"The one I like the most is Sasa!"
Victoria jumped down and placed her hands on her hips.
Everyone looked at her with wide eyes, and moments later they heard a loud growl.
An orange figure dashed towards them, it pounced on Benedict and settled down allowing everyone to take a good look at it.
It was an orange cat!
Benedict nervously raised his hands hoping not to anger the ’beast’. Sasa circled twice on his lap before making itself comfortable.
"Ahahaha."
The quiet atmosphere was interrupted by Cassian’s laughter. He hadn’t genuinely laughed like this in a while. Following him others burst into laughter. All but Benedict. He just wanted to get this cat off of him.
"Sasa, that is not polite."
Victoria carefully picked up the cat and placed it on her lap instead. While petting it, she boldly declared once again, "Sasa is my favourite."
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"Edward, why did you bring me here?" Annora’s hood kept flying off.
The snow was thick making it harder and harder for her to walk. How could two ten-year-olds survive in this storm?!
"For fodder."
Annora took a step back in fear. She couldn’t tell if he was joking. Knowing him, he might throw her to the wolves if the situation arises.
She didn’t know why he brought her up this mountain. Why her of all people...
The air atop the mountain was thin, cold, and biting as Edward and Annora stood overlooking the valley below. The river that made its way through the capital shimmered beneath them, its surface reflecting the pale moonlight.
It also reflected their current appearance. Annora couldn’t help but bend down and look at her reflection.
Her face used to have a certain innocence to it, but since her rebirth, she could only find dullness in herself.
The things she experienced... The amount of hatred she felt, she could never let it go. She dreamt of vengeance from time to time, but there was no way for her to achieve it.
Sometimes she wished... She wished the Goddess would take away her memories. Without her powers, she wouldn’t experience what she had in her past life... But no, she had to live with those memories...
She had to live with the man that caused her misery... No remorse.
"Yes, youth is amusing." Edward assumed she was looking at her young appearance. He finished drawing a magic circle.
Edward’s sharp, youthful face twisted into a sinister smile as he held a ceremonial dagger in his hand, its blade glinting with malevolent energy.
Rebirth had come at a cost. His powers alone, in this weakened vessel, would never be enough to execute the grand plan he had envisioned. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise.
But he wasn’t alone, Annora had also been reborn. She was weakened too but she had traces and abilities of forbidden magic.
She would make up for what he lacked. Together they will finish this mission.
"You said this will make the Royal Family beg for the Temple’s help," she said, her voice cutting through the wind like a blade. "But will it really stop there? What about the people?"
"You care... About people?" He sounded genuinely surprised.
But Annora only felt ridiculed. She wasn’t the perfect Saintess, but she wanted to help people. That was the reason why she reformed the Temple.
She didn’t have ulterior motives when she seized control of the Temple. She truly believed as the Saintess she had to help people, she had the means to help people!
But without her powers and title... Who was she?
"They will see the Temple as their only salvation. With the healers withdrawn and the plague spreading, the Empire will crumble without us." He saw her dead in the eyes and spoke without hesitation.
Annora crossed her arms, her jaw clenched. "You want them to be helpless, to crawl back to the Temple," she said quietly. Just what... Why was he doing this? What does Edward want?
He shrugged at her accusation. What she said was not untrue. That was exactly what he wanted. Before the Marquess could inform the Emperor and before the Emperor took his anger out on them. He wanted to secure his position.
"What is the point of rebirth if I can’t use it to seize control? The Temple will rise again, and in the chaos that follows, I will reign over it."
There was an unnerving darkness in his eyes. Forbidden magic is illegal in this Empire. It is frowned upon, and anyone caught practising it will be sentenced to death, with no exceptions. He needed to get rid of this obstacle.
He wanted to employ all the manpower he had in his arsenal and begin the continent-wide search for his beloved... And he needed forbidden magic for this...
Getting rid of the Royal family who opposed it was the easiest way to solve the problem.
"They think their armies and their court will keep them safe. But they have no idea how fragile their world is." His hand clenched the knife so hard it started bleeding. Drops of blood stained the white snow red.
Annora couldn’t stop her laughter. Her eyes had a similar amount of madness, "What will you do if they capture us and tell us to heal or they will kill us?!"
They were only healers... They can’t fight... She slowly whispered, "What would you do if Adeline decided to intervene?"
"Heh, you raise some good points.
Without hesitation, he reached for her and slit her palm.
"Ah!!!"
As their blood mixed and filled the magic circle, a purple glow started to emit. It grew brighter and brighter until Annora couldn’t stare at it anymore.
She ran away from there gripping her palm, hoping that the pressure would stop it from bleeding. He was dangerous... Very dangerous. At any cost, she needed to get away from him.
She didn’t care if she got lost in the forest and got eaten by wild animals... She needed to escape from this madman.