Malediction of the Depth – Silence in Judgement

It was the third day of Lea being unconscious, still looking at herself through the eyes of others.

It was boring without any access to her powers, not doing anything but just watching. Dawn had returned to her study, juggling three major projects at once. Auger also left after a few rounds of interrogation. Her half-Horror form was the result of ascending too quickly, combined with interference from third parties and the stressful situation she was in...

But that darkness, that error of existence, "Miss Mashhith" saved her. From the look of it, that single moment when Lea saw its true appearance...

Sinclair Apocrypha, emotionless, lifeless gaze.

She had guessed the creature was a Divine Throne, possibly tamed by Lady Keter. That means Sinclair was someone who rejected Divinity.

After hearing about The Heretic, someone who understood the hidden mechanism of the world, it is no wonder that she rejected godhood. Like master, like student.

With a war going on, Lea doubts she would be able to catch a ship to Australia. So heeding Lady Keter's advice, Lea tried to master this mirror world. But apart from staring at different versions of herself and being a voyeur, there isn't much she could do.

Once again, Lea heads toward the mirror connected to the guard outside of the medical room. Through his sleepy eyes and yawns, she tried to use Mockery...

Yet this world demands and enforces absolute silence. This mirror world, the world of the subconscious - voices whispering behind every mind, the melody behind every thought, thus they can never be heard.

It was quite useless...

Lea pulled away from the mirror, frustrated. Three days trapped in this liminal space. Three days watching others live while she remained suspended in—

Something changed.

The mirrors rippled like water disturbed by the wind. Lea felt a pull, stronger than before. Not outward through the mirrors, but inward. Toward her body.

Her real body.

The connection that had been distant, tenuous, suddenly strengthened. Became solid.

Lea gasped, and this time, she felt air fill lungs that actually existed.

The mirror world shattered.

Lea's eyes opened.

Real eyes.

In her real body.

In the real world.

The medical facility's ceiling greeted her... white tiles, harsh lighting. The smell of antiseptic filled her nose. Her body felt heavy, sluggish, as if she'd been asleep for weeks rather than days.

She tried to sit up. Her arms responded, but slowly. So slowly. Like moving through honey.

Your cognition speed is faster, but your body can't keep up with it... Lady Keter's words echoed.

Lea's thoughts raced ahead of her physical movements, creating a disorienting disconnect. She'd decided to sit up; her mind had processed the action, but her body was still catching up to the command.

The door burst open.

A nurse entered, saw Lea awake, and immediately rushed back out, "She's conscious! Get the doctor!"

Within minutes, the room filled with medical personnel. Questions were fired at her. Can you hear me? What's your name? Do you know where you are? Can you move your fingers?

Lea answered slowly, each word taking effort. Not because she didn't know the answers, but because her mouth moved so frustratingly slowly compared to her racing thoughts.

A doctor examined her eyes with a light. "Pupillary response is normal, though the coloration..."

He studied her golden irises with fascination.

"Remarkable."

"The scales...", another doctor murmured, examining her collar. "They're fully integrated with her skin... It's like they've always been part of her biology."

Lea endured their examination in silence, her mind already three steps ahead, planning, analyzing, thinking faster than she could articulate.

This is going to take getting used to... she grumbled.

Finally, they stepped back.

"You're stable.", the head doctor said, "Remarkably so, considering... everything. But we'll need to keep you for observation. And—"

He hesitated, "Princess Dawn left strict instructions to be notified the moment you woke."

Lea nodded slowly. Her neck moved like it was underwater.

=0=0=

It didn't take very long for Dawn to come into the medical bay. Since everyone left after the check-up, only Lea was in here.

And what Dawn saw was... a knight covered in armor made of black horns... just admiring herself.

"Lea...?", she asked, stepping closer.

She turned around, staring down at the princess... she was now two meters tall. Slowly, the horns receded into her body as they vanished, and her size shrank to her normal height. Those horns were her Cursed Construct, now more solid and stronger.

She could still use the previous type of Cursed Construct, but this was better. Lea feels that she could cover this entire room in Cursed Construct.

As for how she would explain her Malediction abilities. As much as she hates it, she would disguise this as Corruption, being the Material counterpart to Malediction, has its quirks.

Lea smiled; her eyes were like burning yellow stars, beautiful and haunting at the same time.

"I am still myself...", that came out way slower than Lea expected, she still needed to get used to this disconnection, "Sorry... I still need to adapt more..."

Dawn's amber eyes lit up, "What happened to you?"

"I don't remember much. After sensing those clowns, I became agitated and chanted too soon. The next moment, I was in a dark forest facing a faceless demon...", she pointed at her mask on the table, "Kinda like mine, but smooth... and horns sticking out of its hooded robes."

Lea knew that nothing good would come, so she smoothly moved on.

"But "Miss Mashhith" pulled me out, somehow... the rest, you already knew."

She sat down on the bed.

Dawn could only sigh, "IS7 wants your help in protecting the capital, seeing how 'great' you did in defending against an attack. And I need you to work for a bit."

The response was delayed, "Work?"

"Yes, in exchange for those guys not questioning your very questionable background, you must produce at least a thousand distortion talismans."

The delayed response came even slower, "Fuck..."

"Come on now, I made time out of my busy schedule to give you directives. 20 pounds per talisman.", the princess chuckled.

With nothing more to say, Lea grabbed her parasol and mask, putting them on.

"Well... since I have the excuse of Corruption...", Lea's body began to turn into darkness, collapsing into an inky black puddle that flows toward Dawn.

Her Shadow Sneak was upgraded; she doesn't need shadows to sink in anymore, she could just become one.

"That's... pretty creepy.", Dawn admitted, looking down at her shadow, which was now a gradient darker.

"Just tell them this is Cloak's Fourth Step power...", Lea whispered from underneath.

"Just get to work, you can stay in my room."

=0=0=

Which is the largest room in the royal castle? It would be Dawn's room, or more specifically, an entire corner of the castle.

Why would the nobles allow this? Because who can stop the major mind of their development? Aside from very specific situations like wartime, Dawn doesn't involve herself in politics.

Stepping into the room, Lea, in Dawn's shadow, was once again amazed at... how many papers were scattered here. Any of these could revolutionize the world if the Cult of Technology could get its hands on...just scatter here like junk.

"Your workplace is over there.", Dawn pointed over to the massive block of seastone as tall as Lea.

Rising up from the darkness, Lea could only stare with her mouth agape... this block is big... how much does it cost?

She turned back to Dawn, who was already tinkering with a box. On the side was the deconstructed device Lady Keter gave her.

Not wanting to bother her, Lea summoned her Cursed Construct to writh around her finger, and she began to grind away the rainbow blue crystal in front of her into dust, which she caught with more Cursed Constructs forming a bowl.

The box full of paper on the side was cut into squares, not the rectangle she used.

Lea settled into the work with practiced efficiency, her Cursed Constructs grinding the massive seastone chunk into fine powder. The black tendrils moved with precision she'd never managed before. Stronger, more responsive, almost anticipating her needs.

Fourth Step makes everything easier... she noted, watching rainbow-blue dust accumulate in the makeshift bowl.

She mixed the powder with ink, creating the special blend required for mystical talismans. The ratio had to be exact, too much seastone and the talisman would be unstable, too little and it wouldn't hold the enchantment. All the things Auger taught her

Lea's thoughts raced ahead of her hands as she worked, already calculating how long each talisman would take, how many she could produce per day, how quickly she could fulfill the thousand-piece quota.

Her body moved slowly, frustratingly slowly, but with her enhanced cognition, she could plan three talismans ahead while working on the current one.

She picked up a square of paper, dipped her brush into the seastone-ink mixture, and began drawing the swirling symbol for distortion.

Before, this would have taken intense concentration. Now, her hand moved almost automatically while her mind wandered to other concerns.

The war. Australia. The Divine Domain is three thousand meters underwater.

The first talisman was complete in minutes. She set it aside to dry.

Second talisman. Her brush moved steadily, creating the intricate swirls. Still tedious work, but bearable now.

Twenty Pounds per talisman. A thousand talismans. Twenty thousand Pounds total.

That was... an enormous sum. Enough to buy passage anywhere. Enough to fund an underwater expedition. Enough to—

"How's it going?", Dawn called from her workstation.

Lea's response came slowly, "...Easier than before. Still boring, but..."

She gestured to the growing pile of completed talismans, "...manageable."

Dawn smiled slightly, "Good, because IS7 needs those within two weeks."

Lea's hand didn't pause, "...Understood."

With casualness, Dawn brought up a hammer and struck the seastone, breaking off a chunk for herself. Then she walked away...