Finally recovered, Ames and Ringo first left the room and went to a secluded spot. Ringo looked at Ames with slightly evasive eyes, he felt that what he was about to do seemed a little strange.
Ames frowned and spoke impatiently. -Come on, do it already.
Ringo sighed and nodded before speaking. -Don't resist, if you resist I'll probably die!
Ames pursed her lips, but nodded, Ringo had already said that several times.
Ringo transformed into his spiritual form, the dark purple mist shimmering for a moment before slowly entering Ames' body, almost as if he were afraid.
Well, Ringo was really scared, he saw a future where he died because of it, so he made it clear to Ames repeatedly that she shouldn't force him out!
Finally, Ringo entered successfully. Ames frowned, slightly uneasy. She could feel a foreign thing inside her, she desperately wanted to expel it, but in the end, she held back. To catch Aesop, she would endure!
Ringo sighed with relief as he entered Ames' consciousness.
But he remained in an infinite void, Ames's mind was surrounded by a greenish energy like her force field, if he touched it, he had no doubt that he would die without even knowing how he died.
He sighed and began his work. The next moment, Ames seemed to sense something strange. She looked at herself and didn't notice anything unusual, but she heard Ringo's voice in her mind. -We're already in Hidden Nightmare. You can wander around if you like, no one will see you.
Ames, immediately intrigued, didn't need to hear it twice, floating out of the room, but wherever she went, everyone ignored her, no one saw her with any kind of strength.
-Even the cameras can't catch you.- Ringo explained calmly.
-That's really very useful.- Ames agreed, feeling interested, but then she thought of something and asked in a strange tone. -You didn't use that to spy on me, did you?
Ringo was stunned for a moment, before laughing and speaking. - No, you're too strong, you'd probably feel me if I tried.
Ames paused for a moment and nodded, but then her gaze lingered strangely. -You mean you didn't do it to me, but what about other people?
Ringo didn't know whether to laugh or cry before saying. -I have three beautiful women at home! Why would I need that!
Ames rolled her eyes, half believing, half doubting, but she would leave that "gossip" for later, for now, she returned her focus to Aesop.
-And now?
-Now, first we need a decoy.- Ringo explained.
-A decoy?- Ames paused, confused.
-Yes, something to make it clear that we're moving towards him, to act as bait. For that, I'll have my clone pretend to be Black Spider while heading towards him. While he thinks Black Spider is coming, he'll prepare for him. Meanwhile, we move in secret. - Ringo's third clone was still with him after he returned with Umbra Alba.
Ames agreed, her usual seriousness and indifference giving way to an enthusiasm her voice couldn't hide. -Then let's go!
-Yes? But how are you going? You're invisible, remember?- Ringo rolled his eyes. -We're going to follow my clone.
Ames stopped and agreed. - Okay.
//-//
(Aesop's POV)
Aesop was very old, so old that he had already witnessed most things in life more than once, but his talent was not the best, remaining in Grade B for a long time, without taking any further steps forward.
Even so, his skills were honed to an extreme degree, especially his foresight, even though he didn't focus on combat, his abilities based on his predictive power continued to advance to the limit.
Therefore, even when dealing with transcendent beings like BGAs, he could still see their futures, especially when they affected him in one or more ways.
Among them, he could see Ames's vision better, whether because of their past or Ames's feelings for him. Ames entered his visions periodically, it was clear there was a strong connection between them.
But as he anticipated the development in which he was being pursued by Ames' subordinate, Black Spider, he paused for a moment.
Ames had... disappeared.
Of course, she hadn't died, he was sure of that, but at that moment, the connection between them was... clouded.
For a moment, Aesop even thought that Ames might have sought the help of a mage to hide from his prediction, but he dismissed that idea, he would have seen Ames make that decision and could have prepared accordingly, but it was as if it had happened out of nowhere.
It was as if Aesop always had Ames in sight, even if his eyes weren't focused on her, he could still see her in his peripheral vision, but at that moment, no matter how much he looked around, Ames had vanished.
It didn't take Aesop long to connect this to Black Spider, he was shocked, not knowing what Black Spider had done, but Ames had slipped off his radar.
Black Spider wasn't close enough to him to "see" him, so Aesop couldn't see him directly before making a decision based on Aesop himself, but when he tried to predict again, he saw that the trajectory hadn't changed.
Black Spider would come after him directly, that was a fact!
This confused him even more, how had they managed to do that? Aesop searched his vast memory for an explanation, considering several, but each one less plausible than the last.
Even so, after the confusion, an emotion that he hadn't felt in a long time reappeared on his old face.
Wasn't that what he was looking for? A fun game to play?
If Aesop truly wanted Ames not to find him, he would have left immediately, but... what Aesop wanted was excitement. He had lived so long that even if Heber or another BGA appeared before him, it wouldn't even make him blink. But at that moment, he felt his old bones brimming with energy again.
So no, Aesop didn't run away, instead, he began to think about how Ames' disappearance might affect him and how to counteract it!
His mind worked quickly as he thought of solutions, soon a smile appeared on his old face, he had thought of something, taking out his communicator, he searched for a contact and soon found what he was looking for.
The call took some time to connect, but soon a child's voice reached Aesop's ears. -Well! That's quite an unexpected call.
-Austin, how about doing me a favor? I know where to find the perfect materials for your Mage Tower, in exchange... I just need a little help...- Aesop chuckled lightly, explaining his request.
On the other end of the line, a small child dressed in a long mage's robe, holding a scepter and floating in the air, widened his eyes slightly before smiling knowingly.