"Reyana," I said as I looked at her naked body, bathing in silvery moonlight coming from the window.
She looked mesmerizing, that I wanted to look away, but I couldn't pull my eyes away from her.
"You have done so much for me. I could never repay in my life, but I will try to, with everything I have," she said with cheeks flaming as she appeared beside and bend down to kiss.
She looked beautiful, like a work of art. A goddess reincarnates. Anyone would be lucky to have her.
Unfortunately, it will not be me.
"I can't," I said, as her lips inched away from me.
"Do you not find me beautiful?" she asked with her cheeks flaming. "Extremely," I replied.
"Then why?" she asked, moving her tantalizing lips closer. "I have someone I love," I replied, and she stopped, with a faint hesitation appearing on her face.
"She will not know," she said, and I smiled. "I love her," I said, and she shuddered, before mist covered her fully, even her face for a moment before it disappeared from it.
When it was revealed, it was impassive.
"She is one lucky woman," she said, and I smiled without mirth. "I am the luckiest man," I corrected, and memories of Marina appeared in front of my eyes and the ache become unbearable for a moment.
"I am glad you have someone like that," she said, with a voice filled with emotions, despite having none on her face.
"I am sure you will find someone like that, too," I replied, but there was no answer, as she disappeared, but I know she had heard me.
...
The next few days had been awkward. Especially on the first day, when she barely talked a few words to me.
Thankfully, things improved over the days, but not entirely, even after a week. The faint awkwardness had remained between us; it will take a long time for it to disappear.
"The seal is already proving its usefulness. See those spots? They are evening out." I said to Reyana, as I show her, the spots in her meta-scan.
She had leveled up four times and naturally, there are going to be some wide-effects of the progress.
"How long will it take for them to even all out?" she asked, after looking at the spots.
"For others, it would have taken a year or more, but to you, it will take three to four months. The alchemy is helping you a lot in smoothening out things," I said.
Alchemy requires extreme precision, and this is helping her, even out her progress.
It is more effective than fighting a hundred battles.
"If I achieve that, the first seal will automatically break?" she asked. "Yes; I have designed them in such a way that they will break automatically. The moment you have passed all the parameters I have set up," I replied.
She said nothing, instead turn to me and kept looking at me; making me feel slightly uncomfortable.
"I have never seen someone like you. Never heard of a person with such capabilities,"
"I am glad, I listened to my daughter and let you in," she said, looking away. I smiled a little awkwardly before explaining her things in her meta-scan.
She needs to know a lot of things.
"You should start looking for organizations. As I said to you before, this inheritance is not good enough for your abilities. You need a better one." I said, and she nodded.
Something appeared in her eyes for a moment, before it had disappeared just as quickly.
"I am quite surprised. You do not have a spare inheritance with you, with all the things you have," she said. "Nice joke," I said to her, but instead of laughing, her expression became serious.
"I am not joking," she said.
In fact, I have an inheritance; the one I had created for my mentee, but it is low level. Creating Sovereign Inheritance is a completely different thing; till I have not created mine, forget about creating others.
Though it is not beyond my abilities. Still, I will not create.
It will take a long time and even if I am able to do that. It will be of the Sovereign and there is still Earth Sovereign and Sky Sovereign beyond it, not to mention Prime.
I will not be with her forever; the best option for her would be to join an organization.
With her level, talent, and constitution, any organization will welcome her with open arms. Still, I hope she will think about this decision for a long time.
It is a lifelong commitment.
Thankfully, she has time. She can take that decision after breaking all the seals, which would take her at least one and a half years.
"By the way, this is the resources from your list," she said and handed me a storage ring, which I do not feel good about accepting.
"Take it. Let me do this one thing for you," she said with a note of pleading. "Thank you," I said and accepted the ring, which is filled with the resources.
For the past week, she had been taking care of my resources and while I feel awkward about it; it was helping me a lot.
The cost of treatments is ballooning every day, and I need a large amount of resources. The resources she provided are not only merging more forbidden energy into me, but also strengthening treatments.
I am making slow but steady progress through them.
I have even started using some parts of a parasite, which are helping me a lot in strengthening. Still, nothing could compare to the Grimms; they are the best.
I wish there had been a battlefield where I could go and fight them. It would have made things much easier for me.
I talked to Reyana for a few minutes before I went back to my room and started with treatments.
A few hours later, I finished and joined Reyana in the alchemy lab.
Now, I do not make a potion. Instead, I teach Vana and exchange alchemy methods with Reyana. She is quite knowledgeable, with a very ingenious method.
She achieved Grade 4 in alchemy when she was in Primary III. What is even rare is that she achieved that rank, when she barely had the energy to craft grade 4 potions.
She developed many indigenous methods; some of them are very amazing.
I could already feel my alchemy advancing as I learned them.
It is not just alchemy in which I am making progress. I am also making rapid progress in my inheritance, where four of me are working.
I am nearly finished; it will take three to four days before I am finished.
I also making great progress in treatments, and would be finished with them soon enough.
The only thing that is happening slowly is me reaching the limit. It will take a lot of time. If I keep progressing at this speed.
Days passed, and these days were calm and happy. Even if things felt awkward with Reyana sometimes, I am feeling most happy since I come here.
Happiness doesn't last forever.
On the twenty-ninth day of my release from jail, I got the call I had been waiting for.
They have opened the ruins entrance.