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Undying Empire: B4 — 2. The Dragon of Annihilation
🕑 Added 2022-10-29 07:23:53 +0000 UTC1. Elinor Irkalla (Ereshkigal, The Sumerian Goddess Of The Dead!)
2. Adoncia (Our Ogress Maid/Big Sis; Tiamat's God-Touched!)
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The eerie sounds of the nighttime insects, animals, and reptiles surrounded the jungle as Elinor sat on a high branch near the canopy ceiling; it was nearly pitch black under the shadow of the ancient trees, yet the darkness wasn’t a problem for her.
Thor silently stood beside Kulitta, observing the teenage group far below them. They’d kept far enough ahead that the five wouldn’t notice their presence throughout the day. The songstress had a knack for finding the words necessary to push anyone she conversed with to the razor’s edge—such as their ri’bot guide—before backing off, yet that was somewhat of her fetish.
Nelika and Garu were to the side, whispering to one another about what they should expect in the desert; if Elinor didn’t know better, she would say her undead ri’bot was growing to like the spirited and somewhat awkward girl.
Elinor had kept them at a pace that would see the teens stop around this area, which had been nearly right on the mark, and it had been interesting to see how Apate adapted to the dynamic of the team she’d been tossed into; the bitter personification’s closed door had seen the tiniest of cracks of opening throughout the day.
Naturally, it would slam shut when morning came—she was stubborn and quick to think the worst of those around her—but it proved to a significant enough degree that the trickster could change; Elinor hoped to move Thor’s prejudices against the woman ever so slightly as she showed the trickster she was more than just a puppet.
Getting Apate and Thor to work together without wanting the other’s throat cut would be a long process, but fruitful in the end with what each had to offer. Was the Asgardian wrong about the woman? Not necessarily. He had a valid point and more than enough reasons to distrust the trickster, yet it had been primarily due to her environment among the Primordial Olympians.
Kulitta’s sigh drew their attention as her musical voice created a sound barrier so as not to give away their position. “Dealing with creatures that sleep so often will lose us quite a bit of time, Mistress. Is there really no other way we can accelerate this Seeding process?”
Elinor held her half-smile while observing the resting teens; Adoncia was keeping watch since she didn’t require sleep, yet Elinor suspected that wouldn’t last too many nights. There were things she had to readjust and manage; the overall effect this was having would pay out well in her favor as time went on.
“Hmm. Perhaps there is… but this is within the margins of error when it comes to what I’ve been able to understand about these Seeds, however. I have devoted quite a bit of time to it since my sister has taken over the Empire.”
The Asgardian grunted. “Personally, I find these Seeds of minor significance. Thy fixation on them art rather perplexing, Lady Elinor.”
“Is that so?” Elinor mumbled, vision narrowing a tad as she extrapolated what such a statement meant between the lines.
Essentially, Thor was saying such objects were nothing special within his cultural upbringing, and further helped to categorize the tiers of powers she was dealing with; Apollo had provided her with the key to understanding such concepts once she’d obtained many pieces of the divine puzzle upon regaining her 10,000 lifetimes of memories.
It helped when putting them in a system she understood, such as the tiers of a typical Existence; within her own, there were three levels of Divinity and Infernal influence: Deities, High Deities, and Supreme Deities; 7th-dimensional, 10th, and 13th being the upper ceiling of each.
However, there appeared to be an even higher tier that Apollo wanted to make her aware of, and that came in the form of the three tiers of Existences: Normal Existence, Great Existence, and Grand Existence; 13th-dimensional, 14th, and 15th, where beings such as Gloria and Apollo resided.
Thor had been raised inside of a Great Existence, which spanned a few 13th-dimensional spheres that were held in place by a few things. Two of which were Yggdrasil—the World Tree—and Atlas—a Titan who was forced to hold up the heavens after their defeat at the hands of the Primordial Gods of Olympus.
In a way, it paralleled her own Existence’s history with their Celestial forefather and mother, making Elinor’s mind spin with possibilities as this mysterious upper sphere tantalized her imagination.
It also meant these Greater Seeds came from a Great Existence—similar to Thor’s—and the reason he didn’t find them all that important was due to their requirement, yet there was something the warrior seemed to have missed in regards to these buds of hyper condensed power.
Elinor crossed her legs as her gaze wandered between the wildlife, oblivious to their presence from the songstress’ heavenly hum that masked their presence. “Hmm. When I first arrived in this world, I was innocent of so many concepts that were gathering around me due to my willing amnesia… My conflict with Ishtar blinded me to the destruction of my Existence, yet also brought new understanding…
“Hehe. Her influence in fighting in our pure spiritual forms within the womb caused quite a confusing shift in how I viewed the world when our essences touched, and I saw things a bit more through her lens. I never expected to grow when battling my sister… I was foolish.”
Kulitta found her wrist behind her back. “I never thought I’d hear the day when the unbeatable and perfect woman of Irkalla would call herself foolish.”
“It takes a true leader to admit their faults,” Thor softly commented.
The twinkle in the dominatrix’s lime-green irises made Elinor chuckle; she was celebrating a win for her High Queen.
“Ishtar is more than I thought, yet due to her influence, I found myself in quite the struggle when I first was captured… and I now know why remaining inside Nethermore made me so agitated, which was why I orchestrated my visit to the Nalvean Empire.”
Elinor’s illuminated, emerald irises drifted to Thor. “I learned much from my ignorance that eventually drew me to awakening who I truly was, and to discover the real value of these Seeds… with the implication behind them.”
Thor shook his head. “Thou didst question me upon my own thoughts regarding these Seeds. It does not help Primordials, nor mortals; their attachment is due to the Divine Essence within latent deities.”
“Hmm-hmm-hmm. I’m not so sure,” Elinor whispered, tapping her heel against the hard wood as she turned her gaze to the teens below.
A frown creasing the man’s eyes, he set his hammer to his side while sitting on the edge of the thick branch himself. “Thou believest these Greater Seeds can be used to bring these mortals to our level of divine birth?”
Kulitta made an interested note in her throat, shifting her weight to the opposite hip. “I do find such a concept… challenging to believe, Mistress.”
“Is that so?” Elinor’s focus wasn’t on the mortals. “Tell me, how do these Seeds draw nutrients?”
“From many places, it seems…” the songstress replied, critically examining the mortals. “You are speaking to the Greater Seeds, which High Queen Ishtar and you possess, Mistress, not of these enhanced Lesser, unless…”
Thor’s fingers tightened against his knees. “Adoncia?”
“Hmm.” Elinor smiled, swapping her legs. “Reasonably, I can assume the common method for most Seed holders would be to shave off the life essence of those they slay, yet that is far from the most efficient route, as any true Divine would know…
“Growth of one’s own spirit through internal essence refinement to be able to tap into higher dimensional forces generates a multiplicative expansion that far outstrips simple slaughter and collection, which is how our own advancements came so swiftly, Thor.”
Thor’s arms folded against his bare chest, gaze wandering to Elinor as Masmu slithered out from between the folds in her shirt to be stroked. “Thou speakest to the dense material within these Seeds, waiting to be claimed through feats an individual performs. I expected as much from thy plan… that thou desirest of these children to unseal the ripened fruit within and partake—yet there is more to thy machinations by thy words.”
Elinor shifted on the branch to pull her knee up to her chin, allowing her white spiritual serpent to coil around her leg to study the teens.
“It is the stepping stone to tapping into the power my children can offer them.” Elinor’s smile became sinister. “Just as we draw from our own Divine Souls to invoke our rapid acceleration, they must be brought to the point of being able to take the branch they’d been given, learning how to graft it into their own essence, which…” Elinor trailed off, giving them the chance to connect the dots.
A short chuckle came from the dominatrix, drawing Nelika and Garu’s focus as the pair continued to speak softly to one another about the girl’s clan.
“I see… they only need to unlock the tap to change fields, which is where Apate comes into play… The villain that can provide enough of a challenge to stimulate their determination and facilitate the appropriate circumstances to chew on the denser parts of their Seed. This battlefield you’ve brought us on goes deeper than I thought, Mistress. Most cunning.”
“Indeed.” Elinor could see Thor had worked out what she was saying between the lines; in changing fields, Kulitta meant the children only needed to unlock a path to the Divine before swapping to the Greater Seeds, by taking them from the gods they were at war with.
“Hehe. Loki would be clapping right now. Very clever, Lady Elinor,” Thor fondly whispered, smiling at the kids; their growth gave him a further purpose in this foreign land and a place of familiarity to anchor himself. “I can now see the many avenues and the hidden bridge these Lesser Seeds provide.”
“Was it planned, though?” Elinor questioned, feeling the plucking and twisted hum of Becdeth as her thoughts settled on the eldritch entity.
These Greater Seeds… seem to be shards from a shattering of some kind, yet is it connected with this maelstrom?
She placed a hand against her breast, feeling the pulsating oscillation that emanated from within the object sinking into the essence of everything she was, creating a bypass and filter to access power too much for her mortal vessel to handle.
This Crimson Tide that ravages heavens and hells… it must be connected in some way to these Crystal Gateways between the layers of this maelstrom. Are we actually awakening this darkness by feeding these Seeds?
Deities dead or weakened that are born again… The essence of fallen gods drawn to this power like mosquitoes to light? There’s a plot we can’t see yet… but Apollo has set me on the path to use it, which means, trap or not, it’s something worth using until it must be dealt with.
“The Greater Seeds we possess are starved, requiring the divine essence within us to even take root, while the plump Lesser Seeds are ripe to be juiced under the right conditions, and, heh, my children further enhanced them, granting a lovely stimulant to the process… It just takes one hit for the ball to begin rolling down the hill.”
Thor’s nose twisted as he rose to glare at the ground far below them. “What of this Demon Shadowverse entity? Surely we are at a disadvantage due to his omnipresence upon this planet to discuss such topics. His plots must be festering to the east as we speak to ensnare us and alert our enemies.”
“Meh,” Elinor snickered, spreading her legs against the ancient wood to follow his gaze. “Demon’s weakness is his manipulative approach; it takes time, and so long as we make quick, decisive positions, changing things up or following through at random along the way, he cannot hope to plan anything of significant value and burn many agents on the way if he tries to spread a large net.”
It wasn’t entirely true; the creature knew their destination was the Desert Clans and the mortal gods—not their importance to the children, which was why she’d spoken in a way the creature’s limited understanding of nuance wouldn’t grasp—yet there wasn’t much they could do to counter those two destinations other than time.
Elinor would much rather take it slow at the start and have four formidable God-Touched at their destination, ready to absorb a Greater Seed to further empower her children and the teens for their next fight between the Primordial Olympians or Marduk than rush things for the sake of what trouble Demon could present.
A small twitch of Kulitta’s plump lips drew her notice, the blonde directing a side-long look at the God of Thunder as his leer settled on the trickster. “You wouldn’t happen to be worried about Apate? Hehe. Be honest; how often has she been on your mind?”
Thor rolled his eyes, rising to his feet and flipping his hammer in the air to catch it. “Once is too many. Still, she hath shown restraint… thus far.”
“Hungry?” Elinor asked, deciding to change the topic.
Kulitta’s forced a chuckle. “A tad famished due to the fact I am not undead, and I am certain predators could hear Nelika’s stomach from miles away.”
The four-year-old scout’s caramel skin tinted a greenish hue. “I h-haven’t eaten since we left this morning—nearly 24 hours—of course, I’m hungry, but I can go without food for weeks.”
Garu shot a small grin in the embarrassed ri’bot’s direction. “I can go hunt for something to eat and prepare, Empress; is there anything in particular that you wish?”
“Mmh.” Elinor rose to her feet and summoned the Staff of the Dead, using it as a brace to stretch her muscles while leaning left and right. “I’m interested to see how good of a cook Thor is… Can you cook, Kulitta?” she asked, suddenly interested.
“Eh-heh… I regret to inform you, Mistress, but I am a dreadful homebody,” the dominatrix admitted. “Ninatta handled all of our household duties when serving High Queen Ishtar, which my older sister quite enjoyed.”
“She does seem like the type,” Elinor mused; the younger twin goddess was the type to be more on the inspection side than the cleaning or caretaking. “Thor?”
He shrugged, trying to dismiss the songstress’ comment as his bright, blue irises scanned the dark woods for a few potential marks. “I’ve learned to cook a few dishes while on quests with my brothers… I’ll return shortly.”
“Eh… Mmmmh.” Elinor’s mouth drew in as Thor swiftly spun his hammer and carried himself into the sky and right out of their conversation, vanishing through the canopy. “Haaa.”
Kulitta giggled and generated an invisible walkway for them to move through the air by using her voice. “He is so independent; it seems it never crossed his mind that you might want to join in a hunt.”
“Unfortunately, this is the case when dealing with such a culture,” Elinor grumbled, dismissing her staff while searching for a spot that would be far enough away to not attract the sight of Adoncia or the teens to start a fire. “We’ll make a small camp that they can stumble upon tomorrow and give Nelika time to rest.”
The ri’bot’s green-hued skin returned. “I can go on for a few days without sleep…”
“Sweetie, sweetie,” Kulitta smoothly interjected. “Take the opportunity to reflect and recharge; soon enough, the teens may be outpacing you.”
Elinor smiled at the look on the young girl’s face that said she’d die before that happened.
Letting Kulitta further motivate the ri’bot with Garu acting as the scout’s support, Elinor slowly descended the vocal staircase the songstress made to the floor, contacting Adoncia as she remained on watch.
She temporarily drew Adoncia back into the Nexus to speak to her yet restricted her access to know where they were. How was your first day?
“E-Empress!” her maid stammered, recovering from the sudden interruption that had made her jump. “I-I didn’t think we would be able to chat like this again! I… apologize for being unable to go further; we will make more ground tomorrow.”
Did I ask how far you’d been able to progress?
“No…”
Be honest with me, she commanded, hands clasped behind her back as she studied a pack of sleeping birds in a nearby tree. What do you think about Apate?
“Frankly… Huu-haaa. She’s terrible.”
Haha! I thought as much. Go ahead and voice your complaints.
“She sends illusionary… maybe real bugs by the bites that are still on Alisa, Sal, and Valentina’s bodies that make it miserable. She sends hail storms to pepper us, mud storms, beasts to attack us, and finds extreme enjoyment out of tripping us every so often… Ugh. Don’t get me started on the jump scares! She’s the worst.”
Elinor’s stomach shook with silent laughter while the protective older sister continued to curse the trickster; Apate seemed to know the maid could handle just about whatever she threw at her due to the undead enhancements she’d gained through the System, and so she agitated her by throwing the punishment on her younger brother.
It only further spiked Adoncia’s stress when Sal grew distressed over his swollen-faced girlfriend from all the bugs, and the most horrific part was they weren’t sure if it was real or not; the concern about diseases and sicknesses came up, as well.
In truth, Elinor was fine if they did get sick; the experience would further accelerate their development, but something she knew had to be clipped was the wandering maze portion of Apate’s fun that was likely directed more at Thor and her, hampering their path forward.
“…and the most frustrating part,” Adoncia snarled, “is that I cannot say anything to her or lash out because she’ll take it out on Sal! Such a vile, bitter woman…”
Elinor could feel her stress significantly diminished through being able to voice it, and there was a reason she was giving such treatment to the maid.
I’m afraid you will need to deal with it until you are able to catch up to us, which may be on the grasslands at this point, but I will have Kulitta tell her to knock off the illusions that have you walking in circles. Be strong.
“Huu-haaa. Yes, Empress. I cannot express my gratitude at being able to speak to you.”
Elinor let a pause hang for a moment before speaking in a more serious voice. Adoncia… in the next few days, you will begin experiencing dreams again.
“I will? Is that… bad?” she tentatively asked, likely believing it had something to do with the trickster, but Elinor swiftly shut it down.
You will be the first to experience this, due to your connection to me, and with who you are the God-Touched of… Tiamat will want to learn more about you, and you cannot hide anything from her… Nothing.
She could feel the young woman’s quiver through the Nexus. “I understand… Is there anything else I should do?”
Haaa-haha. Be her friend, Adoncia. Tiamat is a lonely person, and she will ask you to do things that I want you to tell me—be clear that you will tell me, as I’ve ordered you to—but accept them nonetheless, no matter how ridiculous or impossible they sound.
“Ahem… Empress, what if she asks me to attack you?”
Then tell me and do it, Elinor snickered. Make a concerted effort to try and befriend her, and my only two exceptions are the following… Never withhold anything from me—and she may have ways to bypass the Nexus to allow secrecy…
“And the second?”
Hmm-hmm. Be honest with her about what you will not compromise. She may test your resolve in those areas, so make sure they are set in stone to where you will never budge… such as her asking you to kill your brother.
No friend would demand such a thing. She is learning from you, as much as you are growing from her influence… Tiamat has been isolated in chains for longer than you can imagine.
Heart clearing of doubt, Adoncia firmed her resolve. “Yes, Empress! I won’t let you down.”
Disconnecting from the maid, Elinor found a nice little inlet and chopped a few logs before the ri’bot could attempt to help; Kulitta wouldn’t make a move to do such a thing unless prompted, which was one reason she’d selected the dominatrix to be the songstress to join her on this journey instead of her older sister.
Thor soon returned with a few massive beasts, brains turned to mush by his hammer. With some goading from Elinor, Kulitta skinned, diced the meat, and separated the bones with a note of her voice; it was cute how enthralled Nelika was while watching the songstress work.
Sparks flew from the God of Thunder’s hands to light the damp logs, instantly igniting the wood; they required quite the inferno to cook the meat, but the twin easily handled the smoke and light by generating a reflective barrier around them through her rippling sound waves.
The night passed with light banter between them, Thor getting in on the jokes as he adapted to their humor.
It wasn’t until first light when Alisa awoke—being the last of their group besides Apate—Adoncia cleared her throat to make the trickster stir; it wasn’t until Elinor had Kulitta send a focused sound wave to give the woman further instructions that Apate rolled out of her mess of fuzzy animal blankets.
The second and third days were just as rough for the teens as Elinor took them through the uneven terrain of the valley; the swamps were a mess for them, with the trickster’s illusions causing them to fall into the gunk and the occasional wild animal attack.
She turned her focus to the Spider Sisters throughout the evening, feeling a surprising amount of movement from the three as they dashed across the Empire. In her headcanon, Elinor liked to believe it was them guiding around their new youngest sister, but it would likely be some time before she was recovered after the state Iris had discovered her daughter in. Then again, Ishtar could work miracles Elinor couldn’t, so perhaps the Spider Queen was enjoying the company of her daughter.
On the third night of their journey, Elinor had made it to the southeastern descent that led to the new grasslands of her Empire; the expansive Wandering River snaked below the steep cliffs, drawing her gaze in the dark as she looked across the seemingly endless expanse of hills to the east.
She couldn’t even see the desert, but the fields were spotted with fires, lighting the zone where she’d slain most of the Great Clans’ armies; the craftsmen and loved ones that had followed their brave soldiers on their ceremonial march went about their solemn duty in collecting and identifying their dead, which had to be a daunting task that weighed on her heart.
Ishtar seemed to have sent unintelligent undead to help in moving the huge numbers of corpses, and Mauricio—her Rare-Grade Groundskeeper—had made it to the site the day, overtaking Elinor due to the teens’ slow pace, to support the building of coffins and carts to return them to their families. Ishtar appeared to be on top of things, and she had no doubt her sister would personally visit each tiny village when time allowed to perform what miracles she could.
Ishtar had her hands full—north, west, south, and east—she had to address events in every direction, and, for what Elinor thought was the first time, she actually sent a small prayer to her sister that she knew she would receive, wishing her strength, luck, and health.
Her heart felt like it had shed a weight she’d carried her whole life, making her laugh and drawing Thor’s gaze as he moved from the fire to join her.
“What hath thou in good humor, Lady Elinor?”
“Hmm. I love my sister… Imagine that. Someone I only felt pity and agitation toward… I love; I can’t wait to return to find more things that irritate me so I can poke her for it.”
“Haha! Thus art the purpose of family, no?! Hmm… Doth thou suppose my brothers are well? How hath they been detained by such lowly and unskilled Supreme Deities?”
“Ouch!” Elinor huffed, jabbing his muscular arm. “I’m a Supreme Goddess, thank you very much!”
“Ho-ho… I wast not speaking to thy noble name, Lady Elinor; thy jokes doth lighten my mood, yet I must question if this is some elaborate plan by Loki that I cannot comprehend.”
“Hmm. We’ll have to ask him ourselves when that time comes! No need to worry about what may never happen; we can only change what is in front of us, and… heh, we have our work cut out for us… Oh?”
Thor followed her gaze to the lake Apate and the others were currently camped at; Adoncia had just slipped into unconsciousness, drifting into a space Elinor couldn’t perceive—an all-encompassing darkness from the colossal figure that was Tiamat.
“It seems my maid is about to meet her inner dragon.”
* * *
Adoncia’s eyes grew heavy as she stared at the small fire Alisa, Sal, Valentina, and Apate slept around; she already knew the trickster was likely in a different spot, believing they’d do something shady to her while asleep.
Each day had been filled with new and creative ways to make their lives a living hell; at least the Empress had stopped her from making them go around in circles.
Infestations of rodents, reptiles, or seeing how well they could navigate in total darkness, Apate continued to see just how many buttons she could press, and, despite everything, Alisa always offered to share her meals with the trickster.
Valentina hated the woman with a passion, and her mouth drew the ire of Apate from time to time, which Adoncia was low-key thankful for since it provided somewhat of a break from her whimsical antics.
There had been one curious thing Adoncia had noticed today, though; every time Alisa needed to use the restroom or it was nearing meal time, her manipulations ceased; no one else seemed to notice, but it had her a bit curious if Apate was softening up on Alisa. She only feared that the trickster may try to test Alisa by doing something even more extreme tomorrow.
All of Adoncia’s worries began to melt away as her vision blurred, and a chilling wind pressed against her skin, making her shiver. Her hazy vision re-centered, eyebrows pulling together. That didn’t make sense; she was undead, and the elements didn’t really affect her that much.
She hastily jumped to her feet. “Sal? Sal, where are you?! Alisa… Valentina… Apate, this isn’t funny. You can’t—”
“Hello, child… Has it been a while?”
Adonica’s lungs seized as something unseen moved beneath the vast lake in front of her; she couldn’t see it, but her mind told her something vast moved just under the surface. Her arms and legs began to tremble as the familiar clangs of shifting chains beyond imagination split the utterly silent atmosphere.
Coughing a few times as she tried to pull from her undead and ogress feats to resist any fear manipulation, but this wasn’t some simple creature—Tiamat was not any simple creature The dragon that was without equal hummed, causing a ripple upon the still lake; her voice was captivating, and, without knowing it, Adonica found herself kneeling at the lake’s edge, staring into her reflection in the pale moonlight of the two moons overhead.
“My appearance has frightened you?”
“I… It just caught me a little off-guard… but, yes… You are a very intimidating woman, eh… dragon lady—eh, goddess—no, Celestial?”
“Hmm-hmm-hmm.” Her chuckles sent a soft clamor of moving chains and tremors through Adoncia’s entire being. “You may call me Tiamat, and I can be anything I desire… Well, at one time, I could. Now, I am the Dragon of Annihilation. A fitting name my children have given me, is it not?”
“Ahem. I, umm… don’t know.”
“Hehehe. How sweet of you to not feed into such assumptions… innocent even. I’m afraid my memory is not what it used to be… I have only fixated on one thing for… Heh. You must forgive me; the words seem to have escaped me. Your name is…”
“Adoncia… Umm. Can I…”
“Mhm? No, continue! It has been so long since I’ve heard anyone speak to me that… heh, I fear I may welcome my own children, if only to curse them… Isolation truly is such a cruel punishment for a mother.”
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Adonica took a deep breath and let it stream out. “I was asked by the Empress to do—no, to ask, eh… make clear two things!”
“How precious,” Tiamat whispered, sounding overjoyed for some reason. “Take your time, child… Adoncia. We may not have much longer to chat this night, which is… lamentable, but I will consider these demands carefully before our next meeting.”
“Okay… Ahem. Umm,” Adoncia’s eyes defocused as she looked up to see the moon, stars, and all that was in the heavens a void beyond understanding—it wasn’t just the lake—everything hid the dragon’s presence.
“I… will report to the Empress everything that happens between us. I will not lie or withhold anything from her, and… and I won’t do anything that violates my ethics… A friend wouldn’t ask me to violate my ethics. T-That’s all…”
Adoncia held her breath as utter silence followed, and her vision began to haze again with rays of sunlight breaking through the darkness; Tiamat’s slightly bewildered voice followed her exit from the dream.
“A friend… would not ask you to violate your ethics… A friend?”
Sal’s concerned brown eyes filled her vision. “Are you okay?! Y-You were shivering, and… and weren’t breathing!”
“Well, she is undead,” Apate mumbled, rubbing her eyes and looking annoyed; her brother had likely woken her up.
“Umm… No, I mean, yeah… I’m okay, Sal… Tiamat wanted to talk to me.”
Apate’s body locked up at the name, shivering and hurriedly glancing around. “Don’t say her name out loud, idiot!”
Adoncia breathed out the air in her paralyzed lungs as the trickster hissed, clearly terrified of the Celestial, but a smile brightened Adoncia’s face; she was connected to the dragon, which meant she was making progress.
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