Ceres

50

"...I am the only one capable to protect you."

Those words linger on Ceres' mind even after the mysterious man left.

Could those words have something to do with the heavenly laws trying to get rid of me? Does this mean that the previous Ceres wasn't the end of the message that Iona received but instead, it included even her very existence in Ceres' body?

She felt like the mysterious man knew all about her, even her transmigration.

If he does, why would he help me?

---

On a certain street in Kanster city and in the middle of the night, a man with long silver hair wearing an emerald robe with an embroidered cerulean tortoise was slowly walking.

A smile was plastered on his face and he kept on whistling every now and then.

He stopped walking and suddenly touched his lips with his thumb.

"That was really close."

He placed his hands behind his back and smiled once more.

"At least, I got her first."

The mysterious man laughed softly. He remembered those eyes that were staring at his just a while ago. Then, he closed his eyes for a moment and grinned.

"The kiss was necessary for the spell. I wonder what reaction she would make once she knew about it."

Afterwards, slowly, the man disappeared into thin air. The silent night in the city was the same once again.

---

The very next morning, the trio started their journey. Old Na said that his place was a hidden dungeon he specifically made. It is like any other special place that has special barriers and other things to protect it from outsiders. Without Old Na's help, no one can even land their eyes on his place.

The trip was long because Old Na's place is situated at one of the borders of another kingdom. All Ceres knows about their destination is that it is located near a huge rift in the border of Amsthen kingdom. Other information were kept hidden by Old Na. It is not that he doesn't trust Ceres but he said that it is too complicated to explain while they're still far from it.

On one of their breaks, Ceres and Old Na talked about their stop-over at Soaring Dragon. Of course, Old Na was curious how Ceres explained to her brother about everything that happened to her particularly if she said that she knew of two legendary existences in the world: Old Na and Old Pang.

"I only told him that you're my teacher and Old Pang helped me recover my spiritual body. Unnecessary information were either omitted or falsified."

Old Na became used to Ceres' seriousness and blank expression. He could only sigh as even though he wanted to extract more words from her mouth, it was of no use.

"...Do gods exist in this world? Do you believe in gods, teacher?"

Suddenly, Ceres asked him a question. It was something out of their topic about the trip to Soaring Dragon.

Being someone of older age and generation, he wanted to show off a little bit about his knowledge. But seeing that Ceres was not even looking at him and instead was staring at the fire in the middle of their camp, he only coughed once.

"Whether gods exist or not, we might not know unless we ascend to the heavens."

"Ascend? One can go to the heavens without dying?"

Ceres was intrigued. In her previous world, there was a saying that when one dies and he repented and followed the words of God, he can go to the heavens. Of course, people believe in a God over there. However, there are different gods depending on the religion of the person. It is only through faith that they can feel the presence and existence of such gods. Although there are also some people who do not believe in such things, at least she knew that it somehow existed over there: faith, that is.

In her current world, although she read several books, it was still not enough. She learned that there are people believing in gods such as the Sea God Temple. But with what she heard from her brother, that their mother is a messenger of heaven, what kind of heaven is it and how can they let a normal person receive such messages? Or, is it that her mother was not so simple, too? And, what do those messages mean? Is this world governed by some kind of god or even a number of gods? Is it different from the god that the Sea God Temple believes in?

She was seriously thinking about telling Old Na that she wanted to visit Ceres' mother's village but she thought that the time was not right. She wasn't strong enough and she doesn't want anyone to be dragged by her own problems. For now, all she could do is gather information.

"I don't know the specifics because I haven't ascended. All I can say is that I've read and heard stories about people reaching the peak of their powers and ascending to the heavens. Their bodies would somehow reach a kind of enlightenment and then, they would somehow be called and ascend. Even though I have lived far too long compared to other people, I haven't witnessed such thing. If there really are gods, maybe the very solution to that question is to ascend and see what heavens looks like."

"Are you sure those people didn't just die?"

"I'm telling you. Those are only stories I've either read or heard. I can't just tell you that those are true without any sort of evidence, right?"

Ascending to the heavens seems like those people just die... Like in my previous world.

"Among your peers, there is no one among them that reached the peak of their cultivation and powers?"

Old Na looked away from Ceres' stare. He seems to be recalling some memories again. Ceres can't help but think that this guy is certainly too sentimental.

"There are but... They did not ascend. They only die or retire."

Ceres felt the sadness in Old Na's voice. There are certainly downsides in living for far too long particularly for people like Old Na who has the power to affect this world.

"Do you regret living this long?"

It was something that Ceres was honestly and seriously asking Old Na. Not that she wanted to pry into Old Na's personal life but she also has her own thoughts.

I wonder... When I gain enough power to exact revenge and freely travel this world, would I become tired of living?

"There are a number of things in life that you have to be regretful for. It is essential for learning. And if you're really asking if I regretted living this long, I wouldn't be here sitting near you, right?"

The responsibilities of rare attributes in this world are things that Ceres haven't learned of yet. This is part of their fate and perhaps, if there really are heavenly laws governing this world, it is something that these laws will also act upon.

Ceres thought of that time when Old Na told her about his attribute. She knew that there are still a lot of underlying incidents regarding Old Na's past and the way he is doing everything for the world's balance.

She decided that no matter what kind of person Old Na is, he is her teacher and she will always see him as a good person.

"You're a good person, teacher."

Old Na was stunned hearing those words from Ceres. All he can do is smile a little.

I'm not as good as you think I am. Thesewere Old Na's thoughts and he could only silently keep them.-tbc

A/N: I'm back from the grave!!! I wasn't able to update yesterday because I didn't bring my laptop during the trip and thus, you know the rest... Add the fact that I was so tired these past two days.

On another side note, I'm having difficulty with the internet connection because of the weather. I feel like I wouldn't be able to update until chapter 55 if this goes on. ;A; I wasn't even able to update WordPress because I can only choose one between it and Wattpad.