Villain: The Play of Destiny
chapter-424

Friday, August 10th, 2046

Tiantang, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

Arriving in one of China's most beautiful residential districts proved to be rather underwhelming for them, and the same could be said for their overall experience in the country so far.

It wasn't that the country was not beautiful, which it very much was. It was just that they had lived in a place that was much more blessed in terms of landscapes, and nothing stood out to them.

And then there was the fact that all of them, except for Fiona, had seen an unimaginably beautiful place, and even Netheria paled in its comparison.

Fiona was, perhaps, the only one who was enjoying her time appreciating the landscapes. And it was likely because she had never in her life been to a country with moderate to warm temperatures. It was a completely new experience for her.

"Keith."

"Yes?" He smiled at his companion when they entered an Estate in Tiantang, which was Qin Rouxi's home.

And though they were coming uninvited and unannounced, the guards at the entrance had not even bothered stopping them when they saw the car they were inside.

They had been informed that this car might come here in the next few days, so, they were not alarmed about it at all.

"I want to spend some time in Aerzar to explore it." She straightforwardly told him, and he could not help his chuckles.

"You are that bored?"

"I am." She nodded her head.

Qingyue knew he was referring to this world, not something else, and he was indeed right.

"It's just so underwhelming now. No new place excites me ever since our time in Aerzar." She truthfully expressed her feelings, and he smiled and nodded his head.

"Understandable. And it is because you have reached the limits of this world. Your instincts tell you that you no longer belong here, and the lack of Aura and Mana is subconsciously affecting your perception of Gaia."

"Do you feel the same way?" She curiously asked.

"I do." He nodded.

"But you can grow stronger, so why?"

"I can grow stronger here, but it is still not the place where I belong. I have long lost my sense of belonging to this world." He smiled. "The lack of Aura and Mana bothers me a lot more than it bothers you."

"Oh."

"Yes." He chuckled. "And I do plan on taking you to Aerzar. We will spend a lot of time there and I will train you as well."

"You have to start with Fiona's training too." She reminded him, and Keith had an inkling feeling that Qingyue was subconsciously trying to make him focus on them and not pay too much attention to Qin Rouxi.

She had been behaving this way since the time she looked up Qin Rouxi on the internet and asked Iseul to show her the pictures.

And she was envious.

The Sin of Envy was always strong in her, and it was manifesting itself now.

However, Keith was aware that she was not drowning in it and was self-aware. She did not have any reason to envy Rouxi over her beauty because she was a ridiculously beautiful girl as well.

The real reason why she envied Rouxi was because of her talent, and even though Keith had not bluntly said it, she understood that Rouxi was just as talented as Amelia if not more.

Being the True Inheritor of Nuwa, and then possessing a Special Physique of the Divine Rank was outrageous already, but then, unlike Amy, Rouxi was born with a complete Divine Physique.

She was actually a little dissatisfied that the Inheritors of Gods had such unfair advantages over other people. And she had been quite vocal about it to Keith.

There was just one thing that irked her a lot, and it was that the Inheritors of Gods on Gaia could keep getting stronger even after reaching this world's limits.

But she had been in a lot better mood since Keith informed her that it was only possible in these isolated worlds that were not connected to the Heavens. This meant that Rebecca would not be able to overtake her once they both reached the limits in the Lower Heaven.

"Why are we stopping here?" Qingyue turned to look at Keith when he suddenly stopped the car in the middle of the driveway that led to the Villa, and following his eyes, she looked at the pathway that led into the trees.

"There is something interesting in the woods."

It was quite a beautiful place if she was being honest, a lot similar to the forested sides of the Demiliore Mansion. However, she could tell that Keith was a little serious right now as there was no smile on his face.

"What is it?"

"Something that shouldn't belong in this world." He lightly told her, and it mystified her and made her a little apprehensive as well.

A couple of minutes later, they came across a small wooden cabin, surrounded by trees on all sides, and what caught their attention was a magnificent beast that was resting on its porch.

Qingyue did not know why she felt a little constricted when she met the blue eyes of the most beautiful wolf that she had ever seen in her life, and she instinctively started regulating the Aura inside her body.

"Keith..." She subconsciously called out to him when he started walking towards the wolf, but seeing the smile on his face, she stopped.

His smile also helped her compose herself, and then she took another good look at the wolf.

She remembered his earlier words that it was something that was not supposed to exist in this world, but other than its snow-white coat and crystal blue eyes, it did not look much different than the species found on Gaia.

However, having read and listened to a lot of stories from Minami, she knew that the Magical Beasts could alter their appearance, especially their size.

It was how Void was, seemingly forever a cub even after all these years.

Keith, on the other hand, had a lot of things running through his mind right now.

He approached the wolf, and before he could reach it, the Beast got up and started walking towards him.

The she-wolf started circling him and then rubbed its body against him, and he could not help but smile some more.

"Hello, Eira." He guessed its name as he crouched, and though he had not asked the System for confirmation about this significant change in the Plan of Destiny that he had read, he was certain that it was what Rouxi would have named it.

And it was indeed the case.

The She-Wolf seemed happy to hear her name from him, and she allowed him to run his fingers through her coat and even plant a kiss on her head, quite enjoying his ministrations.

"I guess that having a Wolf Soul helps," Qingyue remarked when she walked over to his side, and he chuckled at her words.

"All animals and beasts like me, my dear Yue." He reminded her, but then smiled some more at the She-Wolf. "But Eira likes me because she knows who I am."

"That's a beautiful name." Qingyue smiled at the magnificent creature and then slowly reached down with her hand to touch it.

A cold glance from the Beast stopped her, and there was this instinctive feeling inside her that made her keep her guard up.

She knew that she could touch it, and with Keith around, it would not try to harm her. But she could sense that the she-wolf did not entertain the idea of receiving some love from her, and she respectfully drew back her hand.

"She does not want me to touch her." She smiled at her husband. "And how does she know who you are?"

"I will tell you later." He told her and then turned to look in the same direction that the wolf was looking into now.

He could hear the sound of the hooves of the approaching horses, and he knew who was riding them and coming here.

A minute later, a grey and a red-roan Arabian horse stepped inside the small clearing, and as soon as the two ladies atop the horses saw Eira so close to a man, they panicked a little.

"Eira..." A sweet voice called out the name, but she stopped in amazement when she saw the she-wolf enjoying his ministrations.

"Ao!" Eira happily barked when she felt Rouxi curiously looking towards her, and then left Keith's side to go greet her Master.

"Have you made a new friend, Eira?" An extremely gentle and beautiful voice asked, and there was a hint of affection in it that she held towards her pet.

Eira happily barked again, as if saying yes, and then she playfully growled as she enjoyed her ministrations.

By now, Keith and Qingyue were standing side by side, and the other girl, who was atop the red-roan-coloured horse, was curiously looking at them.

She was visibly a little shaken at their beauty, but soon recovered and challengingly met Keith's eyes, which amused him and elicited a smile from him.

This girl was none other than Wei Feifei, a Heroine of Destiny, the granddaughter of Wei Sheng, and the best and only friend of Qin Rouxi.

More than anything, she was very dear to Keith.

"Master Keith." The gentle voice sounded out again, and he turned to meet the beautiful greyish-blue eyes of the Child of Destiny.

"Miss Qin."

It was a while before he smiled and greeted her back, and by now, Qingyue and Feifei were both frowning as they watched the two of them refusing to look away from each other's eyes.

"Rouxi!" Feifei did not like that her friend was seemingly lost somewhere, and her call managed to bring the girl out of her trance.

If there was any other girl, she might have felt embarrassed or even blushed after the stare-lock with Keith, but Rouxi was different. She just smiled at her friend who had disembarked her horse as well, and then she confidently approached Keith and Qingyue.

She had long jet-black hair that was tied in a braid and that reached her knees, and she was quite tall too, standing five feet and eleven inches in height.

Feifei, on the other hand, had medium-length dark brown hair, almost back, with soft curls, and her eyes were deep brown as well, complementing the shade of her hair. And she stood nearly five inches short of her friend, but that was still considered tall for the girls.

"Eira does not like people. She does not even let Feifei pet her. So, I was just curious." Rouxi said, much to the irritation of her friend, who huffed at her words, and then she politely bowed in a greeting to the two of them. "Welcome to Hangzhou, Master Demiliore."

"Thank you." He smiled and then chuckled at the she-wolf started rubbing her body against him and Rouxi, circling them in a loop, and this again made both Qingyue and Feifei frown.

"Qingyue Demiliore." And this time, it was his wife who cut in.

Rouxi turned to look at the grey-eyed girl with a smile and then shook her hand.

"Qin Rouxi. It's nice to meet you, Mrs Demiliore."

The two of them looked into each other's eyes, and in that instant, Keith felt a deja vu before his mind flashed a series of fast images, settling on one that made him frown a little.

He saw the two of them, smiling at each other in challenge, and what surrounded them was utter devastation, which was terrifyingly beautiful as well.

It was the image he had seen before when he was going through the Trial of Time, but this time, it was a lot clearer.

Everything happened in an instant, and the image vaporised as soon as it had manifested.

Keith found the two of them still smiling at each other, shaking their hands, and then Rouxi turned to look at him again.

"You have a beautiful wife, Master Demiliore."

"I know." He smiled at her.

Everything after that happened subconsciously, and Rouxi did not realise when she had drawn her hand to him, offering to shake it, and Feifei, who had known her since childhood, had her eyes widened in dismay.

Keith did not let Rouxi realise what she was doing and grabbed her hand softly, and it was only when she registered his touch that she looked down and found her hand in his.

Her first thought was that his hand was beautiful, but then her heart accelerated.

She raised her head again, meeting his eyes, and it was at that instant that her world swayed and she fell forward, losing her consciousness.

"Rouxi!" The last thing she heard was her friend calling out her name in panic.