Player 0.4 [You have died.] [Reset in progress.]

As Princess Evelyn moved away to another table, Sedna's expression hardened.

"Mother, I need to borrow your bracelet."

The duchess's wrist glittered with bangles, but they both knew which she meant. Without a word, Meriwa slid free the plain-looking Oculus Band and pressed it into her daughter's palm.

"I'll need it back within the hour," she murmured.

"I'll return it by then." Sedna fastened the band at once and rose. Her gown's silk skirts whispered as she maneuvered through the banquet hall. Nobles turned to watch, but she ignored them, slipping out into the large main corridor of the palace. She and Evelyn were hardly close friends, but Sedna's many visits to the palace had imprinted its layout firmly in her memory.

Her shoes clicked loudly as she moved through the grand hallways. Guards were stationed at every end, but their presence was felt about as much as a marble statue's might.

However, they are eyes, ears, and mouths that inevitably lean toward gossip.

"You're here." Julius, Evelyn's royal mage, stood guarding the office door.

So this is where he was. But why? Is guarding the office more important than the crown princess?

Julius cracked the door open just wide enough to slip Sedna through, then shut it firmly behind her.

She had to double-check that he hadn't caught her gown's skirt on the door. Julius possessed a vast mana core but not much between the ears.

"Ah, Sedna—you're finally here!"

Her gaze snapped to Luca Frey.

He rose to greet her, smiling broadly, dressed in simpler attire than was appropriate for a royal banquet. But as he was not an attendee and evidently came in secret, it was no faux pas.

"You look stunning," he said, his eyes moving vertically as he examined her from head to toe. "And I'm thrilled to see you walking. The cookies worked better than expected. I'll send more—with a higher potency next time."

He gestured toward the table beside the koi pond, where tea and a half-eaten buttercream cake waited. "I'm afraid I finished half the cake while waiting for you. My apologies. I can't resist the royal pastry chef."

Sedna took a step forward—then froze.

Her words of greeting curdled in her throat, unable to make their way out of her mouth.

Draped across Luca's left shoulder was a serpent.

Its black scales glimmered like volcanic glass, and two amethyst eyes fixed on her. The creature flicked its tongue, tasting the air, and a faint hiss followed.

The air seemed to prickle around her.

A serpent god in human guise.

She had seen those very words before, scrawled across East Genise on hastily-put up posters. Half proclaimed the serpent god was a saint of salvation, the others warned of a demon to be feared. Both were drawn with crude hands and lacking in any comprehensible detail. She had dismissed them, as had most, along with the ramblings of the street thugs who put them up. It was nonsense born of drink, guilt, or both.

But now, standing here, the truth revealed itself with terrifying clarity. Those sketches had not been fabrications. Nor the ramblings of the insane. They had been portraits.

Luca Frey—the serpent god of East Genise.

The black hair, the slim face. The resemblances were evident now.

What did he do in East Genise to generate those bizarre posters and tales?

Sedna's pulse faltered.

Her cold fingers brushed the Oculus Band on her wrist. She drew on the artifact's perception, focusing not on Luca but on the thing tethered to him.

—!!!

And then she felt it.

A pull, a plunge—like falling into an endless cold well. The sensation hollowed her chest, pressed on her lungs, as if the air had turned into solid ice.

That thing… it is no mere snake. It isn't even alive in any sense we understand.

The koi pond rippled violently, as a violet-scaled fish darted beneath the surface, leaving a faint trail of silver bubbles.

Her breath trembled as insight filled her mind.

It is a banished god of ruin. The embodiment of disorder, darkness and evil.

"Sedna?"

Luca's voice broke through her thoughts.

His golden eyes were bright with warmth, as though the abomination coiled across his shoulder was no more consequential than a scarf.

And perhaps, knowing Luca Frey, that was all it was to him.

Which is even more terrifying.

Luca gestured lightly to the table. "Come, sit."

The serpent blinked once, unhurried, its tongue flicking out again as if amused.

Sedna forced a smile, every muscle rehearsed from a lifetime of diplomacy. She crossed the room and sat, careful to keep her gaze anywhere but on the serpent's glinting purple eyes. Her heart still threatening to pound right out of her chest.

I mustn't let on.

Luca smiled again, warm and human, his golden eyes soft with sincerity.

And somehow, that gentleness unsettled her more than the serpent ever could.

"It's been some time since we last spoke," she began, her tone smooth, her knuckles white around the fabric of her gown. "Your timing is… fortunate. I have urgent news to share regarding the Kobar Empire."

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Luca leaned forward, interest kindling across his face as he poured her a cup of Darjeeling tea. "What sort of news?"

"There has been a new Awakened identified," Sedna replied, accepting the cup with careful grace. "Count Havenik Aerik's son, Francis. Only twelve years old. About ten days ago, he was attacked by the Kobar's undead."

Luca's brow furrowed. "Twelve? Where is he now?" He rested his chin atop his clasped hands, his golden eyes sharpening.

"Dead." Sedna lifted the cup, watching the steam twist upward. The scent of muscat and honey filled the air, helping calm and ground her. "He was killed outright by the undead Kobar horde. He lives in Vertes. I can provide you with the precise location for the next loop."

Silence followed.

Luca's gaze drifted off into the distance, deep in contemplation. Only the gentle ripple of the pond broke the stillness of the room as the colorful koi fish glided through the water.

"That would be helpful," Luca replied finally. "We'll want to bring him to our side. How did you find out about him?"

"Francis confided to his father that he remembered the previous loop," Sedna explained. "He proved it by predicting events before they happened. And after his death, his father reached out to my mother—they're old friends."

More silence.

Then Luca asked quietly, "Does your mother know you're an Awakened?"

The question struck like a silver platter falling against a marble floor.

Despite herself, Sedna's lips curved into a sudden grin, and laughter burst from her before she could stop it.

"No," she said. "Absolutely not." The words came out laced with venom.

Luca blinked, startled. "Why not?"

"In the original loops, what do you think my mother did when I told her?" Sedna leaned forward, her voice dropping into a conspiratorial whisper. "That her dying daughter could come back from the dead?"

Her smile hardened.

"She forced me to study." She exhaled slowly, the laugh gone, replaced by a tremor of anger. "Day and night. Every scroll, every mage, every quack healer dragged into my chambers. I was made to dissect every supposed cure, as if knowledge alone could wrestle down this damned disease. My body was already a cage of pain, but she made that cage a prison. I never rested. My eyes burned from the endless reading, and my ears rang with lectures even when asleep. I prayed for the silence of death."

Her voice cracked at the edges before she reined it back under control.

"She meant it as love," she added softly. "I know it. And yet, never in my life did I wish for death more than in that one loop where she made me claw against it."

Luca's expression shifted. Was it sadness? Pity? Guilt? Horror?

Sedna steadied control over her face. Her fingers tightened around the warm porcelain cup. The outburst was not intentional, surprising even to herself.

I revealed too much.

She exhaled, forcing her tone back into a polite calm. "I suppose she meant well. But I decided not to inform her of these loops ever again."

She took another sip of tea, the muscat scent settling her stomach even as the lump in her throat returned. "I apologize for my sudden outburst. I don't know what came over me."

She felt warmth on the back of her left hand.

"It's alright," Luca said, his right hand atop her left. "We're friends. It must have taken a toll on you. I promise to find a cure for you that is painless and requires no effort on your part. Like those cookies I gave you before."

Sedna felt a wave of emotion wash over her. The contact, the softness in his voice—it disarmed her more than any threat could have. A flicker of genuine comfort tried to rise within her, only to twist into something sharper.

She gritted her teeth, furious at herself for the weakness.

This was not how she expected this meeting to go.

What is wrong with me?

Sedna gazed at the ceiling and blinked her eyes, forcing the tears to evaporate away.

"What was it that you wanted to meet regarding?" she asked, changing the subject. "You came here in secret, so it must have been important."

"Ah," Luca pulled his hand back and picked up his cup of tea. "Yes, there are two matters, actually. First, I've obtained a new Awakened ally: Rana Sol, the daughter of Ra Sol—"

"The one that burned down your family's manor in the previous loop?" Sedna frowned.

"Yes," Luca gave a knowing smile. "I met with her, and despite her father's views regarding my family, we seem to see eye to eye. She is intelligent and a decent mage in her own right. A Morphomancer. She'll be valuable against the Kobar Empire."

Sedna inclined her head. "I'm impressed. You offered her an olive branch despite her father's crimes. That was the wise thing to do."

The corners of Luca's mouth lifted, and the serpent upon his shoulder shifted. A low hiss broke the air, like a whisper of amusement.

Sedna's heart lurched.

"I do not fault someone for the crimes of their parents," Luca said. His golden eyes were focused on Sedna's. "Especially not for friends I hold in high regard."

His words were softer than butter, yet they struck like a knife.

He knows.

"And as we are friends," Luca continued, his tone light but his eyes far from it, "I hope you can help smooth out one matter. See, it has come to my attention that one of my attendants is actually a spy planted by your mother. It is no fault of yours, of course... but it does put me into a rather uncomfortable position."

Sedna's stomach dropped.

What a complete and utter disaster. I should have taken matters into my own hands.

She set the teacup down before her shaking fingers betrayed her. "How can I make things right?"

"I've already sorted out that particular matter," Luca replied. "So instead if you can help we with something else instead—"

"Anything." Sedna was quick to reply, cutting in.

Luca's faint smile returned, patient and knowing. "Can you help me identify other Awakened and pre-Awakened. It seems most were born to summoned individuals—those who participated in the previous Game, about two decades ago."

Sedna's brows arched.

Game? Two decades back?

A chill glided down her spine as old lessons floated up.

"That's a peculiar word," she said evenly, "to describe a shadow war that slaughtered thousands across both continents."

Her mind sifted through memories of her history lessons. Two decades back, apart from the bloody wars waged by the Daylan Queen, there were mass assassinations of high-ranking individuals that occurred, sparing no nation.

Yet Luca spoke of it with the tone of someone referencing a board game—detached, almost clinical.

Luca smiled faintly. "Yes, the term is off-putting even for me. But it is the official term used among those summoned from beyond our realm. Two decades back, at the same time when the assassinations swept across the continents, strangers appeared from nowhere and turned the tide. Heroes, as they were called. People like Ra Sol, who saved the Adovoria royal family."

Sedna's eyes narrowed slightly. She was aware of Ra Sol's significant contribution.

"And the children of these great heroes," Luca continued, "were born with golden eyes, like ours."

Sedna let out a small laugh. "Then by your logic, one of my parents must have been one of these summoned heroes?"

Her gaze met his. But he didn't flinch.

Luca's expression betrayed no inkling of a joke having been told.

"Indeed," he replied softly. "And if my guess is correct, the summoned one is your mother, Duchess Meriwa Ozeryn. As further proof, an old friend of hers also produced an Awakened child."

Sedna's mouth went dry. She poured herself another cup of tea, if only to fill the silence and offer her cold fingers something warm to grasp.

"These heroes," Luca went on, "were Players. Individuals from other realms, summoned into ours as part of a Game. Chase's father, for example, appeared from nowhere atop a lake."

Sedna's mind swirled at all this bizarre insight as a splash sounded from the koi pond.

Players. Summoned heroes. A Game.

It was bizarre, but it was palatable in the face of all the loops she'd endured.

"But my mother is from this realm," she murmured. "A noble from the Barakian Empire."

"Are you certain?" Luca probed gently. "Or is that merely a forged identity? I've witnessed in Lellei an attending girl becoming head of a noble household. And then ascend higher still."

Sedna bit her lip.

It wasn't impossible. To marry into a Ducal line, Meriwa would have needed strings. And her mother had always been very good at finding and pulling them. Moreover, her reaction to Sedna's remembrance of the loops in that one loop was... peculiar.

Luca leaned back, his expression thoughtful. "Convince your mother to introduce you to her old friends. And their children. If I'm right, they'll share our eyes. We'll need their help eventually. The only way to defeat the Kobar Empire and end these loops is to unite every Awakened we can. Whomever that side hasn't claimed already."

Sedna studied him quietly, her teacup poised near her lips.

"Very well," she said after a moment. "I'll do what I can to secure these alliances. But how will I contact you?"

"Ah." Luca's smile returned, warm with a hint of mischief. "A valid concern. Until I devise a better method… perhaps you might invite me for a tour of your manor—both here in the capital and in the Ozeryn Dukedom. Without one, I can't exactly drop by."

Sedna blinked, taken aback.

An invitation? What is he—a vampire?

Her lips twitched despite herself. The thought was absurd, and yet, as the serpent's amethyst eyes met hers briefly, she realized that nothing about Luca Frey could truly surprise her anymore.

And that may be the most dangerous part of all.