(MC POV)
The guy turned to ash and even the book has turned to ash, what gives? And if both managed to happen right under all of our noses, we're not dealing with a simple assassin here.
Luna turned to her maid, "Rina."
The maid immediately got onto her knees, "Reporting to your Majesty. The man was in the middle of talking about the Divine Primordial Dragon before he turned to ashes without warning. Even I was unable to sense any changes until he had completely turned."
Luna frowned, "The book also turned to dust just as I started reading about the Dragon too… This is weird."
I crouched down and inspected the ashes, reaching forward in an attempt to pinch a little between my fingers.
Luna was faster than me, collecting all of it in a jar before I could even blink.
"Husband should not be touching such a dirty thing, leave this to me instead!" She exclaimed, moving the jar as far away as she could from me.
Well, I don't think I'll find out much from a pile of ashes anyway so I didn't insist on it.
But from this, it's kind of obvious that something or someone is messing with me. In fact, it's a very powerful something or someone.
The fact that this happened the moment we were both about to learn something about that dragon was also not lost on me.
Could the dragon itself knew about this and prevented us from learning more about it?
This doesn't make sense. If it really didn't want anyone to learn about it, this hermit guy wouldn't even be able to write a book about it in the first place.
The fact that this book was in the hidden archives also meant the previous Luna had at least read through the book as well… Or did she?
Is this one of those name things again where we spoke its name too many times that kind of got its attention?
Or… Has it been watching me ever since I got sent back in time?
Don't tell me it's actually one of the supreme gods and is actually my patron all this while? Then in my other life, it found me and made me restart my life to fix my mistakes?
If it really is my patron, why didn't it just tell me?
Gah, there's too many variables to form a definite conclusion about this. It just feels like even more questions will come up if I try to find the answer.
For all I know, this may very well just be someone else messing with me for the heck of it.
Alright, no point beating around the bush now, I want to at least make sure of one thing…
I turned to face the Matriarch of this Plane, "Luna, I need to know this. Do you have a means of going to other Planes?"
She blinked at me, "Why does husband think so? Is husband thinking of running away? Did I do something wrong? If I did, please tell me husband, I will fix it immediately! Please don't run away? I will do everything for you, husband doesn't even need to think about anything at all! Your other person… No… The person husband says you want to return to… Could she be in another Plane?"
Well, I guess it's quite obvious by now isn't it?
I nodded my head to her question.
Luna reached out and grasped my arm, "Then does that mean husband is not a resident of this Plane either? No, that must be it. For husband to be so exceptional without anyone else noticing until now, that is the only reason for such a thing to happen. Does that mean husband would leave me no matter what I did? Please say that it is not so!"
I sighed, "Unfortunately, it is what you feared. I am not a resident of this Plane and unlike the other visitors, I did not ascend here and thus had no plans to stay here. I was chasing someone through a portal which brought me here."
"A… Portal?" Luna asked, looking at me with disbelief. "A portal from where?"
"Well, this might sound unbelievable, but I'm actually from the Earthen Plane."
The two of them stared at me for a good minute.
"Earthen Plane? The legendary Earthen Plane that is said to not even exist? The Plane where it's said to be hell to even live in?" Rina asked.
I nodded, "That is correct. Although I'd like to refute your hell part."
Luna tilted her head slightly, "Doesn't that mean… Husband is actually really, really strong?"
I shrugged, "I believe you both know males can't cultivate in this Plane so I'm actually quite weak right now. But I was a Master Practitioner in the Earthen Plane if that's what you're asking."
The Matriarch moved closer to me and placed her hand on my chest, gasping when she did so.
"Such a large concentration of Quarks… And yet they are all restricted by this Plane's laws… If Husband could use them… You would no doubt be the strongest Practitioner this Plane has ever seen… Does… Does husband really wish to return back to the Earthen Plane?"
"Aside from the fact that it's my home, I have disciples waiting for me there. It would be entirely irresponsible of me to give up on them."
"In that case, let them come here! I will take care of them as well!" Luna suggested.
I smiled at her, "And what would they do here? I can't even cultivate here so I wouldn't even be able to teach them anything."
"I… I will teach them for husband…"
I shook my head, "With all due respect, I will not accept that. They are my disciples after all."
"Then… Then I will follow husband to the Earthen Plane!"
I looked at her incredulously, "What? You can't just give up on your own Plane like that."
She gave me a proud look, "Of course I can! I've ruled this Plane for long enough, it's high time someone else took over me! Now that I've found husband, there is absolutely no way I will let you go! I will follow husband to the ends of the world if I have to!"
I have a feeling she meant every word she said.
"Before we even talk about that, do you guys actually have a portal that leads to other Planes?" I asked, bringing the conversation back on track.
Rina scoffed, "Of course not. As if such a convenient thing would--"
"Actually…" Luna interrupted her maid, a sheepish smile on her face. "It's not really a portal but… There is this stone that I have kept locked up below the palace that gives off a large amount of Space Quarks. I'm not sure if it is the cause of husband's teleportation here... I can show it to husband but… If husband manages to find a way back to your home, would you please take me with you?"
I pursed my lips, if she was the Luna from my previous life I would have rejected her without a second thought. But this Luna had done nothing to hurt me so far, making it hard for me to dislike her.
She's also quite serious about this proposal and I have a feeling that even if I reject her, she'll find a way to follow me anyway...
"I will consider it," I decided.
Despite her problematic personality, she still has a wealth of knowledge in cultivation, most probably even more than me. If she proves to be beneficial for my disciples' growth, then I wouldn't mind putting up with her presence just to allow my cute disciples to grow a little bit more.
She clapped her hands together, "I could not ask for more! Of course, Rina would follow me as well, right?"
"I will follow your Majesty anywhere, even to hell itself."
I sighed, "Like I said, it's not hell..."
"Perfect! Then let's go to the stone right away!"
Well, hopefully that stone is the key for me returning back home...