Life Before Becoming an Omniverse Entity-Chapter 81 : A key

Elaris' expression turned thoughtful.

"I sensed your presence," she admitted, "but I did not expect to find you here of all places."

Renan caught the slight shift in her tone.

"You know this place?" he asked, watching her closely.

Elaris nodded.

"Yes," she said. "And that… is another story altogether."

"Really, do you also know the progenitors?" Renan asked, curiosity written all over his face.

Elaris nodded her head and replied, "Of course, I know. What type of stupid question is that? They are the progenitors of my world, so it's expected that I would know all of them and have met them in person."

"I see," Renan said, nodding. "So, can you tell me why they built this dungeon with ridiculous restrictions? And also, why a shadow dwarf whose strength is about eight stars? And why only three dungeons—Dwarf, Human, and Elf? Why not every progenitor's dungeon? And the most important question—what caused all the progenitors to disappear?" Renan asked, bombarding her with multiple questions in one breath.

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Elaris, who had just been hit with a rapid barrage of questions, had her expression turn slightly sad for a split second at Renan's words, but just as quickly as it came, it disappeared, and she returned to her usual composed self. It was a change so brief that an ordinary person wouldn't have noticed, but Renan did.

'Huh? Why did she suddenly get all sad?' Renan wondered, his mind trying to analyze the subtle shift in her expression. However, instead of questioning her directly, he remained silent, waiting for her to reply.

"Well, I would love to tell you, but sadly, I can't," Elaris finally said, shaking her head in disappointment.

"Why?" Renan asked, frowning slightly as he sought an explanation.

"It's because of the mana oath," Elaris replied bitterly.

"But aren't you the will of the world? Shouldn't you be an exception to the rule?" Renan questioned further. His instincts told him that the woman standing before him was undeniably stronger than his grandfather—not just by a small margin, but by a difference as vast as heaven and earth. Yet, even she was bound by this mana oath? It made him truly wonder just how this mana system worked and why even a being of her level couldn't bypass it.

Elaris, upon hearing Renan's question, suddenly started laughing. "Hahaha! Of course, there is no way I'm an exception to it. The oaths are absolute. They are rules set by the universe itself, and those rules are unbreakable. No one is an exception to them—not even a speck of dust, not the water, not the air—everything in existence is bound by the rules of the universe. No one can escape unscathed after breaking them.

"The oath is one such example. When you take an oath, you are essentially making a contract with the mana inside you. Every being possesses mana, and the moment they break their oath, the mana—or whatever life force they hold—will go completely rampant, causing a backlash. And when the backlash reaches a high level… the chances of survival are exactly zero. There is no exception," Elaris explained, her voice calm yet carrying absolute certainty.

"I see," Renan muttered, nodding his head in understanding. So, oaths were absolute, and so was the universe's law. "So, is there no way for me to get answers to my questions from you? Do I have to find them on my own now?" he asked.

"No," Elaris shook her head. "I can answer your questions, but first, you will need to clear all three of the dungeons. Since you have already cleared this Dwarf Dungeon, you only need to clear two more. After that, I will be able to answer your questions. That was the condition I set before taking the oath—that I could reveal this information only to the one who clears all three dungeons.

"Though, I must say, there will still be some questions that I won't be able to answer, even after that. But I think the knowledge you gain will be enough to satisfy your curiosity… at least for a while," Elaris said, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Okay," Renan said, accepting the condition without much hesitation.

"Anyway, enough talking for now. First, let's get out of here. We can continue our conversation afterward," Elaris said as she slowly turned her gaze toward the walls of the dungeon. But her eyes didn't stop at the walls—they seemed to look beyond them, past what was physically visible. After a few seconds, she turned her attention back to Renan, waiting for his reply.

"Ohh yeah, let's go… but first, let me take my reward after this whole-ass battle. After all, a battle without a reward isn't a battle," Renan said with a small smirk forming on his face as he suddenly remembered the box on which the shadow dwarf had been sitting. He turned around and began walking toward it with a satisfied expression.

After reaching the box, Renan bent down in front of it, with Elaris standing behind him. She had followed him after he mentioned the reward, watching him closely.

Slowly, he reached out to the side of the box. He ran his fingers over it briefly before carefully opening the lid. There was no lock on it—only the shadow dwarf who had been guarding it before Renan killed him.

And the moment he opened it, he saw…

"A key?" Renan muttered in disbelief as he looked at the ring-like key made from what appeared to be hardened earth. His face remained frozen in shock for a moment, but then his expression slowly darkened, shifting into one of irritation.

Elaris stood behind him, peering over his shoulder at the key. Her usual composed self showed no reaction at first, but there was something in her gaze—something unreadable.

Renan, still staring at the key, couldn't help but feel his frustration grow. "Is this some kind of joke?" he muttered, his voice tinged with irritation.

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Image of Elaris: