In the servant's quarter, Aqua lay on the bed with her hands gently nestled on her chest. When she had noticed that Azure was missing, a strange feeling rose in her heart. It was not that of fire but a slight feeling of pain and loss.
Her heart beat faster and her ears twitched. "Am I… worried?"
There was no other way to explain it.
Aqua turned to the side and brought her legs closer to her chest.
She was worried beyond measure; she had to focus on resisting the urge to go and help her new friend. Her trust in Soleah was high, yet it was shaking with each moment that passed.
With a sigh, she reached into her pocket dimension. Despite her wish to let Soleah's plan unfold, she wished to keep an eye on Azure. "I placed the Heart on her… but I wouldn't want her to experience death again." She grumbled as she pulled a small mirror.
The mana flowed into the mirror, and its surface rippled as if it were made of water. She frowned as the image cleared to show a dark and damp stone room. At any moment, she was ready to teleport and atomize anyone who dared touch her friend.
She, Soleah, and Sheira were by far the people she enjoyed spending her time with the most; thus, if Soleah's plan failed, she would have been disappointed beyond measure.
The mirror could not transmit the sound; however, it was not something she needed. Seeing Azure in chains had made her blood boil.
"This reminds me of myself too much!" She spoke through her teeth before throwing the mirror into her pocket dimension. If she continues to observe, her anger would have boiled over, and she would have done something that she might regret later.
The Image of Azure in chains brought up bad memories of her being chained and laughed at any time she was captured. It made her sick.
Who had the right to take the freedom of an elf? Nobody. It was the main reason she despised the Red Dawn; they had committed a great sin, yet she could not help but respect the way they defied the divine.
Both hate and respect, it was such a unique feeling. Aqua had never both hated something and at the same time liked the way they did things.
Monsters with the way they treat my kin, yet the heroes who defied the filth of divinity. She had a hope for them, faint as it was.
She grabbed her face and groaned. "What am I even saying? They are monsters despite it!"
It was the truth that she loved the elven kind with all her heart, yet it was difficult to care about it as a whole. Sun God had told her that she should not do so, yet she could not allow Red Dawn's treatment to go unpunished.
They were an existential threat, considering they dared play with forces beyond their understanding, yet they defied the gods.
"Do I hate gods or those who mistreat elves more?" She cupped her chin as she hummed softly. She had ample time to think recently, and it was rather difficult to conclude.
In her mind, they were always connected; gods would make sure elves suffered, and the followers of such cruel beings made sure that will was done. Red Dawn disobeyed the gods, but they were ruled by one.
"There is no place for respect for them!" She raised her arm and clenched her fist.
For a moment, she blanked out as she stared at her fist, then she rolled to her side and stretched her hands forward.
"I haven't been this comfortable in ages…" She mumbled into the pillow. The gratitude she felt for her new friend was hard to describe. The comfortable warmth, the sense of calm. It was so new that Aqua did not even know what to do with it.
She closed her eyes, and the darkness was filled with the image of a white haired captain that she had enjoyed spending little time with someone like her had.
A slight blush appeared on her face. I am so glad she is my friend. Aqua had truly considered Azure her friend; she was pleasant and made her feel at ease.
With a shake of the head, she jumped out of the bed.
Ever since her nightmare, she had avoided sleeping; she had planned to attempt it once more, yet she was restless.
Aqua was worried about Azure. Over the night, she had occasionally looked through her mirror despite knowing that it would merely make her angry to see her friend in chains.
"Lira, I will make you wish you were never born." Her brows furrowed. That woman had made attempts on her first friends she made in the new life she wished to forge; what was even worse was that she agreed to let the events unfold.
Her anger grew with each moment and each gaze she cast upon her captured friend. "I guess I can continue working on the containment spell."
She approached her table and pulled back the chair. The enemies in Red Dawn were tricky; someone like Rolan was slippery even for her. While she was capable of killing the first disciple in Red Dawn, her anger did not allow it to be so.
Then, she only wanted to get rid of him; her mind was clouded by anger.
However, now that anger had subsided, she pulled out a piece of paper from her void storage and placed it on the table.
The mana swirled around her fingers as she prepared to create a new spell.
Yet some would ask, why would someone like her need a paper?
The answer was simple; she did not need it. However, she wanted to document the spell and let Sheira learn it in the future. The girl had become very powerful in a short amount of time, which impressed her deeply.
Of course, Azure and Soleah were doing rather well, but sheer proficiency Sheira had shown with elemental spells had proven to Aqua that the young princess would be able to take a step forward with more unique ones.
Thus, Aqua had decided to document the creation process of the spells. If Sheira was as talented as she expected, the creation of new spells would be doable in mere decades of training.
A comfortable warmth nested in her heart.
"Is this how Sun God felt when I learned to use fire for the first time…" Her lips curled up into a slight smile.
The Elven kingdom was her new home, and in her short time living in it, she had experienced what she could only describe as joy.
Aqua inhaled sharply as she closed her eyes.
The possibilities of Rolan's technique replayed in her head, she would analyze what she knew and create a counter to never again allow the Red Dawn to get an advantage over her.
"Rolan, next time we meet… You won't escape." She smiled wryly.
Rolan was a unique challenge that she had never experienced before; it was the opponent she could not deal with: sheer firepower. She had to use her brain.
The way he felt in the mindscape, I need to figure it out. She tapped the table with her fingers. "It was like he was an idea… yet the mind that controlled the body was not the real one."
"Just like a parasite."
Parasite… Parasite… She hummed as she thought about it.
It was clear that some kind of parasitism was at play; however, she did not know how they had taken control of the host.
They used the empty shells, or in the case of Sheira, could force themselves into the body, yet the takeover made them dead in the eyes of the phoenix.
Dangerous parasite, likely can't take over fully without some kind of residual host.
She thought for a moment. The first body that she had burned was of an old man, and the soul she consumed did belong to that old man, yet Rolan was not there despite piloting the corpse.
The connection to his original body must exist, even if it's faint. She had to admit it, the trick was genius, even if it was rather terrible.
It gave Rolan a way to avoid danger while conducting his duty by using an expendable body.
Many in her old world would consider such a trick cowardly, but when it came to fulfilling one's duty, bravery was not the end-all.
I still hate him, despite her appreciating the sheer genius of it; she despised it being used on the mind-wiped elves of Red Dawn.
She slouched forward and placed her chin between her palms. "If I could figure out the connection they have between real body and the vessel, then I could pull their soul into the shell and end them for good." Her face gained a wicked grin.
All she lacked was the test subject.
"A test subject that serves Red Dawn…" She chuckled. "Lira… you might be more useful to me than I thought."
Knock. Knock. Knock
She gasped in surprise before she threw the paper into the storage. "It's open, Sheira."