"You seemed to know I was coming."
Kroya's first reaction was to unfurl his Rainbow Grass Paradise. Caution was essential when speaking with a powerhouse who had stepped straight out of mythology in such an unfamiliar setting.
Cassandra patiently waited for the Rainbow Grass to fully take shape.
Only then did she sigh softly. "How beautiful. Although my deity and Lord Apollo supported different kingdoms, I once had the good fortune to hear him play his lyre.
"Even heaven, earth, and everything in nature would pause to listen to that joyous music."
Kroya knew nothing of these matters. He waited patiently until Cassandra collected herself before asking, "What did Goddess Athena ask you to do?"
"Where is Lady Miya?" Cassandra answered with a question. "If Lady Miya isn't here, I cannot answer you-even if you are her heir and the one she cherishes. This, too, is part of the contract she made with Goddess Athena."
Just then, platinum light slowly brightened behind Kroya's head, forming an ancient-looking Platinum Ring that hovered there.
"I am right here."
"Please speak, priestess. Kroya can make any decision on my behalf."
After Kroya reached the legendary rank and accepted the Shadow Kingdom as one of his cornerstones, the Ring of Radiance had effectively taken up permanent residence on him. Whenever he wanted to draw on its power, he could summon it anywhere, at any time.
This was also the source of Kroya's confidence.
Although the supreme treasure was not yet complete, protecting him was no problem.
"So you were here all along."
"Then I shall speak plainly."
A trace of nostalgia crossed Cassandra's face. "My deity, and everything from which the deities originated, were actually created by a Titan-no, more precisely, an Astral Spirit.
"They were merely experimental subjects in the Astral Spirit's research