Chapter 50: Disparity 2.

Dante stared at Cindela, and she stared right back at him. She eventually shrugged, and they both turned towards the three women.

"Very well. Let us hear this plan of yours," Dante said.

The three women exchanged delighted glances before turning their attention to the king. However, just as Pamphredo was about to speak, she hesitated. Her eyes drifted towards Cindela, then back to Dante. She did it again, wearing an expression that made her intentions rather obvious.

Dante caught it at once. "What?" he asked.

Enyo gestured discreetly at Cindela with her head.

Dante immediately understood.

"No," he said, cutting her off. "Cindela is a trusted ally. Whatever you have to say can be said in her presence."

"Ooooh!" Enyo sneered. She leaned towards Pamphredo. "I knew it," she muttered under her breath. "They really are fucking."

A burst of laughter erupted from Pamphredo. She hastily slapped a dirty palm over her mouth, struggling to contain the rest.

Dante’s brows knitted together. "Are you going to tell me this plan of yours, or will you stand there exchanging your filthy little courtesan’s whispers?"

"Pay them no mind, my lord. They know no better," Deino said, feigning a graceful genuflection.

She straightened and shot her sisters a pointed glare, the jealousy of having been excluded from their little conspiracy still burning in her eyes.

"They are simply too immature to recognise when a king is conducting serious business."

Pamphredo and Enyo turned towards her simultaneously, their expressions betraying their surprise. Apparently, neither had expected Deino to seize the opportunity to parade herself as the only sensible woman among them.

"Thank you," Dante said, looking at Deino. "At least one of you has demonstrated some measure of maturity."

Deino’s lips curled into a pleased smile. She cast her sisters a smug sideways glance before bowing again.

"I am honoured, my lord." She straightened, her expression becoming considerably more composed. "Now, concerning the plan..." She paused, lowering her voice slightly. "We have weighed our possibilities and arrived at a rather unanimous conclusion: nothing is truly impossible, provided one is willing to make the necessary effort."

An enigmatic smile crept across her filthy face. "You see, I don’t believe there is any need for you to continue training, nor should you waste your time searching for monks who might help you become one with yourself. There is, perhaps, a faster route. A rather treacherous one, certainly, but a route that leads straight to the gates of unimaginable wealth and treasures. A path that—"

"WOULD YOU JUST STATE YOUR POINT ALREADY!" Dante barked.

Deino flinched.

Pamphredo, on the other hand, looked positively delighted. "Well, my lord, I believe what my selfish sister here is trying to say is—"

Deino surreptitiously raised a scrawny middle finger at her.

Pamphredo merely smiled. "...is that there might actually be a way to cure your condition."

Dante gave her a thoughtful look. "Are you saying what I think you are saying?"

"Of course, my lord. What if there were a way to force the Golden Phoenix and yourself to become a single being, united in mind and soul, just as it was always meant to be?"

Enyo nodded. "By doing so, there would be no need to worry about anyone extracting the Golden Phoenix from you. Not even a Soul Reaper."

Dante exchanged a baffled glance with Cindela.

"You mean there’s actually a faster way to become one with my beast, ascend to its maximum power, and wield its abilities as I please?"

"Gods! That is precisely what we said, sire!"

"Well, you should have led with that!" Dante burst into laughter. "Instead of behaving like a bunch of foolish, old, perverted, stinking hags in the first place!" His laughter grew even louder.

The three women exchanged offended glances. Enyo’s lips pursed, Pamphredo looked away with an exaggeratedly wounded expression, while Deino simply stared at the king as though questioning the wisdom of ever approaching him.

"Well, that’s fair," Pamphredo drawled.

"Of course it is!" Dante laughed even harder, caring very little about the wounded expressions on their faces. Even Cindela couldn’t help but snigger.

"Oh, universe!" he exclaimed amidst his laughter. "Such good news at last! Now, tell me, what is this thing I need to do? Have to do? Must do to become all-mighty?"

The Grey Sisters looked at one another. The daunting expressions on their faces said it all.

"My lord, this won’t be easy," Enyo muttered.

"Of course I know it won’t. Just let it out already."

They exchanged another uneasy glance. "Seriously, my lord," Pamphredo said calmly. "It will be more than difficult."

Now, the smile on Dante’s face vanished entirely.

"HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU APPEAR HERE, RIGHT IN MY KINGDOM, ONLY TO INSULT ME!"

The sisters recoiled at his sudden outburst.

"My lord, we were just—"

"I AM THE GOLDEN PHOENIX!" His eyes flashed golden. "THE STRONGEST BEING IN THE ENTIRE KINGDOM! THE ENTIRE CRESTFOLD LINEAGE! THE ENTIRE WORLD! AND YOU DARE QUESTION MY POWERS?"

The three women bowed simultaneously. "Forgive us, my lord!" they chorused.

Dante exhaled, visibly restraining himself. "I shall ask only once more. What do I need to do?"

"So be it," Pamphredo croaked.

"There’s a fruit said to harbour an extraordinary concentration of power. Its properties are believed to possess the ability to cure you permanently, perhaps even granting you far more than you could ever anticipate."

"But?"

"But its location has never been discovered," Enyo answered.

"But nothing is hidden from the One Eye, is it?" Deino said with a smile.

Dante sighed. "We both know that’s a lie."

Deino’s shoulders slumped. "Ugh! Yes, but you didn’t have to spoil the fun."

"Fun?!" Dante barked. "Where the hell is this fucking fruit located?"

"At the centre of the earth," Pamphredo answered, almost carelessly.

Silence followed her words.

Then, to everyone’s surprise, Dante began to laugh again.

Cindela even thought maybe the fever was still there, affecting his brain.

Enyo frowned. "What is so funny, my lord?"

"The centre of the earth? Seriously?" Dante shook his head, almost in disappointment. "That’s the Forest of Neyhadam. The Forest of Neyhadam is the centre of the earth."

Cindela’s expression changed at once. "The Forest of Neyhadam?" she repeated. She spun towards the Grey Sisters. "Hang on, you guys... Gir—"

"Sisters," Deino supplied seductively.

Cindela gagged. "Ugh! Sisters, whatever! You can’t possibly be talking about the Fruit of Arlabama?"

"Of course we are," Pamphredo replied, visibly astonished. "And you’ve heard of it?"

Cindela nodded. "The fruit is said to be a bridge between any two opposing forces, allowing them to coexist as one. Something akin to the Yin and Yang. It is also said to be the only one of its kind in all of existence, and once plucked, it takes a thousand years to grow again."

Pamphredo looked at her in amazement. Then shifted her gaze towards Dante. "Turns out your ally is indeed a good one."

Dante, however, remained fixated on Cindela, staring at her almost blankly. "You knew all this, and you never said a word?"

"What? No, my lord!" Cindela quickly shook her head. "I never even knew you weren’t one with the Golden Phoenix until now. Besides, this is nothing more than a myth." Her voice softened slightly, and a faint strain crept into it. "Also, no one has ever found it. Not even the greatest finder in the entire world."

"Well, this time will be different. It will be..." Dante paused, his confidence unwavering. "Different."

But Enyo shook her head. "Haven’t you been listening to her?" she asked. "Getting to the centre of the earth is already difficult enough. And even if you manage to reach it..."

"All you’ll find is... more forest," Deino finished.

Dante stared at them in confusion. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"They claim that the centre of the earth lies beyond the ordinary world," Cindela supplied.

"Exactly, young lady," Pamphredo affirmed. "It is on the inside out."

"The upside down," Deino added.

"The... The..." Enyo faltered. She leaned towards Pamphredo. "There’s nothing else left to say," she whispered.

Pamphredo promptly slapped the back of her head.

"Ow!"

"Just make something up and stop embarrassing us!"

"Okay," Enyo said, turning back towards Dante. Her face instantly assumed an air of solemnity. "The... the right side left."

Cindela’s face scrunched up. "Right side left? Weird."

Meanwhile, in one tone the three sisters chorused.

"It is a separate realm, concealed within the very fabric of Neyhadam. A dimension folded into the forest itself, hidden beyond the boundaries of the world we know."

Dante let out an unsatisfied exhaled. "So, you’re saying curing me is possible, but obtaining the cure is what? Impossible?" He asked, his voice edging towards irritation.

"Far from it, my lord," Pamphredo replied. "We would never present something as good news if it were only half-baked. Especially not when it forms

part of our plan."

"So you found a way?"

"Of course, my lord."

Dante smiled evilly. "Now we’re talking."

He nodded slowly. "Now, what is this... plan of yours?"