Chapter 574: Chatting With Bethan And Rikilda

Four days ago, the forest outside Astrin.

Two young ladies and a young man were walking through a path in a forest, while conversing leisurely with each other.

The forest was filled with animals but was now seemingly empty, as no creature was anywhere in a ten mile radius of them.

"So, you’re really from that universe?" One of the ladies asked the man, curiosity all over her face.

The man nodded simply in response.

"How is it over there? I heard that it has very restrictive laws and that there are nothing like powers," she asked.

"Indeed," the man said.

"Come on, don’t be like that. Tell me more about your world. What kind of races are there? What do you guys have instead of powers? And how is life over there?" She asked, with her curiosity becoming enthusiasm.

Her azure eyes sparkled like a child making a new discovery about something and wanting to know more about it.

"Stop bothering the clone, Bethan. He probably doesn’t know anything. I’m sure only the original can answer our questions," the second lady said.

"No, Rikilda. While it’s a clone, it’s just as intelligent as a living being," Bethan said.

"Whatever. I don’t know what you’re curious about that universe anyway. The Elders of my clan have always told us how dangerous it is for even a dragon and that there’s nothing interesting there," Rikilda said.

"Well, I was told by the Elders of my clan that the universe is dangerous for outsiders like us, because the laws that govern it reject us and go against everything that we know. I heard that even Mother and Aunt Yggdrasil can’t do anything about it," Bethan said.

Clone 1’s eyes narrowed slightly when he heard how Bethan had referred to Yggdrasil. This was very significant information, as it signified that their Mother, Tiamat, and the Primordial World Tree were familiar with each other, in a way that was intimate.

The information also reinforced the decision of the original body to train hard to become stronger before meeting with Tiamat.

"What is your point exactly?" Rikilda asked, with a look of exhaustion on her face.

"What I’m saying is that such a dangerous place must be interesting. It’s natural. Anything dangerous must be interesting," Bethan replied.

"Whatever. Dangerous. Interesting. I don’t care. All I want is someone to fight to my heart’s content. I want to fight the strongest people in this world but when they sense that I’m a dragon, they quickly forfeit and run away like cowards. They disgust me," Rikilda said, with clear dissatisfaction written all over her face.

"You can’t blame them, can you? A dragon is naturally stronger than a human. Red Dragons are one of the strongest. Even if it’s a young dragon like you," Bethan said, then turned her attention back to the clone.

"Now, please tell me about your home universe," she said.

Clone 1 looked at her for a moment, contemplated on what to do, then finally decided to tell her everything the original body knew about the Dark Energy Universe, which wasn’t much.

"There’s really nothing much to say," he said and paused for a moment.

"I told you so," Rikilda said, walking ahead of them.

"So, nothing interesting at all?" Bethan asked with disappointment evident on her face.

"There’s really nothing. The world I’m from is located in a relatively new part of the universe. We haven’t even advanced to the point of exploring our neighbouring planetary system. So, I don’t really have much information," Clone 1 said.

"That’s totally not fair. I thought that considering your uniqueness, there would be interesting things for you to say about your universe," Bethan said, feeling really disappointed. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Clone 1 simply shrugged, as if to say that it wasn’t his fault.

"What a truly boring world. But if your universe, or should I say, your race is so undeveloped, how did someone like you exist?" Rikilda asked, still walking ahead.

"Yeah. I’m curious too. I heard that you were brought to the Grand Universe by one of the entities from the race that watches over your universe. I heard that they act as cosmic administrators, keeping the balance. And according to what we know about your universe, your existence alone is something that completely offsets the balance of your universe but nothing was done to correct that. It raises a lot of questions, really," Bethan said.

"What I’m truly still curious about is how he got his hands on something the ever elusive Abyssal Dragons consider sacred. Did he kill one to get it or was it given to him? Both routes beg serious answers on how and why," Rikilda said.

"I think it’s the reason why Mother said that we mustn’t harm him. She’s probably curious too," Bethan said.

"Well, like I said before, we are not the only ones he should be wary of. I’m sure that those long and sharp pointed eared guys will definitely not let him live. At least they will capture him to study him, on behalf of their Mother," Rikilda said.

"I don’t think Aunt will give such an instruction. But considering how they consider themselves the most superior race after dragons and gods, I’m sure that they will probably try to experiment on him," Bethan said.

Clone 1 simply walked alongside, listening attentively to everything they were saying. He paid special attention to the long and sharp pointed eared guys, deducing that the two dragons were referring to elves.

He remembered how they had looked at the original body with hostility when he went to the Grand Universe.

"You’re referring to Yggdrasil as Aunt, does that mean that dragons and elves are on good terms?" Clone 1 asked, out of curiosity.

"Not necessarily so. Mother and Aunt aren’t too but we like to refer to the Primordial World Tree as Aunt because, well, she’s one of the few Primordials. I would say it’s more of a sign of respect," Bethan replied.

Clone 1 nodded, filing the information away.

It seems like the relationship between Primordials is complicated, it thought to itself.

"You said that you’ve been in this minor world for over a month now. How many races have you come in contact with?" Bethan asked.

"Catkins, Minotaurs but it wasn’t a pleasant encounter, then you guys," Clone 1 answered.

"So, you’ve not met an elf before? Even after more than a month of walking around in this forest? That’s strange," Bethan muttered.

"It’s not strange. They are always confined to one part of the forest they inhabit. They like maintaining their territory," Rikilda said. "Speaking about territory, we have already walked into theirs and they have surrounded us."

"Ah. I didn’t notice," Bethan said, looking around and sensing the elves hidden in the trees.

Clone 1 had noticed the elves in the trees before Rikilda spoke, but hadn’t said anything.

He was actually curious to see what would happen when he encountered them. Would they really try to capture him to experiment on him?

A moment later, two old looking male elves walked towards them, with a few young ones following behind them. And when they reached them, they bowed their heads.

"We had no idea that two dragons would be visiting. Please forgive the rude welcome. But who is the man behind you?" One of the old elves asked.