CHAPTER 45: YUKI IS JEALOUS

’The egg came out of the dream?’ Rhys was flabbergasted.

It was solid. The faint pulse from it proved it was real; a gentle warmth came from it, slowly strengthening his soul.

The more bizarre thing was that it pulsed in the same rhythm as his heart, almost as if they both shared one heart.

[You have bonded with an unknown egg.]

[System analysing...]

[...]

’What? Don’t tell me you can’t analyse it. Remember you analysed its mother!’

[...]

"Human, are you still in the dream?" Yuki shook his shoulders, moving dangerously close to his face.

Strands of her silver hair spilled onto his face, itching his cheeks. Looking deep into her light blue eyes, his mind reeled back to the thought of the Leviathan he had seen in the dream.

’Was it...?’

[I do not think so.]

’Why?’

[She was not present in the dream...]

’What do you mean?’

[Look around.]

’This...’

He pushed Yuki aside softly. They were no longer in the sunken city of Aethel. The dark water, the glowing plants, and the army of stone statues were all gone.

The feeling of immense pressure and the constant drain on his Qi had vanished. A vast, endless desert of fine, white sand stretched in all directions.

He stood up and looked around. The sky was a pale, washed-out blue. There was no sun, but a bright, even light filled the sky, casting no shadows.

The heat was so intense it felt as if it sucked every bit of moisture out of his body. The sudden shift from the cold, deep water to this baking heat was jarring.

"Where are we?" Rhys asked.

His voice sounded rough in the dry air. He tried to put the egg back into his body, but it resisted vigorously against that decision.

’Throwing a tantrum already?’ Rhys sighed.

Hugging the egg to his chest, he shaded it with his robes, fearing the heat would affect it. He felt a strange, protective instinct towards the small object.

[That is because both of you are bound by soul. If the Host dies, it will also die. Vice versa.]

’Those last two sentences were unwanted, you know.’

[I am just being practical.]

’Whatever,’ Rhys shrugged.

"Yuki, where do we—. Why are you glaring at me?"

He almost recoiled when he saw her darkened face. She seemed to be on the verge of breaking down as she ground her teeth.

Her long eyelashes cast shadows under her eyes, giving her a ghostly aura.

[She looks like she wants to break your egg.]

Rhys involuntarily clenched his legs, taking a step back.

[...]

[Not that one...]

’Ohhh...’

"Juice box, where did you get this glutton? Let’s make it into an omelette," Yuki said in a neutral tone.

What? No. Rhys took another step back, agitating the girl further.

"It is bonded with my soul. Do you want me to die?"

"But I don’t want to share you with it."

"Share me?" he furrowed his brow.

Yuki said nothing, only showing a grieved look. Only then did his brain light up with comprehension.

’Is she jealous of my ’egg’ because it also absorbs my life energy?’

That was too absurd and childish. His poor Eggy, who had lost its mother before it was even born, was now being hated by someone for no reason.

The egg in his arms moved slightly. He could feel its emotion through the connection between their souls. It agreed with him, in deep sorrow.

[...]

The egg moved again.

’System, what did you mean by those dots? Are you bullying Eggy?’

[...]

He did not want to make Yuki angry yet. She was too useful to make an enemy of her, at least until he exited the labyrinth.

"You don’t have to worry about my life energy running out. I could even feed every disciple of the great families and it would never deplete."

After all, he had an infinite lifespan. Strangely, that further agitated her.

"That human girl?..."

"Oh... yes."

Rhys had no idea why she specifically mentioned that girl. Anya Sterling, right? Now that he thought about it, she did look hot.

"She smelled nice, right?"

"Yes."

The Sterlings were famous for alchemy, after all. Their heir might have some strong perfumes in stock.

Did Yuki like her smell? Rhys looked at his spatial pouch, searching for any perfumes in it.

"I wanted to eat her."

"What?"

"I will eat her next time," Yuki finished, turning around, but not before looking deeply towards his chest.

If Rhys had not calmed the egg, he was sure it was ready to go to fight.

’Calm down, you can’t win against her.’

[Hmph.]

’What was that?’

[I just translated for Eggy.]

"Are you coming?" Yuki called from a distance, slowing a bit. Rhys hurriedly caught up with her.

"The next place..." The hot wind brushed past them. The heat did not seem to bother her at all.

’She is hotter than the heat here.’

[...]

"...The Rolling Sands."

"Rolling Sands?" Rhys stared at the endless dunes stretched out on the horizon. She just shrugged as both of them continued walking.

Even after walking for hours, they did not find anything. At some point, Rhys believed there were no monsters in this area. He started to think about the labyrinth.

Unlike dungeons or secret realms with a fixed pattern of completion, a labyrinth did not have any set order to complete its challenge.

That was why everyone who entered here was transported to different areas. Also, the challenges were not always about killing the strongest monster.

Finding what the challenge was could be difficult, probably more difficult than winning the challenge itself.

He replayed the experiences he had had after entering the labyrinth. The stone forest. The stone golem.

The ash plains.The whispering caverns. And finally, the Leviathan’s dream. Now this desert.

Each of these places differed greatly from the others; he failed to find any connection between them.

Also...

’System, do you find it odd that the monsters I killed when Yuki was with me never revived?’

He could point to the reason being Yuki absorbing their life energies, so they could not revive. But if that was the case, why did they drop lifespan crystals?

He should have noticed these oddities before, but with Yuki’s presence nearby, his mind seemed to be fogged by...

[Her mind control...]

’Yeah.’

The ’harmless’ mind control she had appeared to be affecting him bit by bit. If he had not bonded with Eggy, he could have continued in the same way.

Rhys tilted his head to stare at the silver-haired girl. She continued leading him without showing any abnormalities.

’How could she show any abnormality when she is an abnormality in the first place?’

Rhys recalled how he had found her. The subtle marks she had left behind now appeared like a perfectly crafted trap for him to find her.

And like a fool, he had jumped right into it.

But... what was her agenda?

If it was to simply kill him, he was sure she did not have to go to this extent. She could have easily done the deed. But that was not her goal.

Despite the System not replying to him, Eggy agreed with him. It even asked him to allow it to fight the traitor.

’You are just a child. You can’t fight her. Do you want to become an omelette?’

Eggy stopped moving.

They continued for another hour. Rhys started to feel bored. The silence was absolute. There was no wind. There was no sound of insects or animals.

The only sound was the soft, rhythmic crunch of their own feet on the fine sand. It was a lonely sound in a vast, empty world.