Interconnected: Spliced Souls

On most nights, the Silver Monument’s throne room only had the bare minimum of guards. The enchanting crimson rug leading to the wooden doors carved from the oldest Mother Tree within the empire’s lost forest stood as a testament to how long it had been around as a mighty world power. Its influence and manipulating hand had no known limit. Even now, you could find proof of its touch in the most remote parts of the world—a feat made possible by a single discovery the country would fight tooth and nail to keep hidden.    

Tonight, however, was different. Emperor Virin Keywater sat on his throne, crossing his legs while holding a goblet of wine. He stared at his quivering son—his eldest. Viridian nursed thick welts across his cheeks—proof of his father’s displeasure at having to activate one of the empire’s most kept secrets to save his life. That alone was enough to invoke his wrath. It would take thousands of lives to accumulate enough skill energy to reforge the priceless artifact—it would be operational in a month—except it wasn’t using the artifact that enraged him so much.   

It was that there were survivors who had seen it activate. Survivors who had endured that dangerous night and knew truths that were better left hidden in the darkness.  Yet that was fine. Soldiers were already en route to enact revenge against those Earth Elves.    

They wouldn’t make it home. A different fate was awaiting the two ring leaders.  

Qina Keywater stood near her fraternal twin, Claus, and watched her half-brother explain what had happened. “That woman—that damn woman is nothing like what the facility has produced, Father! She must be something far surpassing that of a Greater Lich! There is no other explanation for her regeneration!" 

“A Greater Lich?” Virin repeated. Viridian nodded and continued, explaining the weird and mysterious powers a woman named Servi wielded. “She cast without chanting, whisked away magic to vanish it, and she cannot die. Nothing we did ended her. She always returned to life and joined the fight. It seemed her regeneration continued to improve after every 'death.' There was another name. Itarr. Servi often spoke to her, but there was no one else present that could have been her. Her—it—that thing’s power was too great. Yet Servi fell unconscious after touching Myrokos’s soul.”  

Virin didn’t show any emotion when Qina’s brother said his head butler had perished to this Servi. He merely uncrossed his legs, and that was all the emotion he showed. Qina didn’t know much about Albert. He had already acquired his emperor's displeasure before she was around.  

She and her twin looked nothing like their father. They had hair and eyes the color of the sun—a far cry from the black and blue-tinted hair everyone else had, although age had caused the azure to fade from their father’s hair.   

Perhaps that was why their mother had ushered them to safety on the other side of Keywater? It took years for her past to catch up with her—leading to a decade of agony, abandonment, and betrayal for the twins to grow powerful enough to join the imperial guard.   

Their sole purpose?  

To kill their father, wipe away the Keywater Lineage, and rescue their mother.  

He knew it. He had welcomed it. Yet they couldn’t act when their mother's fate was in his hands. Qina knew they would see their mother monthly if they played along.  

Qina and Claus knew their mother hadn’t planned that assassination plot. How could the same woman who sang sweet lullabies when they had nightmares, prepared them delicious meals, and cheered them on when reenacting The Barnacle Knight be a stone-hearted murderer?  

That was better left for Willow and Trerk, a dryad and Crimson Kobold that lived with them.   

Qina hated thinking about them. They weren’t even a year into training to fulfill Virin’s ridiculous goal when they vanished overnight. It was right after their 11th birthday. They manifested their Skill Tablets for the first time.  It should have been an enjoyable moment, except it was anything but. The joy was thrown in the trash and spat out after a dozen realizations came to light in the blink of an eye.   

The world was dangerous for children. Adorable girls like Qina suffered the worst. Pretty boys like her brother attracted sick perverts.   

 “All is not lost, my son. Stand. Lift your head.  Meet my gaze.” Viridian did that and nervously swallowed. His father held a hand, mentally casting a healing spell to cure the displeasure across his cheeks.  “You have done admirably. Not just anyone could turn that depressive pile of land into something desirable. Go. Take a rest. I’ll have additional tasks for you within the month.”  

Viridian was at a loss. He certainly thought the only thing waiting for him would be the executioner’s axe. He left, leaving the emperor alone with his two bastards.   

They approached, their swords clanking against their shiny armor, and kneeled when he beckoned them to come close.    

“Are you prepared to earn your keep? Qina, those venomous eyes are always sharp. Direct that hostility to the two who have abandoned you. Unlike them, I won’t leave you.”  

“…” Neither twin replied and chose silence. 

“Keep this in mind. Your mother kept you from me. You deserved a life of luxury, yet it is too late to pen you within our registry. You will forever be a ghost of the Keywater name—only I will know the truth. I trust you’ll keep our agreement.” Virin downed his drink and placed it on the nearby table. The emperor was in remarkable shape for being older than his former head butler.  

“Qina, you are to become Duchess Penelope Ashford, ‘Parrel’s’ cousin. Work in his stead to right your brother’s misgivings. Give Canary a new lease on life and work to eradicate proof of his sins. Claus, you shall be Percival, her bodyguard. The names are familiar, yes? I’m aware of how much you two idealize The Barnacle Knight.”  

“What about King Lando?” Claus asked.   

“What about him? He does not have any say in the matter. The idiot doesn’t believe the moles’ whispers he fears so much has already entered his ears. He is not worthy of such worries, my son. I will send word and have him arrange what you need to fulfill your role.”  

“What are your plans concerning Servi?”  

“Keep an eye on her. Adam and Eve will inform you when they have intel. Golden Reliquary is closer to her than she thinks.”  

That was well, but the twins didn’t know their allies’ identities. Virin explained further and told them where they could acquire and leave information. Attempting to forcibly learn the names and appearances behind the monikers would end with their mother’s death.    

Virin ensured the twins knew that well.   

With no other commands, the emperor dismissed his children. They stood, saluted, walked out of the throne room, and returned to their quarters. Everyone else saw them as the Twin Captains of the Imperial Guard. Only the commander was above them—but only in status and individual strength.   

Gemini was a Skill Path exclusive to the twins—their god and goddess were twins. Claus and Qina often fought heart-to-heart—not so different than the legendary prowess rumored about Lieutenant Fisher Jin of Canary. Unlike him, Qina and Claus specialized in combination attacks.   

They surpassed the sum of their parts.    

The two shared a dorm near the barracks, so they headed there to ready themselves for the trip.   

“He’ll probably teleport us,” said Claus. He removed his helmet and placed it on the mannequin before sitting in his chair.    

“It seems like we’ll never sit still for longer than a breath,” Qina replied.  She sighed, removed her greaves and gauntlets, and rested her sword on the table.   

“We saw Mother last week. Might be a while before we’re back in her arms.”  

“She doesn’t recognize us. Not anymore. She’ll never consider us more than friends.”  

“You won’t let me dream, will you?” Claus sighed.    

“Do dreams have a place here?”  

“Come on, sis. I don’t need you to talk like that.” His sister apologized in a weak voice she only showed her brother. He approached and hugged her closely. “You take the first bath. I’ll get us packed.”  

Qina nodded and resided through the doors to the bathroom. Like everything else, it was exquisite. She stripped nude and looked in the mirror, gazing at her breasts. They weren’t massively large like her mother’s. Still, she wasn’t flat. With a sigh, she cleaned her tired, sweaty body, doing her best to not cry.   

That was hard. Life was difficult. It had been since they were ten. That was fifteen years of adventuring uphill in the snow, barefoot. And the path would only get steeper. The frigid winters would get chillier.    

Qina only lived for revenge. It was why she pushed herself and her brother so hard through the guild. They took on every mission, killed any enemy, and refused to let strangers in their hearts.   

After being betrayed by their closest allies, sold to slavers, and surviving a living hell?  

Trust didn’t exist outside her and her brother.  

The two knew their mother would likely die before the year’s end. Her skin had faded. Her eyes were sunken. She saw them as distant acquaintances, not her precious children. The reception became colder every month.   

“Servi, huh?” Qina whispered a name as she stood. Water flowed down her body. She stepped out, wrapped a towel around her body, and walked to her bed. Her brother had seen more than this. He wasn’t flustered. She thanked him, and he left to clean himself while Qina wrote her thoughts in a diary.   

---

Days later, Qina stood on that stage as Duchess Penelope Ashford. She looked at the gathered nobles with an internal disgust and saw her target.   

How did Servi get into the Flynn’s good graces with the number of lies she had told?  

Adam and Golden Reliquary knew much about her. They knew she participated in the raid on the underground market— Qina was thankful for that. She wasn’t disappointed to learn the monotonia dens were also destroyed by her hands.   

Servi tried to hide it, but that scythe she used—that necromantic catalyst-- harbored a revenant likely to be Virin’s former head butler. She was a user of the [Forbidden Skill System]—or perhaps a product of it would’ve been a better, more accurate description.    

And she couldn’t die… Her persistent clutch on life was astoundingly remarkable.    

She was an enigma. Necromancers and other wielders of the Forbidden Skills were challenging foes. Qina and her brother had fought against hundreds.   

They all died.  

Even a lich would face its end when you killed it enough. Or you could destroy its phylactery. Golden Reliquary had reportedly used their available methods to track it, but they couldn’t pick up any trace. They did, however, detect some suspicious energy around the nearby forest. A painstakingly precise search proved fruitless.  

Qina turned her focus and finished the speech, cringing at the applause.    

I despise this. Being a noble? It’s not for me. The shoes are uncomfortable. The dress is too tight. These idiots are willingly cheering for the dullest speech in history.   

 Her father told the truth. She was to act as a replacement for her brother. The backstory she used was written for her, so she merely needed to play the role of a puppet.   

Her father would say it was an easy task. He didn’t think much of them. And it was hard to read his face. Qina never knew what thoughts swirled around his knowledgeable mind.  

Being duchess—in name only—came with bureaucratic duties. Once she had introduced herself, she entertained her ‘subjects.’   

They dispersed hours later, and she was escorted to her new home by Claus, who walked along her carriage. The governor’s estate was ruined, so Qina and Claus’s home would be one of the many backup mansions Viridian had built. If nothing, he was a meticulous man with plans for different situations.   

Qina wondered if the precautions came from their father instead.   

---

After the first night, it became abundantly clear this life wasn’t for her. Qina finally sighed in relief once the last guest had left the mansion. The maids and butlers knew her and Claus’s true identity, so they weren’t alarmed at the behavior.   

“Don’t act like that.”  

“Don’t give me that!” Qina snapped. “You don’t have to do anything except stand still and look pretty!”  

“You think it’s easy maintaining this handsome face?” Claus flashed a smile and removed his armor. It was, perhaps, unusual for grown siblings to share a bed when there were extra rooms, but the two had bunked together since they were little. Sleeping elsewhere felt wrong. Those two years of being divided upon joining the imperial guard did irreparable damage to their mental stability.   

After what they endured? It’d be more unusual for the two to not have a dependency on each other.   

“Handsome?”  

“Watch what you say, sis. We are twins. Insulting me would be bashing your beauty. I cannot allow that.”  

“Where was this attitude when we were kids? Remember? You kept hunkering behind me because you feared [Firebolt].”  

“Call it character development. Come on. Wash up, and get ready for bed. Tomorrow will be a long day. Srassa's likely to ask our target to stay the night. We can talk to her and maybe get some info.” Claus retrieved a folder and handed it to Qina. She read it and learned the Queen of Night would be departing Canary to escort a Goatkin to Adenaford.   

---

On the cusp of the following evening, after another eventful afternoon of bureaucratic nonsense, Qina sat in Harold Flynn’s living room. Her bodyguard stood behind her with his hands resting lightly on his blade. The overseer of Lando's most precious structure sat across her. She knew he always loved pipes. He nursed the tip on his lips and exhaled, filling the room with a smoky scent.    

“And? What are your thoughts on her?” Lord Flynn asked. Moments ago, Srassa and her friends had made pleasantries with Qina.   

“Astounding. Her experience had to be harrowing, but I don’t see any signs of trauma.”  

“Indeed. Even the most hardened man would have nightmares from what she claimed to have endured.”  

“Claim, Lord Flynn?”  

“A misspeak of the tongue, duchess. Forgive me.”  

No. She’s not traumatized because her story is a lie. How do I see her scythe without rousing suspicion? I must investigate it.    

Qina never figured that out. She couldn’t ask Harold about it. He was sharp. He confided there may have been more to Servi’s story than she let on, but that was all he said. Still, the day wasn’t wasted. Speaking with the suspect did satisfy a growing curiosity.   

Based solely on the way she spoke and held herself…  

Qina wasn’t impressed. A woman who couldn’t die was one thing. An impossible thing. The more likely case was an astounding sense of rejuvenation. Either that or the necromancer who raised her had her soul on hand. If so, they used dozens or hundreds of corpses to fuel recreating her body each time. Or perhaps some undead catalyst situated nearby kept her vigorous and vitalized.    

That night, after returning to their mansion, Qina and her brother slipped into something suitable for sneaking, cast invisibility spells, and leapt from the window. Their target was the slums since Servi had been the most active here.   

However, Qina and Claus rushed through the alleys undiscovered and scrounged around every corner for another reason.   

Recon.   

The slums were an unredeemable cesspit. Parrel had organized their creation to suit his underground slave market. With it gone, Qina had plans for a redemption arc. It would shove the seedy underbelly into the spotlight, and the king and his noble court would watch as she transformed it into something respectable.   

Most plans were set in motion. Qina had signed the contracts earlier that day. The man responsible for building the orphanage was returning to Waveret to discuss the specifics with his crew.   

During their mission, they searched far and wide for a necromantic catalyst linked to Servi, but the search didn’t bear fruit. They hadn’t found anything close to it, which puzzled them more. Eventually, the twins ended up at the Crimson Grotto and decided to infiltrate the Queen of Night’s room.   

Picking the lock was dreadfully easy.    

“There’s nothing here,” Claus whispered, opening a drawer. A scale model of an orc’s penis flopped out.  “It’s filled with sex toys. I don’t see anything remotely peculiar.” He shuddered and put it back, groaning when he realized the tip was enveloped with long-lasting lubricant slime.  

“Keep looking. And what did you expect? Remember where we are.”  

The apartment was flipped upside down and expertly put back together in forty minutes.    

Nothing was there.  

The twins hadn’t found any notes or letters. The information they had about Servi suggested she was without memories. That ring she wore had to be vital. Viridian said it flashed and spread flames across her hand when she battled Golden Reliquary for Myrokos’s soul.   

Yet, what about the blood crystals? They showed up the first night Servi had entered town. Her mysterious ability to cancel or decompose incoming spells or surrounding items alarmed her. That was something worth fearing about. Qina and Claus knew a dozen ways to entrap and seal someone. Servi's limits were unknown, however. Could she decompose a barrier? Would sealing her work? Golden Reliquary reported Servi didn’t do it against Myrokos, but she unleashed stored spells within his barrier to kill him from the inside, so she had techniques to bypass them. 

In one way, she was an enemy impossible to beat. There just wasn’t enough known information.   

Or she could’ve been an excellent ally. Qina wondered what Servi would do if she admitted the truth? Anger? Shock? Knowing that this duchess was Virin’s bastard child?  

That skeleton must be Albert. Adam and Golden Reliquary have almost confirmed it as such. He wasn’t aware of us. Only Virin knows we’re his children.   

It was too dangerous to ask Claus his thoughts. Neither knew who Adam, Eve, or Golden Reliquary was. Their identities were national secrets, so they could’ve been anywhere. Qina knew Claus had thought about trying to recruit Servi.   

That’s a problem for another time…  

“Come. Let’s leave. We need to compile a report and drop it off.”  

“I’m following you, duchess. Hey—ow!”  

“Don’t call me that,” Qina said, rolling her eyes.   

“Seems like I’ve got something else to tease you about—okay! Okay! I got the hint. You don’t want to mess my handsome face, do you?”  

“You’re insufferable. Did you know that?” Qina left. Claus followed and silently shut the door.   

“I know it better than you.” Claus locked the door with his tools, and they left through the open window.    

---

Weeks had passed since then. Penelope Ashford spent more time in the open than Qina Keywater did with her brother.   

The days, again, were filled with fielding concerns and comments from citizens from Canary, Waveret, and Arcton.  

The taxes were too high.   

The treasury was running low.   

Pickpockets have increased.   

The Merfolk were running out of control. They destroyed four ships just last week.    

Poachers were spotted near Waveret’s dungeon.   

Stone golems practically owned Lucoa Forest and were being seen around Arcton. There were more and more every day.   

It was complaints, complaints, and complaints. Qina often ended each day with a ragged expression and a dozen glasses of wine. Dulling her throbbing head.    

Qina believed she suffered from an endless curse.   

The only respite was the scheduled visit with her mother.  She was even more gone this time. She hated apples and had baked them an apple pie, but only because she thought they were maids coming to clean her estate. When they left, Claus and Qina… They took it hard. Seeing their mother like this was like sticking an arrow through their hearts. They couldn’t even tell her they loved them because her fragile mind had trouble understanding it.   

And just like that…  

It was back to the endless paperwork, except there was a silver lining.    

The details concerning the reimagining of the slums. It had to have had a connection to Servi. Siora and Tim—a Wing Elf and koena—had first seen Servi on the city ramparts. She had tossed herself into the trash pile below. The two then formed a search party without authorization, leading to demotions. Furthermore, the Queen of Night kept sharing details about the plan to build the orphanage to drum up support.   

If Qina desired more information, then these welfare programs were the key. The slums needed to be improved. Even if it cost more than the nobles and king were willing to pay... 

The money had to be spent. 

Then it happened.  

Claus had been spying on Servi since his sister had first talked to her at Harold’s estate with avian and shadow spirits. This was how they confirmed her ‘spirit' to be Albert when she revealed it during their trip to Waveret-- that was something they already knew-- yet there was more. Qina listened patiently to Claus’s report.      

Servi had burnt a warehouse, killed a group of Kaisaku Syndicate smugglers, and somehow vanished a ship into nothingness. Dineria, her mentor, had approached Servi for the truth, but her barriers and seals proved too much for Claus to break. He didn’t have the same magical aptitude as his sister. He, however, reported Dineria looked truly frightened to her core.    

During their time in Waveret, Dineria erected her seals and barriers a few more times. Claus had come close to implementing a counter-seal Qina had developed, but it never successfully manifested while they were there. 

That alone made for more weeks of endless nights for Qina and Claus. They had more to discover and investigate, except a detailed inquiry about Dineria returned nothing already known.     

However, as luck would have it…  

“What?! She killed Fisher?!” Qina exclaimed. Her soft face was taken by surprise as she listened to Claus.    

No one knew she had such hatred against him. Not even Adam or Golden Reliquary had hinted as much.    

“There’s more,” Claus said, summarizing Fisher’s past and the events near the site of Servi’s first death. They were aware of Albert’s undead horde.  

Why? Why choose those specific undead? Viridian claims she’s something more than a greater lich... Yet even a lesser lich could have created more. So why… Unless… She’s not a lich? So, a necromancer? How can one regenerate so quickly? Where is she drawing her power from? It doesn’t make sense. What are we missing?!  

“Harold Flynn told her to kill him. He didn’t come to us,” Claus added.    

“Do you think he’s making a move? We know he’s planning on announcing his daughter at the festival’s ball, but this could be a prelude to something sinister. He’s not a man we can take lightly,” Qina noted.    

“Maybe. Arnold killed Servi… Stabbed her through the heart. That was days before the guard found the skinned corpses of those singi children.”  

“That’s as far back as her first memories, right? I guess she was a necromancer by then. Or a lich. Or whatever she is. I’m thinking, brother, but I have no answers.”  

Claus nodded. “You think Harold’s trying to get Servi on his side? You think he realized her little secret and wants to secure her power?”  

“No. I don’t think that’s it.” The twins had already investigated Harold and his family. They had records in Keywater and were immigrants who moved here years ago. The family was clean without any connection to the Keywater underground. The oddest thing was Srassa. She vanished for a decade, then showed up. Harold said she trained with a kobold. There wasn’t a reason to think he lied because Srassa had often shared many stories with Momo and Servi about that time of her life, but they couldn’t find any records of this supposed training.    

And speaking of Momo... 

There was nothing except a sighting of her when she passed the Westera-Lando border. She was born in a village there—it matched what she had told her friends—her story checked out without any foul play. Her hometown was destroyed, though. An incident with slavers or bandits some years back caused everyone to die. Momo was the only survivor. That wasn’t important—yet she hadn’t told them anything about that incident.    

“Feel free to figure out this puzzle whenever you want, sis. Don’t wait for me to do it. I think I’ve done enough. My god blessed me with fire and shadow. Except, you know, a man like me likes to live in the sunshine.”  

Qina flicked him on the forehead before they returned to bed. He wrapped his strong arms across her bare stomach and held her close, whispering promises to forever protect her.    

She couldn’t sleep without him there to reassure her. In many cases, Qina still felt like a little girl. She just wanted to spend time with her brother and mother until she naturally passed.    

Her dream wasn’t anything extravagant. Why was it so hard for the world to fulfill it? She had done enough, right? She did what her father thought impossible, so why couldn’t she be rewarded? 

---

“What…the hell did you say?!”   

Days later…another bombshell dropped. Claus had kept sleuthing because he sensed something unsteady on the horizon, and he had just given another report—one…he didn’t want to believe.    

“That ring… It holds a goddess… Sis, it’s… I don’t… She’s immortal. Servi can’t die because…” He continued, saying Dineria had visited the Queen of Night. He was curious when those seals went up, so he implemented the counter-seal and listened. He swore his heart nearly stopped a dozen times—yet Claus wasn’t aware of another interloper peeping on that secretive conversation.   

He and Vexor never knew each other were there.    

“Itarr isn’t a necromancer? She’s a goddess?” Qina repeated. “Just how? Why? I—"  

“Calm down!” Claus snatched Qina’s hand and squeezed it. He hastily told her the two elves knew Parrel’s true identity. They had actively discussed it after Servi fell asleep.  

“This…isn’t good.”  

“Great deduction, sis.” Claus tried to crack a joke, but he couldn’t stop his arms from shivering. He looked at his sister’s face for support and used her courage to find a source of his own.    

They were each other’s emotional stability. A goddess?! Here? Could…that really explain everything? Could that shed light on the darkness surrounding her existence?  

When Qina really thought about it…  

Everything made sense if she assumed a divine being was the answer to the mysteries.    

The following day, Qina compiled the information they had acquired and readied them for the dead drop locations—she partly wondered if Adam or Golden Reliquary would even believe it. Qina didn’t even believe it. Claus used his authority as the duchess’s bodyguard to search Canary far and wide for unregistered books or information on the gods and goddesses.  

Itarr’s name never came up, so Claus had a decision to make. If he left, he could catch up with Momo and Servi. They ventured to Arcton for a delivery quest. Srassa wasn’t with them, but that made him curious—how would Servi tell Momo her secret? Would she tell her? Claus just had to know. Their target was possibly from another plain of existence, so he left later that night, continuing his recon from the shadows as Qina sent daily reports to the emperor with a communication artifact.    

If anything, she knew the Silver Monument's vast, rich library would be likelier to have any info related to this ring-based goddess.   

That was the plan, and it unnerved her when he didn’t return. 

Qina looked at her tablet every night after he left and saw the Gemini Skill Path. It was always available, so Qina was one part of a pair that could have two active at once.   

It would fade if her twin died, but Claus was trained. He looked easy-going, except her brother had always surpassed her in physical combat.  Even the imperial guard’s commander couldn’t best him in a fight. Fisher Jin had a reputation for being unmatched, but Qina would put money on her brother to win that duel.  

---

It was early morning—days before a tragic event would send shudders throughout the world and alter it forever. Qina, bare naked, spread her arms and legs in a bed much too large and empty for her. She stretched to the ceiling and yawned.  

“Nice to see you looking so relaxed, sis,” came a voice she loved to hear. She didn’t make herself decent. Her brother had seen her nakedness a thousand times before. Qina turned to the shadows and saw Claus emerge.   

“Relaxed? You know how much I hate sleeping alone.” She yawned and rubbed her eyes. “Learn anything?”  

“I missed you too.” Claus pulled a note from his pocket, handed it to his sister, and changed into his slender armor. Qina read it, then groaned. Adam had sent an express order to Claus, commanding him to return to Canary. “They encountered a golem attacking a witch and her allies, killed it, and camped out after eating weird-looking food. And that’s all I know. Orders are orders, ya know? They say jump, and we say how high…”   

Claus sighed and shrugged. He wanted to stay and observe because why wouldn't he? No one like Servi existed. It was like a paradoxical statement that had to be false, but a loophole made it more verifiable than any other truth. However, the bastard son couldn’t ignore direct commands. “Keep reading. We have new orders.”   

Qina furled her brown. “How—"   

“That’s for you to find out, my sister. You’re the diplomatic Princess Penelope, and I’m nothing more than your Barnacle Knight, Sir Percival.”  

“Don’t use our favorite play like that, brother. I won’t forgive you.”  

Virin desired to meet the one called Servi. He needed to understand the secret of her powers and demand to know how and why she had incarnated a goddess. This 'soul world' intrigued him, too, and he had never heard of such a thing before. 

How am I supposed to do this? How does one become friends with a goddess?  

The most pressing question of all was this…  

How did Servi use a spell belonging to the [Warden Skill System] while simultaneously enrolled in the [Forbidden Skill System]? Everything Emperor Keywater knew told him that should’ve been impossible. It was either one or the other. Flipping between both was theoretically possible, but his brilliant researchers hadn’t figured it out.    

Yet here she was—using both via those mysterious blood crystals. 

If a woman blessed with a divine artifact, who shared a soul with a goddess, was added to the equation? Well, that answered most of the unsolvable mysteries.  The emperor also knew she harbored a grudge against him. The imposing emperor wasn’t worried or afraid of Servi’s power because he believed he could offer her what she 'lacked.' Still, his curiosity was heightened beyond anything he had seen before. To him, she was the most captivating woman in the world-- the one with the answers he desperately desired.    

Qina wondered…if she could somehow harbor the immortal girl’s help in killing Virin because she had plenty of reasons to hate him. Qina wasn’t dumb. Trying to sway her help could alert Adam and Golden Reliquary, who must’ve been somewhere nearby. They had sent a few documents demanding further clarification of the reports she sent them. It didn’t take more than a few hours to be notified that a drop was waiting, so they must have been close.   

They could be anyone. And that didn’t account for Eve, who was, perhaps, the most mysterious.    

The following days were spent on that. Qina and Claus tirelessly discussed how to best approach this subject. Sure, they had ideas. Plans, even. It wouldn’t be hard to use the orphanage and Servi’s desire to defend those who couldn’t fight for themselves to latch onto her friendship.  

And maybe… Maybe Qina could sway the goddess into finally freeing her, her brother, and their mother. The divine beings were said to be all-powerful since they crested the world, so nursing their mother’s mind wouldn’t be too much to ask, right?  

Then it happened...  

It was in the early hours of that monumental morning—one that would live in infamy. Qina was in the parlor room, entertaining other nobles long into the night when she most desired to share her bed and brother’s warmth. The day had been exhausting, and she didn’t care much for her words at this point, which were cladded in thick sarcasm. This was a job—one she put the bare effort into since the rest of the groundwork to complete her emperor’s goal was etched.    

It was merely filling in the gaps and waiting for the orphanage to be complete before moving on to the next task.  

I’ll never understand his mind. It doesn’t make sense to prosper a neighboring country after falsely flagging an attack to demand access to the poorest duchy. Just what is that man after?  

Qina happened to look out the window in the direction of Arcton. It would take a week of travel to reach it... 

“Duchess? Is something wrong?” Qina ignored the noblewoman and stood. She walked to the window, her breath utterly taken away.  

“Duchess Ashford?” A treble of anxiety clasped Claus's tongue. His eyes widened when he saw...it.   

It was a thin pillar of pink light that exploded at its apex and sent scattering fragments across the horizon.  

It was…supposed to be the dead of night, but it seemed like day. It was an otherworldly illumination that should not have existed.  Claus estimated it to be around the Arcton Mountain Range after cross-checking a map he had committed to memory.   

In seconds, the gathered nobles all stared. Some shivered. Some wept. Others had their voice stolen.  

Everyone except the false duchess and bodyguard screamed when the ground quaked under their feet.