Theo and Iris quietly walked through the streets of Cairo.
Though the sun had long set, the streets had only grown a tiny bit calmer.
’’It’s been a while since it was just the two of us,’’ Iris suddenly said, taking a step closer to Theo.
Theo glanced toward her before smiling faintly.
’’It has,’’ he admitted.
For a little while, neither of them spoke.
They simply walked side by side through the warm evening air, listening to the distant chatter of the city around them.
After another minute, Iris quietly broke the silence.
’’Theo...’’
’’Hm?’’ he glanced at her.
She hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to continue.
’’Say... if I were unable to keep up with you in the future...’’ she began softly. ’’And I wasn’t rich anymore either... would you still stay with me?’’
Theo blinked once.
He looked at her with a puzzled expression.
’’Of course I would,’’ he replied without the slightest hesitation.
His brows furrowed slightly as alarm bells rang inside his mind.
’’Why are you asking me something like that all of a sudden?’’
Iris looked at him for a few seconds before a warm smile slowly appeared on her face.
’’It’s nothing,’’ she said quietly. ’’I just wanted to hear your answer.’’
Before Theo could say something else, she quickly switched to another topic.
’’Anyway,’’ she said with a small smile. ’’What was it you wanted to tell me back at the auction house?’’
Theo continued looking at her for another moment.
Eventually, he gave a small nod.
’’Feng will explain it to you,’’ he said. ’’But whatever he tells you... it absolutely cannot leave the two of us.’’
Iris’s eyes widened slightly.
She had rarely ever seen Theo wear such a serious expression.
’’Not even Owen and the others?’’ she asked quietly.
Theo fell silent for a moment.
’’I’m... not sure yet,’’ he said. ’’Feng is about to tell you something only one other person besides me knows.’’
His gaze slowly drifted to the road ahead.
Before he could speak any further, Iris spoke up.
’’Got it,’’ she said lightly, her smile blossoming. ’’I won’t say anything unless you do.’’
Theo glanced back at her, smiling gratefully.
Before long, the two of them arrived at a massive warehouse.
’’This is it,’’ Iris muttered, typing in the password.
Only a moment later, the massive metal gate slid open.
A wave of immensely dense mana washed over them as several large sets of bones revealed themselves.
Theo immediately flicked his fingers.
Within moments, a swirling emerald mass appeared beside him.
’’Feng,’’ he called out as the little unicorn flew out. ’’Can you make this pressure disappear?’’
’’Naturally,’’ Feng replied.
A thin wave of emerald mana shot out from its body.
Within moments, the thick pressure from the S-rank bones completely disappeared.
’’Thanks,’’ Theo said, nodding once. ’’Now you can tell her while I set everything up.’’
The little unicorn immediately flew toward Iris.
With a soft gust of wind, it closed the metal gate.
Before she could even react, its body lit up in a bright green color.
’’This is the easiest way,’’ it said from within the light.
Feng’s body slowly started to change.
Rising further into the air, its body grew much larger and longer.
Finally, after several seconds, the bright light faded.
Iris’s eyes widened in disbelief instantly.
’’What...?’’ she muttered.
Before her floated a large creature covered in green scales, with a set of branch-like horns growing out of its head.
’’I am Lingfeng Tian, third heir of the Heavenly Kirin Clan, bearer of the Gentle Winds,’’ it said, its voice much deeper now. ’’And I come from a different plane of existence.’’
Theo saw the interaction from the corner of his eye and couldn’t help but feel nervous.
’Let’s hope she takes this information well,’ he thought, feeling a heavy weight on his heart. ’If she doesn’t...’
He didn’t even want to think about it.
Everything Feng was about to reveal would completely overturn everything she believed she knew about the world.
Even now... he wasn’t entirely sure if this was the right decision.
They’d barely begun climbing the ladder of strength in their own world, and now an even greater one was about to be revealed to her.
’If she can’t accept that... she might lose hope in getting stronger altogether.’
Theo fell silent for a moment.
It was for this reason that he hadn’t told his other friends either.
The only person he wasn’t worried about in the slightest was Owen. But there simply hadn’t been a good moment to tell him yet.
As his thoughts drifted back to Iris, Lyra and Jim, he suddenly shook his head.
’’No,’’ he muttered. ’’She’ll overcome this. And I’m sure the others will too.’’
’’Besides... they’ll have to learn it sooner or later.’’
Theo let out a slow breath before forcing himself to focus on the task at hand.
Over the next twenty minutes, he arranged each skeleton with its corresponding core, carefully placing everything in separate sections.
As he stood up and glanced back at Iris, he found her listening to Feng, even asking a few questions occasionally.
Theo quietly sat back, unwilling to interrupt them.
A few more minutes quietly ticked by.
Finally, Iris turned toward him before walking over.
’’She accepted the information with ease,’’ Feng’s voice rang out in his mind. ’’Truly a human with a remarkably strong will.’’
Theo didn’t pay much attention to him, though.
Iris had already come to a stop right in front of him.
’’Send me in,’’ she said, determined.
Studying her face for a moment, Theo raised an eyebrow.
’’Are you su—’’
’’Yes,’’ Iris interrupted him. ’’I want to head in right this instant.’’
She stared so intently that Theo couldn’t help but feel a shiver run down his spine.
Theo held her gaze for a few more seconds before slowly nodding.
’’Alright,’’ he said, nodding his head toward the back of the warehouse. ’’But please... don’t force yourself too much.’’
’’I won’t,’’ Iris answered.
But her eyes told a whole other story.
As she arrived at her pile of bones and core, Theo summoned the soul fragment and handed it to her.
’’Once you’re in the center, pour some mana into the circle on your heart,’’ he said. ’’And from there... I can only wish you good luck.’’
Iris smiled as she walked to the center.
’’Thank you,’’ she said warmly. ’’I’ll see you in a few hours.’’
Whoosh!
A massive white mana circle spread out from underneath her feet.
Only a few seconds later, both she and the resources vanished from the warehouse.