The Villain's Story

Chapter 705: [705] Kizmal(16).

Alan stood still in Ariel's domain, the massive dragon above him stayed silent, the atmosphere itself had shifted the moment Alan asked her a question.

He had asked her about everything, Everything he saw in his visions, he asked her about everything.

"... Visions about a battle between Valus and Aranus, In a world where the ground is a sea of Darkness..."

She muttered, keeping to herself for a while, Alan patiently waited for her to collect her thoughts. He wanted answers, and he would wait as long as needed.

"They are all wrong, except for one."

Yet, what he heard baffled him. Confused, and definitely shocked, he murmured.

"What?"

"Valus fought Aranus as dragons in that world only once. And that battle had another motive, one far more important than defeating Aranus at the time. It was quick, yet Valus had accomplished his objective. 

That world is called the Gate, and it's best you don't go there. It also does not have any buildings like you mentioned. It's an empty void."

"Wait, wait a minute."

Alan raised his hands and shook them, expressing his confusion. But Ariel continued.

"My son fought for something else there, only that one time. The rest? He was prepared to kill Aranus. But no battle took place in that world again. All those visions you saw, are fabrications."

Alan remained silent, he was actually so shocked that no words came out of his mouth. 

"But then again, it is strange. If you say the Jade Snake is showing you these visions... You must have a reason to think that. A dragon's senses are to be trusted in such scenarios... But it's odd."

Alan raised his brows.

"How odd?"

"James has no such authority to do this, It isn't easy to make an illusion of that world, and also to involve it's guardian, my son. Valus would have noticed... But then again, it explains the imperfections.

Did you pay attention to the battle? Every single movement?"

She asked, Alan shook his head.

"No, the result of their clashes could kill me, I felt it could... So I just ran as far away as I could."

Ariel nodded, and it basically confirmed her suspicions. She took a deep breath, one that almost sent Alan flying away when released, and answered.

"It's a mix of truth and deception. He is showing you something, but your eyes are actively resisting it. It explains the imperfections of the world, and also everything else. Your eyes are resisting whatever he tries to show you, and are also giving you... hints."

"Hints?"

However, she wouldn't elaborate on that, no matter how hard Alan urged her to. He wondered what type of hint it was.

"If I told you everything, the efforts your eyes are going through would all be for naught."

She chuckled, and Alan's shoulders drooped down. He sighed, and Ariel asked him a question.

"Do you know what relationship Valus has with James?"

Alan looked up at her, intrigued. Though he could hardly make out anything, everything was obscured by the fog. It was strange, he knew what kind of facial expression Ariel was making. Was it due to the drop of ichor? He was able to do anything of the sort before it.

Granted, their meetings were usually short and rare. But it was worth mentioning. 

"Did you ever wonder why James wore a mask?"

He did, actually. He wore a mask because his face had been disfigured by acid in his world.

However, at this point, Alan was unsure if that was even the case. He wasn't sure what to believe. Acid had heavily disfigured James face, and that was why he wore the mask, even though he hated it.

Of course, he would, even breathing was painful to do and to wear a mask on top of it? It would probably be hell.

Suddenly, he came to a realization. His body paused as his mind raced.

'... Why did he wear it here?'

It wasn't his body that came over... he inhabited the body of Aranus. Even if the original body came and the wound of his face carried on, the potions available would be able to mend his horrific wound.

So why did he wear a mask here... even if he hated it to the core?

As he was drowning in his thoughts, he heard Ariel laugh. And then it clicked.

"Kulak found out what he hated the most, and ripped his face apart with such power and stuck that mask on his face."

"..."

Her laughter continued. And Alan's face paled. But then again.... He did deserve something like that. In fact, he actually felt a little happy. Anything that made him suffer was welcome.

"It was such a hilarious moment, a wound that would not go away because it directly affected his soul. No matter how many times he tried, he could never take it off."

She continued to laugh, and Alan had to withstand the shockwaves released. Thankfully, she stopped. Any longer and he would have died.

He wasn't invincible, If his entire body was destroyed, including his heart, he wouldn't be able to regenerate back. He could be killed... He just hoped a laugh wouldn't kill him.

Well, now he knew that it was Kulak who had made James wear a mask again, it was something new about a dragon he knew nothing about.

Therefore... He decided to ask once more.

"Can you tell me something about Kulak?"

Any kind of information would be helpful, and this was also a good time since Ariel was in a jovial mood. After all, one of his trials was to gain the favor of Kulak and Valus.

Lanesha basically handed it over to him on a silver platter... but he knew getting the approval of those two would be hard, incredibly so.

As Ariel continued to stare at him from a height so large he could not even fathom it, he just knew it was happening, she sighed.

"You really are a numbskull, aren't you?"

Alan had no idea how to respond... What exactly made him a numbskull right now?