Endless Journey: Infinite Realms

Chapter 551 Setting the Roots End of Arc I

"??? You really are Sierra? But if that’s true, then why do you look and feel foreign to me..." Even though Alex was rattled by the sudden outpour of emotions from the teenaged girl, he did not choose to quickly believe her.

"If you’re really Sierra, then there should have been a bond that is formed between us, I am one of the reasons that Sierra was born after all. But looking at you now, I could not sense any bond forming. You just look like... a stranger to me."

"Waaah!!! Mommy!!!! Look at what Daddy is saying! He said he does not know me!!!" Although Alex tried his best to make his words sound as soothing as possible, his intent to calm the girl down seemed to have the opposite effect.

Instead of trying to start a civil conversation with him, the teenaged girl began to cry for real, with her tears slowly dripping their way into the ground. Her comically loud sobs then echoed into the air, with her hands busy on wiping her face.

This girl seemed to be greatly affected by what Alex just said, a reaction which made Alex feel nervous.

"Alina, are you really sure that this girl is Sier-" Alex turned his head behind him as he tried to clarify the current situation to Alina.

But before he could even finish his question, he was forced to stop talking as Alina began unleashing her cold glare at him.

"Doom!"

Alina’s eyes, which now blazed with an undeniable anger, began to exude a domineering pressure upon Alex. Alex had no way to avoid this pressure, as Alina seemed to be uninterested on looking at anything else. All the focus her eyes were placed entirely on Alex alone.

This glare left Alex speechless, ending any attempt of his to explain himself.

"Alex, I have the All-Seeing Eye! Do you know what that means? That means that I can know if someone is being truthful!" Alina finally said, which broke the scary look that she had earlier. "That means that if someone says something to me now, I can know if that person is lying or not!"

"R-right, you still have your eyes Alina... Since that was the case, then- oh. Oh dear..."

"Hmph, now do you understand why I believed this girl’s words? I believed it because I knew that this girl is telling the truth! She’s really Sierra, for f***k’s sake!" Alina looked like she wanted to kick Alex in his face right now, and her twitching leg just reinforced that fact. It was actually a miracle that she is still not kicking Alex now, given how angry she looked already.

"W-well that’s good, Alina! Yay, your All-Seeing Eyes has saved the day..."

"Hmph, even without my eyes, I will still be sure that this girl is Sierra. After all, I was the one who made her leave the Storage while you were training!" Alina’s rage did not change as she added these words, making the nearby Alex pale more as he realized that he has really messed up.

"Oh, so you saw Sierra earlier? Oh, that is.... good, I think?"

"Hmph, good my ass! If it weren’t for me, then you could be really kicking Sierra away now! Tsk, what a brutish guy!"

"...Yeah, I really am brutish. Maybe I am an idiot too..."

With Alina’s explanation of events, there was no more doubting it. Sierra, who was just a baby before, has now transformed to become a teenager, with her aura inexplicably changing too.

Even if Alex tried to refute this, Alina’s support and explanations leave Alex with no choice but to accept it...

"Now, do you still doubt Sierra’s claims, Alex? I already vouched that she’s telling the truth, so you better apologize to her now!" Alina hissed at Alex as her body suddenly appeared behind the sobbing Sierra. Alina then started to placate the little girl, with her icy glare still trained on Alex. "Hey, why are you just standing there? Come here and talk to Sierra already!"

"...So this girl is really Sierra? What the hell..." This was all that Alex could say as he began to hesitantly approach Sierra. He was scratching the back of his head at this point, as he could not make sense of what had just happened. "How could this be Sierra if I can’t even feel my bond with her? Wait, could this Sierra be-"

"Alex, stop muttering those conspiracy theory of yours! Apologize to Sierra already!"

"Yes, yes, yes, Alina. Here I come..."

********************

10 MINUTES LATER

It took Alex a thousand words, 3 Years worth of Mental Power, and countless sighs from Alina before he was able to make Sierra accept his apology. This effectively stopped Sierra’s outburst, although the nearby Alina did not look like her anger was going to cool down yet.

"Sierra... I’m sorry that I did not recognize you. It’s just that... you are so different now." Alex slowly said as he stared directly at Sierra’s eyes. "You look as old as Alina, and your aura is different. I could not even feel my connection to you, hence my suspicions to you earlier."

"Daddy, who cares about my aura and connection to you? If I say that I am Sierra, then I am Sierra! There’s nothing else that will f**king refute that!"

"Yes, yes. I know that Sierra. But I am just curious on why you became like this." Alex replied as he tried to make himself sound patient. "What could have turned you like this in just a span of a day? Yesterday, you’re just a baby, but now, you’re like this! Aren’t you curious about that, Sierra?"

"...."

"...."

"...."

"Oh, so you’re curious about that, daddy? If you’re asking that daddy, then don’t worry. I think I know the reason for that."

"Really? Come, explain it to me." Like a man that is enticing a little girl to get his candy, Alex tried to make himself look as amicable as possible to Sierra. "Don’t be scared Sierra. Daddy will listen..."

"Hmph!" This attempt of his earned a snort from Alina, who seemed to be unhappy with what Alex is doing now. Sierra on the other hand did not look offended at all, as she appeared to be even pleased with Alex’s blatant ’forgive me’ actions.

This pleasant reaction seemed to have really worked, as the next words that Sierra said were the ones that Alex had been wanting to hear.

"Daddy, it was my successfully possession of the Four Moons World that made me like this." Sierra looked around her as she gave this reply, as if she was afraid of anyone else hearing what she just said. "When I finished possessing that world, I suddenly received an influx of Origin Power. Once I received that power, I began absorbing it into my body... Next thing that I know, I became this large already!"

"...Is that all?" Alex had expected this to be the possible reason for Sierra’s growth, but nonetheless he was still a little surprised that this has actually happened.

A World Soul like Sierra actually grew after possessing another World? This is certainly a unique case, as Alex had never heard of this event happening before!

"Um, nope daddy! There’s another one!" Sierra could not look any happier as she continued to blab to Alex. "Daddy, I also felt that after possessing the Four Moons World, the bond that connects me to you and Mommy has been suppressed. Like... a direct flatline."

"Suppressed you say? Is that the reason why I cannot feel any bond to you now, Sierra?" This answer by Sierra has also piqued Alex’s interest, as he quickly realized that this was another unique case.

After all, those who had formed a bond with a World Soul were supposed to have an unchangeable bond.

Unless it is a Trascendent Being, there is nothing that can manipulate a bond between a living being and a World Soul...

"Yes, daddy. That’s why I cannot feel your bond with me now." Sierra replied as she tilted her head. "Well, I can still feel it now, but it is really weak..."

"Hm, interesting. So Sierra, do you have any theory on why this suppression has happened? Any idea will do, as long as-"

"Alex, shut up. Let Sierra talk."

"....Ok."

"Ehem. So daddy, I think that our bonds were weakened because my soul is now occupying two worlds. The pressure from those two worlds seem to be too much for our bonds, which led to their suppression now." Sierra shrugged her shoulders at this point, as if she was saying that she had no control on the event that she just described. "I don’t know on how I can remove that suppression, unless you or mommy have any ideas. Do you have any ideas, daddy? Please give me one! You’re the smartest one here right? Maybe you have a solution now!"

"...Yeah, let me think about that first, Sierra. For now, why don’t you accompany us towards our new followers?" Like a man who was trying to dodge bullets in the air, Alex hastily gave this answer to Sierra as he began urging her to move. "I assure you that meeting these followers will be fun, Sierra. After all, we we’re about to have new servan- allies!"

"Oh, is that the one that mommy has been saying earlier? Ok daddy, let’s go there!" The tear-stricken Sierra could not be seen anymore this time, as only an excited expression could be seen on her face. It was as if she did not even cry at all, a change which made Alex feel relieved.

"Hehe, you heard that, Alina. Go on, lead the way for us!" Alex smilingly said to Alina, who just like earlier, still looked pissed at Alex. "You wouldn’t want to delay Sierra’s fun, right?"

"Hmph, you’re lucky that Sierra dotes on you, Alex. If she didn’t, then I could have punished you for making her cry." With Sierra now back to her usual mood, the gloomy Alina was left with no choice but to go along with Alex’s antics.

This seemed to have made her angrier, but with the way that the things are going now, Alina was forced to keep this rage of hers in check.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got it, Alina. I promise I won’t let this happen again." Alex replied lackadaisically. "I treat Sierra as my own child after all, so she deserves a spoiled treatment from me! Don’t you think so too, Sierra?"

"Yes, I believe that! I want to be spoiled by mommy and daddy!"

"You hear that Alina? Hehehe, how do you feel about that?"

"S-shut up, Alex. Just focus on following me!"

"Look Sierra. Your mommy is blushing!"

"Hey Alex! Say one more word, and I will really kick your ass!"

"....Okay, okay. I will keep quiet now."

"Hehehe, so Daddy is still afraid of Mommy? And here I thought Daddy will be more assertive now. How disappointing..."

"Sierra, Daddy heard what you just said. Can you repeat it to me?"

"Oi Alex, don’t you dare raise your voice on Sierra!"

"Okay, okay, okay Alina. I will keep this down..."

"Hehehe, Daddy is really scared of Mommy!"

"Hey Sierra, I am not scared of Alina. I am just-"

"Alex, language."

"Okay..."

With their conversation dying at that line, the trio resumed their quiet, but also comforting walk.

END OF ARC I