Affinity: Chaos

Grey and Klaus didn't let the carriage leave their sight. They followed it closely, making sure they were not noticed as they followed it.

While they were following the carriage.

Reynolds was speaking with the lady, asking her a few personal questions that the lady felt a bit compelled to answer. She has been asking Klaus questions all this while, and now that he started asking questions, she felt it was only right to answer his questions. Not just that, but she felt he was someone that would be offered to the Gnomes in a few hours time and didn't see anything with refusing to tell him a few things.

Reynolds didn't ask too much, only asking where she's from and where she's headed. According to her, she's from a mid-level family from the next region and she was headed to meet up with a family friend. Hearing the word family friend, Reynolds could barely believe his ears. He never thought there would be a Family that would have such close ties with Gnomes.

There was also the possibility that the lady was lying, which he strongly believed. But from how she was speaking, it was almost as if she didn't want to lie to him which he found surprising.

According to the lady, this was a task that is only assigned to the most trusted people in her Family.

After Reynolds was done asking all this, he saw a two two way road and told them he'll drop there.

"I'm sorry, but it'll be in your best interest if you followed me to my meeting." The lady didn't agree to Reynolds leaving the carriage.

"You just said it's a top secret meeting, why would you willingly take a stranger there when even your family members aren't allowed to know where this place is?" Reynolds asked.

"Because the people I'm going to visit will like you. Don't worry, they're not going to hurt you." The lady tried to convince Reynolds.

"I don't feel comfortable going to such a meeting knowing how important it is to you and your Family. Why don't you leave me here and I'll find my way to the City myself?" Reynolds didn't buy the lady's words. There was no way he was going to agree to head there in the first place. He had found out everything he needed and felt there was no reason to stay there.

"I insist." The lady's voice was still the same, the same with her expression, but Reynolds could sense the coldness in the carriage. It was almost as if the lady was ready to attack.

Reynolds was about to attack when he sensed a familiar suction feeling, he didn't try to fight and went with it. His figure was soon changed with that of Grey.

"Hi."

Grey appeared with a smile, before the lady could react, he used the water element to keep her sealed, making sure the coachman didn't sense anything. After doing this, he opened part of the lady's head and placed his palm on her head. His consciousness invaded her head and before long, the lady was under her control.

He thought about it, and felt that it was only right to switch places with Reynolds once again so as to ensure he was allowed to leave. He has been taking note of everything happening inside the carriage, hence the reason he acted quickly.

He changed places with Reynolds, but kept the lady under his control while taking control of the coachman as well. He didn't want any irregularities. If the lady allowed Reynolds to go, and asked for him later on, there's no way the coachman wouldn't find something odd with it.

It didn't take long and Reynolds left the carriage while the duo continued on their journey. They recalled letting Reynolds into the carriage, and Grey did it in a way they'll remember letting him leave as well. This way, there's no way they'll have any problems with it.

The trio followed the carriage and after getting to a certain spot in the forest, they saw a hole leading down. It was clear that this was the place of the meeting.

"Those critters." Klaus commented when he saw the lady and the coachman entering the hole.

They waited a few seconds before entering the place. The hole was small at the entrance, but the moment one goes in, they'll be welcomed by a large and long tunnel.

The trio followed the tunnel and got a large Hall. In the Hall, they saw the lady and the coachman, a few smaller figures were present. Grey didn't need anyone to tell him those figures were that of Gnomes.

Gnomes had such distinct figures that it was very easy for anyone who has head dealings with them to recognize them from a distance.

The trio hid by the side as they listened to the conversation going on.

From what the Gnomes were saying, they were stepping up their plans of invading the human world due to the phenomenon that happened a while ago. It was clearly that of Grey's apparition appearing in the sky. They didn't want to take the risk of a God Plane Elementalist appearing in the Aurora Continent and spoiling their plans of making the place theirs, so they felt it was best to attack now. Although the humans were strong, they didn't have as many Half God Plane experts as the Gnomes, nor did they have as many Sovereigns as the Gnomes. Additionally, the Gnomes had puppets which can make a massive difference in the battle.

Grey listened and found out that their conversation focused on them having to find more humans with great space bodies that would be used to hide the presence of the Gnomes. Not just that, but Grey got to find out about the location where all humans with space bodies were kept, the Gnome world.

This was more reason for them to enter the Gnome world. Those people need to either be killed, or saved. Grey didn't know which would be possible, but he knew he had to take action.

Reynolds hoped there would be some action, but Grey didn't agree to it. This was another portal to the Gnome world, and the more options they had when entering the Gnome world, the better. At the moment, they've found three portals to the Gnome world, and he was sure they'll find more. He would study all of them and pick the one with the least danger. There's no way all the portals would be guarded by top experts.

Grey stayed until the meeting was finished and the lady was about to leave. He only left after the lady went out. The Gnomes disappeared into the portal as soon as they were done.

With the help of the bunny leader's bunny, he inspected the place, and realized that this one had a much looser security compared to the others he had seen. In fact, this portal was in the middle of the woods with only a Sage Plane Elementalist keeping watch.

Among all the portals, this was the only one that wasn't in a City, which meant it was the best choice to enter the Gnome world without being detected.

The trio left this place and decided between following the lady back and destroying the next Necromancer's hideout. Klaus and Reynolds didn't like snooping around, so they opted for the Necromancer's hideout.

Since the lady was under Grey's control, he could locate her whenever he wanted to, so he didn't bother with her and followed the duo towards the Necromancer's hideout.

….

The trio were fighting with Necromancers while Alice was on the border of life and death.

She didn't know how many times she had escaped death since she entered this forbidden zone, but she knew her luck had been great, if not, she would've been dead a few days ago from the attacks she received.

This place wasn't called a forbidden zone for no reason. The danger here far exceeded what she expected, but it also put her on edge which was beneficial for her growth. The frequent battles, teetering between life and death has made her grow exponentially, both physically and mentally. She has encountered a few people here, and has ensured to keep her distance, she didn't want to have anything to do with these people since she didn't know them. And neither did them. They always leave as soon as they see her. Most of them were like her, alone. But there were a few that were in groups.

She has ventured deep into the forest and has gotten a pretty good number of items, but none of them has been able to help her break through to the Sovereign Plane, hence her reluctance to leave this place.

At the moment, she is heading towards a place where she sensed a powerful aura. From what she felt, she was certain it was from at least a Pseudo-sovereign or a Sovereign, and she felt like seeing what caused them to unleash their aura.