COTE x TBATE | A Masterpiece

Chapter 05: A Battle of Wits.

(A/n Sylvia art made by AI. Credits to MaiFurumi)

Sitting across the mysterious woman, Sylvia Indrath, I scanned her. Her body was tense. But it wasn't because she was searching for a moment to attack me. It was a natural response that a body has when it is under continuous stress or pain. Her desperation coupled with her strained behaviour proved my hypothesis even further.

"So are-" I was interrupted as she moved swiftly, her pale smooth finger pressing against my lips, "I will be the one who asks the first question", she said, and a minute smile appeared on her face. 

"It's not a question. Just some confirmation", I replied, slightly removing her finger. She looked away and started thinking, "I guess I can allow that", she replied after a twirl of her finger in the empty air.

"You're not the one who reincarnated me, right?" I asked. Her eyes widened for a brief moment but then she scoffed, "Dear Child, that's a question."

"It's not. Maybe you failed to interpret the true essence of my statement. What I was trying to imply is that I know that you didn't reincarnate me. I am merely telling you that you can't use that as a bargaining chip to gain a favour from me. Also, your reaction just now gave me the confirmation I needed." It was a gamble. Not completely, but partly. She is definitely related to the one who reincarnated me but isn't the cause of it.

A deathly calm quiet encompassed the almost dark cave, with the mana crystals jutting out of the ground were the only source of light. A saccharine laughter boomed followed by a hitched breath. Her hand travelled to her abdomen, interrupting her laughter as a frown formed on her face.

My head tilted to the right, as I tried to look at her face that was now covered beneath the silky white waterfall. Her face turned upwards after a while, a tear lining the side of her eye as she wiped it, "Although I wasn't able to see much in your past, but I think I have to be more wary of you." She said with a mixed expression of joy and pain.

"I was just an ordinary teenager in a normal world", I replied, shrugging my shoulders as I relaxed, placing one hand behind my back on the ground. I made it look like I was merely doing it to support my weight, but I was just trying to perform a small search spell to identify if there was anyone else nearby. Sylvia seemed to notice it as she smirked, "You don't have to worry about someone following us here. There is no one around us. Just the two of us." She said and crossed her legs. The cut in the robe revealed her calf to mid-thigh as she looked at me ready to speak.

"I think we should limit the questions to 5 per each. I don't see a reason for telling you everything." I said again, interrupting her midway.

A frustrated look appeared from her face, once again desperation overtaking her, "Fine. 5 per each." She agreed and I motioned for her to ask the first question.

"How did you forcibly awaken your core?" She asked.

I took in a deep breath. I expected her to know that she would ask this question first, since depending on my answer she can determine the other 4 questions accordingly. The answer would unveil the extent of my understanding of mana. However, showing her that I have less significant knowledge, that can't be of help to her might result in her eliminating me. I needed to show her, I was of value. Only that way I could extract anything of value from her.

"It wasn't a forcible awakening", I replied in a neutral tone, keeping one at her and the other on my hand.

"Your core is still immature. It was prematurely awakened. Of course, it's forcibly awakened", her tone got brash for a split second but then returned to its usual soft, saccharine one.

"What I mean is the word you're using is wrong. Forcible awakening means I would've awakened my core despite me having no talent with it. Like forming a core in a normal human. My case is different", I said, and I saw a subtle wave of embarrassment wash over her pristine face. She coughed a little, shaking her head to get rid of embarrassment and then spoke again,