Amelia and Ophelia: The Former Grand Duchess and Saintess.

Inside Vaeron's office. The dual monarchs sat before her as Vaeron sat behind a massive working table. They watched as she pulled out a secure case from one of her drawers and placed it on the table. The contents of the case became known once she opened it and it revealed to be the same black crystal the dual monarchs had pulled out of the dead High Chief, placing it atop a tripod and then bringing out a red notebook that had all of her notes she had taken from the studies she had performed on it. 

"Now, Your Majesties. The crystal you brought to me is very strange. It has an entirely different composition compared to the regular magic crystals we get from the monsters" Vaeron began as she looked at them 

"What do you mean by that?" Amelia asked 

"Well, for starters. This black crystal reacts negatively to any form of magic, especially Holy Magic. But for some reason, it reacts positively towards the magic that Her Majesty Ophelia has on her" 

{!} 

"What?!" Both monarchs asked in unison

"Mhmm, for reasons beyond me, the magical energy emanating from Her Majesty Ophelia is what the crystal is attracted to. The other crystal fragments from the other bodies you brought me were all powered up despite them coming from corpses, once they made contact with the main crystal, the damn thing was even more energetic than before and nearly brought down my lab. However, once someone with Holy Magic came to help pacify the thing, the energetic crystal became docile and we began running more tests" 

"Hmmm, so how did you know it was drawn to Ophie's power?" Amelia asked 

"Oh that was a pretty simple deduction. I read the combat reports from the battle and it told me that all of those bastards who were powered with these crystals were all killed by Her Majesty Ophelia, and since the crystal reacted negatively to Holy Magic, I crossed out Her Majesty Amelia from the equation" Vaeron answered with a small nod 

"It would be easier to show you, so may I ask that you please stand Your Majesties" The dark elf gyaru requested with a smile as she clasped her hands together 

The dual monarchs followed her request and stood before the crystal that was not even shining at them, they exchanged glances and without needing to hear the instructions from, Ophelia poured a bit of her own magic into the crystal. 

{!} 

The moment the magic settled in, the crystal came to life and it began to give off a loud whirring sound that boomed across the room and a large gust of wind began pulling things towards the crystals, forming a little vortex around the thing that was quickly dissipated once Amelia gave off a small burst of her Holy Magic and Carnomantic Magic that turned the crystal back into its docile state, dropping the papers and pens that were in the vortex to the floor. The dual monarchs looked over at Vaeron who was scribbling inside her red notebook more notes and once she finished writing, she placed the book down and walked over to the dual monarchs. 

"That is what I mean Your Majesties. Unlike the other magics we have tried that got no reaction, the only magical energy that has riled the crystal up is Her Majesty Ophelia's magic. I am still unable to understand the reasons why...By the way, were there any effects that the crystal had done to either of you? I heard that Her Majesty Amelia was stabbed but since Her Majesty uses Holy Magic, I think you are fine...Her Majesty Ophelia on the other hand" 

"Some of my magic has been locked away" 

{!} 

"What?" The dark elf gyaru exclaimed as her glasses fell off her face

"Yes, some of my more...extreme powers have been revoked, such as time travel, well, it's only been my time traveling abilities so far, I am still able to make copies of myself, teleport at will, snap people into death.....but if against whatever creature has that in them, I am unable to use any magic at all" Ophelia explained as she looked at her 

"Hmmm...interesting, but I cannot really do anything with one sample, Your Majesties. I need another if I am to properly do more extensive research as the other crystals broke easily despite their thickness and I do not wish to break the only crystal I have left" Vaeron stated with a regrettable expression 

"Then you are in luck Vaeron, we have a little gift for you" The blonde empress stated as she looked at her beloved 

{?} 

{!} 

Vaeron's eyes went wide as Ophelia pulled out a case from her item box and then placed it on the same table as the main black crystal and then pulled out an even larger black crystal that was on the tripod. It was still docile as Ophelia had not poured any magic into the thing and once she placed it on a second tripod near the first one, the dark elf researcher collected her glasses from the floor and then moved to inspect the second larger crystal with a big grin on her face. 

"Now this is something else" Vaeron exclaimed in excitement as she poked the thing with a thin metal stick 

"There is more where that came from, the Imperial Army has found a set of ruins. Although you will not be able to visit those ruins until after we unite the continent, is that understood?" Ophelia stated 

"Understood Your Majesty, but I think I will be content with this massive magic crystal for now, so no need to worry" The dark elf researcher assured her monarchs as she kept her eyes on the crystals 

"Hmmm, that's good. Well, we should be going now. We shall leave you to your work now as we have many other things to do" The blonde empress added 

"Understood Your Majesties. If I discover anything else, I will report directly to you immediately" Vaeron stated with a bow as the dual monarchs left her office 

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Later that night, as the dual monarchs were deep asleep beside one another, Ophelia was stirring. Her dreams were usually about her having fun times with her beloved but this time, it was different. 

She woke up in a white void, dressed in her usual outfit of a white blouse and a maroon-colored skirt with her black slip-on shoes. 

"The fuck is this place?" She mumbled as she looked around 

"Hmmm....huh, can't seem to wake myself up" She added as she tried pinching her arm and noticing she didn't even feel the pain 

Ophelia took a deep breath as she tried a few more times and failed them all, her initial surprise turning into curiosity as she decided to just walk around the void in a random direction, hoping to find someone or something as she began to walk around. 

{?}

After wandering around for about an hour, she suddenly found a finely made and polished black wooden door and Ophelia could feel something pulling her towards the door. She felt it not only in an aura around her but also in her soul as everything inside her was calling out to her to open the door and see what was on the other side. 

'Here goes nothing' She thought as she placed her hand on the door and twisted the knob 

Stepping through the door, she entered a long dark hallway that was dimly lit by lanterns hanging from either side of the hallway. She saw that the flooring of the hallway was nicely done polished hardwood and the walls had proper wallpaper that was lovely plastered on either side, with the designs of the wallpaper being nice and clean silhouettes of flowers. 

She began walking through the hallway and her steps made light tapping sounds as she proceeded further through the hallway, following the twists and turns of the place until she ended up at a large set of double doors that had the same designs of the door she entered through. She placed her hands on the door knobs and with a swift turn, she pushed them open and saw that it led into a large office room. 

The room was square and on the left side of the room was a set of bookshelves that were filled with snowglobes and others with books, there was also a small area in the lower left corner of the room near the door that had a trio of chairs and a coffee table in the center of them. In the upper center of the room, there was a large desk filled with papers and other things, including a picture frame facing the large chair behind the desk. The right side however, was different from the rest of the room. 

On the right side of the room was a large painting that had a huge family portrait of nineteen people as Ophelia neared it she saw the full extent of what it contained. The people in the portrait were wearing a mix of dashing aristocratic outfits of suits and dresses and suits of armor, in the center of the seventeen adults were two older ones, with one being a lady who looked like an older version of Ophelia, the other, however, was an older man with a set of white hair and white facial hair and both of them were holding one another's hands as they sat side by side one another. 

{!} 

But what surprised Ophelia the most from the portrait was a carbon copy of herself minus the glasses on the far right of the picture wearing a stunning suit of silver plate armor that had a teal-colored cape behind the suit, on the upper right corner of the breastplate was a insignia of a teal-colored three-headed hydra over a shield of gold. The person in the picture had her right arm to her side while the other was on the hilt of a bastard sword holstered on the same side. 

"Hmmm...was wondering when you would arrive Miss Ophelia" A voice stated from behind her 

{!} 

Ophelia wheeled around and saw the same young woman at the center of the portrait standing at the open pair of doors and looking at her with a small smirk on the corner of her lips. She looked exactly like an older version of Ophelia from the portrait, with the same set of glasses, the same beautiful face, the same body build, and the same height. Except for their choice of clothes as the older woman was dressed in a black skirt, with a grey long-sleeved blouse and a scarf around her neck.

"Umm...sorry for intruding into your office" The raven-haired empress stated 

"Oh no need to worry about that. I brought you here" The woman replied as she walked past the confused monarch and sat behind her desk 

"Oh...then may I ask why you have called me here?" Ophelia asked as she felt a tinge of familiarity biting at her from the back of her neck 

"Well...that topic is sort of complicated if you want a proper answer. The short of it is to help fix that messed up magical situation inside you, the long answer, well...it is something that requires a whole different discussion" The woman said as she eased into her chair, snapping her fingers and summoning forth a chair opposite of the desk and gesturing for the monarch to sit in it 

"I would like an answer to both if you do not mind...Please?" Ophelia asked as she sat down, a part of her telling her that she could not fight her way out if she tried 

"Hmmm...alright, if that is what you wish, then it is what you shall receive" The lady replied with a grin on her face as she brought out an apple from nowhere and then bit it 

"Ok, so...what do you mean fix my internal magic situation?" Ophelia asked with a straight face 

"So, that black crystal you touched. That was a Netherite Crystal, a special kind of fuckery that exists only in the Netherworld, which is a standard plain in each world that acts as a sort of dimension where the hatred and rage of things that die reside in and is used as a sort of filter to ensure that when people are sent to hell, their rage is not with them, only their suffering. If you are wondering how a crystal from there ended up in the overworld, it is simply due to the fact that there is a place in each world that has a portal connected to the Nether and the crystal sprouts around the gate to the portal and can be consumed by people or monsters to give them power in exchange for being mindless monsters at the most extreme cases, and it seems that this portal is located on your continent" The lady answered her with a nod 

"Oh...so, how do I close it?" Ophelia asked 

"Hmmm, you don't" 

"What?!" 

"It's because if you close that portal, then it will imbalance the world and destroy it. The Netherworld is a necessary evil to keep the world balanced"

"But-" 

"That is non-negotiable. If you tried, then you would be damning everyone in that world into oblivion so get that thought out right now" The lady cut off Ophelia before anything else 

"Fine...so how do these crystals work?' 

"Well, they are drawn to strong power sources by design. These crystals are designed to draw out power from beings and then trap them inside the crystal but that is inside the Netherworld. However, if they are outside the Netherworld, they react to special 'Void Type' of magic only and actively hate other types of magic such as elemental or Holy in nature" 

"And the magic that resides in me is this certain 'Void Type' huh?" 

"Bingo" 

"So...how are you going to fix it?" Ophelia asked as she narrowed her eyes at her 

"Oh a simple rewriting of your magical index to indicate that the magic within you is not 'Void Type' to ensure that the crystals no longer affect you" The lady replied with a smile as she pointed at Ophelia and made a small gesture 

{!} 

Ophelia suddenly felt her insides change and her soul as well, she could feel her body getting stronger and the magical flow within her changing from a usual calm lake to a rushing tide that could crush anything in its path before returning to the calm status it was earlier. She felt that everything was now easier to do as her body felt lighter and she could feel she was stronger than before. 

"There, rewrite is done. However, you no longer have access to Chronomancy, meaning you can no longer control time. But rest assured you can still perform a myriad of spells that are limited to only your imagination so there is that, there are also a few restrictions here and there but you will have to find out what those restrictions are hehehehe" The lady told her as she smiled warmly at her, giving the sense of familiarity inside Ophelia something to cling to as it grew larger 

"I'm sorry but have we met before?" Ophelia asked 

"Have we? I am pretty sure you know the answer to that little one" The lady shot back with a grin as she leaned into her chair with her hands clasped together 

"I don't like playing games Miss...so please, may I have an answer?" Ophelia asked as her expression turned to a sort of slight annoyance 

"Fufufufu, fine. If you tell me your past life, I will answer that question" 

"Fine" 

Ophelia took a deep breath as she closed her eyes and called back to her former life before the one she had now. The screams of people dying around her filled her mind as she did her best to navigate that treacherous and horrible life she once had. Memories from that life ran through her head as she came to terms with the decisions she made in that life, from her childhood all the way to her death, lying on a broken slab of concrete, bleeding out in the cold, all alone, with the many people who trusted and loved her surrounding her as corpses. 

"I...I am or was, Anastasia Hesticia. Former Commander of the 12th Eurasian Infantry Brigade...I was born in Vladivostok and raised in an orphanage, I was an average scholar until I was 28 and I was drafted into a war and was given a command, and while I flourished for a time. I...I was responsible for the death of everyone under my command as I tried to lead them into a battle that was practically suicide. I have lied to myself each and every day that I was not responsible for what happened that day....but I know I truly am the only one to blame for what happened. My pride, my hubris, and my own ambition led to the deaths of those I held dear. I have buried all of that in my soul as atonement for what I have done to them" 

"Hmmm...well. Considering that you have given me the whole truth. I shall return the favor, although I shall only give you a name. The rest will be another time" The lady replied to her 

"What?" 

"Don't get riled up, we will meet again. So no need to worry" The lady replied, her words calming Ophelia down although with her not knowing the reason why 

"So?" 

"Hmmm...Ah! I bet you have looked at the portrait to the right no?" 

"Yeah, well. If you wish to know, the you in that portrait was your first life, Anastasia was your second life, and now in your third life you are Ophelia" 

{!} 

"wHAT?!" 

"Shush. Save your questions for next time, but I shall tell you this. You are not to reveal this to anyone once I speak this to you and you cannot tell either Histy or Harcun you have met me, I go by the name of Manager or Moderator and so many more, but hear this. Your first name, the name that was given to you at birth by me was...Leticia Arda Nova, and now WAKE UP"

{!} 

Suddenly, Ophelia's eyes went wide as she quickly sat up from her sleep. Breathing heavily as she looked around the room and saw that it was still dark. She felt Amelia's touch to her side which calmed her down and made her go back down and lay beside her, looking at her beloved and caressing her cheek before kissing her on the forehead. 

'Probably a nightmare...a very nonsensical nightmare' She thought to herself as she closed her eyes and held her lover close,

As Ophelia fell back to sleep, she had failed to notice that from a mirror in the corner of the room, the Manager was watching and smiling at her before disappearing. 

A/N: Hello! So this was a weird chapter no? Anyways, a small spoiler is that they meet in a chapter in the next volume but that is all I shall say, anyways, if you questions and the like, leave em below for me to see and answer and as always, Stay Safe and Enjoy Your Day!