Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2640: Chapter 2641: The Person Named Cicia

As Cicia made her appearance, the surrounding dark mist seemed to quickly dissipate. However, the mist only receded about twenty meters with Cicia at the center, and further away, it was still shrouded in darkness.

But the space revealed by the receding mist made Angel raise an eyebrow involuntarily.

Originally, he thought this dark mist was an empty wasteland, but unexpectedly, the place was quite delicately constructed.

The floor was made of smooth marble tiles arranged in a checkered pattern, surrounded by several simple yet elegantly patterned stone pillars. And above them was palace-level carving and stained glass.

The pointed roof’s center was obscured by mist, but Angel could basically guess the situation here.

”Earlier, I thought this space was a void-like consciousness space. But I didn’t expect to summon this Primeval Flame, which can’t be done in a consciousness space, so is this a real existing space?” Angel spoke while looking around: ”Elegant as a palace, yet hiding secrets beneath, this scent of alchemy can’t be concealed.”

As Angel spoke, he looked at Cicia: ”Am I inside your shell now?”

Cicia: ”I prefer to hear the full name—Cicia’s Box—instead of ’shell.’

”Earlier, Vay also entered your... well, Cicia’s Box. In his perception, a long time passed, yet we outside didn’t see Vay ever leave, and he quickly came to his senses. Why is that? Is it the ability of Cicia’s Box? Related to time?” Angel asked curiously.

If it’s truly related to time, it would be a pleasant surprise. Angel has always wanted to study alchemy tools related to time, but until now, he’s never seen one.

However, in Culori’s illustrated compendium, he had seen a mysterious object related to time: the Time Postcard. Its effect is to send a postcard to a certain moment and person in the future, and the postcard can carry a power for the future recipient to temporarily use.

Unfortunately, this mysterious object already has an owner and is currently stored in the Orderly Guild. Even if its Hoopa Coefficient is not high, the Orderly Guild would rarely use such time-related mysterious objects, let alone lend them to others for research.

Looking at Angel’s eyes full of curiosity, Cicia snorted, without immediately responding, and instead walked gracefully past Angel. Then, four or five meters away, she erected a tall throne made of deep mist colored glaze and dark ice crystal.

Cicia stepped up the Level 5 stairs, lightly flipped her silk skirt, and sat imposingly on the throne.

Only when Cicia sat down and looked at Angel from above, did she slowly speak: ”Time powers? It seems you’re not familiar enough with prophecy system powers. Asking this question only proves your ignorance.”

Not a time ability? It’s a prophecy system ability? Although Angel didn’t know exactly what prophecy system ability it was, Cicia wouldn’t deceive him about it.

Since it’s unrelated to time ability, most of Angel’s curiosity faded away.

”I admit my ignorance.” Angel looked up at Cicia sitting high, with a slight smile: ”After all, I’m not even twenty yet.”

Originally, Cicia intended to suppress Angel’s arrogance with the throne and oversight, but Angel seemed completely unaware of it, and again mentioned ”I’m not twenty yet,” instantly breaching the defense of Cicia, who already didn’t want to remember how long she had lived.

Twenty-year-old Cicia, still a ”child” protected by her parents in the Ivory Tower.

While across, the not-yet-twenty Angel was as cunning as a fox, without a trace of fear in conversation, moreover, holding the Primeval Flame, crucial to the entire Baiyuan race.

In comparison, perhaps Cicia’s first half of life wasn’t as illustrious as Angel’s.

Upon this thought, Cicia felt mocking Angel’s ignorance instead ridiculed herself, a breach through and a critical hit.

Cicia took a deep breath, trying to calm her emotions, at least not to be belittled by a ”child” under twenty opposite her.

With a cold, glamorous face, after being silent for several seconds, Cicia felt she had somewhat calmed down.

Then she spoke: ”Time hasn’t changed, I just tapped into a part of your thought and sensation. Time hasn’t changed, nor have you. What’s changed is only your perception of thought.”

Cicia didn’t care if Angel understood, she simply explained, then immediately shifted the topic to the most concerning Primeval Flame.

”Since you’ve brought out the Primeval Flame, and know about the Ancestor Altar, I assume you came prepared?” Cicia tilted her chin up: ”Go ahead, what’s your purpose? What do you want, or what do you want to know?”

Cicia was very confident in her tone, believing that Angel was definitely coming for her.

Otherwise, why would he ask if she’s a Baiyuanian? Why brought up the extinguished Ancestor Altar proactively? And showed the Primeval Flame?

Even ”sure” of Angel’s target being herself, potentially making exorbitant demands, Cicia still had to face the challenge, because the ”Primeval Flame” wasn’t fake, it genuinely existed, representing hope for Baiyuanians.

However, Cicia didn’t want to be a sucker, so she staged this ”Mist Dispersal, Throne Appears, Overlooking All Living Things” scene.

This wasn’t a farce, but a clearly useful ”ceremony.” Yet Angel hadn’t stated the ”price,” so Cicia hadn’t let the ritual reach its end.

Only when Angel proposed a price would Cicia let the ceremony truly reveal its meaning.

The divine throne overlooks all. Any undertow will be guided to reality, all shadows will reveal their true form, fools will be rewarded, and the greedy’s schemes will turn to wasted paper.

...

Angel looked at Cicia, whose chin seemed ready to touch the sky, with a slightly odd expression.

Did his intention seem misunderstood?

He wasn’t here to sell the Primeval Flame... Although the purple and white Primeval Flame were incomplete due to damage, Angel did intend to sell them eventually, but as a precaution, he would wait until Dororo ignited the Ancestor Altar before doing so.

Yet now, Cicia seemed to have mistaken his showing of the Primeval Flame as part of a transaction?

Did he come prepared? With the Primeval Flame traveling all this way to negotiate with her?

”Don’t you think you’re being too confident?” Angel tilted his head, looking at Cicia with a puzzled expression.

Cicia’s expression turned dark: ”What do you mean?”

Angel stroked his chin: ”You just said I’m ignorant. I admit that, but did you forget?”

”An ignorant me, how could I know there’s an alchemy golem serving as a ticket booth in an otherwise valueless ruin? And that inside its seemingly plain box is a ticket seller who has never shown themselves before? And this ticket seller was once a Baiyuanian?”

”Oh, right, almost forgot to add the prefix. This Baiyuanian stayed inside a small box in a different space for over ten thousand years without showing face.”

”Under these circumstances, how do you suppose I knew of your existence? Do you think I have lived for millennia and met you in Naraku City thousands of years ago?”

Angel’s series of questions left Cicia a bit dumbfounded.

Seems like that might indeed be the case?

What he said seems to make sense?

Seeing Cicia silent, Angel continued: ”Let’s do this; I’ll ask you, can divination locate you?”

Cicia instinctively shook her head: ”Of course not, Baiyuanians are already shrouded in the veil of fate, not to mention I’ve lost my soul.”

”Divination can’t locate you, that proves I wasn’t using divination to pinpoint you.”

”Continuing, let me ask, has anyone else entered your box? I mean, someone who could see you, know you’re Baiyuanian, and spread the information outward? Preferably in the last few decades since beyond that, I haven’t been born.”

”I have some connection with a dominator here, who occasionally chats with me about outside. But due to some special reasons, it couldn’t spread news of me.” Cicia was puzzled now, while she understood Angel’s point, if he truly didn’t come prepared, how could he appear before her in such an ’extremely coincidental’ way?

”If so, how do you think I knew of your existence and came prepared?” Angel was at a loss: ”I’ll be honest with you, my partner and I came here for a reason, but it has nothing to do with you.”

Although Cicia understood Angel’s meaning, she still hesitated. As a former prophet, she was well-acquainted with fate’s guidance. Precisely because of this understanding, she knew such continuous coincidences had a very low probability.

She, a Baiyuanian, spent millennia inside a pitch-dark box, and then waited patiently for the Primeval Flame to fall from the sky?

If the Great Prophet were still around, she would probably be in for a scolding if she dared to say such a thing.

Though doubted, Angel’s words aren’t completely unreasonable.

This made Cicia’s expression contort with confusion.

Cicia hesitated for a while before finally asking, ”Then... what do you intend to do with the Primeval Flame?”

Angel gently placed the white Primeval Flame in the palm of his hand, then pinched it lightly, causing it to disappear and return to his earlobe.

After doing all this, Angel spread his hands and said, ”Nothing really, just wanted you to have a look.”

”Just to have a look?!” Cicia suddenly stood up, leaning forward with wide eyes: ”Are you mocking me?”

Feeling the renewed aura of hostility in the air, Angel’s expression was indescribable.

How did he end up encountering this woman?

Angel rubbed his temples, thinking she, having lived over ten thousand years, should understand his meaning. But now he realized that intelligence and age might not necessarily correlate.

Could it be because she lost her physical body and soul, causing her thoughts to decline?

But Popota is in a similar situation, and he’s not foolish now. — Well, not counting the time in Lassudral when he became monstrous.

Feeling the increasingly intense hostility, Angel sighed helplessly: ”Think about it carefully, if I gave the Primeval Flame to you, what could you do with it?”

Cicia: ”I! I...”

Cicia initially intended to reply with fierce determination, but after starting, she suddenly deflated. Yes, even if she thought of herself as a Baiyuanian, she was, in essence, detached from them now without body or soul. Holding the Primeval Flame, what could she really do?

”Can you perceive the Ancestral Altar?” Angel asked again.

Cicia remained silent, but her answer was implied.

”You can’t, right? Then what would you do with this Primeval Flame? Use it as a flickering candlelight to illuminate this hollow palace of yours?”

”But having the Primeval Flame means nothing to you either,” Cicia retorted weakly, with her voice growing fainter.

Angel: ”Did you forget the question you previously asked me? You asked how I came to know about the Ancestral Altar, and my answer was — a Baiyuanian personally told me.”

Angel emphasized the ”personally” with extra intensity.

Cicia, slightly dazed, sat back on the throne, no longer exuding any presence.

She now understood Angel’s intention. The Primeval Flame was indeed useless to her, for without sensing the Ancestral Altar, how could she even think of revitalizing the Baiyuan?

But if given to a living Baiyuanian outside, that spark could set ablaze the entire prairie.

Thinking of this, Cicia softly said, ”You mean to give the Primeval Flame to another Baiyuanian.”

Angel nodded, neither confirming nor denying.

Although Angel had given the answer Cicia hoped for, there was still one doubt she could not resolve: ”Are there really Baiyuanians still alive out there?”

Clearly, someone once told her that the last Baiyuanian had died.

Bound by an oath, it wouldn’t lie to her.

So, the Baiyuanian Angel mentioned, is it real or not?

Angel did not directly answer Cicia’s question but instead said, ”Do you want to meet him?”

Cicia’s eyes lit up: ”The Baiyuanian you mentioned is here?”

Angel: ”No. I told you, I came unprepared, and my goal wasn’t you.”

After a pause, Angel added: ”However, even though he didn’t come with me, I might have a way to let you see him and talk face to face.”

”Is that so...” Cicia felt a bit disappointed; it would be nice to see him with her own eyes.

”Are you sure he’s a Baiyuanian?”

Angel: ”Whether confirmed or not, you can determine it yourself when you see him.”

Cicia thought for a moment; this seemed fine. As long as she could see him, even if it’s an illusion, she would have ways to judge if he’s of the same kin.

”I agree to meet him. When can I see him?”

Angel: ”Anytime. But before meeting, it requires some time to prepare.”

Cicia nodded and didn’t ask what Angel needed to prepare, assuming it’s some tool for remote meeting.

Cicia thought again: ”What price do I need to pay?”

...

As Cicia uttered this question, Angel outwardly remained calm, but internally he exhaled a long sigh of relief.

He had done so much, applying pressure and using the Primeval Flame as a lure, all for this question.

Fortunately, despite her somewhat scattered thinking, Cicia understood the rule of ”you get what you pay for.” Otherwise, Angel would have had to awkwardly ask for compensation, which would look rather unsightly.

Angel raised his eyes and then lowered his brows: ”I hope you can answer some questions for me.”

Hearing Angel’s request, Cicia felt slightly relieved. Without a request, she would have truly been worried.

Cicia returned to her aloof ”Goddess” demeanor, lazily leaning on the throne: ”You want to know the secret of Naraku City?”

Angel: ”If you’re willing to say, I wouldn’t mind asking. However, what I truly want to know are other questions.”

Cicia: ”Go ahead and ask, but I can tell you upfront, there are some things I cannot elaborate on, or even speak about. For I have made an oath with a certain Dominator, which helps me to some degree, like providing news from the outside world, and what I have to do is adhere to certain rules. If what you ask falls within these rules, I will not be able to tell you directly.”

When Cicia mentioned the last sentence, she raised her eyebrows meaningfully.

Cannot speak directly, but could hint?

Angel wasn’t sure if he understood it correctly, nor did he care about those things he shouldn’t know. What he was concerned about was Cicia’s attitude. Judging from her present attitude toward him, she probably wouldn’t backtrack.

”My first question is, the Dominator you mentioned, is it a Triclops Blue Demon?”