Lucavion leaned back in his chair, swirling the teacup in his hand as he took a slow sip. The room was quiet now, Anne having left after setting everything down, leaving only him and Vitaliara.
He let out a small chuckle, tilting his head slightly. “You didn’t have to be so harsh on her like that, you know.”
[Humph.] Vitaliara flicked her tail, not bothering to lift her head from his lap. [I am too noble to be touched by just anyone.]
Lucavion snorted. “Yeah, yeah. But you didn’t have to glare daggers at her.”
[Shut up. Don’t tell me what to do.]
Lucavion’s smirk grew. “So defensive.”
Vitaliara merely turned her head away with a sharp flick of her tail.
“Alright, alright,” Lucavion relented before grinning. “You peeping cat.”
[I am not a peeping cat!] Vitaliara snapped immediately, her fur bristling as she finally lifted her head to glare at him.
Lucavion chuckled into his teacup. He had been waiting for that reaction.
Letting the moment settle, he set his cup down and shifted slightly. “Anyway, what did you even do after I was gone?”
Vitalaria blinked, her golden eyes narrowing slightly. [I looked for you, obviously.]
Lucavion tilted his head. “And?”
[And nothing! It was infuriating. I could sense nothing from you. It was like you had been erased.]
Lucavion nodded, taking another slow sip of his tea. “Indeed. I was in another dimension, after all.”
Vitaliara flicked her tail, her golden eyes narrowing slightly. [Since I couldn’t sense anything from you, I figured the best way to do something was to hang around that girl.]
Lucavion raised an eyebrow. “That girl?”
[The one you saved. The one you pushed out of the vortex.]
Lucavion exhaled lightly. “Elara.”
[Humph.]
Vitaliara didn’t confirm or deny it, merely flicking her tail again.
She continued, her voice steady but thoughtful. [I wandered around them for a little while. After you disappeared, she put in quite the effort.]
Lucavion remained silent, waiting.
[She joined the search party that was formed after that. She worked restlessly for three whole days—barely eating, barely sleeping, trying to find any trace of you.]
Lucavion tilted his head slightly at that.
Then—
He smiled.
A small, genuine smile.
[Why are you smiling?] Vitaliara suddenly asked, her voice laced with suspicion. [You like it when that girl is running after you, don’t you?!]
Lucavion chuckled, shaking his head. “It’s not about that.”
[Then what is it about?]
Lucavion exhaled, leaning back into his chair, his fingers tapping lightly against his teacup.
‘…..’
Lucavion remained silent.
Because yes, it was about that.
Vitaliara didn’t need him to admit it—his silence was enough.
She scoffed. [Tsk. Whatever.]
Instead of pressing further, she continued speaking, flicking her tail as she talked. [That girl worked hard, I’ll give her that. At the very least, she’s not useless, and she knows how to be grateful.]
Lucavion hummed in response but didn’t say much. He let Vitaliara explain.
[But then…] Vitaliara’s voice grew a bit more serious. [That girl suddenly disappeared.]
Lucavion’s fingers stopped tapping against his teacup.
“Disappeared?”
[Yes. One night, a really strong presence appeared in her room. It was overwhelming, and I was afraid of being discovered, so I kept my distance. But in the next moment—she was gone.]
Lucavion frowned slightly, thinking.
“How strong?”
[At least a 7-star. Maybe higher.]
Lucavion’s expression remained unreadable, but a single thought crossed his mind.
‘Then it must be her.’
[Who?] Vitaliara immediately picked up on the shift in his demeanor.
Lucavion set down his teacup and stretched slightly. “That girl’s master.”
Vitaliara blinked. [That girl had a master?]
Lucavion smirked faintly. “Most young people who excel do.”
[If she had such a strong master, that would explain her prowess.] Vitaliara mused, tapping her paws idly against Lucavion’s leg. [She was quite talented as well.]
“Yep,” Lucavion agreed, tilting his head slightly. “She always had a natural sharpness to her movements. Not just training, but intuition.”
Vitaliara flicked her tail. [Hmph. Well, that makes sense now.]
Lucavion leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on the armrest. “Then what happened?”
[Since that girl had disappeared, I was left completely on my own.] Vitaliara’s voice was calmer now, but there was a certain weight behind her words. [And while I wanted to search for clues with the expedition team, I knew that would be risky.]
Lucavion nodded slightly. It would have been a bad idea. The Duchy must have been wary of unknown elements—if Vitaliara was mistaken for something dangerous, they wouldn’t hesitate to act.
“So, what did you do?” he asked.
[I decided to follow something I had noticed before.]
Lucavion narrowed his eyes slightly. “Follow something?”
[Yes. Back when we were traveling to Stormhaven, I sensed a place filled with concentrated life-energy.]
Lucavion blinked. “You did?”
[I did. But at the time, you were too busy scheming and maneuvering, so I figured I’d bring it up later.]
Lucavion chuckled. “Fair enough.” Then, tilting his head, he asked, “So you went there?”
[Yes.] Vitaliara’s golden eyes gleamed slightly. [And what I found was…]
She trailed off, her gaze thoughtful.
Lucavion smirked. “Don’t leave me hanging now.”
Vitaliara flicked her tail again, her golden eyes glinting as she stretched out in Lucavion’s lap, clearly taking her time.
[Hmph. You’re impatient.]
Lucavion smirked, leaning back into his chair. “You left me on a cliffhanger. What did you find?”
Vitaliara let out a small hum before finally continuing.
[That place… it wasn’t just some random spot filled with life energy. It was alive.]
Lucavion’s smirk faded slightly, his fingers tapping against the armrest. “Alive?”
[Yes. The energy there was not just concentrated, it was thriving. Unlike anything I’ve sensed before. It wasn’t like the forests or sacred groves—it felt ancient, yet pulsing with vitality. Almost as if…]
She hesitated.
Lucavion’s eyes sharpened. “As if what?”
Vitaliara flicked her ears, her voice quieter now. [As if something was watching me.]
Silence hung between them for a moment.
Lucavion frowned slightly, processing that. He had encountered plenty of strange places before, but for Vitaliara—who thrived off life energy—to say that even she felt observed…
That wasn’t normal.
“And you’re sure it wasn’t just an artifact or some kind of lingering aura?”
[No. This wasn’t something left behind—this was present. I could feel it shifting, almost… reacting to me being there.]
Lucavion exhaled through his nose, fingers tapping rhythmically now. “And?”
[And…] Vitaliara hesitated, her tail curling slightly. [Something strange happened.]
Lucavion raised an eyebrow. “Go on.”
[I suddenly felt some of that energy enter my body.]
Lucavion’s fingers stopped tapping.
“You absorbed it?”
[No.] She shook her head, golden eyes flickering slightly. [That’s the thing—I didn’t initiate the absorption. It happened on its own.]
Lucavion frowned slightly, his thoughts turning. “That shouldn’t be possible.”
[Exactly. But it happened. And after that…] Vitaliara’s voice grew quieter. [I felt my life energy increasing. My strength returned faster than it ever has before.]
Lucavion’s smirk had completely faded now, his expression turning unreadable. “And… those red eyes?”
Vitalaira’s ears twitched, and she exhaled. [That…] She hesitated again before continuing. [It feels like some kind of side effect.]
Lucavion narrowed his eyes slightly. “A side effect?”
[Yes. This energy inside me—it doesn’t feel completely natural. And it’s not exactly life energy.]
Lucavion leaned forward slightly, resting his chin against his knuckles. “Then what is it?”
Vitaliara went silent for a long moment before finally answering.
[I don’t know.]
That was not something she admitted often.
Lucavion hummed, thinking. Something foreign had entered her. Something that acted like life energy but wasn’t entirely the same. That was already alarming enough.
But something else was off.
“What happened to that energy-concentrated place?” he asked.
Vitaliara’s golden eyes darkened slightly. [The moment the absorption initiated… the place disappeared.]
Lucavion stilled. “…Gone?”
[Completely.]