A/N: The chapter ahead is raw, which means not been proofread yet nor edited.1***1"What do you mean?" the shocked Xerena couldn't keep it in.
"It's hard to explain, child."
"Tell me. I'm very smart!"
The Duchess had doubts and gave her a moment of silence, then she smiled wryly and shared the truth nobody but her knows. Not even Lorreign.
"It is true that I was born from a mistake. Dad mistook my Mom as Aunt Dearil. They were drunk, and it happened. Mom then surrendered herself to Uncle Liorei and got married. Sure, they did bed each other as husband and wife, but Mom did not bear Uncle Liorei's child. I was already developing inside her when she married Uncle Liorei. But, it is indeed very possible to conceive Lorreign even though it was late. They called our case as Heteropaternal Superfecundation."
"And how did Lorreign happen?"
Duchess Selene pulled the slipping Crown Prince closer to her.
"From chaos."
"Chaos?"
"She's born from chaos. From Uncle Liorei."
Xerena slowly panned her head to her grandmother. She's listening...while judging.
"Mom became a very special being ever since the Godfather, Daro, did her and Aunt Siofra dirty. He connected them both, sealed Aunt Siofra in a tank and named that 'invention' as the Dragon's Seal, while Mom was left outside and gained the ability of youth for years to come. Mom is very special, but she's also very unfortunate. They didn't deserve what Daro did. They...did not."
Xerena then pinned her eyes against Daro, then snarls at him for 'no reason'.
"Lorreign's conception was a phenomenon caused by the unawakened power of Uncle Liorei and from when her grandmother, possibly possessing Alessandra's body, 'blessed' Mom upon marrying him. Lorreign is merely a fusion of magic manifested within Mom---AFTER a simulation clone of Uncle Liorei 'died' after the Phantom War. Because he wished for a child, for a daughter, because he thought he's an expecting father. That's when. A child of paradox. She's not my sister. She's not real. I don't want to be her twin."
Duchess Selene seek strength from the lifeless hand of her beloved.
"Her crimes. Why did you not tell them about it?"
The Duchess bitterly scoffed and shook her head.
"What can I do against someone who can use Chaos Magic proficiently at a young age, girl?"
Xerena's eyes widened.
"S-She could already!?"
The Duchess nodded with a bitter smile.
"She's very wicked and twisted. She got it from her dad. She recently just returned my memories from the past. From my first self. This was her goal all along. She's behind...almost everything---"
Xerena flinched when the woman broke down into tears while holding Crown Prince Claxiord's hand to her face.
"What should I do? I'm a coward. I'm so sorry. I was a coward. I'm scared of her. I'm sorry. Mom, I'm sorry. I couldn't save Ohms. I'm s-sorry... My love, Claxiord... I love this sweet boy so much."
Xerena didn't know what to do. It's not her fault! She didn't do anything! The Duchess cried by herself!
"T-Then do the right thing! Free them! This is the time to redeem yourself, Auntie!"
"I-I can't. It's her magic, not mine. I'm sorry... There's nothing I can do but stay here with my baby. Soon, it will be end. Once the Deity of Darkness is back, it will be over. Those Deities above, her revenge, all of us... We will wither as she arrive."
"N-NO!"
Xerena stand up and faced her with teary eyes, "I don't want to die yet! I don't have a boyfriend yet, so I can't die yet! I want my own personal farmer, too! I'm gonna beat Mom, beat Uncle Ohms, and milk Uncle Watts of more rewards! I want more cool getaways with Uncle Spike! My brothers will marry again! And my friend! I want His Equal to make it her favorite Relic! YOU'RE SUCH A LOSER, SELENE!"
The Duchess was taken aback, but she swallowed her insult and accepted it. After all, she is really a loser. And a coward. An accomplice.
And she knows what will become of her.
"I'm very weak and I can only use my healing ability to an extent. But before all that, why are you here? How did you get in?"
To which Xerena enthusiastically answered, "Teamwork with my brothers! I didn't know they could be cool! Like, really! The dragon Prince was very furious and he's outside. He's soooo~ strong! We came with a plan on how to wake them up. We will use His Equal's Relics!"
"Relics?" The Duchess furrowed her brows.
Xerena nodded and showed her the Relics, "This! They are spirits created by His Equal. We will use them as sacrifice to lift the magic placed upon them."
The Duchess was amazed, "Made by His Equal? But it looks plain..." She reached out for it without any motive or intention bared. She raised it over her head to observe it.
"Uh-huh. It's her least favorite, that's why!" Xerena quipped with eyes rolling.
The Duchess smiled.
Until it turned to a smirk.
Xerena's eyes slowly widened when the Duchess shattered the Relic by crushing it in her palm.
Soon, her sweet, mocking laughters filled Xerena's ears.
"Ah, did you really think I will betray my sister, child? Pfft! HAHAHAHA! Stupid like your father! I expect nothing less from your bitch of a mother's taste!"
Xerena's face darkened and jumped away from her.
"YOU TRICKED ME!"
The Duchess licked the Crown Prince's fingers while grinning at her, wearing a twisted expression on her face to make fun of the poor, fooled child.
"I did. And you're stupid. Children. Elektra, that bitch, all that privilege and she failed to find a proper husband."
In the midst of throwing falsified fits, Xerena can't hold herself back anymore and burst out in laughter.
"Who fooled who, old hag?"
"First of all," Xerena raised her hands armed with her artifacts to her side, "Nobody slanders Bartholomew Xirquit, the honorable noble farmer who continued the Xirquit Bloodline. Not Ohms Tesla Xirquit, but my father, A GODDAMN FARMER WHO PLANTED HIS SEEDS IN MY MOTHER."
The being in her awakened and revealed itself behind her.
A spirit.
The Duchess was moved.
"You don't deserve the blood of Aloisia."
And she dashed head on to the Duchess who immediately jumped away with the Crown Prince in her clutch. Xerena pivot and threw one of her artifact to where His Equal is, and the dangling earring gleamed when the rays of the sun hit it. Xerena, still spinning, pierced the floor with her other artifact. The Relic in her possessed her artifact. When she twisted it, the Relic unleashed a barrier that will protect the Earthlings from the Duchess.
The Duchess was rather...impressed than pissed.
"BEFORE THE PRESENCE OF HIS EQUAL, I IMPLORE YOU, HER RELIC, TO FREE YOURSELF!" Xerena chanted with a maniacal grin for the Duchess.
The barrier stopped the artifact. The earring swayed.
A second after, a blinding light broke through the Relic.
The spirit looked mystical with glowing, luminous skin, with intricate patterns of light coursing through her body. She has pointed elf-like ears, radiant white eyes, and white hair. It exudes an otherworldly aura and the Duchess got excited.
She's going to fight something like that? Created by His Equal? BET.
The Duchess set the Crown Prince aside and walked to meet the being closer. Every step she take, her appearance change. For battle, featuring a fitted breastplate with intricate designs, shoulder pauldrons, and a matching long cape with the Whitecloak's symbol on it. The ensemble includes black leggings, armored boots, and daggers in her hands.
"On your knees, sinner."
The spirit's sweet, authoritative voice echoed in their ears and reverberated in their heads.
Duchess Selene fell down to her knees. Though she tried to, she couldn't get up.
"Where is His Equal's child?" It asked.
Fearless, the Duchess smirked, "A sacrifice. She will pay what your idiotic creator owe to our Deity."
The spirit gracefully lifted its hand and called for Crown Prince Claxiord's body. It stopped before the Duchess's face.
"The subject of your affection, he is. I hear your heart, your thoughts, and spirit. You upset me."
Duchess Selene watch as the entity twist the Crown Prince's limbs.
"STOP IT! STOP! CLAXIORD! STOP!"
Xerena dragged her artifact and walked to the Duchess. She raised it and stared dead right in the Duchess's eyes.
"This won't kill you, I know, but because of you, Claxiord Vernignac died."
And she swing her artifact, beheading the screaming Duchess.
Just then, Crown Prince Claxiord's loosed body fell like a worn-out doll to the floor.
"Your vessel is..."
The Earring Relic listened to Franchette Xerena's heart, mind, and spirit (soul).
"Let's not waste any more time. His Equal...is back."
That's when they realized the situation and went to the sphere where their creator was kept. They went down to their knees with their genuine, liquid gold tears streaming down their faces. They spoke language from the beginning of time. Xerena watched them with a smile. She's happy.
They jumped, startled, when they heard the noises and explosions outside getting louder.
"Is that all you got, dog!?" Lorreign played and shoot Chaos Beam to the dragon Prince. It left a hole on his right wing, destabilizing his flight.
"You disappoint me. This is why I hate stupid children."
She raised his hands and fit the dragon Prince in it from a perspective. There, she began to squeeze his insides and boil his blood. The pitiful dragon Prince who couldn't put up a proper fight wailed in pain, kicking his feet and wagging his tail. He roared and roared but nobody was there to help him. The hurting dragon Prince cried.
"Pathetic dragon descent! A shame to your Deity! You're unsightly. I will kill every one of you. I won't let my grandmother see how unsightly and dumb her creation had become."
She tore his right wing and disintegrated it using Chaos Magic. The dragon Prince descended to the ground like asteroid while wailing in pain.
The frozen Ki'zaar's tail flinched.
The Whitecloak guarding him noticed it and told the others about it.
"Must be your imagination," they said.
Lorreign followed him, levitating over him. The dragon Prince curled, whimpering and shaking, traumatized and afraid of her. Still, he tried to fire a Star Blast only for Lorreign to return it back to his throat, blowing his head up.
"Pathetic dragon descent. You're no fun."
"Sol..." She heard the dying dragon Prince called in his mind. His body was filled with holes, caused by her.
Lorreign rolled her eyes.
First, she knew it. Then, she felt it. Lastly, she saw it.
The ritual is transpiring.
A tear cascaded down her expecting and delighted face.
Alas.
Her grandmother, the innocent, wronged, then banished Deity...is returning.
The Primordials gathered at the cosmic nexus, where reality's veil was thinnest, invoking ancient, forbidden rites to open the 'gates' of their universe. The ritual began with chants resonating through dimensions, warping space and time. Prince Valerian and Solana, were bound at the ritual's core, their essence radiating like beacons, screaming as they get drain of their life force.
Ral'zunr Liorei stood by, feeling...guilty? But he swallowed whatever empathy and sympathy he's holding for these children. What they're doing is right. It's for his mother. They always have to lose something to get the reward they've been waiting for.
"DADDY!" Solana cried out. King Liorei's heart skipped a beat as his face change its expression.
"PLEASE! MOMMY! IT HURTS! MOMMY!"
King Liorei balled his fists, his tears forming in his eyes. He took a single step and Ohms Xirquit blocked his path with his hand.
"It's not worth it."
"But my daughter---"
"She's NOT your daughter. This is for HER. She's out there, lost somewhere, trying to find her way BACK to YOU. We won't have another chance but this. Only this. We waited long enough, so stay put. That child is a nobody. You don't need to feel responsible for a bastard."
"DADDY LIOREI!" Solana screamed one more time. This time, with his name.
King Liorei faltered. Shaking as he fight against himself internally.
The child looked at him, slowly fading.
"Please... Daddy..."
Ohms Xirquit dropped his hand when he knew that the King wouldn't dare and watched it all happen before his eyes. His eyes landed on the Prince who's looking at him differently.
The Prince used the remaining strength left in him and raised his hand, as if he's reaching out to Ohms Xirquit.
"Daddy..."
Their bodies exploded and their cosmic energies went to follow the trail. An enormous magic circle, bloodier and redder than blood, stretched out in the skies. As the sacrifices' life forces were consumed, an overwhelming surge of energy tore through the cosmos, unraveling the boundary between universes. The universe trembled, stars dimmed, and the skies split open with a deafening crack, revealing a swirling vortex of chaotic energy.
Slowly, it crack.