Ch 6 - I'm Not The Dark Lord
"What's with that gaze?" asked Shea.
"Huh? What gaze?" I asked.
"Your gaze," she repeated herself.
"Oh," I pointed at Ryder. "That thing doesn't look like a motorcycle at all."
"It's in its battle mode," she said lightly. "Ryder! Normal mode," she ordered.
Ryder landed on the ground and transformed into its normal form. It now resembled a cool version of motorsports. The wheels were still round but were now bigger.
There was no engine underneath it. Instead, there was a mechanism that could rotate the wheel 360 degrees. Each wheel had multiple gears installed.
Okay, it did look like some kind of motorcycle now.
Shea got on Ryder and turned to me.
"Hop on," she said, waving her hand to me.
But I didn't move from my position.
"Why? Are you afraid? Don't worry this motorcycle is safe. I can slow down the speed if you want," she reassured.
"No, I'm not," I answered quickly.
I wanted to hear more about this place. Plus, I didn't know her. I followed her because she help me to fight those cyborgs. But she even hadn't taken her helmet off or introduced herself.
"Then what are waiting for?" She asked again.
"You haven't introduced yourself or even taken off your helmet. How can I trust you?" I said straight to the point.
"Right. I forgot about that," she took off her helmet and smiled softly. "My name is Shea-."
Her long silver hair cascaded from her shoulders. Her skin was silky smooth. She had blue eyes that sparkled beautifully. And her lips were bright red. Her face was perfectly sculpted. Every feature was perfect.
She was one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. If not the most gorgeous woman I'd ever met.
I was about to introduce myself, but she continued again.
"-Angelica Delafontaine Moonstar VI."
I frowned.
"Shea what?" I asked her to repeat it. Her name was too long while my name was literally only three letters.
"'Shea Angelica Delafontaine Moonstar VI," she repeated. " I am a princess of Moonstar Empire," she smiled.
"You're a princess?" I asked in surprise. My eyes widened.
"Yes. I know I'm a little different than the typical princess in your era, but I'm a real princess," she assured.
"Okay, you keep mentioning about my era. Do we look like we are from different eras? Mind explaining this to me? And what is this place?" I gave her a series of questions.
"It's because we are from a different era. This is the future. You've already slept for a thousand years," she explained. "That's why everything looks different from your era."
"W-What?" I asked. "Wait, a thousand years? Really?" I stammered in shock and disbelief. Was it because of the Dark Lord's skill?
"Yes," she confirmed. "And this place is where your castle used to be. Where you killed the hero and crystalized due to the impact," she added.
An ugly frown appeared on my head.
"I killed the hero? What do you mean?" I asked in confusion.
She gasped. Her hand covered her mouth.
"Wait ... Do you forget who you are?" she made a random guess.
"No, I remember who I am. My name is Axl, the hero of Terra," I introduced myself. My confusion was clear from the tone of my voice.
Shea chuckled at my statement.
"That's a good joke. But I need you to be serious right now," she said after her laugh faded.
"I'm not joking!" I said firmly.
"Oh c'mon. With that massive dark power and the fragment of black obsidian mask inside your crystal there's no way you are the hero," she responded. "It's fine you don't have to worry. I did look for you, not the hero."
I was silent and quickly caught the misunderstanding between us. It also explained about the Dark Lord Crystal. It seemed this wasn't the new place like my previous prediction but the future. I was trapped inside the crystal after my last battle and the curse had changed my power into dark power, something similar to the dark lord's power. That's why Shea thought I was the dark lord.
To make it worse, the dark lord never showed his face and always wore the black obsidian mask like what I wore in my last battle. But everyone in Terra should know my face. Well, not really everyone, but at least some of them.
"So what should I call you? " Her voice dispersed my thoughts.
"Tell me, what happened after the hero died?" I asked. If they thought I was the dark lord then they should have another story for the hero.
"After the hero died and you're trapped inside the crystal, no one dared approach this place. It reeked of a dense dark power so everyone who tried to find out what happened died after they got in. So no one came here. They just found your crystal five hundred years later and realized what happened after they identified the obsidian mask fragment near you," she explained.
Okay, that's enough to explain what happened.
"I see. It seems it has turned into a big misunderstanding," I exclaimed.
"What do you mean?" asked Shea.
"First of all, I'm Axl, the hero of Terra, not the dark lord and it's not a joke," I repeated once again. "Second, the dark lord has cursed me with his dark power, so I have a similar dark power to him."
"That's impossible..." said Shea in disbelief.
"Third, the dark lord wasn't the only one that wore the obsidian mask. I also wore it," I added. The obsidian mask was the last tier of mask and the best equipment to protect my face, that's why I crafted and wore it before the battle.
"Is that mean... I took the wrong guy?" She made sure in a stammering voice. Her shock was clear from the tone of her voice.
"If you're looking for the dark lord, yes. Also, the one who died a thousand years ago is him not me," I straightened everything between us.
Note: His Quick Learn talent isn't passive skill. He needs to activate it first before he learns something.