Chapter 182: Life in Wisteria.

Ava was enjoying her time so far in Wisteria. It was nothing like she had imagined in her head. She had spent her whole life thinking this side of the world was just dark, slimy dungeons, howling winds, and creepy monsters lurking behind every forest.

But nope! Wisteria was actually a thriving city_ one that had made peace with the Somnivores and taken them as allies.

There were way more humans here than she expected, and to her surprise, even the knights lived right alongside regular folks_ providing security mostly.

Back home, life was a strict ladder. You were born low-born or high-born, and if you were low-born, you basically ate dust. Here? No class segregation at all. Every single person was entitled to a high-ranking half-life beast. Even better, the resonance pools were completely free!

She was still getting lost every ten minutes, but she was impressed. The roads were smoother than polished jade, and there were cars_ so many cars her eyes couldn’t even track them all. Trains zipped past like metallic dragons and there were even Aeropods hovering between towers that were used for daily transportation in the sky!

The buildings were too tall, their glass and metal tips almost piercing the clouds. The Somnivores had clearly modernized the city using their alien tech. The structures had glowing blue energy lines running up their sides, smooth floating arches, and weird metallic panels that seemed to breathe with the wind.

Right now, Ava was standing inside an elevator inside one of the main administration blocks of the Red center.

Petra, who was standing beside her, turned with a warm smile. "You know, Ava, being here_ it’s an opportunity that millions of people here would kill for."

"I know," Ava smiled softly, watching the digital floor numbers flash rapidly.

Everything seemed nice and shiny here, but Ava wasn’t stupid. She had learned early in life that nothing came for free. If she wanted to keep breathing this fresh air, she had to prove her worth. And today was her big test: she was meeting one of the top high-ups.

Ding!

The elevator smoothly stopped at the topmost floor. The doors slid open, and Petra led the way out. Ava had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Petra’s pencil skirt was way too tight, and she was struggling to take normal steps in her new pointed high heels that were too high for her. She looked like a penguin trying to cross a frozen pond.

"Step carefully, Ava," Petra whispered, trying to sound dignified while nearly wobbling off her ankles.

"I’m trying, Petra, but you’re blocking the whole hallway," Ava teased softly.

Two knights pulled open a set of massive double doors.

They stepped inside. The office was huge, but strangely empty. The furniture was minimal_ just a low glass desk and a couple of sleek chairs. But what really caught Ava’s eye was the wall.

"Are those_ dinosaurs?" Ava blinked, staring at a massive, bright mural of a smiling T-Rex and a blue Triceratops. It looked straight out of a children’s clinic. She felt like she was about to get a booster shot instead of a top-secret villain strategy meeting.

By the far wall, staring out of a big floor-to-ceiling glass window at the bustling life of Wisteria below, stood a man.

He had long, silky blonde hair tied loosely behind his back. Hearing them enter, he turned around.

Ava stopped in her tracks. The guy was pale. Not just pale-faced, but his hands, his neck_ it looked like the man bathed in a tub of fresh milk every single morning. He had sharp, chiseled features, looking handsome in a weird, unnatural way that made your brain go, Wait, is he real?

Ava squinted at him, letting her shoulders drop in disappointment. "Wait_ who are you? I thought I was meeting a actual Somnivore."

The pale man didn’t get angry. Instead, he smiled gracefully, bowing his head slightly. "A pleasure to meet you, soul maiden Ava Spegger. Welcome. A person of your rare talent deserves all the honor we can offer."

He straightened up and added, "I am Ivar, son of Almeida." He turned his pale eyes toward Petra. "Petra, you may leave us now."

Petra’s smile instantly froze. Her eyes twitched. She clearly hated being kicked out of the room like a background extra, but she couldn’t dare disobey. "Of course, sir," she squeaked, turning around and carefully mincing her way back out the door in those ridiculous heels.

Once the heavy doors shut, Ivar walked toward his glass desk. "To answer your question, Ava_ no, I am not a Somnivore. But I am in direct communication with them. I speak with their voice."

Ava let out a sigh, not hiding her disappointment. "So I got dressed up to talk to a middleman?"

Ivar gave a faint chuckle, though his eyes remained sharp. "A very powerful middleman. But let’s speak business. When you first sent word suggesting that our beasts should stop attacking the protective veil_ I’ll be honest, I was completely against it. It is precisely because of our constant attacks that the veil has grown weak over the years."

"Wrong," Ava interrupted cleanly.

Ivar raised a pale eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"You’re wrong," Ava said, folding her arms. "The veil didn’t weaken just because your beasts were banging their heads against it. It weakened because the humans on the other side are running out of resonance stones that can strengthen it. Without stones to power, the veil dies on its own."

Ivar went completely still. A flicker of genuine surprise crossed his face. "Running out of Resonance Stones_ ?"

He stroked his chin, nodding slowly to himself. "Ah_ that explains it. That is why the human empire has been sending so many exploration teams deep into these lands lately. They are desperate." He looked at Ava with newfound respect. "This is valuable confirmation."

"Told you," Ava smirked.

"Which brings me back to my main question," Ivar said, leaning against his desk. "Why tell us to stop attacking? If they are weak, shouldn’t we crush them now?"

"Think about it," Ava said, taking a step forward, her tone turning practical. "I am on your side now. My main job is to open stable portals so your beasts can cross over directly, right?"

"Correct."

"If your beasts keep hammering the veil every single day, the human generals will stay on high alert. Their troops won’t sleep, their weapons will stay loaded, and their scouts will be watching every inch of the border," Ava explained, tapping her temple. "But if you suddenly stop attacking for a few weeks_ what do humans do?"

Ivar’s eyes brightened. "They relax." ℯℯ𝘭.

"Exactly!" Ava laughed softly. "They’ll think the beasts gave up or ran out of energy. They’ll drop their guard, go back to drinking tea, and slack off. And that is when I open the portals right inside their backyards. They won’t even have time to put their armor on."

Ivar’s pale face broke into a broad, genuine smile. "Brilliant. Simple, devious, and highly effective."

"Oh, I’m just getting started," Ava added, a playful glint in her eyes. "I also plan to bring more Soul Maidens over to Wisteria."

Ivar paused, looking shocked. "More Soul Maidens? How?"

"Because half of them were forced into coming here, some like me have nothing to lose." Ava scoffed, "The Divine Soul Maiden Trinity has ruined Soul maidens. Under her leadership, they have lost their way. They have become cattle to be sold into large clans. Their marriages are bargaining chips. Their lives too. Our freedom has been stripped from us. We heal on command and watch others die on command. Many of us want out. It is not what we signed up for."

Ivar let out a deep laugh, nodding approvingly. "We actually tried recruiting the Soul Maidens you know. We failed miserably every time. They treated us like demons." He looked at Ava, his smile widening. "It seems we just needed one of their own to show them the light."