Mad God – Reborn

Days passed quickly in Rozex as people finally noticed that building after building was being bought up next to the main market square. Even more shocking, they quickly walled off and demolished these complexes, and a new, massive building slowly began to take shape in their place. When everyone realized what was happening, it became the biggest news all over the city in the past century. It rarely happened, and when it did, it was always connected to one of the Spires.

Their guesses were confirmed a day later when a notice appeared, signed by Rabout and Ren. When the public read the statement, pinned to a giant noticeboard before the construction, it said a so-called 'Wonder Emporium' would open its doors in the coming months. Two Spire Lords signing something at the same time? It had never happened before, and people couldn't even guess what it meant. What is a Wonder Emporium? But no matter where they looked, they found no answers, leaving them to wonder and guess until it was finally opened to the public.

While the masses spread rumors about it, some people sat at home, hands shaking, holding a letter from the Nelvis family. All of them were on friendly terms with Ooda and had worked with him before, trusting and knowing his personality. Now a note came from him, telling them what the two Spires were working on and asking them to join as partners. One way or another, none of them wanted to miss it. It was a golden ticket to rise up and become one of the elite families inside Rozex, no matter their original backgrounds. Families tied to one of the Spires always enjoyed privileges only their backing could offer, and sometimes they even sent their daughters or sons to serve as concubines to someone from the Naulin bloodline… a true ascendancy in some nobles' eyes. Life inside Rozex was as dangerous as for any animal in the jungle; families came and went at the Spires' whim, so only their support offered any shelter or security.

Previously, when Rudrick held the King's role, his family backed multiple nobles throughout the city, keeping a firm grip on Rozex. He dipped his fingers into every walk of life, keeping his hand on the city's pulse at all times. Yet when he died, most of the families he had close ties with had unwillingly followed him to the grave, ending their lineage on the spot. Still, a handful remained and left at the first sign of trouble.

Their luck was the fact that they were so marginal and unimportant that Rudrick didn't even waste resources marking them. They then emptied the still-standing Spire of Rudrick and cut every tie to it, trying to avoid trouble or ramifications if anyone came after the weakened Spire and its followers.

Everything was calm and silent until now. A descendant of Rudrick was alive and well? She arrived, took over the courtyard, and now decided to open a new business? Of course, they wanted to reclaim their former positions. They even hoped to climb the proverbial ladder and reach new heights, as in their eyes, it was a perfect chance to become more powerful than they had ever dreamed!

"How many came to see my Master today?" Ariana asked, sitting the same way Ren usually did, even holding a cup of coffee in the same posture she had when asking Sentios.

"Five," he answered with a smile. "They are in the conference room on the first floor. Kitten and some servants are currently accompanying them.

"So they are here for my Master?" She asked again, placing down the cup, stretching and moaning softly.

"I told them she was unavailable, as she is at the Spire of Rabout. They said they are willing to wait, of course." he shook his head. "I can throw them out if you want."

"No. This is good. Call Seya. She and I can handle this! No need to even bother Master about it."

"I thought so." Sentios nodded. "I already notified her. She is waiting for you."

"Ahaha, you are efficient!" Ariana clapped, already seeing Sentios in a new light. Getting to know him personally and working together eased her mood and softened her stance toward him, and without saying it out loud, she had already forgiven him for everything.

"I always was. I can lose myself in details... That is why my brother won the throne; I always got lost chasing unimportant extras. Anyway, I've learned a lot since then."

"Mhm, I know." She shook her head while standing up. "Come, accompany me."

"Certainly." Sentios smiled and followed her until they met Seya. She was nervous about meeting the noble family leaders who had arrived. They once escaped the courtyard, leaving Seya and the others behind, slipping out with who knows what kind of wealth under their arms.

"Lady Ariana!" She bowed quickly, but Ariana just sighed and helped her stand straight.

"No bowing towards me; I'm just a maid!" Ariana whispered as she walked down and adjusted Seya's clothing. "You are the Lord of this tower until Master is back," she giggled, even as she fixed her hair. "Have you been briefed on what is happening?"

"Yes. I know everything. I took a quick look, and I recognized all of them! They were leaders of small families working in the courtyard. Three of them provided an unskilled labor force to the manufacturers, one of them provided a lot of servants for menial tasks, and the other was responsible for keeping the garden prim and proper."

"So the ones who were not important enough to be planted with Rudrick's controlling powers, huh? Figures." She crossed her arms and listened. "And now they are here to show off, saying they are back to serve? Laughable!"

"Lady… they… they stole a lot of things, especially from the servants' quarters and from the empty manufacturing buildings!"

"That would explain why there were a lot of tools missing." Sentios nodded. "When I combed through the buildings and workshops when we arrived, they were mostly empty; only heavy machinery was left behind, the ones that were bolted to the floor."

"It would mean they are up for a beheading. Stealing property of the Naulin bloodline is not a joke." Ariana grinned, making Seya shiver. "Even in our Sect, stealing from a fellow disciple warrants heavy punishment, even the chance of exile with the possibility of crippling the culprit's cultivation."

"But we can't provide proof for it…" Seya said in a downcast voice as Ariana patted her shoulders, making her lift her head.

"Aren't you the best evidence we have? All of you who remained here and saw what happened?" She asked, looking her in the eyes and dispelling her gloomy mood. "I am going to walk in behind you. This depends solely on you, Seya! Go in and do what you feel is correct; I will support you, no matter the outcome."

"I…" she opened her mouth, but seeing her and Sentios's gaze, she gulped, gathered all her strength, and finally nodded, walking up to the double door, pushing it open.

"Don't forget…" Ariana sent her a voice transmission. "You are now Princess Seya. When my Master is not here, you lead the Spire!"

"..." Seya exhaled through her nose, glanced over her shoulder, and nodded. "Yes, Lady Ariana." She mouthed the words, pushed the door open, and walked in with a completely different attitude, looking confident and regal.

As soon as she entered, every other pair of eyes landed on her body, scanning her from top to bottom, trying to figure out whether they had seen her before. The five family heads were in their late forties, with varying strength, but none stronger than the fourth- or fifth-stage body refinement realm. One of them quietly exclaimed when he recognized Seya, having seen her among the servants.

"Oh? Are we going to be escorted to our lodgings until the Lord comes back?" He smiled and asked, having identified Seya, thinking they had come to show them where they would rest for the night.

"No." She shook her head, calm and confident as she faced them. "But for now, you are all under arrest." She dropped a bombshell, drawing a small smile on Ariana's face but freezing theirs.

"T-this must be a mistake… why would-" one of the others stuttered.

"A servant should not joke behind her Master like this! We are going to report it-" fought back the only one who knew Seya from the past, but he was quickly shot down by a glare from her. Even more frightening, Sentios, who was already walking behind them, locked onto each of them with his own aura. It was starting to weigh on their consciousness more and more as they kept resisting. Kitten, playing the role of a smiling, shy little maid, leaned against the only door to the room, grinning, ready to jump in if any of them tried to run for it.

"I'm not a servant. I am the Princess of this tower and the second in command if Her Majesty is not here." Seya rebutted them with a strong voice. Though she was shorter than them, they felt she was looking down on them as their eyes met. "Your families are accused of deserting the courtyard, betraying the family line, and even stealing from it!"

"We did not!" came a panicked protest by reflex, but Seya just looked at them like they were already dead.

"We would not have pursued the matter. Not if you stay put and enjoy what you stole from the courtyard. From a ruling family! From the Spire that was bearing the name of the previous King of the Naulin Kingdom! Do any of you know what it means to steal from the royal family?" she asked, tilting her head to the right, holding her hand behind her back to mask its trembling. Deep inside, she was stressed and excited at the same time, and she hoped that Ren would praise her when she returned.

"Death penalty. For the whole family," Sentios answered instead of the five, crossing his arms over his chest and forcing them to kneel before Seya with one push of his aura.

"Please! We-"

"It was a mistake to come back." Seya interrupted them. "You made off with a fortune, and you could live effortlessly with your families for generations if you spent rationally. Yet you came back at the first sign, trying to weasel your way back to earn more? Portraying yourself as a loyal family member serving the bloodline? I bet you wouldn't even dare to fart if Rudrick were still alive. Hmph!" She scoffed at them, angry at the memory of being left alone with dead bodies surrounding them.

Her words made Ariana chuckle, as in that moment, she saw a little of her Master in Seya's posture and wording. Now they really looked like cousins.

"Take them away! Leave none related to them outside!" She ordered, "For now, send out Balbeer and some guards to round up their families and transport them here. We are going to wait for Her Majesty's return, and she is going to make the final decision!"

"Yes!" Ariana and Sentios bowed and answered simultaneously, escorting away the five deathly pale men, who could barely walk, dragged along by Ariana's black tentacles, wrapping around their wrists as shackles.

…

….

…..

"Oh? Did she do that? Nice!" Ren laughed, hearing Ariana's report through a voice transmission crystal. She explained what happened while she was inside Rabout's Spire, floating among bookcases tens of meters tall that formed a real labyrinth. "I knew she had potential. Good job! Anyway, I'll be back only tomorrow or the day after. Keep them locked up until then. Grandpa also locked himself into his laboratory after coming out of the training room that I promised to him..."

"Are you really giving him one, Master? Is it a good idea?" Ariana asked cautiously.

"It is only a temporary one. Plus, I have plenty of resources to start producing goodies to fill our Wonder Emporium by the time it opens. Also, it only has a few more uses before it crumbles! I'm not a saint; if he wishes to use a permanent one, he is going to need to join the Sect and contribute to it." Ren smiled while she floated to the side, scanning the hundreds of thousands of books before her. "It would be a win-win situation. Especially now, after I saw his collection… he really is a history maniac. I am reading records about how the earlier descendants of Zelig thought about him... Interesting."

"I guess they worshiped him, huh?" Ariana replied with unmistakable sarcasm.

"Believe it or not, no. They were afraid of him. The direct descendants' memoirs that remained here tell an interesting story... They all mention the same thing: what they MUST avoid at all costs and how not to anger him! If they anger Zelig, they risk their… where it was…." She flew a few rows back, picked out an old, almost crumbling roll of paper, unfurled it, and read it to Ariana. "Ah, here it is. I quote, 'Angering His Majesty can result in severe consequences. One of them is that he may perform a late-term abortion on the family, affected by his ire. If this comes to pass, the rest of the family branch that is suffering under his attention MUST avoid resisting at all costs. This is to prevent further steps and avoid collective punishment of the whole family line. If it still results in his 'prevention of bloodline degeneration,' the affected branch must be purged and the younglings to be adopted into other branches in secret.' That is what the text says."

"What the… hell?" she answered after a few seconds of silence.

"It seems back then he was even worse than now. This was a letter between family heads. I guess if it came down to writing something like this, there must have been examples of all the warnings mentioned. I bet if this had reached Zelig, he would have killed the writer, along with all his close relatives. Anyway, the guy is a complete nutcase! I already decided he has to go. No way around it!"

"I agree, Master. He is too dangerous!"

"Luckily, not everyone inherited his personality. One such line that did has already been ended by me… and I'll finish cleaning the house. Using his own wording, I am performing prevention of bloodline degeneration~."

"Sounds good, Master." Ariana chuckled.

"Plus, there is another thing."

"Yes?"

"I found some interesting clues." Ren began, muttering a little at the start, "I'll talk about it with Rabout when he is out and interacting with us again and not lost in his own world… but for now, do something for me. And be CAREFUL about it!"

"I'm listening, Master!" She answered with a solemn voice, turning serious in an instant.

"Go down to the base of the Spire, try to get a feeling of the air and energy flow there. Note down what you feel, no matter how strange or inconspicuous it is. Then please go to Keina's Spire and do the same."

"On it, Master… but… why?"

"A hunch…" Ren said after a bit of a pause, looking at the extensive library around her, "I get the feeling that those five Spires are not just there because they look cool… the whole city feels… strange. Artificial. Planned too perfectly. After walking around here and comparing it to my Spire... I'm getting a certain tingling feeling."

"Like…?" Araina's eyes widened as she caught on to what her Master was saying.

"Like we are sitting inside a formation."