The Flame alter ego clapped her hands together with way too much enthusiasm for the depressing surroundings.
"Alright! Time to stop marinating in your own filth. Let's clean this tomb up a bit. Existence would hate it, which makes it perfect."
Adelasta stared at her for a while but something in the cheerful energy nudged her forward. She stood up slowly. Her joints cracked after days of barely moving. The room smelled like blood, spilled alcohol and despair.
It took hours.
The alter ego—now wearing a loose, flowing nightgown made that somehow stayed modest and playful—cheered her on the whole time.
"You got this! One bottle at a time, darling. Look at you, Grand Duchess of Picking Up Trash! Oh, this is fun."
Adelasta moved like a sleepwalker at first. She gathered the empty bottles, setting them in a corner. Her hands shook picking up the ones crusted with her own dried blood. The alter ego floated nearby, sometimes physically grabbing a rag and helping scrub the floors, leaving behind warm, clean patches where her fiery touch evaporated the stains.
"See? Fire's useful. We're not just burning yourself today."
Hours passed. They cleared the floor of glass shards and debris. Adelasta wiped down the nightstand. The cheerful alter ego kept up a steady stream of light commentary.
"Remember when Vastarael tried to help you organize your records and ended up making it worse? This is nothing compared to that."
By the time the visible mess was mostly gone, sweat mixed with the grime on Adelasta's skin. The alter ego grinned wider.
"Sheets and rugs next. These things have seen enough."
She waved her hand and the blood-soaked bedding and rugs burst into flames. They burned away, leaving fresh ashes that the alter ego swept into a neat pile with another casual flick. The room was cleaner already.
Adelasta watched the fire consume the evidence of her self-destruction.
"It's… gone."
"Not all of it, but we're starting. Now, the final boss, bathing. You smell like a tavern brawl lost to alcohol. Let's go."
The bathroom hasn't been used in decades. Dust coated the tub. Adelasta pushed the door open. The alter ego followed, humming an upbeat tune. Water flowed from the taps. She added liquid soap, watching bubbles form. The tub filled slowly. She stood there, staring at the rising water, and suddenly froze. She remembered the memory of her brothers' hands shoving her under the fountain.
She stepped back.
"I… I can't."
The Flame alter ego appeared right behind her. The ego's hands settled gently but firmly on her shoulders. The touch was warm.
"Hey, hey. It's fine. You're a Divine now. A little water won't kill you. And honestly, this is good news. That fear means part of you still wants to live. You wouldn't be scared of dying if some spark wasn't fighting for it. Besides, you won't die. You've got this."
Adelasta trembled under the touch but didn't pull away. The alter ego's cheerful confidence was actually helping. Slowly, she peeled off her filthy clothes and let the Flame alter ego burn them away in a quick, respectful flash. Naked, she stepped into the tub. The water heated instantly from the contact with her body but it didn't evaporate. For a moment she sat rigid. Before long, her knees drew up to her chest with her arms wrapping around them. Her blank stare finally cracked.
"I miss him so much..."
She hugged her knees tighter. Her face was buried against them. She could no longer control her tears.
"Vastarael… I watched you disappear right in front of me. How am I supposed to do this without you?"
She cried for the man who taught her guitar on lazy nights, who held her after brutal training memories surfaced, who made love to her on ritual floors and healed her sores the next morning. She cried for the shared merchant work days that ended in this very tub laughing, splashing and kissing under the running water.
"We showered here… so many times after long trips. You'd wash my hair and tell me the Dynasty could wait one more hour. I can still hear your laugh. Why did you leave me here alone?"
Her shoulders shook violently. The water rippled with her sobs. Decades of suppressed pain mixed with the fresh wound of grief was unleashed in cries.
"I was never enough for anyone else but you made me feel like I was everything. Now I'm just… this."
The Flame alter ego stepped into the tub fully clothed in her nightgown and wrapped her arms around Adelasta from behind. This time the hug was completely physical. She held her tight with her cheek pressed against Adelasta's wet hair.
"Let it all out. Scream if you need to. Cry until the tub overflows. I've got you. Existence wanted to skip this part and just end it, but that's not how we heal. Fire burns away the old so new things can grow. You're not alone in here."
Adelasta leaned back into the embrace, sobbing harder. The tears kept coming that echoed off the bathroom tiles. She mourned the future they planned, the nights in this tub where everything felt safe and passionate and for him.
Minutes stretched into hours. The water stayed warm around them. The Flame alter ego rocked her gently, humming snippets of that silly song Vastarael had taught them.
"You're doing it. That's the first real step. So let it all out. No one is here to see you."
Adelasta cried until her throat hurt and her eyes were swollen. She cried until the memories of laughter in this tub mixed with the pain of loss without drowning her completely. For the first time since Vastarael vanished, the blank stare was gone.
°°°°°°
The water had long gone cold by the time Adelasta finally stepped out of the tub. The Flame alter ego helped her dry off. She guided her back into the now-clean bedroom. Fresh sheets had somehow appeared on the bed, probably conjured by one of the alter egos during the emotional storm.
Adelasta sat on the edge of the mattress and stared into the tall mirror across the room. Her reflection looked back with sunken eyes, hollow cheeks and skin that had lost its usual vibrant glow. The crimson hair was cleaner now but still tangled. She looked like a ghost wearing her own face.
"I haven't slept since he died. Every time I close my eyes, I see him vanishing again. I'm scared I'll dream about it. Or worse… dream about him being alive and wake up to nothing."
The Flame alter ego, still in her nightgown, sat beside her.
"It's time, Adelasta. You need rest. Real rest. You've been running on empty for too long. Relax. We've got you."
Adelasta hesitated before she lay down slowly. She pulled the sheets up and stared at the ceiling,.
"Will I get better?"
"You will. We have to. You're the Grand Duchess of Richinaria. The Dynasty still needs you, even if he's gone. You don't have to be okay tomorrow, but you have to start moving forward. One step at a time."
"How did you manage to change my mind? The Existence part of me wanted to quit so badly."
"I always wanted to. The problem was you just needed a push. Grief had you convinced there was no point. I'm the fire that says there's always a spark left. You gave me the opening when you finally let yourself cry in that tub. That was the push we both needed."
"What should I do now?"
The Flame alter ego leaned over and tucked the sheets around her more snugly, like a mother or a lover.
"Sleep for now. When you wake up, you'll know what to do. Trust me."
"Thank you."
Her eyelids grew heavy. For the first time since Vastarael's death, sleep claimed her without terror. As she drifted off, her body began to emit soft, flickering flames without burning the sheets. The Existence Divinity alter ego materialized beside the Flame, looking less grim than usual.
"Good job," the Existence alter ego said quietly.
"Thanks," the Flame one replied with a grin. "Teamwork makes the dream work, or whatever."
The Existence alter ego nodded.
"She'll advance to the Seventh Enlightenment after this. She managed to understand both the Flame and Existence Divinities through her trauma. She'll be the second Divine being after Vastarael to break through that fast without enduring two hundred years. Not bad. Who said alter egos are only for Dark Beings? Everyone has one."
The two alter egos shared a brief, understanding look before vanishing into faint sparks and shadows, leaving Adelasta to her long, healing sleep.
°°°°°°°
Ninety years passed.
Adelasta's eyes opened slowly to soft light filtering through the windows. The room was still clean. She sat up, feeling lighter and stronger. Power hummed under her skin. She was now a Seventh Enlightenment Divine. A hologram message hovered near the bedside table, waiting to be played. She reached out and activated it.
Elyonari's face appeared. It was a video message.
"It's been a century since we last truly met. Today is Vastarael's 300th birthday. We agreed to gather and celebrate it anyway, even if he isn't here. The usual place in Cassandra. Come if you can."
Adelasta stared at the message for a long moment. A small, genuine smile appeared her face. She didn't know a century already passed since then. She typed back quickly:
[I'll be there.]
She swung her legs off the bed and stood, stretching. She realized someone—probably Vastarael's siblings—had been checking in over the decades, keeping the space clean, ensuring she wasn't disturbed.
"I'm fine now," she said aloud to the empty room, testing the words. They felt true enough.
She walked to the wardrobe and began choosing clothes. As she dressed, she whispered softly,
"Thank you to both of you. Flame… Existence."
There was no verbal answer but she felt a warm flicker in her chest. Adelasta took one last look in the mirror. Her eyes were still a little sunken, but they held light again. The blank stare was gone. She touched the glass briefly and turned towards the door.
The Dynasty—and her family in grief—waited. She had a birthday to honor, a legacy to uphold and a future to face without him. For the first time in a century, Adelasta felt ready to take that step.