Chapter 552 - Beautiful Twins
Once Supreme Elder Haldir finished speaking, Elizabeth's eyes widened in surprise before she glanced back at the thunderclouds with focus.
It appeared that a Preliminary Accession-stage Transcendent's breakthrough to the Seeking Insight-stage was different from how she imagined it.
Although she was not an Ice-lightning Transcendent, observing Aria's breakthrough could give her insight into her own path towards the Seeking Insight Stage.
Nevertheless, Elizabeth could not help but smile wryly, "In the blink of an eye, Aria had already surpassed me... to think she had only just reached Transcendence less than three days ago..."
Elizabeth's soft mutter was overhead by Supreme Elder Haldir, causing his expression to immediately stiffen.
"Did you just say Miss Aria only reached Transcendence less than three days ago, Your Majesty?" The Supreme Elder asked in shock.
"That's right!" Elizabeth nodded, "You heard correctly, Marquis Haldir."
"But that's impossible!" The Supreme Elder was quick to deny the possibility.
Elizabeth's immediately crumpled with displeasure, "I was there when Aria made her advancement to the Transcendent Realm. What do you mean by impossible? Are you saying I am lying? Explain yourself, Marquis Haldir."
"My apologies, Your Majesty. I did not mean it like this..." Supreme Elder Haldir responded with a wry smile, "I just find it hard to believe that the Seeking Insight Stage can be reached so easily..."
"The heaven isn't fair. Some people are just born different. Comparing yourself to such people will only make you frustrated," Elizabeth spoke with furrowed brows, "Still, I did not expect a heaven's favorite child could be this heaven-defying."
"Haiz... This is beyond heaven-defying... At this rate, I would no longer be surprised if Miss Aria can breakthrough to Acknowledged Paragon Stage in a month, and the fabled Celestial Realm in a year." The Supreme Elder sighed.
"Celestial Realm, huh...? I've heard a bit about this legendary realm but are there any Celestials in this world? Is such a fabled realm possible to reach in this present era?" Elizabeth asked the Supreme Elder, who appeared to be more knowledgeable in this matter.
However, the Supreme Elder shook his head, "Perhaps, only the Paragons and Demigods, who are the closest to Celestials, are able to learn of their existence. That knowledge is far out of reach for people at our level."
"I see… So, even Marquis Haldir does not know about this…" Elizabeth smiled slightly with a hint of helplessness as she felt how insignificant their existences were in front of such mighty beings.
The Human Domain would not hold a candle to such beings if they decided to pay the Human Domain and wipe them out of existence—or so Elizabeth believes.
"I'm afraid not, Your Majesty." Supreme Elder Haldir shook his head again.
Rumble!
The thunderclouds crackled with lightning.
However, at that moment, a change began to occur in the skies as it suddenly entered a brief moment of silence.
Shortly after, the wind picked up, and the clouds began to twisting and gather towards the center of the thunderclouds, where Aria quietly hovered on her ice-lightning sword with her eyes closed.
"The clouds are condensing," Elizabeth stated with narrowed eyes as she engraved every detail into her memory for future reference.
"Un," Supreme Elder Haldir nodded before he began to explain, "When Transcendents advance to the Seeking Insight Stage, the quantity of our power doesn't increase, but rather, its quality changes on a fundamental level that grants us even greater power."
"I see…" Elizabeth uttered.
Nevertheless, Supreme Elder Haldir could not help but still think back on their conversation.
Was the Seeking Insight Stage really possible to attain purely based on heavenly-gifted talents alone? Were there no other factors at play here?
"Supreme Elder."
A soft and gentle voice suddenly interrupted the Supreme Elder's train of thoughts before he glanced over and saw a pair of peerless elvish sisters approaching.
Faelyn was in her usual elven dress of leafy green and leather brown while looking a bit fresh after a bath.
However, her third eldest sister, Princess Thessalia, on the other hand, had undergone a huge transformation.
Contrary to the usual battle dress Princess Thessalia usually wears, at that moment, she was wearing a regular green dress.
Her golden blonde hair was silky smooth and well-braided, her fair skin glowed with a polished shine, and her face was innocent and pure like an angel—or rather, it was like she had suddenly become ten years younger.
With the two princesses standing next to each other, the two could be hardly differentiated and could be mistaken for a pair of beautiful twins.
Nevertheless, Supreme Elder Haldir could immediately tell the two apart. He shifted his gaze to Faelyn before asking, "What is it? What mischief are you two lass up to?"
"Supreme Elder, It wasn't me who called you just now, but my sister." Faelyn immediately chuckled softly before turning to her third eldest sister, "See? I told you that the Supreme Elder and others would be fooled if you spoke like this."
"Not only the voice but even your appearances had me fooled," Elizabeth interjected before she inspected the two princesses with lit eyes.
Thessalia felt slightly uncomfortable under the Queen's gaze before she smiled lightly, "I hope we aren't interrupting anything. It's just that we heard from the General Marquis that Your Majesty intends to take the people and tribesmen away from here?"
"En, I just discussing this with Marquis Haldir a moment ago, and he had agreed. However, I won't be forcing anyone to leave if they are unwilling to part with the Elder Tree. Still, I do hope that you will all be able to persuade them into leaving." Elizabeth admitted.
It would be a problem to carry forward with the plan if most of the elves decided to remain behind with the Elder Tree.
"That's great." Princess Thessalia nodded with relief before she performed a curtsied to the Queen, "We will do our best to persuade our tribesmen, Your Majesty."
She, herself, was quite eager to see the World Tree first-hand.
Right at that moment, the thunderclouds that had just been in the skies a moment ago completely vanished before a powerful pressure was emitted from Aria's glowing body!
She had successfully reached the Seeking Insight Stage!