Rasmus and the others stood in front of the big wooden doors of the castle, and suddenly the doors were pushed open. It was an old man that opened the door, he was wearing a robe that almost looked like a scholar. Anastasha pointed out that the old man was her mother’s personal butler and also the one who took care of the castle. She also mentioned that her mother took him when he was still a small child.

"Young Lady, it has been a while..." The old man smiled with his eyes closed.

Rasmus, Aris, and Rullein could see the Mana around the butler, and they were surprised to see the amount of Mana he possessed. The Mana around him was on the same level as a Sage, and it made Rasmus wonder if the old man was a scholar from the Magic Tower.

"Yes, it has been a while, Hassan. You look great as always," Anastasha smiled softly as she walked into the castle. "How’s mother?" She asked as she looked around the castle that was well-maintained, nothing like the gloomy and unmaintained outside walls of the castle.

"Master is doing well," Hassan kept smiling and his eyes were barely open. "She has been waiting for your arrival, Young Lady. It would be unwise to keep her waiting," he pointed at the hall behind him.

Anastasha nodded and allowed Hassan to escort her and the others to her mother’s chamber. When they walked the long hallway, Rasmus could see the immense Mana that was coming out of the door at the end of the hallway. Based on what Aris had said before, the one who could release such energy was something that no humans could do.

"Master is waiting for you inside, Young Lady," Hassan said and then excused himself.

Anastasha took a deep breath, staring at the door for a moment before she used both hands to open it. As soon as the door was opened, a thick white smoke escaped from the door, and an overwhelming sweet scent hit everyone’s nose. It was so strong that Serena coughed and forced herself to use divine energy to protect her body from it.

"This scent..." Rasmus furrowed his brows. "Opioid?" He glanced at Anastasha.

Anastasha nodded as she walked into the dark room where thick white smoke blocked her vision. The room had no ventilation, and it would be impossible for air to get in or get out unless the door was open. However, as soon as they entered the dark room, the door behind them closed on its own.

Rasmus, Aris, and Rullein used their draconic eyes to see through the darkness and the thick smoke. That was when they saw a woman sitting on a massive bed, with nothing that covered her body. The moment the woman stared back at them, she smirked and covered her body with a silk duvet. She then revealed the long smoking pipe in her hand, smoking the opioid before she puffed a dark purple smoke.

The air became too thick that it was impossible to breathe without feeling sick and dizzy. The smell of the air instantly became pungent like a rotten carcass. Rullein and Serena were affected by the miasma and they both felt weak from inhaling the air. It was intriguing because Rullein was still in her weakened state, not yet regained her power completely. That was enough to explain how powerful Anastasha’s mother was, and they knew that she wasn’t a human. But what surprised them even more was the fact that Anastasha didn’t get affected by the miasma.

"Mother," Anastasha lowered her head as she approached the bed that was protected by sheer curtains.

"You’re still alive..." A woman’s voice that almost sounds like a breeze of wind, quiet and gentle.

"For some unknown reason, yes," Anastasha nodded as she kneeled next to the bed, her arms resting on the edge of the bed. "How are you mother?" She stared at the figure hidden behind the purple sheer curtains.

"You have asked that question to Hassan already, there’s no reason to ask the same question twice," the woman responded as she slowly shifted her position to look at her daughter. "I already know everything, save your breath for something more useful," she added.

Anastasha nodded and then turned her head to look at Rasmus and the others. She noticed Serena and Rullein’s heavy breath and pale faces.

"Mother, they’re my guests, they’re someone I trust," Anastasha pleaded.

The woman hummed and she began to blow the miasma away with her breath. Her eyes fixated on Rasmus and Aris, two people that could withstand the miasma.

"Introduce me," the woman said as she slowly lied down on her belly and took a big hit on the opioid.

Anastasha slowly stood up and cleared her throat.

"Rasmus, this is my mother, Natia. As you have figured out, she’s a Great Spirit, one of the Three Malevolent in East Neva. Humans called the Malevolent Spirits as Evil Gods, and she’s one of them," Anastasha’s hand pointed at the silhouette of a woman with long legs and long wavy hair.

Rasmus glanced at Anastasha and the explanation opened up all the mysteries hidden behind the doors about her. He had been wondering why the Ashenvale family had spirits and Great Spirit that protected them, each of them possessed one guardian. However, the whole time Anastasha got into danger, she didn’t have any guardian even though she explained that all powerful families had ties with Great Spirits, producing half-breeds. The only possible answer was that as an Evil God, Natia didn’t have spirits under her, and the fact she stayed in the city of humans, that explained a lot that she was on her own.

"Take a seat..." Natia whispered with her lower body shifting its position almost like a snake, flowing flawlessly underneath the silk duvet. Her voice and her movements were so hypnotizing that it made anyone imagine what she looked like and the undeniable sex appeal she possessed.

Rasmus looked down at the seat cushion on the carpet. He sat down and crossed his legs, Aris and the others looked at how he sat and copied him. Anastasha walked toward the cushion and sat across from Rasmus, her eyes fixated on his, signaling him to not do or say anything.

"Do you know why I summoned you back home, my daughter?" Natia asked as she puffed the smoke, filling the room with a strong opioid scent.

"No, mother," Anastasha shook her head. "Is it due to my circumstances? Of what I did?" She turned to look at her mother that slowly rose from the bed as the duvet fell over her shoulders and pooled around her legs.

"It’s not what you did, it has something to do with what your father did..." Natia walked down the bed and hidden behind the folding screen next to the bed. "Your father dared to send his people to harm you. So I decided to meet your father with the same intention..." She muttered, her hands grabbed the red silk robe hanging on the folding screen.

Anastasha remembered that day, the assassination attempt that her brothers made. One of the assassins that were sent to kill her, they belonged to her father, and it was the only time she lost her composure. She glanced at Rasmus because he was the only person who saw her vulnerability.

"He received my message..." Natia walked out of the folding screen from the other side, revealing her appearance. "Not just him, but also your other siblings," Natia stared at Anastasha with her sharp eyes like a serpentine, her bright yellow eyes with slit pupils where one of her eyes hidden underneath her hair. Her skin was bright pale like an ash, her wavy long hair reached her thigh, covering half of her body with it. She looked as young as Anastasha, and her beauty beat Aris.

"And of course it’s because I’m your mother. I want to see my daughter," Natia answered after she took a huge hit of the opioid and puffed the smoke that lingered around her face, hiding her cold smile.