Lord Shadow

Well, it is expected since the slave world most of them is stuck on a medieval world most of the things and artworks from the people of this world seems like the artwork of a medieval world.

If they go beyond the mediaeval world, progressing beyond that level, the governor of that slave world would send an army of demons to wipe out the people of that world so they could start again.

Sometimes they even directed asteroid and manufacture natural disaster to kill off the living beings in their slave world.

He shakes his head to draw out the thought from his head and look at the painting. Then he sighed.

'It seems I am still as illiterate as ever to art' he does feel something while he looks at the art.

But he bet the feeling he felt is not as intense as Katarina feeling when she looks at painting.

Most of the time, he only felt bored looking at it.

Of course, some art does make him felt something.

The only reason Azief had some interest in art is because Katarina likes it.

She particularly liked Claude Monet and Van Gogh. She likes Monet painting of the nature and the way that Monet perceived the world around him

As for Van Gogh, she likes that the painter transformed his pain of his life into beauty, painting his pain and passion to portray ecstasy and joy in a way that not many people could do.

Maybe she found that Van Gogh life of pain is same like hers. And like him, she too had passion for beauty, passion for life and a heart that does not lose hope.

And it is not easy to have such a heart.

In a world as dark as theirs was, a heart that have passion for these ethereal things, for beauty that life could offer, a passion to dare ask the world all it could give and a heart that even in the darkest moment have hope and fight for that hope…...it is not easy at all to have such a heart

Azief smiles a bit thinking of this.

Then he felt the wind around him become colder behind him and turn his head to look beside him and Katarina was there.

Katarina was looking at the same painting she was.

'It's like Monet' he said.

'It does look like it. There was painter in one of the slave world. His art is quite the same as Monet. I commission a painting from him'

'There is a city not far away from this place. The people of the slave world was a bit surprised after the truth of the world was revealed to them but many of them had accepted it. Cities are being built all over the world right now. Still, if it's not for the help of the Orvanians I could not have easily relocate these people in only five months'

Azief listen to Katarina, his eyes are still looking at the painting. He then asked

'is the painter elves or human?'

'Human. The elves love beauty and they love nature but they experience it in a different way than human does. I relocated them at the forest area, let them becoming the protector of nature'

Then she added

'It always strikes me weird, that they are human-like creatures in other worlds'

'But they are not quite the same, right?' Katarina nodded.

'There are difference between humans in our Earth and human-like creature from other planets'

There is silence again between them. Azief is actually waiting for Katarina to explain what she means when she said it is not time for her to return home.

Even though this world looks beautiful, in the end, Azief still felt unease that Katarina is here. It is better for her to return to Earth Prime.

This star system where the Seresian world is located who knows whether there are hostile forces. Regardless of the Orvanians protection, Azief knows everything is possible in this world

Then Katarina come closer to the painting and said

'the color is very vivid. While it is crude compared to Monet, this is a new artist, just blooming'

Now that the silence has been broken Azief said

'It seems in five months, there is really a lot of things that you had done'

'We have the time to discuss it later. It is hard trying to compile five months of experience in one conversation'

'We should go home' Azief once again said

Katarina sighed

Still looking at the painting, she shakes her head and said.

'It is not that I don't want to go home. We can't'

Azief raise his eyebrows and pull her hand.

'What do you mean we can't?'

'At least not now' she added.

Katarina then explained to him that before the Orvanians returned home, the Orvanians had told her that they have to close all the Multiversal channel to this world

That includes the channel between Earth and Seresian world.

Of course, the Orvanians also told her that the reason why they have to close it is because someone was messing with the Time differences between the two worlds.

At first the effects of it would be minimal.

But as time goes on the effect would become weirder.

Time phenomenon from acceleration of time to deceleration of time, to time splitting all of these phenomenon and more might occur the longer the portals stays open

And then while right now it only affects around that area as it become even more unstable, it would slowly affect the world

Azief frowned.

'Did the Orvanians did not know that I was about to come get you? Why didn't they just send a message? If they did, they were a lot of other things I could do'

Katarina smiles bitterly and said

'They knows the story between you and I. because I told them. And they thought it is better not to contact you for fear that would do some drastic measure'

'Drastic measure?'

'Like opening a multiversal barrier forcefully'

Sighing she added

'They put your behavior into their calculation and instead of exploding the portals into nothingness, there is a gap of time that is left after the initial attack on the portal for anyone on the opposite side of the portal to enter'

'They did that so that you would have the chance to enter it. Of course if you were not able to enter it at that time, they also calculated that you would probably use the same method like using the Speedsters abilities to go into the Seresian world'

'But at least, this time, if you were really intending to do such a thing, they would be ready.'

At this Azief goes silent. It is hard to know whether he would do such a thing or not. But there is a great possibility that he would do such a thing if the Orvanians did close the portal.

With the only way to go to the Seresian world being destroyed, Azief truly might break that promise he made himself not to meddle with such method again

Because the one on the other side is Katarina. For her, there are some promises that he would rather broke than losing her.

'I did know the effort that you had done for me. And I know Jean is holding the fort there. I am surprised. I guess maybe when I got back, me and him had to have a good talk. It seems the years has mellowed him out'

'And I know that you would be coming. I just didn't thought that you would be coming that way. That is why I quickly came to the area of that portal. Around there, I already put people to surveil the area long before you came. I also put a few hundred surveillance devices to inform me once an energy reading that is abnormal is detected'

Azief raised his eyebrows at her statement

'And how did you know that I was coming and that Jean is protecting the portal?'

Katarina did not answer immediately. Instead she closes her eyes and takes a breath. Azief also did not push her

He looks at the painting again.

This time, he felt the painting is quite beautiful. And the green colors seem to vividly express the youth of spring.

There was that silence again between them.

But between them silence is not that uncomfortable.

Silence itself is not something that is uncomfortable for both of them.

Instead, they are the type of people who did not have to fill the silence with words and even enjoys the silence.

Of course, Azief in the past is not like this. He is the kind of boy that could not stand prolonged silence.

But as he grows up and experiences many things, he became more quiet.

And slowly, he even enjoys the silence.

He did not like the blaring sound of the clubs.

Happiness is always just a few seconds.

But after that…. only a kind of emptiness fills the heart. As such, Azief did not pursues such superficial happiness.

Of course, he himself did not deny that maybe the people dancing and enjoying the loud music is truly happy.

But, that is not his happiness. That is not the way he wanted to be happy. Years had passed since then and when he met Katarina, he met someone who could enjoy the same silence as he is.

Then sighing Katarina finally answer him.

'It is a long story. But I think I could summarize it'

'While the Orvanians did not contact anyone form Earth Prime for fear of people trying to stop the destruction of the portal, they could see the other side with their devices'

'And they have this observational device that could see the whole Omniverse. I borrow them for a while to see you and my brother'

'Even though I did not contact you, I could hear from the conversation of my brother that you were insisting that the portal to remain opens. Since I could not use it for long, I only know a few things about what happens. But I got the gist of it'

'And they also help me monitor some of the people in that world. Like my brother. And some others' she seems to be thinking of someone

'Who are you thinking about?' Azief ask

'I check on Rosulka'

'What is it between you and her?'

Katarina closes her eyes and shakes her head

'She had a tough life, that girl. I wish I could save her'