From the past to the present [2]

"Hey, wait! You are walking too fast! And you are going inside the palace?"

Rezalea tried to keep up with Lucian's pace but her dress restricted her movements.

"What a man! He doesn't listen! And always says everything he wants without thinking about anyone else! Why would he even go inside the palace even though he is an outsider? Is he stupid?"

She began to complain with puffy cheeks, holding her dress up as she walked behind Lucian, almost like a little girl arguing with her childhood friend.

"Your highness…" The knights who were her guards followed Rezalea but were unable to understand what was happening to her. She was always so refined and was full of grace, a real lady. But now, what was this?

This was the first time they saw Rezalea in this state so they didn't how to react.

"Huh? Where did he go?" Suddenly, Rezalea lost sight of Lucian even though he was walking in front of her just a moment ago.

"Did you see a suspicious man wearing a gray coat?" She approached the guards standing in front of the main entrance of the palace. There were six entrances in total but this led to the garden.

"No, we didn't see such a person, your highness!" The guards answered, taken aback by the fact that Rezalea spoke to them.

"I see, thank you," Rezalea said, rushing inside the palace and leaving the guards confused.

After that, she entered a spacious hall in which the tall ceiling was supported by cylindrical white pillars. The floor was shiny, made of polished brown marble.

Huge chandeliers were hanging on the ceiling and banners with complex patterns were displayed between the pillars. And most of the objects inside the hall were made of precious material.

She finally caught a glimpse of Lucian standing in between two pillars, facing a wall where a painting framed in a gigantic golden frame was displayed.

"Here you are. There's a lot of things I want to say, but at least please don't act as if I don't exist when I talk to you," Rezalea complained.

Lucian ignored her, his eyes were fixated on the gigantic portrait of a man and a woman. The man was standing but the woman was sitting on a chair, her face covered by a white veil.

"Do you know how many colors the human eyes can see?"

"Eh?" Again, Rezalea didn't understand what Lucian was talking about.

"If you understand the laws of the reflection of light and how the human brain works, entering and leaving this place is easy. Humans are really easy to fool." Lucian said these words his eyes still fixated on the portrait, his tone while saying the last sentence suggesting that he was also referring to something else.

"…!?" Rezalea was baffled, massaging her temples as if she had a headache while trying to process what Lucian was saying. She ignored him and looked at the portrait on the wall.

"Why is her face hidden?" Lucian asked. He already understood that it was the portrait of Lirius and Rosa.

"No one had ever seen her face. It was said that because of a curse, people couldn't see and couldn't remember how she looked," Rezalea explained.

"…" The more Lucian listened to this version of the story, the more he understood that he had a lot of things to deal with.

"Reza, who is this man?" A dignified voice interrupted Lucian and Rezalea.

A throne was situated at the other end of the hall, at the top of the stairs, and two people appeared from one of the doors behind it, which was only accessible by the Emperor.

"Brother…"

It was the Emperor, and even Lucian knew his name, Solomon Everlight. A man with silver hair and golden eyes like his sister, wearing white clothing adorned with golden accessories. However, he didn't look in the least gaudy. He had a serene expression on his face.

But he appeared to be disabled and needed a wheelchair to move around, so he was helped by a female attendant.

"He is…" Rezalea was about to answer her brother when she realized that she didn't know anything about Lucian apart from his name. He didn't answer a single of her questions. This realization left her frozen in place. Wasn't Lucian just a criminal after all? Before she knew it, she was talking to him like they were acquaintances.

As for Lucian, he continued to look at the portrait on the wall for a few more seconds before finally facing Solomon, and asking him a sudden question.

"What are the chances of humanity surviving even if you send the strongest adventurers on this quest?" Lucian's tone of voice was the same as usual, exhibiting unwavering confidence, almost as if he knew everything.

The guards who were there considered Lucian's behavior disrespectful and they rushed and surrounded him.

"…" Solomon was a little bit surprised but he kept his composure. He observed the man in front of him and saw no weakness.

He knew that he couldn't lie to Lucian. He had the certitude that Lucian's intelligence surpassed his own. It was a strange feeling.

As such, he raised his hand, signaling the guards to stand back.

"Less than one percent." As such, he answered honestly.

"Brother, what are you talking about? Rezalea was surprised by her brother's sudden revelation.

Lucian understood that Solomon didn't want Rezalea to be burdened by this kind of knowledge, but Rezalea herself was shocked that her brother was hiding something from her.

However, Solomon knew that sometimes it was better to not know the truth if one didn't have the power to do anything about the situation, as it would bring nothing but despair.

"As expected, they had come to you. That makes sense. To think that they would go their way to put on that kind of show," Lucian said, almost as if he was talking to himself, referring to the phenomenon that happened a few months ago.

A huge figure of a woman appeared in the sky, almost like a goddess, and said, "To all humans, hear my words. Challenge the Abyss, as your wish will be granted if you manage to undergo the sacred trials. And when you stand The Lords of the Abyss who are the envoys of the only God, you will be enlightened."

After that, white rectangular objects fell from the sky. It showed a map that was constantly changing, showing a detailed route to follow inside the Abyss.

Since then, many adventurers had attempted to use the map and ventured inside the Abyss out of curiosity, but not a single one came back.

Soon after that, the Emperor sent out a request to all adventurers to gather together.

Just from this, Lucian understood that there was something behind all of this, and what Solomon said confirmed his theory.

From the look of it, these beings, whoever they were, didn't give Solomon the choice.

They must have asked him to gather the strongest humans and try to prevent the annihilation of humankind. They must also set a deadline.

But as usual, most humans didn't even understand what was happening.

Nonetheless, this was also something that was related to Lucian's past. And someone aware of a part of the truth, he could tell that something wasn't right.

Although his priority was to find the perfect woman that could become the key to the success of his plan, he couldn't also take this situation lightly as it might affect everything.

"…" Without saying anything else, Lucian turned back and walked to the entrance.