Three days have passed since what happened.

  Everything went back to normal. Well, there wasn’t really any commotion since the people weren’t aware of the situation.

  At first, they were somewhat restless at the sudden evacuation, but seeing that the army returned with no injuries, they thought it was just a drill.

  Oh, how blessed to be ignorant.

  I then spent the days studying about this world, alone at the archive.

  My mother wasn’t there to give lessons.

  Lately, both she and Father seemed to be avoiding me. Even though they were the ones I first sought out after I got home because I was worried, they just gave me the cold shoulder.

  It was already the fourth time I had asked for an audience with them, but there was no reply.

  “Maybe you’ve done something wrong?” A young voice came from beside my ears. It was a tiny long-eared person, and on his back were transparent wings that rained glitters with every movement.

  Right, I forgot that he was still here. This wind spirit called Serliphim.

  From the books I have read, it turns out that he is from the Spirit Race. They’re an elusive race that lives in a different world from ours, and the only way to cross between them is through summoning.

  According to the books, they are the offspring of the Queen of Spirits and the Wood Dragon. You could also say that we are distant relatives, which is also the reason why we have similar features.

  Each of them is categorized from the lowest to highest: Elemental Spirits, Lower Spirits, Greater Spirits, and the Spirit King.

  And it seems like this wind spirit, Serliphim, whom I ‘apparently’ summoned, is a Greater Spirit—a fairly high ranking.

  “Why are you still here? Isn’t it about time you went home already?”

  “I went all the way here to answer your summon, and now you want to toss me away? You promised to make a contract with me a few days ago!”

  ‘That was… just a ruse to take advantage of your abilities.’ I probably shouldn’t tell him that, right?

  Honestly, forming a contract with him is definitely tempting.

  A contract wasn’t just a piece of paper that held a collaborative agreement between two people—it was more than that. Depending on the class of pact, we’d be able to share a portion of each other's powers.

  With my soul cut off from the Holy Star, I wouldn’t be able to replenish my holy energy, and with how damaged it already is, I’d be cattle in front of any enemy.

  After witnessing the crisis that happened a few days ago, I thought that this Lower Realm wasn’t as safe as I imagined.

  That’s why having additional strength like Serliphim’s was absolutely necessary.

  It was just… there were also reasons why I was hesitating.

  As I said, the portion of powers shared depends on what class of pact the contract takes.

  A Blood Pact is a contract that merely confirms an agreement. It doesn’t have the feature of sharing powers between individuals.

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  An Equal Pact allows two parties to share their powers equally.

  A Master-Servant Pact shares power one-sidedly. That means only one person will benefit, while the other party will continue to be drained of their powers until only a husk is left. Not only that, the Master will have absolute control over the Servant during the duration of the contract.

  This kind of pact is usually used by demonic beings to deceive mortals—literally selling their soul to the devil.

  You might say I could just make a contract with the Equal Pact—it’s the obvious solution.

  Oh, if only it were that easy.

  The thing is, the parties involved in the contract don’t have control over what kind of pact it will be.

  It is solely based on the strength of their souls.

  Sure, I could just form a Blood Pact with him since it only requires a drop of blood to work, but that would be too wasteful.

  “Come on! This will definitely be good for you too,” the spirit urged.

  I ignored his persistent yapping and headed to the archive.

  .

  …

  ….

  I entered the archive along with Serliphim. At first, I thought he would be rejected since only someone carrying the Dragon Seal could enter this place. Then, to my surprise, he just passed through the door.

  “How are you able to do that?”

  “Huh?” He tilted his head cluelessly. “What do you mean?”

  I stared at him, speechless. “…Never mind.”

  “Woah…” Serliphim exclaimed in amazement. “This place…”

  “…is amazing, right?” I continued what he was about to say. I wonder if I had the same expression he had when I first came here?

  But then he shook his head to my curiosity.

  “No, it is amazing, but not only that—this place is filled with spirit energy. It feels like I’m back home.”

  “You mean the Spirit World? How can that—”

  “Oh? You brought a spirit here?”

  A sweet and familiar, yet at the same time unfamiliar, voice interrupted me. I immediately turned to where the voice came from.

  It was from a woman standing behind the receptionist table—an incredibly familiar woman.

  “Mother?” I asked, dazed.

  “Fufufu…” She chuckled, clearly amused by my reaction.

  I then realized that, no, she wasn’t my mother. Although she and my mother had similar features, there were still obvious differences, like her shining golden eyes and the way she carried herself.

  My mother was the very definition of grace and elegance. Every move she made exuded beauty and novelty.

  While this woman was her polar opposite. She wore a very tight black dress that highlighted the shape of her body. It revealed most of her white skin, causing someone to be provoked at the sight of it.

  Well, it doesn’t affect me, since lust stems from the Evil aspect. As a Heavenly being, I cannot feel lust.

  The way she swayed and her provocative stares reminded me of succubi—lust demons. They were uncomfortable to deal with because of their way of fighting with illusions.

  Perhaps because she witnessed my unbothered expression, a surprised look formed on her beautiful face.

  “As I thought, you are an enigma.”

  I raised an eyebrow at this strange woman. What does she mean by an enigma?

  Seeing me confused, she continued to talk. “Didn’t you notice that this place is different from the archive you usually visited?”

  Now that she mentioned it, the archive was unusually bright. There were particles of light floating in the air, illuminating the room—but now that I looked closely, they were actually spirits. They swayed in the air playfully; curiosity was in their eyes.

  This was definitely strange. A bunch of spirits was now in front of me, even though they were quite rare to see since they’re a secluded race in the first place.

  Then if that’s the case, why were they here, comfortably flying around like they owned the place? Remembering what Serliphim said earlier, something clicked in my mind.

  That’s right—if the spirits are carefree enough to act like they’re at home, then that means I am at the—

  The woman smirked seductively, as if reading my thoughts. “That’s right. We aren’t in the mortal world right now, but in the home of the spirits—called the Spirit World.”

  I widened my eyes in shock. How did she transport this whole place without me even noticing? She must have attained high proficiency in space magic.

  Once again seeing right through me, she chuckled. “This is just a natural ability that comes with my race. I can’t actually use spatial spells.”

  I see. So that’s how it was. Still, was my face that easy to read?

  She laughed at my thoughts but, to my relief, didn’t pursue it any further. “Well, enough of the chit-chat. Let’s get down to business, shall we?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Oh, I’m sure this didn’t escape your notice, right?” She rested her head in the palm of her hands. “You know, the way your parents have been behaving lately. Didn’t you think it was strange?”

  A frown slowly formed on my face. “Do you mean you’re involved in that?”

  “I may or may not be. Who knows?” she said playfully.

  The moment she mentioned it, I was already convinced. This woman surely was the reason why my parents kept avoiding me.

  If I had to guess this woman’s identity—she is the mother of the first Empress, the origin of elves.

  The Ancestor.