[Are you crazy?!]
Fu Xuan sighed, clearly unsurprised by his response.
[I've been called that, once or twice. I can guess what displeases you, but I'd rather you get it out now.]
Sunny lingered for a moment, deep in thought. He couldn't help but be a little tempted to accept her offer — rubbing shoulders with one of the highest ranking positions in a star fleet spanning multiple ships that form large artificial worlds brought with it plenty of benefits. Finances, stocking up on Memories and Echoes, political influence...
And most importantly, information. That was the core reason why Sunny had been seeking a diviner's assistance.
But there were too many downsides, which he did not hesitate to bring to light.
[First of all, my secrets are secrets for a reason. Do you know how easily knowing your enemy's Aspect and Flaw completely changes your odds of killing them? Of course you do. That's how we took down the General, isn't it?]
She didn't respond, bringing him to believe that he was meant to continue.
[Secondly, I have no idea what you're trying to do in the first place. Becoming the Xianzhou's Sovereign is definitely not your end goal. Actually, I'm guessing that isn't even all that important. Whatever it is you're trying to do, Supremacy is just something that'd make achieving your goal easier, isn't it?]
Supremacy... what a maddening idea. In his life, Sunny has only ever met two beings of the fifth Rank. The first was Phantylia, a Heliobus at the level of a Supreme Titan, wielding authority over both Destruction and Abundance. She only ever fell due to her playful and sadistic nature, as well as a mass underestimation of her opponents. How was she supposed to know that they would use a Relic from a long-gone Sovereign to cheat her out of her Soul Essence, which had been restoring her for all that time?
The second was Scar Of The Hollow, the Great Devil he managed to accidentally kill back in Jarilo-VI. Frankly, there was no possible way for Sunny to win against a Great Devil wielding True Darkness. Shadows could do nothing but be devoured beneath that alien force, and even if Darkness was never a factor, a Great One was a Great One.
...[Sunless], on the other hand, once killed the Vile Thieving Bird's Spawn as a mere Sleeper. That had only been because the bird hadn't been born yet, but for some frightening reason, the egg's shell absorbed Soul Essence and some kind of life force. Perhaps they were one and the same.
[Sunless] had only survived thanks to the fact that his soul was formed from Shadow Essence, not Soul Essence. And, as if in recognition of his great feat, the Spell granted him the Lineage Memory containing Weaver's blood.
And that was how he obtained Blood Weave.
The point he was trying to make was that the idea of Supremacy was something terrifying. Each of these creatures could destroy many civilizations. The first only lost due to arrogance. The second was weakened and brought to the brink of death by an equal — another Great Devil.
The third was an unborn child.
Perhaps the only reason humanity hadn't went extinct was due to the existence of their Sovereigns. Some of the greatest beings the human race had to offer. At the same time, they were inarguably the perpetrators of countless deaths in their rush to expand their Domains, being the real reason for the occurrence of a plethora of wars.
If a Transcendent champion was a natural disaster... than what was a Supreme?
A cataclysm of worlds, perhaps.
So the thought of Fu Xuan having an ambition that required her to reach such great heights was a staggering one.
In response to Sunny's complaints, Fu Xuan tilted her head. Her smile hinted at faint amusement.
[What I must do is not something that I can't disclose. I could tell you at this very moment, if you'd like.]
[The fact that you didn't explain what it was immediately tells me enough. That leads to the last problem, actually.]
Sunny leaned forward with a sinister uptilt of his lip, forcing Fu Xuan to lean back in confusion — a flash of panic revealing itself in the minor twitches of her expression.
Then, he spoke. Not with the Eye Under Heaven, and the communication link it offered, but with his own tongue.
"To trust a snake is to hope that it sinks its fangs into your skin."
The jewel attached to her forehead glinted as the folds of her sealed eyes creased... and only a moment later, a wide grin stretched across her beautiful face as she leaned forward herself. An eerie intensity began to suffocate the room as the two of them gazed at each other with only a few centimeters separating their noses — one with eyes as dark as the abyss, and the other concealing a pair of striking gold beneath closed eyelids.
"A snake, hm? Do you really believe I'm that venomous?"
Sunny tauntingly raised a brow, self-satisfaction evident across his expression.
"A broad like you? All I can smell is poison. From one schemer to another, I'd recommend being just threatening enough that your victim believes they know what you're up to. Even if they don't."
As if assured of his own victory, Sunny's right hand slowly snaked up, Fu Xuan remaining still throughout, even as he gently tilted her chin upward. His face remained smugly disdainful even as he crossed the distance between them, save for very small space between them, shadows forming a curtain over his face and revealing only his eyes as he looked down on her with borderline murderous intent.
That was when the door slammed open, and a towering knight bearing armor forged of shattered onyx and aureate gilding stepped in with heavy steps, crouching just to fit under the doorframe. Sunny's loyal Shadow had her stone gauntlet tangled in the hair of the same servant who had served them tea, her complexion paler than the porcelain of the teacups.
And to her neck was a pure blade of elemental Light, threatening to reap her life and grant her the respite of joining the dead within his soul.
Sunny kindly smiled.
"How about it, Fu Xuan? Your pretty little maid might be a spy, right? If we push her buttons a little, she might let it all spill. Want to test it?"
The poor girl blanched.
"S—Spy?!"
The moment she said those words, Saint pressed her blade against her neck, its radiant blade biting and drawing blood. At the same time, Light's origin — Destruction, spread throughout her being with ruinous immensity, making her more feeble. More fragile.
Easy to break.
Fu Xuan didn't speak for a very long moment. Then, she let out a lighthearted chuckle.
"You're really going to kill her to prove a point, aren't you? Fine, fine... you got me, Dear. There were never any spies. Whenever one is planted, I kill them myself. Our hidden conversation wasn't in any real danger... none that I know of, at least."
She cocked her head.
"Now, would you please tell that Shadow of yours to let go of my servant? Finding a tea brewer as good as her would take me years, you know?"
Sunny mockingly stuck out his tongue.
"No can do. And it would. Who else can make a drug that acts on taste alone?"
While Fu Xuan didn't reveal anything, the servant flinched at being called out. Sunny winked.
"You see? This is what happens when your heart is too big for your ambition. Well, not that there's anything wrong with that, but if you're going to slither around like a villain, then you should be ready to discard your goons."
He let out a snicker.
"Now, you're just my bitch."
...Somehow, his perfect monologue ended up only receiving three unamused stares. Fu Xuan sighed.
"I don't particularly have a humiliation fetish, so let's just get on with it."
She smirked, but he did not miss the thin sheen of a cold sweat as she sent a discrete glance at the hostage.
"One thing I'm curious about... is what in the Aeons you are on about? Really, was my harmless trick regarding the spies so reprehensible to you, that you'd dare lay a hand on my precious servants?"
Sunny's thumb lingered near her lower lip, causing the Master Diviner's smirk to fall and be replaced with a sneer of digust.
"If it was just your trick... well, whatever. You'd still be untrustworthy, but I'd just move on. Since the very moment I first met you, all of your mistakes just added up... until the moment you made your ridiculous offer."
His voice lowered.
"It all began over a hundred chapters ago, you see..."