Meanwhile, within the World Tree's Will, before Konrad could join the fray, Yvonne's struggles were interrupted by a new appearance. While Yvonne sat crossed-legged in an ethereal world of lush green prairies, the figure of a young woman with back-length, blood-red hairs and eyes appeared before her.
Dressed in a purple, backless dress, with luminous skin, perfect, full-lips and engrossing phoenix eyes that only served to strengthen the effect of her flawless curves, that woman stood with beauty putting the sun and moon to shame.
And although she appeared out of nowhere, within her eyes, Yvonne could sense no malice. No, it was more complicated than that. An amalgam of contradictory emotions swirled. Emotions that targeted more than Yvonne.
"Who are you? And what do you want from me?"
Yvonne inquired while the woman's eyes locked hers. Silence followed. Twelve seconds of palpable silence during which the woman did nothing besides peering into Yvonne's eyes.
"How frustrating. I'm here to offer you a deal."
The woman began in a calm, mellifluous voice that could soothe the mind of most. It did nothing to Yvonne. And as that blood-haired beauty folded her arms beneath her voluptuous chest, Yvonne's vigilance rose to new heights.
"Become my disciple, and I will not only take you out of this Tree but bring you onto a new cultivation road. If you follow me, with your potential, I guarantee than one thousand years will be more than enough to surpass the Three Realms' Primogens. With five, the Overlord and the Warden will be left behind.
Beyond that, how far you go will depend on you."
The woman offered, speaking words that would have made anyone within the Three Realms burst into laughter.
Five thousand years of cultivation. What was five thousand years? A Semi-Saint's lifespan. Nothing more. Before the countless Saints, Sages, and Gods of the multiverse, what was five thousand years? Nothing.
And in that measly amount, that woman guaranteed to bring her beyond the Three Realms' top powerhouses? Either this was supreme conceit, or her qualifications truly stood beyond this verse. For some reason, Yvonne leaned on the later.
"Why?"
She merely asked, for indeed, if a person appeared out of nowhere to offer the moon, the first question was "why?" But hearing this, for an imperceptible instant, the woman's eyes narrowed.
"I could lie and say that I'm impressed by your talent. But that is inaccurate. I just want you out of this world and am willing to pay for it."
The woman replied with a tone laced in indifference. But her words made Yvonne's luscious lips curve into an enchanting smirk.
"Out of this world? No. Out of Konrad's life? Yes. Are we by any chance acquainted? Why do you want me away from my husband?"
Yvonne inquired with rising interest. Strange emotions welled up within her chest as she peered back into the woman's eyes. Womanly intuition, perhaps. But she could bet her hand that Konrad was the reason of her presence.
But surprisingly, the woman merely shrugged.
"Acquainted? No, we shouldn't be. But nowadays, those things don't seem that certain anymore. In any case, you're right. I want you out of his life and am paying for it by granting you the opportunity of a lifetime. Why bother with trifles? You don't have to know why."
The woman reacted in an increasingly condescending tone. Yvonne's smile grew broader.
"Interesting. However, I will have to decline."
Yvonne replied, causing the woman's eyes to contort into a frown.
"Why not? Don't you pursue invincibility? This world and that man can't give it to you. Only I can set you on the path and give you a chance to seize the altitude you yearn for. Women, he has more than one. Is he truly worth giving up this chance for?"
The woman countered with a hint of impatience. However, even before an existence that likely stood leagues beyond all she'd ever faced, Yvonne's eyes showed no ripple and her heart remained as inflexible as a mountain before a storm.
"True, women, he has more than one. But only I, he calls "my wife." Ten thousand goddesses may lie at his footsteps, but the title "wife" forever remains mine. He's my husband, I'm his wife. The rest matters not, and no one can come between us."
Yvonne replied without a ripple, and for an instant, her limpid words suppressed the blood-haired woman's momentum. Her frown grew deeper. But right afterward, it dispersed.
"Oh? Are you so conceited as to think that across the centuries and millennia to come, none will supplant you in his heart? What gives you that confidence."
She probed but still failed to make Yvonne waver.
"I have that confidence because he's my man, and no one knows him better than I do, just like no one knows me better than he does. Our hearts beat as one. Our minds sing the same tune, always in synch. Before lovers, we are partners, and the only one whose help I welcome, is his."
As Yvonne's words echoed, the woman was forced to admit that she'd underestimated the bond she sought to break. And at that time, another voice echoed at her back.
"Well said, my beloved wife."
Konrad declared as his soul took shape within the World Tree's will and his eyes ignored that woman's back to land on Yvonne's hessonite hues.
"Took you long enough."
Yvonne stated, as if she never doubted that Konrad would soon appear. And in response, he sighed.
"You can't blame me. Traffic was unending. All the Dicks, Clarks and Harries lining up for my autographs on their faces and cheeks…ahh, the sorrow of being the Profane Prince."
Konrad "sobbed," causing Yvonne to chuckle while the blood-haired woman spun to face him. Seeing her, no small amount of surprise flashed within Konrad's gaze.
"Moon. Long time no see. I must admit that while I expected another visit of your folks, I didn't see it coming so soon. Aren't you supposed to tend to your maimed siblings?"
Konrad inquired without any genuine interest. Moon ignored the question, letting her blood-red eyes sink into Konrad's with scorching intensity.
Indeed, while in her first life she was human, in the second, unlike Night and Cloud, Moon was reborn alongside Regretless as an Immortal Blood Spirit. Thus, her bound to Regretless and Blood Nether were a step above that of Cloud and Night's.
But there was one thing no one knew of. During the War of the Six Realms, in the centuries she spent captive in the Celestial Realm, Moon didn't stay prisoner for long but fell in love with and in secrecy wedded the Empyrean Crown Prince: Dragon Warden.
But when time came to choose between Regretless and Dragon Warden, Dragon Warden she didn't choose. Therefore, when his eyes laid on hers, no emotions fluctuated within Konrad's chest. And faced with his indifference, Moon restrained the urge to bite her lower lip.
