Once the last zone was captured, Shiro nodded in satisfaction before checking how much time was left.
With just a few hours left, she had an idea but it could potentially be a little risky.
She wanted to go talk to Syradil since it was the perfect chance. Syradil couldn’t leave the zone since she was the lifeline so even if negotiations go south, she could escape whenever she wanted. She wasn’t sure what kind of skill that she may have which could track so sending an avatar would also be good.
Her main goal was just to talk to her so that she could get some information about what she knows about the system.
Thinking about this, Shiro teleported next to Nan Tian and sat down.
“I’ll be sending an avatar to Syradil so that I could try having a talk with her. I’ll leave the job of keeping an eye on the zones to you.” Shiro said as Nan Tian nodded his head.
“Sure, good luck.” He smiled.
Giving him a thumbs up, Shiro created an avatar and assumed control before teleporting away.
###
Leaving her zone, Shiro looked into the distance and spotted Syradil’s zone. While on the way there, she decided to note out her questions so that it was easier to ask as much as she wanted.
‘I want to know what she knows in terms of information that only Empress’s get to know. Since it shouldn’t be censored for her, she should be able to hear it if I say it. I also should ask her about what happens in the second half, like how to win and such since she’s been through a few Gardens now.’ Shiro thought to herself.
Stomping down, she increased her speed as she suddenly felt a pair of eyes on her. Noticing that it belonged to Syradil, she curved her lips into a smile.
“I suppose I should be looking forward to a small welcoming ceremony.” Shiro muttered with a smile.
Landing just outside of the zone, she watched as the barrier opened slightly so that she could enter without needing to force her way in.
As she was walking through the zone, she couldn’t help but raise her eyebrow since it was completely silent. Not a single person could be sensed.
Previously, she had figured that Syradil probably hid them with something but no, it was true that she was here and she was alone.
‘Where are her subjects? Her allies? Shouldn’t a Queen be able to bring them over from previous gardens?’ Shiro thought to herself but continued to walk towards the ominous aura in the centre of the zone.
Navigating through the corridors, she pushed past the giant set of doors and saw Syadil sitting on a throne with her legs crossed and her head leaning on her hand.
“I was planning to look for you after this event is over but I didn’t expect you to look for me instead.” Syradil smirked as she narrowed her eyes just to make sure that this was not some disguise.
“What can I say? There’s only a few hours left of this event and I figured that this was the perfect moment to ask you a few questions. Hopefully, you’ll be able to answer some of them for me.” Shiro smiled.
“Depends on the type of question. But I don’t mind answering a few since I have some of my own. As you are the guest here, I’ll let you have the first question. Ask away.” Syradil gestured for Shiro to sit down as a table and throne appeared before her.
Seeing that she was being treated as an Equal, Shiro nodded her head and sat down.
“My first question is what knowledge do you have about the system that the other Queens don’t? I heard from someone that all Empresses know something that Queens don’t so I’m curious as to what you know.” Shiro questioned as Syradil tapped the table with her finger.
“Hmm… I know quite a bit. While I am one of the younger Empress’s, I do have my fair share of knowledge. Anything specific that you’re looking for or are you just asking me about everything I know?”
Taking a deep breath, Shiro looked at her with a serious expression.
“Do you know about the truth of this New Age? How it’s the last cycle and everything will end if I don’t win this.” Shiro said as Syradil sat up in shock since she didn’t expect Shiro to already know about this.
“Judging from your expression, I suppose my words weren’t censored. I found out that the system has been spouting complete bullsh*t to the Queens. I’m not sure about the other Empress’s but none of them know that once you fail in your garden, your chance is already over. Only the Queen originating from this Garden get’s a chance to win this New Age.”
“I’m surprised that you have discovered this, considering how long it took me to find out. And yes, you are right. This is the last cycle and if you die, everything falls apart and we’ll be destroyed along with everything else in this world. However, during my time here, I’ve noticed something rather curious.” Syradil smiled.
“This Garden can give birth to more than one Queen. Previously, whenever there was a Demon King or Queen, they were cultivated in their own domain. And yet, a Demon Queen was born in this garden which means there are two potential candidates to choose from. However, that’s not the end. I’ve also discovered that there is a potential for more Queens to appear should they grasp onto something that they can rule over which no one else has ruled over before. There are a lot of anomalies in this world and it seems like you don’t have to be the final victor anymore.” Syradil smiled darkly as Shiro felt her body tense up from what seems to be her skill.
“But I will say that right now, I have a rather good impression of you. Before I give more information, I’ll ask my question now. How did you get to space and how damaged is the barrier? Do you know the consequences of you creating holes in this barrier?” Syradil asked since Shiro could probably get a better look at the barrier from space. She wanted to see if Shiro knew why it was put there in the first place.
“I know that there is a barrier. In terms of damage, so far it’s just the consequences of the first event where I fired my most powerful attack I could muster in order to destroy the relic. As for the repercussions of shooting through this barrier, I do not know for sure.” Shiro shook her head.
“You see, the barrier is placed there for a reason. There will be an invasion from space, an army led by a powerful deity that will descend on this garden like it has done several times in the past. I’ve seen the outcome and the destruction brought to the garden whenever this happened. And I’ll say that without the barrier that was specifically designed to stop them, this garden will be destroyed before the second half even arrives.” Syradil warned as Shiro furrowed her brows.
“Would it perhaps be due to a dungeon break of a place called the Gates of Rokarn? I found this dungeon/raid on the surface of the moon and it did not seem like good news. I have asked a few gods and it turns out that Rokarn is quite the powerful fellow.”
“‘Quite’ is an understatement. He single handedly wiped out three Empress’ who charged forth in the battle in one of the earlier gardens. But enough about that, I have a small proposition for you. Since you know about all of this, I will spare the small talk and ask you directly. How do you feel about forming a temporary alliance for now? If we can end Rokarn’s army early, this Garden will be in a better spot when the second half arrives.” Syradil asked as Shiro raised an eyebrow.
“For now?”
“Yes. I’ve placed my hopes in plenty of Queens and Empresses in the previous gardens. Since this is the last cycle, I don’t really care anymore. If this Garden can survive, great. If not, then, oh well. Whether or not we keep this alliance can be discussed later but I have my own grudges against Rokarn so I don’t mind seeing him seething in anger as we kill him while he’s weak.” Syradil shrugged.
Understanding that this was Syradil evaluating her strength along with the strength of her allies, Shiro nodded her head.
“Alright. What do you think we’ll need in order for us to clear this raid then?” Shiro asked.
“Minimum of level 900.”
“Interesting… How many would we need? Because I happen to know two level 900 beings, one of which is on friendly terms with me and while I and a few others may not be level 900, I’ve attained Demi God state and they’re in pseudo Demi God state.” Shiro smiled as Syradil raised an eyebrow.
Watching Shiro summon divine energy around her, Syradil’s eyes flickered for a moment before smiling.
“This should be plenty. Though I do have an idea of what we can do to raise their levels up a little before this raid.”
