Viktor raised his hand to expin that he wasn't one of those "Trigon's servant," but after observing him a bit longer, Raven quickly dismissed her earlier assumption.

  "No, you're not. Even though your soul reeks of blood, you don't seem to know even the slightest bit of magic."

  "Uh... your observation is quite sharp."

  Seeing that Raven seemed willing to talk, Viktor lowered his hand again. She furrowed her brow slightly, and unexpectedly, purple light flickered beneath her feet once again.

  Viktor sighed and shook his head.

  "If your escape trick is always just that same purple magic teleportation… then you already know you can't get away from me."

  Raven gred coldly at him, her eyes now showing a bit of annoyance. After thinking for two seconds, she reluctantly canceled the magic under her feet.

  She had to admit that he was right. That inhuman speed, along with the inexplicable ability to find her, meant that if this guy insisted on pursuing her... she really didn't have a good way to escape.

  Raven's expression started to show frustration.

  "How did you find me? What exactly do you want?"

  "I got some help from someone, and now, I need your help."

  "Mm-hmm?"

  Seeing that she finally stopped trying to escape, Viktor quickly pulled the golden apple from his pocket.

  "It's a bit complicated. A few days ago, I inexplicably got targeted by a god from the Greek pantheon for no reason. After a bit of conflict, I damaged her human form and ended up with this golden apple."

  Raven gnced at the golden apple a few times, furrowing her brows as she thought for a few seconds.

  "This carries divine power, and its magical components are quite complex. I'm sorry, but my abilities probably aren't enough to deal with that so-called god."

  Originally, Raven thought that the strange boy would become discouraged after hearing her honesty, but to her surprise, Viktor's expression didn't change at all.

  He simply put the golden apple back into his pocket.

  "I didn't intend to ask for such an excessive request. I mostly just want to find a trustworthy magic person who can answer some questions for me."

  He said this while scratching his arm. Over the past three days, the unusual itching sensation in his body had gradually faded, but he still felt some lingering discomfort.

  "Is there something special about my soul? Those gods, sorcerer, and others, including your reactions just now..."

  He took a second to find the right wording.

  "It's like I'm really noticeable to a magician like you?"

  Raven's normally cold expression slowly started to change after hearing his question. She looked at him again, her eyes showing a mix of mockery and confusion.

  "You don't know what's going on with yourself?"

  He opened his mouth, but this question left him somewhat speechless.

  He, of course, knew why because these past few days, any magic user could tell that his soul was filled with blood, and why his past seemed to make him transparent to certain groups of people.\

  However, how was he supposed to describe this to the girl in front of him? Compared to this Earth, Viltrum was a completely different environment.

  Even during the civil war, Vilturmites had already conquered hundreds of pnets within a certain light-year radius. Yet, no righteous magician had ever stepped forward to shout at the Vilturmites for their so-called sins and bloodshed.

  Viktor even had a vague suspicion.

  He suspected that during his time drifting through space, something must have happened that caused him to get pulled into the DC universe.

  That theory helped him push away the scariest worries in his heart for a little while, but he couldn't ignore that there were magic users everywhere here, and the way they looked at him was filled with suspicion and rejection.

  Doctor Fate even almost tried to attack him.

  It was clear that if he didn't find a way to solve this problem, his soul's peculiarities would likely attract all kinds of strange entities, interfering with his life in the future.

  "I... was born in a pce without magic."

  Viktor carefully began speaking, while she still seemed a bit impatient, and her delicate, pale fingers tightly gripped the stolen bread and milk as she listened coldly.

  "Where I'm from, or rather, my people... all like me is built on bloodshed and violence."

  Raven's gaze visibly turned colder.

  If it weren't for the fact that Viktor had shown no hostility at all, Raven probably would have already attacked him with some more dangerous magic by now.

  However, Viktor's next words made her expression change.

  "So, I ran away. I want to live a peaceful, normal life on this pnet. But as you can see, and as I just expined, my past makes me still stand out in the eyes of those who deal with magic."

  Viktor's story suddenly stopped.

  Raven, however, no longer had the same cold, distant air she'd had earlier. In fact, her gaze seemed to carry a certain... empathy.

  She carefully tucked the bread and milk closer to her chest, and while continuing to stare at him, she bit her lip.

  "You want to hide your soul?"

  Viktor's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope.

  "If this could solve my problem, then yes, I think I do."

  "But why should I help you? We don't even know each other. We're total strangers."

  Viktor couldn't help but wonder if it was his imagination, but it seemed like Raven's lips curled into a sly smile when she said those words.

  'What's there to offer here? Or, maybe, I could pull out the golden apple again, talk about how dangerous this powerful artifact was, and try to guilt-trip her into helping him?'

  Since she was eventually going to become part of a superhero team, even though she was currently homeless and had to steal food to survive, she still showed compassion for beggars.

  That should mean she had quite a strong sense of empathy.

  He couldn't just keep bothering her like this, making her dislike him to the point where she would reluctantly help him out of annoyance.

  "You know Superman?"

  Viktor asked carefully.

  Raven paused for a moment, as if she didn't quite understand the meaning of his question.

  "Of course, I know him. Newspapers, TVs in shops by the roadside—everywhere there's talk about Superman."

  He felt a shift in his thoughts and rolled up the sleeve of his arm, making a gesture as if to present something.

  "My race is called Viltrumites. My powers are simir to Superman's, and in the future, I could even become as strong as him—maybe even stronger than him."

  "But I don't need a bodyguard."

  Raven coldly interrupted his words and the intention behind them.

  Viktor awkwardly lowered his arm. It looked like the only thing left to try was making her feel sorry for him so she'd help…

  "I'm very interested in your soul and memories."

  "What?"

  Raven's sudden words made him tense up, and his mind instinctively wanted to reject the idea.

  Viktor's abilities could currently only handle purely physical situations, and his soul was indeed a significant weakness in this world filled with all sorts of magic and sorcery.

  However, strangely, Raven's attitude seemed to become somewhat odd.

  "Putting aside my personal reasons, I first have to tell you that your soul currently has a problem. If I don't understand it more deeply, I still won't be able to help you."

  Viktor blinked. For some reason, he felt that after talking about souls, Raven seemed to be talking a lot more than usual.

  "What if you don't put it aside?"

  "...It's a personal preference."

  Raven's voice became much quieter, almost as if she were too shy to admit it. Then, she raised her hand as if to make a promise.

  "You don't have to worry, I won't pry into your secrets. This magic isn't a one-sided malicious spell. If there's something you don't want to show, you can use your will to reject me or skip over those secret pces. I'm just curious about your soul. You look like you're about my age, but your soul is different."

  Raven subtly swallowed, but Viktor could still sense it, making his expression turn a little strange.

  "Your soul has decades of... depth. If you let me touch it with a little soul magic... just a tiny bit."

  Raven made a small gesture with her hand, her eyes showing clear, unhidden anticipation.

  "Then I'd be willing to help you solve your problem."

  Viktor couldn't shake the feeling that the way she was looking at him was simir to how those people in the dark corners of Gotham City get excited when they see a little white pill.

  'What kind of strange hobby is this?'