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Fate of Mirithia [LitRPG, Isekai]
Chapter 179 – The Sorceress's Memories

Chapter 179 – The Sorceress's Memories

Kalrina flinched as Meera slammed the door shut in her face. She knew why the poor dearie hated her so much, and her hate was not falsely placed. Kalrina had done some rather vile things in the pursuit of her goal. A means of achieving said goal seemed to have been stolen from her grasp thanks to a pair of Cosmarians.

"Are you going to keep staring at the door like a woeful lover?" Arvena practically snapped

Her sister's mood had been particularly soured by her young friend, and knowing Arvena, it wouldn't get better anytime soon. The woman could hold a grudge.

Kalrina turned to her sister with a broad smile. "Now, now, sis, let's not let a sour conversation or two with a rude girl ruin our day."

Arvena nearly lunged for her, making Kalrina back up a step. "Sour conversation or two! Firstly, that bitch has the audacity to insult my hair and then threaten me like I'm some new initiate, and if that weren't enough, she insulted my room! My temple!"

"I see, someone still hasn't lost their sense for being overly dramatic, "

Arvena pointed a finger in her face. "Watch it, Rina. I'm not in the fucking mood."

"Forget her." Kalrina waved a dismissive hand. "Out of sight, out of mind, as they say. Let's talk about you. What have you been up to this past decade?"

"Trying my best to clear my name after the mess you left behind."

Yes, this is not going to be pleasant.

As it turned out, Arvena had to face Aksha's scrutiny for the better part of a decade. The hunter of Akhessai truly lived up to her name when it came to her work. Arvena complained at length about having to be confined in her quarters and having to put her research on hold and face the disdain of the other sorceresses, who were prone to gossip and slander for even the slightest thing.

"And when I had just started to finally get back in the social circles and gain everyone's trust, you come sauntering back to drag my name through the mud again." Arvena finished her tale of the past ten years, which to Kalrina was more like a rant, but she could be wrong, and her sister was a tad bit overdramatic.

"What have you been doing in the past ten years, ever since you killed Isolde?" Arvena asked.

Kalrina flinched. That was a bad memory and one she was not fond of recalling at all. "Hey, so that you know, the poor dearie had to die. I didn't want to kill her, but she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Not to mention, I think she might have figured out my plans, given enough time."

Arvena shook her head. "You need to drop those plans. Not in a thousand years will you accomplish your goal."

"Then I'll wait one thousand and one years." Kalrina smiled, not betraying the storm brewing within her. "After all, they did give us the means to live a really long time."

Arvena sighed. "Who are you here to kill this time?"

Kalrina chuckled. "No one. I'm just here to have a conversation."

"And if that conversation doesn't lead to where you want it to?"

"Then I think dear Hemera has lived long enough, don't you?"

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Kalrina walked wearing the face of a young girl, one of the new initiates who had recently arrived at the dragon keep to begin her training, or so her sister said. This was the best disguise for her as Arvena had become an overseer of the young and the part-time patrolwomen of the keep in the past ten years.

Kalrina had always kept an ear open to the going-on of the sisterhood. She had heard through some of the traveling sorceresses that Arvena had been promoted—or demoted as most saw—to watch the keep at night. That's how she knew that her sister would be the one on watch and she would have no trouble getting in. Of course, she would never utter the names of the ones who gave her the information within these walls. Aksha quite literally had eyes and ears everywhere.

So, Kalrina adopted a meek pose and bowed her head to every full-fledged sorceress that passed them in the hallways. In their arrogance, they didn't even give Kalrina a second look, and some did not even look at her. They nodded at Arvena, and some snorted in disdain at her, but no one stopped for a chat.

The inside of the dragon keep was not so different than any castle. Most of it was just stone walls with the odd tapestry or statues of past sorceresses who had brought glory to this place. Kalrina had a bust or two on some of the lower floors, which she couldn't imagine had survived after her swift departure.

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They rounded a corner, and Kalrina saw dear Hemera's room. She was another recluse in this horrid place. They were a dime a dozen in here. The thought that this place attracted them like flies to dung had crossed her mind dozens of times, followed by the fact that she, too, was one of those flies and paid a heavy price for it. They might as well have smashed her into the ground. They took everything from her anyway.

"Stop staring off into the distance," Arvena snapped. "Being a sorceress means always being alert of your surroundings."

Kalrina resisted the urge to roll her eyes. This was Arvena's way of telling her to stop spacing out and that she had forgotten to bow to a pair of sorceresses whose names slipped Kalrina's mind. They waited for them to leave before knocking on Hemera's door.

Arvena shifted nervously, eyes flitting about the corridor as Hemera opened the door. It wasn't like her sister to be so nervous about something as simple as visiting a fellow sister.

"Stop fidgeting so much," Kalrina hissed. "You're going to give us away."

Arvena drew a deep breath and nodded. Hemera finally opened the door. It had been a decade since Kalrina saw the woman, and she hadn't aged a day, but then again, she was one of the younger sorceresses, and hardly anyone aged in this place, thanks to the ageless potions. There was nothing of note about Hemera besides her thick brows, which were the envy of many women here. Besides that, she had auburn hair and brown eyes and was pretty with light dimples.

"Arvena? It has been some time since we last saw each other. Did you need something of me?" Hemera asked.

Arvena smiled. "Ah, Hemera, straight to the point as always, just like your master."

She set her jaw. “I’m no longer under mistress Duinith’s tutelage.”

"And yet you call her mistress." Kalrina couldn't resist.

Hemera's eyes flashed outrage. "How dare you speak to me like that? Know your place, initiate, before I make you remember."

Kalrina dropped the illusion around her face. "I know my place very well."

Hemera gasped and stepped back. "Y-You are not supposed to be here." Her eyes snapped to Arvena. "You've betrayed us."

Arvena shrugged. "Blood is thicker than water and all that."

Kalrina stepped into the room, making Hemera stumbled back and fall on her ass. "G-Get away from me," she stammered.

"Now, you two play nice. I'll be out here making sure you aren't disturbed." Arvena smiled at the scholarly sorceress before looking at her sister. "Make sure she doesn't scream. Screams draw attention."

With that, she shut the door, and Kalrina turned to her dear friend. She sat on her haunches and flashed a bright smile. "I just need a small favor from you, love, and you can forget I was ever here."

"I don't do favors for murderers."

"You should speak carefully. After all, I've killed a sorceress before, and I distinctly remember the last one talking in that tone before she departed this world, before her time."

Hemera gulped as sweat perspired on her forehead. "W-What favor?"

Kalrina caressed her cheek. "See, those are the right words." She stood and offered Hemera a hand, whose hand shook as she gripped Kalrina's to stand. She dusted off the scared sorceress's shoulders. "About a month ago, a pair of individuals stole my memory. Nothing large, only about one morning. I need your Mnemomancy skills to restore that memory."

She opened her mouth to no doubt refuse.

"Now, if you wish to refuse, then I have no reason not to do to you what I did to Isolde." Kalrina took another step to be face-to-face with her and spoke in a low, soft voice. "Would you like me to do to you what I did to Isolde?"

Hemera was many things, a scholar and one of the brightest women to ever become a sorceress, but she was not a fighter, and she knew when she was outclassed. "N-No, not at all…"

Kalrina smiled. Sometimes, your reputation is enough. Hopefully, Meera learns that before she ends up getting slaughtered by this cabal of butchers. After all, I might need you to see my plan through, dearie.

"Then should I go lie down on the couch or the bed? How does this sort of thing go?" She asked, dropping to her carefree demeanor, another thing she had cultivated for a long time.

"No! I mean, yes. I mean, lie down on the couch and not the bed, please."

The poor woman was jittery, so Kalrina placed a hand on her shoulders. "Calm down, Hemera. I won't do anything to you as long as you bring back my memory and don't wag your tongue. Do we understand each other?"

"Yes, miss," Hemera peeped.

"So, take a deep breath and let's begin."

Hemera did as she asked and seemed to have calmed down. They walked to the couch where Kalrina lay down, and Hemera pulled a chair beside her.

"Close your eyes, please, and it is important to stay calm during the whole process—"

"I am calm."

"Yes, that's good, but it might bring forth certain painful memories that you might want to stay buried."

Kalrina raised an eyebrow. "Why would you bring forth such memories?"

She leaned away. "I don't control what memories or even thoughts are shown as the skill works to illuminate the hidden memories."

"And will you be able to see them as well?"

"N-No, they are only for you and you alone," Hemera stammered. Kalrina rose to be in her face again. "A-All I will see or rather feel are your emotions, nothing more, I promise."

"I see." Kalrina lay back down. "Good, carry on then."

Kalrina closed her eyes, but the mirror on the belt still let her see what the young sorceress was doing. She kept looking at the door, no doubt hoping to find a way to run, but with Arvena keeping a lookout, she would be stupid to try.

"There is no way you can run from here," Kalrina reminded her. "You can try by all means, but I will strike you dead before you take three steps."

"Run? No, I was just looking for something to cover your head with. Sensory deprivation, especially vision, helps with a deeper connection. Oh look, it's right here." She picked up a towel that was lying on the table. "Do I have your permission to place this on your head?"

"You do."

Hemera placed the towel on Kalrina's head and pressed her thumbs on her temples. "Memory Palace."

Kalrina was not ready for the rush of memories that came bursting out of the recesses of her mind.