Stormveil.
Ciel recognised the name. A well-known beast tribe migrated into the human society overnight, narrowly dodging the massacre over their other kin.
That made the Stormveil Clan, now the Stormveil 'Family', the only beastman tribes weren't puppeteered, murdered, or buried alive by the Queens.
Lions. Wolves. Cats. Dogs. Ciel once spotted many beastly features amongst them, all survivors granted shelter by the Stormveil family.
"Ooooh."
Quia's eyes gleamed at the leaderboard's top name. "That edgy Prince got done in pretty quick. And… uh-"
"Calvessa Loriana."
"Right! That- who was that? Anyways, the Stormveil was an absolute unit, as expected."
Ciel frowned. "You sound like you know them?"
"Yep. Uh…" Quia scratched her chin. "As you can tell by now, I'm… pretty old!"
"I can tell."
"...you're not supposed to tell."
Quia's voice was menacingly flat, her lifeless stare locked onto the nonchalant Ciel across the distance.
"Miss Quia."
Quia clicked her tongue, then continued to wash her wounds carefully. "As an unofficially licensed adventurer, I did get requests from the unfriendly bunch, a lot."
She continued. "Mostly hit jobs for a few shadebeasts. Sometimes a few more… problems that needed a little vanishing here and there."
"Problems…" Ciel's voice threatened to soften. "You've killed people for them, is it…?"
"Most of whom deserve it, yes."
Despite the dismissive tone, the elf's clear blue eyes caught Ciel's unease.
Lost in her thoughts, the little witch's soft palms ground on the rough earth, tearing open the patches of wounds from you.
"Ay, you-"
The elf hurried over, her wind-barriered legs sliding without deterrence in the river.
She then summoned a metal canteen on her way and dragged it over the water's surface. With some water snatched, her other hand quickly stole Ciel's wrist.
"You forgot to wash here, dummy." The elf flipped the canteen and gushed out the water to clean the wound. "Was what I said too heavy?"
Ciel winced at the rushing coolness forced onto her skin. She didn't dislike it, surprisingly.
"Not exactly. Even I've killed before." Ciel shook her head. "Just…I fully know those people don't deserve it. Well, I didn't know them enough to reason, anyway."
"Oh… Is that so?" A chortle escaped the elf's nose. "No need to lie. You're a little too kind sometimes, you know?"
Judging by Quia's words, the elf didn't believe a single word.
Ciel wondered if karma, should it ever take form, would dye the water pooling at her legs and palms the vile red of blood.
Unfortunately, those who could judge her were no longer here with her to warn Quia.
Ciel's heart wrenched, but she refused to wallow in something that she couldn't grasp. Her resolve wasn't ever so shallow.
Survival first. The boring Ciel decided she could think about it all later.
The cliffside was a stroke of luck where everyone happened to be exhausted of mana. Surprise factor played a huge role there too, but it wouldn't be easy to replicate the feat without Quia.
The canteen's water flowed just as her thoughts spilled, and with a steady breath, she summoned the system again.
[ Tarot Shuffle: Available! (Cooldown: 0 hours) ]
Description:
The stars always accompany the moon, but are always hidden from sight and left unseen by chance.
Upon selection, a random quest/reward/joker card would be confirmed.
'Random'. Ciel didn't like things uncertain, but this was unfortunately the only path to compensate for her stamina and mana issues.
Quia froze. As the canteen's water bottomed out, she noticed that Ciel's gaze dropped to her chest.
Meanwhile, the panel served as a wall blocking Ciel's vision. Unaware of Quia's silent fuming, Ciel nodded as if appraising the finest of artifacts.
[ Tarot Shuffled: Used! (Cooldown: 24 hours) ]
A deck of cards manifested within the panel's boundary. Faint flaps whispered into Ciel's ears as they began to shuffle themselves, orders rearranging at a fast pace.
"Hey. Ciel…"
"Hm?"
Ciel tilted her head, her round, glittering black eyes a testament to her innocent charm.
"You naughty gremlin…" Quia's teeth seethed, yet her tone was light and tasteful. "Don't gawk, just ask next time."
Those black-bead eyes narrowed. Why were Miss Quia's ears so red?
Giving a confused nod, Ciel's eyes returned to the 'panel', only for Quia to chortle in defeat.
[ Card Drawn! ]
The top card, from the top of the shuffled deck, showed a moon hung upside down.
[ Tarot Card: Reversed Moon (Joker) ]
[ Fate has ordained the Moon to watch your fate. For the rest of 24 hours, your connection with the moon will be strengthened, and the following effects will be granted. ]
[ Crescented Dark: Grant you sensitivity to hostility 30 feet away from you. ]
[ Avatar of the Moon's Shade: Mana + 50; You are now being watched. ]
'I'm being watched?'
Right as the thought landed, power streamed into her very veins. Her tree sigil on the hand scorched, then the heat faded away as if satisfied with a meal.
Her strengthening was unmistakable. Her ears and skin itched, pressing hollow against the space that was safe without any threat.
The paranoid, however, only grew with her enhanced senses.
Ciel's head turned East. The moon, hidden behind the clouds, illuminated half of its paleness, the shades looming over the other half.
Then, her pupils quivered, vision warping as the moon 'stared' back.
Cold pressure pressed into her eyes. Lands shook and scattered apart. Darkness devoured every light, leaving behind only a vast space of nothingness.
Gone was the chilling water at her feet, gone was the kind elf at her side.
Here, in this empty void, she only witnessed dread.
Accompanied by a woman at a distance.
Ciel blinked.
For a split moment, the millennia-old monster in her yielded.
She couldn't outline the woman's form, the appearance blurring her perception, as if her weak power didn't deserve such a witness.
Yet she knew full well who this was. She couldn't not remember.
'A Shadow Queen.'