[Tree] Chapter 501: Suspicions

Weeks passed, and Bob grew more terrified of his elder sister by the day.

Not because of her bloodlust, short temper, or general demeanor—no, he feared her insatiable thirst for knowledge and power. Ever since arriving, Bob had been made to participate in one experiment after another. He was fed endless pills, poisons, and, most recently, he served as the conduit for a spatial absorption array to help her minion, Kael, ascend to the Nascent Soul Realm.

However, he couldn't have asked for a better sibling. While terrified, he also deeply respected and appreciated her. As the heavens rained down on him and Kael continued to grunt in pain as his soul was split and empowered, Stella was casually leaning against him, reading him a book. It contained a mixture of ancient myths and techniques. She was trying her best to teach him about the world, or in her words, 'bring his lacking intellect up to her level.'

The book snapped closed with a clap louder than the thunder overhead.

"Understand, Bob? Making spatial portals really isn't that hard once you grasp the underlying concept."

Bob's mind ached from the endless hours of studying, yet he could feel his level of understanding expanding rapidly.

"I think so—"

"Then make one," Stella said, looking up at him with expectant eyes.

"Right now?"

Stella raised a brow. "As my baby brother and the son of Ashlock, such things should come naturally to you."

Bob's body involuntarily melted ever so slightly as he felt unconfident. "I'm sorry, Stella, I don't think I can."

"You can call me sis," she corrected him, "but anyway, I'm sure you can."

"Why? Just because I'm your brother and the son of—"

Stella raised a hand, silencing him. "While those are important points, you're right, they don't inherently mean you can do anything. It simply means I expect great things from you."

Bob was confused, as he often was when speaking with Stella. "Then how can you be so sure I can make a portal?"

Stella rolled her eyes. "You big dummy. What have you been doing for the last few days?"

"Uh... sitting here?"

"And?"

Bob pondered deeply. "Getting hit with lightning?"

"Right... and that lightning contains?"

"Spatial Qi and dao?"

"Bingo!" Stella snapped her fingers, creating a portal before them. "As the Primordial Force of Absorption, I confirmed from my experiments that you are optimized for taking in Qi and daos. The problem is you don't retain any of that Qi or dao insight."

"Oh." Bob melted further.

"Stop melting and feeling down about yourself!" Stella yelled, slapping him and making his body jiggle. "Now that you have a consciousness, you possess memory, meaning that so long as you make a deliberate effort to reflect and remember any dao insights you absorb, you should be able to use them again in the future. As for Qi, I'd have to construct some elaborate array inside you to maintain the Qi you absorb."

Bob perked up at that idea. "Sis, I want that—"

"Likely not possible as you would absorb the array as well."

"Oh..." Bob melted again.

"Seriously, stop that!" Stella stood up, grumbling. "Stop focusing on the downsides of your uniqueness and play into the benefits. Yes, your body can't retain any Qi, but you're also not limited to one Qi type." She rubbed her chin as she appraised him. "Now that I think about it, I never asked how Ash gave you sapience. I thought you would forever serve as the door to my alchemy lab."

Bob searched his rapidly expanding memories. "I woke up to a message saying the Origin of Rebirth had granted my sapience."

Stella's eyes widened, and for the first time, Bob saw his sister stunned into a horrified silence.

"Did I say something wrong?" Bob asked cautiously. His sister always seemed in control and knew everything, he never imagined something could throw her off guard like this, especially something he had said.

Anger flashed across Stella's expression, scaring Bob.

"The Origin of Rebirth? I didn't expect it to expose its ugly face so soon," she muttered, clenching her fists. "Did you tell Dad about this?"

Bob shook his body in a human-like way that he had learned from Stella. "I did not."

"Good, keep it that way."

"Can I ask why?"

Stella paused. "The less that gets out, the better, but I can tell you one thing I'm quite sure of—Dad is being used."

"By the Origin? Why?"

Stella slowly nodded. "Yes. While I don't have enough evidence to know for sure, I'd bet my life on it. As for why? There's a famous saying that power never comes for free. Your existence defies the natural order to the point where I wonder if the heavens could even pull it off. Yet how does the Origin of Rebirth lend Ash such capabilities? It has a lofty goal, I'm certain of it."

Bob trembled. "Shouldn't we do something about it?"

Stella firmly shook her head. "While Dad is being used, he is also benefiting immensely. I tried to bring up my suspicions to him in the past, but he told me to keep them to myself. I believe he is aware but doesn't want the Origin to know that he knows. By keeping the knowledge to ourselves, we can work independently on finding a solution—" Stella coughed into her hand, and her expression neutralized. "I've said too much. Just keep anything you know to yourself and especially away from Dad. Understand?"

"Okay."

"Good boy," Stella said, patting him. "Now, focus on the dao knowledge lurking inside you and figure out how to make a portal before Kael finishes his ascension."

"Why before then?" Bob asked, simply out of curiosity.

Stella sat back down and closed her eyes. "Because I doubt the guests awaiting outside will wait much longer than that. I just hope they stay still until I can reach the 7th stage of the Nascent Soul Realm."

Bob wanted to ask more questions, but Stella had swiftly entered a meditative state.

Looking up at the spatial lightning raining down on him, Bob had a single thought.

I'm still hungry.

***

Thalos Tessellate stood a respectful distance from Lady Rosalyn's estate and watched as lightning continued to endlessly rain down on the building. It wasn't uncommon to see Nascent Soul Realm ascensions, but this one was far more tame than the one before.

Bored from standing there for what felt like days, his gaze wandered.

He couldn't lie that he was slightly infuriated seeing the Anchor Pylon repaired and functioning, meaning he had effectively sold his houses for nothing. However, his loss of money paled in comparison to the big issue plaguing the Citadel from the top nobles down to the Rift Born in the lower levels.

The fact that the Citadel had been cut off from the mainland for a year.

Even if Lady Rosalyn wasn't the cause, she was no doubt the solution. Everyone at her birthday party had seen it, the arrival of her 'brother' through a rift from the outside. It might be a long shot to beg for help from the Slaughter Princess, but he had been driven to the edge. The Citadel had never felt so desolate and suffocating as in this moment, as all pill reserves, cultivation resources, and food had long run dry. Attempts to get Lady Rosalyn to join the council had failed, and her focus was distracted by Kael and that giant slime, to the point where she likely didn't notice the chaos around her.

So, left with no other choice, he had come to her front door.

"We should go inside," Elder Virelia said beside him.

Thalos Tessellate snorted at his cousin's idea. "Are you insane?" He gestured to the border that the lawn signified between the street and the estate. "As far as I'm concerned, the moment I cross this line, I'm no longer on the Citadel, but on land belonging to a royal family far above us."

Elder Virelia narrowed her eyes. "I've never heard of such a rule enforced by our Tessellate family. All land belongs to us."

"Rule?" Thalos laughed. "It's not a rule, simply an unspoken understanding."

"Is that so?" Elder Virelia said, unimpressed. "Personally, I like to follow the rules."

"Rules that we made up because we are the most powerful family here on the Citadel, or should I say we were the most powerful family."

Elder Virelia huffed in annoyance. "Nobody invited her here."

"Yet she stays," Thalos sighed and rested a hand on Elder Virelia's shoulder. "It's important to bend the knee and relax the rules for some people. After all, would you try to chain down a godly dragon and ask it to follow your rules? Are you that arrogant, Elder Virelia?"

"No..."

"Exactly. You saw Lady Rosalyn's supposed brother, and her father spoke to us through a tree. Maybe your consciousness would be lighter if you replaced her image of a young woman in your mind with a dragon in human skin."

Elder Virelia slowly turned and blinked at him. "You can't be serious."

"I'm always serious. Oh, look," he glanced at the sky. "The lightning stopped."

"Great, let's go in now," Elder Virelia said, taking a step forward.

Thalos tightened his grip and pulled her back. "Not yet. She's no doubt aware of our presence and will greet us when convenient. Forcing our way in will only invite disaster."

"Stop spouting nonsense—" Elder Virelia began, but was silenced by a portal slowly opening before them. It wobbled and seemed like the work of an amateur.

Lady Rosalyn hesitantly stepped through as if afraid it would collapse and cut her in half. "Not a bad first attempt, Bob," she said, looking down at the droopy purple slime cradled in her arms. The slime seemed to perk up a little at her words. "Now, how can I help you, Thalos? I've noticed you waiting out here for some time."  

Thalos didn't miss Lady Rosalyn's lack of using his surname, but he brushed off the disrespect and attempted to proceed with a smile.

"Good morning, Lady Rosalyn—can I call you Stella?—oh, and, um, Lord Bob. Yes, I've been hoping to have a word with you," he said. Despite being centuries old and rehearsing his request in his head many times, it came out hesitant and awkward. There was just something about Lady Rosalyn that put him on edge. Perhaps it was the possibility that something more monstrous lurked beneath her perfectly crafted beauty.

Rosalyn just stared at him with those cruel eyes of hers. He suspected that was a firm no on being allowed to call her Stella.

A tense moment passed.

"Well?" Lady Rosalyn said, raising a brow. "I'm waiting. What did you want to tell me?"

Thalos took a deep breath and cooled his expression. This princess was not easy to deal with at all. "The Citadel has been cut off from the mainland for a year now."

"Ah, yes, that matter. I believe you mentioned it before?"

Yes, I accused you of being the reason for it, Thalos thought, but kept that to himself. "Yes, I have. I understand it would be a big ask, but is there any possibility we could convince you or perhaps your father to assist us in reestablishing the portal's connection to the mainland?"

Lady Rosalyn shook her head.

Thalos felt Elder Virelia tense and begin grinding her teeth at his side in rage. He was also feeling very frustrated, but he knew getting angry here wouldn't solve anything.

"Could I ask why?"

"Because I'm leaving," Lady Rosalyn said as if that were a simple statement.

"Leaving... how exactly do you plan to do that with the portal closed?" Thalos asked, but in truth, he was hoping to glean their method of travel. Was it through the void? Perhaps the aether plane? There were so many possibilities.

"I have my ways," Lady Rosalyn said with a shrug. "But don't worry, once I go, the issue should be resolved."

"Huh?" Thalos said dumbly.

"You're right to accuse me. My father sent me here to train, so he likely isolated the pocket realm and sped up time to make it more efficient."

Thalos was left speechless, but Elder Virelia wasn't buying it.

"Isolating a pocket realm is nearly impossible, and manipulating time even more so. Even gods can't do that."

Stella smirked. "My father likes doing many impossible things. Anyway, I will be off soon and leave the estate in Kael's care while I'm gone. If the problem isn't resolved after my departure, ask him to contact me and I'll see what I can do."

Before Thalos had a chance to speak further, Lady Rosalyn vanished in a flash of white flames.

Thalos clicked his tongue. "Tsk, let us return," he said, not wanting to stay there a moment longer.

Hours passed, and Thalos sat in his office, staring at the ceiling. That's when he noticed it briefly shift, as if the world blurred for but a moment. "What was that?" he wondered, rubbing his eyes. That's when the communication artifact on his table lit up like a beacon, almost shocking him out of his chair. A projection of the stern-faced family head erupted from his desk and stared down at him.

"Thalos, what is the meaning of this?! Why are you bombarding all of our communication artifacts with dozens of messages all at once?" the man roared as he glared around the office. "Is the Citadel on fire? Have all the Anchor Pylons failed at once? Spit it out, son."

Thalos was too stunned to speak.

His father glanced off to the side as someone told him something, and then he continued to scowl at him. "You greedy bastard. What do you mean you need more shipments? We sent you one a month ago!"

Thalos felt his stomach drop. "It's only been a month?"

"Yes, you idiot! What is wrong with you?" His father demanded, but Thalos wasn't listening. He had fallen back in his chair, his face turning ashen.

The doors to his office swung open, and Elder Virelia ran in, her face equally ashen.

A silent exchange of horror occurred between them.

"What is it?" the projection demanded.

"Father..." Thalos looked to the projection. "It's been a year here on the Citadel," he slowly turned back to Elder Virelia, "and I think we encountered the daughter of someone that might sit among or even above the high gods."

"What are you blabbering about?" his father said, understandably confused. Thalos honestly couldn't blame the man. He hardly believed it himself, but having lived through it, the facts were undeniable.

"Father," Thalos said sternly. "What do we know about a girl called Stella, also known as the Slaughter Princess? Because I strongly believe that her father can control time itself."