CHAPTER 101: BEINGS OF BEYOND

Anna, Neo and Hanna lay on the ground as they huffed and puffed for air, bruises covered their body as they stared at Lavina, who stood with her arms folded at her chest and a slight, amused smile tugging at her lips. Their armours also had multiple gashes, and they were caved in at many places, suggesting that Lavina had shown no mercy in training them in the ways of the awakened combat.

She looked at them with her calm eyes as she thought.

’They can not learn everything in such a short time, so I just have to imprint it in their body.’

The trio, however, looked at her with hateful expressions. They knew that this training was needed, and Lavina was doing all of this to make sure that they would survive within the dream rift and return alive.

But... that sadistic and amused smile on her face made them believe that there was some other reason too... something they would not like and something they do not want to know either.

Right then, Lavina clapped her hands and asked in a serious tone.

"How much do you three know about the dream rifts?"

Hearing her questions, the trio straightened themselves and looked at each other before Anna spoke.

"Dream rifts allow us to enter the banished realm."

Lavina nodded at her and asked.

"What do you know about the banished realm then?"

The trio turned silent as they thought of their answers. Lavina waited for them to finish their thoughts and give her an answer.

Neo was the one to answer in a solemn tone.

"That it is full of unknown danger?"

Hearing his answer, she chuckled and turned to look at Anna, who wore a thoughtful look. Anna’s lips parted as the answer flew out.

"Banished realm... the laws are broken there, and it is full of corrupted beings."

Lavina nodded again and questioned further.

"What is corruption then?"

Now, they turned silent as none of them had an answer to this question. She looked at them and nodded, accepting silence as their answer as she began to explain the dream rifts.

"The dream rifts are like a tear within the fabric of space... a tear that connects our world—Vyendir—to the banished realm. We can enter the banished realm and seek power and relics found there; similarly, the beings of the banished realm can come to our world and spread corruption." She took a pause, letting her words sink in before continuing.

The solemn looks of the trio described the severity of the words spoken by the black raven.

Lavina continued with her explanation.

"We do not know what corruption is and where it originally came from... the only thing we know is that it defiles whatever it touches... turning them into a part of itself, and the banished realm is full of mindless beings already touched by it, and we called them corrupted."

"However... they are not the only horror within the banished realm, as unpredictable and as unknown as the banished realm is. The ’banished’ are beings above the corrupted; they rule the corrupted as tyrants. Even though they themselves are corrupted, their minds aren’t broken like the corrupted ones; instead, they can think, and thus they use various methods to fulfil their malicious desires."

Suddenly, the wind felt much colder and sharper as if something was forcing it to still, but it wasn’t the wind... it was the weight of her words that had changed the environment.

"Now that you know about the corrupted and the banished, you should know what happens once you enter the dream rift. After entering the dream rift, you are thrown into one of the areas within the suitable layer of the banished realm." Lavina continued.

Right then, Anna raised her hand and questioned with a puzzled tone.

"Layer?"

Even though Anna could read the past and future of others, she was still just a Seeker; her powers didn’t allow her to gaze at the fate of something or someone she should not. Thus, even she was clueless about this.

"The banished realm has seven layers, and the higher the awakened rank, the deeper layer they enter."

"I see..." Anna mumbled as she turned silent. Lavina paused for a few moments before continuing.

"Once you are within the banished realm, you have to find any ruins or settlements, as it is where you will find the shrine."

Neo raised an eyebrow and asked.

"What is this shrine for?"

"The shrine is your way back home, as it is the only thing that allows you to return."

Hanna looked at her with her dark expression and asked in an afraid tone.

"How would we know what’s a shrine and what is not?’

Lavina grinned at her question and replied in a playful tone.

"Oh! You will... you will..."

The trio looked at her with dark expressions. Neo was even clenching his fists as if he wanted to wipe that grin off her face, but he did not, more like he could not; she was much stronger than he was after all.

"Okay, that’s it for tonight," Lavina announced as black lightning began to crackle around her and she turned into a raven of black lightning before flying away with baffling speed.

The trio looked at her departure with solemn looks before turning towards the mansion with their battered body. Their bodies ached as Lavina had shown them no mercy as they walked forward. Hanna let out a groan and questioned.

"Why can’t I heal us again?"

Anna looked at her with her heavy eyes and answered.

"She wants to imprint the combat in our bodies... your healing would just turn all of our efforts into nought."

Hanna lowered her head as a word left her lips.

"Okay..."

Soon, the trio reached the mansion and were now resting in their rooms. The combat training had run them dry as they no longer had energy to do anything; thus, all of them fell asleep right after their heads touched their beds.