Chapter 410: A Broken Oath [Part 1] When Alex opened his eyes, he found himself lying on a soft bed, next to Latifa, who was sleeping peacefully. "Am I in heaven?" Alex muttered as he looked at the sleeping beauty beside him. "Obviously not." Lumi’s annoyed voice reached his ears. Alex glanced to the side of the bed, only to see the Alter looking down on him with her arms crossed over her chest. "Oh... since you’re here, Lumi, I might have gone to hell instead of heaven." "Very well, I’ll send you to hell free of charge." Lumi was about to smack Alex’s head to oblivion, but Lotte hurriedly pulled her back. Lotte cared about Alex’s safety, but she was also thinking about how embarrassing it would be if he suffered a near-death experience just to meet his end at the hands of an irritated teenage girl! "Dim Dim!" Realizing that Alex was awake, Dim Dim jumped and clung to his face like a Koala, refusing to let go. Alex blinked once then twice before lightly patting the head of the little bun, who looked genuinely worried about his condition. "I’m fine, Dim Dim," Alex said softly. "Thank you for worrying about me." "Un!" Dim Dim smiled happily before finally letting go. The young man then scanned the surroundings. Luthor was seated at the corner of the cavern. His legs were crossed and he seemed to be meditating. However, after sensing Alex’s gaze, the old man opened his eyes, which made Alex flinch. His fight or flight response was immediately triggered as the memories of what had happened before he lost consciousness flooded his mind. Alex couldn’t be blamed for such a reaction, especially after his near-death experience with the old man. "Dim Dim!" Dim Dim reassured Alex that the old man wouldn’t hurt him because her best friend was around. The little bun even pointed at Eiko, who was sleeping peacefully on top of a black coffin. The floating coffin looked eerie, but he didn’t feel any kind of danger emanating from it. He wondered where the coffin came from, or why Eiko was even sleeping on top of it. Still, it seemed that the coffin served a purpose because the baby slime wouldn’t be sleeping so peacefully in a cavern with an old man who almost murdered someone. "Dim Dim!" Dim Dim pointed at the black coffin. "That coffin’s name is Blackfire?" Alex frowned. "Un!" Dim Dim nodded. "What is inside of it?" Alex asked. "I mean, is there a body inside that coffin?" Dim Dim smirked mischievously and kept silent. Seeing its expression, Alex had the lingering suspicion that it wanted him to personally discover what was in the coffin. Alex had no intention of courting death to satisfy his curiosity, so he decided to stop prying. "Lotte, can you tell me what happened after I lost consciousness?" Alex glanced at Latifa’s alter, whom he believed had the answers to his questions. Lotte gave Lumi a side-long glance before responding. "Lumi saw a baby slime jump out of the water. It called out to Eiko. I don’t know what the baby slime said, but Eiko and Dim Dim hurried to jump into the lake together. "Lumi followed them and reported what was happening to Latifa. When we arrived at the scene, the baby slimes were using their healing abilities on you. But, it wasn’t enough. "Latifa was forced to use the power of the Verdant Throne to help increase your regeneration abilities. Also, it has already been a day since you lost consciousness." "I see..." Alex glanced at the sleeping young lady, who had come to save him from harm. He had truly been in a great deal of pain after his encounter with Luthor, but now, he felt so strong that it was like their exchange had simply been a passing dream. Unfortunately, seeing the old man observing him from the corner of the cavern was more than enough for him to understand that everything that had happened was very much real. But there was one more question that needed to be addressed. It was also the most important one. What now? Alex didn’t know if it was a good idea to talk to Luthor again. He certainly didn’t want to make knocking on death’s door a habit. Still, he didn’t know if he should feel relieved or worried that the Guardian of the North had become blind and was wasting away in an underground cavern within Slime Paradise. He could vaguely recall the old man shouting at him and calling him a liar. Luthor had insisted that he had seen the prince die with his own eyes. But, if that was true, then what about Alex? What about the memory of him saving ten-year-old Evangeline after she had tried to run away from home? ’I don’t know what to believe anymore.’ Alex sighed internally. A part of him still doubted that he really was the lost Prince of Aetherion. It was simply a backstory that he had written while creating his character, Alex Stratos, who served as his game character in Endless Leveling Online. ’Maybe I’m thinking too deeply about this,’ Alex thought. ’Maybe it’s not related. Maybe this is just one big coincidence.’ Yes. A coincidence. That was the only explanation for all of this... was what he wanted to believe. At the very least, he needed to talk to Evangeline first to put this matter behind him. "Let’s go," Alex said. "I want to leave this place." The young man had intended to look for treasures in Slime Paradise, but he was no longer in the mood for it. He felt confused and unsure about many things, but the people that could help him were dangers to his peaceful life. Latifa finally stirred after being lightly shaken by Lotte. After being informed that Alex wished to leave the cave, she shyly glanced at him, who was only wearing a swimming trunk. "We can leave now." Latifa stood up from the bed. "I’m sure that the others are very worried about you." She then returned her bed inside her storage ring and waited for Alex to jump into the water. But before the young man could do it, the old man stood up and called out to them. "Wait, we need to talk," Luthor said calmly. "I apologize for hurting you a day ago. It has been years since I interacted with people and my emotions got the better of me. Please, can we talk? I promise to not hurt you." A part of Alex didn’t want to believe the old man, but a part of him bade him to stay. In the end, after a brief struggle, the young man decided to agree to the old man’s request to talk. Whether he was really the Prince of Aetherion or not, only a handful people could say. And among all of them, only Luthor was available. "Will you really not hurt him?" Latifa asked calmly. She couldn’t gauge the strength of the old man in front of them. But she had a feeling that he might be a hidden Master, who had decided to live his life as a hermit. "Yes, I promise upon my name that I will not hurt him," Luthor replied. "And who are you to make such a promise?" Lumi asked. "Does your name even have value?" To Alex’s surprise, Luthor lowered his head as if Lumi’s words had cut him deep. "You’re right." Luthor sighed. "My oath has been broken, so my name has no longer any value." "Lumi." Latifa glanced at her Alter, which made Lumi nod in understanding. "Forgive her, she’s just a little aggressive after what happened. Please, tell us your name, Sir." The old man continued to "stare" at the ground in front of him, as if recalling a time when his name had still meant something. After a short silence, he raised his head once more and glanced in Latifa’s direction. "My name is Luthor Vademont," Luthor stated. "I was once called the Guardian of the North." This time, it was Lumi’s turn to look at the old man in disbelief. Latifa and Lotte were both caught off guard by this revelation too. Their generation knew very well about the legend of the Guardian of the North. But many believed that after the great battle, the Guardian guarding the Aetherion Empire as a loyal subject had died after fulfilling his duty. That was the official story that the Empire had given after his disappearance, and since he didn’t appear again in the world, many believed that he was truly dead... Until today.