The Deceitful One



Although Bryan had never heard of Victoria Beaumont, he had surely heard of the Dicentra Research Institute. It was founded under the cooperation of the fourth Emperor of the Dicentra Empire and the three churches on the continent.

Going by that, Bryan deduced that if this beautiful lady beside him was easily more than a thousand years old. He also speculated if she was associated with one of the churches. Just the two people sitting beside him were such big names, he began to wonder about the rest of the members.

Out of curiosity, he looked around the table and saw men and women who looked to be at least in their thirties but Bryan had a feeling that their age was much more than that. He found that he was the youngest member at the table.

Suddenly, his gaze fell upon an old man with long white hair and a beard that reached his chest. He was the oldest of the group, however, his blue eyes shone with vigor and childlike innocence.

He leaned toward Solomon and asked, "Who's that old man?"

Solomon whispered back, "That's Hymmnos."

Bryan's body froze for a few seconds. He looked at Solomon, his eyes filled with utter disbelief. "By Hymmnos you don't mean…."

Solomon chuckled, finding Bryan's reaction of constantly being taken aback very amusing. "Yes, he's the creator of Ancient Hymmnos."

Bryan's mouth went agape as he turned to look at the old man. The next moment, feeling his gaze, the old man looked back at him and nodded with a warm smile. Bryan was shocked, he gulped involuntarily and awkwardly waved his hand.

In order to not embarrass himself further, he averted his gaze and looked down, all the while thinking just what a little lamb like him was doing amidst these mighty tigers. Suddenly, his pupils dilated when he looked beneath his feet.

Earlier he hadn't paid much attention to it but for some magical reason, everyone around here was actually on the surface of this silver river that seemed to be made of strings. After looking closely, he realized that each of these silver strings look extremely familiar to the one Lady Fate had used while he took the oath.

"That's the River of Fate," said Victoria with a smile. Once again, Bryan was greatly taken aback. He looked at all the strings flowing underneath his feet and couldn't believe that each of these strings was actually the fate of a being!

He then looked around and saw that the river seemed to be stretching onto infinity, and the sky above them was actually the vast cosmos that contained numerous galaxies and nebulas. He had never seen something so magnificent, perhaps only the Dreamworld could compare.

Bryan looked at Victoria and inquired, "Just where exactly are we?"

Victoria smiled faintly. "We are in the divine kingdom of the lady."

Unsurprisingly enough, Bryan wasn't that shocked about this revelation. He had already guessed that Lady Fate could possibly be a deity. Victoria's answer only further confirmed his speculations.

He looked toward the source of the river, which in fact seemed to be Lady Fate herself, and was filled with a sense of wonder. He hurriedly lowered his head, afraid that he'd offend her. He thought to himself, 'I wonder if deities are immortal….'

"There are some rumors about the Holy Blood Sect planning something in the Western Continent. Solomon, have you heard anything about it?" Bryan overheard someone speak, and his attention was fully piqued.

He looked up and saw that the one who had just spoken was a man with black hair and black eyes who seemed to be in his late twenties. The man's aura emanated nothing but darkness. When Bryan gazed at him, he felt as if he was engulfed in shadows. He hurriedly looked away.

Solomon stroked his beard and replied, "I have indeed heard that they've been eyeing my empire. If I'm not wrong, they're planning to do something in the Belize Kingdom."

Bryan was shocked by this information. He then heard Solomon continue, "Tarek, you think your men can infiltrate Holy Blood Sect's headquarter in Central Continent?"

Tarek nodded calmly. "I'll see what I can do."

"Great!" Solomon grinned, "I'll owe you one."

Tarek didn't reply, he leaned back on his chair and closed his eyes. Bryan, on the other hand, was greatly shocked after what he'd just heard. Not only was the Holy Blood Sect planning something nefarious where he was currently staying, but there was also someone here who was from the Central Continent.

Earlier, he thought that everyone here would only be from the Western Continent, but it seemed like he was mistaken. The other members gathered here could very well hail from all over the world!

The gathering continued for another thirty minutes with everyone discussing what was happening in their respective locations. From what Bryan heard, he had confirmed that the people here indeed hailed from all over—except for the Dark Continent.

Since this was his first time at the gathering, he decided to remain silent and observe everything. Perhaps, he'd start participating with everyone else from the next gathering onward.

However, Bryan wondered if he even had the capital to participate in the conversation between such top-level powerhouses. He felt inferior sitting amid these people.

Victoria astutely noticed Bryan's feelings and outermost thoughts. She patted him on the shoulder and smiled warmly as she whispered, "You're still young, Bryan, and have much room to grow. Remember, all of us here began as mere mortals too."

Bryan looked at Victoria and smiled. "Thank you…." He really appreciated that she was caring enough to cheer him up when she didn't really have to. Perhaps, because of the oath everyone took, they were more open to trust and care about everyone that gathered around this table.

Soon, the gathering came to an end as everyone got up from their seats and respectfully bowed toward Lady Fate. Bryan wondered just how he was going to go back this time. He recalled that creature deep in the void and suddenly felt scared about his journey back.

He looked at Victoria and asked with a hint of fear, "What was that thing in the void? Is it going to attack us?"

Victoria couldn't help but giggle while covering her mouth. "That being is actually Lady Fate's mount. You need not worry."

Bryan's back was drenched in a cold sweat as he thought, 'A being strong enough to reside in the void is actually a mount!? What in the world!?'

The next moment, the void in front of all the thirteen people gathered here tore open, and immediately they were sucked into it. Bryan's head began to spin and he felt disoriented. However, soon this feeling faded as he opened his eyes. He was finally back in his meditation room!

He felt so surreal as he thought back to the otherworldly experience he just had. From being able to travel to the edges of the planet, to having the honor of sitting amidst such legendary figures, and finally having his horizons expanded. He felt fortunate.

Bryan looked at the silver pyramid in his palms and mumbled, "So the function of this thing is to protect my spiritual body while I'm transported to the Lady's divine kingdom?" He decided to refine this item and permanently keep it on himself.

Earlier, he was a little apprehensive about refining this but now it was different. He looked around at the ritual formation and saw that all the spiritual materials used had already been sucked dry. He couldn't help but sigh.

He got up to his feet and stretched his limbs. Then, he went downstairs and instructed his butler to serve him breakfast. All the while, he was pondering about what he had heard at the gathering.

'So the Holy Blood Sect has plans for Nadir and the Belize Kingdom, huh?' He thought deeply, trying to figure out just what exactly those Blood Path scumbags were planning to do. He decided to raid a few of their bases and find it out himself. He already knew the location of two of them.

But before he did that, he needed to think about his source of income. Although he had still enough left in his pocket watch to last him for a few years, what about after that? He needed to plan for that. And he already had a person in mind: Nicholas Tenant.

He was the inventor of the telephone and earned great fame and wealth after this invention. Bryan had found a blueprint for a device similar to the telephone a long time ago in Damascus. He was planning to make money off of it, alas this guy had beaten him to it.

When he thought about Nicholas, his lips couldn't help but curl up into a mischievous smile as he thought, 'Oh, dear Nicholas, I'm sure you've made loads of money. Make sure to keep it safe for me, I'm coming to get it.'

Thinking of the inventor of the telephone, he was suddenly reminded of the young couple whom he had first met when he arrived in the city: Meryl and Dillon. They were the ones who had told him about Nicholas.

At the time, Bryan had promised them to introduce them to the Transcendent world, but so much had happened ever since that they completely slipped out of his mind. As he was cutting into the pork sausages, he thought, 'Hmm, about time I should meet them.'

Suddenly, he recalled that they were also the only people to have seen his real face here in Nadir. He decided to take care of that—by altering their memories—when he met them. He continued to eat his breakfast as he then pondered on how to go on about robbing Nicholas