It seemed his choice by not notifying the Luzear Family was right. No one actually paid him attention, including Nella herself for a few days.
During the night before the event, Aria visited him to talk about the details of the auction.
Alex was sitting on his bed while looking at the moon shining brightly outside his window. The view was amazing for both Alex and Aria.
In Aria's eyes, the moon shone upon Alex and illuminated the room. The wind gently brushed his hair, blowing it lightly. His expression looked gentle, but there was a solemnity behind it as if he was thinking about something important.
Aria never thought that she would see this sight with her Sword Eye. Something rose in her heart, but she didn't know anything about it. On one hand, she wished to comfort this guy that had so much burden on his shoulders. On the other hand, she had yet to be qualified to do that, whether in terms of strength or other things.
'Ah, I wonder…Will I regret for not seeing this sight if I don't have the Sword Eyes that allow me to see? Despite showing his relaxed, calm, composed sides, he actually has so much to bear. And I don't know why but he seems to be different ever since Mya left. I wonder why…' Aria gulped down before gradually walking toward him.
Alex turned over and looked into her eyes, smiling. "You've come…"
"You expected me to come?" Aria asked.
"Yes." Alex nodded, pointed at the book on the table, and said. "That's the catalog. I haven't read it yet, so do you want to read it together?"
The answer came in the form of action. Aria brought the book to Alex and sat down beside him.
Alex smiled. This might be the last time they could do something together since Alex had decided to settle this down after the auction.
"Do you have something that you want to buy?" Alex asked while flipping through the pages.
"I haven't found one yet." She shook her head. "Besides, everything I need is already there, so I am not sure whether I want something. Besides, this auction is big, so I won't have enough money to buy it."
Alex fell silent and kept flipping the book until he found something good.
It was called Golden Lightning Brit Root. He instantly recalled the pill called Heavenly Lightning Pill, which seemed to be good to a Lightning Element user. It was perfect for Rose, so he planned to buy one. Other than that, he had no use of them.
"Do you find something?" Alex finished the whole book and asked.
"No." She shook her head. "I don't find anything that is useful to me right now."
"Right now? Then do you have something in your mind?" Alex smiled. "Well, if you are aiming for this Golden Lightning Brit Root, I am going to acquire it myself. There is a chance to make two Heavenly Lightning Pills with a single root, so I will be sending one to you since I only need to give one to my disciple. You can take it as a bonus payment from me."
Aria scratched the back of her head with a complicated expression. "Am I qualified to get something like that? You have been doing everything to me as far as I know. In fact, I am so useless that even without me, you can do it perfectly fine."
"Nope. You don't realize it, but you have helped me a few times." Alex smiled and stopped the conversation since he didn't want to explain it.
"I…Really?"
"Yeah. That's why. Don't reject the pill later, alright?" Alex smiled. "Though I might not be the one refining it."
"Thank you very much." Aria bowed her head to him. "I wonder why you are so nice to people?"
"No, I am not." Alex shook his head.
"No, you certainly are. You are kinder and stronger than anyone else. You know your conscience and will make a decisive decision…One that you won't regret in the future. You must have gone through a lot unlike me who could only cultivate in my own courtyard in the past." She sighed.
"You should be more confident. You also have gone through a lot. Just keep living in this world without being able to see alone is already enough. The mocking, oppositions, and pressure. You are strong, and because you know how it feels like to be on the side of the oppressed, you can become kinder than anyone else." Alex smiled. "There is one thing that I want to say. You have a talent that you have yet to recognize. And I think you can develop that later."
"I have another talent?" She tilted her head in confusion.
"Yes. That might be the reason I invited you to work for me."
"What kind of quality do I have to make you do that?" She started questioning herself to what talent she actually had could impress him. Though, getting praise this high from Alex certainly made one get more hype.
"Anyway, let's go back to the topic. I only have one mission for you. Whatever you do, don't question my decision and just do it. This will be the biggest factor in whether I can achieve my objective or not. Can you do that?"
"What is your plan?"
"I am sorry, but I am unable to tell you that right now." Alex shook his head. He knew if he told her about him leaving her, she would start questioning or even do something reckless like refusing his order.
"I…Understand." Aria certainly felt a bit sad that Alex didn't have the intention to talk about the objective with her, but she decided to trust him.
Little did she know, this would be the last time they could have a peaceful talk like this. Due to him accompanying her for almost two years, she had grown too comfortable with him around. The loss would hit her deep, but without him, Aria needed to grow up once more.
This was the best separation that Alex could give with his current circ.u.mstances.
"If you are done, you should rest your body. Tomorrow is a big day after all." He smiled.
"Alright, then." She nodded with a gentle smile and walked toward the door before halting her footstep as soon as she grabbed the handle. "Nyx…"
Alex looked at her solemnly, but the word stuck on her throat, so she could only leave while saying, "No. Never mind. Good night."
"Yes, good night." Alex nodded.
After Aria closed the door, Alex laid down on his bed and looked at his ceiling while sighing. "This is really hard."
[Are you okay?]
"It's fine. You began to become a worrywart after that day." Alex smiled.
Lin Xingzhi kept monitoring his mental state after Silvia left. It seemed she was worried about Alex's condition, especially when he thought it was his fault.
"I have done all my parts in this world, and it's time for me to leave. There are still four months left before the Sword Pavilion is opened, so I can check whether she is alright or not for now. After that, I will leave this world according to the schedule and start settling my matters." Alex nodded.
[Still, to think you have become a Rank 8 God this easily. And your Sword Qi cultivation is even faster than you've expected.]
"Haha… That's also surprising. But I believe it's due to Aria releasing the Sword Qi from her Sword Eyes that allowed me to gather the energy easier. I have passed Rank 6 and almost reached Rank 7. It won't be hard to reach Rank 7 before the Sword Pavilion and aim for Rank 8 before leaving this world." Alex nodded.
[Fair enough.]
"Now that I think about it, I have gotten so much in this world." Alex smiled. "The first will be Heilo and Leka. I have ordered them to leave the sect according to my plan and meet me somewhere since I will be taking them to Eulja.
"After that, I met with the Sword God and learned about the possibility of my Three Purities Slash. Then I got Sword Qi, the pure one of course, and also the ticket for this Sword Pavilion. I also got the Eternal Ice Flower.
"Then, I met Eve and fixed the problem of my body. I met Silvia and Aria. Still, when we reach the end. I couldn't do anything to Silvia, but I will try to protect Aria when I leave this world."
[By planning all this stuff?]
"Yeah. I can't do anything about the parting stuff, so I can only give a bit of motivation so she can reach God Rank faster. That is if she wants. And since I will be doing something reckless, I will not drag her down later…Well, I will do my best." Alex put a gentle smile while stroking his sword.
Eve then came out and stood before him with a serious expression. "Master. You are usually energetic, but why are you so down?"
"Haha… It's hard to see me like this?" Alex smiled. He certainly was someone who put too much emotion into every single thing. At first, it was when Sandra betrayed him, and he could only cry. Then, it was when he needed to seal Alicia in the Time Box. Not long after that, he learned about his teacher's death and so on.
He was a pretty emotional guy, and he didn't mind it because this was his weakness but also his strength. This emotion gave him the determination to get even stronger.
"Yes. Well, I started following you a year ago, so I never saw you like this."
"Fair enough, but you will see more in the future. After all, you are not going to abandon me and search for a new master, right?" Alex smiled.
"Of course. I am ready to follow you until death. This is the path I've chosen myself back when we met. I don't know your burden, but I promise you to become the sword that can cut anything, including your fate. I won't let them off if fate wants you to die."
"Haha…I need to thank you in advance then."
"Then, can I ask about your past?"
"Sure. It will be a long story, so I will just keep it short. Though it will still take a few hours."
"I will be with Master for thousands of years, why would I care about a few hours?"
Alex nodded and began telling his story about Eve.
Knowing Alex had such a past, Eve understood him more and more, understanding why he would think that way and this way. This might even boost their performances.
Either way, Alex passed the night with story-telling.
…
The next day.
Alex came out of his room and found Aria with a butler outfit that even surprised Alex. He thought she would wear a dress, but she instead wore what a man would wear.
She didn't wear a mask and kept her eyes open. She seemed to put on a wig as if she wanted to do something different.
Alex couldn't understand what she was thinking, so he asked. "Why are you wearing this?"
"You wanted to hide your identity, right? If I wore this and had no blind eyes, the Luzear Family will only know me as a different person. I can pretend to be your butler or someone that your "Master" sent before he died. This way, they won't look down on you and won't do something they can't afford to. Besides, that Nella seems to want only you to come. So, I came up with this."
Alex widened his eyes, never expecting her to think this way. It was true that with an outfit like this, it would make her identity more oblivious. It would also protect her from anyone he tried to offend to "accidentally" kill him.
"Well, that's fine too, I guess." Alex smiled. "Thank you for the thought."
Little did she know Alex's reason and her reason were two completely different things, but both had their own benefits, so Alex didn't mention it.
"How should I call you then?"
"Call me Jack."
"Weird taste."
"Shut up."