The Stubborn Light of a Dying Flame [Isekai - LitRPG]

Three days passed, and Rayna saw no sign of Naomi, nor did the woman make any attempt to send word that she would be late.

By the fifth day waiting, Rayna was beginning to regret sending her away. She wanted to get back to finding the hubs, but she didn't want to miss Naomi if she showed up. So, Rayna filled her days mostly with studying the manuals and getting more information about the System. She still hadn't figured out how to use the scanning feature, but she hoped that she would figure it out before she resumed her search.

"What do you know about her?" Rayna asked Amon when he and Corban came to give a status report on Project Reconnect.

They had given up on recreating phones as they were—there were just too many parts that they couldn't manufacture on Ember—so they were attempting to come up with miniature versions of the System Menu that could be powered with Mana instead.

Rayna didn't follow most of the conversation, but she took it to mean that they were making progress.

"About who?" Amon asked.

"Naomi," Rayna said. "Myre's sister."

She leaned against the wall, not feeling like sitting at the moment. Corban sat on the couch, his feet propped up on a stool Rayna had bought from the Essence store.

She was finding the store convenient for sure, but she was running out of Essence Points and she had no way to earn more, since she didn't want to absorb Essence in front of all the players hunting in the dungeon.

Amon pursed his lips. "I don't know much, I'm afraid. I sent her through the dungeon because of the danger that Ashen presents for Lerians, but it seems my worries were unfounded. It would still be safer if you refrained from spending time in Miasma soaked areas, as it could have adverse effects on your health."

Rayna filed his warning away with the other over-exaggerated concerns for her health and moved on.

"You still shouldn't be sending random people through the dungeon," she pointed out.

Amon didn't look apologetic in the slightest. "She spoke of Ashen, which meant she was already aware of its existence and the significance of the word 'Lerian'. I hoped that she would keep her end of the bargain and give us more information, as Ashen was mentioned in the manuals, but not described in detail."

Rayna sighed. "I don't think she's coming back."

"You could probably ask around in the city," Corban suggested. "If she's really Myre's sister, then she should be well known."

"Except I don't know which one is his sister; body or soul," Rayna pointed out, feeling awkward just using the word soul. It felt like a cheesy mysticism parody where the author hadn't bothered doing any research. "My guess is it's the soul, though, since their last names match on their name tags. But that doesn't mean that they're acting as siblings in their new lives."

"I'm more concerned with the number of soul-switchers that we're coming in contact with," Amon said. "As far as I can remember, it was never a very popular practice. It was frowned upon from a moral standpoint and difficult from a magical one, as the process uses both Essence and Miasma. Some even thought that the use of Miasma made it inherently evil, relegating the process to the realm of heresy against the goddess."

Rayna thought back to the black glow around the buildings in Ashen. Were the people of Ashen maligned by those on Ember for their use of Miasma?

Silka had said that the Corvi were the opposite of creation. Was she just racist?

The thought was somehow both depressing and comforting. It was nice to know that humans weren't the only messed up species in the galaxy. It wasn't like Ember ever presented itself as a utopia, though.

"What about the goddess?" Rayna asked. "What's the story behind that?"

Amon tilted his head thoughtfully. "I'm not very familiar with the religion. The goddess is heralded as the creator of Ember and the maintainer of balance, but I'm unsure what balance it is referring to."

"So, Ember religions 101 is out," Corban said. "You all seriously need a library."

"The System archive is disabled due to the Essence requirements," Amon said. "And to re-enable it, you would need more keepers involved."

Rayna frowned. "How has Eldar Cremble been turning things on and off?"

Based on the descriptions of the dark ages, they should have permanently lost all functionality after the first one. Just recently an old function came back that neither Rayna nor Ronari had enabled. How much of the System was controlled by Artificial Intelligence and how was it getting around the rules?

"It's likely that the functions were not actually being disabled during the dark ages, merely hidden. It's also possible that the hostile takeover forced a full shut down of many functions, leading to our current predicament."

"So, Ronari's fault. Got it," Rayna said.

Amon started to say something, but he stopped himself. "I believe someone is at the door. I will return in a moment."

He disappeared.

Corban shifted his position to sit more comfortably on the couch. "Think it's Naomi?"

"I hope so," Rayna said, moving over to the reading nook.

She fiddled with the books on the shelf, waiting for Amon to return. It took longer than it should have.

When the knock at the door finally came, Rayna launched herself across the room. pausing briefly to straighten her clothes and hair, she opened the door.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Her heart caught in her throat.

It wasn't Naomi. Lord Myre stood in the hallway.

Rayna slammed the door in his face.

Corban sat up, his expression concerned. "What's going on?"

"The wrong sibling showed up," Rayna said, looking for an alternate exit. "And Amon decided to let him in."

What should she do? She couldn't get past Lord Myre to teleport out. And even if she could, that would put her in Ellis which wasn't any safer.

"Rayna," Naomi's voice called through the door. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to tell him."

"You came to warn me about your brother in the first place," Rayna said. "Give me one good reason why I should open this door!"

"I'm only here to talk," Lord Myre said, his magic making Rayna's teeth buzz, even through the solid wood.

"Amon, get your ass in here!" Rayna snapped.

Amon appeared behind her. "Yes?"

Rayna pressed her back against the door, as if that would really stop them from entering by force if they wanted to. "What are you even doing with the security on this place?"

"He came with an invited guest," Amon said. "He can't harm you inside the hub. If you wish to speak to Lord Myre, this is the perfect time to do so as I can act as a mediator."

Rayna tapped her foot, glaring at Amon, but unable to find a logical argument against what he said.

Corban came to the rescue. "You still should have asked. You have a real problem with boundaries, don't you?"

Amon turned to Corban, a crease between his brows. "I suppose you're correct. Rayna, would you like me to turn them away?"

"It's too late now!" Rayna said.

He was right about the ability to mediate, but Rayna wasn't sure how comfortable she was, even in the hub. She would have to do this eventually, she supposed.

Might as well get it over with. Naomi probably told him everything anyway.

Rayna swallowed her panic and cautiously opened the door. "If you try anything, I'll bite you."

The corners of Lord Myre's mouth quirked up in a suppressed smile. "I'm only here to talk," he repeated. "My sister has informed me of your… situation. And I intend to offer a compromise."

Rayna narrowed her eyes. "Compromise?"

"May I come in?" Myre asked, glancing down the hallway. "I'd rather not talk where others could overhear."

Rayna reluctantly stepped aside, letting him enter her room. Corban moved so Naomi and Lord Myre could settle on the couch, and Rayna stood at the far side of the room, trying to find a place that was comfortable with his sheer presence.

He was above Level 300, which was impressive in and of itself, but the scars were even more intimidating than his magic; criss-crossing across his skin like a medieval war veteran.

Now that Rayna thought about it, that was exactly what he was. How many monsters had he fought with his bare hands?

"All right," Corban said, sitting down in the reading nook. "How about you start with why you brought the guy trying to kidnap Rayna?"

Naomi frowned. "Who is this?"

"A friend," Rayna said. "Now answer the question."

"Naomi is not as subtle as she believes herself to be," Lord Myre said. "I realized that something was wrong and forced her to tell me everything. She eventually caved and told me about your meeting in the woods and your escape to Ashen." His voice took on a disapproving tone. "You should stay out of Ashen. It's not good for—"

"Yeah, yeah," Rayna interrupted. "Not good for Lerians, Miasma: bad. I get it! Would you all give it a rest?"

She was sick of hearing nonstop warnings about something that obviously wasn't an issue.

Myre cleared his throat. "While ill-advised, her contacting you did give us one crucial bit of information that corroborates your story about being one of the Chosen."

"Your inheritance!" Naomi said excitedly, apparently desperate to redeem herself after telling her brother where to find Rayna. "You're not a seer or a mind-reader, so all of his theories about you being confused don't make sense."

Lord Myre shot Naomi a look and she flushed.

"Sorry," she muttered, gesturing for him to continue.

Lord Myre sighed. "Rayna, do you have any idea what my name means?"

"Myre?" Rayna asked in a flat voice. "No idea."

Lord Myre gave her a level look. "My real name."

Rayna watched him for a long moment, trying to ascertain if this was a trap of some kind. Corban was no help. He seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the dramatic revelations that he was bearing witness to.

"I don't know," Rayna said truthfully.

"I'm not sure where you heard the name Emberan, but I have a theory that we will discuss later," he said. "It is the name of the royal bloodline in Ellis, the ancient name of the peninsula that is now split into many countries. We, the royal family, were tasked with diplomatic relations between Ember and Ashen, and keeping the boundary healthy and secure.

"Your Inheritance—the ability to make portals to Ashen, among other things—belongs to the royal family, meaning that you are, in some measure, related to the line. It could be a distant relation, or you could be from one of the branch families. It isn't always clear who in a generation will gain the Inheritance, but it isn't given to everyone."

He paused, waiting for some sort of response.

Rayna took a moment to think about what he had said. "So, what you're saying is, whoever's body this is, they were… a princess?"

She already knew that Silka was an Emberan. That wasn't much of a revelation. The fact that they were royals wasn't particularly surprising or interesting to Rayna.

The fact that Myre was ready to give her information was much more important at the moment.

"Not really," Naomi said. "If you're from my time, I was the only official princess, though there were plenty of relations that were in line for the throne should enough people abdicate or die. It's not really a job that most people want. There's a lot of work involved for very little gratitude. There's still a lot of prejudice and misinformation surrounding the relationship between Essence and Miasma. If people would just—"

"Naomi," Myre interrupted. "You're getting off-topic."

"It's important information," Naomi countered.

"For later, perhaps," Myre said. "For now, I need to know more about Rayna's situation so I can figure out how best to help her."

"You can start by giving Nali back," Rayna said before she could stop herself.

Myre's eyes snapped to Rayna, then he shot an accusatory look at Naomi. "You told her about that too?!"

"She didn't have to," Rayna said. "I'm not stupid."

Naomi ruined her salvation by shooting Rayna a grateful look. Myre took a deep breath, looking heavenward for patience.

"It doesn't matter," he said. "Lady Emery isn't in danger. You can visit her—"

"I said give her back," Rayna said. "Not send me to visit. You can't just go around kidnapping people whenever you like."

Myre's mouth formed a thin line. "I can't let her return at the moment. It's important that the Lerian community stay secret, and Lady Emery knows too much. A visit is all that I can offer."

Rayna opened her mouth to argue.

"Sounds good," Corban cut in. "When do we leave?"

Rayna gawked at him. "What makes you think you're going?"

Corban crossed his arms. "Well, you can't go alone, and you need to make sure that Nali is all right; it makes sense to have someone with you." He turned to Lord Myre. "And don't try to throw either of us in a dungeon or something. If we don't return, Amon will spread word all across Helia about your little secret society."

Naomi glanced at Amon, a strange expression on her face, but she didn't say anything.

Myre didn't look happy with the arrangement. "I didn't invite a random human to go along. Chosen or not, Rayna is a Lerian, and that makes her one of us."

"That's where you're wrong," Rayna said. "I'm not Lerian. The faster you internalize that fact, the better we'll get along. Corban goes with me, or I don't go. And unless I see that Nali is alive and unharmed, I won't be continuing this conversation."

She opened the door and gestured for them to leave.

Neither of them moved. After a moment of awkward silence, Lord Myre relented.

"He can come. But if he breathes a word of any of this to anyone, he will have plenty of time to get to know Lady Emery better."

It was a pretty weak threat, which told Rayna that she had the power in this situation. Lord Myre wanted her for something, and he wasn't just trying to protect the helpless child that fell in his lap. He hadn't made any demands or shown any signs of being willing to walk away.

Whatever it was he wanted, Rayna finally had a bargaining chip, and she was going to take full advantage.

Rayna grinned, despite herself. "When do we leave?