Death, Devotion, Dissonance

Twelve entered her room. She sat Endra down her bed and walked towards her desk. A dead sparrow was lying inside a glass box, kept unrotting thanks to the runes surrounding it.

She immediately pulled it out of the box and started examining it. A minute later, she levitated the bird atop her hand and it started decomposing at a concerning rate. It took it only a second to become a skeleton, and another twenty for it to whittle down to dust.

Endra waved the remaining cloud of the dead avian away from himself, unsure how he should feel about the scene. 

"We can talk till you're feeling better," Twelve broke the silence. 

She was offering an explanation. Endra thought about what he should ask first, and decided on a question.

"Why pick me?"

"You were similar to us. Trapped in a situation you have no hope of escaping… But if you want a more pragmatic answer, there's also your experience and knowledge. The Empress does not care for the young or the old, nor the wronged or the sympathized. She only sees her people's usefulness. And, as her loyal subject, I felt the need to keep you alive."

The answer sounded wrong.

"But for the past centuries, she hasn't really utilized her people's usefulness in any way. No? She just looms over us, the same way Earth's gods do."

"You misunderstand. You are always useful, especially since you use mana. But even if you're a non-mage, you'd still be serving the Empress simply by existing. That's all she ever needs from you."

Endra frowned, thinking of the answer. 

The part of the vision, when the Empress was talking about how people before the Empire used souls to cast their magic, appeared in his head. 

"Before the Empire, was everyone able to use their souls to cast magic?" Endra asked.

"Don't think too much about it," Twelve dodged the question. "There's nothing you can do about your situation. And as a mage, you receive a huge benefit from this arrangement also. And I must add that you're one of the few people who use the benefit of magic to its utmost limit."

Endra derived many conclusions from the answer.

'Before the Empire, everyone could cast magic by using their souls. I can't tell how well, but they all had the potential. But when the Empress took control, she introduced mana as the main form of casting spells… And from what I can guess, mana is much easier to use and much more widespread compared to souls. This, of course, leads to a more magic-oriented society.

'The catch is that only a few people can interact with mana… And since Twelve says that people are useful even if they only exist… then perhaps the Empress created a similar system to Earth. From what Lord Kena told me, the Ruler of Earth stood atop every other world because only he and his chosen could utilize magical energy.

'They're basically hoarding all the energy to themselves…'

"I told you," Twelve sighed. "Don't think so hard about it. And… sigh, if you want another pragmatic answer, then I can tell you that the Empress shall soon be requesting some assistance from her people."

"What? Why?" 

After asking, Endra felt the question was very rude, but he ignored the concern.

"You've seen the visions. She's not omnipotent. And it's impossible for a ruler to do everything by herself. What's the point of having an empire, otherwise?"

"Which is why you saved me instead of Evin."

"Sure," Twelve shrugged.

Endra fell into thought. He did not feel honored nor delighted. A Goddess's order did not sound like something he'd enjoy. She'd probably ask him to exterminate all xenomorphs or something ludicrous.

'Perhaps if it came with various benefits, I might look forward to it…'

The more he thought about the possibility of rewards the more likely it sounded. The Empress could definitely do whatever she wanted with her subjects, but surely she was smart enough to reward them for their efforts. 

Slavery did get stuff done, but a willingly working individuals had much better productivity after all.

Relain knocked on the door, bringing food. Twelve let him in and the two had a meal. Endra felt his portion was too much, but he soon found that he was starving. He quickly finished two and a half servings and only then he felt full.

"Are you feeling better now?" Twelve asked. 

Endra moved around 'his' body and found he had no problems doing so. 

"Yes… Thank you for your help and care."

"Good. Then, let me talk about how you can repay me," Twelve smiled.

Endra was taken aback by the words, but he quickly calmed down. Of course, nothing was free in this world. Experience told him that acting eager was best in these situations. 

"Of course. Whatever you wish."

"It's nothing so difficult," Twelve smiled. "And besides, Kena's already paid on your behalf. I'm only reminding you to swear your loyalty to the Empress. He's mentioned that to you, right?"

'Oh,' Endra's ears perked up.

"Yes. But what exactly do I do as her loyal subject?"

Twelve smiled at Endra's reply and gave him a slip of paper. "At Ankelite city, meet a man named Heralt. He'll tell you all about your new loyalty. Here's his address."

Endra put the piece of paper in his pocket and nodded. Then, a thought appeared in his head.

'Wait, am I going back to the kingdom as if nothing had happened?'

One by one, Evin's close ones appeared in his head. Lora, Bella, Phel, Arza, Rith, Leanne… His head started hurting, wondering what he was supposed to do now that Evin was dead. Was he supposed to just simply take over Evin's life as if nothing had happened, or was he supposed to declare he was a new personality?

The second options did not seem like a good idea. But there were a few people who he knew he needed to confess to. Bella and Lora. A part of him felt that Phel and Arza would find out eventually as well. Same with the Chairman. 

'Or maybe, I can completely disappear from their lives? They'll only think I went missing mysteriously…'

"Are you thinking about the future?" Twelve inquired from the side.

Endra was surprised by the Aspect's intuition momentarily, before taking it as granted. Of course, someone who lived these countless years would be able to read his expressions with some effort.

"Yes."

"You should stay with the kingdom."

"Pardon?"

"Perhaps you're thinking of disappearing, but that won't end well for you."

"…"

"If you choose to run from the kingdom, the likelihood of you dying becomes… certain. You can live your life as you wish, but stay inside the borders of the kingdom. Think of it as receiving a free prophecy from me."

Endra felt unsure, but he nodded regardless. "Thank you."

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