Mad God – Reborn

When the carriage stopped before the only gate in the massive wall, nobody came out to greet them. No guards stood before the decorated, giant, solid-gold door, which was tightly shut. No sentries walked above them along the top of the wall, either, as the group could only hear the flags flapping in the wind, without the accompanying footsteps and armor rattling of patrolling guards.

"Creepy," Kitten said as she stepped out of the carriage and looked up, while curious onlookers gathered around the surrounding buildings, watching them from afar.

"You can say that again." Ariana nodded and jumped out of the carriage, followed by her Master, who had already felt how the place was filled with deep fear and disturbingly lethargic emotions.

"I suppose it should not look like this?" Ren asked, looking at Sentios, standing in the driver's seat, shaking his head.

"No. But I am not surprised, to be honest with you. The door is enhanced with a formation, and only those who are recognized as part of this branch can open it after it is closed."

"They have formations?" Ariana raised her eyebrows.

"Not them, but Zelig," Sentios answered, stepping beside Ren. "Remember that I said this city was made by him? There are things here that people use their whole lives without knowing how they're made or what makes them work… it… Those things are… just work. Same with the gates to the other four courtyards. They... work. Zelig made them, but the rest used them. I guess this is why it is closed now. So the others would not try and come to wreck things inside while nobody is at home."

"Why not just fly in?" Kitten tilted her head with question marks in her eyes.

"You can try," Ren said, smiling at her.

"Oh! Noooo, no, no, no! If you say it like that, it must have some kind of defensive mechanism, and I would lose a life again. You are really mean. I'm on your side!" She moaned as she crossed her arms, puffed up her cheeks, and began pouting.

"Ahaha, you would not have lost a life." Ren laughed and walked up to the door. "But yes, you would have problems with it," she explained while placing her hands on the door.

The people watching from far away looked on with curiosity, as the door had never opened since the day Rudrick turned traitor, not until today. A new face arrived, clearly someone from the Naulin bloodline, and she was trying to open the door to their courtyard... Informants from all the different branches were already watching, pointing their recording crystals at her. The moment Ren's palms touched the door, she felt it automatically release a small strand of energy that traveled through her body, but only briefly. Then it retreated into the door as it opened, revealing the extensive but empty-looking courtyard.

A road of white tiles led from the door toward the middle, where a medium-sized pond lay, filled with sparkling, golden-scaled fish swimming slowly inside. Circling around the lake like a roundabout, the road split into three directions, leading towards separate parts of their new home. One led to the spire, visible from everywhere in the city. Before the spire stood a second, smaller wall, only 2 meters tall, with another closed entrance. On the left stood a three-storied, luxurious, expansive villa with its own little town around it; on the right, they saw stables, workshops, and even a training ground.

Along the roads, tall, lush cherry trees stood in full bloom, gently showering the tiles with petals. Given how much they covered them, it was clear nobody had swept them clean in a long time. The same was true of the garden's flowerbeds and decorative bushes growing out of wild branches; everything was slowly showing signs of neglect.

"Compared to this, the imperial palace in the Capital is but a minor noble's holiday mansion…" Ren whistled, amazed by the scenery as they walked inside, and the gate closed behind them on its own.

"I thought about it the same way for the first time when I arrived here." Sentios agreed. "But this is only my fifth time stepping inside the courtyard."

"Oh? You were not allowed in?" Ariana asked, surprised, as they walked toward the pond.

"Not really. When I was brought here or summoned, I met with Rudrick in the Naulin's court. It is in the middle of the city. These places are… even more secure than the royal palace," he said, looking around, trying to see anyone present, but everything looked empty. It was like a wholly emptied-out and haunted place, not something where people lived.

"Ariana?" Ren turned toward her disciple as they reached the pond, where the fish already swam toward the edge right in front of them, begging for food.

"How yummy!" Kitten yelped, but her cat tail was grabbed by Ren as she was pulled back, screaming out loudly, "My tail! Don't squeeze it so hard, please!"

"No touching, or I'll take you down to one life only," Ren said calmly, still waiting for Ariana's response.

"There are people here…" she replied after a bit of time had passed, pointing towards the villa with her head. "I can feel something from there, but it is very lethargic."

"Let's go and check it out. What is that building for?" Ren asked as they approached it.

"It houses the servants of the courtyard." Sentios answered, "The main family members are living in the spire. Or lived."

Ren walked up to the main door without hesitation when they finally arrived at the villa, and pushed it open quickly. Dozens of terrified pairs of eyes watched them enter. Most belonged to teens between 14 and 18, with a handful of young adults, but none looked older than 24 or 25. Most wore plain clothing that suggested they were servants or even lower on the social ladder.

"Hm…" Ren looked over the group calmly, seeing the fear in their eyes as they wondered what would happen to them now. "A few of you look promising," she whispered under her breath.

"And a few of them look like purebloods." Sentios transmitted his words to her. "That is what they call those who have both characteristics of the bloodline." He pointed out eight teens with silver-colored hair and somewhat violet eyes.

"W-welcome… I… I am Seya…." A girl stepped forward, around 16, with long, straight silver hair. The only difference was that her eyes had a slight bluish hue to their purple, turning indigo here and there. Despite her apparent fear, she gathered her courage and gave Ren a noble's curtsy, recognizing her as a true noble. She was taller than Ren, and her womanly features were already in full bloom, but the dark circles under her eyes were greatly eroding her beauty. The aura Ren felt from her belonged to someone in the 4th body refinement realm, but it was also clear she hadn't received proper training. It wasn't stable; it was filled with incoherent vibrations.

"Nice to meet you, Seya." Ren nodded with a small smile. "You are the leader of this group?"

"I…" She looked back at the rest, and they clearly told her with their eyes what to say. "Y-yes. I am."

"Are you part of the main bloodline of Rudrick?" Ren asked her second question after her answer.

"No!" She protested immediately as if she had asked something dangerous. "I am only a bastard from a whore in the city and was taken in because of my looks. I dare not even think about being a true pureblood!"

"Bah…" Ren rolled her eyes. "I'll need to administer some changes." She clapped, let out a long sigh, then raised her voice. "My name is Ren, great-granddaughter of Rudrick! From now on, I am the new leader of this family branch!"

As she said that, the servants before her trembled, but, trained as they were, they all stood straight, placed their hands on their chests, and bowed almost 90 degrees, including Seya, as they spoke in perfect unison.

"Greetings to you, Your Highness."

"Rise." Ren waved her hand, forcing them up with her powers. "Is this all of you?" she asked, looking at Seya.

"Yes," she answered immediately, grabbing her clothing and not daring to look her in the eye. "Most of the adults and experienced people just… died one day. We… we…" She tried to find the words. "We buried them behind the villa."

"I see." Ren exhaled slowly and shook her head. She realized Rudrick was more into controlling others than Zelig... but damn. "What about those who were not dead? It can't be that all of the older staff just… died."

"They left when the King was named traitor..." she replied to her after a bit of hesitation. "They took… a lot of things. We… we dared not follow them! We did not steal anything, we swear!"

"Oh? How interesting! So there were people who took what they thought was valuable and left? Heh… well, I can't blame them," she chuckled, shaking her head. "Why did you not leave?"

"We have… nowhere to… go. And the door, since everyone died, wouldn't open." She answered honestly, head lowered. "We couldn't get out; the door would not open for someone like us!"

"Haah… at least I have something to work with." She stretched, moaning a little. "Okay! Sentios, go check out the villa and make a full inventory of what we have here."

"Yes, my lady." He bowed respectfully and headed further in.

"Eh… khm. Kitten," Ren continued, "you go outside, scour the garden, and whatnot for anything interesting or suspicious. Also, please check out the other side where the stables are."

"Sure thing!" She saluted with a grin, turning into a cat before everybody, surprising them as she rushed off.

"Seya."

"Y-y-yes, Your Highness?!" She yelped, scared, as they flashed into action so suddenly.

"Please make a list for me of everybody present here. I want to know everybody's names, ages, backgrounds, strengths, what you are good at and what you are bad at, etc. Okay? I want it written down and compiled in alphabetical order before dusk."

"Yes!" Seya bowed before her. "It is going to be done!"

"Good! Also, everyone should relax. I won't send away nobody! I won't mete out punishment, either! I just want to know what kind of jobs you are good at. Please be truthful, as it would be worse if I assign you a job you can't handle and cause trouble for me with it." She said, looking them in the eyes. "Oh, and… Seya?"

"Yes, Your Highness?" She asked, trembling a little.

"Were any of you in the spire?"

"No, Your Highness! It is closed, and we can't open the door. It is sealed shut."

"I see. Okay, do what I asked you to do. I'll go check it out; come, Ariana!"

"Yes, Master!" She said, following her with quick steps, and when they were farther away, she spoke up with a sigh, "They are deeply traumatized…"

"No wonder. It seems Rudrick planted his seed in more people than I previously thought. And he did so quite literally. Seeing every adult who previously told them what to do every day fall dead must have been pretty harrowing. What a control freak!"

"Yes… and… Master?"

"Hm?" Ren looked at her with a half-smile.

"I felt like Seya is connected to you, Master," Ariana said, looking back over her shoulder.

"As I said, Rudrick planted his seed in many people. Literally." Ren nodded as they neared the tall spire. They could see the white walls and an amethyst-carved door engraved with images of the branch's crest. "She is probably a bastard of Rudrick or one of his children's offspring. She should be another cousin of mine like Astair was." When they finally stood before the door, Ren placed her hands on it, but she got none of the feelings from the main gate. "Oh? This is just… heavy."

"Heavy?" Ariana tilted her head as Ren pushed, easily opening the door.

"Yeah. It is simply heavy. No wonder they thought it was closed; someone under the 7th body refinement realm would be unable to open it." She said as they walked into the spire. "Maybe we are going to find others in...side..." Ren wanted to say, but her words were caught in her throat because, as soon as she opened the main door, the smell hit them. Ariana quickly turned back, holding back her breakfast from coming up. "Oh my… what a strong stench…" Ren groaned as even she pinched her nose, watching the gross scene before her.

The main lobby had two already decomposing bodies with white hair, and their violet eyes rolled backward, lying on the ground. Judging by the powerful odor from further inside and from upstairs, they would find more dead bodies, not just the two in the lobby.

"It's too strong…" Ariana said, retching a little but still following her Master, covering her nose with her arm as she walked inside. "There should be dozens here who died… fuck…."

"Heh..." Ren chuckled at her swearing, which was rare to hear. "Well… figures. Those who lived here were all Rudrick's people or descendants. He took the strongest with him to Ironclaw, and if they all fell dead after his death, why would those he left behind fare any better? But I can't deny something…" She walked inside, waving her hand as all the windows in the spire opened up at once.

"What, Master?"

"He spared me the pain of going through everyone, one by one, and seeing who would try to trip me up. Zelig thought he was screwing me over, giving me a literally dead branch family… yet he gave me a blank canvas." She smiled, stretched her hand out, and looked up at the spire as a spiraling staircase led up through the many levels. "I can paint on this, whatever and however I feel like!"