"Mom... what are you talking about?" Aurora asked, taken aback by Elisabeth's words.
"Well... we learned about Atlas's secret when all the mess with the bandits happened. While he remained unconscious for days in our house, the old heirloom artifact responded to his presence. Of course, we were also shocked then, but it gave us some answers."
"Are you talking about that pendant?... did it truly shine in Atlas's presence?" Aurora asked in a trembling voice.
"Yes... my dear, he is the one destiny chose for you."
Since the truth was revealed, Elisabeth knew that Aurora would be shocked, so she held her hand warmly.
Rose looked at them strangely, not knowing what they were talking about.
What was the meaning behind Elisabeth's statement?
Aurora was so taken by those words that her thoughts came out of her mouth.
"Only when the Moon's Descendant and the Sun's Descendant unite their hearts in eternity will the prosperous times return. Moon's Descendant, do not let the Sun escape from your embrace when you see the pendant of the moon glow red because he is the holder and giver of an infinite fortune... and the only one capable of hope for us!"
The tone of her voice was low, almost imperceptible. In fact, Rose managed to listen to only a few words.
It took her a while to recover, but Aurora's questions came one after the other as soon as this happened.
"Mom... why you didn't tell me this before? It has been months since you discovered about him. Why have you waited for so long?"
Elisabeth could feel her trepidation, but she remained calm and explained: "Sorry, Aurora... We thought you wanted to forget about the past and live a peaceful life without worries when you left the pendant to your father. For this reason, we didn't tell you about him before."
Witnessing Elisabeth's expression changing from nervousness to regret, Aurora held her hand even stronger and reassured her: "Mom... I'm not angry at you because I know you did everything for my best. But to think that even fate acted, bringing him to you. That's truly fascinating..."
"Hey..." Rose couldn't handle it anymore and spoke: "... Can you tell me what's happening here? What are you talking about?"
For some reason, there was little anxiety in her heart, hearing their discussion.
Aurora looked back at her and smiled: "Rose... do you remember the ridiculous stories I used to tell you when we were only kids?"
"You mean the story of the Moon's Descendant and the Sun's Descendant?"
"Yes..." Aurora nodded at Rose's words: "... Those stories are related to my past, and I think that Atlas is the Sun's Descendant!"
"Wait... but you told me that you were the Moon's Descendant... doesn't that mean you two..."
Reaching this point, Rose's heart was already in turmoil. She didn't know what was happening to her, but she knew that Aurora's words would have made her even sadder.
"Yes, he is my destiny, the only one that can help me... and I can't let him run away from me..."
The situation changed completely when Atlas's peculiar existence was mentioned, but Rose's mother remained the priority.
"Rose... I hope you can keep this matter a secret for the time being..." Aurora asked her in a sincere tone.
"Mmm..." Rose gave her a simple nod, but her head was full of various feelings.
Since Rose's expression remained the same, Aurora didn't notice the significant change in her friend and continued: "Mom... we should leave as soon as possible since we already know where he is living."
"Hey... calm down for a moment!" Elisabeth could see the eagerness in the depth of her eyes, yet they needed to do something more important: "Oakur and Val need to know our plan, and more importantly, we can't walk around alone... I'm not strong enough to protect you two. And we can't risk even if we are going to a simple village..."
"Mmm... We will do it right away then!" Aurora agreed with her and dragged Rose outside with a clear destination, the Auction House in the city.
|||
It took them a while to complete all the preparations in the city. Still, after giving all the information to Oakur and Val, the trio left the town with a group of powerful guards under the direct order of Wyatt, one of Oakur's strongest assets.
"Brrr... It's so cold here..."
As soon as they stepped outside of the Teleportation Formation, the gelid temperatures of the Village of Nevery caught them by surprise.
"Mmm... It's entirely different from the warmth of the eastern side."
The two young ladies were strong Martial Cultivators, yet the temperature could still affect their bodies.
"Aurora... It's a bit cold, but this place is so beautiful and calm... I like it!"
While Rose and Aurora were chatting happily, Wyatt started looking around.
"Strange... I felt a strong presence looking at me..."
His gaze moved left and right, but the presence was gone as soon as his intention openly showed.
"Hmm... Oakur told me to be careful about this place, and sure enough, he was right. Some hidden experts may be living in this faraway place. So, it's better to not meddle in their affair."
Reaching this conclusion, Wyatt warned his entourage and kept looking around carefully.
"Ok... Stop chirping around like two little birds and keep going. We don't even know if he already went to the Divine Sect..."
Elisabeth traveled to many places worldwide before marrying Val, so the peaceful atmosphere of the small mountain village wasn't anything new.
"Mmm... listening to my father's words, he could be already at the Divine Sect, but we should at least try here before wasting weeks on that endless desert."
They got some helpful information from Oakur, so their research started even better than they could have imagined.
"Mmm... Rose, why don't we ask around? This village is so small that they probably knew Atlas..."
"Yes... There is a shop there... let's go..."
The group walked far from the Teleportation Formation and reached one of the first shops in the vast plaza. It was small but perfectly cured.
Ding! Ding!
As soon as they entered inside, the musty smell of old pages mixed with orchids reached their noses.
"Woah... what a good collection of Ancient Tomes and Martial Techniques... Who could have thought to find a hidden treasure in such a remote place..."
"Indeed..."
It was even more surprising to see such an expression on Rose, the daughter of one of the most renowned Merchants of the North.
Only four people entered the shop, but they all had the same expression of wonder.
At least, that was the case until Wyatt noticed the old woman lazily reading a book at the counter.
In fact, as soon as his gaze fell on her, he felt a tremendous pressure locking on him, as if death was just around the corner.
"Damn it..." Wyatt looked away immediately and did not notice that the old woman's eyes were fixed on him.
He felt this kind of dangerous presence because he was the only idiot checking other people's cultivation.
Suddenly, Aurora noticed something intriguing and shouted: "Hey... look at this."
Moving their gaze toward the side, Rose and Elisabeth noticed a small book. It looked pretty old but still in good condition.
"My goodness... those are all Martial Techniques for Eon Redemption Overlord, the Overlord Oppressor Technique. What is this place?" Rose exclaimed.
"No... the most absurd thing is that they are standing on the shelves without any protective formation..." Elisabeth added in a severe tone.
She was the second person to realize that this place was more complex.
"Ohi... new customers. Greeting all in my modest shop."
Suddenly, a voice came from behind the counter when everyone was looking around in wonder.
Elisabeth, who had been on high alert since the discovery, looked there and fixed her gaze on the old woman.
Unlike Wyatt, she was more reserved and simply responded: "Greetings to you... I apologize for the inconvenience created by these two young women."
"Hehehe... there is no problem," the old woman responded, lazily resting her chin on her hand. "What brought you here? Are you looking for Ancient Tomes or martial techniques? Even if this shop is small, I have a wide variety of goods."
"Madam... we are searching for a person!" Elisabeth answered.
"Oh... well, this is a small village. I probably know the person you are looking for," the old woman declared with a strange smile.
Elisabeth noticed the smile and refrained from saying anything more.
Unfortunately, someone else was in the group, and keeping silent wasn't her best trait. It was already a miracle that she let Elisabeth speak for them.
"Madam... we are looking for a young man named Atlas."
Rose's reply attracted the old woman's attention. She turned her gaze around and spoke with a dangerous smile: "And why is a group of such powerful people looking for my nephew? If you're looking for trouble, I suggest you return to that city of madmen!"
Sure enough, the old woman was a well-known character in the village. She was Old River, one of the old monsters of this forgotten place.