Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance
chapter-897

897 Probing

The shadowy figure's voice took on a tone of irritation, tinged with a hint of surprise at Mira's audacity. However, after taking a deep breath, they regained their calm.

Giving Mira a pointed look, the shadow fell silent, gauging Mira's strength and trying to understand the reason for her confidence. However, the fox had restrained her aura to its very limit, not wanting to reveal anything.

"Did you drag me here just to stare at me?" Mira disturbed the silence and stood up. Her lips curled up into a sneer as she looked down at the shadow like a giant would at a bug, causing the person to tremble in anger, but they still remained calm.

Mira raised an eyebrow, surprised, but inwardly nodded. 'I'd be disappointed if the high-and-mighty Central Continent talents could keep their cool in any situation.'

Anyone who couldn't remain calm against basic provocation wasn't worth worrying about. Even if their strength was higher than hers, they didn't deserve her attention.

'But, that's just the most basic requirement to be considered a genius.' Mira thought as she disregarded the 'enemy' and started looking around.

"...I've never seen something like this. For it to be able to hold me, it's quite impressive." She nodded to herself. Mira walked around in the tangible darkness until she hit a wall about 10 meters ahead of her. "...I take it back." She muttered while taking a glance at the figure.

Seeing that it was just standing there, staring at her, Mira shook her head and turned her attention back to the wall. She raised her hand and gave it a few knocks, noticing how it rippled under the force. "Huh~ Nevermind, this shit is trash."

Though she only used a fraction of her strength, she understood that it wouldn't be a problem for her to break out of there if she wanted to, but that also made her suspicious. '...It feels like that's the point of this room. It's not to hold you but to force whoever was captured to try and break out.'

Whoever was after her clearly had a treasure good enough to not just restrain her but catch her by surprise. They even had something that could transpose itself on top of her. The grade of such items shouldn't be low.

She refused to believe that a Mystical or Divine Grade item would be so easy to destroy. At least, she was confident that only items of such grades could possibly pose a threat to her.

'Not that I want to leave.' She shrugged and walked away from the wall while unconsciously twirling her scythe. 'Our annoying attacker finally showed themselves. Until I get some information, I have no intention of leaving. Worst comes to worst, I can communicate with Elenei or simply destroy this place and face the consequences later.'

The shadow's figure twitched, and the temperature in the room seemed to decrease with how intently it was staring at Mira. As the seconds passed, the danger Mira posed rose. The way she walked, how she examined her situation, and the calmness she displayed despite being captured… none of these were normal.

'I just wanted to test her a bit, but…' The figure thought, watching Mira move around. The confidence in her eyes was something that couldn't be faked. 'Also…'

Something about those blood-red eyes. There was something about those eyes that seemed unnatural.

Almost as if-

'As if they were formed from the blood of millions-No, billions.' The shadow figure thought, feeling a light shudder down its spine. Mira could try and hide it as much as she wanted, but deep inside her, there was always a thirst for blood, for death.

So many people have died under her gaze that killing was similar to breathing for her. Whether she liked it or not, rivers of blood followed behind her. As such, there was always a faint killing intent–a subtle stench of death that surrounded her.

'...Where'd she grow up? How come we've never heard of someone like her until now?' That's when a sudden thought crossed its mind, causing the person behind the figure to tense up and their eyes to widen. 'I-Is she, perhaps, a World Breacher? Has she broken through the World Barrier?'

World Breachers were incredibly rare but almost always dangerous. Anyone who could pass through the World Barrier at the edge of the Continents was someone even the higher-

ups had to deal with seriously.

In the history of the world, they'd seen only a handful of people who were capable of such things, and every time, they came to conquer. Resources, treasures, women, slaves, anything they could get their hands on, they wanted. There was no empathy for the inhabitants.

Although it was just speculation, the figure couldn't get it out of its head. If the fox person before it really did breach this world, especially after slaughtering her previous world, things would be a lot more complicated than if Mira was just another talented person.

'No, it's too early to make any conclusions. I'm here merely to observe.' It mentally shook its head before its form solidified a bit more. 'However, if she really is too much of a threat…'

It could no longer treat Mira the same as the rest of the cattle on the Outer Continents. It'd be a fool if it thought her to be on a similar level as them, even if she wasn't a World Breacher.

The shadow began to circle around Mira, maintaining a safe distance. Its voice, as cold as ice, broke the silence once again. "You know, it's quite rare to see someone as unphased as you in a situation like this. Most would be clawing at the walls in desperation."

Mira's eyes followed the figure lazily, her expression unchanging. "Desperation is for those who have something to lose. I'm merely curious about the puppeteer pulling the strings."

The shadow chuckled, a sound that seemed to echo off the walls. "Curiosity is a dangerous thing. It can lead one down unexpected paths, perhaps even across worlds, some might say."

Mira's grip on her scythe tightened imperceptibly, but her face remained impassive. "Worlds, you say? That's a vast and vague concept. But then, so is power and ambition, isn't it?"

The shadow stopped moving as its form became more defined in the darkness. "Power and ambition are the driving forces of many. They push us to transcend our limits, to reach heights unknown. But sometimes, they lead us to tread paths soaked in blood."

Mira's lips quirked up slightly at the corners. "Ah~ The poetic tragedy of ambition~ But tell me, isn't it more tragic to live a life unfulfilled, bound by invisible chains of fear and mediocrity?"

The shadow's form seemed to flicker as if agitated. "Perhaps. But such a life is preferable to one of constant suffering, don't you think? Not everyone has the talent or drive to reach the peak."

"Is that what they teach on that elitist island of yours?" Mira snickered.

"..." Her transient 'friend' trembled as the empty eye sockets in the shadow glared at her, but Mira just chuckled. Calming down, the being stopped shaking and said, "You say that, but at least we don't run around destroying everything, leaving chaos in our wake…"

Mira snorted. She gazed at the being sharply but made no moves physically. Instead, she responded, "And? So what if such beings exist? What then? Are they to be feared, hunted, or revered?"

The shadow leaned closer, its voice dropping to a whisper. "Feared and hunted, most definitely. Such beings are anomalies and disruptors of the peace. They are... unnatural."

"At least I'm… they're… better than you assholes, causing the rest of the world to stagnate." Mira laughed, a sound that resonated with a hint of mockery. "Peace?! This world has never seen such a thing! Unnatural?! Who decides what is natural? The world? The people? Or perhaps those who fear change and the unknown like a few fogeys who are too cowardly to ascend?"

The shadow recoiled slightly as if struck. "..."

"What? Tongue-tied?" Mira stepped forward, her presence dominating the space. "Then let's speak of what we do understand. Power. Control. You have me here, in your little playpen, yet you talk in circles. What is it that you truly want?"

The shadow, now visibly tense, responded, "I merely want to understand the creature before me. To know whether you are a threat to be contained or a curiosity to be observed."

"And if I were to say I am neither?" Mira's eyes glinted dangerously.

The shadow's voice took on a sharp edge. "Then I would say you are a liar. No ordinary person carries the scent of death as closely as you do."

Mira's smirk widened as the killing intent in her eyes heightened. "Ah, but isn't death the greatest journey of them all? Perhaps I am merely an enthusiast of the inevitable."

The air in the room grew colder. The shadow figure seemed to be weighing its options, its form flickering with uncertainty.

"Your words are clever, fox," it finally said. "But they cannot mask the truth of your nature. A slaughterer."

Mira's expression turned serious, her grip on her scythe tightening. "And you? What are you? A judge? A jailer? Or just some old bastard's slave he sent out to do his bidding because he was too bored with life?"

"...That depends on you."

The two stared at one another deep in each other's eyes. Neither unleashed their aura, Soul Sense, or qi to try and pressure the other, but the dark room trembled from the mere pressure of their gazes.

Then, finally, Mira put away her scythe.