CHAPTER 85: THE THEORY

Ever since he learned of the schemes targeting Silver, Leon had been thinking about it and trying to guess everything related to his enemies, even if it wasn’t his main focus.

He also wanted to find ways to capture them, and because of that, he began to predict their next moves. That was when he realized a crucial detail.

If his death, which looked like a coincidence, was actually a planned conspiracy along with the Dungeon Incident, then he had to consider the other events in the plot.

That’s when he began to think deeply about the Invasion of Vale. It was supposed to be nothing more than a coincidence that led to the destruction of Vale and the death of many people.

One of them was Evelyn Walker.

Silver’s Godmother... and a pillar supporting her very existence.

If the enemies could target him, then why couldn’t they do the same for his mother, who was just as important to Silver?

Even though the possibility seemed impossible, it was still something Leon couldn’t ignore.

Amber sat in silence for a few seconds before sighing heavily. "You do know what you’re talking about, right?"

"Yes, I know. Affecting Rifts is different from manipulating the Call of the Primordial Expanse, and it’s basically impossible," Leon admitted.

The biggest problem with his hypothesis was the fact that it was incredibly difficult to affect Rift formations. Rifts were the medium through which one traveled between Earth and the Primordial Expanse.

But there was a fact Leon knew very well, Primordial Expanse was a whole different universe than Earth, and it existed in a higher Dimensional Construct.

It was called the Blank Plane.

The Rifts actually created mediums of travel in that Blank Plane, a realm devoid of concepts like space and time, and connected the two universes together.

It was something only the Primordial Expanse could do because of its existence. Even Demi-God humans had no way of affecting that Blank Plane.

The best they could do was interact with it.

Moreover, as far as Leon remembered, the formation of Rifts was entirely random. They could spawn in the middle of a city, or in the middle of a desert, and sometimes even deep under the sea.

There was no pattern to them, so how could humans predict and manipulate their formation?

He rubbed his forehead and said, "It’s just that they would probably make it seem like a coincidence, like it’s natural. How many ways are there to kill Evelyn naturally while she’s under your protection?"

Amber leaned back in her chair, thinking about his words, and found them disturbingly reasonable. The security she had given to Evelyn was top-notch, and there were even the mercenaries Jade had sent to protect them.

Harming Evelyn was practically impossible unless the enemy was ready to send their top Awakened. And that was a highly unlikely scenario.

She couldn’t think of any way the enemy could kill Evelyn in such a way that it would appear natural.

But what if a Rift opened up, pouring hundreds of Abyssal Creatures into the city and slaughtering everyone?

It would be chaos and a perfect opportunity to kill Evelyn... though Amber still didn’t want to believe it could happen.

"There’s one thing you’re missing," she said. "My people would never abandon the mission I gave them, even if the situation turned for the worst. They would keep her alive at all costs."

"And you’re forgetting one thing that’s her greatest strength, but also her weakness," Leon shook his head. "Her kindness."

"You..." Amber paused.

’Yes, I was already dead in the game, so Mom was alone and in despair. Perhaps that also affected it,’ Leon thought. Then he said, "But it’ll be different if I’m there. No matter how kind and gentle she is, that woman would never choose anyone else over me."

He smiled and added, "Even if it goes against her principles, she would do it to save me. So my existence can restrain her weakness."

"So there’s no danger then?" Amber asked.

"Were you even listening?" Leon rolled his eyes. "My point was that they could still try to open a Rift in this city. Even if we can keep my Mom safe, it still won’t change the situation. Many will die if it’s a higher-tier Rift."

He paused before shrugging. "Though, it is impossible, so maybe I’m just overthinking."

"Who said it’s impossible?" Amber suddenly said, catching him off guard. But she didn’t explain further.

Instead, she put her hand into something hidden in the air before pulling out an old book with yellowed yet well-preserved pages. She stared at it for a moment before opening a certain page and handing it to Leon.

"It’s from my Master. She worked on Rift formations for quite a while and studied them. She was successful to some extent and discovered a few things. One of them was the pattern in which Rifts are formed."

Leon was reading the book when he stopped and raised his head. "Are you sure? I don’t think there are patterns in Rift formations. Aren’t they random?"

"They are, but they lean towards something which makes up that pattern. She studied Rift formations across the world for years and came up with a theory."

As Leon once again began to read the book filled with messy handwriting, the information written on it expanded his mind. There were things he had never thought of, which made him wonder just how great of a researcher Amber’s Master was.

"Normally, cities are protected by Barriers formed either by Artefacts brought back from the Primordial Expanse or by Rune Formations created by our own race. But the Rifts that opened near or inside settlements protected only by Rune Formations were much higher in number. Can you guess why?"

Leon shook his head.

"My Master said our Rune Formations can’t achieve what those Artefacts can. So it was clear there were factors affecting the formation of Rifts. She studied them and realized something very important."

"And what was it?"

Amber smiled and said, "The Barriers are generally made of many Rune Formations that help in defense and other things. One of those functions is concealment. She discovered that the Concealment Rune Formation inside Artefacts was far superior to our Rune Formations for concealment."

That was all Leon needed to connect the dots, and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Seems like you understand. That’s much quicker than any of her disciples," Amber chuckled softly before continuing. "Yes, just like how Abyssal Creatures are drawn to us because of our Life Force, the Primordial Expanse is no different because their core is the same. Corruption... it’s drawn to Life Force."

"And the Rifts form where the Primordial Expanse detects the most concentrated Life Force," Leon muttered in shock. "Something as big as a city has countless humans, so the concentration of Life Force is immense. If they don’t have strong concealment, the Primordial Expanse could sense it easily and spawn a Rift there."

"Exactly what my Master theorized and later confirmed. The details are in that book, so you can borrow it for a while," Amber said. Then her eyes took on a crimson hue as mild rage dripped from her tone. "Still, those bastards really are the worst scum on Earth. They would even let hundreds of innocents die just for their revenge."