[Realm: Uhorus]

[Location: Verdantis]

[Capital City]

Today was the day Lucinda realized she truly did not possess the temperament for revelations capable of shattering the foundations of her world.

First, she had been told that she was not merely a spawn of Octavia but an incarnation of something truly divine. An Angel. A being so distant and vaguely understood that even the mere mention of such entities made most people hesitate. Then came the revelation regarding Mikoto, the truth behind his soul, the phase, and the impossible burden tied to him.

And now the truth.

The shock had not even begun to settle.

Lucinda’s red eyes remained fixed on Alyssia with intensity, as though staring long enough might somehow make the situation less absurd. The similarities were impossible to ignore. The same snow-white hair. The same crimson eyes. Even the shape of their faces shared unsettling resemblance. Their body types were similar as well, enough so that at a glance one could genuinely mistake them for sisters. Perhaps even mirrors of one another.

Then there was the mana.

Lucinda could feel it despite Alyssia clearly suppressing most of it. That familiar sensation pressed against her senses. Warm yet overwhelming, divine yet strangely sorrowful. It was identical to her own.

There was a third spawn of Octavia.

That fact alone should not have been possible.

Discovering that Mikoto had been one already felt like the world had shifted beneath her feet. She still had not fully processed that revelation. Yet now another stood before her so casually, arms folded and expression mildly irritated, as if none of this were particularly important.

Lucinda’s thoughts spiraled.

("How many secrets are hidden beneath all of this...?")

"Stare any longer and I might start thinking you’re jealous."

Alyssia’s voice abruptly cut through Lucinda’s thoughts.

Lucinda blinked quickly, realizing only then just how openly she had been staring. Alyssia stood with her arms folded beneath her chest, one pale brow slightly raised while her gaze remained firmly fixed on her.

There was no genuine hostility there. Mostly impatience. Though beneath that impatience Lucinda sensed something else, discomfort.

"S-sorry," Lucinda apologized softly, finally tearing her gaze away for a moment before looking back. "It’s just... this is all extremely surprising. I do not think anyone could process this quickly."

"To you and me both," Fiona admitted with a slow nod, though her sharp eyes remained fixed on Alyssia carefully. Her ears twitched once before she folded her arms tightly beneath her chest. "One impossible thing after another. Another spawn of Octavia appearing out of nowhere." Her gaze shifted slightly toward Guinevere. "Still, why are you specifically involved with matters here in Verdantis, Lady Guinevere? That part concerns me more."

Lucinda and Victoria both glanced toward the Court Mage of Galadriel as well. That question had lingered in all their minds.

Guinevere remained composed as her gaze shifted briefly toward Alyssia before returning to Fiona.

"Lyra and I are quite familiar with one another," Guinevere answered smoothly. "We have been for a very long time." Her voice remained the same. "And as for Alyssia, I suppose you could say there exists a certain bond between us."

The explanation was vague enough to only deepen suspicion.

Alyssia immediately frowned.

"Does that ’bond’ simply translate to you being annoying?" she asked flatly. "Because that is mostly what I’ve experienced."

Victoria covered part of her mouth, very clearly hiding amusement.

Guinevere merely sighed with the exhausted patience of someone long accustomed to such comments.

"You wound me."

"I genuinely try." Alyssia smirked.

Lucinda noticed it then.

The glance shared between Lyra and Guinevere.

It lasted only a second. Brief enough that someone less observant may have missed it entirely. Yet there was meaning there. Something passed silently between them before both women looked away again.

Lucinda’s unease deepened slightly.

Whatever history existed here clearly ran far deeper than they were being told.

"Well," Victoria finally spoke, elegantly crossing her arms as she leaned lightly against the doorway, "if all of this has your collective attention to such an extent, then I gather the matter must be rather important."

"It concerns retrieving Mikoto," Guinevere said bluntly, "and someone else."

The reaction was immediate.

"What!?" Fiona stepped forward so quickly her sabaton struck sharply against the floor. Her composure cracked instantly. "You know where he is!?"

"So loud..." Alyssia muttered with visible annoyance, lightly covering one ear.

Lucinda herself felt her heartbeat quicken sharply as Guinevere’s expression grew more serious.

"His situation is delicate," she began carefully. "Mikoto disappeared directly before both mine and Lyra’s eyes. Initially we assumed some form of forceful transportation magic had been used. If not that, then perhaps sealing."

"But neither of those should be enough to fully impair a spawn of Octavia," Victoria interrupted quietly, realization slowly forming in her eyes. "Especially not Mikoto."

Lyra gave a small approving nod.

"Correct," the Court Mage of Verdantis confirmed. "Though reaching that conclusion required time. There were inconsistencies."

The room grew quieter as Lyra folded her pale arms loosely as she continued.

"There is something all three major nations currently share." Her eyes swept across them all slowly. "During each respective festival, one individual vanished."

"There is a pattern," Victoria murmured immediately. "And it revolves around Mikoto."

"Yes," Lyra confirmed curtly. "Here in Verdantis, Dante disappeared. In Vel’ryr, General Grimm vanished as well."

Lucinda frowned at the mention of the names while Fiona’s ears twitched sharply.

Lyra continued.

"Mikoto and Dante were both regarded as the strongest combatants within their nations. As for General Grimm, I know comparatively little beyond reputation alone." Her expression shifted slightly. "But even I have heard stories regarding him. He was considered monstrously powerful. Some even claimed he surpassed the late crown prince in raw combat ability."

Lucinda’s expression dimmed slightly at that reminder.

The prince, that subject alone, carried enough grief already.

Yet her thoughts quickly returned inward once more.

("Just what is happening...?")

"I am sure Dante will be fine; he is the strongest after all," Alyssia stated unexpectedly.

The confidence in her voice was immediate and firm, lacking even the slightest hesitation. It caught Lucinda somewhat off guard. Up until now, the other spawn of Octavia had mostly sounded annoyed, sharp-tongued, and almost childish at times despite the strange emotion sitting behind her eyes. But when Dante was mentioned, that certainty came naturally.

Lyra noticed it as well.

One elegant brow slowly rose as the court mage rested her cheek against her palm, red eyes glinting with amusement.

"Are you quite certain that is not merely your little crush speaking?" Lyra asked smoothly.

"It is not a crush!" Alyssia immediately snapped back.

Her reaction came far too quickly.

A flush spread across her pale face almost instantly, red enough to rival her eyes as she clenched a small fist near her chest in indignation. The movement was oddly delicate despite the frustration behind it. Even the way she frowned looked more embarrassed than genuinely angry.

Lucinda blinked.

Victoria very clearly looked like she was fighting back laughter, and Fiona stared for a moment before slowly narrowing her eyes.

"You reacted suspiciously fast," the Solkari noted bluntly.

"I did not!" Alyssia shot back. "You people are reading too deeply into it. I merely stated a fact. Dante is absurdly strong. That is all."

"Hm." Victoria lightly tapped a finger against her chin. "Yes, yes, naturally. Merely admiration of combat ability. Nothing more."

"There is nothing more," Alyssia insisted harder this time.

Lyra chuckled softly at the entire exchange, not a restrained hum of amusement or the dry emotion she had mostly carried until now. It was genuine laughter that was warm and unexpectedly light.

The sound made the room still for a brief moment.

Lucinda noticed it immediately; so did the others. Even Guinevere’s eyes shifted ever so slightly toward the Court Mage.

Alyssia grumbled beneath her breath and sharply looked away, clearly refusing to engage further while her face remained tinted red.

"You are all annoying," she muttered.

"And yet entirely correct," Lyra replied without missing a beat.

Alyssia looked moments away from throwing another piece of furniture.

Victoria, meanwhile, continued studying Lyra carefully.

That warmth in the older woman’s laughter lingered even after the amusement faded. It was present enough to feel strangely intimate. As though this banter had happened many times before.

"It almost feels," Victoria murmured thoughtfully, "as though someone here becomes considerably less dull around certain company."

Lyra’s smile thinned knowingly.

"I have no idea what you mean."

"Mhm."

Lucinda’s attention drifted between them all quietly.

Despite everything they had discussed—Angels, reincarnation, the Abyss, and Mikoto—the atmosphere had shifted, if only slightly. The tension had not disappeared, but it loosened enough for everyone to breathe again.

Only briefly.

Victoria’s expression slowly settled once more as the earlier conversation returned to the forefront of her thoughts.

"However, back to the main topic. It almost sounds," she said carefully, "as though someone deliberately sought to remove the greatest threats from each nation before making their move." Her blue eyes sharpened slightly. "It cannot be a coincidence that Mikoto, Dante, and this General Grimm all vanished."

The room quieted again.

"Yes," Lyra answered plainly. "That is exactly the case."

Fiona folded her arms tightly across her chest, clawed gauntlets scraping against one another as her brows furrowed deeper.

"But who would even benefit from doing something like this?" she questioned. "And more importantly..." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Who could?"

Lucinda found herself wondering the same thing.

Mikoto was monstrously strong.

Dante, from what she knew and saw, was no different.

And if General Grimm possessed enough renown to be mentioned alongside them, then he too was likely terrifying in battle.

Taking even one of them by force should have been nearly impossible.

Taking all three?

That sounded absurd, yet it had happened.

Guinevere was the one who answered next.

"One who stands to gain greatly from removing variables they cannot control," she said evenly. "But explaining everything now would accomplish little."

Her tone remained calm, though Lucinda noticed how her gaze briefly shifted downward in thought before returning to them.

"There is still much to discuss," Guinevere continued. "Far too much, in truth. And I am growing rather tired of holding conversations while standing."

Victoria exhaled softly through her nose. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"A fair point."

"Besides," Guinevere added, smoother now, "the matters ahead will require patience. You would do well to gather yourselves first."

Fiona still looked dissatisfied, and Lucinda understood why. Hearing that there might actually be leads regarding Mikoto only made the uncertainty worse somehow. Her chest tightened slightly at the thought.

Alive, missing, and possibly suffering. And somehow connected to all of this far deeper than any of them initially realized.

Her fingers unconsciously curled at her sides.

("Please be alright...")

Alyssia noticed the small shift in her expression.

For once, the white-haired girl’s voice softened slightly.

"I do not know this Mikoto..." she murmured quietly, "but I owe him my life. And if he is a fellow spawn, I am certain he is quite powerful."

Lucinda looked toward her.

The statement sounded oddly personal. Before she could question it further, however, Lyra clapped her hands together once, lightly.

"Enough gloom for the moment," the Court Mage declared. "If this conversation continues at this pace, all of you shall start looking as exhausted as Mai."

"That seems impossible," Victoria replied immediately.

A snort escaped Fiona before she could stop herself.

Guinevere, meanwhile, turned gracefully toward the couches near the far side of the room.

"Come," she said. "Sit. Compose yourselves properly. Then we shall continue discussing exactly what kind of disaster we are truly dealing with."

Wordlessly, Lucinda and the others nodded.