazy. “Tell me!”

“I wish they could tell me what they want without making it impossible to understand.” In the middle of all this commotion, Azekiel was still wondering about how to solve this Trial since all his previous knowledge was useless.