The Deceitful One



"Mr. Lombardi, which family do you come from?" Meryl asked with bright eyes. After all, from the way that Bryan had dressed up, it was very evident that he hailed from an affluent background.

"I'm a nobody," Bryan replied as he cut into his steak and put a small piece in his mouth.

"Eh?" Meryl was confused, "I don't understand. Are you not from Nadir?"

Bryan shook his head, "Damascus."

"Oh, I see." Meryl smiled, "If you don't mind my asking, what brings you to Nadir?"

Bryan paused in his actions. After a few moments, he replied stoically, "To settle some debts."

"I-I see.." For some reason, when Bryan said those words, Meryl felt her heart palpitate. She felt as if she was sitting in front of an injured animal that was at its most dangerous.

After the short talk between the duo, Meryl tactfully didn't ask anything else. She didn't wish to pry into Bryan's private matters after all. Meanwhile, Dillon was eyeing Benny as if he was looking at a treasure.

Meryl elbowed Dillon in the arm, "Please, behave yourself."

Dillon completely ignored her. He wanted to confirm something but was scared to ask it. After all, it was a very sensitive topic. He wouldn't have thought about bringing this up if Benny hadn't spoken to him.

But now that he knew Benny could speak, Dillon's curiosity was immensely piqued. He leaned in closer to Bryan and asked, "Uhm... Sir, are you willing to sell this cat to me?"

Bryan raised his eyebrow and looked at Dillon with an amused expression, "You can ask him."

Dillon's lips twitched. However, he controlled his urge to snap back at Bryan. Because if his speculations were correct, then Bryan was not what he seemed to be! And that he needed to be shown respect.

He then turned to look at Benny who was licking the food clean off of a plate, "Little one, are you willing to come with me?"

Benny raised his head and looked at Dillon. The next moment, Benny rolled his eyes at him and walked toward another plate.

Dillon was taken aback once again! And this time, so was Meryl. Earlier, she thought Dillon was probably acting strange to garner her attention.

But now that she saw Benny displaying such descriptive human-like expressions, She couldn't help but think the same thing as Dillon!

The couple looked at each other and gulped nervously. They could see the anxiousness as well as excitement in each other's eyes. No words were spoken between them but they instantly understood each other's message!

Either the cat was a Transcendent creature and Bryan wasn't aware of it.

Or…

Bryan was aware of it and was a Transcendent himself!

Coming from well-to-do families, they had naturally heard about Transcendents! Some of their family members were Transcendents as well!

However, both of them were prevented from embarking on this Path because of its dangers! That, and the fact that both of them were still young—17 years old.

Usually, people who had an affinity with Spiritual Force would become Apprentices after 16 years old. However, since both Dillon and Meryl were heavily doted on by their families, they hadn't been allowed to become Apprentices yet.

The both of them signaled to each other with their eyes and were finally about to ask Bryan. But before they could, they heard Bryan chuckle, "Seems like you both are aware of Transcendents."

Dillon and Meryl were both wide-eyed and filled with shock. But soon, the shock turned to excitement as they looked at Bryan.

"Mr. Lombardi, is it true!?" Meryl couldn't control her excitement.

She leaned closer to the table and whispered, "Are you really a Transcendent?"

"What if I am?" Bryan replied nonchalantly.

Dillon and Meryl drew a collective gasp of surprise. The former then looked at Benny who was looking back at him with a smug look and asked, "Is your cat a Transcendent creature too?"

"What if he is?" Bryan replied expressionlessly. He then continued to eat his meal. Dillon and Meryl were about to ask more, however, they saw the middle-aged female server approach their table.

Hence, they refrained from speaking further about this topic.

"Here is your meal, Sir, Madam." The server put their respective dishes in front of them with a smile, "Enjoy."

The couple thanked her politely and then began to eat their lunch with proper noble etiquette.

After making sure that the server had gone further away and that no one else was paying attention to them, Meryl asked with bright eyes, "Mr. Lombardi, what is it like being a Transcendent!?"

She had grown up listening to stories about Transcendents from her elders in the family. And the fact that such a topic had to be kept under secrecy, further intensified her curiosity and feelings for the supernatural world!

Everyone in her family always told her about how becoming a Transcendent was a life full of dangers and perils and whatnot. All she heard was the negative sides to it.

But as a young girl, she always fantasized about being a Transcendent. After all, if one could attain such supernatural powers, what could possibly go wrong with it?

And now that she came across someone who was actually a Transcendent and also seemed to be about the same age as her, she couldn't help but inquire about it. Dillon also felt the same way.

When Bryan saw looks of excitement and admiration in the couple's eyes, he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. He gently lowered his cutlery and replied as he looked out the window,

"It is lonely…

"And it is painful."

Dillon and Meryl were taken aback! This wasn't the answer that they were expecting. This was almost the same answer that the elders of the family had always told them.

"How can that be?" Dillon replied in frustration. He was tired of hearing the same thing over and over again.

He wanted to be a Transcendent and live the life he had always dreamt of! But every time, he was told the same thing!

Unlike Dillon, Meryl was able to astutely observe Bryan's expression when he said those words. She could feel the pain and sorrow in his tone.

She stopped Dillon who was about to ask again, "Don't."

Seeing Meryl's solemn expression, Dillon decided to stay quiet. Meryl on the other hand, looked at Bryan once again and asked softly, "Did you…lose someone?"

When Bryan heard that question, his lips curled up into a smile. It was a sad smile.

"I have lost…everyone." Bryan spoke, the smile on his face didn't fade, "Well, not everyone. I still have a few friends. But I haven't met them in forever."

When Meryl saw Bryan's smile, her eyes couldn't help but redden. Dillon too felt a little emotional. That smile of Bryan's, in some ways, was the purest reaction they had seen from someone.

The expression and its underlying meaning had such striking contrasts, that it unknowingly tugged at Dillon's and Meryl's heartstrings. They had never felt such an emotion before.

For a moment, the couple couldn't help but think if the elders in their families were right about the life of a Transcendent all along.

Meryl wiped her eyes with her napkin. She hesitated for a long time and then finally mustered up the courage to ask, "Do you mind sharing your story with us?"

Bryan turned his head to look back at the couple and shook his head, "I'm afraid not."

He continued to eat his steak and added, "The life of a Transcendent is not all sunshine and rainbows that you both think it is. It is a path filled with blood and misery."

The couple couldn't help but turn downcast when they heard Bryan. They were hoping that Bryan would help them but it would seem otherwise.

"There is a way, however…" Bryan stated.

The couple asked simultaneously, "What way!?"

"Join the Transcendent Divisions of the Church," Bryan replied flatly. After all, he didn't want to be responsible for the two of them.

Dillon and Meryl were left even more disappointed after listening to Bryan's suggestion. The former then replied, "You think we haven't thought about that already?"

Meryl chimed in, "It's just that our families would never allow us to join any of the Churches."

This was true since all the Transcendent families in the country would much rather have more Transcendents in their own ranks than provide them to the Churches and increase their power instead.

Bryan was slightly taken aback at the response. He asked back, "Churches?"

"Huh?" Meryl was surprised. It then dawned on her, "Ah, that's right! You mentioned you're new here. So you probably don't know much about Nadir."

"Damascus had only one Church, right?" She inquired.

Bryan simply nodded.

Meryl replied patiently, "Here, in Nadir, we have three Churches: the Church of Wisdom, the Church of the Earth Mother, and finally the Church of Craftsmanship."

"I see…" Bryan nodded. He remembered his teacher mentioning this to him when he first started studying under him.

He suddenly thought of something and proposed, "Since I'm new here, I'd like the two of you to be my guides for a few days."

Dillon was about to refuse, however, he was cut off by Bryan.

"In return, I will give you the meditation technique and potion recipe for Rank 1 Illusion Path. How about it?"

Naturally, he had gotten the meditation technique and potion recipe of the Illusion Path after killing Kenny Adams long ago. He had already made a copy of both of them and had also given the same information to Grace.

Bryan suddenly recalled that Grace and Leah also lived in Nadir and thought inwardly, 'That's right. Perhaps, I should pay them a visit.'