Chapter 193: Planes
A bony finger gripped the edge of the lab door, followed by a bald skull that peeked through the gap. Avarice's soulfire scanned the empty laboratory cautiously. Good, no one's here. The troublesome one was absent.
Avarice slid his entire body inside without making a sound. As a Tier 6 Lich and Deputy Commander of the Arcane Legion, his movements currently resembled a clumsy thief preparing for a burglary. After a moment of observation, Avarice walked quickly to his workbench and began rummaging for the magic scrolls recording his critical research data. He planned to pack everything up before Lust came knocking, then find some excuse to go on a business trip to the Jade Territory, hiding out for a week or two.
As for that "any request"... Avarice's hand paused. Forget it. Don't think about it. The more I think, the worse my headache gets. He sped up his movements, stuffing scrolls into his storage pouch.
"Looking for something?" A voice suddenly sounded behind him, carrying a touch of lazy amusement. "Do you need my help, Deputy Commander Avarice?"
That voice... Avarice's hand froze mid-air; he stood as if struck by a paralysis spell. He turned stiffly to see Lust leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, wearing that signature look of someone watching a good show.
"Ge... General." Avarice's voice was uncharacteristically stuttery.
Lust ignored him, pushing off the doorframe to stroll around the lab. "How was it?" Her fingers traced the workbench, her tone casual. "What was the result?"
Avarice was silent for several seconds before pulling the crystal vial filled with pale purple liquid from his storage pouch. "I lost." He placed the vial on the bench, his tone as calm as if stating an irrelevant fact.
Lust picked up the vial and held it up to the light. Suddenly, her mouth curved into an exaggerated arc, a comical expression breaking across her face. "Oh~ is that so?" she drawled, the light in her eyes brighter than the lab's luminescence. "Funny, I didn't hear Pride mention which dim-witted fool dared to report our great Deputy Commander of the Arcane Legion. I even went to the Punishment Legion to ask around, you know."
Avarice didn't speak; he just pushed the vial toward her and turned back to keep packing, like a petulant child. "A loss is a loss. A bet is a bet." His voice sounded muffled.
Lust toyed with the vial, the smirk slowly fading. She walked behind Avarice, leaning against the bench, tilting her head to watch him. "Tell me, aren't humans interesting?"
Avarice's packing motion stopped. He didn't turn around, just stood there, his soulfire burning quietly in his eye sockets. After a long time, he finally spoke. "I don't understand." His voice was low, as if asking her, or perhaps asking himself. "That man... he could have given up. He could have abandoned that woman. With his salary, he could have lived quite comfortably in Iron Fortress. He could have started over, found a healthy wife, lived a normal life. Why... why would he drive himself into such a corner?"
Lust didn't answer immediately. She listened quietly, fingers tapping the crystal vial, making a faint, rhythmic sound.
"Do you know why I wanted to make that bet with you?" Lust asked suddenly. Avarice turned to look at her, puzzled.
"Because I wanted you to see something." Lust's voice held a rare note of sincerity. "We, who possess endless lives, have forgotten one thing since our birth."
"What thing?"
"The meaning of life is never found in its length." Lust held the crystal vial up, looking at the sunlight through the pale purple liquid. "Human lifespans are short—so short that while we might take a nap, they go from birth to death. Because of this, they cherish every day, every moment. They will burn their entire existence for a single promise. They will abandon every other possibility for a single person. This persistence, this madness, this stupidity..." Lust paused, a soft curve touching her lips. "In our eyes, it's meaningless. But to them, it is the entire meaning of being alive."
Avarice was silent. He recalled the words the man had spoken to the woman on the bed in that dilapidated rental house: "If my future doesn't have you in it, such a future would be meaningless." At the time, Avarice had found the words utterly foolish. But now...
"So you knew from the start that I would lose?" Avarice turned to face her.
"No." Lust shook her head. "I was only betting that you would see something. Whether you change because of it... that is your own choice. Even if you had won today and thrown that man into the Punishment Legion's dungeon, it wouldn't have made a difference to me." She set the crystal vial on the bench and turned to walk toward the door.
"Oh, right," Lust stopped at the threshold, not looking back. "About that 'any request'..."
Avarice's soulfire pulsed violently. Here it comes. He braced for the worst. Whether it was being forced to work as a laborer in the Jade Territory or helping Lust with some shady experiment, he was ready to accept it.
"Let me think..." Lust tapped her chin with her finger, putting on a show of deep thought. "How about you write a novel based on yourself? Call it The Overbearing Lich and His Little Succubus—sounds like it would sell well."
"Or, you could perform the script I've been researching in a stage play. I've already thought of the title: The Temptation of the Undead."
"Or perhaps..." Lust looked at Avarice, who seemed ready to fall apart at any second, and finally couldn't help but burst into laughter, clutching her stomach. "Forget it, forget it. I won't tease you anymore, you poor thing."
Lust laughed for a good while before stopping. She rubbed her eyes, her expression becoming serious. "I need you to do something for me. Recently, wraiths have been appearing in many places across the Empire. They are numerous and strange, appearing out of thin air. The Sovereign told me to handle it. So, for the time being, my research is in your hands."
"Which research?" Avarice hadn't quite caught up.
"Parallel worlds." Lust's tone turned solemn. "This is important, Avarice. I've observed fluctuations in the teleportation arrays again. It's not as obvious as last time, but I suspect that when we conducted our space-time folding experiment using soul links, we may have accidentally exposed our world's coordinates. Those parallel worlds might not just be 'parallel'—they might be independent planes that exist in reality, governed by their own laws."
"If our coordinates are truly exposed, the consequences could be severe." Lust looked at Avarice, her soulfire burning with an unquestionable command. "Before I return, you must stabilize the space-time barrier of our world. Don't let anything slip in easily."
Avarice stood where he was, completely stunned. The expected humiliation never came. Instead, he had been handed a mission a hundred times heavier than any humiliation. This was not a punishment. This was trust.
Lust finished speaking, yawned, and turned to head toward the door. "That's all. I'm leaving. Remember to help me request leave from the Sovereign."
Lust's figure vanished at the threshold, leaving only her words echoing in the empty laboratory: "Oh, right, my lab is a bit messy. Remember to help me clean up. Thanks~"
Avarice watched the direction Lust had left, remaining silent for a long time. Then, he bowed slightly toward the empty doorway and whispered:
"As you command, General."
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