331 Heavenly Sight
"Lucas! Are you listening?! Just..."
Yelena's voice faded into the background as my sudden realization struck. Instantly, I bit my lower lip and turned to face Amelia.
"Lucas, what's going–"
I interrupted her before she could voice her concerns, saying, "I have to go inside. To my room. I want you to stall these two until I come out."
With that, I gestured toward Yelena and Adel. The silver-haired elf had her hand stretched out in front of the Golden Wolf.
From the looks of it, Yelena didn't want a fight to break out between us. A very good choice. At the very least, she still had some sense left in her.
Adel was too arrogant to notice, but Yelena seemed to understand that if we were to fight right now, I would prevail.
I shifted my attention back to Amelia and said, "Just trust me on this one."
The black-haired archeress was momentarily at a loss for words. However, in the end, she managed to bob her in a reluctant nod.
Just as she agreed, I spun around and quickly strode toward the mansion gates.
"Hey! How dare he?! Stop him!"
"Lucas! We aren't done talking to you!"
Both Adel and Yelena shouted at me as I headed for the giant black gates of the Wolf's Den, but I didn't stop.
Seeing that, they rushed at me. It didn't even take them a second to intercept my path as they came to stand right in front of me.
Yelena reached for me, trying to grab my shoulder, while Adel began summoning his spear by channeling mana into his dimensional ring.
But before either of them could complete their actions, I locked my gaze with each of them one by one.
As soon as our eyes met, a mesmerizing violet glint sparked in my left eye, and my pupil suddenly became intricately complex like an ethereal maze.
In an instant, both Yelena and Adel froze in their tracks, as if their bodies had turned to lead.
Both of them were instantly ensnared in a deliberately crafted illusion.
I passed between their frozen bodies with Amelia closely following me behind.
As we reached the gates, the guards exchanged confused with one another, their eyes darting between me and my two siblings, who stood in the middle of the street like two stone statues.
I turned to one of the guards who was giving us a questioning look and asked, "Well? Are you going to open the gates?"
The guard hesitantly complied, moving to open the colossal black gates and granting us entry into the Mansion.
Meanwhile, several other guards quickly rushed to check up on Adel and Yelena.
That went smoothly. I had thought I'd need to ensnare them all back there.
As we crossed the main garden, Amelia couldn't contain her curiosity for much longer and spoke up, "Did you use that relic you got from the cafe?"
Glancing at her over my shoulder, I slowly nodded without slowing down my pace. At that moment, I suddenly felt something warm trickle down my left eye.
Instinctively, I touched my face with the back of my palm and examined my hand, only to see that it was stained with blood.
Blood, huh?
The relic was straining my eyes.
"Are you okay?" Amelia asked with concern, noticing the blood. "Is it because of the relic?"
Once again, I nodded, and she posed another question. "How come the vampire at the cafe was able to trap so many people in her illusions then?"
I took a deep breath, wiped the blood from my face, and replied, "That vampire not only had much more mana than me, but she also knew how to use the Sightstone better than me."
After a brief pause, I added, "With enough mana and practice, in the future, I also will be able to ensnare more people. But... for now, four to five would be my limit."
"I see," Amelia nodded in understanding as we reached the entrance of the mansion.
Right then, I turned around and locked eyes with Amelia. She didn't shy away from my gaze.
I couldn't help but be surprised. If I were facing someone who could trap me in an illusion and peer into my memories by just locking eyes with me, I would have definitely averted my gaze.
However, I didn't have much time to think about all this. Quickly, I gave Amelia a stern look and stated, "I'm going to do something in my room. I will be in a vulnerable state, so whatever happens, don't let those two near my room. Fend them off for at least ten minutes using whatever means necessary."
Amelia frowned. "Aren't they trapped in your illusion?"
"They are for now," I nodded. "But they will be released once I can't keep the relic active anymore. So, stall them."
Amelia gritted her teeth. She was strong, but keeping the current Queen of the Global City at bay for ten minutes was a tall order, even for her.
And that was especially the case when another warrior was present there to assist her, making it a two-against-one situation for Amelia.
However, in the end, the black-haired beauty only nodded in agreement. "Fine, but I'm charging you extra for this."
"Sure– Wait... what? You're charging me?" I asked, dumbfounded.
Amelia shrugged. "I had to compensate for my fight in that bar. Then I paid Minerva. I may be well off, but I'm not filthy rich like you, Your Majesty."
"....Fine!" At a loss for words, I shook my head and exclaimed before heading into the mansion.
†
It took me a minute or two to reach my room. My gaze hurriedly swept across the lavish chamber, pausing only when my eyes landed on the giant silver-
plated mirror.
Exhaling deeply, I approached the mirror and touched it, hoping to access its Status Screen... if it had one.
And lo and behold! A blue holographic screen instantly appeared in my vision.
"I was right!" I muttered to myself. Yes, once again, I stood corrected. The mirror was indeed a relic.
===
Item: Mirror (Relic)
Rank: Mythical
Name: Heavenly Sight
Description: When an offering of blood is made upon this mirror's silver surface as a symbol of devotion and sacrifice, it grants a fleeting glimpse into the heavenly realm, allowing the user to catch a glimpse of the King Of Gods himself, compelling him to answer five of the user's questions.
This mirror's ornate frame is adorned with celestial designs, making it a mesmerizing and enigmatic piece of art and mysticism.
The mirror can only be used thrice.
===
"Well, I'll be damned!" I scoffed upon reading the description of the relic before me.
So, to activate it, I needed to splatter blood on the mirror's surface.
"I should've guessed this earlier," I said to myself while meticulously inspecting the surface of the silver-plated ornate mirror.
The last time I used this mirror was to look at myself when I was binding the Enigma Sightstone to myself.
Naturally, when I stabbed my eye open, more than a few drops of blood spurted out onto the mirror's surface.
However, the next time I glanced at the mirror, there was no blood smeared on it. I didn't have maids or butlers cleaning my room, and I certainly didn't bother to clean the mirror myself.
So, who cleaned the blood off this mirror? The answer was clear – no one did.
The mirror must've absorbed the blood as part of the offering ritual and opened a pathway for me to see the King of Gods.
Joe didn't bring me there. He lied. I was the one who unknowingly entered Arcadia, the heavenly realm.
He didn't even kill me. If he had, my soul link to Sera would've been severed momentarily, and she would've shown concern. But she did no such thing.
"Well played, Joe."
I would never have suspected a relic like this existed if I hadn't met that old man. But even then, it was a long shot.
For all I knew, I could've been wrong.
"But when have I ever been wrong?" I mused to myself and took out a stiletto knife from the pocket space of my dimensional ring.
I grabbed the blade of the knife using my left hand and forcefully slashed it out of my grip.
A deep wound opened up in my left palm, blood gushing out of it. I jerked my hand in an arc in front of the mirror, splattering my blood on its surface.
As soon as I did that, the blood started to vanish, gradually being absorbed by the mirror.
"Haa," a smirk crossed my lips. I felt dizzy the more blood the mirror absorbed.
Finally, after a few minutes, I was on the verge of passing out as I staggered back and fell back-first onto my bed, closing my eyes.