The center will hold.

Jekaterina was sitting on a chair, dressed in simple white pants, a strapless shirt, and a long white coat. She was busy sharpening her scythe with a stone for the first time in several decades. The Reaper of Lies had no need for any help to stay as sharp as ever, no matter the condition, its cruel blade would slice through metal and flesh alike. No. Right now, she was doing this stupid, childish ritual because she needed to be calm.

The center will hold.

And so must she. The stone moved once more across the blade, turning into dust beneath her fingers and allowing Soultaker to feel the cold steel. It woke her up from the trance, forcing her to remember her obligations and the people around her.

Jeki and Redhorn, along with several other officers, stood before her in the dirty-looking tent. Ever since the Moon City fell, Jekaterina had her army take position on the main road leading to her capital, waiting for a chance to meet the foe head-on. She met with Kurt and sent him to manage the capital, lead the negotiations with Pearl’s officials, and…

His head was on the table before her. The capital had fallen an hour ago, when her agents brought his head back, she could see the flames. In Jekaterina’s absence, the rebel militia sneaked into the city, liberating the priesthood. They had sympathizers among the locals, no doubt, after all, the priests had extensive families. After the prison became overrun, Kurt decided to meet with the priests, offering them a chance to leave in peace, in order to prevent chaos from spreading into the city.

They murder him. During the negotiations, they sawed away his head with the ritual knives from the museum. The spies reported that even the militia’s commanders were shocked and disgusted by this, along with some priests. It was they who returned the head, but at this point it was too late. Nothing could have prevented the bloodshed, both sides attacked each other, and now the city was burning.

King should have known… Jekaterina thought numbly, looking in the eyes of her dead brother. She moved her hand forward and closed his eyes, the eyes of a person who always supported her, who was gentle and kind to others, once and for all. No. Even King can make a mistake in the midst of this chaos. My fault. My failure. I was the custodian of my people. And I failed them. The center will hold.

"Redhorn. Jeki," Jekaterina spoke in a dead voice, naming officers one after another, "Take the provincial troops and the remains of the Young Guard. Go into our city. Butcher anyone who wears a priest’s garment or militia’s uniform…"

"Jekaterina, there is a split among them …" Redhorn stopped, feeling the cold blade against his neck. Soultaker looked him in the eyes, her round eyes brimming with barely suppressed rage.

"Anyone. Old or young. Butcher them. Gather our people and make your way to the Bento tribe's lands across a secret route in the north. It should be safe now, since the bastards in the Desolation are currently not aggressive. Take everyone who is willing, but do not harm or force those who choose to stay. I will lead the main army and distract the reclaimers. We will…" She stopped, trying to find the right words, "Form a proper strategy after we meet again. Get to it!"

The center will hold.

It was the correct choice. With Moon City and the capital gone, the army had no way to replenish its numbers or vehicles anymore. Nowhere to get the supplies, lest she want to raid her own villages for food and medicine… And even then, where would they get the ammunition? Pearl certainly won’t give them anything for free.

There was also no reason to try to lead the civilians into Pearl either. The crown jewel was already overcrowded with refugees, as it is, the borders were secured in an attempt to stem the refugees’ flow. Pearl’s soldiers were not shy, opening fire at anyone from the Ravaged Lands who lacked a permit to enter and refused to turn back. And even if, even if they broke in somehow, allowing her people to be picked up by the Cartel was unthinkable.

The center will hold.

She paid no mind to the officers’ leaving, looking at her dead brother. There was no peace in his features, only an ugly death leer. I… what exactly did I wrong? When her mother sold her, Jekaterina kept on to her values, refusing to become a monster. She rebuilt her life again with Kurt’s help. When Dominion betrayed them, she built her life back up again, working painfully to learn how to trust and love anew. She restored her life, gave birth to a child, worked tirelessly for her nation…

I tried to be human.

And everything was taken away again. Precious and sweet Tehuoto. Jekaterina closed her eyes, banishing the memories of him sleeping in her arms. Her treacherous mother, who earned her forgiveness by attempting to save Tehuoto from reclaimers. Now Kurt. And her people. Jekaterina was losing everything, and everyone once again. Her lands, which she tried to keep safe, have now burned. Her works, schools, and academy that she attempted to establish are now closed, and teachers are attempting to keep students alive. In her kingdom, hunger, fear, and hopelessness reigned supreme.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

How many times can one person rebuild her life? Jekaterina felt herself choking, her lungs refused to take in any more oxygen, her heart speared her body with piercing pain, forcing her to clutch her chest. I need a way out. I am tired of rebuilding everything. Nothing works.

Struggling to keep herself whole, Jekaterina reached for a device on the table and entered the code. The old-looking device was something made by the Soultaker’s founders, it carried just a single function, precious beyond all worth. Jekaterina wanted to activate it years ago, always ended up being stopped by her suspicion and paranoia.

Well, it doesn’t matter anymore, right? She sighed, activating the device and allowing it to scan her brain, linking itself with her. No matter where Soultaker goes, as long as she is inside this system, this device will know if she is alive or not. Jekaterina called in one of her guards, giving the man this device along with instructions to keep it safe. After that, she gave the order to leave her alone for a while and ignore any and all sounds coming from her tent.

She raised the Reaper of Lies and ran her finger along its blade, allowing her regeneration power to heal her, banishing the lies of hope and clarity that medications had given her.

The center cannot hold. This time, Jekaterina no longer fought back against the madness and paranoia, embracing them in full, allowing them to take a hold over her soul. Soultaker stood up, cackling with a mad laugh, feeling how tears were running down from her eyes. Her world finally shattered.

She grabbed Kurt's head and spun him around, unconcerned about her appearance or what others thought of her. Her responsibilities, her dreams—everything was abandoned. Only madness remained—madness that allowed her to feel again, to live for now. And Soultaker reveled in it, allowing it to wash over her, feeling guilt, sadness, pain, love, happiness… Every emotion that she had repressed for so long now came back to her, making the whole world spin around her even when she stopped.

"I hate this word," Jekaterina giggled to Kurt, whispering her secrets to him like a shy girl who drank too much at a party. Drool was falling from her lips, wetting the ground along with her tears, "It takes, takes, and takes. Even when it gives back, it is just an illusion, bro. When it gives something back, it only does so to hurt you even more. No matter what I do, the world always sends someone to trample on my life. I want them to suffer. All of them."

Sensing a shift in the air, Soultaker spun around, striking with her scythe behind herself. The blade cleaved through three figures behind her. Spilling insides and blood on the ground, hands fell down first, followed by upper torsos, and finally weakened legs. Jekaterina giggled madly, looking at how the women’s remains on the floor became blurry before disappearing all together.

"After all the talk, this is your power, Green?" Jekaterina laughed, looking at the woman who leaned against the tent’s wall.

Soultaker stepped forward, making a single overhead attack with the intent to cleave the woman in two. The deadly strike was stopped by other Greens, three copies caught the blade between their palms. With a bored look on her face, Green kicked with her leg, releasing a blue blade hidden within her elegant boot.

Jekaterina coughed out blood in Green’s eyes, making the woman frown for a fraction of a second. Feeling how the blade twisted within her ribcage, pushing forward and liquidating her heart, Jekaterina tore her weapon free, slicing the heads of all three other Greens. Jekaterina retaliated with the dull edge of the Reaper of Lies, slamming it through Green's mouth behind her and allowing the weapon to emerge from the back of the foe's head.

"Not impressive. Not impressive at all." Jekaterina teased the original, enjoying the flash of anger in the enemy’s eyes. A thin crimson line marked the perfect right cheek, and the same small wound appeared on each disappearing copy of this woman.

"But I am impressed by you, child," She turned around, still holding her brother’s head with one hand. "You are finally ready to step over the line, right?" The smiling man said, clapping his hands in mocking congratulations as his mechanical tendrils uncorked a bottle of cheap booze and poured its contents into his mouth.

"Already stepped over, Academician," Jekaterina smirked to him, spinning her weapon in one hand, "Now I am just looking for company on my way out. Speaking of, ready to die?"

"You said my name," He stood up, crashing the bottle against the floor and spreading his arms, "My little would-be monster, will it satisfy you if you cut me down here? No, it won’t even be funny enough. Now, you need a proper pyre to say your farewells to this world. Something like the Moon City. And I am the gent with just the stuff to get the ball rolling."

"And what will you get out of this?" Jekaterina struck with her scythe, aiming to slice his neck.

Several pitch-black holes opened in the empty air, letting out numerous tendrils. The steel appendages moved to wrap themselves around Jekaterina, aiming to stop her in her tracks. Five blindingly fast slashes ended their assault, allowing her to press on after the retreating Academician.

The man dodged back, evading a slice that was supposed to behead him, still smiling happily like a child. She followed after him, laughter still flowing from her lips, while tears were making her vision blurry. She thrust the Reaper of Lies forward, aiming to crush his windpipe. When Academician ducked, she moved the blade down, planning to slice his back. The strange man pressed his mechanical tendrils to the ground, propelling himself forward and somehow easily dodging the end of her scythe that was supposed to crash into the side of his head.

Academician rolled on the ground, dodging another wide swing of the scythe without even looking, eliciting a curious chuckle from Jekaterina. His moves were wasteful, amateurish, and predictable, even more so than hers right now. So how is he still alive?

"Nothing special. We already had everything we needed for the time being," Academician admitted, grabbing himself by the collar and dusting off his crimson shirt. "Consider this to be a passion project. I just want to see a monster in action, and if some mutants die along with it, all the better. What do you say?"

"I am listening." Jekaterina giggled, striking forth again and aiming at his head. Seeing how he sidestepped the attack, leaning back to evade a followed-up horizontal attack, Soultaker allowed herself another mad chuckle. He was indeed reading her thoughts.