I Became a White-Haired Loli 52

Chapter 52: Shadows Across Time, A Bargain

“Is that all?” Sasha frowned.

For a commander-level demon to venture so deep into human territory, it was hard to believe she had no other motive.

Moreover, the Abyssal Lord was the true leader of the Abyssal Demon Realm, the key figure in the ancient empire’s destruction, though she had also nearly destroyed her own realm.

“And,” Ice Lily hesitated, “I wanted to see you. It’s been a long time.”

“Uh…” Sasha was taken aback. She hadn’t expected Ice Lily to say that.

The atmosphere between them turned awkward.

“Well… it has been a while,” Sasha said, scratching her head sheepishly. “And you were so small back then. Now you’ve grown up, and we…”

“So you prefer the type like Ice Bai?” Ice Lily’s voice turned cold.

“Ice… oh, you mean Little Sister Bai? She is cute… just as cute as you were back then! No, wait, that’s not what I meant. I mean… maybe… perhaps… there’s still something there… sort of…”

“I understand,” Ice Lily said coldly, crushing the gift she had been holding, intending to give it to Sasha.

Sasha felt a bead of sweat trickle down her forehead. After all this time, Ice Lily still remembered. Long-lived beings were troublesome.

But then, her face paled as she pulled out the ring she had been concealing.

“…What’s happened?”

A crack had appeared on the ring.

“What is that?” Ice Lily frowned, looking at the ring. “It looks familiar.”

“The key is broken,” Sasha murmured. “Which means… Vikarn… is out of control…”

Salred was a descendant of Vikarn’s Gatekeepers, the only one who could enter without the key.

That was why the Demon Hunters had sent him, though his power was insufficient, hence the second team tasked with obtaining Glaimond’s ring.

As Lugner had said, the Demon Hunters knew quite a bit, but they had underestimated the true power of Vikarn’s Weapon.

With the Gatekeeper’s ring destroyed, it meant Salred had likely reached the Weapon, perhaps even activated it.

And worse, it meant Vikarn was now out of control.

Sasha looked towards the mysterious, deserted building complex in Vikarn Port.

Like a mirage, it was slowly fading away.

That was the entrance to Vikarn, the reason this place was called Vikarn Port.

If the entrance disappeared, even with the ring, they wouldn’t be able to enter Vikarn, let alone stop what was happening inside.

Humanity could only wait, until Vikarn, in its separate dimension, completely collapsed, unleashing its horrors upon Solor, the Weapon wreaking havoc across the land.

Unless…

Sasha remembered another “key,” but the price was steep.

“What’s in Vikarn?” Ice Lily asked, her voice low. She had entered Vikarn before, but like now, only as an intruder.

“Remember the Abyssal Lord you mentioned?” Sasha swallowed hard. “Vikarn holds a weapon created by the ancient empire, a weapon designed to counter the Abyssal Lord, a weapon they poured all their resources into.”

“You mean…?”

“Yes, although not quite as powerful as the Abyssal Lord, it’s far beyond anything a Calamity Class being could handle… even a typical World Ender Class would struggle against it,” Sasha said seriously.

“But the Abyssal Lord destroyed the ancient empire too quickly. The weapon wasn’t completed in time, so it was sealed and hidden deep within Vikarn.”

“Unfortunately, some of the secrets regarding the ‘Vikarn Weapon’ were leaked after the empire’s collapse, which led to the current situation.”

“An incomplete weapon… capable of fighting the Abyssal Lord?” Ice Lily asked skeptically.

“No, only one part of the weapon is incomplete,” Sasha said, her voice barely concealing her fear. “The most important part, and yet, the least important…”

“The ancient empire never gave the Weapon a personality, not before their final command. We don’t know what kind of personality she has developed over the years. We can’t risk her going berserk.”

“Such detail… that’s classified information, isn’t it? Why do you know so much?” Ice Lily asked, her brow furrowed. “You’re not supposed to be part of Vikarn.”

Vikarn referred to both a place and an organization, the ancient empire’s last line of defense against the Abyssal Demon Realm.

“Because the Weapon was created by Vikarn’s Chief,” Sasha whispered, her eyes downcast. “She was my sister, Neily.”

“Only she could access the Weapon, only she truly understood it.”

But now, with Vikarn out of control, Sasha couldn’t imagine what had become of the Weapon sealed within.

The Abyssal Lord, feared even by the Abyss, was awakening, and the Vikarn Weapon was now a loose cannon. The shadows of the ancient empire’s war against the demons were falling upon Solor once more.

“Nisha…” Ice Lily said softly, seeing Sasha’s pale face.

“Call me Sasha. Nisha is a name of the past,” Sasha shook her head, then, as if remembering something, smiled. “Ice Lily, do you remember what I said when we first met?”

“Of course,” Ice Lily replied, her expression softening slightly. “You said we were different, yet the same.”

“Now, we are the same, yet different.”

Sasha looked up at the demon girl who had once been so small, now towering over her.

“Let’s go to the capital. The North Empire’s capital… Everything we need is there—information about the ancient empire, about Vikarn…”

Ice Lily paused. “I’m a demon.”

“So am I,” Sasha smiled, revealing a flash of sharp fangs.

A human body could never contain the full power of Authority. There were no exceptions.

“This is another bargain,” Sasha lowered her head slightly. “I need to settle my past… come, Little Ice Lily, it’s time to end the shadows of the past.”

Ice Lily sensed a deep sadness emanating from Sasha, a sadness so profound it almost brought tears to her own eyes.

“Alright,” she whispered.