Reborn As A Maid

The chains broke.

Not because Jennie became stronger. Not because her Divine Swords responded to her call. They broke because, for the first time after her reincarnation, Jennie Queens did not care about her body anymore.

Rudy was dead.

Her head rested several feet from her body, her golden hair spread on the bloody floor in a halo of sunshine. There was no divine light anymore, nothing more than a lifeless body of a girl who was smiling at monsters.

A girl who was mocking Jennie about her poor social skills.

A girl who was following her into hell without any doubts.

A girl who promised that they will return Lilia back together.

And now, she would never say a word again.

Jennie was looking at her.

Her lips were open, but nothing was coming from them. There was something broken inside her so badly that even grief was not able to find its way to this place.

And then she saw Zuko.

Demon Emperor was standing right before her, with Astraeus in his hand. This giant sword was glowing with light of seven legendary weapons – gold and blue, silver and black, crimson and white. This light was illuminating the crimson chamber, creating long shadows of the sacrifices and bloody wall paintings.

Zuko glanced at the sword. Then he glanced at Jennie.

"Ah."

It sounded almost disappointed.

"That expression."

Jennie’s fingers clenched.

Her nails dug into her palms, causing blood to run between her fingers.

"I see this face so many times throughout the history. It belongs to someone who realizes at last that the world does not care about their pain."

He tilted his head, his red eyes sparkling with ancient curiosity.

"So tell me, Jennie Queens. Does it hurt?"

For several seconds, there was no response.

And then she made a move.

The chains around her wrists broke in a flash. The restraints of her ankles cracked with a heart beat later. Metal parts fell on the floor like shrapnels when Jennie was launching herself at the Demon Emperor.

There were no elegant moves, no smart calculations, no strategy of any kind.

She was crossing the distance between them in one jump, drawing her fist and glowing with such hatred that the air was quivering from it.

"ZUKO!"

She hit him.

Or at least tried to do it.

The Demon Emperor raised his right hand. Just two fingers were enough for him.

They caught Jennie’s fist in mid-air, stopping it just a few inches from his face.

The deafening shockwave burst in the chamber. Cracks appeared under their feet, and dust started falling from the ceiling. Jennie was putting all her strength in her punch, and her muscles were twitching with the effort, while the veins on her neck were popping out.

Zuko did not make any move.

He was staring at her fist with mild curiosity.

"So this is your response?"

Jennie pushed harder.

"SHUT UP!"

Her voice tore the chamber like a knife.

"SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!"

She started to twist her body, trying to break his grip, and then tried to kick him in his stomach. Zuko was not even glancing at her leg. He moved his fingers a little bit.

The pressure changed.

Suddenly, the whole body of Jennie was pressed to the ground.

BOOM!

The floor was collapsing under her. The stones were exploding and filling the chamber with dust. A crater appeared under Jennie’s body, as the invisible power was pressing her into the ground.

Her breath escaped from her lungs. For some reason, she did not understand what was happening.

She was trying to get up. The pressure was increasing. Her arms were buckling. Her knees were slamming into the broken stones, and the pressure was crushing her chest so badly that she was hardly able to breathe.

Zuko was standing above her, still holding her fist between his fingers.

"Do you understand it now?"

Jennie was trying to lift her head. The blood was flowing from the corner of her mouth.

"No..."

She was scratching the ground.

"I will... kill you..."

Zuko sighed.

"Still?"

There was no anger in his face. And it made him absolutely unbearable. He did not hate Jennie. He did not fear her. Even her hatred was nothing more than a trivial thing for him.

He considered her just another being, trying to fight with the reality which it cannot accept.

"How admirable."

He released her fist.

Jennie was falling to the ground. Immediately she was trying to crawl towards him, pulling her injured body with trembling arms.

Zuko was watching her.

"Love is an interesting disease."

Jennie was digging her fingers into the cracks between the stones.

"People call it beautiful because they do not want to know its consequences. They talk about devotion, sacrifice, loyalty, promises. They are building the entire religions on the idea that love to someone else makes your sufferings meaningful."

He was slowly circling around her.

"But what happens when the person, you love, dies?"

Jennie stopped moving.

"What happens when all your promises become worthless? When the future, you were imagining, disappears? When you realize that all your love is unable to give even one second more of someone else’s life?"

He was looking at the body of Rudy.

"Does love become stronger?"

His lips curled into a faint smile.

"Or it becomes a curse?"

Jennie’s shoulders were shaking.

"Rudy..."

The name slipped from her lips.

Zuko heard her.

"Yes. Rudy Kiss."

He said her name as if he was talking about some broken instrument.

"She was following you because she loved you. She was trusting you because she thought that you can protect her. Maybe, she even thought that someday the two of you will return to your kingdom."

He crouched next to Jennie.

"And now she is dead."

Jennie was widening her eyes.

"Don’t..."

"Why?"

Zuko was leaning closer.

"Because I am telling the truth?"

"SHUT UP!"

She was trying to strike him again. But her arm was barely moving.

Zuko was catching her wrist.

"Take a look at yourself."

He was raising her hand between them.

"This is all what is left from the White Sword Hunter. The woman who defeated Draven. The reincarnation of Leonis KingHeart. The wielder of five Divine Swords who thought that she is able to fight with the fate of the world."

His eyes found hers.

"And yet, when confronted with the death of a loved one, she turns into an injured animal."

Breathing hard, Jennie tried to refute Zuko’s statement. She wanted to yell that Rudy’s death means a lot to her, that her life is not worthless and all the sufferings she had to endure cannot be dismissed by a beast who has no idea of love.

However, the words failed to come out of her mouth.

Because Rudy was dead.

And she was unable to save her.

Straightening up, Zuko spoke in a harsh tone.

"Pain is the only honest teacher in existence, Jennie. Happiness can fool you. Hope can blind you. Love can make you believe that you are important. But pain never lies."

His eyes darkened.

"It exposes all your illusions to show you the truth of your existence."

For the first time, Zuko’s face revealed an emotion – though it was not sad. Something much older and darker that had been brewing for millennia.

"I knew the truth much earlier than I received the title of Demon Emperor."

He lifted his gaze toward the ceiling of the chamber. Behind the blood-red room there were the walls of the Black Capital, followed by the World Tree Alas Ramus that towered above the Demon Continent with the branches reaching the sky and the blood-red chains encircling the ancient trunk of the tree.

"I am the offspring of Miasa."

Raising her head, Jennie listened.

"The Goddess of Creation gave birth to the world and all its creatures, she brought to life the heaven, the earth, the ocean, all the plants and animals. And I am her child – her very own son."

Zuko’s voice was still low and soft.

"But even though I was her offspring, I was not enough."

He tightened his grip on Astraeus.

"She loves everything – humans, demons, every insignificant little creature crawling through the soil. She can feel pity for a dying stranger but she can never let me feel that I alone am important."

Stopping, he asked.

"Do you understand how cruel it is?"

Jennie stared at him.

"I was her son. I wanted her to choose me – but she chose the world."

The crimson light flashed across his face.

"And when I asked her about it, she gave me the same answer all gods give when having to face the suffering of those beneath them."

Zuko’s expression was bitter.

"All things have their own purpose."

He laughed once, his laughter being cold and hollow.

"Purpose. Destiny. Balance of creation. Beautiful words for those who had never been forced to kneel before them."

Looking into her eyes, he continued.

"You were Leonis KingHeart. The king dear to many, the warrior in charge of the Divine Swords. You died and the world kept going on. Then you were reborn as Jennie Queens and given another chance to live and to do whatever you want."

His eyes narrowed.

"And yet, in spite of everything, you are holding to people as if the mere existence of other people can protect you from the cruelty of this world."

Jennie forced herself to lift her upper body.

"They are not tools..."

Frowning, Zuko interrupted her.

"What?"

"Rudy... Lilia... Roxy... Lucas..."

Every name hurt her throat.

"They are not your tools. They are not your pieces in the divine game."

Pressing her trembling palm to the ground, she continued.

"They are real people."

For the first time, Zuko was silent.

Raising her head, she said.

"They live their own lives, they make their own decisions. And they have their own reasons to go on."

Her voice was breaking.

"And Rudy decided to join me."

Tears streamed down her face.

"She believed me."

Forming a fist of her trembling hands, she added.

"So you have no right to say that her life was meaningless!"

Silence fell in the chamber.

For a moment, Zuko was watching at her. Then he smiled. It was not a friendly smile. It was a smile of a man who finally found the answer.

"Precisely."

Bending over, he grabbed Jennie’s right hand.

"That is why I have to break you."

Jennie stiffened.

"What...?"

Tightening his fingers on her palm, he replied.

"Because even now, after everything I have shown you, you do not understand."

He tightened his grip.

CRACK.

The first finger of Jennie was broken.

Opening her eyes wide, she heard another crack.

"AAAGH!"

Her scream echoed in the chamber.

Zuko did not stop. Bent her fingers one by one with terrifying precision. The cracks of bones were soft and insignificant under her frantic screams.

Jennie tried to move, but he restrained her with one hand.

"Love makes you vulnerable," he said calmly. "Pain makes you desperate. And desperation makes you predictable."

CRACK!

"STOP!"

She was struggling with the ground.

"PLEASE!"

The word escaped from her lips before her pride could prevent it.

Zuko stared at her.

"Please?"

He repeated it as if the word fascinated him.

"Whom are you pleading, Jennie? The monster who murdered your companion? The emperor who destroyed your hopes? Or the god who used to allow you to think that your second life would be better?"

Crying, she whispered.

"Please... stop..."

Twisting her wrist, he said.

CRACK!

Jennie’s scream was becoming raw and rough. Now she could not understand whether the pain she felt is from her hand, her arm or some deeper place inside her. Her body was shaking and her every struggle was worsening her injuries.

Finally releasing her, Zuko stepped back.

Collapsing to the ground, she cradled her injured hand in her arms.

Looking at her, he asked.

"Do you know what separates a god from a demon?"

Gasping, she could hardly speak.

Zuko answered his question.

"Nothing."

He turned his attention toward the altar where Rudy’s blood started to flow into the carved grooves.

"Gods create suffering and consider it necessary. Demons cause suffering and are judged for it. Gods kill people in order to preserve the balance of the universe. Demons kill people simply because they can not accept the balance of things."

He turned to Jennie.

"The only difference between them is which side writes history."

His eyes glowed crimson.

"And I choose to write mine."

The whole chamber shook.

A wave of demonic energy rushed out of Zuko’s body, filling the room with an unusual storm. The last restraints started shaking in their places. The crimson runes were burning brighter and the blood on the floor was rising, forming thin lines that started to flow towards Astraeus.

Jennie could feel the pressure coming from beneath her skin. It was not the same energy she had previously felt. It was something stronger. It was something that was coming from deep beneath the foundations of the world.

Zuko raised his one free hand. The shadows surrounded his fingers.

"I am the Demon Emperor. I am the calamity that is concealed under the roots of creation. I am the nightmare that gods preferred to bury rather than confront."

His face froze.

"But the title is just a title."

The shadows rushed up, creating the shape of gigantic horns and a huge, terrible crown. The silhouette of the creature that was older than everything.

"When Lilia KingHeart dies, the last seal will be broken. The Sovereign Mark will be destroyed and the ritual will reach the next level of its transformation."

His eyes burned like two furnaces.

"My real powers will be awakened."

The World Tree shook above the capital.

"And the demon, sleeping in me, will be born."

Jennie tried to rise up. Her broken hand was shaking.

"No..."

Zuko did not pay her any attention.

"The heavens will know the fear. Gods, who imprisoned me, will understand what it means to be beneath the creature greater than them. And humanity, that worshiped its creators and cursed its monsters for generation after generation, will understand the price of its ignorance."

He raised the sword Astraeus. It was reflecting the seven kinds of light that had fused into a single ray.

"I will declare a war on gods."

The chamber shook.

And on humanity."

Jennie looked at him through her tears.

"You’ll...destroy everything..."

"Destroy?"

Zuko seemed amused.

"No, Jennie. Destruction is just the beginning."

He looked toward the distant ceiling, from where the branches of the World Tree reached up to the sky.

"I will tear down the border between life and death. I will destroy the laws that have governed the creation from its birth. Not soul will be abandoned by an indifferent god. No child will be living under the destiny that it has not chosen."

His smile vanished.

"And nobody will be insignificant anymore."

For a moment, Jennie could see the boy beneath the emperor. He was a child who wanted his mother to love him. And he was a child who thought that being loved by everybody was equal to being loved by nobody.

Then the illusion vanished. In front of her there was only a monster.

"You call yourself a demon," Jennie whispered.

Zuko looked at her.

"But all I can see is a poor child who can not accept that his mother could love somebody else."

There was silence. The crimson light stopped flickering. Even the demonic energy seemed to hesitate.

Zuko’s expression did not change. But something became colder in his eyes.

"Perhaps."

He turned away.

"But unlike you, I have stopped pretending that love is the only thing that can save anyone."

A sound resonated in the chamber.

It was just a quiet breath.

A rustle of fabrics against the stone.

Zuko stopped.

Slowly, he turned his head.

Lilia KingHeart, who was bound to the black altar, was twitching slightly.

Her hair was scattered all over the dark surface of the altar like a river of light. The crimson runes of suppression were still glowing on her wrists and ankles, trying to stop the power of the Sovereign Mark, burning beneath her skin.

She was asleep.

But the rhythm of her breathing changed.

The slow breathing of a sleeping girl turned into something different. Something that was trying to awake.

Zuko observed her for a moment.

Then he smiled.

"Ah."

He turned back to Jennie.

"It looks like your queen is awakening."

Jennie’s heart stopped.

She tried to turn her head, tried to look across the chamber, but the pain in her body prevented her from making any movements. The broken hand was hurting with every heartbeat, and her vision was blurred with tears and tiredness.

"Lilia..."

The name was barely audible.

Zuko moved aside, allowing her a good view of the altar.

"Look at her."

Jennie forced herself to sit up.

The world blurred.

Then it focused.

And she saw her.

Lilia KingHeart was lying on the black altar. Her hair was covering her face like a crown, and her royal dress was torn and dirty. Her face was pale, too pale – as if the life force was slowly leaving her body.

But she was alive.

Her chest was lifting and falling with the shallow breath.

Jennie’s vision was blurring, but not because of the pain.

"Lilia..."

Jennie tried to stand up. Her legs were trembling.

"Li...lia..."

Zuko raised his hand.

The pressure forced her to lie on the stone again.

"Stay where you are."

Lilia opened her eyes wide.

"What did you do to her?"

Zuko turned to her.

"Your Majesty, you have arrived right in time."

He gestured to the altar.

"Come. The world has been waiting a long time for this moment."

Lokiar pushed Lilia to the altar. She stumbled, steadied herself and quickly looked at Jennie again.

"Don’t you dare touch her!"

Zuko looked at her with the semblance of courtesy.

"Your Majesty, I have no plans to waste such an occasion."

He raised Astraeus. The huge blade glinted with the crimson light and every rune on the floor was burning with a bright fire.

The World Tree roared.

Above the Demon Continent, the sky ripped open to a sound like shattering mirrors. Spiraling clouds surrounded the heavens, and red light seeped through the rifts in the world.

In far off lands, priests knelt on their knees. Ancient temples shook. Statues of long dead gods shed tears of blood.

And somewhere far from the realm of mortals, the deities that had watched over their creations since eons ago, finally directed their gaze toward the Demon Continent.

Something happened. Something very old had awoken.

Zuko looked at Lilia.

"The last seal."

He then looked at Jennie.

"The last offering."

His smile was almost serene.

"Let the story begin."

Jennie dragged her body toward Zuko, leaving blood in his wake with her broken hand.

"No..."

She barely whispered.

"Please don’t hurt her..."

Zuko raised Astraeus high above Lilia.

The sword started its descent.

At that very moment, everything that was ever said about the gods and demons came together to one point in time.

The age of peace was drawing to a close.

The age of judgment had begun.

Thus, the legends of gods and demons were born.