Eugenia, the girl before me, sat cross-legged atop the two-headed dragon, her arms folded and brow furrowed, as if deep in thought.
"If you want to find that Mother Goddess Nuwa, it's far away, and you'll have to pass through the territory of many others. By the way, Ethan Zhang, why do you want to find Nuwa? Are you planning to defeat her?"
I smiled and moved closer. The two-headed dragon beneath Eugenia seemed more comfortable now. Both heads perked up, looking at me, then nudged closer. I placed a hand on it and noticed it felt different from other dragons—there were no scales, only dense blue fur, and its body was soft to the touch.
I noticed that none of the strange beasts from the lava pool below dared to come up, as if sensing danger.
"I'm not trying to defeat her. It's just that, for certain reasons, I have to find her."
"What reasons?"
I sat cross-legged in midair, scratching my head.
"Honestly, besides my name, I don't even know who I am."
"Are you an idiot? Haha."
I smiled helplessly. Eugenia crawled over and studied me carefully, placing a hand on my head. I felt a strange force invade my body, and soon a faint golden glow appeared on my skin.
"Hold still, let me check what's in your head. Maybe I can find something!"
I responded with an 'okay' and, with a thought, the power within me vanished. The strange force that had invaded my body became gentle, and I even felt a warmth slowly spreading inside me.
"That's odd, I can't see anything except the memory of you coming to the Illusory Realm. By the way, you really like meddling in other people's business. Okay, let me think about how to get to Mother Goddess Nuwa's territory."
"Thank you."
After I said that, I saw Eugenia looking troubled. For some reason, I felt a little guilty inside.
"You don't have to feel guilty. I'm bored anyway, I've been stuck here for so long, every day is the same. It's dull. You seem strong, maybe you can beat those guys!"
I nodded. Eugenia glanced around, beckoned me over, and we moved to a rocky area beside the lava. Suddenly, white steam spouted from a cave nearby.
"That Chaotic guy, seriously... This place hasn't changed since forever, such a buzzkill. If Zephyr didn't want to eat the lava monsters here, I wouldn't bother coming."
I looked at Eugenia in confusion. She pointed to the gentle two-headed dragon lying on the ground.
"Is his name Zephyr?"
I placed one hand on one of Zephyr's necks, and immediately the other head stretched over. I reached out with my other hand and stroked it—the fur was incredibly soft, like a kitten or a puppy.
He really has a great personality!
I said, and Eugenia burst out laughing, shaking her head as she spoke.
It's not because of his personality—this idiot just likes you!
I blinked in surprise.
What do you mean?
Zephyr loves to eat. Whenever he spots something tasty, he acts like this.
I let out a surprised sound and quickly pulled my hand back. Eugenia giggled—this cheerful, harmless girl might just be my lucky break in this journey through the upper Illusory Realm.
Don't think that way! I'm really unlucky, remember? In human records, what am I known as?
Plaguebringer!