"No, wait, waitttt!!!" The soul suddenly shouted as it continued shaking heavily.
"I can help you, please, I can tell you everything you want to know, just spare me, please!" The soul continued beginning in a manner completely different from the previous arrogant demeanor it had.
"Oh, you will betray the artifact and help us?" Reign asked with a smirk as the soul seemingly nodded its head.
"Yes, we guardians have been born from the artifact and are connected to it, but that doesn't mean we are slaves to it, in all honesty, each one of us has been trying to take control over the artifact since-"
"No … please no." The soul suddenly said as it stuttered before its soul was set ablaze by red flames.
The soul screamed in pain as it burned before disappearing in less than a minute.
"What happened?!" Basred asked as he stared at where the soul had once been.
He and the others weren't able to see souls like Reign, but they saw the flames that had suddenly appeared out of thin air, which allowed them to see the soul that was in the shape of a ball, as well as to hear it's screams of pain that made them all gulp as they could hear in just how much pain it was in.
"It was going to betray the artifact and help us, it seems the artifact wasn't very pleased with that." Reign said in a calm manner as he took the soul blades inside his consciousness, letting them stay there before he needed to use them again.
"It seems the artifact has created several guardians for itself, and unlike the golems who simply attack intruders and have no consciousness, these guys all possess a high intellect, a soul, as well as a consciousness, they're dangerous, just like you have seen." Reign said as their surroundings changed.
The entire city crumbled down and scattered as they found themselves standing in an open area that was devoid of any light.
What Reign had previously said was right, they had been in an illusion. This one, however, was a bit different than a normal one. Usually, an illusion would make the target stop moving, they would enter a different place with their soul, but this one, this one did no such thing.
Reign quickly used his balls of light to light up their surrounding, and a couple of hundred meters away from them, they were able to see a slope that led higher up, which was the one they took to get from the destroyed village to the monster-infested New York City.
The illusion took place in reality, their senses had been fooled, making them believe that they were walking through multiple different places when in fact, they were simply moving through the darkness of the underground space.
The people they had seen as well as the buildings were not real, although they certainly felt real. One could even touch a house, a building, or a person, and they would sense that they grabbed a person, and that person would respond to their touch.
It was an incredible illusion that was unlike any that Reign or anybody else had ever seen or heard about, and it was incredibly dangerous as well. All damage they sustained in the illusion would be real.
The two Tier IV combatants had been injured during the battle against the monsters in New York, of course, their injuries were more scratches that were not worth mentioning, but they were still present, even after the illusion had ended.
Basred and the others were solemn as they heard Reign speak. The existence of the guardians that the system had created by itself meant trouble. This was the first one they had come across, and it turned out to be so powerful. Without Reign present, none of them would have been able to deal with it as they couldn't deal damage to souls.
Basred had a couple of aces up his sleeve that he could use to deal with souls, but even then, if there were a couple of them, it would be quite difficult for him to defeat them, and that was when talking about Tier IV beings.
'A guardian, the first one, probably the weakest of them, and he is already a Tier IV, there's definitely going to be at least 1 Tier V, right?' Reign asked Aethion who chuckled.
"Of course, the system wouldn't give you an easy challenge, but it wouldn't give you one that could end up killing you, so you can rest assured that you can indeed finish this mission."
'Yeah, and what a coincidence, for the powerful artifact that once belonged to a Saint to only have guardians who are Tier IV and Tier V.' Reign said with a sneer as Aethion smirked.
"There are no coincidences boy, an artifact of such power could create Transcendents to guard it, the fact that there are only Tier IV and V beings means that the artifact is weak, it was probably damaged in the past."
"The system has simply chosen this out of the endless places and events in the universe to be your challenge, as well as the previous planet."
"Everything is connected, coincidences are very rarely coincidences, they are merely plays of fate, strings being pulled that nobody can see, they guide us all to our fate, no matter what it was," Aethion said in a calm voice as he shook his head.
'Hey, that actually sounded wise old man, you're improving.' Reign said with a smirk as he and the others continued forward.
"Just don't forget what I said boy, you have already noticed how many things seemingly happened by coincidence, but upon looking back, one can clearly see how it looks too good to be a coincidence, everything that happened seems like it was planned, and that is not your mind playing tricks, that is just how things are."
"When a person shows great talent, I have heard stories of the world itself guiding them from the shadows, making sure they would stay alive but also pass many trials."
"The system is the manifestation of the universe, it is everywhere, and one could say that it does the same, if one has enough talent and shows determination, the system will try to help them, to nudge them in the right direction with missions."
"You are undoubtedly one of the most talented people I have ever heard about, the same could be said for your entire group, so I wouldn't be surprised at all if the system is doing what it can to help you, to guide you to becoming more and more powerful."
'I know, you mentioned it before.' Reign said seriously.
'I don't know how I feel about that, I do have to admit it feels nice to know that somebody or something has great expectations of you, but I also feel a bit disgusted to know my actions were seemingly controlled by others.'
Reign's words made Aethion nod, but he spoke no further as Reign and the others arrived in another layer.
"Ah, visitors, what a spectacular sight." A man who was sitting on a chair said as he looked at Reign and the others with a wide smile on his face.
A large round table that could easily fit 12 people was a couple of meters away from them, and the man was sitting there, sipping some tea.
He wore an old-fashioned suit that was a bit reminiscence of the Victorian era. He had a hat on, and his face was pure white with his lips before red. His facial features made him look feminine, and if one was to describe him, one would say he looked beautiful.
"Please, sit down, sit down, make your selves comfortable." The man said as he pointed at the table where several cups of tea were waiting for them.
Basred and the others stared at him cautiously as Reign suddenly walked forward before sitting down.
"Thanks for the hospitality." Reign said as he looked at the man who was smiling at him. Basred and the others didn't know what was going on, but they did the same thing Reign did and sat down as well.
"You're another guardian, aren't you?" Liara asked the man who nodded at her before taking another sip of his tea.
"Yes, I have learned of what happened between that annoying little bastard and you, truly, I have to apologize, he makes us guardians look quite bad." The man said as he placed the cup down.
"You see, not all of us like to fight, even as guardians, it is not our job to kill everything that comes close to this place, it is to guard the artifact and make sure that nobody except for the artifact's late master can take it, of course, the late master is no longer with us, so only those that possess fragments of her soul can be allowed to pass, like you." The guardian said as he glanced at Liara.
"Of course, I can't simply let you pass, you first need to show that you are worthy of passing and going deeper."
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