Mad God – Reborn

In a small, messy room where the only window facing a flower-filled garden had its blinds closed for the past decade, letting in barely any sunlight, the door finally opened, casting a sliver of light onto the floor. Instead of a bed, a worn mattress sat against the wall, hidden away and buried under multiple blankets and old clothes. There was barely any furniture inside besides that. An antique dresser stood with some drawers pulled out, its contents spilled across the floor; a tall standing mirror faced the wall, covered with a blanket, and nothing else... Ina had walked inside with shaky steps, closing the door behind her after her grandfather escorted her back. She just... stood in the empty room with dull eyes before dragging her feet to her mattress, slumping down, leaning against the wall, and knocking her head back, filling the room with a rhythmic, weird noise like a damaged clock counting the passing seconds.

"You should take care of yourself…" A gentle whisper came from every direction in the next moment, making Ina stop and blink. She was trying to figure out if she had just hallucinated again or not.

"I…" she opened her mouth, looking around, finally seeing the swarm of clothes on the floor move as Ariana's body slowly emerged between them. “Y-you… are you… Death?" She asked with a trembling, choking voice, crawling towards her on all fours. "Are you coming for me… for what I have done? Why not take me sooner?" She grabbed onto Ariana's clothing, not letting her speak up at all, to Ariana's surprise. "Why wait for so long? Was it my punishment?"

"N-no, I'm-" she tried to say something. Still, her senses were utterly overwhelmed by the raw, unfiltered emotions erupting from Ina, making Ariana sway and almost collapse under the concentrated agony hitting her in the face. "Shit…" She clicked her tongue, finally grabbing her wrists and kneeling before Ina so their eyes would be at the same level. "I'm not Death; neither am I here to punish you or anything like that!"

Ina couldn't see the black tentacles sneaking around her, burrowing into her body, leaving no physical marks as they started to siphon away all the negative emotions wrecking her body and mind.

"If you are not Death… then… who are you?" she asked, trembling, afraid she'd imagined something weird again.

"I'm here to reunite you with your son."

"Daryan!" Ina yelped loudly, and Ariana felt like she'd been hit by a tsunami of emotions again, rushing forward, trying to drown her mind as she was now connected to Ina.

"Calm… down…" Ariana groaned, biting her lip, trying to stay composed and sane. "The way you are now… It would do you more harm than good to see him." She picked her thin and frail body up, sweeping away the clothes on the mattress so she could lay her down. At that moment, Ariana realized that Ina was using old, never-before-used baby clothing as blankets. They were clearly made by her own hands... She wanted to say something, but nothing could describe what she felt as the realization hit her. Not when she could read Ina like an open book, connected to her deepest feelings and emotions. "Damn it…" Ariana sniffed as tears ran down her cheeks, subconsciously laying her down and pressing her forehead to Ina's, sending her into a deep sleep. "Master…" She quickly pulled a transmission crystal from her pocket.

"You sound awful. What happened?"

"Daryan's mother. She is almost completely gone; I don't know if I can bring her back."

"Mmm… I see… What are you going to do?"

"I'll try it anyway." She replied immediately with a smile, wiping away the tears.

"Good girl!" Ren chuckled. "Stay with her and do it. I'm preoccupied with my new, annoying guest anyway…" Ren moaned, slightly frustrated.

"A guest? Someone came?"

"Not just someone, one of the other Spires' Lords… and he is like a mix between a Shaman and my father."

"Ah… then that's good, no?" Ariana laughed softly, and her mood lightened quickly after speaking with Ren. She was a positive influence on her mind and, by proxy, on the unconscious Ina.

"It's just annoying… ahh, no matter, I can get used to it! Take as long as you need to."

"Will do, Master." Ariana nodded as the connection was cut, then returned her mind to Ina, focusing on her and trying to free her troubled consciousness from more than a decade of self-loathing.

…

….

…..

It was early evening, and inside the Spire of Keina's dining hall, the tower's namesake sat at the head of a long, decorated, and completely full dinner table. She leaned left, resting her chin on the back of her hand and wearing a small smile, but everyone who knew her could read her eyes and see she was completely incensed. The present servants dared not make a sound or lift their heads; they stood still, looking at their reflections in the marble floor tiles.

"This is unacceptable!" Keina's guard captain slammed the room door open as she stormed inside. She wore her full armor set, puffing white air from her nostrils like an angry bull. "If you sent out an invitation, not even Rudrick dared to refuse it in the past!"

"There is a first for everything, Nuray." Keina raised her head, answering. "I did not expect the first to do it to be a newcomer. Maybe that is why? She has yet to realize how things work here. Especially as she is yet to be named Queen."

"We should not take this slap in the face silently! We need to act, My Liege! And act now!"

"A slap, huh? Well… it certainly felt like one!" She chuckled, holding onto her chair's armrests. "Go, take some Valkyries with you and ask for an explanation."

"Yes, My Liege!" She slapped her metal breastplate, bowing towards her, and as she turned, her red cape swirled behind her, just like if she were a heroine, walking off from a painting to head towards the decisive battle.

"Nuray!" Keina called out, stopping her in her tracks. "Use caution. She did kill Rudrick." In the end, Nuray only nodded in response before leaving the room.

In the Spire of Ren, Ren entertained two unexpected guests. At the same time, Nuray called up members of the Valkyrie squad, Keina's private army, who were all in the Harmony realm and a purely female warrior group, the only one in Rozex.

"It is my first time to set foot in one of the towers. I never expected to see it from the inside, at least not if I wanted to live to tell it to others!" Paoma exclaimed with pure amusement, and Ludwigh nodded in agreement, feeling a bit nervous. He watched the decorated, golden-laced staircase as Ren led them up to her new study.

"We are still refurbishing many rooms, so sorry for the mess," Ren explained as they ascended the spiral stairway.

"Please! We are only allowed into Rozex because we are nobility." Ludwigh added, "That is in itself a privilege… but coming into one of the five towers? No chance. Not before. So only seeing this is already something we could brag about to the other kings!"

"I was always curious about what it looks like from the inside. But… besides being luxurious, it is… pretty normal." Paoma said, watching Ren's back as they stepped onto a floor decorated with paintings of the ancestors of Rudrick.

"Well, it is also well equipped. It has a small workshop, an extensive bathroom, a giant, multi-floored library, and we even have a completely soundproof torture chamber." Ren smiled as she led them forward down the well-lit corridor.

"Ugh…" Paoma and Ludwigh looked at each other. "That was a sharp turn…" Paoma mumbled. "Hope you are not taking us there for the sudden visit." She sighed jokingly.

"Nope!" Ren grinned and opened the door to her new study. "It is my-" She stopped mid-sentence as she stepped inside, and the quick stop made Paoma almost fall over Ren, who froze in place. "You did not go home?!" She shouted as Rabout stood before one of the bookshelves, lazily going through it.

"Oh my!" He smacked his forehead as he looked out the window and played the dumb one. "Is it already night? My, my! Time flies quickly, doesn't it?" He laughed, watching the flustered two behind Ren. The other rulers in the Kingdom of Ten didn't know how Rozex worked inside, and their only connection to the Naulin line was Rudrick and his branch of the family. Or Zelig himself, since he came back. So they had no idea of Rabout's rank. "Guests?" He closed the book he was holding and placed it back on the shelf with a smile.

"Yeah!" Ren sighed, giving up on getting rid of him. "She is the current Queen of the Astran Kingdom, and he is the current King of the Lotharin Kingdom."

"Oh!" Rabout clapped with a smile. "Welcome! I am Rabout. It is rare to see outsiders coming to Rozex!"

"Our pleasure," they replied simultaneously, cupping their hands as Ren collapsed into a brown leather recliner, signaling them to sit on the couch.

"You don't need to be overly cautious; he is another Spire Lord, plus he is harmless. He doesn't stand on any side."

"Hey, I may not be a good fighter, but I am still at the 2nd stage of Harmony!" Rabout grumbled, crossing his arms as he also sat down. "Plus, if you can get me what I want, I can support your claim to the throne. That would almost guarantee you will take it, as every other branch only supports themselves."

Hearing his words, Paoma and Ludwigh gulped at the same time. This meant that if everything went smoothly, Ren would be the new Queen of the Naulins... Achieving it quickly… would surprise Zelig, that is for sure.

"I'm not that sure about that," Ren muttered as she shook her head. "I'm still trying to settle in first and foremost; I'm not here to forcefully take over everything. I want to build it up and win over the people. Not the other Spires… but the people who live here," she clarified her intentions, drawing a smile onto Rabout's face as he listened to her. "But let us talk about why you two came!" She looked at the pair of rulers.

"We want an honest answer," Paoma spoke up before Ludwigh could formulate a not-so-direct question, making him twitch his mouth. "Are you at the 3rd stage of Harmony?"

"Oh?" Rabout snapped his head towards Ren, growing ever more curious.

"I am," she answered without pause, even letting her aura slip for a moment so they could feel it for themselves.

"I knew it…" Paoma clicked her tongue as Ludwigh fell into deep silence, pondering and scratching his chin.

"Oh my!" Rabout clapped, laughing like a madman. "Now I am sure you can keep your promise; I can't wait for tomorrow!"

"A week! We agreed on a week! Damn you!" Ren scolded him, but her distant relative just kept laughing, unconcerned. "So, now that you confirmed it, your next step is…?" She ignored the man and looked back at Paoma and Ludwigh.

"We want to leave the alliance too, same as King Kaipan." They laid out their cards on the table without holding back anything.

"Oh?" Ren raised her eyebrows, a little surprised. "If you two also quit, the alliance will be done for. Your two kingdoms border Kaipan in the north; by doing so, the only remaining kingdom above you two would be the Nervadask Kingdom led by Frode. Also, you would cut off Heaven's Gate from the others. Zelig would send Frode out to wage war on you two..."

"He is a rabid dog. We could hold him back," Ludwigh replied with confidence.

"Oh, Zelig would dislike that," Rabout said suddenly. "This Kingdom of Ten is his life's work. I am sure he would drop any and all pretense and eliminate you two. He plays nice because he is obsessed with how others view him and his achievements… but if nothing else matters, he is willing to burn everything to the ground until only he remains. He did it once when fighting against Aerthus."

"He did?" All of them asked at the same time.

"Um. It is recorded in my private library. It was documented by my forefather. He was a child of his and his fourth wife... Any other documentation besides what he kept secret was destroyed." Rabout explained in an excited voice. It was clear that one of his hobbies was researching and keeping historical records. "Before it, our side, like the Empire before the unification, was home to multiple small kingdoms. If you want a precise number, it had 21 different, independent territories. He tried to unify them like Aerthus, but failed in the end. So he went with a massacre. After torching down every town and city, the remaining places were the current Ten Kingdoms. All of them were raised by him, his closest... allies. Then, they redrew the borders and rewrote history; by the time I was born, it was said the Ten had always been here," he finished with a proud smile, watching their stunned expressions.

"But… we have every document, going back for long, long years!" Paoma protested as it was hard for her to believe it.

"Of course you have it. Victors write history! Plus, don't forget one important thing. Zelig cannot just rewrite something on paper..." he said as he tapped his head, looking into their eyes, making them realize why everyone feared those violet eyes. "If it comes to the worst, he will do it again… and you won't even notice it."

His warning made the King and Queen turn deathly white, their bodies drenched in sweat.

"Don't worry, it won't be the same." Ren leaned back, smiling a little, confident in her own abilities. "We can talk about it, but only after I become Queen. Then I'll be able to support you," she answered, looking into their eyes. "For now, do nothing that would further raise his suspicions!" she said, a bit scolding the two for coming here to visit her.

"Nobody knows we came to see you," Paoma replied, a bit frustrated at Ren's tone.

"Yeah, sure!" Ren and Rabout laughed at the same time. "Look…" Ren leaned forward. "For now, stall for time. Don't meet with Zelig. If you are pressured, try to resist! If all comes crumbling down, you can come to me for help, but I'd prefer you to resist until I am Queen."

"Mhm… we can do that!" Paoma nodded, fired up, and just then the room's door opened, and Kitten hurried in.

"We have a problem!" she said, looking at Ren and ignoring the rest. "There are troublemakers at the gate! Some guards were already injured, and Master is in a brawl!"

"Yeah, I felt it. I was hoping you could deal with it…" Ren moaned, feeling like the day just refused to end. "This is why I told LeiLei I hate managing and leading things... headaches after headaches instead of just lazing around in bed!"

"It is probably Keina," Rabout said with a relaxed smile, interrupting Ren's frustrated mumblings.

"It seems that until I show a little force, nobody is going to let me do my own thing in peace!" She pouted, looking like a frustrated little kid. "Damn it! So be it!" She stomped, shaking the whole spire before flashing away.

All anyone could hear was thunder rumbling as the window opened, and a purple bolt of lightning flashed toward the courtyard's main gate.