"… She's my sister, and she needs your help."
'Sister? As far as I know, Yura never had a sister...'
Kane looked confused, then turned his head toward Scarlett.
"How does she know me?"
"I don't know. She only tells me stories about you. Or a man like you. She would talk about how handsome he is, how he can do anything, and how he always protects those who love him..."
Scarlett's face slightly turned red. She looked up, then stepped in front of him and said.
"And... you're exactly the person she was describing."
Kane had a questioning look on his face and he thought.
'Did Yura also transmigrate to this world? How is that possible? She was 26 in my world, does that mean she reincarnated here?"
Kane had a contemplating look on his face and closed his eyes.
'Then If she's here... I must find her.'
Kane's face turned serious, his eyes turned cold and he looked at Scarlett and muttered.
"Where is she."
Scarlett flinched, her ruby-like eyes quivering underneath his gaze.
'He's not even releasing any aura, yet I feel such a strong killing intent coming from his eyes alone.'
Scarlet quickly broke from her stupor and said.
"She's in Hell."
"???"
"Although I said she's my sister, we're not blood-related. We grew up together and we always had each other's back."
Scarlett's face turned solemn.
"And since that, I'm a phoenix, my blood is treasured throughout the realms."
"...I suppose your blood makes people immortal."
"Yes, although only the blood that is infused in my soul. Not only does it make mortals immortal, but my blood especially can give them a fragment of nirvana,"
Kane has a questioning look on his face.
"You keep mentioning nirvana, is it a place?"
Scarlet shook her head and lifted her right hand.
A warm light came out of her palm and a calm fire burned quietly on top of it.
"This is nirvana. Nirvana is the origin of all phoenixes, essentially, it's our mother. I suppose it's a place, but my ancestors believe it used to be an ancient phoenix that sacrificed itself to give birth to future generations.
Scarlett's face turned serious.
"And my bloodline specifically is the rarest of them all."
The fire in her hand turned black and white, it swirled between her fingers interlocking between them. Then it stopped and hovered above her white palm. It slowly transformed into a lily, with black and white petals but as soon as the flower took form, the petals turned pitch black.
"My bloodline can harbor the soul of mortal and immortal beings alike. Essentially, I can stop a soul from entering Limbo or..."
The black lily turned pure white, shining in radiance.
"I can bring them back to life."
The white lily danced on top of her hand as if alive.
"Many kings, emperors, gods, and demons sought a single drop of my blood. Although it seems like a drop is insignificant, for us phoenixes it's essentially killing us. Our entire being has a finite amount of nirvana, and losing a single drop can hinder our growth and potential."
Scarlett turned quiet, then said.
" And our blood has the power to transform a being, essentially reincarnating them."
Kane looked dumbfounded and then asked.
"Is that the reason you were cursed? Did people come after you?"
Scarlett smiled at Kane and said.
"Why do you think I'm called the Blood Empress? I've slaughtered those who came after me and my sister. But..."
Her face darkened.
"Yes, that is how I got cursed."
Scarlett pressed her hand on Kane's chest. A light exuded from her palm, wrapping itself around Kane's body.
"As a phoenix, our souls undergo a resurrection, to reestablish our connection with nirvana. And during our resurrections, our body becomes vulnerable, to the point even a toddler can kill us."
"..."
The light subsided and slowly pulled her hand away.
"I usually have Yura to protect me, but we didn't expect to be ambushed."
Kane looked at her in concern.
"Who. Who did it."
Scarlett can feel the killing intent in his eyes.
"Gods. Gods and demons."
"!!!"
"That's when Yura and I were kidnapped... But for some reason, Yura was protected. No matter what the demon did to her an orange barrier would wrap around her body."
Kane paused for a moment.
'Yura. Was I somehow protecting her? But how? Zoey did you have something to do with this?'
[Sorry Kane, the only time where I manifested was when you were contracting Angelica]
A contemplating look came to his face.
"Sorry, I was thinking about something. Go on."
"Okay, so with her being protected the demons took her to Hell. And ever since then I haven't seen her at all."
"What happened to you?"
Scarlet's eyes turned cold.
"Since they attacked me during my resurrection, my connection with Nirvana got cut off. And my body turned mortal."
Scarlett sighed then turned her face toward his.
"The gods only came to me for my blood, but since I was mortal, they threw me away. They left me in a forest, and that's where Loren found me."
A blazing fire appeared in her eyes.
"As soon as he laid his filthy eyes on me, the very first thing he tried to do was rape me."
The fire in her eyes subsided, then she said.
"But as soon as his hands came to touch me, fire erupted around my body... I was surprised since my connection with nirvana was gone, but the fire that saved me felt different. it wasn't coming from me, nor Nirvana."
Her eyes glistened, and a beautiful smile was on her lips.
"It was yours, Kane."
Kane's eyes turned soft, and Scarlett held his right cheek.
"The moment you cured me, I realized the fire that saved me, was you."
Scarlett caressed his face and muttered softly.
"Thank you, Kane. For saving my life."
She leaned her body toward his and kissed him passionately.
Kane closed his eyes, enjoying her soft supple lips. His right hand grabbed the back of her head and pulled her closer. A soft moan escaped her lips, and a certain part of her body became wet.
Then suddenly, a vivid memory came into their minds.
A bright blue moon shone from above, and a glittering lake reflected the moonlight. Lilies decorated the midnight pool while fireflies flew freely like floating lanterns in the night sky. A wooden cabin was placed near the lake's shore and a small campsite was placed in front of it.
There sat a beautiful woman, wearing a crimson-red dress adorned with golden lilies. Her long wavy red hair lay elegantly on her right shoulder. Her ruby eyes reflected the light from the fire, her red luscious lips look like fresh strawberries, and her cheeks blushed like summer roses.
Kane sat right next to her, with his hand on top of hers. She leaned her head on his shoulder and gently closed her eyes.
"Kane."
"Yes, Scarlett."
"IF the whole world comes after me, will you be there by my side?"
"I'm offended."
"?"
"I should be asking you that."
Kane had a smirk on his face, and Scarlet chuckled.
She fixed her posture and turned her head toward him. Kane looked back at her and their eyes locked.
"Kane, promise me, promise me that you'll be safe."
"It's hard to keep promises you know, especially that kind of promise."
"Promise me."
"Sigh*, I promise."
Scarlett leaned in and kissed his lips.
"Thank you."
Their memories ended, and Scarlett's face was the first thing he sees.
Kane broke off their kiss and said.
"See, told you. I'm safe."
Scarlett glared at him and pinched his cheeks.
"You broke our promise."
"I did say it was hard."
"Then promise me."
"Again?"
"Yes, promise me... Promise me that you'll stay by my side from now on."
Kane was dumbfounded, then said.
"Un. I promise."
"Good, now don't break it. If you break it I'll break you."
"Haha...ha, yeah I promise."
"Alright, let's head back to the castle, I'm sure the king is waiting for you."
Kand and Scarlett left Angela's lab and went to the teleporter. As soon as they got to the castle, a maid was there to lead them.
"Your highness."
"Umm, hey."
"I'll lead you toward the war room, please follow me. Ms. Scarlett can come as well."
Kane followed the maid to a large circular room. A glass dome replaced the ceiling and a blue tree was piercing through it.
A large door with thousands of miniature men holding swords engraved the edges of the door and a large tree was in the middle.
The door opened wide and a room with a large table made of the tree's roots lay in the middle. 21 chairs were placed around the table, and the king sat in the center, alongside Kane's group and Elven nobles.
2 empty seats were left for Kane and Scarlett. As soon as they sat down, Richard looked at Kane and said.
"Alfred wants to fight you."