As the two women sat facing each other, the Death Region ruler stared at the Water Empress and added:

"Keep what you know to yourself. The Great War is something even I am forbidden to talk about."

The dark-haired woman got out as if she was done talking but when she was about to leave, the Empress nervously shouted

"I need to know what happened! I need to!"

The region ruler turned her head to glance at the tall blue-haired woman and retorted

"For what reason? Satisfaction or to quench curiosity? It's pointless to know and it's all for the better that everyone knows nothing about the past... it isn't something worth knowing or experiencing."

The woman ignored the distressed look of the Empress and quietly left the room, leaving the Water Empress alone.

The lonesome Empress clenched her fists and left the palace with the guidance of the woman who received her at the entrance a while ago.

....

Inside the palace, in a shabby looking bedroom that had nothing special about it, there sat the dark-haired woman, who's also the death region ruler. She stared at the wall with an absent-minded look for a very long time until her subordinate entered the room and said

"Mistress, another guest has arrived."

This snapped the ruler out of her daze, she looked at her somewhat uncomfortable subordinate in confusion and said:

"A guest? How did he find this place? Jack only guides one person per century."

With a flustered expression and fidgeting body, the young-looking woman replied

"W-well... it's actually the k-knight."

The Death Empress didn't seem too surprised when she heard that. She nodded her head and got up, following her subordinate to meet this unexpected guest.

Very soon, they found themselves in the same room the conversation with the Water Empress had taken place. However, this time, in the seat where the previous Empress was seating, there rested a dark figure.

From head to toe, he wore a dark armor which had a few white marks on it, probably due to the countless battles he fought. He had a young-looking face and a very pale skin, almost as if he's a corpse. Two jet-black pupils and long hair that was as black as ink. The man's movements were relaxed and flexible despite the full-armor set he was hearing. The only thing missing was the helmet, which was put on the table.

The most-eye catching this was his two-meter long dark sword which seemed ordinary if you exclude its unusual size. The sword neither emitted Sword Essence nor any kind of energy as if it was crafted by a normal blacksmith.

As the two pair of eyes met each other, the two parties merely gazed into each other's eyes. There was nothing but silence until the woman sat facing the woman and sipped some of the tea prepared by the unexpected guest.

Only when she fully savored the heavenly flavor of the tea did she finally talk

"I guess I should welcome you but I'm curious about one thing... from when are you?"

The man hadn't any change in expression. It only took a few seconds for him to reply with a bone-chilling voice

"Just a bit before the dead rises."

The woman was momentarily startled before asking again

"And why would the Nameless Knight himself go to the trouble of traveling to the future to visit me?"

"I will bring you to the past with me. Your help is much needed."

A frown appeared on her face as she retorted

"You of all people should know that playing with time is something even Death doesn't dare to do yet you come seeking me when you already know what my answer will be."

The man didn't seem bothered by her aggressive tone as he calmly replied

"Time is a construct, it matters not if it's the past, the present, or the future, everything is linked. Now, you are Death, which means that you already traveled with me to the past."

The woman glared at him angrily but couldn't retort. She maintained her silence for a long time before speaking again

"Unlike you, I cannot escape from the wraiths unharmed."

"Pay such things no heed, they are merely abominations which linger until the non-existing end of time."

The region ruled sighed helplessly and raised her one finger while voicing her thoughts

"I will come on one condition. Tell me why I need to travel to the past."

Hearing this, the Nameless Knight got up from his seat after emptying his cup and responded:

"The rising Dead will alarm Death... the previous Death and you shall be the one to stop 'him'."

"What!?"

The woman's expression became twisted as she snapped at him

"You're asking me to face my master?"

"You've faced him in the past and you will do it again in the near future. Let us go."

The man put the helmet on his head and readied himself before signaling the region ruler that it's time to go leave this place. He heard the sound of her gritting teeth as a malicious aura revolved around her but by the next second, he was holding her by the back of her neck while she is unconscious.

At the corner of the room, the usually calm subordinate stared at what's happening with a shaking body. She tried to force herself and stop him from taking her Mistress but her body didn't obey her.

Before leaving, the knight turned to look at the subordinate while assuring her :

"Don't worry, she'll come back sooner than you think."

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

A week after Arthur completed his deal with Amidel, the couple left the city and headed toward the Wall of fire, which separated the wasteland from the rest of the Green-Leaf World. For the time being, their destination still remains unknown but that won't be for long.

Arthur was planning to meet some old 'acquaintances' and see what they're doing. There is also the matter with the Human Emperor's children, who disappeared and are still missing. There is a strong chance they were abducted and so he'll try to locate them. He already ordered Jian Si to look for them, if they are in the Green-Leaf World then she must have found them.

Thanks to their extremely high Agility stat, crossing the distance between the wall of fire and Amidel's city didn't take long, merely two days.

They could have used a Spirit Boat but gave up on that as it'll merely them down by a great amount. When the two of them came face to face with this 'wall', the couple stared at this thing which pierced the skies with its dizzying height. It was literally a thick wall made from orange-looking flames that emitted a dangerous heat.

Even Arthur could feel the heat despite having a 100% Resistance to the fire attribute. The reason was quickly explained by Claud

"Your immunity only included normal fire and the flames of Hell. This fire, however, is called Yang Fire and it can burn you or even kill you if you're unprepared. Though a simple Dark Barrier is more than enough to let you pass. I think even your defense stat would allow you to pass smoothly but you'll lose some Health."

The two didn't linger there for too long, a spheric Dark Barrier enveloped them as they broke through the wall and surfaced from the other side after approximatively three hours.