Late Evening - Mid Summer : Moriai | Leyfa Askr

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  - Persephone Ormr (The 3-Tailed Fox) ~

  *Fsh* *CRRRRACK* Ripping past treants so fast it showered the city uhe opy with leaves, I darted over the seemingly endless forest as fast as I could.

  Quickly fog ohin, invisible string stretg out from my chest, my stomach ed with a mix of fear and uainty.

  It was a tether—a e between souls, whether between a god and a chosen mortal or a mother and child. Just fog on the e would let me peek into the mind of my child and feel what they felt, even from some distance, whether they felt love and fort, or fear and horror.

  But just moments prior, for the first time ever, a gut-wreng fear blew through the tether while I wasn't watg it: a siing disfort that couldn't be described.

  Without taking a single moment to even think, I Ieft my perch, some two hundred kilometers away, and closed in on where my tether told me my son was.

  But as I got close, the sensations passing through the tether blurred, my instincts roared, and I grew tense.

  By the time I reached the treant he was at and desded through the opy, I felt like I was running straight into the maw of a monster, being watched by a force I couldn't see or feel. *tap-tap-tap-tap*

  *Thump* But the moment I nded in the 'grand hall's' courtyard, it all made sense.

  -W..What.. is.. that...- Staring at the door with wide eyes, the hair on the bay neck stood up, my ears id back, and my cws dug into the ground.

  Even through the door, I could see the outline of a human, silhouetted by a white cloud so imme took me a moment tnize.

  They were fragments of souls, clumped up into a single mass as they g to their killer. -That thing.. is dangerous...-

  *Click-Fwoosh* Uo pull a drop of focus off it, as the doors swung open, it felt like a wave of pins and needles washed over me before I found myself caught in the void-like, lifeless eyes of a monster shaped like a human.

  Staring into that thing's eyes, my heart raced faster and faster. I wao speak, but couldn't think straight enough to use the magic.

  Until finally, it spoke with a warmth uing its gaze. "What an iing thing you are..."

  Her words sent a chill down my spine, but her voice mao break my mind out of its stun lock. "Y-You..." But even though I had to speak through wind magic, my voice was shaky. "What.. are you..."

  The focus in her eyes quickly shifted as if she tried to hit me with a local system panel. "My name is Evreir, a humaually moving her focus bay eyes, her unwavering gaze felt like it could pierce my soul.

  -Human?!- I wao assume it was a joke but couldn't. *Vwoom* "M-My name is Persephone... Persephone Ormr..." Cautiously looking up at the t mass of souls ging to her, my mind raced to e up with some sort of pn.

  But being uo trol my gaze, I caught her attention. "Is something the matter?" Ily tilting her head, my gaze snapped back to her.

  And almost instantly, my mind fell into a halluation, envisioning an endless o of blood surrounding us, filled with the bodies of monsters and humans alike.

  It was a sight that sent my mind into chaos, but as I backed away, the geouy son snapped me out of it.

  *tap* "...-Mother?!" Being barely the size of my paw, he had hopped up it a his hand on my leg, looking up at me with a mix of worry and fusion written across his face.

  "What are you doing?!" Throwing him off my paw without an ounce of hesitation, I jumped over him and squatted down to hide him before speaking in a hurry. "M-Madam, I hope you will be fiving of my son's ignorance."

  Watg her eyes immediately turn to him, I lowered my stance even more.

  She was pletely unreadable, but as I looked deeper and deeper into the vast empty void within her eyes, I saw a glimmer of something, like the glow of a campfire in the middle of the Arctic.

  It eckle of i and curiosity.

  But while I couldn't tell if it was just another facade, I decided to try and throw fuel at it. "I am an Alopex, a monster not native to Earth." Pausing, I tried to gauge her expression before tinuing. "ex are known for our e to the realm of the dead and the cycle of reination.. or in other words, are very sensitive to souls. However.. I 't say I've ever seen so many souls ging to a person..." Looking back up at the massive cloud ging to her, I felt a bit lightheaded. "Just.. what kind of life did you live for you to have been bathed in so much blood..?"

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  - Evreir ~

  I was quick t. "I just did everything the system told me to." But as I watched her ears fall back with horror, firming that she most certainly wasn't a system merary, I tinued bluntly. "System meraries are simply the disposable tools of the system. Whe assigned a mission, we must plete it or else we will die. I just happeo survive until the system had nothi for me to do." Brushing off her remark, I idly thought back to what the thing she said regarding souls.

  At first, I thought she said it figuratively, perhaps seeing my nature through my eyes like an old teller would.

  But the longer I thought about it the more I started to wonder.

  Untill eventually, Eve cut iween us. "Madam Ormr, I apologize for intruding, but we must move on to the scheduled meaning with haste. If you could send your son inside, you may tinue your versation, but-"

  "No," She immediately cut her off before standing up with haste. "I will see through this meeting myself. Melrakki, I'll take this matter from here." Momentarily shooting him a gre, she walked out toward Eve and I before suddenly, a burst of light flooded the area.

  -What the..?- It was sht I had to block it with my hand, and so hot it felt like I was textio a massive fire.

  But when the light a eventually faded, and rather than seeing the t fox still standing before us, we caught the gaze of aremely tall, older demihuman-looking woman. -Hoh?- It was transformation magiething I believed only true dragons could use. -Maybe her son's dragon blood isn't from something as simple as an elixir...-

  "I apologize if I blinded you all for a moment." Gently bowing, her head barely lowered under my chest. "But before we tinue.. if I may... Who is this woman to you, Queen Altera?"

  Somewhat smugly smiling, she took a step to the side as if to show me off. "She is my Mother's closest fr-"

  But I never got to hear her finish that statement. *Vwoop* Being engulfed in a gate, the smile on my face faded, and an almost siing agitation filled my mind. -You have to be kidding...- Without warning, the system had caught me. -The fug sed I let my guard down...-

  Being grateful that I at least got the fox on more friendly terms with Eve, I tried to ease my nerves a bit. At the very least, I was fident they could hold out on their own until I could finish the mission aurn, regardless of what it was.

  But unfortunately, there was a bit of a plication with that.

  *Vwoop* As I was released from the gate, and nded in a vast, open pin, the yell of an all too familiar voice ripped out.

  "-riend!- WHAT THE HELL?!" *Thump-Rustle*

  Looking over at the noise, my eyes went wide, and my chest tightened.

  Sitting iall prairie grass o me, I found Eve looking up at me with wide, fused eyes.

  The same as mine.

  -----Late Evening - Mid Summer : Moriai | Leyfa Askr

  - Persephone Ormr (The 3-Tailed Fox) ~

  "She is my Mother's closest fr-" *Vwoop* Instantly cutting off her voice, an odd sound rippled out, and my eyes went wide.

  In the blink of an eye, both Queen Altera and the 'woman' named Evren disappeared into nothingness. -W..What..?-

  It was so sudden that it made my mind stutter.

  But I couldn't stay still for long. After just a moment, several presehat were scattered around the opy came down and surrounded me, dissipating the light magic that hid them to reveal a dozen elven knights donning all matte bck armor with a familiar gold crest on their chest. -Shit...-

  They were Altera's personal knight order, a group of guards and assassins that was strong enough to eliminate nearly anyone, whether they were thought to be invisible or invincible. "Okay, let's calm down here..." Not moving a muscle, I spoke calmly.

  But before I could do that, a woman in a simple, traditional maids outfit walked up in front of me. "Madam Ormr," She spoke so desdingly it was almost upsetting. "If you did something to the queen, it would be in your best io say so now." Reag her hand out to the side, she quickly equipped several items, one of which being a gau while politely holdiher hand behind her back.

  -You have to be kidding me...- "I had nothing to do with this, Igna." She was the closest aide to the queen, and advisor and guard sent by her Mother. "I have no reason to break our treaty and start a war... Especially right now..."

  Even I, a monster capable of trading blows with the queen would have a hard time dealing with her. With the rest of her private knight order here, I was really in trouble.

  But thankfully, after taking a few steps closer, she stopped and looked me in the eyes. "Hm... Order, pat her down."

  Almost immediately, the knights began thhly patting me down before asking for me to take off all the artifacts I was wearing, whether it was jewelry or ented items like my shoes so they could put them in their iory and verify their affects.

  By the time they finished, I had essentially been stripped of everything but my clothes, and that was only because a majority of my clothes were simply an illusion of light magic. "Is that enough?"

  Looking over the group of knights for a moment, Igantly nodded, and the knights all gave my things bae. *Cl-l-link*

  -Irritating bastards...- Eventually putting everything ba, I watched as Igna unequipped her items before motioning the knight order to scatter and turning to walk into the hall with her hands held behind her back.

  But just as she walked inside, she spoke bluntly. "When you are done, please e ihe meeting must proceed without dey."

  Instantly tensing up, I looked up at her with a fused look, watg her nontly walking ih furled brows.

  Giveuation, it made sense for her to take over, and it made sense for the meeting to still be held.

  But while she walked inside, a deep utled in my stomach. -She... She's too calm...-

  Her queen vanished from before her eyes, and after patting only one person down, she returo her normal duty.

  Gng over my shoulder, I saw my son still standing there, dumbfounded. -They didn't even check him...-

  Turning back to Igna, my gaze sharpened. -If it's going to be like that then...- Finally getting all my jewelry ba, I stood up straight and started after her with a smile creeping ay face. -Maybe it's not such a bad time...-

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