"I… I didn't mean to. I am sorry." Jade forced the words past her gritted teeth. It felt like swallowing gravel. She hated Morgana, the casual cruelty of her presence, the very air in the room, but the Commander of the Queen's Guard knew a suicidal move when she saw one.
Morgana scoffed, a dry, dismissive sound that was far worse than a shout. She twirled the severed human finger in her soup bowl, watching the broth ripple.
"Your informer, how good is he?" she asked, her voice dangerously flat.
Jade's breath caught. "Well…"
Silence...
She couldn't praise the man; he was dead. She couldn't dismiss him; he was their lead.
"Not saying? That means you won't miss him." Morgana's serpentine gaze flickered to Jade, then back to the soup. "Look, I'm a merchant, my dear. I see countless faces. Without a picture, a name, a notice—how would I know the cloaked figure you seek? I have a business to run, not a guest registry for spies."
Jade was momentarily stunned. Morgana's argument was chillingly logical and maddeningly unhelpful. "But you'd remember a cloak, a large man… you would!"
"Hey, Jade." Morgana leaned back, a cold smile touching her lips.
"I'm eating. Come back tomorrow, perhaps. Oh, wait. No. Don't bother. You'll get nothing from me. Now, you and that Queen of yours should stay out of my way. Otherwise?"
Morgana didn't finish the threat. Instead, she picked up the finger, bit down, and slowly chewed. The silent act was louder and more terrifying than any declaration of war.
Jade finally understood the futility. This woman was a fortress, and any show of force would be instantly fatal. With a deep, rattling intake of breath, she composed herself.
"Ok then… I will take my leave. You can continue with…" Jade paused, her gaze lingering on the grotesque meal. She didn't want to give Morgana the satisfaction of a reaction. "…with whatever you are eating."
Morgana simply nodded, a lazy wave of her hand preceding a sudden, vicious force that slammed into Jade, throwing her backward and out of the house. The heavy door thudded shut behind her.
"So troublesome," Morgana muttered from within, returning to her meal.
_
Jade stumbled, catching herself on the frame of the merchant's door, her face a mask of barely contained fury. The slight was unforgivable, but the failure was worse.
"Commander, he…"
She spun around. Her eyes, still burning with rage, fixed on the figure behind her—a man in rags, clearly a human, lying lifeless on the dirt path.
"What happened to the informer?!" she demanded, her voice a whip-crack.
The accompanying soldiers—a lady and three men—visibly shivered. The lady stammered, "He… just a while ago, Commander. He fell. We thought he was faking, trying to escape, but… he was dead when we checked."
Jade wanted to scream at their incompetence, but the words died in her throat. Morgana's voice echoed in the vacuum of the informer's death: "Your informer, how good is he?" and
"Not saying? That means you won't miss him."
A wave of cold, drenching horror washed over her.
'Did she?' She looked over her shoulder at the closed door. The casual, powerful malice of the merchant had just executed a man without even looking at him.
"Commander, any progress?" one of the men asked, breaking the sickening silence.
Jade instantly suppressed the fear and horror, steeling her expression back into that of a commander. "No. Nothing. Let's go back. The Queen is waiting."
She turned and marched away, the four soldiers following without a second thought, leaving the nameless, lifeless body behind. The informer was simply collateral damage in the grand game.
__
Time passed quickly. The dawn broke, casting long, peaceful shadows over the conquered planet—a peace forged in Sunny's absolute victory.
Sunny was no longer just strong; he was at the Core Stage, a true powerhouse to himself. His memories of Bella, once distant, were now sharp and clear thanks to the System, and his scout's report confirmed his worst fears: Bella's entire family had been massacred by Matilda. His guilt over her death intensified, hardening his resolve.
Josephine was also a study in change. She had woken up a different person. The naïve, innocent girl was gone, replaced by a being of cold, ruthless competence. Sunny wasn't worried; in fact, he admired the transformation. The new Josephine was a good queen—caring for her peope, including the other races, and, crucially, she had completely accepted him as her husband. There was no love, perhaps, but a foundation of respect and shared destiny had been laid.
'A good start.' he mused, clutching the artifact in his hand.
He stood atop the highest peak, hundreds of miles from their stronghold, the cold wind whipping his cloak.
"Are you sure about this, System? The cost seems… high."
{Of course, Master. You require a soul to merge with the egg. This artifact was created, not birthed, meaning it is a blank slate, able to take the ultimate form you desire.}
"Can I give it Bella's soul?" Sunny asked, his voice cracking with a hope that bordered on obsession.
{Yes. And Master can choose the race and bloodline. By adding your blood, the vessel will be eternally loyal to you, and you alone.}
Sunny nodded, the decision finalized. He placed the artifact on the ground, exactly at the mountain's apex.
{Master must now place his blood upon it.}
He knew the cost of his bonded relationship with Josephine—any pain he felt, she would feel. He swiftly cut his palm, and without hesitation, squeezed his fist, watching drops of his crimson blood fall onto the artifact. It hummed, absorbing the offering.
"What next?"
{Master will sacrifice a part of his soul.}
"WHAT?!?" Sunny roared, the sound swallowed by the height.
{Do not fear, Master. The sensation will be minimal. This sacrifice is necessary to open the passage to the afterlife, which I will then utilize to retrieve Bella's soul.}
"Any future consequence? Weakness? A void?" Sunny paced, the prospect of losing even a fraction of his core terrifying him.
{Consequence is unknown, Master.}
'Unknown.' That single word paralyzed him.
__
Five minutes. Sunny had paced the peak until the rock beneath his feet was worn smooth, his mind racing through endless calculations of risk versus reward.
"I need powerful allies. This could be my most loyal, most powerful one yet. But my soul… is it worth the gamble?"
{One more minute, Master. You must decide! The countdown has begun since you placed your blood on the artifact.}
"Why is there a timer now?" he snapped, his irritation spiking.
{The ritual has been activated. If the countdown reaches zero, the artifact will explode. As its name, Birth Star, implies, its structure is similar to a star. The resulting explosion will destroy this entire planet.}
"—WHAT?!!" His fear was instantly replaced by a frantic urgency.
{Thirty more seconds.}
"Shit. There is no other way. Do it!"
Sunny felt only a brief, cold tug in his chest. Before him, a gateway of swirling light tore open in the air. For five silent seconds, he watched as a figure floated out: Bella. She was wrapped in a golden celestial dress, her eyes closed in a serene, deep sleep.
{Does Master wish her to retain her memories?}
"Yes," Sunny said, his voice firm. "I want to use the anger. I want the hatred in her heart to fuel her."
{What race shall she be?}
"She will no longer be an elf. Make her a Beastify race."
{Master should choose a Bloodline from his current reserves to bestow upon her. Rest assured, you will retain your own bloodline.}
Sunny mulled over his formidable abilities. He needed lethality, stealth, and overwhelming power. "Give her the Basilisk bloodline."
{Infusing Bloodline.}
The golden dress dissolved. The unconscious Bella became a pillar of pure, churning red light that shot into the artifact.
BOOM!
A sharp wave of celestial energy erupted, throwing Sunny back five feet.
{Master, I suggest you find a secure position. Immediately.}
Sunny's eyes scanned the bare peak. Nothing to hold onto. Without hesitation, he launched himself into the air and dove off the peak, tucking himself into a deep fissure on the mountainside.
At that exact moment, the artifact detonated.
BOOOOOOOOMM!!!!
A terrifying, deafening wave of energy burst forth, a cosmic fire tearing the summit apart. Sunny clutched the rock face, the mountain shaking violently as rocks and debris rained down like shrapnel.
__
[Stronghold.]
BOOOM!
Josephine, Nicolas, Nioh, and Blood Eye all turned their heads toward the colossal pillar of light miles away. A deep frown settled on Nicolas's face.
"Isn't that where the King said he was heading?" Nicolas asked, genuine concern in his voice.
Josephine stared at her palm, which had twitched with a moment of sharp, phantom pain from the soul separation, confirming his actions. She dismissed it with a single, calm nod. "He is safe."
With that, she turned and walked away. No panic, no explanation, only the absolute assurance of a ruler who understood her consort and her power.
_
After two agonizing minutes, the world outside the fissure finally quieted. Sunny emerged, flying back to the summit. He landed on the scorched, glassy ground.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
He looked up. A woman hovered against the sky. Her eyes, now slit and serpentine, were fixed on him. Her naked body was covered in magnificent black-silver scales, overlapping like sleek armor. Two razor-sharp fangs peeked past her lips, and two enormous, leathery bat wings slowly flapped, holding her aloft.
"Bella?" Sunny breathed, momentarily stunned by the sheer, predatory beauty of the creature he had created.
She descended, landing lightly, her serpentine eyes wide with confusion.
"AHHH!!"
She screamed, dropping to her knees. Her hands clutched her hair with a desperate, self-inflicted violence that made Sunny gasp. The returning memories were a torrent, a violent flood: the idyllic life, the betrayal, the gruesome death, and the rebirth—his words, his power, his intent.
The minute passed. She slowly relaxed her grip, her hands falling to the ground. The hatred was now fully absorbed, a cold, burning core within her.
"Are you… really Sunny?" she asked, her voice an exotic, low rasp.
"You already know the answer to that," he replied, giving her a reassuring, albeit slightly wary, smile.
"It is a relief that you are alive," she conceded, the emotion in her voice minimal. Then her Basilisk eyes locked onto his. "But I don't want to live as Bella any longer."
She was no longer the innocent elf he remembered, but a vessel of vengeance, a creature perfectly engineered for the ruthless world they now inhabited.