Chapter 54: First acquaintance with the ghost

In the midst of Rhea’s nightmare, the scene unfolded with a chilling intensity. The gloomy dark realm of the dead materialized around her, a strange place where ghostly figures roamed, their ethereal forms flickering in the dim, otherworldly light. The air was heavy with an eerie silence, broken only by the distant echoes of mournful cries.

Amidst this haunting realm, Rhea’s attention was drawn to a figure just ahead. It was a ghostly woman, her features obscured by a veil of sorrow. Her eyes were filled with anguish, and her voice echoed with a chilling wail. She reached out towards Rhea, her translucent hand trembling.

"Save my son," she pleaded, her voice carrying an unbrekable resonance. "Save him from the clutches of those people. You promised me before. Please, you have to help him. He’s in danger."

Rhea’s heart pounded in her chest as she tried to comprehend the gravity of the situation. The urgency in the ghostly woman’s voice sent shivers down her spine.

Just as the nightmare seemed to consume her entirely, she abruptly felt a jolt on her shoulders.

Draven, who stood before Rhea’s drenched body, quickly shook her awake. "Rhea, wake up!"

Rhea’s eyes snapped open, but she appeared to be calmer than before. She remained motionless on the uneven bed, gazing blankly at the ceiling. However, when she attempted to sit up, her uneven bed gave way, causing her to tumble onto the floor. Rhea let out a groan as her backside made a harsh impact with the floor.

Without moving, she took a deep breath and angrily kicked the table away from her line of vision. Frustrated, she exclaimed, "What does this ghost want from me once again? I have tried my best to save him before, but he died, yet she continues to haunt me!"

Rhea glanced up at Draven, "Is there a way for me to get rid of the core’s side effect? I don’t want to see ghosts or even go to the realm of the dead again."

"Well, having the core in ones body doesn’t mean dragons could see ghosts, it’s a side effect for humans, and I have no idea on how to get rid of the side effects, because I never had those troubles as a dragon."

Rhea let out a helpless sigh and asked, "Oh... what has awakened you at this hour?" However, he had already gone to get himself a cup of water. She then muttered, "Oh, water."

Rhea made the decision to remain awake for the rest of the night, fearing being thrust into the land of the deceased. Nevertheless, no matter how hard she attempted to stay awake, she eventually dozed off on the ground. As anticipated, once she fell into a deep slumber, the ghost once again transported her to the realm beyond.

However, Rhea snapped herself awake by biting hard on her tongue. "Damn this ghost!"

Draven, who hadn’t slept yet, heard her words and raised an eyebrow slightly. "It appears that you have a connection with this specific ghost you constantly complain about, otherwise she wouldn’t be bothering you to this extent."

Rhea sat up from the ground and stared blankly for a moment before wiping her damp forehead. After a long silence, she stood up and approached the bed. Without a care in the world, she climbed onto it and sat on one side.

"Alright, let me share everything about this ghost with you," she said.

Draven observed her and patiently waited for her to finish settling on the other side of the bed.

Rhea glanced at Draven. She had never revealed this to anyone before, but since she wouldn’t be able to sleep for the rest of the night, she decided to tell him everything. Besides, she had always desired to discuss this with someone who wouldn’t view her as abnormal. And at this moment, only Draven would understand her better than anyone out there, as they currently shared a connection.

Rhea began, "Actually, she once visited me in the past, but that was a long time ago..."

This ghost could be considered an old acquaintance of Rhea. It happened a year ago during the winter festival in Birhhan. Rhea was wandering the city with her street companions, not exactly friends, but rather fellow outsiders she would spend time with when she felt lonely. Since she wasn’t allowed to celebrate the winter festival with her family members, because they were embarrassed to introduce her to their acquaintances, she’d snuck out on the night of the festival.

On that fateful night, Rhea encountered this ghost roaming the dark streets. But once the ghost realized that Rhea could see her, she started following her, crying out incessantly, "They’re going to kill him after taking what they want from him, you have to save my son!"

Having had previous encounters with ghosts, Rhea had no intention of listening to them again, so she simply ignored the woman. However, the persistent ghost refused to give up and continued to follow her, repeating the same plea over and over. Eventually, Rhea grew tired of the constant wailing and decided to address the ghost.

"I don’t know who you are or why you believe I have any knowledge of your son. Just because I can hear and see you doesn’t mean you have the right to disrupt my life endlessly. I won’t assist any ghosts I come across."

However, the ghost wasn’t ready to give up."Let me introduce myself to you then. My name is Johanna, I’m a dragon from Draconia, I was killed by the fire controllers, who forcefully took my son away with them."

Rhea who had never seen a dragon nor its ghost was astonished. She looked at the ghost up and down, she was wearing a white night dress, with her seemly blue eyes glimmering in the night. However, judging from her clear ghostly appearance she hadn’t been killed for long.

Rhea wasn’t surprised that the woman was killed by the fire controllers, because after what had happened decades ago, the Emperor had given his words of killing any dragon that stepped into Birhhan on sight. Show no mercy to the outcast creatures. Perhaps, this woman had crossed the borders with her son and ended up being killed?

"Well, even though you’re a dead female dragon, it doesn’t change the fact that you are still a dragon and an outcast in Birhhan. You shouldn’t be here. I’m sorry I can’t do anything about your son, and I’m sure he’s probably dead by now. You should leave and let your soul rest in peace, perhaps you’ll find your son’s soul as well." Rhea said.

The ghost looked at Rhea with a face laced with grief, she then remarked, "He’s not dead. My son is just a child, he knew nothing. They forcefully dragged him away and locked him up in an underground dungeon. Have mercy on me and save him from them."

Draven, who had been silently listening to Rhea’s tale, finally interrupted. "Why did you refuse to aid the destitute mother?" he asked. "And here you always label me heartless, but judging by how you showed no concern for the ghost’s sorrow, it appears to me that you are heartless."

Rhea glared at Draven. "Do not form a judgment about my character just yet. I have my reasons for not assisting. I have encountered numerous pitiful spirits who, in the end, were only pretending to be in distress in order to deceive me into accompanying them, with intentions of killing me and seizing control of my body. Therefore, I believed she was one of them."

"..."

"I have no belief in the words uttered by ghosts, and to make matters worst. When I inquired about the whereabouts of her son from the ghost, the location she mentioned turned out to be owned by Oriana..." Rhea stopped, her expression growing darker, "Oriana is the very person who accused me of theft, she is one of the leaders of the flames. Furthermore, many people have been shipping her with Azure, claiming they make a good couple, and the reason she attempted to get rid of me was because of my closeness to Azure." Rhea paused, then exclaimed, "Oriana is a gold digger, I never liked her from the beginning!"

Draven observed Rhea in silence as she expressed her feelings. "I dislike seeing Oriana being close to Azure," she murmured. "She’s always clinging to him like a lost puppy, and it infuriates me! I’m so jealous that I wish I could yank her away from him by her hair!"

Draven remained quiet, his eyebrows furrowing in a frown. He was aware that Azure, whom Rhea mentioned frequently, had aided her in the past, and it seemed that she had developed some feelings for him during their interactions. However, he found it disturbing to hear her openly admit her jealousy towards him being with another woman. Surprisingly, he realized that he was bothered by it.

Strangely enough, Draven couldn’t quite pinpoint the reason behind his newfound annoyance. Perhaps it stemmed from his hate towards fire controllers, knowing that the person who possessed his core was falling for one of them. That must be the cause, Draven speculated, but he chose to keep his thoughts to himself and remained silent.

Rhea carried on, unaware of the person’s mood in front of her. "However, Oriana also disliked me. Probably because she’s also jealous. Oh, by the way, speaking of Oriana, you must have met her before as well." Rhea looked at Draven, "Before she became one of the leaders, she was called Ori. She’s the beloved niece of Alina, your former lover."

Draven was taken aback, but he stayed silent for a while. However, when he finally spoke, his voice was icy cold. "I am not acquainted with her." Alina never mentioned having any family members or close friends to him. Because she’d never loved him to begin with.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read