“Clark’s already asleep?” Isa asked as she glanced around the neatly arranged residence.

It was much smaller than the one she shared with Addy, but that was to be expected. She’d taken the former Governor’s mansion, so pretty much every residence in the city was smaller than hers.

It was still more than enough for a family of three.

Isa had been joining Jarrid and Carrie for a late supper once every month or so for the past few years, and it was always hit or miss on whether they’d manage to get the five-year-old to fall asleep before she arrived. Usually, it was a miss.

“He is,” Carrie said with a tight smile that implied managing such a task had not been easy. “I figured since Addy is spending the night with friends, we might as well make it an adult night.”

Carrie glanced at her husband, who shrugged in semi-agreement.

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing that I brought some of the wine from last week’s shipment, then,” Isa said, handing her hostess a dark bottle.

“It looks like we had the same thought,” she said, nodding to the matching bottle of red wine sitting open on the table.

The added effort of allowing the wine to breathe was unnecessary with the addition of magic, but most still adhered to the old tradition.

Since the food was already on the table under specially-made covers, Carrie ushered everyone to their seats without delay.

The meal was wonderful, as usual. Years before the ascension, Carrie had wanted to become a renowned chef. While she’d eventually given up on that dream, her skills in the kitchen were still leagues above a normal housewife’s.

The only real oddity of the evening was Carrie’s obvious distraction.

Several times, Isa caught Carrie looking toward Clark’s room. It made her wonder if there was something more going on with the youth. Perhaps he was having trouble sleeping?

While Isa could have used magic to skim the surface of the other woman’s thoughts, she restrained herself. Such an invasion of privacy wasn’t something she did lightly, especially not to someone she considered a friend.

If something was going on, she hoped Carrie felt comfortable enough to bring it up on her own.

While Carrie wasn’t fully aware of the Spell Prodigy’s capabilities – nobody was – she understood enough to know that Isa was capable of creating what others would only consider miracles. And while healing magic wasn’t something she was great at, her aptitude with Arcane magic at least made it possible.

If nothing else, Isa could create something to help if the kid was having trouble sleeping.

When the meal was finished, Carrie excused herself to grab dessert. Isa had already learned not to offer her assistance since the other woman had always insisted she be treated like a guest when she came over.

That was fine for the former goddess. She was not unaccustomed to being waited on.

“Have you given any more thought to the upcoming vote?” Jarrid asked before draining the last swallow of wine from his glass.

Normally, they’d wait to discuss such topics until after dessert, but she knew Jarrid was quite perturbed by the recent deaths in the city-state run by Mazlex.

“Not particularly,” Isa admitted.

“I still think our precautions should be enough to prevent something like that from happening here,” Jarrid began. “I am a little disturbed that it’s been three weeks, and they still don’t have any leads.” His fingers drummed rhythmically on the table. “I feel like whoever is investigating should have found something by now.”

“Perhaps, but magic probably complicates things,” Isa said noncommittally. “Do the victims have anything in common? I haven’t paid much attention to the news lately.”

That wasn’t entirely true. Isa had accessed several information sites to read what had been reported about the deaths. She could have breached more secure networks, but since the poison was beyond anything found on Gentrius, the added effort didn’t seem worthwhile.

She’d only really bothered following up to see how the public reacted to the deaths, anyway.

It was a little odd that Karena hadn’t been mentioned by name in any of the records or reports she found. Instead, Karena had been labeled as ‘a woman connected to the Mazalone family,’ if she was mentioned at all.

Isa found the family’s lack of transparency a bit odd, but if she was found dead in another woman’s bed, that might be enough to warrant covering things up.

Carrie returned before Jarrid could share what he’d learned about the deaths. She was holding a small tray carrying three small bowls, each with a small scoop of frozen cream garnished with a piece of decorative, hardened caramel.

“This looks wonderful,” Isa said, eying the small four-petaled flower made out of caramelized sugar. Each garnish was a little different, as if they were meant to represent different types of flowers.

Isa’s focus on the dessert made her overlook the redness in the other woman’s eyes.

Carrie muttered a quiet thanks before focusing on the bowl in front of her. The other two quickly joined her.

“This is really good. There’s a different undertone than before – a hint of something floral that I don’t remember from the last time you made it. Did you try a new recipe?” Jarrid asked before taking another large bite.

Stolen story; please report.

Isa only half listened to Carrie’s response as she considered her own treat.

Floral was definitely not the description she would have used. Hers had more of a minty flavor. She supposed that might be labeled as floral by some, but it certainly didn’t feel like an accurate description.

She took another bite. The taste wasn’t unpleasant, but it reminded her of something… something that tickled the back of her mind like a constant annoyance.

She paused as she tried to recall where she’d tasted such a flavor before. It certainly wasn’t anything she’d had in this lifetime.

Her musings were interrupted when Jarrid swooned and nearly fell from his chair.

“Whoa, I feel really dizzy all of a sudden.”

Alarm bells started ringing in the former goddess’s mind, especially when she realized she also felt… off. She didn’t feel dizzy, per se, but she could tell that something was wrong.

When she reached for her mana to cast a diagnostic spell, her mana resisted. Isa’s sense of alarm flared as she struggled to call upon her magic for the first time since the planet’s ascension.

With a touch of desperation, Isa reached out to her golems. Whatever was restricting her mana had only just started impacting her mind, so she still had access to her psionic abilities.

Isa’s eyes slowly shifted to Carrie.

It took much too long for such a simple movement. In fact, Isa noticed all of her attempts at movement took far too much effort. It was like her mind and body were disconnected.

Carrie’s red-rimmed eyes were now leaking heavy tears as she looked between her husband and her friend. She didn’t bother trying to wipe the tears away as they created trails down her cheeks and dripped onto her shirt.

“I’m sorry. She has Clark. I had to…”

Her apology was interrupted by a hiccup, and she immediately covered her face with her hands as if hiding herself from the truth of her actions.

“Honnneeeyyy…?” Jarrid slurred in confusion before his eyes rolled back in his head, and his body slid bonelessly to the floor.

Carrie released a cry of distress as she jumped from her chair and rushed to her husband’s side.

“What… did… you… do?” Isa asked slowly, struggling to get the words out. It felt like her body was moving in slow motion.

There was really only one explanation for such a situation, and it was quite an ironic one, given Isa’s actions just a few weeks earlier.

They had been poisoned, and it was obvious that the poisons she and Jarrid had ingested were different, given Isa’s continued consciousness.

She could think of several poisons that would cause someone to pass out like Jarrid had. But there was only one that would make it difficult to use mana and cause a sudden sense of disconnectedness – a soul poison designed to make the body inhospitable for a soul.

There were ways to combat it, but they all required mana – mana she was currently struggling to access or control.

“I had to. I’m sorry!” the young wife and mother wailed from the floor beside her husband.

Isa sensed movement behind her, but she was unable to turn. Her body had already become unresponsive.

Had Kappa and the others arrived?

It was already too late to salvage this life. Isa knew that. Still, she felt herself hoping her golems had arrived.

“It’s quite fitting, I think,” a familiar voice said. “You tried to kill me with poison, so I returned the favor. But unlike you, I’m not arrogant enough to leave before the job is done.”

Karena stepped forward, just inside Isa’s limited field of vision.

“I almost put the poison in the wine, but I promised the little homemaker I’d spare them. They are innocent, after all,” Karena said before eyeing Jarrid hatefully. “I almost didn’t bother, but I’m not a monster—” she turned to Isa, “—unlike some people.”

Turning back to the crying woman, Karena said, “Drag him to your kid’s room and stay there. If you come out before morning, I will kill all three of you.”

Carrie quickly followed the woman’s order and grabbed Jarrid’s limp body by the hands. She looked back at Isa with sorrow, but her unspoken apology meant little in the face of death.

Isa could understand the woman’s actions, given the threat to her child. She’d done much worse to protect her family in previous lives.

But understanding didn’t reduce her anger at being so easily defeated.

How had Karena survived the poison?

If only she had skimmed Carrie’s mind at some point during the meal, she would likely have learned about the plot.

The other woman had been visibly uncomfortable for most of the evening, but Isa hadn’t wanted to pry. She was trying to be polite.

But the truth was… she’d let down her guard when she knew enemies existed. She’d learned the lesson so many times across so many lives… but it seemed she’d gone too long without a reminder. It had been eons, in fact.

Isa struggled to send a new set of orders to her loyal golems. She was almost certain she managed it, but the feeling of disconnectedness was getting more pronounced. It was hard to be sure her message was received.

“You probably wonder how I knew it was you,” Karena said, monologuing like a stereotypical villain. She was so unoriginal.

Go ahead and brag. Take your time, the former goddess thought. She hoped the arrogant woman wanted to wallow in her success.

“I saw you,” Karena boasted. “I have a blessing to see what is hidden. It lets me see things like people using invisibility spells or charms. I’m not sure which one you used, but I could see right through it. I could even see underneath that stupid mask you wore,” she sneered.

Karena stepped a little closer.

“I watched you put something in my drink. Unlike you, I’m observant. You didn’t even notice when I swapped my cup with one of my loyal retainers – a retainer you killed.”

Karena poked Isa in the forehead hard enough to break the fragile control she’d employed to remain upright, causing the former goddess’s muscles to release. All of Isa’s muscles released, though her soul had not yet fully detached from its shell.

“Ugh, that’s disgusting. But it’s somewhat fitting for you to spend your last moments lying in your own filth. It’s exactly what you deserve.” Karena nudged Isa’s limp body with her foot. Her voice took on a thoughtful tone. “Lady Grace was interested in that poison you used. I wonder where you learned about it, not that you can tell me now.”

“Good luck in your next life. If there is any justice in the universe, you’ll be a slug or rat or something.”

With that, Karena leaned over and slid a special blade across her fallen enemy’s throat, ensuring there was no chance the woman would miraculously recover.

It was unnecessary, since Isa’s body was already suffocating from the lack of oxygen that came with a sudden cessation of lung movement.

As Isa’s soul fully detached, her feelings of frustration, anger, and sadness evaporated.

It made sense that Karena worshipped Lady Grace, the Goddess of Assassination and Secrets. It also made sense that such a deity would provide a blessing that allowed their most devoted followers to see through the efforts of others to hide.

It felt more like a blessing for the secrets aspect of the deity’s domain than the assassination part, though.

The soul that used to be Isa figured that a blessing to remain hidden would be more useful for an active assassin than one to see things that were hidden.

Perhaps the blessing did a little bit of both? Lady Grace would have had to invest quite a bit in Karena for that to be the case.

The soul that was once Isa lingered for a bit, watching as her former enemy was startled by the door to the residence crashing open. Whatever feelings of superiority Karena held at her recent success almost certainly evaporated when she saw the golem in the doorway.

The soul wanted to stay and watch the woman’s demise at the hands of her creation, but the pressure to leave was growing.

With one final thought toward the child that she was leaving behind – the one she’d tried to raise as her own – the soul allowed itself to be pulled into the ether.

The next life awaited.