I will strive beyond this cursed bloodline!

The red-haired girl closed her eyes, and Elizabeth’s hold against her hand turned into a vice. Rossaline felt a pang of panic followed by shame. Her back was covered in cold sweat, and as soon as her emotions had gotten under control, she felt Elizabeth tremble. The blonde girl pretended she hadn’t noticed it, but Rossaline knew better.

 

Her dumb and innocent girlfriend had felt ashamed and guilty.

 

Rossaline silently took the hand Elizabeth wanted to worm away from her and grabbed it with both hands. “It will be okay, Eli–Eli, both Ren-Ren and myself are strong. We will get over this without anything happening.” She would not let go of the hand and instead hugged it against her chest. “Can you hear this? This constant and steady heartbeat? It is proof that I have full confidence in our Ren-Ren. Can you trust her too?”

 

It was also her own circumvention way of proving to Elizabeth that she didn’t fear her, not really. She would never feel conscious fear toward the blonde girl.

 

Who could?

 

She was adorably silly. Her antics didn’t seem like those of a grown-up teenager-turning woman. They were those of a stupid girl who didn’t know better and was instead walking into the world at large—a dumb girl who could only see the brightest in those around her…

 

They were those of a girl who knew nothing of the real world, someone who had grown up in isolation from it and was only exposed to very specific parts…

 

And she loved every part of her.

 

Of course, Rossaline knew that Elizabeth was more brilliant than she let on, more intelligent than Elizabeth realized she was. Elizabeth was a [Genius], she liked to say or even think that she wasn’t. She acted as if she wasn’t sometimes too!

 

But it was ridiculous. It took Rossaline, someone who people liked to say was a prodigy, almost ten years of one-on-one tutoring to master magic to the degree she felt confident showing it to others.

 

It took her almost ten years to achieve such mastery that she felt confident enough to take the number one spot in the MPI. And Elizabeth eclipsed her, in a year.

 

Nay…Less than that.

 

Elizabeth took to [Mana Manipulation] as if it was breathing, something natural. Something that [Everyone should know how to do] as she liked to say. And this silly girl thought of herself as [Average]?

 

It was probably her parents' fault, those who raised her, and those she grew around. She grew up expecting others to say she couldn’t fail, so she thought she was probably normal or below average. She compared her magic to that of [Catherine Starlight], the literal [Mother of Magic].

 

She compared her intelligence with those that stood at the peak, and granted, from what Rossaline had learned about [Catherine], she didn’t act like the mastermind she truly was… No, she acted…much like Elizabeth.

 

A [Silly blonde girl]... Instead of the [Monster] that she was, Rossaline didn’t hate the woman, if anything she was grateful to her. She had taken the last remaining bits that Akira had left within her, the last remnants of her past. The last remaining parts of Michelle Campbell, the girl who couldn't do anything to change her situation. Rossaline didn't lost anything, and earned much. It was that interaction that settled her future, if she was to be worthy of being with Elizabeth she needed to be [More].

 

More powerful, more worthy, more dedicated, more vicious, more ruthless... both with herself and with other people. She couldn't hope to be worthy just because because she had a good body and a cute face. No. She needed to be ruthless with those that stood in her way, she needed to be ready to be merciless to herself too. It was precisely this mentality what allowed her to grind parts of her crumbling [Soul] to drip-feed Elizabeth while she was in a coma.

 

It was this mentality what allowed her to kill even those that people knew she hated, even if this put her at risk. She found it hilarious, people actually coming to ask her if she knew what had happened with the people that had wronged Elizabeth while she was in a coma.

 

How they judged her, how they blamed her, how family and friends of her [Victim] came to judge her. The same people that did nothing or ignored how their [Innocent Family member] had attempted to abuse Her Elizabeth, how that was okay.

 

But she [Flaying him alive and leaving him a husk of his former self] was wrong?

 

The hubris of humans was ridiculous sometimes.

 

And when they came with law enforcement? A single call was enough to ruin their attempts. She only needed to promise a friend of her family priority with some of her [Healing], and all the allegations vanished in the wind. She moved from a [Hideous criminal] to an [Innocent girl taking care of her sick friend], the optics shifted so much that it wasn't even funny. People who scolded and berated her turned into staunch supporters.

 

Rossaline hated all of it.

 

They couldn't compare to Elizabeth.

 

They couldn't even compare to Rena.

 

Those who saw the darkest parts of this cursed [World] and even so, they strived for better. Elizabeth had been abandoned by her [Parents], by [The World]... She was even abandoned by those who should have been with her.

 

Rossaline wouldn't have minded if Elizabeth had killed her after waking up; Rossaline knew she had more than earned such penance. But what did Elizabeth do?

 

She forgave her.

 

She forgave her parents.

 

And while she wasn't sure, she could guess that she had chosen to forgive [The World].

 

At the very least, she had decided to give a second chance to Rena, one who had pointed her sword at her filled with [Hate], instead of refusing to help her. Elizabeth decided to extend her hand to the red-haired girl, and when the girl decided to give her [Love], Elizabeth didn't use this chance to twist the girl into a [Slave].

 

Rossaline wouldn't have minded that, and neither would Rena. But instead, what did Elizabeth do?

 

She tried to steer the blossoming relationship into something else, into [Love]. Elizabeth didn't want [Servitude]; she wanted...[Family].

 

Something Rossaline didn't understand before, something Rena didn't know. And now?

 

Now, when they had advanced so much, when they had grown so much. After Elizabeth had granted them yet another chance to grow in power beyond what they would have before?

Congratulations!

You have achieved the middle point in your travels. You have achieved something only those worthy of their power, only those who have succeeded in their path to power and glory, can achieve!   Stand proud [Hero], for you have arrived at a point in which your might will surpass that of your peers!   Make your stand among this [World]’s mightiest!

Now that they had arrived at this point?

 

Elizabeth had wanted to go first, of course she did. Even though their previous job change had almost killed one of them. She had wanted to risk herself, again.

 

At least they managed to convince her about the order. Rena, the one who had the most chances to suffer, the one with the most resilient body, would go first. This way if something went wrong... Rossaline could help fix it.

 

Even if nothing went wrong in the end, Rena's job change ended with nothing changing externally. As far as Rossaline could tell from her diagnosis spells, the red-haired [Soul] had moved more towards stability. Unlike before, when her [Soul] was barely hanging by thanks to Elizabeth's [Soul Link]. Now, she felt more solid.

 

"Everything okay there Ren-Ren?" Rossaline asked as the red-haired girl opened her eyes. For a second, the girl's red eyes seemed to have an azure hue.

 

Rossaline couldn't help but smile at that. Elizabeth's color looked good in the red-haired girl.

 

"Yes, I am happy with the choices that I got." Rena smiled shyly. "I...didn't pick the most efficient one, this one will probably not give me much power. I hope that's okay?"

 

Elizabeth looked at her and silently hugged the red-haired girl.

 

"I'm happy as long as you are okay," Elizabeth's voice was trembling, Rossaline didn't need to see her to know the girl was probably crying, "And yes, you can pick whatever you want. If you want to throw away the swords and pick up a [Seamstress] Job you can too."

 

Rossaline could only smile at that, she felt fuzzy at the image of Her Elizabeth

hugging Rena. What before would send her mind into planning how to skin alive someone, now it only made her happy. Such a weird change.

 

"Okay then. So it's my turn now." Rossaline said, sitting on the floor. "If something goes wrong, just send some mana into these artifacts."

 

Rossaline had prepared plenty of those, mostly designed to cast her [Magic] in case she was too panicked or wounded. They were all originally designed to work only with Elizabeth in mind.

 

Nowadays, she needed to increase the range to include Rena, so they ended up being allowed to work with everyone who held a [Link] to Elizabeth. This meant that they would work with her, too.

 

"Are you sure Rossie?" Of course, Elizabeth didn't want her to risk herself.

 

Both of them knew that it was Rossaline the one at more risk of the three, not Rena whose soul was crumbling. Not Elizabeth who had a [Soul] that was barely [Human].

 

No.

 

It was Rossaline Singh, the one who had mutilated her [Soul] herself, but everything would be okay.

 

"Yes Eli-Eli, I am sure." Rossaline had complete faith in that everything would be okay. Why? "Everything will be fine because your [Love] will ensure I am okay."

 

And that wasn't mere empty words. Rossaline knew that as long as her Goddess was there, she would be able to return. Elizabeth had granted her [Soul] stability, and now she had made sure [Her Body] was a perfect match. So, really, nothing could go wrong.

 

A [Body] made to match her [Soul]? What else did she need? Now that her [Vessel] was a perfect [Match] and complimented her [Soul], everything would be okay. So, with that in mind, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to sink into the [Soulscape].

 

Such a wonderful place, the evidence of her [Love] with Elizabeth. What had started as merely a reflection of her [Soul] had become so much more...

 

But as soon as she opened her eyes within their shared apartment... She noticed that her [Jobs] weren't popping up, instead she got the feeling that there was more.

 

So following that feeling she found an elevator within one of the walls, opening the doors and peeking inside one of the buttons said [Job Change], so thinking th is was another of Elizabeth's weird quirks Rossaline walked in and punched the button.

 

Soon enough the elevator started going down, Rossaline didn't feel panic or anything at all really, if anything she wondered how much they would go down. For the image of the [Shadow Haven] was getting farther and farther away.

 

The journey ended in an open underground space filled with multiple crystal pillars holding the ceiling in place. Rossaline found the elevator door opening into what seemed to be a comfy study with a bed.

 

"...sis...she is here...say something to her." Within this space, Rossaline found a black-haired girl with green eyes. Behind this black-haired girl, another girl was trying to hide from Rossaline.

 

"You don't get it, Alice. You are fine because you don't look that much like Elizabeth, but I am exactly like her! Do you know what that psycho would do with a spare Elizabeth?!?!?!?" Behind the black-haired girl was a blonde.

 

Some people would think it was another Elizabeth. But to Rossaline?

 

"I don't like fakes." She couldn't be more different. The body was the same, the face too, the makeup, even the way their hair was set up. Everything was a perfect copy. "You couldn't be more different."

 

But to Rossaline?

 

This wasn't Elizabeth; if anything, it felt like a cruel mockery of her wishes when she wanted to wake up Elizabeth. How she had gone about trying to twist random blondes into looking like Elizabeth was a reminder of her [Sins].

 

"See? She is nice. This isn't like you, sis." Alice said, sighing, "Well, I might as well get this over."

 

"What is this place? Why are you here? Didn't Elizabeth kill you both?" Rossaline asked, looking around, "Is that...?"

 

When looking around, she found another crystal tower near hers. This one seemed to be a more reddish color, and inside, she could see what seemed to be a training room with some swords.

 

"Oh, that? That's Rena turret. We just finished working there, so we came to this one when we noticed it was lighting up." Alice answered, still trying to get the blonde to stop hiding behind her.

 

"Here, pick one or something. So you can leave." However, The blonde refused to budge and continued to cling to the black-haired girl.

 

Rossaline didn't have time to refute or say anything as a blue screen manifested in front of her, the job change options.

Available Jobs:
High Cleric High Priest Druid Alchemist Shaman White Mage Medic Oracle Sage Mystic Astrologer	Spirit Mage Animist High Acolyte Blood Mage Soul Mage Psychic Healer Fey Healer Shadow Healer Soul Healer Voodoo Priestess Necromancer Soul Weaver	Divine Cleric Arcane Healer Array Healer Assassin Stalker Reaver Soul Reaver Blood Reaver Blood Soul Psycho

"Interesting. Why do you have this power over me?" Rossaline asked as she reviewed the options. She had imagined it would be something like this.

 

Even if none called, especially to her, she wanted something more original. Something in line with what Rena had selected.

 

"We are working as managers for Elizabeth's Domain." Alice answered while sighing, "We can allow or hinder some aspects of [The World] when it comes to you and Rena, Elizabeth of course doesn't want to limit you in any way whatsoever, but..."

 

"We still need to make sure nothing nasty goes from [The World] into you, since it would in turn, infect Elizabeth's Domain

." The blonde girl said, "...please don't glare at me. I have some of Elizabeth's memories without the pink glasses... I know what you did."

 

....Oh.

 

"Right...that would be the normal reaction." Rossaline would love to say that she hadn't been affected, but...it hurt.

 

To see someone who looked like Elizabeth fear her like this. Even if Rossaline knew it wasn't Elizabeth. This was one of her [Echoes], the one that was her [Elemental Weaver] shift.

 

"How?" Rossaline asked in a trembling voice, "How do I look to you?"

 

Rossaline didn't know why she had asked that, she didn't want to know. She shouldn't want to know, knowing would hurt her. She had gotten past her hideous insecurities, she didn't need them. She was growing past them! She was getting real [Emotions]!

 

She had learned to [Love] someone besides Elizabeth, she had learned how to [Share] her Elizabeth!

 

"Sis?" Alice turned to look at the girl behind her.

 

"Ugh...fine." Chloe sighed and walked from behind Alice, she stood in front of Rossaline.

 

Rossaline could [feel] her emotions, the [Fear] from the girl. And the absence of [Love].

 

"I hated it, the fact that you slowly manipulated Elizabeth into liking you. Feeding her just the right amount of care, how you took advantage of someone who didn't know better. How you twisted an innocent girl into...well, what she is now." Chloe spoke without restraint, "But... Elizabeth is also at fault, she noticed it you know? She decided to ignore it because she liked the feeling of unconditional love, it pleased her [Ego], it boosted her confidence...And she didn't want to push you away, someone who she could trust."

 

Each word hurt Rossaline more than the previous.

 

"Sis..." Alice, at the side, tried to move forward, but Chloe's single gesture stopped her.

 

"And then there is...whatever this is," Chloe spoke, moving her hand towards Rossaline's face. Rossaline thought she would slap her, punch her, or something. Instead, she only felt a soft caress around her cheek, "Tears...we are in the realm of the Soul. You can fake these here. So what, You truly feel sad? What a joke."

 

"Sis...that's enough," Alice spoke again, this time with more gravitas in her tone. "

 

"...So, to answer your question, Rossaline Starbright," Chloe spoke once more, "I don't hate you for what you did. I hate how you did it, but at the end of the day, it isn't me who should give an opinion about other people's relationships. If that toxic relationship you and Elizabeth wield around works for you, then congratulations. Just...please get therapy one of these days."

 

Rossaline was surprised, she had thought that another girl with the same experiences as Elizabeth would straight up want to murder her. But...this Chloe only hated how she had done it, not that she had done it?

 

"So...if I hadn't manipulated the circumstances..." Rossaline asked.

 

"If you had gone ahead and asked Elizabeth to date or tried to win her without slowly boiling her like a crab. Then yeah, I wouldn't have as many problems as I do with you." Chloe nodded, "And I may be a lesbian too; as it stands, I would rather...not join your orgies if you don't mind it."

 

"Okay...I can live with that." Rossaline said, "Are you..."

 

"YES I AM!" Chloe screamed while running behind Alice again, "Now pick a job and return before Elizabeth gets more annoyed."

 

Right, that's what she came for. "Are these all? I don't see...you know... one of those Black Screen ones." Rossaline had expected those to show up; after all, she did have a Black Status Screen, too.

 

"Here, we worked hard to rush these out, so we don't have as many. But there." Chloe said, throwing a pair of black screens at Rossaline from behind Alice.

These....didn’t feel like something that Elizabeth would give to her. They felt more normal than what her silly bimbo girlfriend would give.

 

“Are you sure these come from Elizabeth?” Rossaline asked with narrowed her eyes.

 

“You need to understand that we tailored those to what we think could work with you and what you have.” Alice said, she seemed to be ready to explain each option but.

 

“Here are the ones Elizabeth made subconsciously while thinking and fantasying about you!” Chloe really wanted Rossaline to go away.

Yeah...these looked more like what her silly girlfriend would think, “Thank you.” Rossaline smiled as she read the [Jobs].

 

No...as she read the jobs that her girlfriend imagined her having.

 

“Now...which one should I pick...” Rossaline smiled as she read the silly names that each job had, and compared them with what [The World] and Elizabeth’s Domain had to offer for her.

 

She now understood why Rena had apologized, the temptation to pick one that promised not more power, but a closer relationship with Elizabeth was great. Good thing that Rossaline was stronger than Rena in that aspect.

 

She didn’t need the guarantee of one of the silly jobs to feel closer to Elizabeth.

 

“Yeah, I will pick this one.” Rossaline said as she felt the change within her Soul take place.

 

She couldn’t wait to see what face Elizabeth and Rena would make when they saw her.