Tristessa braced her hands on the floor, slick with the mixture of her own blood and bile. Pangs of pain rippling from her chest, she struggled to her feet as the healing glyph Aurelia had invoked did its work. Whether to heal her only to strike her again, in an endless cycle of torture, it was clear the ruler of End-World would not stop.

  Her words had been absolute. They had defied her authority. Now came the reckoning.

  “Come, Lady Eramisaptor! Stop tormenting them, please!” She saw Auron across the hall, shouting in her defense and that of the Mercer-Archeos. Sylas blocked their advance, brandishing two curved-edged knives, ready to strike them down with deadly poison. “You are more than that!”

  “If you will mete out punishments, let them be for all of us, my lady!” Astoria added, her black cloak billowing in the lingering winds of Aurelia's Divinity, which were slowly losing strength.

  “There's no way we're going to stand idly by, not even with your personal assassin threatening us!”

  Hearing Severus's last words -perhaps the most anxious and frightened of the three- Aurelia couldn't help but smile. Mocking them and shaking her head, as if she were listening to a round of tasteless jokes in a bar, with more alcohol than water in her blood.

  “You three... You poor, naive fools! Do you really believe in that myth that a Stranger will make your dreams come true?” she asked, placing a hand on Jin's shoulder to provoke Severus. She squeezed hard, making the hunter suffer while his family watched helplessly and the blood elf clenched his teeth, emanating his ancestral fury in the form of infernal heat around him. “[King of the Gunslingers]? Revenge for the elves? I didn't expect foolish fantasies from a wretched outlaw and a blood elf too useless to wield thaumaturgy without fainting… But you, Silverthorn? You dare betray me? Me, the one who gave you work to do when everyone else was spitting on you and cursing the ground you walked on?”

  “Yes, my lady. I appreciate the faith you place in me, but… My desire to clear my name is stronger than anything,” the knightess replied, solemn and resolute, irritating Aurelia. “You won’t help me fulfill my dream of slaying the [Valkyrie of Darkness], but Tristessa will.”

  “Madness... You are insane! All of you are, clinging to a hope based on nothing. You will see,” she warned them, casting a shadow of grim fate upon the three warriors. “There is nothing out there but death and despair. Soon there will be nothing left to defend… I am tempted to let you all live so you can taste the dark future when it arrives.”

  “Aurelia…”

  From where he continued healing Vektra, Jonas had briefly interrupted his magical incantation, struck by that torrent of pessimism pouring from the woman who was supposed to defend her Dominion as a beacon of courage. Not someone defeated and disgraced, subjected to the malice of the Shadow Queen, who advanced further in her conquest and subjugation of the free people day by day.

  She turned her back on them all with disdain, disgusted by the dreams and desires of Tristessa’s three allies, and by the crimson gaze full of pity for her that the Shield of the Ill-Omen conveyed to her.

  To refocus on the suffering girl, who had heard everything while she struggled to regain her strength and stand up.

  “Zephyr told me you own a Divinity that allows you to resurrect the dead. Not only are you guilty of killing my soldiers, but you had the cruelty to reanimate their mangled corpses and use them at will.” Aurelia had crouched beside her, looking at her with disgust. As if she were an insect crawling on the ground, struggling to survive. “Tell me, Stranger, how many Divinities do you own?”

  “Ugh…damn it… W-why do you assume I have more than one?”

  “With all that Discord emanating from your putrid soul, it wouldn’t surprise me if that were the case. Now answer my question.”

  There was no point in lying. Tristessa knew that it would only dig her own grave a little deeper, in proportion to the fury that Aurelia was clearly keeping under countless mental ties.

  Besides… This wasn’t the end of the loop. It wasn’t a complete and utter failure yet.

  “Not while we’re all still alive,” she thought, finding amidst the searing pain in her abdomen the will to lift her gaze and see her allies across the hall, their eyes fixed on her with all the tension and panic one could endure without losing consciousness. She saw the Mercer-Archeos, terrified as they felt Death’s arms begin to close in on them in an inescapable embrace. And she saw Aurelia, her two ironclad amethysts fixed on her, demanding an answer. “Four.”

  The truth proved Aurelia wrong. Not only was she surprised to hear that number and find no trace of deceit in it, but she was forced to let out a sigh. Saliva trickled down her throat, and the corner of her lips trembled in an attempt at an excited smile that she managed to suppress just in time.

  “F-Four?” Jonas's voice rang out, tinged with enthusiasm and a hint of fear, his concentration unwavering in his healing task. He listened attentively to everything Aurelia and Tristessa exchanged.

  “What are you capable of?”

  “Knowledge. Detecting echoes of the dead. Returning the dead for a limited time. And a mental sanctuary.”

  “I see… And are those Divinities from the three Gods?” Aurelia asked, her voice delicate and gentle.

  “Yes.”

  It was to be expected that everyone present would react with utter shock, and some more than others, with profound dread. They were all aware of what it meant for a Stranger to own blessings bestowed by Xiliarra, Kantrus, and Vel'Moran. Just like a certain person who became the enemy of the world, five hundred years ago…

  “…since I still breathe and your fate is still bound to my will, none of your Divinities should have the power to destroy me. And you don’t have a single corpse nearby to use to your advantage…,” the woman with black and blue hair murmured. Her amazement at such a truth melted away, dissolving into the rage that consumed her from within. “So many Divinities, and yet not only you failed to kill the firstborn of this doomed family, but you caused the death of my soldiers. So many Divinities, so much love from the Gods, and you accomplished nothing.”

  The destructive fire within Aurelia caused her, in a fit of cruelty she wished to impose on Tristessa at all costs, to reach out for the healing glyph that floated above her. She trapped it between her fingers and made it vanish in a cloud of ethereal particles, shattering the magic manifested in the bloody aura surrounding Tristessa's chest.

  This caused the agony within the girl to return with even greater force.

  “Agh...! Shit!” It was as if the center of her chest were being pricked by thousands of red-hot pins, a hellish burning spreading to the lower sides of her breasts and deep within, as if reaching her vertebrae and setting them ablaze.

  “M-Miss Tristessa!” Lucahn nearly escaped his parents' grasp to rush to the aid of the aching girl, perhaps wanting to replicate the heroism of one of the stories he'd read, without considering the consequences of risking drawing the ire of the She-Dragoon.

  Meanwhile, Astoria, Auron, and Severus watched the morbid spectacle, fearful for her. Afraid that any action taken would force Aurelia's or Sylas's hand.

  Vergil even tried to dodge Mystia and go for Tristessa, but the She-Dragoon's aracross was faster and blocked him with a swipe that almost struck.

  “Does it hurt? Is your diaphragm paralyzed? Torn abdomen, or did I break your sternum?” Aurelia asked, growling like the aracrosses from meters away. She seized the top belt of Tristessa’s trench coat and drove her fist inward, crushing the injured spot and spreading fresh agony through her. “Go on, scream!”

  “GAAHHHH, STOP! IT HURTS, IT HURTS!” she shrieked, writhing and feeling the pain reach her eyes and make them throb as tears streamed down her face, blinding her to the terrifying vision of that sadistic woman. “STOP!”

  “Favalon Koron.”

  Again, and without using a glintstone to catalyze the spell, Aurelia conjured a blood glyph, offering as tribute blood that flowed from under her fingernails. The instant it was activated, it enveloped a large part of Tristessa's torso in its healing aura, stealing away the pain and resuming the task of repairing the internal damage.

  A few drops of blood escaped from both of Aurelia's nostrils. She wiped them away with the back of her hand.

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  “As I said before, I have no aptitude for thaumaturgy. But with [Essential Dilution], on the other hand...”

  Without warning, Aurelia raised her foot and brought it down toward Tristessa's head. Screams erupted from almost everyone present, her heart lurching as the sole of Aurelia's boot grazed the right side of her skull. It struck the floor with inhuman force, cracking it and hurling fragments of debris in every direction.

  “Ha, is that your Discord or did you shit yourself?!” She asked, watching the girl remove her hands from her face, fear seeping into her tearful eyes. “That’s what my soldiers must have felt… Fucking Stranger, you and your kin invading my world and bringing misfortune wherever you go. And you say you want to defeat the Coven and Moebius? You accomplished nothing in your little mission! Do you understand?! NOTHING!”

  And again, Aurelia interrupted the glyph’s influence and unleashed a legion of torturing demons within Tristessa. It made her arch her back, fix her wild, bloodshot gaze on the bannered ceiling, and clench her teeth as cold perspiration crept across her numb face. Convulsing with pain, saliva bubbled from the sides of her mouth, and she felt the joints of her limbs and every corner of her brain as if etched with elemental glyphs of electricity.

  When the agony subsided by a tiny fraction, and almost on the verge of losing consciousness, Tristessa found the strength to open her mouth and tell the expectant woman standing beside her what she had wanted to say from the very beginning.

  “You’re…wrong…”

  “…What?”

  “You’re wrong.” Taking a deep breath, straining her wounded chest, she managed to get everyone present to listen intently, including the vicious Aracrosses and her barely conscious lover. “The mission did accomplish something.”

  “Do you have the nerve to contradict me, after all the deaths you caused?” Aurelia clenched her fists, her knuckles cracking and imbued with magical energy, ready to cave Tristessa’s face in and drive her skull into the floor. “Go ahead, do it.”

  That was the moment. That decisive minute in which everything could collapse like a house of cards. Lives saved and deaths inevitable; everything was going to be lost, a complete restart if that argument with Aurelia Eramisaptor failed.

  Everything planned was frozen on a whiteboard inside her mind palace, and it wouldn't have mattered in this situation anyway. The timeline, bound to Chaos, had taken its own course, far from the ideal Tristessa had envisioned with Lenore.

  All that was left was to improvise and pray.

  “In all these years ruling End-World, were you able to stand up to the Coven and Moebius?” she began, tentatively, waiting for a reaction that, for the moment, never came. Neither an affirmation nor a denial. This allowed her not only to continue but to attempt again to stand. “Were you able to stop them from kidnapping more children? Were you able to stop them from massacring villages, or from recruiting more members for their cult?”

  “…”

  Silence. Anger emanated from those beautiful violet eyes, focused and without breaking eye contact on Tristessa, as she managed to kneel and lower her head, spitting out thick, bloody saliva.

  “You never could, right? The witches appear out of nowhere, commit their aberrant acts, and escape without a trace… Is that how it is? Has it always been like that?” she continued, tasting a metallic tang in her front teeth and gums. “Moebius was always one step ahead of your predecessors and now he is one step ahead of you, isn’t he?”

  “…it seems you learned something from the tragic recent history of this sector of the Empire.”

  “Believe me, arriving in this world against my will, with my brain practically a blank slate, what else could I do but learn…? Ugh, shit!” Tristessa let out a sob as she finally stood up, feeling imaginary and hungry insects crawling inside her chest, along with a dizziness so brutal it almost made her vomit again. “You know I’m telling the truth. And you want to know another one?”

  Now that she was face to face with the She-Dragoon of End-World, someone who had all the characteristics of someone who wanted to kill the person in front of her with her bare fists, all that fear of death and failure was locked away. Between the palms of two invisible hands within her soul; the courage that was born within her after the defeat of her nemesis.

  Allowing her to stand firmly before the woman who wished to kill her, she continued:

  “I’ve been in this world for less than a month, and I ruined the Coven’s plans to kill the Mercer-Archeos family. I caused them such a headache that Moebius had to torment the family’s closest friend to break him from any thought of rescue or interference,” she said, pointing at the gaping blood elf. “And I also provoked Daiana Mercer-Archeos, making her swear that she would kill me no matter what for preventing her lord’s prophecy from coming true. That is an honor not even you have, is it, milady?”

  She turned her attention back to the woman with black and blue hair, who pursed her lips and contained that tornado of violent emotions within her. A Pandora’s box about to explode and raze everything in its path.

  “General Zephyr surely told you all the details of the operation. Soldiers died, yes… But I believe that by saving the lives of the Mercer-Archeos and Madame Luchie’s caravan, we’ve confirmed that it’s possible to stand up to the Coven. It’s possible, Lady Eramisaptor,” Tristessa repeated, leaving no room for doubt. She dared to take a step toward her potential executor, demonstrating her confidence in the truth. “Or do you want to wait for the next attack? Don’t you want to get rid of the witches once and for all? Don’t you want some peace in your Dominion, instead of all its inhabitants living in fear every second of their lives?”

  “…more than anything in this world,” Aurelia replied, a bloody smile forming on the girl’s face.

  “Perfect. Because my allies and I can do it.”

  The tension was palpable in the hall. No one spoke; only the breathing of those present could be heard. Vergil and Mystia remained vigilant, yet they respected their masters' confrontation with intelligence. Even Lucahn had stopped crying, covering his mouth with the collar of his wool sweater as he listened with shocking intensity. Like his parents, Jin embraced his wife who, unconsciously, clasped her hands as if in prayer.

  “Is this how you intend to save your skin and everyone else's here? By asking me to betray one of the very rules upon which the Empire was founded, by offering me the impossible?” Aurelia mocked, placing her right hand on Tristessa's shoulder and tapping her collarbone with her fingertips. Tap after tap, in a coordinated fashion. Harmless, but potentially dangerous if she dared to apply a small bit of strength. “Like the promise you made to Karla Luchie? Oh yes, she and I had a very interesting conversation… I’m almost envious, girl, with so many people in this castle who would prefer you not to die.”

  “My companions and I can stand up to your enemies, and you know I'm right, Lady Eramisaptor. Please…” she insisted, racing through another argument. “You asked your soldiers to leave the hall because you wanted privacy to speak with a Stranger, didn't you?”

  “And what's so relevant about that?”

  “Are you aware that, aside from Daiana Mercer-Archeos, everyone who knows where I come from is gathered in this hall right now?”

  Aurelia licked her dry lips. Now deep in thought, weighing the options, trying to find the fallacy where there wasn't one. Resisting the temptation Tristessa was planting in her mind.

  “Keep it a secret. Everyone here will if you ask them. No one else has to know…”

  “Don't say another word.”

  “What more harm can I do, if all I want is to help?”

  “Don't say another word!”

  Tristessa took another step towards Aurelia, so close it felt like an invasion of personal space. Inhaling the scent of perfume clinging to her neck, she brought her lips close to her side, near her ear, even though the silence was so profound that her words could still be heard.

  “I'm no Dark Lady. I'm just a stupid girl with terrible luck, who only wants to recover her memories and return to her world. Nothing more. I'll help in any way I can to get what I want, even if I have to…”

  The girl closed her gray eyes for a moment, holding back the deadly words that had nearly caused a disaster.

  “If you have to what?” Opening her eyes, she met the woman's violet gaze. Radiating murderous intent, and something more. Curiosity, edging on disobedience, the first sin of humanity.

  The offer of that antediluvian cursed apple that now, perhaps, could save the men and women of that world lost in darkness.

  “…if I have to help you kill all your enemies. I will. I swear I will. What do you have to lose?”

  “My Lady…” Sylas whispered, not glancing at her, but troubled by the passivity he sensed in the situation.

  “Silence… What do I have to lose, you ask? What about innocent lives? More men and women who should have been returning to their families today and can’t?” the She-Dragoon hissed, moving her hand from Tristessa’s shoulder to the back of her neck.

  Not squeezing but threatening. One single move and it would all be over. Only darkness and the clanking of the [Golden Chains] would remain.

  “I wish I could assure you that no one, but our enemies will die, but I cannot… The only thing I can promise you is that we will eliminate the Coven. It’s that…or you will continue to be attacked forever, until End-World becomes a wasteland ready for the arrival of the Shadow Queen’s forces.”

  “My Lady, surely you will not dare listen to the whispers of that serpent…!”

  “Shut your mouth, Sylas!”

  After unleashing that roar worthy of a lioness to silence the outraged assassin, Aurelia moved her hand from the nape of Tristessa’s neck to her chin. To force her to look directly at her and only her. Searching for the slightest hint of deceit where none existed.

  “Do you really want to save my people? Are you serious?! Even though we're doomed to fall under the Dark Lady's shadow?!”

  There was only the determination of a foolish girl, acting as a temptation for a devil who wore a sweet smile on her weary, burdened, and hopeful face.

  “You're far more pessimistic than I am, Lady Eramisaptor. If you don't trust your ability to detect lies… You have no choice but to trust me.”

  And so, Aurelia Eramisaptor accepted the forbidden apple…but she didn't take the first bite yet.

  “No… No, no, no, you're wrong about that. You won't convince me with promises alone: ??you'll have to prove it.”

  Suddenly, she released Tristessa and walked straight toward the statue holding her glaive. Before everyone's astonished eyes, Aurelia took her legendary weapon and looked at them all with a sadistic smile, eager to quench her thirst for blood.

  Especially towards Tristessa, to whom she addressed the following words:

  “Prove it to me! Tristessa Irandell, I challenge you and your companions to a duel to the death!”

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