Silence.
A very LOUD silence.
The two goddesses looked at Evan with incredulous expressions, and Evan only laughed even more.
He knew what they were thinking. One could not become a Hero of a Planet they weren't an indigen of, unless one were a Rogue Hero from another world.
But to become a Rogue Hero, they had to be a Hero from their original world and lose their connection to that world while maintaining their Hero status.
Artemisia and Beatrix, knowing this, began to theorize.
What if Evan was a Rogue Hero from Earth-V who had come to future Aidos and become a Hero there?
'But the way he was surprised about the topic of Rogue Heroes when Alvey brought it up…it didn't seem feigned…'
Evan could almost see the thoughts Artemisia was having and spoke in response to this.
"Whatever conjecture you're forming, it's probably not correct, but I'd let you come to your own conclusions."
His voice made Artemisia's eyes narrow into a glare as she asked.
"And why would you suddenly reveal this when you've been hiding this the whole time?"
"Had to save the big reveal for the right moment. I mean, come on, if I'd told you straight away, you wouldn't have had this lovely reaction."
Evan replied, his tone playful as ever and Beatrix, who had been staring at him in shock, finally snapped out of it and started laughing.
"I can't believe this. Turns out we're all from the same planet."
"I'm from Earth-V though, but, yeah, I'm also technically Aidosian."
At this point, Artemisia and Beatrix felt Evan was messing with them when he spoke about being from Earth-V, with the former completely oblivious to the fact that her future self was the cause of Evan becoming a Hero.
"You were right under our noses this whole time."
"Thank you, thank you. I do pride myself on my ability to keep secrets."
Evan gave a dramatic bow in response to Beatrix's words and Artemisia opened her mouth to say something but stopped herself, clearly unsure of how to feel about the reveal.
"Why now, though? Why tell us here, in this cave?"
Before Evan could repeat his earlier response, she cut him off.
"Give me a serious answer."
Under her glare, Evan raised his hands in mock surrender and spoke honestly.
"Figured it was better now than in the middle of a fight or something. But I wouldn't lie that I did want to see your reaction."
He shrugged at that last bit, but his eyes remained focused on Artemisia alone—it was her reaction he'd wanted to see and realising this, she rolled her eyes, exasperated.
"You're impossible."
"I know."
The boy candidly admitted this, but then his demeanour changed to a serious one and the two girls felt the change instantly.
"I do have a favour to ask though.
I'd like for this to remain between us. I don't want to attract attention from the current Aidos, and I only told you two to prevent any uncontrollable situations in the future."
Evan's desire not to attract attention had a rather simple but important reason.
It wasn't about messing up the future—no, he'd already started on that front by showing Artemisia that he was an Aidosian Hero.
He didn't want to get kidnapped by any Race Kings who wanted to try using his 'future knowledge' to alter the course of history, essentially creating a new timeline where things didn't play out the same.
It could also make him a target since they would try to control him or some other faction might try to eliminate him to protect their own agendas.
"It's not like I can predict every possible consequence. That's why it's better to limit who knows."
Beatrix nodded slowly, starting to understand the gravity of what Evan was saying.
"So, it's not just about keeping the timeline intact… It's about keeping yourself safe."
"Oh, it's 99% about keeping myself safe. The timeline can manage 1%."
Evan didn't want to be dragged into some political power struggle or get entangled with factions on Aidos trying to manipulate the future.
Well, if he had protection, then he wouldn't mind.
But knowing that the current time did not have the restrictions that prevented Higher-Existences from interfering with mortals on Aidos, and the planet was ruled by a Council of Higher Existences in the same Existence Level as future Artemisia, he did not want to deal with any bullshit.
"When I say, 'limit who knows', that includes Alvey, McEnda, Arthur and Sigesi."
Evan made sure to specify this so they didn't think those four were okay—they weren't, especially the three Gozonians.
His gaze was focused on Beatrix for this part as she seemed most likely to spill this to Alvey. The boy was ready to use magic to force her into a contract if it came down to it, but he wanted to keep that as a last resort until he confirmed something else he'd been wondering about Beatrix.
Seeing the look in his eyes, Beatrix looked away while whistling, but the moment the ground at Evan's feet cracked open and small crimson gold chains peeked out, she raised her hands and gave a mock salute.
"I won't talk, okay! Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. Though, this is definitely the most ridiculous thing I've heard in a while."
She wouldn't deny that the way Evan's demeanour abruptly changed—with his eyes narrowing to slits and his pupils turning draconic—scared her.
Artemisia, on the other hand, seemed more cautious but nodded in agreement.
"I won't say a word. But Evan, you better be ready for the possibility of it being revealed by someone else.
If the truth ever slips out, it would be harder to control than you think."
"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. For now, let's just focus on the present. We've got a cave to explore, don't we?"
Though he said that, neither party moved. Artemisa had completely forgotten about her tablet on the floor as she gazed at him, not saying a word.
Her expression was unreadable, but Evan could feel the weight of her thoughts. Beatrix, standing off to the side, looked tense, clearly watching the silent exchange of gazes unfold, not knowing what to expect.
Evan had thoughts of his own running through his head. Artemisia had seen his Mystic Eye of Mimicry, and by now, she would have pieced together what it could do. After all, it wasn't hard to figure out—it was in the name.
The ability to 'mimic'. And considering Evan's extensive skill set, it wouldn't take long for her to realize that he'd been collecting skills over the years.
What she didn't know, however, was how his power worked. Unlike her future self, current Artemisia didn't understand the conditions required for Evan's power to activate.
If she did, she wouldn't have been staring him in the eye for as long as she had.
It was almost as if she was begging him to take her skills.
Evan naturally didn't decline the invitation.
|Tempest Avatar Acquired|
|Unique Skills require three skill slots. |
|Three Skill slots remaining. |
'Just three? I think I need to remove some unnecessary skills…or I should just focus on Levelling up and get more slots.'
Evan blinked and then his lips curled under his mask.
"Well, well, what do we have here? Looks like I've just picked up another skill."
Artemisia's brow raised in confusion at his words, but she didn't respond. She kept her eyes on him, the gears in her head clearly turning.
Then, Evan raised his hand and activated the skill he'd just taken. Golden lightning crackled around his arm, forming a massive, glowing limb that was about three times the size of his own.
"Hmm…Looks familiar, doesn't it?"
Evan mused, staring at the avatar's lightning-clad arm and Artemisia's eyes widened in shock.
"What—how did—"
She stammered, her voice caught between disbelief and outrage.
Evan's eyes glinted with amusement as he flexed the golden lightning-clad arm, watching it shimmer with each movement.
He raised his other hand, and the same golden lightning crackled to life, engulfing his opposite arm. Then he extended his arms outward and used the skill like it was meant to be used.
The Tempest Avatar manifested behind him, separate from his body. Its golden limbs radiated arcs of crackling lightning, mirroring Evan's movements.
Clearly enjoying himself, he had the Avatar perform a series of complex manoeuvres on its own, while Artemisia's face was still etched with disbelief.
"Not bad, right? I just got it, and I can control it to this extent already. Looks like I'm good at this."
Evan said, his tone playful as he flexed the avatar's arms one last time, then, his eyes gleaming with mischief, he added.
"Maybe even better than you."
Artemisia's eyes narrowed instantly, her hands twitching as though she was resisting the urge to respond. Her competitive side was flaring up, just like Evan had intended.
Earlier, he noticed the way Beatrix had pushed her buttons to get her to agree to the race and was simply mimicking that.
Beatrix also realised what Evan was doing and sighed. She sighed because she knew that even though Artemisia would also realise what he was doing, she'd still end up falling for his instigation.
And just like she thought, Artemisia's eyes narrowed at Evan, her mouth set into a thin line. The playful spark in Evan's eyes only made her irritation grow.
"Oh, you think so?"
"Yeah. Pretty sure."
Evan gave her a lazy shrug and the twitch in her brow became more pronounced. Without another word, Artemisia activated her own Tempest Avatar.
Golden lightning burst from her body, forming the same shimmering, towering avatar that mirrored Evan's.
"We'll see about that."
Seeing this reaction, Evan laughed and spoke.
"Oh, we're doing this? Alright, let's see if you can keep up."
Artemisia launched forward, her avatar's massive arm surging with lightning as she swung it toward him. Evan leapt back, his own Tempest Avatar mirroring his movements as he deflected the blow.
He extended his arm and the avatar clenched its fist, then he dashed forward and used it to slam down towards Artemisia.
She countered with her own, the two golden lightning avatars clashing with a thunderous crackle, sending sparks flying through the cave.
"You really think you can beat me with my own skill?"
Artemisia growled, her competitive spirit flaring to life and Evan chuckled, easily blocking her attacks.
"I mean, I just got it, and look at me go. You've had this for years, right? How is it that I'm already doing better?"
"Shut up!"
Artemisia snapped, pushing back harder, the ground trembling beneath the force of their clash.
They moved in a blur of lightning and energy, their avatars smashing against each other with increasing intensity as they moved from the small chamber to more open space—the underground town.
Neither of them was holding back, it was clear that this wasn't a battle to the death.
Beatrix, who had been watching the exchange with mounting tension, finally let out a groan.
"Great, just great…"