Location: Lil Red Storm Realm, Realm's Womb, Seed World, Warehouse Section
"Yes, Dalie is a celestial," the clone confirmed, continuing to store the resources on the shelves, unaware of Corey's shock.
"Then how is she related to him? How can a celestial become a mortal's sister? Did she adopt him? And here I thought I was clever for climbing up the Southern Royal Family's family tree using me being Anna's goddaughter as ladder. That jerk-it's like he breathes fortune." Corey's initial shock quickly turned into envy. Who wouldn't want a celestial as an elder sister, especially one who prepared such a lavish gift? "No, she didn't adopt him. They're related by blood," the clone clarified without going into details, as it was important to Dalie that everyone knew she and Wyatt were blood-related siblings.
"How the heck is it possible for a mortal to be blood-related to a celestial? Don't tell me Wyatt's father was a celestial in disguise! Next, you'll tell me we're in some comic where Wyatt is the main character and I'm his incompetent rival/errand girl," Corey exclaimed, throwing a fit. She glared at the clone, pondering if it took her for a fool. Otherwise, why else would it claim Wyatt was blood-related to Dalie? She wanted to grab its collar and scream, 'Celestials don't bleed!' but restrained herself, choosing to hear its explanation first.
"It's confidential. I can't explain how, but it's true-they're blood-related siblings," the clone hesitantly replied, fearing Corey's sudden outburst.
"Now I regret not activating Sinner's Marks when I had the chance," Corey muttered, glaring at the clone before resuming her task of stocking the shelves.
"No, you don't. You're loud, but you're not cruel," the clone stated, speaking from its experience of accompanying Corey thus far.
"I'm loud?" Corey pressed, expecting the clone to take back its remark. But the clone, not understanding her irritation, answered, "Yes?" wondering if it had answered correctly.
"Guess you're not that cowardly. You are Wyatt's clone, after all," Corey's expression softened. She knew the clone hadn't meant to offend her by calling her loud. Not to mention, it was considerate and easy to talk to. If Wyatt had been half as approachable, they could have been the best of friends.
Phew, the clone sighed in relief, feeling a bit proud that it had given the right answer. It was getting used to walking on eggshells around Corey and learning how to deal with her.
"What are you two doing here while the rest of us are celebrating?" Dalie suddenly appeared in the warehouse in the form of a pixie. She had sensed them mentioning her name long ago but seeing them enter another section of seed world she decided to investigate.
"We were moving the resources to the warehouse-" the clone began to explain, but with a snap of her fingers, Dalie used her mastery of space rule to move all the resources lying on the Lil Red Storm Realm's ground into the warehouse shelves, neatly in order. She then turned to them and said, "All done. Let's join the others at the celebration."
In an instant, the trio appeared next to Wyatt, who was watching five pixies perform one of their traditional dances. The performers were none other than Dredre, Ceed, Bloodette, Clown Mask, and the Field Marshal. Dalie had been among them earlier but had stepped away, promising to return shortly. Leaving the duo, she hurriedly rejoined them.
Seeing his clone and Corey arrive with Dalie, Wyatt understood what had happened without needing to access the clone's memories. Recalling his clone, he shot a stern glare at Corey, who immediately approached him, pleading, "Help me return to the Card World."
Sensing the desperation in Corey's eyes and voice, Wyatt's frown softened, and he reassured her, "I heard what happened. You don't need to return to the Card World to defeat JJ. I've spoken with the Field Marshal, and she will arrange for you to meet your parents on the Way Beyond."
"Really? Thank you, Wyatt," Corey gratefully said, only for Wyatt's expression to turn stern again as he asked, with a hint of sarcasm, "Why didn't you come to me when the Southern Royal Family was blocking you from meeting your parents? I could have helped you sooner. After all, you are my most trusted and efficient employee."
"I didn't want to bother you," Corey hesitantly replied. However, Wyatt pressed on, "Or did you think I couldn't or wouldn't help you?"
".." Corey stared at her feet, unable to meet Wyatt's gaze. The truth was, it had never crossed her mind to seek his help, especially with Park being busy with Susan for their upcoming joint venture. Lately, her mind has been all over the place. She only felt like herself in Susan or Lil. Baem's presence.
"And what were you thinking, trying to challenge JJ? Don't you know your own strength? You don't need to prove yourself to anyone-especially not to me. I've known from day one that if anyone in the Card World could keep up with me, it would be you. Stop wasting time on unnecessary thoughts and step your game. Otherwise, I'll have to avenge Park alone," Wyatt lectured her, his concern genuine. Since accepting Corey as his friend, Wyatt had embraced both her strengths and flaws. Yes, her quirks were a pain to handle when they flared up, and recently, she'd been nothing but quirky, but Wyatt never intended to let go of her hand. He had a habit of holding on to those who trusted him, respecting and fearing that trust deeply. Corey looked up at Wyatt with teary eyes. For some reason, his lecture and subtle show of concern, deeply moved her. Unconsciously, tears welled up in her eyes. She couldn't understand why she felt this way, but the more she tried to make sense of her turbulent emotions, the more her heart ached.
"Don't go challenging JJ," Wyatt added with a reassuring smile. "I think he's suffering enough, cleaning the sewers day in and day out. Also, after the celebration, let's create a sturdy mental defense-type skill card."