I land in front of the village Church. The village leader, Ishmel, nervously greets me as I take in the current situation. It's abundantly clear that he's picked up on the difference between me and Millibelle. There's also the addition of the Origin Soul Core atop our head, nestled neatly between our horns.
"Your Majesty! You're back... We worried when you suddenly took off after absorbing whatever it was that came out of the Onryoki." He's putting on airs...
I briefly glimpse into his mind before responding. He's worried I blame him or his village for this... "The Onryoki granted me a gift that resonated with one of my own Skills, causing it to become an Unique Skill. The sudden change caused a great deal of pain as my body struggled to take in this new power all at once. I was afraid I'd lose control of my Magic, so I fled from the village to ensure I didn't harm anyone." I pause before continuing.
"I took some time to stabilize, but luckily I was able to gather food for you with the aid of this new Unique Skill. It's just a shame it was born of such a terrible tragedy." I feign regret.
Ishmels face lights up hearing about the food. "That's great news! Please, if you may leave it in the Church's storeroom?" He seems to have completely overcome his hesitancy at our change in behavior. I follow him into the Church, trying to ignore the stares of reverence and fear the crowd is giving me.
"There should be enough for a week, if it is rationed fairly. And here, if someone with Water Affinity cycles their MP through these, they produce water. They'll run out eventually, but the water produced is clean and pure, perfect for drinking." I place the fruits, berries and raw meat on the shelves within the cool room before handing Ishmel five Water Gems.
Unlike the more modern looking storeroom in the Guild Hall, this storeroom is just a normal stone-and-mortar affair, but with a peculiar circular plate of copper in the middle of the room. Strange symbols are carved into its surface, and in the middle is an indent in which a brilliant-cut Cold Crystal rests.
I hardly need to focus my eyes to sense the current of Magic running from the Crystal to the symbols before escaping into the air. A separate current of Magic seems to be channeling Heat Element from the air into the Crystal. I'm unable to determine how the Crystal converts the Heat into Cold, though.
"Ah, are you interested in the Cooling Plate? To tell you the truth, we don't know how it works, only that it's been here since the founding of this village. Apparently it was brought here by some old eccentric that claimed that he found it in an old pre-All-War ruin." Ishmel seems to have noticed my intrigue.
"A lot of knowledge was lost in that time, and we're too afraid of it being broken to let anyone study it, so there it sits, keeping this storeroom cold." He shrugs before turning around to leave. I hesitate a moment before following him out.
"I'll return with more supplies in a week." I inform Ishmel, ignoring the wave of Faith that surges towards me from the villagers as the news of me really bringing food for them spreads from those that caught a glimpse of the now full storeroom shelves.
"I look forward to it." Ishmel bows to me as we exit the Church together. I return the bow before taking off into the air, headed for my next stop.
"Myra, I'm back."
I call out to the retired Colonel. I suspect part of the reason things went as well in this village is that most everyone are either part of the Parshuran army or are related to someone that serves in it. As an old war veteran, she commands the utmost respect from the villagers, so when she told them to shelter in the Guild Hall and to bring their supplies, no-one hesitated.
Though I sense hesitance from her, I see no reason not to land in the village. After all, the only reason it still stands is because Millibelle willed it so. Changing into our humanoid form, I brace for impact as Sakaya launches herself at me.
"Sakaya, dearest, what if I didn't catch you? You'd trip and fall." I coo gently to the Grand Priestess as I maneuver her into a bridal hold. Her face turns beet red and she buries it in our mane to hide it from the others currently gathering to greet me. I can tell she's happily smiling though.
I catch a glimpse of Myra, her eyes narrowing for a split second before she seems to catch herself and return to her neutral expression. There'll be an opportunity to explain. For now, delivering food and water is a higher priority.
"Please, Millibelle, come with me. The cold storage is just through here." A petite Accan woman, Sern'ins Guild Master, beckons me over to the side of the Hall. We pass through the carving room before entering a corridor that joins the kitchen, cold storage and carving room together for easy access.
Since this Hall is brand new, there's certainly a difference in layout between it and the other Halls I've visited. It seems more streamlined and a bit more compact. The cold storage is, however, nearly identical to the one in the other village, only discrepancy I can detect is that this one has less wear on the stone slab that constitutes the floor.
I quickly fill the shelves with food and Water Gems. I decided to spare Myra the worry by giving the 'questionable but still edible' monster meat to the other villages. Sern'in only gets commonly eaten monster meat. I guess sometimes being able to see what something really is can be a curse.
As I return to the central room of the Hall, Myra beckons me upstairs, her expression grim. Sakaya has busied herself with cooking, giving me a distracted wave from the kitchen as I walk upstairs to the Guild Masters office.
Myra's waiting behind the desk. As I securely close the door and touch the array of Magic Crystals embedded in it causing the sound-proofing enchantment to hum to life, she begins talking.
"You're not Millibelle, are you?" Her tone is low, harsh, accusing. I take a deep breath, mostly to keep myself from giving a snappy retort and making this situation worse.
"I am, but not really. Call me Shadow." I perform a low bow towards her, as if I was a lower ranked soldier introducing themself to a superior. "I... I am... It's complicated..." I falter. Steadying my breathing once again before continuing.
"Let me take it from the beginning. I need to to ensure you get the whole picture." I reassure Myra, whose expression is turning dour. "Millibelle is an Otherworlder. A Divine Sacrifice from another World, sent into this World for one Cycle of Life and Death before returning to her own World. In her previous life, she was human."
"Because of her being reincarnated with her human mind and memories intact, into the body of a monster, that's where the problems start." A small glimmer of realization begins to form in Myras eyes as she pieces things together.
"From her birth into this World, I lay dormant within her, a non-sentient gathering of the instincts a monster is born with. After she acquired the Divergent Mind Skill, I became sentient, sapient. I became, for all intents and purposes, the parts of her personality she represses because she considers them harmful for her and others to display openly." I make a pause, to ensure Myra's still following along.
"Before, I was only able to momentarily wrest control of this body away from Millibelle, but I made a promise to her to never act out on my more... unpleasant inclinations... And now, when we acquired the Great Death King Skill, those Wills we had control over became Hitodama. They began torturing Millibelle in order to feed on the negative emotions they caused."
"I've been in control since, as her psyche has taken a massive hit from that event." I sigh, knowing there's still more to reveal to her.
"I... See..." Myra loses herself in contemplation for a while before continuing. "Will you relent control over your shared body once she recovers?"
I nod. "I will. To tell you the truth, I'm exhausted. I'm not used to this. I just want to lie down and sleep for a year, but I can't because there are so many people that depend on Millibelle being able to help them. It's taking all my willpower to keep going. However, there's more I need to tell you, but please don't be upset."
Myra nods, signalling for me to continue, her previous harsh expression has softened now that she's been informed of my true nature. "There's... Three things... Uh- First, and perhaps worst? A-Anyway, I had a run-in with A-Almus... The King's first cousin? Or at least, one of them-"
"Please, Shadow, calm yourself." Myra walks over from behind the desk before getting a chair for me to sit down in. Honestly, I only now realize how tired my entire body is. I feel tears well up in my eyes, the stress of everything that's happened this last day and a half finally catching up to me.
"Myra... I- my Servant... She killed him. He- He had the Lips of Dalila, that stolen royal treasure- he was going to use it to turn the town against me since he couldn't turn me against the town-" I ramble, somehow being intelligible despite choking down sobs.
"Shh... It's okay... Do you have the ring now? Please tell me you took it." Her words have an urgency to them.
"I- I did. I have it in my Hidden Space Skill. I'm going to deliver it to the King next time I meet him." I try my best to dry the tears streaming down my face. Myra sighs in relief.
"Good. That ring... Its power is incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands. To think that worm had it all this time!" She pauses before almost whispering, as if what she's about to say could somehow sneak through the sound-proofing enchantment that's in place. "If you could, Shadow, don't give it to Dervix either. Keep it. Keep it safe, and far away from humanoid hands."
I look at her, my mind briefly glancing over hers. A tale, a legend, of how the Lips of Delila sparked a great war when a jealous princess used it to pit two ancient kingdoms against each other in an attempt at having her rival killed. No wonder she wishes the ring out of humanoid hands.
"I will." I nod.
"The two other things you needed to tell me? Hopefully you started with the worst, right?" Myra gives a halfhearted smile, a small hope in her heart that killing the Kings first cousin was the worst fuckup I had performed.
"I did... I don't know if you remember them, but there was a band of refugees from Harmek that came through Sern'in a while ago. One of them was a woman whose husband was killed by my Servants because he attacked them." My tears are slowing down as I'm stabilizing.
Myra gives a nod. "I didn't like the look in her eyes. And the way she insisted they carry on even though a few of them clearly were in no shape for long distance travel..."
"Well, she ended up poisoning all of the others in her entourage to death in order to blame their deaths on Millibelle. Some fucked up quest for revenge, I guess. Since they were killed and the murderer wasn't caught, their Wills ended up creating an Onryoki. In conjunction with the village leader, Ishmel, I executed that woman for her crimes. That's what caused us to get the Great Death King Skill."
Understanding flashes in her eyes, as the final piece is revealed. "I see, I was wondering what the trigger for you to get that Skill was. Now it makes sense. Don't be upset about doing that to her, Shadow. She brought it upon herself, and if you hadn't been there, I fear that Onryoki might have killed everyone in that village." Myra places a reassuring arm onto my shoulder. It's warm.
"Uh, lastly, the Champions of the Divine are currently in my Domain. Valena, my Namer, Called for me, and I got to meet one of the main culprits behind the events currently happening in Illomen Forest. I want you to tell the King that he shouldn't send any troops to aid the Champions, and any Hunters are to stay away from that place."
"Why? Won't the Champions need the aid?" Myra asks, confused.
"The one behind this, Leicher Fogbottom, he's found some way to chimerify humanoids en masse. Valena was almost a victim to this, but I managed to stop the process. Sending people other than the Champions will only add to the enemy's numbers."
Myra's face becomes pale. "I'll tell the King what you've told me, immediately. Now, Shadow, go home. Rest. If you and Millibelle both lose it at the same time..." She trails off, almost afraid to finish the thought.
"I will. I'll return in a week's time with more food. My Skills also tell me the snow should have melted enough in two weeks for normal foraging to resume then." I get up, somewhat shakily, to leave. I quickly move through the Hall and outside, eager to get home.