I will strive beyond this cursed bloodline!

Second month, two weeks in.

—---------------------------------------

 

She had done it, she had prepared the fourteen valkyries for their [Re:Birth]. She had set the fourteen eggs each in a node point within the central Spire, each one feeding in a singular mana stream.

 

Each one leeching power from the [Shadow Haven]... Each one weakening it…

 

Each one taking what wasn’t theirs.

 

“I…” Beatrice felt… dirty… she loved this place, this [World]. It had given her so much, made it so she felt realized, she was happy. She woke up each morning invigorated by the mana here…

 

Each passing day was a blessing. She felt at all times the spark within her [Core], the [Gift] that had been given to her by Mom, nurtured by Elizabeth… and bloomed within the [Soulscape].

 

And now she was stealing from it, all so she could nurture a set of independent servants that would not follow the orders of the [Owner] of this place…

 

“You may want to prepare yourself, they are about the be born.” A voice suddenly spoke behind her.

 

Beatrice reacted before processing who it was. She summoned her full body regalia, armor, and swords to attack the one who had found out her… sin.

 

“Wow, you are a litte jumpy thing aren’t you.” Aura smirked as a pair of black circles materialized around her, blocking her attacks.

 

No… It wasn’t as much as a [Block], it felt as if the sword was moving slower, as if it was traversing a long space and as such it wasn’t able to hit the maid.

 

“Aura, are you here to mock me? For my betrayal. To laugh at how I fell for your temptation? To take me back to…Elizabeth? To that bitch?” Beatrice said as she let her swords fall onto the floor.

 

“You…is this your teenager angst?” Aura suddenly said as she walked towards the [Eggs], as if to ensure they were growing correctly. “What is up there, isn’t Elizabeth. We both know that.”

 

The purple-haired girl nodded as she moved from one egg to the other as if they had achieved some kind of metric that only the purple-haired girl knew. “No, I am here to tell you that your time is running out. There is only so much I am willing to do to distract her.”

 

The maid’s word made Beatrice’s heart shook, it was thanks to this girl that she had been able to focus on nurturing these eggs, and…she was saying she wouldn’t help her anymore?

 

“WHY?!?!?” Beatrice screamed, “WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY?!?!?!?!? I AM DOING THIS BECAUSE YOU SAID IT! BECAUSE YOU SAID YOU WOULD HELP ME!”

 

“No.” Aura said turning to look at her, once more her eyes seemed to reflect a constellation of stars, “I gave you an option, if you had decided to go through the rebirth then I would have teleported you to another [Plane] if needed.”

 

What?

 

“But you decided to stay, it was your choice. Not mine, not from Rossaline Singh or Watanabe Rena. But the choice of Beatrice Di Starbright.” Aura said as her shadow seemed to increase in size…

 

No, it wasn’t her shadow the one to grow, but her…Presence? Her [Authority]?

 

What…what was this girl…?

 

“I am The Maiden of Space. Not the [Maiden Of Miracles], there is only so much I can do to help you.” Aura said, the pressure fading away, as if it was hiding once more between the layers of reality.

 

“What are you?” Beatrice asked as she fell into the ground, what kind of monster had Elizabeth brought back from the dead?

 

“I am Aura Vi Starbright, [The Maiden of Space]. And a loyal [Minion] of Elizabeth Starbright.” Aura said as she extended her arm and a portal materialized at her side, Beatrice could see a group fo armed minions standing guard in front of Mom and Lady Rena.

 

“...can we even win?” Beatrice asked as she looked at the Knights and Tanks standing at the front.

 

She hadn’t managed to make the Royal Knights move, the same could be said of the Royal Mages. They had done their best and sealed themselves, not helping her, but not moving against her.

 

Just waiting for the outcome, for a future where they would wake up either as [Dragons] or as [Shadow Dragon] again.

 

“Let’s go then… Let’s see how far has that bitch fallen this time.” Beatrice said as she walked toward the portal, looking behind her stood fourten shadow eggs.

 

They would hatch soon, they didn’t need as much input from her or the [Shadow Haven], they would be independent entities only tied to her and Mom for now. If Elizabeth ever returned…

 

She would be placed in second place, first place would always be Mom.

 

She would ensure she lived, even if she had to commit the worst possible sins…

 

Even if she had to kill her progenitor.

 

—----------------------------------------------

 

Second Month, Third week.

 

—--------------------------------

 

“I AM TIRED OF WAITING HATCHLING!” The lizard bitch had turned worse with each passing day.

 

Aura had been right, she had been needed here, with each day that came by the [Shadow Haven] was lossing integrity, less and less [Shadow Dragons] could be born.

 

More and more of the place was decaying.

 

The atmosphere was starting to turn dangerous to the lower castes, the [Civilian] castes had been sent to hibernate, as most of the scouts. Now only the [Knight] and [Tank] castes could survive on the outside.

 

The [Shadow Spire] of course was still livable, if you managed to survive the outrages of this bitch.

 

“We have spoken about this, she is not for you to mess around with,” Beatrice said as she summoned once more her twin swords.

 

Each time she had summoned and used them, they had lost luster and edge. Each time had been worth it, even if the wounds she had managed to make on this bitch disappeared already.

 

But each one had given her time.

 

“You can't stop me anymore, hatchling; I have flushed this place from the pesky Shadows you use! You will not be able to stop me from enjoying my new mates!” This bitch….She had done it herself?

 

SHE POISONED THE [SHADOW HAVEN] HERSELF!?!?!?

 

ONLY SO SHE COULD PLAY AROUND WITH MOM’S BODY?!?!?

 

“You bitch…” Beatrice cursed as she extended her senses over the shadow haven, she could feel the streets being starved, the power grid was almost dead… And all because this bitch wanted to take her Mom as a mate?!?!? “Don’t you have shame? Do you even love her?!?!? Or is this another of your rants about wanting to get laid?”

 

“Me loving her? A puny human? Of course not.” The lizard bitch scoffed, “No, I want her because you love her.”

 

The bitch said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. She had poisoned herself, only to make her suffer? She wanted to take Mom not because she loved her, not because she missed her…But to make Beatrice suffer?

 

Was this…was this who she had pledged her loyalty to? No.

 

Elizabeth would never do something like this.

 

“Hahahahahahah.” Beatrice laughed as she felt her heart break, she could feel the last threads that joined her to the [Shadow Haven] at the point of breaking, the only thing that kept her tied to this place was Mom at this point. “Yes, right… You are correct. I love Mom. What kind of Daughter wouldn’t love her Mom.”

 

It was the most natural thing in the world, any daughter loved their Mother… Even someone like her, someone who had been born not out of love, but out of necessity. She of course knew that in the heart of Rossaline Singh the number one was not Beatrice Di Starbright, but Elizabeth Starbright.

 

She… was not the real Daughter of Rossaline Singh.

 

Beatrice may call Rossaline Singh Mom… But Rossaline Singh never actually meant it when she called her Daughter.

 

“But even so, what about it.” Beatrice took the last fragments of the thread that joined her to the [Shadow Haven] and pulled. “It matters not what you think of me. What Mom thinks of me, what this [Cursed Dead World] thinks of me…IT DOESN’T MATTER!”

 

Beatrice started pulling and pulling, the thread that had wanted to pull at her, to make her loyal to this bitch, the thread that had pestered so long these last months was finally trying to worm away from her.

 

But it could not.

 

Beatrice was not a normal minion. Unlike the other ones, she wasn’t made up only from Elizabeth Starbright’s mana; she was alson’t made only by using a dead soul from [Terra Invicta].

 

She was made using fragments of Rossaline Singh's frayed soul, nurtured by Elizabeth's shadows, and, yes, gestated within the [Shadow Haven].

 

But the core of Beatrice Di Starbright was the broken fragments of Rossaline Singh.

 

She had been born from the broken parts of [The Saintess of Healing], the last fragments of a soul that strived and fought against the [Fate] that had been assigned to her.

 

She had been born from the fragments of a [Soul] that should have been broken and turned into a [Slave].

 

“You made a mistake.” Beatrice would not be [Enslaved], “You should have either gone to sleep or try to squish me the first day you became aware.”

 

And what could she do instead? She had pulled and pulled at the connection to the [Shadow Haven], but what could that achieve?

 

“Hah! As if a mere hatchling could be a threat to me.” The lizard bitch at least didn’t seem to notice it, “What can you do? Pull at my mana? And what of it, it matters not if you use it. I am a [Dragon], a creature at the peak of magic. Whatever you attempt to do with it will not work, you are still bound to me. Nothing you do will harm me.”

 

And as if to make her case more obvious this lizard bitch stood, she had changed over the weeks, each week turning more and more dragon-like, at first it was merely the horns and wings…

 

Then came the tail…

 

Then she started walking around nude and with scales being the only thing that covered her body, as the time went by her human body started shifting more and more to the draconic side, and now?

 

After almost three months?

 

In front of Beatrice stood a majestic dragon, no signs of the [Human] were to be seen, golden scales covered her body and her azure eyes stared down at her.

 

She had four powerful legs and a back covered in silver spikes, a pair of leathery wings at her back and a mighty tail at the back. It was what any [Dragon] wanted, and even at this moment with each breath the dragon took. The amount of [Dragon Mana] that she breathed out was enough that the purifier within Mom’s cylinder was working overtime.

 

But even in the face of certain death…Beatrice smiled.

 

Why?

 

“Do you know why we are called a Legion of Shadow Dragons even though the number is quite small?” Beatrice smirked as she started pulling at the Mana she had stolen. She directed it down… Usually, this would mean that she would be feeding the [Shadow Haven], empowering it.

 

All the [Minions] that could generate mana did this from time to time with their extra [Mana], send some back to the [Shadow Haven] to make it sturdier, stronger, more solid.

 

To help Elizabeth grow stronger, better…

 

“Why? To make yourself feel better? To create the illusion of being better?” The bitch smirked at her, “It matters not, you will yield to me. And I will feast upon your progenitor entrails.”

 

Beatrice couldn’t help herself but laugh at that statement, she liked it if that was true, the idea of this bitch eating herself made Beatrice smile.

 

“No, we are a Legion because: Even in the face of impending death…We rise.” Beatrice said, and all the mana she had directed down shot in fourteen different directions as spikes.

 

Each toward one of her Valkyries.

 

Each towards a Shadow Dragon Egg, each spike of Mana cracking them open, making small little explosions. Was she suddenly regretting her plans of revolt?

 

Nay.

 

“What did you do?” The Lizard bitch asked confused as she coughed a black slug-like substance, as if she was puking corrupted blood. “What have you done?!?!”

 

Beatrice couldn’t help herself, so she laughed.

 

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.” She laughed and laughed, even as she felt the very Core of who she was cracked, she… would not live long. A year? Two? Maybe Three? If Elizabeth returned within the month.

 

It would not matter. She would never regret what she had done.

 

“I helped you do your work,” Beatrice answered as she felt the mana blossom within the underbelly of the [Shadow Haven].

 

Fourteen eggs cracked simultaneously, and from within, a Valkyrie stood, all armed in shadow armor. Each of them wielding a weapon, each one of them brimming with power, each of them wanting to roar at the heavens the announcement of their arrival.

 

And more importantly, each one of them tied to a [Node] from the [Shadow Haven].

 

"HOW?!?!?" The lizard bitch roared as the shadows once more started rising within the [Shadow Haven], she roared and howled, but no matter what, the density didn't go down. "WHAT TRICKERY IS THIS?!?!?"

 

"There is no trickery here bitch." Beatrice smirked as she threw her weapons to the ground, they broke as soon as it touched the floor, "I just summoned a few more [Minions] to help us level the fight."

 

As she said that, Beatrice snapped her fingers, and a magic circle formed under her. With each centimeter it expanded, the dense shadow mana it created increased.

 

"*Hisssss*" And as soon as it touched that bitch's mana, it started sizzling.

 

"Good," Beatrice said as she noticed how her work had panned out.

 

"The readings are stable Mistress.

" A new Valkyrie said as she rose from the shadows around Beatrice.

 

She looked...more like a human than to a Shadow Dragon, and she held a weird resemblance to Beatrice.

 

"Don't ever call me that," Beatrice hissed as she turned to look at the new [Minion] that had arrived. "Who are you, and what is your mission?"

 

"As you command...Master." The Minion said, struggling to come up with a new title for her, "This unworthy one is Sigrun. Leader of the Valkyrie order working under your domain."

 

"BLASPHEMY!" The lizard bitch roared as it tried to push into the ward.

 

"Captain, the objective is taking more mana than we had expected. Should we move to phase 2?" A new Minion said as it rose from Beatrice's shadow.

 

"Our mission is to safeguard the lifeblood of the Mother Goddess of Life and to give you enough time as to deal with...That." The Valkyrie called Sigrun said.

 

Beatrice could almost feel the disgust from the minion towards the lizard bitch. She almost felt proud of it... Almost.

 

"Start phase two." Beatrice comanded and turned to look at the lizard bitch. "I hope you enjoy every second of it, I will find a way to wake up Mom. Or I will make sure she has a chance of waking up."

 

"Skuld, start the spell." Sigrun said turning to the other Valkyrie, they both nodded to each other and sank once more into the shadows.

 

"You win this time hatchling." The bitch lizard said as she jumped away from the tower.

 

As she flew away, Beatrice felt the mana matrix spread, covering the Spire and expanding. The shadow mana started pouring once more as the pressure from the lizard bitch was no longer pouring down on them.

 

"...we did it, Mom..." Beatrice said as she fell to the ground, tears coming from her eyes. "We did it..."

 

She could feel as her [Core] crack grew, and at the same time, the energy from the spell matrix fought to keep her whole.

 

"It is done, Master." Sigrun's voice came into her head. It was such a weird feeling—so different from the usual mental communication she did with her former fellow [Minions]. "All the nodes are working within the expected efficiency values, and all fourteen Valkyries are ready for your next orders."

 

"...My next orders?" Beatrice asked to no one, suddenly she became aware. Every single [Minion] was looking at her. That wasn't something new, she was used to the Minions coming to her for orders. She had been the one to give them, always looked after.

 

But now?

 

It was different, as that lizard bitch left, more and more Shadow Dragons returned to the Spire... All were looking at her.

 

All seeking for answers, all eyeing her... Judging her... reproaching her... All-

 

"We await your commands Master." Sigrun said as she materialized once more within the Spire.

 

"[We await your commands Master.]" The [Minions] sent their shared thought to her through the [Shadows].

 

"And as they say..." Aura teleported into the Spire once again with...something. "Viva la revolucion."

 

She lifted Beatrice, who was still stunned, and sat her in a chair, a raised chair that stood where Elizabeth once had rested, a place that had been used as a sleeping spot by the lizard bitch.

 

"I..." Beatrice was too stunned to think properly. She was sitting on a Throne, looking at the sleeping figures of Mom and Lady Rena. "... shore up the defenses, prepare for any intrusion on the [Shadow Haven]!"

 

As soon as her words left her mouth the [Minions] darted into a hive of activity, each seeking council from one of her...minions. Each Valkyrie taking a set amount of the [Minions] under their wing.

 

Each taking a part of [Aquila] under them... Dividing Aquila into fourteen parts, each taking a part.

 

"We can begin at any moment, Master." Sigrun kneeled in front of her Throne of Shadows, "We will be ready to Slay the Dragon in approximately four months, within the month, she will no longer have any control over this place, and we will offer you this world to you."

 

For her?

 

No. It was never about her.

 

"No, we do this for Mom..." Beatrice said as she placed her little hand against her chest, the pain was there. Her Core would probably last just barely enough... It would need to.

 

She could no longer afford to wait for Elizabeth to return. She would slay the dragon and prepare to save the princess from the evil Spire...

 

Mom would probably hate her, but she would be alive. And with some luck, her Valkyries—fourteen living beings made up from Elizabeth's bloodline—would be enough to soothe her. Fourteen grandaughters.

 

It would need to be enough.

 

She hoped it would be enough... She hoped... That Mom would understand.

 

Elizabeth Starbright was dead. And while she hoped for a miracle... She could no longer afford it.

 

"...Prepare a second set of rules for the wards, if..." Beatrice hesitated, should she cling to hope? Could she afford it? "...If... someone with this mana signature arrives, pause all our plans. Should this...person arrive, we will act under the premise that it can be solved..."

 

"As you wish, Master," Sigrun said, taking the sample of Elizabeth's mana, not reacting to the readings...at all.

 

"[Is that wise? Lady Valkyre?]" One of the Royal Mages asked her.

 

"Of course not, but a girl can hope. If Elizabeth returns, Mom will not have to suffer anymore, so please... give us a miracle, Elizabeth... For Mom." Beatrice prayed, praying for the return of the person her Mom loved the most.

 

For that was the better outcome.

 

"Return...so I don't have to kill what remains of you," Beatrice whispered as she closed her eyes, she needed to save as much energy as possible.

 

If she was to lead a dragon-slaying campaign in a few months, she would need all the power she could use.

 

Either Elizabeth Starbright returned...Or she would need to kill a dead world.

 

Sigrun

 

Skuld