It was a sunny, warm morning when Ren was holding a lesson to the youngsters in the courtyard. Or mostly youngsters, as there were some surprise attendants in the form of Ooda and Rabout. They were sitting at the side, also paying attention to her words. Even though they were already way more experienced than the rest, the previous few decades of change in the Empire, originating from Ren, still have not spread to this side of the continent. It was refreshing and exciting to listen to her words.
The lecture was ongoing since early morning, just as the sun started to rise. Now they were in the phase where Ren walked around them, instructing everyone personally on how to cultivate their affinities in the best and most optimal way. When the whole lecture ended, Ren signaled towards Ariana, who walked up and handed out multiple pills to everyone. Even Rabout and Ooda received their own shares.
"The included instructions are detailed enough, so you are going to know which has which effect and when to take! Use it efficiently, as there is a finite supply for now!" Ren warned the youngsters.
"How peculiar…" Rabout murmured, lost in his thoughts, already picking one pill out, inspecting it, and even crushing it into powder.
"Are these really effective for me?" Ooda thought to himself but soon realized his pills were slightly different in appearance than what the rest got as they were softly glowing.
"They are." Ariana's voice transmission arrived in his ears, looking as if she were reading his mind. "When you cultivate next time, take one and see for yourself." she smiled, standing beside her Master, not really explaining anything as the best way was for everyone to experience it for themselves.
"This is where we will stop for today!" Ren clapped, looking over them all. "For the next week, you all are going to practice by yourself every morning and evening! After that, I am going to evaluate your progress! If you have trouble or questions, come to Ariana or to me. It is better to ask than make mistakes and have to waste your time correcting them later on!" When everything was said and done, and the little group of disciples started to talk amongst themselves with an excited voice, Ren walked to where Ooda and Rabout were sitting. "You already broke one, huh?" She grinned, watching Rabout playing around with the powder in his hands, infusing his energy into it. He was trying to figure out the ingredients and how it was made.
"Of course! I mean, at this level! It is an interesting concept, forming pills out of herbal remedies! Such as this pill! There is a certain technique behind it, and it really, really pokes at my curious side!"
"Thought so. Why not visit the Sect one day?" Ren offered, and Rabout immediately nodded.
"I was about to say just that! When you are done and finished here, I'll go with you and see it for myself!"
"It may take a long time until I go back, you know~" Ren joked, but Rabout rolled his eyes.
"I'm not a newborn, kid! I already heard about your 'resolution' to Zelig! I already know what you are on about, even without you mentioning it!" he looked at Ren with slanted eyes, but she just chuckled, not explaining anything. "No matter. Milly is collecting what you asked for. It should be gathered up in the upcoming days."
"Good! When it's here, I'm going to set up the promised room for you in your own tower and check out your library in the meantime."
"Your Majesty." Sentios's voice traveled into Ren's ear. "We have a guest."
"Hm? Who?" She asked back.
"Lord Keina is here. Alone. She wishes to speak with you."
"Lead her into my study. I'll be there shortly." Ren answered before cupping her hands to the rest, "I'm going; I have a surprise visitor today!"
"She came?" Rabout tilted his head, not really surprised.
"You knew she would come?" Ren raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"Had a hunch." He nodded in response. "She has thorns on the outside, but she is a soft, hurt little girl on the inside. She is not a completely lost cause. That is why I spoke up for her previously."
"Well, we'll see." she scratched her chin as she disappeared before them. Arriving inside her own tower, Sentios had already led Keina into the study. They were waiting for her arrival. "I did not expect you to come and visit me so soon." Ren walked into the room smiling, nodding towards Sentios, who quickly left, leaving them alone.
"Me neither," Keina answered, shaking her head, staying seated while Ren walked before her, sitting beside her desk on the opposite side. "But I had a long night thinking about things. I need some answers that only you can provide."
"Ask." Ren nodded, watching her eyes.
"Are you at the same level as Zelig?" Keina asked, cutting right into it with a firm voice. Ren, as an answer, just let Keina experience her aura for a moment. "Even if I never felt what Zelig could do, I fought against Rudrick… I know how strong he was…." She sighed, confirming that she had no chance against Ren in a real fight. "So you are going to be Queen, huh?" she leaned back with a tired voice and a sad smile. "I missed my chance, once again…."
"I wouldn't say that." Ren chuckled, leaning forward. "I'll be Queen, yes. I'll try to do it peacefully; if things come to push and shove, I'll do just that. Push and shove everyone out of the way. I have no centuries or decades to do this. I want to finish it before the new year comes!"
"Finish what? I get the feeling you are not talking about becoming the ruler of Rozex."
"Because I'm not. That is just a step. My goal is more than that! That is why I said, I'm not so sure you missed your chance."
"Hm?" keina sat upright once again. "Can you… explain it a bit more?"
"If you have time~."
…
….
…..
It was late afternoon when Keina left the Spire of Ren, walking along the streets of Rozex with a somewhat dazed expression. From her side, nobody knew she left their courtyard to meet Ren. Yet one pair of purple eyes was watching her coming out of the gate to Ren's home. These telling, human eyes watched her walk away, but she could not feel them scanning her, not even her sharp, Harmony-level senses, as it was not a human whose gaze was fixated on her.
A larger, black crow was sitting at the top of one of the houses. It had eerie, human-like eyes, looking at Keina, blinking them slowly. In a dark room, two white-haired men were standing in a different place, watching a projection coming out from a shriveled-up, mummified corpse's empty eye sockets. It was the same image the crow saw plastered on a bare, white wall. As they watched it, the seated, bald, graying body moaned and moved, resulting in the image distorting and losing focus.
"Change the blood packet for the projector." One of them opened his mouth as the second just crouched down, opening the 'corpse's' chest and fumbling around inside. he was changing out artificial parts like one would do it with a machine. There were no organs inside anymore, only tubes, boxes, gears, and some fleshy, clumpy remains.
"We need to report this to His Lordship." said the second man, standing back up, watching the once again clear image from the crow's perspective. "We already saw two other Lords come and go. This is not good. If they form an alliance, we won't have a chance."
"I agree." He sighed, feeling disturbed by what they saw. "I'll make the report; you keep an eye out if any other party comes. Write up a list from all who visit them." He turned around and left the room, hurrying to where Corvux was.
Their Lord, Corvux, was already close to being 300 years old, leading their Spire for almost two centuries. He was a prodigy since growing up, born with a particular affinity. It was the result of his parents' meddling when he was still an embryo in his mother's womb. It was not only Rudrick who was fascinated by the affinity of Aerthus's line. They always wanted to obtain the rapid regeneration, the potent life force, and the ability to manipulate it. The plan to marry Ren's mother, Anya, into the bloodline was one such attempt in the name of 'peace.' Yet it was not the first, as Rudrick was not the only man who tried it.
Corvux's family obtained samples throughout the centuries, especially in the chaotic times of Erterion, Aerthus VII the Tyrant. Their long, ongoing experiments and research into their own bloodline resulted in multiple attempts to replicate Aerthus's gift. Countless lives were lost, lives that were not even old enough to be named. There were failures and dead ends but also partial successes, like being able to keep some of the unfortunate ones alive. Even after ripping them from all of their organs, transforming them into fleshy objects for… a more unique usage.
The family's research culminated in the creation of Corvux and his modifications. He was literally grafted inside her mother's womb by her parents, the previous leaders of their Spire, the Twin Prodigies. The process was carried out by the two of them, both contemporary geniuses themselves. It resulted in Corvux being born with an almost perfect, healthy body, even without cultivating for a moment. Most importantly, he had the regenerative abilities that were on par with that of the people from Aerthus's line.
Yet he was not perfect, far from it. Even amongst the family, he was without any consciousness of others' feelings. He showed no empathy toward others' lives and never considered if something was considered taboo or immoral. This is how his own parents ended up as experiments for him before he took over the whole Spire, announcing himself as the new leader. By now, he had transformed the entire Spire into his own image, promoting one thought and one rule only: "Results above all else." No matter how cruel, gruesome, or stomach-turning something was, if it produced results and strengthened his 'family,' then it was allowed… even encouraged.
"My Lord." came the knock on Corvux's door.
"Come in." arrived the reply, and stepping inside the room, it was a luxurious bedroom, befitting that of a royal. Corvux was admiring his perfect, naked body before a giant mirror. Two young and also naked, white-haired girls were washing his body with soapy, wet sponges, carefully caressing his porcelain skin, the subject of jealousy of any other women who saw it.
"We placed surveillance on the… Spire of Ren. It is the descendant of Rudrick."
"I assume you came because you have results for me?" he looked at him. Even though he was wearing a small smile, everyone knew it was only a learned thing. He perfected it to interact with his own people, but in reality, he hated talking with… lesser beings. As he usually announced it when he was getting annoyed.
"Yes, My Lord." his subordinate nodded, looking down, not daring to gaze into his eyes as sometimes he took it as a challenge. "Spire Lord Rabout and Spire Lord Keina both visited her. Multiple times. The former even stay inside for days on end. We are afraid that they are forming an alliance."
"Hm." Corvux tilted his head. "Probably, the two are buttering up the newcomer. The old guy is not interested in the throne and also protective of that retarded child he adopted. My first guess is they are roping in the new 'Lord' and are going to push for Tantrum Keina to take the throne. Hmmm… Rabout has a lot of resources piled up. He may be a trouble. Keina, I am not too worried about it. She is too emotional and easy to manipulate into mistakes. Also, Rudrick's line was weakened, almost destroyed. I don't think they have any resources left or strength to spare!" He laughed, quickly going through his own ideas. "Still, keep watching; we are going to make sure their alliance falls apart, one way or another."
"Yes." the subordinate nodded and then picked out a crystal, projecting out Ren's appearance.
"Oh? So this is who inherited Rudrick's line? Looks nice!" Corvux turned quickly towards the image, shaking off the girls from his body, walking closer, watching Ren's figure. "She wears some great, pureblooded marks- oh… no… no, no… tsk, tsk, it is ruined!" He sighed with genuine disappointment in his voice. "The nose is a no-go! Same with the shape of her chin! Those are mongrler lines! Only a mutt has something this hideous! Tsk… Now I want to see her naked to see where she has more defects that require correction! Rudrick's family has truly fallen. They need to go; no more pureblood has left in their line!"
"She had a fight against Keina. We don't know the results."
"No matter. Even if she is strong, she is only one person." he waved his hand, losing interest and going back to his position so the girls would finish washing his body and dry him up. "We should use Malevick's family to test their strengths and wipe out what is left of Rudrick's forces. It is the most I could do, and honor his efforts! I'll hold a conference tomorrow; gather up the family."
"Yes, My Lord." he bowed, slowly backing out from the room before leaving.
"Hmmm…" Corvux tilted his head as he watched his body inside the mirror, now wearing an honest smile. "She still could be a great doll. Just need to swap some of those defective parts on her body with my perfected ones~."
It was a sunny, warm morning when Ren was holding a lesson to the youngsters in the courtyard. Or mostly youngsters, as there were some surprise attendants in the form of Ooda and Rabout. They were sitting at the side, also paying attention to her words. Even though they were already way more experienced than the rest, the previous few decades of change in the Empire, originating from Ren, still have not spread to this side of the continent. It was refreshing and exciting to listen to her words.
The lecture was ongoing since early morning, just as the sun started to rise. Now they were in the phase where Ren walked around them, instructing everyone personally on how to cultivate their affinities in the best and most optimal way. When the whole lecture ended, Ren signaled towards Ariana, who walked up and handed out multiple pills to everyone. Even Rabout and Ooda received their own shares.
"The included instructions are detailed enough, so you are going to know which has which effect and when to take! Use it efficiently, as there is a finite supply for now!" Ren warned the youngsters.
"How peculiar…" Rabout murmured, lost in his thoughts, already picking one pill out, inspecting it, and even crushing it into powder.
"Are these really effective for me?" Ooda thought to himself but soon realized his pills were slightly different in appearance than what the rest got as they were softly glowing.
"They are." Ariana's voice transmission arrived in his ears, looking as if she were reading his mind. "When you cultivate next time, take one and see for yourself." she smiled, standing beside her Master, not really explaining anything as the best way was for everyone to experience it for themselves.
"This is where we will stop for today!" Ren clapped, looking over them all. "For the next week, you all are going to practice by yourself every morning and evening! After that, I am going to evaluate your progress! If you have trouble or questions, come to Ariana or to me. It is better to ask than make mistakes and have to waste your time correcting them later on!" When everything was said and done, and the little group of disciples started to talk amongst themselves with an excited voice, Ren walked to where Ooda and Rabout were sitting. "You already broke one, huh?" She grinned, watching Rabout playing around with the powder in his hands, infusing his energy into it. He was trying to figure out the ingredients and how it was made.
"Of course! I mean, at this level! It is an interesting concept, forming pills out of herbal remedies! Such as this pill! There is a certain technique behind it, and it really, really pokes at my curious side!"
"Thought so. Why not visit the Sect one day?" Ren offered, and Rabout immediately nodded.
"I was about to say just that! When you are done and finished here, I'll go with you and see it for myself!"
"It may take a long time until I go back, you know~" Ren joked, but Rabout rolled his eyes.
"I'm not a newborn, kid! I already heard about your 'resolution' to Zelig! I already know what you are on about, even without you mentioning it!" he looked at Ren with slanted eyes, but she just chuckled, not explaining anything. "No matter. Milly is collecting what you asked for. It should be gathered up in the upcoming days."
"Good! When it's here, I'm going to set up the promised room for you in your own tower and check out your library in the meantime."
"Your Majesty." Sentios's voice traveled into Ren's ear. "We have a guest."
"Hm? Who?" She asked back.
"Lord Keina is here. Alone. She wishes to speak with you."
"Lead her into my study. I'll be there shortly." Ren answered before cupping her hands to the rest, "I'm going; I have a surprise visitor today!"
"She came?" Rabout tilted his head, not really surprised.
"You knew she would come?" Ren raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"Had a hunch." He nodded in response. "She has thorns on the outside, but she is a soft, hurt little girl on the inside. She is not a completely lost cause. That is why I spoke up for her previously."
"Well, we'll see." she scratched her chin as she disappeared before them. Arriving inside her own tower, Sentios had already led Keina into the study. They were waiting for her arrival. "I did not expect you to come and visit me so soon." Ren walked into the room smiling, nodding towards Sentios, who quickly left, leaving them alone.
"Me neither," Keina answered, shaking her head, staying seated while Ren walked before her, sitting beside her desk on the opposite side. "But I had a long night thinking about things. I need some answers that only you can provide."
"Ask." Ren nodded, watching her eyes.
"Are you at the same level as Zelig?" Keina asked, cutting right into it with a firm voice. Ren, as an answer, just let Keina experience her aura for a moment. "Even if I never felt what Zelig could do, I fought against Rudrick… I know how strong he was…." She sighed, confirming that she had no chance against Ren in a real fight. "So you are going to be Queen, huh?" she leaned back with a tired voice and a sad smile. "I missed my chance, once again…."
"I wouldn't say that." Ren chuckled, leaning forward. "I'll be Queen, yes. I'll try to do it peacefully; if things come to push and shove, I'll do just that. Push and shove everyone out of the way. I have no centuries or decades to do this. I want to finish it before the new year comes!"
"Finish what? I get the feeling you are not talking about becoming the ruler of Rozex."
"Because I'm not. That is just a step. My goal is more than that! That is why I said, I'm not so sure you missed your chance."
"Hm?" keina sat upright once again. "Can you… explain it a bit more?"
"If you have time~."
…
….
…..
It was late afternoon when Keina left the Spire of Ren, walking along the streets of Rozex with a somewhat dazed expression. From her side, nobody knew she left their courtyard to meet Ren. Yet one pair of purple eyes was watching her coming out of the gate to Ren's home. These telling, human eyes watched her walk away, but she could not feel them scanning her, not even her sharp, Harmony-level senses, as it was not a human whose gaze was fixated on her.
A larger, black crow was sitting at the top of one of the houses. It had eerie, human-like eyes, looking at Keina, blinking them slowly. In a dark room, two white-haired men were standing in a different place, watching a projection coming out from a shriveled-up, mummified corpse's empty eye sockets. It was the same image the crow saw plastered on a bare, white wall. As they watched it, the seated, bald, graying body moaned and moved, resulting in the image distorting and losing focus.
"Change the blood packet for the projector." One of them opened his mouth as the second just crouched down, opening the 'corpse's' chest and fumbling around inside. he was changing out artificial parts like one would do it with a machine. There were no organs inside anymore, only tubes, boxes, gears, and some fleshy, clumpy remains.
"We need to report this to His Lordship." said the second man, standing back up, watching the once again clear image from the crow's perspective. "We already saw two other Lords come and go. This is not good. If they form an alliance, we won't have a chance."
"I agree." He sighed, feeling disturbed by what they saw. "I'll make the report; you keep an eye out if any other party comes. Write up a list from all who visit them." He turned around and left the room, hurrying to where Corvux was.
Their Lord, Corvux, was already close to being 300 years old, leading their Spire for almost two centuries. He was a prodigy since growing up, born with a particular affinity. It was the result of his parents' meddling when he was still an embryo in his mother's womb. It was not only Rudrick who was fascinated by the affinity of Aerthus's line. They always wanted to obtain the rapid regeneration, the potent life force, and the ability to manipulate it. The plan to marry Ren's mother, Anya, into the bloodline was one such attempt in the name of 'peace.' Yet it was not the first, as Rudrick was not the only man who tried it.
Corvux's family obtained samples throughout the centuries, especially in the chaotic times of Erterion, Aerthus VII the Tyrant. Their long, ongoing experiments and research into their own bloodline resulted in multiple attempts to replicate Aerthus's gift. Countless lives were lost, lives that were not even old enough to be named. There were failures and dead ends but also partial successes, like being able to keep some of the unfortunate ones alive. Even after ripping them from all of their organs, transforming them into fleshy objects for… a more unique usage.
The family's research culminated in the creation of Corvux and his modifications. He was literally grafted inside her mother's womb by her parents, the previous leaders of their Spire, the Twin Prodigies. The process was carried out by the two of them, both contemporary geniuses themselves. It resulted in Corvux being born with an almost perfect, healthy body, even without cultivating for a moment. Most importantly, he had the regenerative abilities that were on par with that of the people from Aerthus's line.
Yet he was not perfect, far from it. Even amongst the family, he was without any consciousness of others' feelings. He showed no empathy toward others' lives and never considered if something was considered taboo or immoral. This is how his own parents ended up as experiments for him before he took over the whole Spire, announcing himself as the new leader. By now, he had transformed the entire Spire into his own image, promoting one thought and one rule only: "Results above all else." No matter how cruel, gruesome, or stomach-turning something was, if it produced results and strengthened his 'family,' then it was allowed… even encouraged.
"My Lord." came the knock on Corvux's door.
"Come in." arrived the reply, and stepping inside the room, it was a luxurious bedroom, befitting that of a royal. Corvux was admiring his perfect, naked body before a giant mirror. Two young and also naked, white-haired girls were washing his body with soapy, wet sponges, carefully caressing his porcelain skin, the subject of jealousy of any other women who saw it.
"We placed surveillance on the… Spire of Ren. It is the descendant of Rudrick."
"I assume you came because you have results for me?" he looked at him. Even though he was wearing a small smile, everyone knew it was only a learned thing. He perfected it to interact with his own people, but in reality, he hated talking with… lesser beings. As he usually announced it when he was getting annoyed.
"Yes, My Lord." his subordinate nodded, looking down, not daring to gaze into his eyes as sometimes he took it as a challenge. "Spire Lord Rabout and Spire Lord Keina both visited her. Multiple times. The former even stay inside for days on end. We are afraid that they are forming an alliance."
"Hm." Corvux tilted his head. "Probably, the two are buttering up the newcomer. The old guy is not interested in the throne and also protective of that retarded child he adopted. My first guess is they are roping in the new 'Lord' and are going to push for Tantrum Keina to take the throne. Hmmm… Rabout has a lot of resources piled up. He may be a trouble. Keina, I am not too worried about it. She is too emotional and easy to manipulate into mistakes. Also, Rudrick's line was weakened, almost destroyed. I don't think they have any resources left or strength to spare!" He laughed, quickly going through his own ideas. "Still, keep watching; we are going to make sure their alliance falls apart, one way or another."
"Yes." the subordinate nodded and then picked out a crystal, projecting out Ren's appearance.
"Oh? So this is who inherited Rudrick's line? Looks nice!" Corvux turned quickly towards the image, shaking off the girls from his body, walking closer, watching Ren's figure. "She wears some great, pureblooded marks- oh… no… no, no… tsk, tsk, it is ruined!" He sighed with genuine disappointment in his voice. "The nose is a no-go! Same with the shape of her chin! Those are mongrler lines! Only a mutt has something this hideous! Tsk… Now I want to see her naked to see where she has more defects that require correction! Rudrick's family has truly fallen. They need to go; no more pureblood has left in their line!"
"She had a fight against Keina. We don't know the results."
"No matter. Even if she is strong, she is only one person." he waved his hand, losing interest and going back to his position so the girls would finish washing his body and dry him up. "We should use Malevick's family to test their strengths and wipe out what is left of Rudrick's forces. It is the most I could do, and honor his efforts! I'll hold a conference tomorrow; gather up the family."
"Yes, My Lord." he bowed, slowly backing out from the room before leaving.
"Hmmm…" Corvux tilted his head as he watched his body inside the mirror, now wearing an honest smile. "She still could be a great doll. Just need to swap some of those defective parts on her body with my perfected ones~."
