"Do you know who I am...?" she interrogated, while scanning for any wounds on his body.
Zuxe knew her name for sure, but decided not to speak, as it would definitely raise suspicion about how he knew her position or name.
"Well... no," he confirmed, his cheeks flushing red as she continued to touch his sensitive parts.
"Haah~ well... I thought so... I am Elysia," she said, extending her hand to help him sit upright as she continued, "The Arcane Guardian of this clan."
"I see," Zuxe simply nodded, scanning his surroundings.
'What... this child is unfazed by the fact that I am the Arcane Guardian, and that he overpowered an Arcane Guardian in Souk essence technique, putting aside the fact I didn't use my full power.'
Elysia's face contorted into shock momentarily as she looked at the boy.
"Why didn't you kill me?" Zuxe interrogated casually, jerking her hand away from his body.
"Well... well... wouldn't you introduce yourself first?"
"Why are you interested in knowing my name?" Zuxe pressed on.
"I wonder... a boy with purple hair... purple eyes... there aren't many people with these features in the clan, right?"
Licking her lips, she continued, "And to my surprise, you have a similar Soul Core to the patriarch."
A flash of panic crossed his eyes, widening just enough to betray the calm facade he had maintained.
Sighing, he asked, "So... you know who I am?"
A grin etched across Elysia's face as she replied.
"Who knew... a child dubbed useless by his own mother from birth, a kid who stirred up a ruckus in the clan for having no talent for Soul Essence and not even acquiring the clan's innate technique."
She let her words sink in before continuing.
"How did you learn that technique?"
Zuxe's face curled into confusion as he tried to understand the meaning of her words.
'Qureka.'
A thought clicked in his mind, and he felt as if he had been enlightened.
"That technique... I had it from birth," he spoke, rubbing the back of his head with his hand.
'W-what? He's joking, right? How can someone inherit a technique that could potentially destroy her own Soul Essence technique when it should only be at the nurturing stage?'
Elysia dwelled on this thought, trying to maintain an expressionless face.
"So, can you use that technique once again?" she interrogated, not satisfied by his reply.
Why would she be?
No one in thousands of years had gained a Soul Essence technique that powerful, not to mention a technique used by a child.
At first, she considered the possibility of him entering a blood pact with a demon. Assuming his age, he might have been able to form a contract with a high-demon.
But a high demon could only allow the usage of their Soul Essence technique once, especially if it was that powerful.
It depended on him.
If he was unable to use it again, then he had made a taboo, but by any chance if he could use it again then...
'I'm possessing him... hahaha.'
"Yes, I can, but if I use it I would faint once again," Zuxe whispered.
"W-wait, how could you possibly faint after using your technique only once?" Elysia interrogated, leaning closer to him.
"Huh~ now you're being impractical. Didn't I faint earlier after using it on you?" he grumbled, not fearing the consequences.
"So, you're saying your Soul Essence depleted after using it once... then how did you break my illusion technique?"
"Yes... and about that illusion technique of yours, I don't know anything... I just saw the slab and removed it out of curiosity."
"Picking up trash on your way... that's not really a habit to be proud of."
"As if I care," Zuxe mumbled.
"What did you say?" She leaned closer to his mouth, cupping her hand around her ear.
"Nothing worth knowing. Well, if you're done, can I go now?" Zuxe stood up and began to walk away.
Elysia hurriedly grabbed his hand, provoking him to look back.
"What now?" Zuxe inquired.
"Do you know the exit?" she questioned him, "And you still haven't shown me your technique again."
"Like I said, my soul esse—" Zuxe started, but was interrupted by Elysia who reassured him.
"Don't worry about your Soul Essence... as far as I'm concerned, you'd be able to use that technique more than 1,000 times in a day."
"Really? But how?" His eyes widened in surprise.
Although he showed a surprised reaction, that was what he wanted all along.
In the game, Elysia did something that allowed Cyrus to practice techniques received from his blessings all day without worrying about Soul Essence depletion, even though what she did wasn't explained much.
"It's not that impressive, of course, for someone like me, but that technique allows me to create a space where I can supply my Soul Essence to you without any problem of changing its compatibility... It would be difficult to explain, so let me just show you."
Hooking her pinky finger together, she curled the remaining fingers inward into a spiral.
With a sharp twist, her index and middle fingers snapped outwards, while her ring finger remained partially curled.
The thumb pressed inward against her palm as she said,
"Ryōshi Nijuusei : Darkness Beyond Limits."
As those words left her mouth, the world around him began to dissolve, as shadows crept in, dulling the colors of reality.
The air grew heavy, and he felt an inexplicable pull forward.
Suddenly, he found himself ensnared in a warped reality—another dimension to be precise.
As he looked around, he found the realm shrouded in nether darkness, yet he could see himself and Elysia with startling clarity.
There was nothing else aside from darkness.
Abyssal darkness.
"How is it?" Elysia's voice echoed from ahead.
Although he had seen her Dimensional Flip before, it was overwhelmingly different and real compared to the game, and he couldn't keep his composure.
"Woah~ it's cool, to be able to see everything when I shouldn't, but I felt my energy drain for a moment as I came here," Zuxe exclaimed, walking forward with no clear direction.
"Oh, that! The reason you felt your energy drain was because the entirety of your Soul Essence was nullified when you stepped into my dimension," she remarked, turning around to face him.
"So, why didn't I faint this time?"