Cold air touched Lidien's skin, making it stand on end.
As he stared at the female ghost looking back at him angrily, he said:
"What do you want?"
However, the one who replied was the innocent girl reading books for him.
"To serve you, my Prince..."
Lidien looked at the girl reading for him, then smiled slightly.
'This upgraded Whisper of Soul allows me to see ghosts; however, if I react to them without knowing the difference between the living and the dead, it will confuse the people around me...'
Lidien didn't care whether he was called crazy or not; his only concern was if ghosts would distract him from fighting, making him attack nothing but air.
Shaking his head slightly, Lidien took a Hundred Merit Slip and left it on the table before leaving without glancing back at her.
"Thank you, my Prince," said the woman, bowing deeply as her hair hid her wide smile.
Lidien proceeded towards the higher levels of the Knowledge Spire.
He was greeted by officials and soldiers who were either studying or practicing martial arts techniques that could only be used by employing Sparklines.
Though these techniques could be considered weak and were only enough to fight Magical Beasts, they couldn't do anything more... being a Human soldier was already a great blessing for them, unlike living as slaves.
Unlike the Western Continent, where each Demon Clan has been established since ancient times and possesses Meditation Techniques that allow Humans to become Demons of their chosen Path, though failing the transformation results in death... the soldiers of the Blood Rose Clan could only attempt to transform by succumbing to Intense Emotions born from true experience and pain.
Lidien walked for a long time before he could proceed toward the corridor of the last floor and was surprised when he saw who was guarding it.
"Oh, my Baby Brother... how was your training with Azer?"
Aria was happily tapping the table where her other arm supported her resting face.
"Big Sis... What are you doing here?"
Aria stood and, giggling, walked toward Lidien.
"Executive's Duty... Well, at your level, you're still not allowed to get it from the Mission Hall... Anyway... what brought you here? Did you miss me?"
Aria suddenly hugged Lidien, making him push her away and remove her latching arms from his shoulders.
"No... I'm looking for a Meditation Technique that could let me freely enter my Dreamflow."
Aria snapped her fingers repeatedly, trying hard to remember what Lidien needed.
"Hmmm... We don't have something like that here, since, you know, our books and techniques here are lacking..."
Lidien frowned and sighed with disappointment.
'I need to get out of the Savage Expanse and explore the world if I want to be strong...'
Noticing his dejected face, Aria smiled once again.
"Fret not, my Dear Brother... If you kiss my cheeks and tell me you love me more than Lily, I'll let you learn my method of how to enter your Dreamflow..."
Lidien's mouth twitched from disgust before he turned around and waved goodbye.
"I'll just ask Brother Azer for his method..."
Aria grabbed his arms and pulled him gently, staring into his eyes pleadingly.
"A kiss is enough!"
Lidien shook his head with a forced smile. Though Lidien was mature enough to have experienced physical touch with a woman in his previous life, he still didn't want someone he didn't fully know touching him.
It wasn't because of morality regarding intimacy, but out of pride... that he would not sell himself to get what he wanted.
"Okay... okay... just let me assist you in doing it... Don't look at me like you'll hate me for the rest of your life, baby brother."
Aria then held Lidien's arms and pulled him toward a separate room dedicated to training.
The room could be considered big; at the center was a large metallic boulder bearing sword marks of varying depths.
At the side was a small bed and a cupboard that still had an old notebook left open.
As Aria pulled him toward the bed, Lidien couldn't help but resist her.
"Don't worry... I won't do anything that will make you hate me..."
Aria let Lidien sit on the bed before leaving the room.
After he waited for a few minutes, he saw Aria come back skipping, smiling at him excitedly.
"Go lie on your back; we're going to start..."
Lidien scrutinized her... making Aria sigh and take out a large container, placing it beside the bed.
"What is that?"
Aria smiled, making Lidien shiver down his spine.
Gulping, he smiled and lay on his back, trusting their sibling rule; he knew Aria would not be able to kill him or cause any harm that would cripple him.
"Good..."
Aria once again took something from her space ring: a simple white cloth large enough to cover someone's face.
Then, to Lidien's surprise, Aria chained him, attaching his arms and legs to the corners of the bed, before placing the cloth just enough to cover his nose and mouth.
"Are you ready?"
Lidien stared at Aria, confused; yet, if this unknown procedure could let him enter his Dreamflow, he was willing to try it.
He nodded.
Making Aria smile so sinisterly that Lidien doubted his decision.
But it was too late.
Taking a bucket full of water from the container, Aria poured it onto the cloth over Lidien's face.
Lidien gurgled as his body shook from being drowned.
His eyes teared from coughing up the water flooding his face; no air could enter his system, only the splashing water that couldn't leave his nose and mouth.
Even using his Demonic Transformation couldn't free him from the chains.
"Don't bother, little brother, these are forged to hold even a Greater Demon's wrath,"
Struggling, gurgling, Lidien's hands and feet could only turn and twist; as his claws dug deeper into his palms, the pain brought back his rationality.
As his eyes turned red from suffocation brought on by Aria's waterboarding, he could only see her laughing madly before his strength left him and his limbs went limp.
'I haven't revived Lily yet...'