Selen had never believed in heaven or hell. She had read several books on the subject and remained indifferent. After awakening her powers, this did not change. What gave God the power to choose who was good and who was evil?
According to the laws of the empire, all nobles from founding families were promised paradise; that was what she had always been taught. The only ones for whom hell existed were peasants and the poor.
At that precise moment, however, Selen felt like she was in heaven. She was lulled by an unfamiliar melody and felt at peace with herself for the first time, so much so that she was reluctant to open her eyes. After a moment, however, she decided to open them to see where she was.
"Are you finally waking up?"
A woman with dark skin and hazel eyes was staring at her, and she realized she was lying on her lap.
"Who are you? And where am I?"
The woman smiled at her and helped her up.
"Am I in heaven?" Selen asked after seeing the beautiful garden she was in.
"In heaven?" the woman repeated before bursting out laughing. "No, you're in my consciousness, Selen."
"In your what? Who are you? And how do you know my name?"
"Who am I? Hmm... I am a part of you, or rather, you are a part of me."
-What are you talking about? Could you go into more detail? I'm dead, right? So I should be in the afterlife or something like that, right?
-You are dead, it's true, but not exactly. Sit down and I'll explain everything.
Selen wasn't entirely convinced, but sat down anyway.
"I already told you, but we are in my consciousness. Let me introduce myself. I am Layla, better known as Saint Belladore."
Selen jumped in surprise.
"You? But how is that possible? You don't look anything like the illustrations of the saint."
"Because you still believe everything you've read and seen in this cursed kingdom?"
On that point, Selen couldn't contradict her.
"But if you really are the saint, then explain it to me. I want to know the truth. Why was I tortured, raped, and treated like an animal? Aren't you the one who blesses and gives health? I don't understand."
"Your problem is that you still don't understand anything."
Layla took her face in her hands and pulled her toward her to look her straight in the eyes.
"We are not saints, and there are no blessings. The only thing that awaits those who awaken these powers is misfortune and nothing else."
Selen fell to her knees. She was cursed. How else could she explain everything that was happening to her?
"Know that only those who had enough courage to end their own lives had the privilege of entering here, and there are not many of them."
"Who are you talking about?"
"All the other saints before you. Only those who sank into despair and took their own lives came to me."
"Why? It's all over now."
"Over, you say? Yet it has only just begun. Don't you want to know why all this has happened to you?"
"Yes, I want to understand. I want to know why my life has become so miserable."
"Very well. I will explain it to you, or rather... I will show you."
Selen didn't have time to ask what she meant by that before a light appeared in front of her and she found herself transported.
"Look carefully and listen carefully. We are in my memories. That's me over there."
She pointed to a young woman lying in a meadow, a straw hat covering her face.
"I was a young girl at the time. Barely fifteen years old, we were a family of four: my brother, my father, my mother, and me.
Selen saw Layla's memories flash before her eyes and could even hear the laughter coming from the little wooden cabin.
"We weren't rich, quite the contrary. We were a small tribe located between the principality of Drakar and Liberia. Today, these two principalities together form the empire you know, with the territory of Clover to the north. I came from a semi-nomadic tribe that lived between Drakar and Liberia. Everything was fine until the day when...
Selen saw fire and people emerge from the shadows, killing and tying up the members of the tribe.
"Drakar and Liberia both had their strengths. One had trade and innovation, the other had silver mines and magic crystals, but peace never lasts long, does it?"
Layla pointed to a young woman being dragged away by one of the men.
"That's me. At the time, I didn't know what I was capable of. I only used magic for hunting and had never killed anything other than rabbits and pheasants. As you can imagine, my whole family and everyone who didn't resist was taken away."
She raised her hand and the scene suddenly changed. A castle appeared, and in its courtyard stood Layla, her family, and the rest of the captured tribe.
Guards surrounded them, and everyone huddled together. They enjoyed cruelly whipping those they brushed against just for their own amusement. Selen felt nauseous at the sight. This was nothing like what she had been told.
"Watch closely, this is the best part," said Layla, who had seen how shaken he was by the spectacle.
"All those who are capable of using magic, step forward!" shouted one of the men.
He tapped his whip lightly on his thigh and smiled cruelly.
"Listen, there's no point in resisting. We are well aware of your abilities, you savages, so I propose a deal. Anyone who volunteers or denounces someone with powers will be spared, along with their entire family."
Selen saw the tribe hesitate until one of them had the courage to denounce one of his comrades, who was immediately taken away. It continued like this, with them denouncing each other until Layla's father, stepped forward.
"My daughter has great magical potential. Take her and spare us."
One of the men grabbed the old man by the collar.
"What about your son? Doesn't he have any?"
"N... No, just my daughter."
Selen turned to Layla to see her expression. She seemed indifferent to the situation. It was as if they were watching someone else's memories, not hers.
"Is it true? Your brother didn't have magical potential?"
Layla gave her a bitter look.
"What do you think?"
Selen began to watch the Layla of the memories being dragged away, screaming for help.
"I thought they were going to kill me," Layla said. "I would have preferred that."
She abruptly changed the setting of the memories and showed a dark room where a young woman covered in blood was chained up. Selen immediately felt dizzy and thought she was going to faint at the sight. If the young woman had been replaced by herself, this could have been her own memory.
"Is she the only one who survived?" asked a voice.
Selen couldn't see who was speaking because the memory was cloudy and dark. She thought to herself that this was probably because Layla had been barely conscious at the time.
"Take her away."
The scene changed again, and this time Layla was lying in a bed in what appeared to be a small room.
"Who are you?" Layla of the memory asked.
Selen realized she was talking to a man sitting on a chair not far from the bed where she was sitting.
"Are you awake already?" the man asked her. "Are you hungry?"
Selen saw Layla looking at him suspiciously. What could be more normal after what she had been through?
"I'm sorry for what happened to you," the man said to her. "I wasn't aware of what my men were doing in my absence. I promise you that they have been punished appropriately."
Selen saw the tears welling up in Layla's eyes. She wondered how Layla could have believed this man so easily, but she had to admit that he looked like an angel. Blue eyes, long blond hair—yes, he really did look angelic. And anyway, she was in no position to judge him, since she too had been fooled like an idiot.
"Can you take me home then?" Layla asked.
"I'm sorry, but that's not possible. I don't know if you're aware, but there's a war going on near your territory. You and your family will be much safer here.
"Are they okay? I mean my family."
"Yes, don't worry about that. I called a doctor to treat you. He put bandages on you, but he'll come back later to check on you."
Layla raised her hand again and the scene changed.
"The next day, he came to see me again," she explained. "He always brought me a book and read it to me. Little by little, he made me want to learn to read, and that's what he did. I began to trust him more and more. Who else did I have anyway? My family was already better off without me since none of them had come to see me. He was the only one with me.
Selen didn't know if Layla was sad when she told her this, or if she had moved on from her parents' betrayal. That's when she began to wonder if she herself could forgive her own family. The answer came quickly: Never.
"Little by little, the man who was my only companion began to teach me magic and alchemy. So that I could defend myself if I wanted to return to my tribe's lands, he said. I already knew the basics of magic, but what he taught me was on a whole other level."
Selen saw Layla summon hundreds of magic swords in her memories. She was blown away. She knew that her maximum was no more than ten.
"I was talented. Very talented. It must be said that my teacher didn't skimp on his work either. I loved being with him; he made me feel special. He told me that I was certainly the greatest magician of our century, that I was beautiful. I loved seeing the admiration in his eyes, and above all, I wanted more."
The setting changed. Layla and the man were now sitting together in a meadow having a picnic. As Layla said nothing, Selen thought that what she wanted her to see and hear was in the memory, so she concentrated.
"I have something to tell you, Layla," said the man, taking her hand. "I have something to confess."
Layla approached him and took his hand to kiss it.
"Actually, I'm a soldier, or rather a commander. I was wounded in my last battle and now that I'm healed, I have to return to the front."
"So you're leaving? When will you be back? And what about me...?"
"I don't know if I'll be back, Layla. My brother wants to hurt me. I'm an obstacle for him, so he'll certainly eliminate me in battle, as he has tried so many times before."
"No... No, I don't want to lose you. I'd rather die. I beg you, don't go."
"I have to go. It's my duty."
"What can I do to help you? I'm strong, you know that, I'll do anything for you."
"You're right, but rather than putting you in danger, I'd rather die."
"No, please, I'll do anything..."
"Anything?"
"Yes, anything. I...love you, Artheris."
Selen couldn't believe her ears. So this man was him. The founder of the empire, Artheris the First.
"I told you, my brother wants me dead. In reality, he is the crown prince, and I am only the second son. I have no magical powers compared to him, and I am weak, but if we unite as in your tribe, I might be able to succeed.
"Yes, I will," exclaimed Layla, taking Artheris in her arms. "In any case, you are the only one I want to do it with."
Layla raised her hand and the memory disappeared, leaving Selen perplexed.
"What does it mean to unite in your tribe?" Selen asked Layla.
"Uniting in my tribe is something you can only do once in your life. You do it with the partner of your heart, to do it..."
Layla raised her hand and a new memory appeared.
"You must drink each other's blood and swear an oath of sincerity and eternal loyalty. In short, it's like a promise of eternal love. What I didn't know at the time was that this promise and this bond only worked for people from my tribe. When you form a heart bond with someone, you cannot physically harm them or their descendants."
Selen finally understood.
"I imagine everything is a little clearer now, but as you will have understood, that's not all."
"To complete the soul bond, the partners had to not only drink each other's blood, but also..."
Layla raised her hand and conjured up a memory. Selen then saw Artheris lying on a bed with Layla in his arms. They had clearly spent the night together.
"In our tribe, marriage is a soul bond. There is nothing more important to us. We share love, weaknesses, joy, but above all, magic. When a man was born without magic, he only had to marry a woman with sufficient magic and create a soul bond. That way, every time they had sex, he would draw on the spirituality of his partner."