I Guard The Book That Slays Gods

"Raven has proven himself strong enough by defeating Navigator Jojo's strongest subordinate." Snow said with her voice steady and calculated. Raiden glanced at her as he hadn't seen her this concentrated before.

"I want him to be my lieutenant."

Kimberly began playing with her hair. "And why didn't you discuss this with the vice captain?"

"He asked us to come meet you directly." Snow's eyes shifted toward Raiden. "He was unsure about Raiden's ability."

Kimberly's face hardened as she leaned forward, palms pressed to the desk. "Tell me about the vice captain… He handpicked Ekko and Anya for you, correct?"

She let the silence stretch before delivering her final words. "Because he owns you."

Snow's face lit up with an unsettling brightness, like she'd just heard wonderful news. "Absolutely right."

"Raven's abilities are absolutely broken. I'd put him on the same level as Ekko and Anya, maybe even the vice captain." Kimberly settled back, studying Snow's reaction. "Of course, he doesn't see it that way. Typical insecurity."

Kimberly exhaled slowly. "Alright. I need to speak with him privately."

"Yes, Captain." Snow pushed back her chair and walked toward the exit.

Raiden's eyes darted about, taking in the tense atmosphere. Captain Kimberly looked cheerful enough, but something felt off.

The instant Snow was gone and the door closed, Kimberly's posture relaxed into a lazy stretch. "I can't stand all that professional bullshit."

Raiden looked around in confusion, still trying to make sense of what had just happened.

"Let's start simple. You're Raiden Night… current bookkeeper for the Kingdom of Persia, correct?"

Raiden's blood ran cold. He gripped his chair to keep from bolting upright, sweat already beading on his brow. How could she possibly know?

She propped her chin on her hand. "Raven pretty close to Raiden, don't you think?"

"I… yeah, maybe." His laugh came out strained. "But why call me by that name?"

She swept her hair back, securing it in a ponytail. "Don't worry if you don't remember me. I walked away from the Night name when you were just six years old."

Raiden's eyes widened as his uneasiness began to slowly fade, the tension leaving his shoulders. "You are a part of my family?"

"Yes…" she said with a smile that seemed to bridge the gap between strangers and kin.

Relief flooded through him like a dam breaking. Apart from his mother, who had also turned her back on the family name not long ago, this was the first person he had met who shared his blood.

But somehow, this only irritated him further. He clenched his fists, jaw locked tight.

"If you're strong, why leave everything to me? You clearly know my father is dead, so why?" His voice cracked with barely contained emotion.

"You look strong to me." She turned toward Raiden's white dragon, her smile softening. "I mean, you have the moon dragon."

Raiden's face contorted with anger at her seemingly indifferent response. "How does that matter? How can you be this strong and abandon such responsibility to me?"

The moment the words left his lips, something clicked. Raiden's expression shifted, growing dark with suspicion. "What do you mean? How could you possibly know Ash is the moon dragon?"

Her smile widened cryptically. "I'm not in the right place to tell you that." Her expression shifted, becoming calm and sorrowful. "But trust me, learning of your father's death and what you've endured—it truly saddened me."

Her expression grew grave, shadows crossing her features. "But trust me, I didn't leave because I wanted to shirk responsibility… Something much more dangerous forced my hand."

Raiden swallowed hard. There wasn't a trace of deception in Kimberly's voice, and the way her gaze flickered nervously to the desk told him her reasons ran deeper than he could imagine.

The anger in his chest began to dissolve at her genuine expression, but resentment still burned beneath the surface. She was still the reason he was trapped in this nightmare.

"It's alright," he said, brushing his hair backward. "Where's your familiar, anyway?"

Kimberly smirked with obvious amusement. "How adorable—you let things go remarkably fast."

Raiden shrugged, the gesture heavy with resignation. "I don't like what you did, but anger won't fix anything."

Her blue eyes settled gently on Raiden as something immediately took him aback. He stared at her in confusion as two sharp horns began to emerge from her forehead, growing larger and starting to curl as they extended. Her eyes transformed into a glowing, pitch-blue intensity.

"My familiar is the arch curse doll," her voice resonated off the walls. Raiden's eyes darted frantically as her aura became suffocating in its intensity. "I don't have to say this, but you surely know by now; I am at your service."

The instant she finished speaking, her eyes dimmed to their original blue and her horns began to recede. Where they had pierced her skin, the wounds closed and vanished completely.

"Wait… you have a God Beast inside of you?" Raiden asked, trying to make sense of it all, even though his confusion ran deeper than he showed.

Kimberly closed her eyes, wearing a satisfied smile. "I could tell it was what he wanted, so we performed essence rebinding." Her pride was unmistakable. "Even though mana reconstitution could restore him separately, I prefer this unity."

She wrapped her arms around herself. "I never feel lonely this way."

But Raiden's confusion didn't lessen. He'd performed the same essence rebinding for Freya after her familiar's death, and soon after, her familiar started calling himself the arch hell phoenix and pledged his allegiance to Raiden as the moon dragon—exactly like Kimberly just had. Yet none of it was clear to him. Why were they all swearing loyalty to him rather than Ash?

"This isn't the first time I've heard of an 'arch' familiar. What does that mean?" He leaned forward, his heart beginning to race. "If all the familiars are in Dhrathopia, why not approach Ash yourself? She's the moon dragon, after all."

Kimberly's expression fell flat. "There are many arches out there, and that's all I'm saying." She raised an eyebrow with a mocking smile. "But honestly, you'd have to be pretty obtuse not to figure out why everyone talks to you instead."

Raiden slapped his forehead, shaking his head in frustration. "Look, I know enough has happened that you could call me stupid, but Ash is still alive."

He paused, locking eyes with Kimberly as she stared back. He didn't want to press for more details, and it was clear she couldn't reveal anything beyond what she'd said. Ash had found her voice—if someone was going to answer his questions, it would have to be the moon dragon herself.

He turned to his shoulder with a soft smile, patting Ash reassuringly. "Okay… time for us to leave."

He paused before getting up, eyes narrowing with curiosity. "If God beasts are practically immortal, what does that make you?" He shrugged. "You look about my age, but you've got to be way older than you appear."

Kimberly's cheeks reddened slightly. "Oh, don't sweet-talk me like that. Do I really appear so youthful?"

Raiden stared at her childish expression briefly before sighing. He got to his feet and headed for the door, but a sudden crash made him whirl around. Kimberly had tried to stand and tumbled back down.

She stared up at Raiden from where she'd fallen and offered a cheerful thumbs-up. "Regardless, you have my full approval to go after the pages."

Raiden watched her for a moment, a smile tugging at his lips. He found himself wondering if the rest of his family shared Kimberly's nature. She was impossible to dislike.

"Bet," he said under his breath, then moved to the door. His hand settled on the wood as he gathered himself with a deep breath.

"I need to cut through this confusion." His eyes closed as he centered himself. "None of this matters as much as going home and avenging Jobe." He whispered the words like a vow, then yanked the door open.