Silence fell over the room.
Nameless Death didn’t answer right away.
"Why do you want to know that?" he asked.
Leonora exhaled and set the controller aside.
"Because I’m a Grim Reaper disciple," she said, meeting his gaze. "I’m alive because I was given a chance to serve the Monarch of Death. It’s because of his bloodline that I still live, so if you’re Neo... then I might help you."
His expression didn’t change, but something shifted behind his eyes.
"You’re willing to have a child just for that reason?"
"Well..."
Leonora rubbed her cheek and made a face, like even she didn’t fully believe her own reasoning.
"I’m several thousand years old. Isn’t it weirder that I still haven’t had a single child?"
That explanation caught him off guard, but he didn’t comment on it.
Maybe it was just how her society worked. Maybe she was seen as an overdue back at her home?
"So," she continued, tilting her head slightly, "are you Neo?"
"How are you sure I won’t lie? I could just say I’m Neo and—"
"Are you Neo?" she cut him off.
Nameless Death stared at her for a few seconds.
Then, he nodded, "...Yes."
Leonora blinked, then smiled slowly, scratching her head.
"To be honest, I don’t know how to react to that. We were friends, but it was for such a short time. I guess I should kneel or something? Since you’re the prince of the Underworld."
"There’s no need for that," Nameless Death waved his hand. "What I want to know is why you believe my words so easily."
"Just a hunch, maybe? We’ve been together for centuries now. It’d be weird if I didn’t trust you at least this much. Besides," she added with a sigh, "we all already had suspicions."
She leaned against the wall, more relaxed now. The tension from before had faded from her posture.
Nameless Death watched her closely. "Then why have you been acting so wary around me?"
She raised an eyebrow. "I could ask you the same thing. Why’ve you been so distant with the others?"
"I didn’t have my memories back," he replied, crossing his arms. "You knew that already."
"Sure, but your status should show your bloodline and name. It’s not that hard to figure out you’re the prince of the Underworld."
Nameless Death glanced away for a moment before speaking.
"I couldn’t trust you people before. What if someone peeked at my status and then used that information to manipulate me?"
Leonora looked at him with a surprised expression.
"That’s a bit... paranoid, isn’t it?"
He felt a flicker of embarrassment but didn’t let it show.
In truth, Nameless Death’s paranoia was justified.
He arrived on the Voraka Site after going through thousands of reincarnations.
Each one of those lives ended with betrayal.
His family, his friends... people he trusted always turned on him.
There had been times when his parents sold him for money.
Other times, similar things were done by his siblings.
Even his own children had left him to die.
All of it led him to become paranoid, and distrustful of others.
It was only after Nameless Death saw the other Cosmos through Sacred Gate that he was starting to trust others again.
Slowly, but surely, he was trying to overcome his paranoia.
He shook himself out of those thoughts and looked back at Leonora.
"Let’s move on to the actual matter," he said. "We’re wasting time."
"Alright," she replied.
She walked over to the center of the room and extended her hand.
Then, without hesitation, she cut her palm with a flick of her nail.
The blood shimmered faintly, unnatural even in its stillness.
It carried traces of Intent, the foundation of life that was the basis of the Spell-born process.
"I’ll cast the Spell," she said.
Only the person whose blood was being could activate the Spell.
He nodded and stepped back.
A faint glow surrounded her hand as she began weaving the Spell-born incantation.
It wasn’t flashy or complicated. It didn’t require elaborate rituals or grand declarations. Just blood, intent, and will.
It was simple, in theory.
But Nameless Death knew it was much more complex.
There had to be reason why traces of Intent present in one’s blood could lead to creation of soul, and Seed of Existence.
"Void... do you really have to do all this just to fight the child?"
"Can’t you just let him and his brother complete their task and leave?"
"Madman," she said, more to herself than to him.
"But why are you putting the entire universe at risk just to test him? Let the child place the Ashes—"
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