"What I know doesn't matter," The Warden said in his stoic tone. "What you know, however, can change things."
"You've shown me someone who I know."
"If that's the case, then you two must be fated to cross paths here."
"There's no such thing as fate!" Arthur shouted, making silence descend on the hall. "Things aren't predetermined." He said as he stood up.
"They are not indeed," The Warden answered. "Yet, a few things gravitate toward each other. For example, why have you sought this place?" Space began to disappear as a narrow platform connected Arthur with another door.
"To seek answers," Arthur said, reminded of his quest. "I wasn't here to see someone else's past."
"You didn't want to; it doesn't mean you don't need to." The Warden said as his voice drifted away. "You have passed the test. Now, you can meet me."
With that, he disappeared. Arthur stood on the floating platform connecting him to the door as his mind raced.
He had seen Yuran's past and the reason he was shunned by the seven families. Someone has tried to inject the Ender's powers into Yuran.
"Did they succeed?" Arthur wondered as he remembered the last time that he met Yuran in the capital. He didn't feel the existence of the Ender's in him. Hopefully, they did not manage to do it.
However, what about his mother? What fate did she end up with? Arthur had so many questions but he can only shake his head and move forward.
After all that he's been through, questions have become something he must carry along with him as he finds answers for them. From the moment he accepted his legacy from Jizo, he has been carrying the responsibility of unearthing the secrets behind the world.
Arthur touched the metallic door and it opened on its own, revealing a stone corridor that was very much unlike the space he walked out of. He kept walking forward until the corridor turned into a giant hall.
The scent of flowers and soil stuck his nose as soon as he stepped into the hall. Rather than a hall, this was like an underground paradise.
With lush greens and blue skies, the space looked as if Arthur had walked into one of the most beautiful places in the world. Animals danced and birds sang as they flew through the air, passing over the water stream.
"What is this?" Arthur was stunned. He looked back and could see the corridor he walked out coming out of a giant mountain range. He had just been underneath a dessert and now he was standing in greenery.
'Maybe this is a product of the pocket-dimension.' Arthur thought to himself as he started walking through the forest. He kept himself prepared for any dangers, but there was none.
He tried to look for the Warden but didn't dare to use his detection rune. The fact that the warden knew a lot of things bothered him and made him reluctant to share any more about it.
He spent an hour walking through the forest until he found a trail. He saw footsteps that had been left there and followed them to find a giant stone ring surrounded by pillars.
With the light cascading on the white marble, the ring seemed to be shining brightly midday. Arthur's eyes widened at the serenity of the place before he saw something move in the middle of it.
Surrounded by trees that intertwined with the pillars, Arthur saw something inside. He walked forward, prepared to teleport away at the sign of danger, to see what was inside.
The first thing that Arthur saw was the fur, then the shell, and then came the giant claws. His steps slowed as horror seized his heart.
'It's a manticore.' Arthur realized, his feet not moving to make a run for it. He studied the creature in front of him with such fascination and fear that he forgot it can kill him.
With the body of a lion, the manticore looked nothing like a lion should look. Its tail was covered with hard dark purple shells with a sharp stinger at the end. Its claws were that of a lion but his feet were armored with sells as well.
Its head was the most bizarre. It had the head of a horned-lion with a large mouth covered with teeth but had a face that resembled a handsome man above its mouth.
It had its eyes close until Arthur tried to take a step back. The face's eyes opened to reveal two intersecting lines, looking like a plus in each eye, looking straight at him.
Arthur was disturbed by the monster's eyes and almost teleported away if it hadn't opened its mouth.
"I see that you fear me, child." The Warden's voice came out from the monster and Arthur paused.
"You are not… human?" Arthur asked, hating how his voice trembled at the end of it. Manticores were things of myths even for strong awakeners.
"I never said I was." The manticore answered as its tail swayed dangerously. "Do you fear for your life?"
"Only a fool wouldn't," Arthur said with a frown.
"Do you know what manticores are called?"
"No, I've spent the last of my years digging instead of learning."
"We're called the Creatures of Truth. We can't lie and you can't lie to us." The monster's face smiled, showing its human-looking teeth. Arthur frowned as he picked his words wisely.
"What happens if humans lie to you?"
"Our mana shall curse them. Curses are scary, I warn you." The manticore said with a smile as it stood up and took a step toward Arthur, to which Arthur mirrored with a step backward of his own. "I won't hurt you."
"I can't trust you." Arthur raised his head to look at the creature that was twice his height.
"You've trusted I wouldn't hurt you until you saw how I look like."
The manticore's words stabbed into Arthur's heart. He did indeed trust that he wouldn't get hurt because this 'person' was allied with Jerano. However, he wasn't so sure after he saw that it was no person, but a monster.
"I'm sorry," Arthur said after a moment, remembering his goblins, Kira, Lilo, and Ruki. "I didn't mean to."
"It's alright." The manticore stopped a few steps away from Arthur. "I see that you don't hate monsters as much as other humans."
"I don't hate mindless monsters."
"You're picking your words very wisely." The face grinned again. "You also don't hate the monsters you can control." Arthur nodded his head, that was true.
"Come and have a seat," The monster turned as a branch crawled from one of the trees, making a seat for Arthur beside it. "I know you have some questions for me."
Arthur hesitated for a moment before he walked toward the branch and sat on it. Until now, the manticore has kept to his word and even allowed Jonah to pass the test after cheating his way through.
"I'm glad you're a lot more docile than earlier, Arthur Silvera."
"How do you know my name?"
"Is that one of your questions?"
Arthur closed his mouth, making it a straight line, as he sulked. The manticore gave a laugh as a bird flew over and perched itself on its horn that was protruding from the side.
"You can ask me three questions in return for answering one. That's my offer, what do you think?"
"I will take it." Arthur nodded his head.
"Then think wisely of what to ask, every question counts." The monster said as it closed its eyes again.
Arthur looked at the bird as it stood on the monster's horn, unafraid. It was safe to say that all animals feared monsters because of their survival instinct. Yet, the animals here seemed to be different.
"I have my first question," Arthur said and the monster opened its eye. Looking at them directly, Arthur slowly moved his mouth. "What can I ask?"
The monster seemed to be amused at Arthur's question, which was directly gauging the extent of its knowledge. It didn't hesitate to answer.
"I know of every science that humans know and every experiment that took place and was recorded. I know of every tragedy that befell the world and every genocide that marked the soil red. I know of every secret the world tries to hide and every sin they have committed."
"That's enough of an answer." Arthur shook his head. "Please elaborate. You also didn't tell me what I can ask, you only told me what you know."
The monster seemed further amused as its tail swayed from one side to the other, cutting across the air. It rested its chin on its leg and looked at Arthur at his eyes' level.
"The people kept here aren't simply criminals, but those with forbidden knowledge. I have seen their memories for decades, gaining the knowledge of some of the greatest minds in existence."
"That means you don't know the specifics of the world."
"Yes, I'm not omniscient." The monster nodded. "Are you disappointed?"
"No," Arthur shook his head. "Rather relieved." This way, the monster didn't know everything about him. "I have my second question."