As Lucius listened to the scene in front of him, his muscles tensed up instantly, and a narrow-bladed dagger in his sleeve landed straight in his hand.
But, in the next moment, the young avenger became puzzled.
His eyes, his ears, they detected no intruder.
Yet, the "Spirit Medium" of South Los before him...
In an instant, Lucius thought of some rumors.
Rumors about the "Spirit Medium" of South Los being able to communicate with the undead.
And it was at the moment of recalling this rumor that Lucius's tense body began to tremble, the young avenger's lips quivering uncontrollably.
The young avenger wanted to shout out, but in the end, his lips were clenched tightly.
He hoped it was his father, his mother.
Yet he also feared it was his father, his mother.
What he feared even more was that it was not his father, his mother.
Time passed, each minute, each second.
And every second for Lucius was like an eternity of torment, as if he had fallen into an abyss.
About five minutes later, Arthur finished listening and his gaze once again fell on Lucius.
The young avenger didn't ask any questions, but looked anxiously at Arthur.
"You know, our family has some unique abilities.
Though not everyone can awaken them, once awakened, we can do some things ordinary people cannot understand, like just now..."
Arthur appeared to be organizing his thoughts.
At this point, Lucius couldn't hold back any longer.
"Is it my father, my mother?"
The young avenger asked directly.
Arthur answered ambiguously.
The young avenger was stunned for a moment.
Arthur's words continued.
"This is somewhat complicated to explain. Normally, when people die, their souls quickly proceed to 'The Eternal Resting Land', but some souls, due to various obsessions, linger in the world of the living.
As time passes, they become maddened.
They turn into what people call ghosts.
Some even become evil spirits, fierce spirits," Arthur explained.
These were all common knowledge on the 'Mystic Side', completely true.
Arthur wouldn't fabricate lies about such well-known matters.
A wise man once said that if you want a lie to seem real, it should contain nine truths for every one falsehood.
Arthur agreed deeply with that statement.
So, everything he said that others knew was true.
As for the things others didn't know?
That depended on the situation.
"But your parents are a bit different.
Arthur paused, hesitating.
Lucius stood up quickly, for to the young avenger there was nothing more pressing than matters concerning his parents.
"They have been influenced.
In fact, their fragmentary souls have been trying hard to convey some messages to you, but the influenced spirits couldn't manage to do that.
This time, when you entered my room, which has some special arrangements, it allowed them to momentarily break free from that influence and communicate with me briefly.
Only, the incomplete state of their souls made it difficult for them to convey more details.
They simply expressed their concern for you, and wanted you to live well," Arthur replied after a moment of deliberation.
This response was completely based on Arthur's collected information, rephrased and compiled.
From the previous information collected, there was only one point that Arthur could confirm.
That was: Lucius's parents hadn't died a normal death.
According to the information gathered by Marinda, it should be related to the "Reepra. Qiao Commerce Guild" and the "Inland River Cult." Had it not been for the faint changes in Lucius's spirituality, Arthur would have accepted this information too.
But, when such changes occurred:
It was clear that not only were Yula's investigative materials untrustworthy,
At least, after the scene in the washroom, Arthur was absolutely convinced that Yula was not innocent concerning the death of Lucius's parents.
That sense of taunting prey was proof that it was all orchestrated by Yula, Arthur believed.
The goal was to turn Lucius into a perfect "raw material" for a ritual of his own.
As for how Arthur knew everything that had happened in the public bathroom?
It definitely wasn't because he was spying on anything!
It was just that during the making of "Oriental," as a precaution, he had prepared some measures, that's all.
Of course, that's not important.
Just like the similar surveillance in every first-class cabin, it's not important.
What's important is that Arthur was a bit curious as to what kind of ritual Yula was planning to hold, whether this ritual provided any extra help to him, or whether the secret techniques he possessed were of any help?
And was the level of the ritual a regular one, or was it an Entry Ritual?
As for the Ascend Step?
The "Stairway of Ascension" wasn't that easy, and if Yula were an "Entrant," the "Death Intuition" would have definitely flickered.
Mulling over these thoughts, Arthur's gaze turned towards Lucius.
At that moment, the young Avenger stood there in a daze.
Influence! Fragmentary soul!
These two terms kept echoing in the young Avenger's ears.
Although unable to fully understand the facts these terms signified in the Mystic Side, merely the literal meanings of the words were enough to set the young Avenger's insides ablaze.
Why did he seek revenge? It was for his parents.
The souls of his parents had become fragmentary!
With his jaw tightly clenched, Lucius ground his teeth with a grating sound.
A hint of blood appeared in Lucius's eyes.
Anger fuelled the intent to kill!
But Lucius wasn't impulsive; he thought again about the gap between him and those people.
Instantly, he felt powerless once again.
Powerlessness was imbued with pain!
In that moment, Lucius's spirituality once again began to grow, albeit faintly.
As Arthur sensed this, he grew even more curious about Yula's methods.
Then, the Spirit Medium of South Los bluntly said—
"My old friend, the 'God of the Inland River,' has asked me to apologize to you."
Lucius was taken aback.
"You don't actually believe that the 'Inland River Cult' was created by my old friend the 'God of the Inland River,' do you?
He doesn't even know about the existence of the 'Inland River Cult.'
That guy loves nothing more than roaming beneath the surface of Xisis Port, occasionally basking in the sun when no one is around.
As for founding a cult?
He's totally uninterested in that."
Arthur spread his hands wide.
Lucius looked at Arthur, and his intuition told him that the Spirit Medium of South Los before him wasn't lying.
"Someone is using the name of a Divine Spirit under false pretenses?"
"There are always some people who will take such shortcuts, and then, they bring trouble to someone innocent like me—I finally understand what the complexity in the look you gave me a moment ago was all about."
Afterward, the young Spirit Medium pondered for a moment before speaking.