Lainor had never come this close to Akhessai's stony corpse, but now he stood in the clearing, gawking at the monstrosity. He had craned his neck all the way up to admire what was perhaps the greatest sculpture in all the worlds.

Even after four hundred years, the elements had done little to mar the beauty of the fearsome archdragon. She stood with her wings and arms outstretched, jaw ready for an attack. The spell that had turned the dragon to stone was so great that it even preserved its scales.

He had stood amongst this archdragon's children and thought them fearsome and beautiful, but they paled in both qualities compared to their mother, who wasn't even flesh and blood.

To think, I'm about to invade the home of the woman who defeated this monster.

If an archdragon could draw such wonder, he could only wonder what emotions would his Lord invoke when he finally awoke to conquer the worlds.

"Hey, stop gawking and get moving," Neserin commanded.

She was the only member of the Cult who had to come with her, given that she was a woman and wouldn't be immediately apprehended. She needed to be in close proximity to dispel the spell that kept Lainor's consciousness anchored to this new body.

Lainor nodded and moved on uneven steps. He was still coming to grips with walking around in the body of a daughter of Aksha. In other words, Aksha's body. One of Neserin's classes was necromancy, and her Mind Swap skill let her switch consciousness between two targets. It didn't matter if one of the targets was dead. Lainor preferred it this way, as he wouldn't feel right if Aksha was running around in his body.

"If you're going to tromp around like a dog with three legs, we should've picked someone else," Neserin remarked.

Lainor glared at her. "It's not like I do this for a living. The body's symmetry is all wrong, and I'm… I'm not used to certain parts." His voice was another thing he wouldn't quickly get over.

Neserin gave him a blank look. "You mean her breasts. They're not even that big. You should have no trouble running, especially in that tight wound shirt. Honestly, how does that woman even breathe in that?"

He shook his head. "Forget I said anything. Let's find a way in."

She upturned her nose. "It's best we avoid the dragon's feet. I'm getting some strange smells coming off them, and I work with corpses regularly."

She wasn't wrong. Even the ground was darkened, and the feet seemed to have submerged a little. It looked like the pigsty where all their shit was dumped.

Lainor took one step out of the shade and into the clearing. A woman with green hair and a sullen face appeared out of thin air. Her eyes widened a little when she saw Lainor, or rather, Aksha's face.

[Sorceress of Mirages – Level 497]

She furrowed her brow. "I didn't know a daughter was still out and about and in this condition."

The body Lainor was inhibiting had been left more than a little roughed up on purpose to sell the lie that Lainor was about to concoct. There were bruises and cuts all over this body. The left arm was broken in several places, along with many mirror shards that were left entrenched.

"I was left behind," Lainor said. Meera and the traitor, Kalrina, her companion, unleashed a devastating attack that destroyed all my sisters. I would have died if not for this one." He motioned to Neserin. "I brought her here as she shows promise and could be a worthy candidate to join our sisterhood."

The sorceress nodded as none of this fazed her. Her eyes were red and puffy—no doubt from crying. Something was up with her, but Lainor left it for now. Maybe he could use her, but for now, gaining entry into the dragon keep was his foremost priority.

"Is something the matter?" Neserin asked, with uncharacteristic compassion in her voice.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with," the green-haired woman replied.

"Can you—" Lainor paused and figured Aksha's daughters were extensions of the powerful woman herself, so he spoke with authority this time. "Let us through and hurry. Mother must know about this."

"No need," the woman said, sighing. "Kalrina and Meera have already been caught."

Lainor shared a quick glance with his companion. "How?"

"Kalrina came here expecting help from her sister, but…" She paused as she stared off into space. Tears brimmed the edges of her eyes. "But I-I gave her up to your mother."

Gears turned in Lainor's head. This was Kalrina’s sister—Arvena. He didn't know how he knew this green-haired sorceress, but he just did. Maybe it was the daughter's memories resurfacing in Lainor's mind, but if that were true, then he could effectively learn everything that Aksha knew prior to the creation of this daughter.

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I'll have to converse with Neserin about this later.

"You did the right thing, Arvena," Lainor stated. "The sisterhood stands above all."

Neserin's brow furrowed a little as she no doubt wondered where this came from. But it was a common saying repeated in official meetings. Another memory that wasn't Lainor's. This could only mean one thing: that the memories stored in this deceased body had not completely vanished.

I wonder if the scholars who believe that memories are stored in the soul are wrong.

"It sure doesn't feel like it," Arvena muttered.

"Don't let my mother hear that," Lainor replied before even he knew what he was saying. It was like the daughter had taken over her body and spoke on its own. That earned another look from Niserin, who must've been impressed and wondered where all this knowledge came from. Lainor powered on. "Are they dead? Kalrina and Meera, I mean?”

Arvena scoffed. "Nothing is ever so simple with the sisterhood. They're awaiting trial, and then they'll execute her. You should know that."

"Where are they imprisoned?"

"In your mother's dungeons, where every other prisoner of note goes." Arvena squinted her eyes. "Another thing you should already know."

"I was just confirming. You can never be sure if one of the other Five had claimed one or the other," Lainor said nonchalantly, playing it off, which seemed to have worked, as Arvena nodded.

"Firaan almost got the bitch sister of the Champion, but Aksha got there on time. Hopefully, she's paid her enough visits by now."

Lainor set his jaw. "As do I, for what they did to me."

Arvena looked up at that but said nothing. She simply snapped her fingers, and a circular stone platform cut out from the dragon's side below the waist and floated down to rest before them.

With a nod to the sorceress, Lainor and Neserin headed towards the platform and the sorceress's home with equal parts excitement and anxiety at the danger that lay within.

Lainor could not help but gawk at what the sorceresses had created by gutting the stony corpse of the archdragon. Each massive organ had been turned into a hall or room for their use. Stairs connected each of the organs in an intricate fashion that would be any architect's wet dream.

The amount of work that must've gone into building this place must've been nothing short of legendary. It truly lives up to its name—The strongest castles in all the lands.

As Lainor stared, something triggered his memories, and he knew what each of the organs was used for. So he knew that the prisoners would be held in the stomach, which housed the dungeons and was Aksha's headquarters.

He quickly looked around, ensuring they were alone, before turning to Neserin. "If you're done gawking, let's get to work. We're headed to the stomach."

Neserin raised an eyebrow. "How do you know that?"

Lainor motioned with his head. "Let's walk and talk. We're sticking out like a sore thumb here." They walked a few paces before Lainor began telling her his theory. "I think I'm recalling the memories of this daughter. Would it be possible? Has that ever happened before?"

She stared into space and thought about it for a long while before finally speaking. "It shouldn't. The soul—in your case, Aksha's soul should've taken all its memories back to the original. Maybe the memories are not stored in the soul as we think. I'll have to do more testing once I get out of this fucking place. To think, I might have even been able to reanimate this archdragon, were it not made of stone. It's practically humming with raw essence. No wonder these witches don't want to leave this place."

Lainor stopped mid gait. "Wait, go back to what you said earlier. This daughter was housing a piece of Aksha's soul. Is that right?"

She shrugged. "I cannot be certain, as this is new. You're exhibiting a host who was a part of someone who is currently still alive. So, I can only guess that Aksha is splitting her soul every time she creates one of these things—" She gasped. "You should have her skills. Check, right now!" Her tone indicated that she would not take no for an answer.

Lainor was impressed at the skills that the sorceress of rebirth carried. The classes and skills were quite fearsome, and the woman would have no problem taking on any cult member, and this was just a copy. He could only guess at what the original could do. But he found the skill the correct skill.

[Rebirth Ritual – You can split your soul into two or more fragments, which will take the form of solid duplicates of yourself. These duplicates will have all your skills but will be half as strong as you are. Speak the following words to begin the spell—Vadho a'te utho. Meri jindari de sev’ko.]

"Yes, I have the skill she uses to create these daughters."

Neserin practically jumped with glee, grabbed Lainor's shoulder, and planted a kiss on his—Aksha's lips.

Lainor pushed her away. "Restrain yourself. If anyone saw that, we'd be in heaps of trouble."

"Don't you get it, you imbecile? You could use that spell to create more copies of yourself. You could have an army to aid us if things don't turn out according to plan."

Lainor paused. She was right. Nothing stopped him from executing the skill, except that he still wasn't sure how he felt about splitting his soul.

"If this body exhibited a part of Aksha's soul, so wouldn't she be able to tell that I am not one of her daughters?" Lainor asked.

This wiped the grin off Neserin's face. "We should avoid her at all costs. One look at you, and our game is up."

"Thought as much," He said. "But we should avoid her regardless. She's the strongest person here, aside from the Sorceress who killed the monstrosity we're standing in."

Neserin nodded as any person of worth had heard of Veridiana, the Doom of Dragons. Even the Heirarch was in awe of her power, and he was not easily impressed. If the rumors were to be believed, he was concocting a plan with the Elders to wipe her out before their Lord's awakening, as she was one of the few who could make a difference.

"You coming, or you're going to stare off into space like an idiot." Neserin had walked off towards the stairs, leaving him behind. The excited girl was replaced by the cold woman once again.

Lainor caught up to her and took the lead, as it would be odd for an outsider to know the lay of the land. Even more bizarre would be if a Daughter of Aksha were to be following this newcomer. They climbed the thin stairs with no railings. Every so often, Lainor had to catch himself, or he would trip and fall to his doom. It didn't take them long to arrive at the dragon's massive stomach. It was hard to miss, with the three livers surrounding it.

The stairs ended at a landing with a rectangular door cut into the stone. There was no handle or keyhole, so Lainor tried a hunch, which must've been fueled by the daughter's memories. He placed a hand on the stone door, and a yellow light escaped from the rectangular seems.

A click sounded, and the door opened inward by itself.

Lainor glanced at his companion and stepped in. Right away, they were at the intersection of three hallways. He had a strong gut feeling to avoid whatever was down the hallway to his left. A flash went off in his head, and he knew where each of the hallways led.

He motioned to the right. "This way."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, and don't say a word in here. We don't know who could be listening," he whispered without looking at her.