WIEDERGEBURT Act III: Chapter 30

I could not contain my surprise as I stared at this woman. Many years ago when Kari and I had first traveled through the Endless Desert, I had been kidnapped by Queen Medusa. Since that moment, she, Kari, and I had fought in numerous battles against each other. At the time, Queen Medusa was stronger than Kari and me, having already reached the Third State of Spiritualism, but we were able to counter her strength by working together.

“How did the Malik Family manage to capture someone like you?”

Queen Medusa scowled, though it didn’t look like she was scowling at me. “They did not manage to capture her! This queen was… betrayed. One of her subordinates decided he was sick and tired of how she ruled our people and sought to overthrow this queen. He made a deal with the Malik Family. They have apparently created a colorless, odorless poison that greatly weakens Lamia. He slipped the poison into this queen’s food and subdued her with a group of like-minded people. When she woke up, she was already locked in this cage.”

“It should be rather easy for a woman of your power to break out of a simple cage.”

“This queen would have broken out a long time ago if she could do so.” Medusa grabbed her left arm and looked away, a vulnerable expression on her face. “For some reason, she cannot use her Spiritual Power. It’s like something is blocking this queen’s ability to do so.”

“So I see.”

I listened to her tale of woe with half an ear. It honestly didn’t matter to me what happened to her. My greater focus was on the bars of the cage. Now that she had mentioned her inability to use Spiritual Power, I could tell they were much different than a normal cage’s bars.

“There are Runes on these bars,” I murmured in shock.

Rune Writing was not a rare skill, though it was very hard to learn. However, the next level of Rune Writing, which was often called Inscribing, was a skill only a few humans knew. Inscribing was a talent the Dwoergs exceeded in. I could inscribe Runes into objects thanks to my vast Spiritual Power and Immig’s teachings, but I was a novice at best.

I ran my finger over the bars. The cold metal sent a chill down my spine, but I ignored that as I sent Spiritual Power into the bars and watched as the Runes gently lit up.

Berkano Merkstave : A loss of control.
Dagaz Merkstave: A limit. Blindness and hopelessness.
Hagalaz Merkstave: Pain, loss of power.
Othala Merkstave: Slavery.

These four Runes were carved over and over again on the bars. As I retracted my hand and Spiritual Power, the bars stopped glowing and returned to their dulled state.

I stepped back and rubbed my jaw, thinking about the meaning of those Runes and coming to a hypothesis on what their effects were.

“I see. Berkano Merkstave and Othala Merkstave are the Runes that keep you bound here. Meanwhile, Dagaze Merkstave has stolen away your ability to use Spiritual Power, while Hagalaz Merkstave causes you to suffer great pain every time you try to escape. The four Runes work together to keep even someone as strong as you from breaking free on your own. It’s a little basic, but even being able to create a basic Rune Array like this is impressive in its own right.”

“This queen does not care how this cage works.” Queen Medusa’s scowl was fierce indeed as she glared at me. “All she wants is to get out of here, return to her people, and punish those fools for trying to usurp her position.”

Her words meant very little to me, so I just shrugged. “Knowing how the Runes work is the first step toward breaking them. You can’t just slam Spiritual Techniques into these bars and expect them to shatter. Those four Runes might be keeping you from being able to leave, but there is also the Runes of Uruz and Nauthiz, which are strengthening the bars to keep them from being broken through physical means.”

It was possible to overcome the Runes by meeting them with someone whose physical strength was greater than the Spiritual Power of the one who inscribed the Runes, but that would normally require a person to use up a substantial amount of Spiritual Power. I had learned from watching the Dweorgs that Runes were not something that could be dealt with carelessly.

“All right. So what I need to do is reverse the Merkstave Runes…”

“What?”

“Nothing. I was just talking to myself.”

My index finger began glowing as I channeled Spiritual Power through it. As I took a steady breath, I brought my finger to the Runes and pressed firmly. A soft hissing sound erupted from the metal as my Spiritual Power burned into it like a branding iron. Steam erupted from the areas my fingers left as I slowly carved into the Runes, remaking them to counter their effects. When I finished, I took a step back and nodded.

“You should be able to break the cage now.”

Queen Medusa looked warily at me, but then Spiritual Power erupted from her body, a dark purple Spiritual Aura that had a venomous quality. This aura soon disappeared as she took it back into herself, then the woman turned into poison. Her body became a dark purple as she slammed against the iron bars. The scent of melting iron filled the air as her body, now an acidic mixture of incredibly potent poisons, melted the iron and allowed her to go free.

I took a deep breath. It had been a very long time since Kari and I had battled Queen Medusa, and I had forgotten about her incredible strength. The feeling of her surging Spiritual Power blanketed the entire room in a poisonous quality that would have made most people feel like they were suffocating.

Back when Kari and I battled against her, we had suffered numerous defeats those first few times thanks to her overwhelming Spiritual Pressure.

Once she was free, Queen Medusa’s body turned back into flesh and bone, but the acidic scent of her potent poison remained, lingering in the air like sulfur.

The Queen of the Lamia drew herself up to her full height as she looked at me. That was nearly six meters, meaning she towered over me by a good margin.

For a moment, I thought she might be getting ready to fight me, but then she nodded her head. The gesture was surprisingly respectful.

“This queen knows when to show gratitude. You have done her a great service, so accept her thanks.”

Because I didn’t care one way or the other, I decided to just accept her thanks. I was in a hurry anyway. Since I’d just killed a member of the Malik Family, and their heir at that, I was certain the rest of the family would come after me. I wanted to leave here before they came.

“You are welcome,” I said simply.

Queen Medusa and I left the mansion together, but then we parted ways. I didn’t know what happened to her after that, didn’t know if she had succeeded in punishing her betrayers, or even if she was still alive. I never saw her again after that.

***

The late afternoon was marked by a break in our work. I was lying on the couch with my head in Kari’s lap. She and Fay didn’t have to attend lectures at the academy today, so they were helping me and Lin with the paperwork. Thanks to them and Felman, all of the work was currently done, which meant we could relax.

Kari had decided to clean my ears.

“Your ears are filthy.”

“Are they really?”

“Yes, they are absolutely disgusting. Don’t you ever clean them?”

“Uh…”

“I guess that answers my question.”

Despite how harsh her words were, her tone was light and lessened their harshness. She was using a long and pointed tool to scrape out the ear wax that had gathered inside my ear canal. Apparently, there was a lot.

The feeling of her scraping around the inside of my ears was an unusual sensation. I wouldn’t say it was unpleasant, but it wasn’t something I could say I enjoyed either. I was pretty sure the only reason I wasn’t complaining was because the person cleaning out my ears was Kari.

“After we finish our work for the day, I’d like you to look at that new Rune Array I drew up,” Kari informed me as she carefully removed the ear cleaner from my ear and wiped the wax on a nearby towel.

“Is it one from the memories of your previous life?” I asked.

Kari shrugged. “I don’t know. My memories are still very fuzzy. There are times where I feel like I can recall faces and conversations, but it’s like they always slip through my fingers the longer I think about them.”

“It is pretty disconcerting to have memories from a previous life that you can’t really remember floating around inside of you,” Fay added. Kari could only nod in agreement.

Fay and Lin were on the opposite couch. Lin had her head in Fay’s lap as the young woman used a pick of her own to gently clean out Lin’s ears. It looked a bit harder since Lin’s ears were long, pointed, and had scales covering it. However, Fay did an admirable job and didn’t voice a word of complaint.

“That’s one ear done,” Kari said. “Turn around please.”

I did as she instructed, turning around so she could clean my other ear, which resulted in my face being pressed up against her stomach. I was a little sad that she was wearing clothes that didn’t show off her soft stomach. However, I couldn’t complain too much as the calming natural scent Kari exuded caused my mind and body to relax.

“At least you two have a lot of memories of your past lives,” Lin mumbled in discontent. “This princess only has a few memories of her past life. After coming to Nevaria, she died at the hands of some lowly boars.”

“That’s right,” Kari murmured. “You fully remember what happened in your previous life because you ingested Eryk’s blood.”

“You will remember too if you take some of his blood,” Lin said.

“I will eventually, but I want to wait until the wedding ceremony.”

Ingesting another’s blood was considered sacred and something that could only do once. Back in my previous life, Kari had ingested Grant Leucht’s blood, which meant we couldn’t get married even if we wanted to. I had actually not thought about that. Back then, Kari and I were so busy with other things that we didn’t have time to think about getting married, but I was now beginning to realize that Kari had probably never brought it up because we couldn’t have married anyway.

That did make me a little worried.

“Do you think it will be okay?” I asked suddenly. “I’ve already taken in Lin’s blood and it’s supposed to be something you can only do once.”

“I think it will be fine,” Kari said after several seconds of silence. Her tool tenderly scraped against the inside of my ear, careful not to damage my ear canal. “The fact that we have somehow formed a connection with you already makes me believe you might have the ability to bond with multiple people. It is odd, though. Such a thing shouldn’t be possible, but then, you are a special case.”

A special case. It was something I didn’t think about often anymore, but I wasn’t completely human. Half of me was human. The other half was something else. I didn’t know what else I was, and I tried not to think about it because I had no way of finding out, but Kari’s words made me wonder if the reason I could connect with these women was because I wasn’t completely human.

“What about your fathers? Dante and Rainer?” I suddenly asked. “If you can only bond once, doesn’t that mean—”

“Correct,” Kari said as the soft feeling of a pick scraped along my ear. “Dante and Rainer drank Mother’s blood during a private ceremony, but Mother was unable to take in blood.”

“Do they never get jealous of Valence?” asked Fay, suddenly more interested in learning more.

Kari didn’t speak for a moment, considering her words with a quiet hum before saying, “They have never seemed jealous to be, but I am not privy to their private life with Mother, so I don’t really know. In either event, I asked Mother what was going to happen to us. She said the ceremony would be a regular one involving all of us, meaning she’s going to have Eryk drink three small cups, each with our blood.”

Fay nodded, but didn’t say anything else as she woke up Lin, who had fallen asleep while her ears were being cleaned.

A knock suddenly sounded at the door.

“I’ll get that,” Fay said as she stood up. She had already finished cleaning Lin’s ears.

I couldn’t see her, but I could hear her footsteps as she went up to the door and opened it. Straining my ears, I struggled to listen as Kari continued her work.

“Oh, Jessie,” Fay said. “Did you need something?”

“No, Mistress Fay. I don’t need anything. I’m actually just here to deliver a letter. It arrived a few moments ago.”

“A letter for Eryk?”

“No. It’s a letter for you.”

“For me? Let me see it please.” There was a soft rustling sound like paper being crinkled together. A few seconds passed before Fay spoke again. “This is from Father. Thank you for delivering this to me.”

“You’re welcome. If you’ll excuse me.”

The sound of the door closing preceded Fay’s footsteps as she walked back to the living space.

By this point, Kari had finished cleaning my ears, so I sat up and turned around as Fay sat on the couch next to Lin, letter in hand. The envelope used paper that was far finer than regular parchment. It was a sign that whoever sent this letter was a noble.

Kari and I stood up and went over to the other couch. We sat next to Lin and Fay, all four of us huddling around each other as we stared at the letter, which was sealed with a wax coat of arms. It was the Sign of Four, a reversed four surrounded by a dragon and a tiger. That was the coat of arms that the Valstine Family used.

“Are you going to open it?” asked Lin, her voice anxious.

“I’m opening it now,” Fay said, chiding the impatient Lamia. She unsealed the envelope, took out the letter, and began reading out loud. “Dear Fay, I hope you are well. We have not seen each other in so long. I would love it if you and Eryk would join us for dinner two days from now. There is also something important that we need to discuss. With love, your father.”

She put the letter on her lap and looked at the rest of us, confusion evident on her face. The soft leather shifted underneath her bum as she moved. I could feel the upholstery rubbing against me, but most of my attention was on her.

“I wonder… what do you think he could want to discuss with us?” she asked.

“I don’t know. It could be any number of things.” I played with my green bangs of hair, tugging on them as I thought about the letter and its simple contents. “Either way, we should definitely see him. Everyone has been so busy that we haven’t had any time to visit your family at all.”

Kari, Fay, Lin, and I were constantly working our butts off trying to expand our sect and keep it running. Kari and Fay had it even harder because they also needed to attend school. Of course, this was on top of us trying to break through the bottleneck in our training.

None of the girls had been able to reach the Third State of Spiritualism. Meanwhile, I was stuck in the Third State of Spiritualism and couldn’t reach the Fourth State of Spiritualism. We were going to keep trying, of course, but I honestly didn’t think we’d be able to reach the next states on our own—at least, not for at least another decade. Reaching the first and second states was relatively easy once you understood how, but cultivation became far harder after that. There was a reason only a few people ever managed to break through to the third state.

“If we’re going to visit Father for a family dinner, then I suppose we should bring out our best clothing,” Fay said at last.

“Does that mean I’m going to have to wear that stuffy outfit from the parade again?” I asked, suddenly horrified by the prospect of eating dinner with Stelys Valstine.

My words caused the girls to break out in laughter, but I wasn’t amused. Not at all.

***

I looked at myself in the mirror and could not help but sigh at the image of the snobby-looking green-haired man being refleced back at me.

My hair was tied back with a leather band, but several bangs framed my face and highlighted my eyes. Beneath a white coat with gold lining the hem and Rune designs on the lapels was a brown robe over a red undershirt. The undershirt had a long turtleneck and sleeves that went past my wrists. My outfit was finished off with black pants that had a scale pattern and red boots.

These clothes felt constricting.

I also felt naked without the Dragon’s Tail Ruler on my back.

Turning away from the disgusting sight, I wandered into the living room. No one else was present. After glancing at the door that led to the room the girls slept in when it wasn’t their turn to sleep with me, I went over to the couch and sat down. I winced when my clothing creaked like new leather. How awful.

It was a long time before the girls emerged from the room, but when they did, I could fully appreciate why it took so long.

Fay was wearing the same deep red dress as before. It matched her fiery locks of hair perfectly, and every time she moved, the clothing would sparkle as if it was made of gemstones. The dress was sleeveless and skintight, drawing the eye to the magnificent lines of her body. Draped over her shoulders was a semi-translucent shawl that rustled as she walked. While I couldn’t see it, I knew this outfit featured a V-shaped gap that showed off her back.

She was also wearing makeup, which she almost never wore. There wasn’t much, but the soft hint of blush gave her cheeks a rosy hue that complimented her hair. Meanwhile, her bright red lips shown with a luster. Nothing had been done to her eyelashes, but they were always naturally thick and didn’t need anything to make them stand out.

“You look stunned speechless,” Kari said with a smile.

“You know when someone dresses up like this for you, it’s polite to compliment them,” Lin added.

“You’re right.” Standing up, I took several slow breaths to calm my racing heart, and then smiled at Fay. “You look even more stunning now than you did the last time I saw you in this dress, Fay.”

Fay looked down, causing her hair, which had been artfully decorated into ringlets that framed her gorgeous face, to shift and bounce. “T-thank you very much.”

I offered Fay my hand, and she took it without hesitation, though I could have sworn her cheeks became even redder.

We said our goodbyes to Kari and Lin. I was sure they could have come with us, but since this was a “family dinner” for Fay, they decided it would be better if just the two of us went. They would learn about what Stelys Valstine said to us anyway. I was sure it wouldn’t matter if they came or not, though it did feel a little odd leaving them behind.

Because we were dressed in such nice clothes, we couldn’t walk to the Valstine Family mansion. A carriage was waiting for us outside. Unlike the normal carriages we used, which were long and featured a bench that traveled the length of the carriage instead of the width, this one was just a normal carriage. Of course, I called it normal, but it was still ostentatious enough to make me shake my head in dismay.

A person stood before the carriage doors to greet us. Numerous wrinkles lined his aged face. He wore a refined black tunic, pants, and boots. The tunic had long sleeves and white gloves covered his hands. The man with gray hair bowed as we walked up to him.

“Good afternoon, Lady Fay, Lord Eryk,” he greeted.

“Bertrand!” Fay exclaimed in surprise. “I hadn’t realized you would be the one to fetch us!”

Bertrand offered a polite but fond smile. “When Lord Valstine informed me that he was sending someone to fetch you, I offered myself for the role. It has been so long since I last saw you.” He paused to study Fay in her outfit and nodded several times, which caused Fay to shift in embarrassment. “You look outstanding in that dress, but more than that… you seem much happier now than you ever have been before. I’m very happy for you.”

At those words, Fay softened. Her eyes grew warm and slightly wet with emotions. A delicate and beautiful smile, like a Moonstrale Flower in full boom, appeared on her face.

“I am very happy.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

Bertrand soon helped the two of us enter the carriage, closed the door behind us, and made his way to the driver’s seat. Fay and I sat on a bench, which spanned the carriage’s width. Despite having plenty of room, we sat so close our thighs were touching. Our hands rested on our conjoined thighs, our fingers laced.

With a crack of the reigns, the carriage began moving.

The Valstine Family lived within the Noble District, a section of Nevaria located in the western quadrant of the city. Our sect was located in the northern quadrant, which meant it took about three hours to reach.

Since it was just the two of us, me and Fay decided to enjoy this time together by discussing a wide range of topics, from what we thought Fay’s father wanted to discuss, to what new Spiritual Techniques Fay had learned. We didn’t limit ourselves. This was a special moment in which it was just us. I loved spending time with all three girls, but I would admit there was something precious about being able to spend time with them one on one like this.

“I know you said we won’t need to know Spiritual Techniques once we reach the Third State of Spiritualism, but since we’ve reached a bottleneck, I recently decided to learn Flame Dragon Fist,” Fay explained to me. “It’s an A-rank Spiritual Fire Technique that uses the swiftness of your punches to generate an intense flame. When the flames are at their pinnacle, it takes the shape of a dragon that you can either release to create a long-range attack or encase your fists in to increase the damage your punches cause.”

“That does sound like a useful technique,” I said with a sigh. “And it’s not like you can reach the Third State of Spiritualism just like that. Barring the use of alchemy pills to help you, the only other way to reach it is to gain such an intimate understanding of your element that you and the element become one. That generally takes years of constant meditation or life and death battles that force you to break past your limits. Having another Spiritual Technique mastered might even help you in your training.”

“Those were my thoughts too.”

Our conversation continued until we reached the Valstine Family estate, which I could tell at a glance had been refurbished. The wall was bigger, the gate had been remade from a sturdier metal, and the building had several additions to it. Aside from the original mansion, there was now another building. While only two-stories tall, the building had been built wider and longer. The courtyard was also larger, meaning the Valstine’s had bought the space next to them and expanded their territory.

Bertrand led us into the mansion and toward a room that I had never visited before. It was a formal dining room. The large table in the center was the main feature, but there were several decorations situated between columns that had been embedded into the walls.

Stelys Valstine sat at the table’s head, an empty seat on either side of him. Meanwhile, six other people were sitting at the table with him. All of them were older than Stelys, making me assume they were the elders. When Fay’s father saw us, he smiled and gestured toward us.

“Fay, I’m happy to see you. You look lovely in that dress,” Stelys said.

“Thank you, Father.” Fay curtsied.

“And you, Eryk my boy, it’s so good to see you again. Come, sit with us.”

“It is a great pleasure to see you again as well,” I said, greeting Stelys with a polite nod that was neither humble nor arrogant. As the fiance of Kari Astralia, my position from a social standpoint was about the same as a noble, so I didn’t have to give any noble too much face. I would seem like a pushover if I did that, or so Kari said.

Fay and I sat down in the empty seats. With a smile on his face, Stelys introduced me to the elders of the family while a maidservant poured us some wine.

There was Om, probably one of the oldest elders on the Valstine Family council. He had a head of white hair and many wrinkles. He struck me as a crotchety old man.

Dag and Igmar were his two lackeys. They were newer council members and appeared to be around the same age as Stelys, making them relatively young.

Garth was a slightly older man with red hair that contained streaks of gray. Despite this, he still looked in fine health, with a muscular physique that let me know he was a Spiritualist of some power. He had probably reached the Second State of Spiritualism.

Hagen was the next person Stelys introduced. Despite being the second oldest person present, he wore a smile that made him seem many years younger than his apparent age. I could also sense a good deal of Spiritual Power coming from him. He was quite strong, though like Garth, I suspected he had not reached the Third State of Spiritualism. If he had, he probably would have still looked like a man in his thirties.

The last person who was introduced to us was Sindri, the only woman on the council. It was once again hard to guess her age. She had brownish red hair like most of her family, but it contained quite a bit of gray. There were wrinkles around her mouth and crow’s feet around her eyes. Physically speaking, she looked like a woman in her fifties, but I was betting she was at least a decade older.

Everyone greeted me respectfully, though Om seemed a tad moody. I could tell he was a grouch.

Our meals came after the introductions had finished, pushed into the dining room on a cart. The meal was a type of meat soup with a thick broth. A rich scent rushed into my nose as a maidservant put a bowl in front of me. I looked into the thick liquid and noticed there was a mix of vegetables and beef in the soup.

“Let us not stand on ceremony.” Stelys clapped his hands. “Please enjoy the meal, everyone.”

Everyone followed the family head’s instructions and began eating. The meal was quite delicious. I wasn’t sure how it had been cooked, but the meat practically melted on my tongue the moment I put it in my mouth. A thick and strong flavor was accented by the soft vegetables, which had soaked up a good deal of the broth.

As we ate, everyone asked me and Fay questions regarding our sect. We did our best to answer them. Most of the questions revolved around what a sect was and what it did. It seemed most of them had never bothered to learn the particulars. I had to give them the closest description I could think of.

“In some ways, a sect is like a mercenary company,” I began. “However, unlike mercenaries, who do not generally care for the commonwealth, where their valis came from, or what sort of jobs they are asked to do, our sect only takes legitimate quests from reputable sources. With Empress Hilda’s backing, we’ve managed to pick up a lot of jobs—more than our current members can handle. We’re actually looking to increase the number of Spiritualists we have.”

“It sounds like you two really have been busy,” Stelys said.

“We have, but there’s a lot of people helping us.” Fay smiled at her father as she took a sip of the soup. “Kari is incredible when it comes to administrative work, and Lin is a very hard worker. She’s been studying under Kari and Eryk. We also recently hired a secretary to deal with the more mundane tasks like running the day to day affairs and dealing with suppliers. Mostly, when we aren’t reading reports and approving missions, we’re training.”

As Fay spoke of her training, I glanced at the elders to see their reactions. Many of them were looking at her with pride. It was clear that her strength was a great source of gratification for her family. The only one who still seemed grumpy was Om.

Dinner soon wound to a close. Several maidservants took our plates away and brought out a dessert: appleskives, a type of fluffy snack made from wheat flour mixed with cream, eggs, sugar, and some salt. They were shaped like a circle. When I bit into one, the sweet taste of fruit and jam filled my mouth, and I realized they had filling.

“Now that we have satisfied our bellies, I believe it’s time for us to discuss why I called you two here.” The expression on Stelys’ face grew pensive as he swirled the wine in his glass. He soon set it down and looked between the two of us, causing something inside my gut to squirm. “We received a formal request from the Drage Family. They want us to abolish the marriage agreement between Eryk and Fay and create a new one between her and Gudmund.”