Silence.
Inside the light purple Absolute Seal, Pheles and Leanan-sidhe faced each other.
Pheles's face was somewhat gloomy. Anyone who dared stop her from finding her lover, Johan, was an enemy, even Leanan-sidhe.
"Pheles, I don't mean to stop you, I just hope you can see one thing." Leanan-sidhe said gently.
"One thing, what thing?!" Pheles asked confusedly.
Leanan-sidhe silently handed the drawing board in her hand to Pheles.
"This is a painting I restored using Ranking Gift: Power of Existence (Transcendent) from the previous Transcendent List, a painting that disappeared after Donato vanished."
"Ranking Gift: Power of Existence (Transcendent)?! That very large Power of Existence, moreover just restoring a painting, there might be great hope to restore a bit of your lover Donato's Power of Existence."
Pheles regretfully accepted the painting from Leanan-sidhe's hand. On it was depicted a pair of lovers, in a beautiful garden, with expanses of red roses.
The young man was handsome and cool, while Leanan-sidhe smiled brightly, sweetly leaning in his embrace.
It seemed this young man was Leanan-sidhe's lover, Donato.
Pheles increasingly felt that Leanan-sidhe had truly lost something big over something small. The opportunity to revive her beloved lover had been wasted just like that.
Leanan-sidhe's lover.
She was very similar to her. Both were Crimson Lords, and both fell in love with so-called Torches. Saying 'thing' might be somewhat impolite, but Torches indeed could no longer be called human.
Pheles was still wondering what Leanan-sidhe's intention was in giving her this painting.
However, the very next second.
"What's happening?!!!"
Pheles was shocked in disbelief, as if seeing something illogical.
Visibly, the contents of the drawing board in Pheles's hand, more precisely Donato's appearance in that painting, were changing. As if through time's changes and transformations, not only did his appearance greatly change, but his entire aura became mature and scholarly.
He had completely changed from Donato into someone else.
And this person, Pheles knew very well, he was the one she always longed for—Johan!!!
"Leanan-sidhe, tell me, what actually happened?!!!"
Pheles panicked, gripping Leanan-sidhe's shoulders, and said harshly.
"This phenomenon I also can't explain. It seems restoring things that originally didn't exist in the world, triggered some kind of special rule. Just keep watching!"
"Keep watching?!"
When Pheles looked down again, Johan in that painting began changing again, leaving maturity and wisdom, and becoming a calm young man.
This person was strange yet familiar to her.
The previous generation's Midnight Lost Child wielder, Alastor. Said to have a very complex relationship with Hecate. As a Torch, he was in a high position at Bal Masqué. At that time, many Crimson Denizens were shocked, but because of Hecate's existence, no one dared comment further.
After learning that Midnight Lost Child fell into Bal Masqué's hands, she was very desperate. After all, seizing Midnight Lost Child from the Three Ministers' hands became somewhat impossible.
However, several years later, something unexpected happened to all Crimson Denizens and Flame Hazes.
Alastor, who possessed Midnight Lost Child, suddenly disappeared, vanished before many people's eyes, as if his Power of Existence burned out. However, with Hecate who had nearly unlimited Power of Existence by his side, this was absolutely impossible.
Yet, this impossible thing happened before many Crimson Lords' eyes...
Because of that, Hecate, who was always cold and emotionless, exploded as if experiencing mental breakdown.
Half of Bal Masqué was destroyed in one of her attacks.
This made all Crimson Denizens for the first time see Hecate's terror. It was said that the God of Creation Snake of the Festival's consciousness appeared to calm her.
The figure in the painting still continued to change. Finally, it became a young man, namely Kanzaki Hikaru.
"Don't you feel somewhat familiar? Johan and Alastor both disappeared as if their Power of Existence burned out. Something like that should be truly impossible for those who possess Midnight Lost Child."
Pheles's thoughts were somewhat chaotic.
Meanwhile, Leanan-sidhe continued.
"If Johan and Alastor, two people dwelling with Midnight Lost Child, have similarities, then in the more distant past..." Leanan-sidhe looked up at the sky, reminiscing while narrating, "Before Johan and Alastor were born in this world, Donato also vanished before me in the same way."
"Eh! Wasn't he secretly attacked by Crimson Denizens?!"
"Not so, that's just a rumor." Leanan-sidhe shook her head.
That's why, she restored that painting, because this was the only clue to find Donato.
Pheles fell silent for a moment, then said: "Three people disappearing in the same way, a painting reflecting four people, at different time points... what does all this mean?!"
"I don't know! But, one thing I can be certain of, Kanzaki Hikaru is clearly the key to everything, and this key needs us to investigate carefully."
Pheles nodded.