The Fatebound Monarch

Anna looked at the dark sea as the miasma covering the rift began to vanish; the thinner the miasma became, the brighter the dark sea became.

Soon, the miasma vanished completely and a bright golden sea took place of the dark sea.

Anna heaved a relieved sigh and closed her eyes.

Yabin had a worried look on her face as she looked at Anna, who was covered in sweat as her body quivered from time to time.

She had tried to wake her up several times, but none of her efforts delivered any result, and that is why she could only stand there as Anna tried to wake up by herself.

In her obsession, she had ignored the fact that Anna carried too many burdens, and to awaken spirituality, one needs to be free from all burdens… one must turn their burden into a fuel for their being instead of turning them into chains holding them back.

The longer she waited, the worried she became, but she could do nothing but wait.

Time passed, Anna's body began to stabilise… however, suddenly golden runes appeared all over her body before vanishing a moment after.

Yabin stared at her with wide eyes as she mumbled to herself.

"Lawflow? How?"

A moment later, Anna opened her eyes and looked around herself… she felt calmer and much better, like something plaguing her had finally left her alone.

She took a deep breath as she remembered where she was.

'I was awakening my spirituality… did it work?'

She looked around. Her eyes fell on the saintess who stood a few steps away from here with a puzzled look on her face.

Anna raised an eyebrow and questioned.

"What is wrong?"

Yabin looked at her, her lips parted to say something, but the words didn't form; she took a deep breath and commented.

"Your disguise bracelet… it is not working…"

Anna flared her brows at Yabin's puzzlement. Why was she acting all puzzled when she already knew how she truly looked?

She shook her head at Yabin's exaggerated expression.

"You already know my true face anyway, so what does it matter…"

Yabin, however, shook her head and spoke in a confused tone.

"That is not the issue here…"

"Then?"

Yabin pointed towards the wide mirror at the corner of the wider chamber. Anna furrowed her brows at her strange actions, but she did not say anything and just as she was told.

She stepped towards the mirror and spoke.

"Let's see what's got you so confused."

Soon she stood in front of the mirror with wide eyes… she looked the same she did while coming to the chamber, she had her starlight like silver hair, her deep black eyes and her face which was much smoother and sharper than her true face… but she was supposed to be in her true form right now…

'What the hell…'

"What is going on?"

She turned towards Yabin for answers, and Yabin just shrugged at her.

"I do not know, your disguise relic stopped working right after you opened your eyes, but your looks did not change."

Anna blinked at her as she assumed conclusions related to what had happened.

Her desuised look was not completely unrelated to her… no, she had used the way she looked in her soul body form as her disguise.

'Is it because of awakening my spirituality?'

Yabin, who had a thoughtful look on her face, heaved a sigh and added.

"There is no need to think about something we do not know… why don't you try reading the True Names now?"

Anna nodded at her as she walked to the centre of the chamber, where the dark altar stood with the rune scribing kit placed on it.

She picked up the book and began to read, but it was the same as before; she could not make sense of what was written there.

"Close your eyes and think about understanding them… make sure not to think about anything else," Yabin suggested seriously.

Anna nodded and followed her words. She closed her eyes and put all of her mind on a single thought — Understand the book, but there were still doubts in her mind. Time passed, and sweat drops began to shimmer at her forehead, but she felt no change at all.

A few moments later, Yabin's voice echoed within the wide chamber.

"Just think about understanding them."

Anna stopped thinking and heaved a sigh before she put all her mind into a single thought this time; however, she made sure to only think of understanding the book… instead of thinking about whether she could do this or not.

Finally, it happened… Anna suddenly felt like she was standing in an empty void, and the only thing she could feel was the book.

She opened her eyes, her dark black pupils had white symbols and shapes in them, which appeared and disappeared right after… her eyes felt otherworldly.

She looked at the pages of the thin book, and she could read it… she could understand what was written on it. She flipped the pages and began to read all of them in her mind. She could remember everything she had read within seconds as if… she had just remembered something she had long forgotten.

The last pages of the thin book had symbols, shapes, and other characters which seemed to be the containers used for rune scribing.

She read everything written in the book and heaved a sigh. Her eyes turned normal, and the feeling of being in an empty void vanished as she found herself back in the wide chamber.

Yabin called out to her.

"So… How did it go?" she questioned with a happy smile.

Anna also smiled at her as she answered.

"I was able to understand most of them… but I do not think I can speak all of them, even if I understand them completely."

Yabin gave her a nod as she explained.

"It is because your awakened rank also plays a role in what True Names you can speak."