Lord of Annihilation

Knitting his brows, Lucius quickly pulled back his hands and coldly asked, "What are you doing?" His tone made it extremely clear that he was not pleased with Olivia's actions.

The atmosphere inside the house immediately turned heavy. Riker looked at the group with confusion, Ka'lor'ah was immensely worried, and Lucius was annoyed. 

He focused an intense gaze on her, awaiting an answer.

Being subject to the pressure emitted by Lucius, Olivia was strangely calm. There was no trace of panic within her eyes, but an only quiet confidence.

Staring into Lucius' eyes, she spoke with utmost clarity, "Correct me if I'm wrong. The only reason that we came to this place was to get our weapons forged, correct?"

Not expecting to be asked a question, Lucius was caught off-guard. 

"…yes," he replied, unconsciously reducing the emitted pressure.

Continuing the offensive, Olivia asked, "And this good sir, is the only one who can do it, right?"

"…correct," answered Lucius.

Then, turning to face Riker, Olivia politely asked, "Is there no way to start the forging process right away, Mr. Riker? We are in quite a bit hurry, you see."

Hearing that, Riker flashed a bitter smile and replied, "It is not that I can't start the forging process right away. Just that, the chances of a successful forging will be really low."

"Forging a Living Weapon requires more than simple skill. It also requires a certain degree of luck and fate. While such things cannot be controlled by us mortals, we can only try our best at the forging itself."

"With such limited materials, I'm afraid that there will be no room for mistakes. The forging has to be done perfectly to ensure that the chances of success are as high as they can be," explained Riker.

"In order to do that, I would require time. Starting tomorrow would be the best course of action. Haste would only make waste."

"I do request for your understanding," asked Riker, politely.

"Oh, we understand, Sir Riker. While we are certainly in a hurry, we do want the forging to be successful. Please do your best," Olivia bowed.

She then turned to face Lucius one more time and spoke, "Well, looks like we got no choice but to wait, Lucius. Now that we have all this time, perhaps we could go somewhere for training?"

"Oh, but wait," Olivia slapped her forehead in realization. "I almost forgot."

"All the elves outside hate us!" She exclaimed in 'surprise'. "No offense." She quickly added while facing Riker.

"None taken," replied Riker, amused.

"And after what happened in the town, I'm sure that the remaining residents have contacted the authorities and informed them. Right now, there could be Stage 4 officers outside looking for us!"

"But of course, if we still really have to go outside, I guess we could..." Olivia continued to explain her series of complicated and convoluted plans and their resulting scenarios to Lucius. 

Her explanations were overly detailed and complex, that Lucius soon became lost in the sea of scenarios. 

Currently, he had already stopped pressuring Olivia and his previous annoyance had all but evaporated. Lucius was trapped within Olivia's explanations and found himself growing more confused and lost with each passing second.

Facing someone as lively and sociable as Olivia, there was only little that someone of Lucius' levels of EQ could do. 

Unable to find an opening to interrupt her, Lucius could only helplessly fall into Olivia's pace.

Meanwhile, Ka'lor'ah was watching the duo before her with great interest and amusement. Her initial worry had disappeared the moment Olivia took charge of the atmosphere and was replaced with amusement and honest respect for her.

Looking at Olivia slowly convince him with her speech. Ka'lor'ah thought to herself, 'Wow, she just effortlessly talked him into changing his answer. Even I find it difficult to do that.'

It was then, did Ka'lor'ah noticed Riker nearing her. He stood near Ka'lor'ah's tiny, floating figure and asked, "I couldn't help but hear something about the elven town. What happened?"

Ka'lor'ah flashed a bitter smile and explained the events to him. 

Hearing her explanation, Riker let out a sigh and replied. "I don't blame you for doing what you guys did. Those brethren of mine were brought up in a very protected environment. I promise to assist you with the authorities." 

"We will be counting on you," Ka'lor'ah hurriedly refused him.

The duo continued to watch the amusing scene before them, before Riker asked, "What's the deal with them?"

"Well, you see, the girl, who's quite a bit of a pervert, is trying to convince the guy, why staying in this manor and taking a bath together is essential for their journey. As you can see, she's slowly getting there," Ka'lor'ah explained while chuckling.

"I see," Riker nodded his head in understanding. He then continued, "This is the first time I'm meeting a Killer in the flesh. He is very different from what I've heard about them."

"Most things often are. Although, this one might be a special case," Ka'lor'ah vaguely replied. 

She then turned to face Riker and asked, "Well, it looks like the girl will be failing to reach her intended target. Mind helping a bit?"

Riker responded with a smile, "Of course. It's the least I could do to compensate for the delay."

"Fine, I understand! We can stay within this house for the time being," Lucius eventually gave in.

He couldn't bear Olivia's assault of words anymore and wanted it to stop as soon as possible. Something about her vibrant demeanor and energy caused him to change his mind.

In addition, all of her words and reasoning were true. His actions in the town of Grenich might draw attention from the authorities. At least, staying inside this manor would ensure that they would be protected by Riker in case any elven officers came knocking. 

"However," Lucius was not finished with his reply, "I have no need for a bath. I already have soul power to perform those activities." He finished.

Hearing this reply, Olivia turned downcast. 

While her words seemed righteous and intentions pure, it was exactly as Ka'lor'ah had said earlier. All that effort that was put into convincing Lucius, was with the sole intent to get him to enter the bath with her.

'Tch. So close, yet so far. How hard is that damn stone making up your heart?' Olivia inwardly complained. 

All of her excitement on wanting to experience an elven bath had already died. What was even the point, if she couldn't see Lucius disrobed.

'Why are we still here? Just to suffer…' thought Olivia, depressed.

It was then, that a ray of shining light came to help her with her struggle. An act of divine intervention which would help her realize her dreams.

"Actually, this is no normal bath," Riker suddenly intervened. 

Facing Lucius while wearing a serious expression, he continued, "I assume you seek to reach Stage 4, right?"

"That is correct," Lucius honestly replied.

"Then I would highly suggest you take this bath," Riker sincerely advised. "You see, I have this special bath recipe which I managed to find in an ancient ruin during my travels. Soaking for a few hours in it will remove your current body of all extraneous Rules and impurities."

"Not only will it help shorten your first 'Transcendence', but it will also improve the quality of the result afterward. I have all the necessary ingredients and materials for exactly one bath."

"The lady should take it too. It will also be of immense help to her, vastly improving her power when she reaches Stage 3," Riker finished.

"Say what now?" Olivia's dispirited head instantly snapped up. 

Her two eyes shined with unparalleled brilliance, and a bright smile appeared on her face.

However, the ones who showed the greatest reaction to Riker's words were actually, Lucius and Ka'lor'ah.

"Are you serious?" asked Lucius, his tone incomparably serious.

Surprised at his odd reaction, Riker answered with a nod, "I have no reason to lie. You are the benefactor of my family after all."

Hearing his reply, Lucius heavily nodded his head and closed his eyes.

'Lucius, you have to take it!' Ka'lor'ah hurriedly inserted mentally, 'Even if it decreases your first 'Transcendence' by a single second, you must still take it! It is extremely important! You cannot miss this god-given chance!!'

Why was it so important, you ask?

That is because, during his first Transcendence, Lucius will face a test from the Universe. A test that involved the 'Bindings of Cause'. 

And if you try and recall, the 'Bindings of Cause' were unusually harsh on Lucius, making it impossible for him to overcome it and ascend.

Of course, the first Transcendence test will not involve the real thing, but will simply create a much, much weaker imitation of them. The real thing only appeared on the second Transcendence, when one tried to ascend into Stage 6.

Nonetheless, an imitation or not, it was still a terribly difficult challenge for Lucius to overcome, him more so than others. 

It would be a real do-or-die challenge for Lucius, and spending even a single second less taking that test would increase his odds of success exponentially.

'I know,' Lucius heavily replied.

He knew better than Ka'lor'ah, better than anyone in fact, how harsh the 'Bindings of Cause' would be on him. In fact, Lucius himself was not very confident on coming out unscathed from that test, and this was given his skill set and hack-like abilities.

Were it not for the fact that he managed to ascend inside Limbo where the 'Bindings of Cause' were unable to manifest, Lucius would have definitely died prematurely in his previous life.

'Trying to find an entrance to Limbo is hopeless. It will appear randomly and can only be found by pure chance. I have no choice but to ascend here, within the Universe.'

'A few hours of bathing to reduce the time required for the first Transcendence, this is simply a god-sent opportunity.'

Opening his eyes and meeting Riker's gaze, Lucius replied, "I'll take it."

"I'll draw the bath," Riker gracefully replied and walked into the depths of the manor.

He then turned to face Olivia and continued, "You can also take it with me. It will help you reach Stage 3 easier and quicker." He then turned around and followed Riker.

Hearing that, Olivia nearly squealed in pure delight. 

If it was not for Ka'lor'ah firmly shutting her mouth at the correct moment, she might have leaked her indecent thoughts for Lucius to see.

While keeping her hands firmly on Olivia's mouth and after ensuring that Lucius had left the scene, Ka'lor'ah softly spoke, "Enjoy."

Never before in her life had Olivia nodded her head faster than she did at this moment.