CHAPTER 237: CHAPTER 237: CHANGES IN CASSIAS’ CONSCIOUSNESS

A suction force enveloped her whole body. Even if she wanted to jump out of harm’s way, she couldn’t.

A strange feeling entered her heart.

"Little cub!"

"Zizi!"

Two voices yelled at the same time. Eldemar tried to reach for her, but it was too late. The tendril-like thing grabbed her tiny figure. The complete darkness made her feel as if she were blind.

Why?

She couldn’t resist the question in her heart. Cassias and Eldemar’s confident expressions morphed into horror flashed in her mind. She felt as if she understood something, but at the same time, not quite.

When the tendril clasped her body, obviously Eldemar’s claws had already reached her. It even shredded the tendril, and she should have been saved, but...

Zerra almost thought she had died too, but then she remembered this was merely a world created by someone else’s memory. Unless Cassias indeed was trying to kill her, she wouldn’t have died.

As such, she calmed down and began to inspect her surroundings. It was really dark everywhere, slowly giving a sense of anxiety that crept into her heart.

The silence was similarly deafening.

The surrounding was a completely still.

"Hello?" She suddenly opened her mouth. It felt somewhat numb.

There was no answer. So, she tried again. "Anyone there? Can you hear me?"

Her voice didn’t even echo back, and she couldn’t hear her own voice. As if she had never opened her mouth to speak at all...

The situation was really weird, and she couldn’t make sense of it at all.

"Cassias, are you there? It’s me, Zerra!" She didn’t give up and continuously told Cassias it was her.

His consciousness might remember her and eject her out of this strange place. Because... the silence and absolute blackness had begun to drive her crazy.

No, she took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down, trying to distract herself with other thoughts.

For example, the strange states of Cassias and Eldemar. The cracks in their expressions made her question a lot of things. About the eccentric old man Eldemar, she was sure he had noticed the strange monster right away and had been prepared.

So, Zerra falling down to the monster’s mouth was beyond his expectations. He was calm as he broke the tendrils, but his face had changed abruptly before everything around her turned black.

It happened right after the tendrils broke, a split second away from Eldemar using his claw to reach her. She didn’t even know what had happened to his claw now.

On the other hand, Cassias, who had power lower than him, also seemed to notice the monster. The desperation in his eyes was palpable... and it happened right before the tendrils broke.

Actually, his eyes were full of myriad emotions. Shock, dejected, hopelessness, agony, and other emotions she couldn’t name. At last, she seemed to see a flash of recognition, as if he had just awoken from a long dream into reality.

Since it was a world constructed from his memory, did he replay the same scene repeatedly? His fox friend falling into some monster’s mouth while he could not help?

"Cassias, it’s not your fault," she finally said. She didn’t know whether it was the knot in his hear, but she still seized the opportunity to smooth it. "Don’t blame yourself too much."

After she said that, she suddenly felt the darkness shake a bit. Or was it her imagination?

Even until a long time passed, nothing changed. She couldn’t help but feel disappointed. In her fox form, she shrank, hugging herself.

The time here felt excruciatingly long. Little by little, she could feel her sanity dissipating. After all, who could stand being confined in such a depressing place where they could neither hear nor see anything?

Even one second felt like an eternity.

Was it Cassias’ consciousness that trapped her here after it found out she had invaded its territory? She couldn’t tell.

"Cassias..." she sighed for the umpteenth time, having lost count. She weakly reminded him. "It’s me, Zerra."

"I am Zizi!" She suddenly yelled in anger. "Release me this instant!"

A thundering sound broke out as soon as she said that. The darkness shook. Huh? Her heart palpitated.

"I am Zizi!" She yelled again. The effect was instantaneous. Whatever this place was, it shook again. As if she had discovered a new continent, she repeated the sentence repeatedly.

She wanted to get out of here and find out how Nias was doing! Eldemar too. Maybe also Cassias.

Like an egg cracking, she witnessed the blackness disintegrating. There was a flash of white that made her cover her eyes. Then, she carefully opened them again in anticipation.

Eldemar and Cassias should have been looking for her, right? If Nias had arrived, she would have been worried to death...

Eh?

Zerra blinked; her mind stopped working. There was no Eldemar in sight, but there was Cassias.

However, he didn’t look like an eight-year-old anymore. The boy had shed his childishness, growing into an adolescent. His flawless and fair face was cold. He had a frown as if someone owed him money.

In the blink of an eye, he had grown so much.

"Your Excellency, do you find any spiritual beasts that you fancy?"

Her head snapped toward the source of the voice. She belatedly realized something. The person was close to her, and his tall figure seemed to be covered by some kind of pillars...

No, not pillars. She was inside a cage!

Cassias’ figure was a little farther away, so she hadn’t noticed the iron-like pillars. In a panic, she swept her eyes around, noticing countless spiritual beast cubs being presented. Similar to her, they were also in a cage!

There were many furry animals. Rabbits, cats, dogs...

In her row, she saw a lot of foxes with various fur colors. Red, white, gray, and others. It was obvious some colors were peculiar. Most likely, they were foxes that had been a hybrid result between two species.

What had happened? She was heartbroken. Why did Cassias put her in a cage?

That dog-like man...

Cassias walked closer to the table. The person who had spoken pulled the cover from above the cages for Cassias to see, even if he already knew the adolescent in front of him had already used his senses to check the cubs.

"They are our newest batch. If you don’t like them, we can also catch more and let you be the priority to take a look first," The man muttered with a flattering yet nervous smile.

He didn’t dare underestimate the adolescent in front of him, even if he looked young.

Zerra’s eyes widened when she heard that. She had been caught by a spiritual beast cubs trafficker? Unbelievable! Did her body accidentally land somewhere, and the man caught her?

But... how could Cassias’ change be explained? He became a little older. Maybe she was sent into the future? Many possibilities emerged in her head.

She heaved a sigh of relief. At least it wasn’t Cassias who had put her in this cage.

Cassias walked with slow and deliberate steps.

Zerra instantly tried to move, shaking the cage and trying to attract Cassias’ attention. Why did this man not recognize her? His eyes kept wandering from a spiritual beast cub to another.

His eyes lingered on the foxes in particular.

She gritted her teeth. This man! Was he teasing her? She took a deep breath. Besides her, there shouldn’t be any foxes who had similar color as her fur–

Her thoughts abruptly stopped because he had stopped. Not in front of her cage, but another. The fox had a similar appearance to her; its ears and tail had a pinkish hue.

No, no, he was about to get the wrong fox!

"Do you like this one, Your Excellency? The color of this fox is unique and one of a kind." The man’s smile widened, and he tried hard to promote his product.

Zerra took a deep breath. She had already tried to stand up so that he could notice her. With his senses, he should already know he was here too!

"I heard that you have been looking for a fox cub lately." The man started to speak again. "You can tell us about your preferences. We can help to find a suitable one."

Cassias’ face didn’t even change. He pointed to the fox in front of him. "Open this one."

The man obliged, offering a smile. He opened the cage and let the fox out, catching it before it could run away.

Zerra now was sure that Cassias didn’t recognize her! So, she acted madly in her cage, scratching the pillar and making threatening, high-pitched sounds. Her voice sent anxiety to other cubs.

Slowly, Cassias turned his head in her direction.

Seeing his frown deepen, the man’s heart jolted, and he hurriedly went to her cage. "We will take care of this one. I am sorry for the disturbance, Your Excellency."

Cassias hummed in response and went back to inspect the fox in his hand.

"Bring this one some food and water." The man commanded his people.

They finally gave her some food and water. At the same time, they brought her out of the room. When she saw her own reflection in the water, her eyes grew wide in shock.