Morning, the moment that most people in the world wait with bated breath, night shift workers wait for it since it signals their release from work. People in general love mornings, since it signal a new day, new adventures, new experiences, and new moments with their lovers.

Elizabeth didn't particularly hate mornings, she hated the fact that she wasn't sleeping more if anything, but one can only rest on their back and side so long before it was painful.

This morning, however, it was different, she hadn't slept as much as she wanted, even after the whole ordeal of last night, with revelations and new skills on her.

Even after moving her stat points and making Rossie lose consciousness, and all the [Things] she had gone through getting Rossie into her pajamas.

How could anyone sleep after going through that!

And Rossie hadn't woken up!

Or if she did, she pretended to be asleep!

Actually, she may have woken up and then pretended to sleep, she could be like that, cheeky cute thing...

Hopefully, she hadn't, she wouldn't be able to live it off if she was awake while she was changing her clothes, she had needed to...touch, prod, and fondle here and there after all...

THAT GIRL DRESSED TOO TIGHTLY!

She looked good thanks to that, BUT STILL!

Also, she had a higher amount of...[Plot] than her clothes suggested, she hadn't noticed it before while she saw her from time to time on those mornings Rossie was walking around only in a bathrobe, but now that she needed to undress-dress her?

She [Noticed] it. Perhaps the girl was using some kind of spell to dissimulate her [Plot]?

It could be, she would ask her about it..or not.

"Hnngg.....Morning Eli-Eli ♥" Rossie roused stretching from their bed.

If the girl noticed the change in clothing, she made no mention of it, perhaps she thought that she had changed herself?

"I had the weirdest dream Eli-Eli, in it you told me we had a daughter," Started saying the pink-haired girl, "Imagine, two girls having a daughter, magic is powerful but I haven't even learned enough biomancy to pull that out. How would that even work?"

...Yeah, that wasn't a dream.

"That wasn't a dream Rossie, you do have a daughter, she is in her egg at the moment," Elizabeth started saying as Rossie's head turned ever so slow, as a gear that needed oil. "Come, let me show you."

And so Elizabeth extended her hand towards the pink-haired girl, for the first time ever, the girl didn't grab that hand as fast as possible, but she did with trepidation.

In the end, she did grab the hand, so Elizabeth pulled her into the [Shadow Haven], she had more control of it as of lately, so she directly made the landing on the outside of the previously occupied containment chamber.

The same now held the locket and the dragon egg.

"Huh, containment cells?" Said Rossie when she landed in the hallway. "Why do I know these are containment cells?"

"That is weird, have you seen one before?" Asked Elizabeth, she was aware of their nature because of the inherent knowledge she got from Alexanders. But had Rossie grabbed some of it when she nestled her [Soulscape] in the ruined city?

"I feel like I have been in one, but not sure why..." Was all that Rossie said as she examined the empty chambers.

She even tried to open a few, and only had difficulties with the one that held the remains of Aurelia as she was still being assimilated.

Not that there was anything of her left, most of her [Soul] was in a very bad state when she got it after all.

"So, do you wanna do some fun things in one? Was all of that a code word to get me into a place no one can see us ♥?" Asked Rossie as she winked at her while opening the door to an empty containment chamber.

"Rossie, No. Not in front of our daughter." Said Elizabeth as she opened the door toward the containment chamber in question.

Rossie stopped her playful behavior as she saw the dragon egg, a pulse of mana radiated from it and seemed to stimulate something in both girls, as they each pulsed with a wave of mana back towards it.

Only their mana interwind before nourishing the egg, it seemed to form a loop with them, bringing them closer and closer, and at the same time, it made them feel some sort of weird comfort from it.

As if the mana would nurture them all. Elizabeth wasn't sure how long they stayed in that mana loop, nor what broke the reverie, if the egg stopped the loop or one of them did.

"That...was something else," said Rossie as she shocked herself out of the reverie, she seemed to check herself with some diagnosis magic at the same time casting those spells on Elizabeth too, "Nothing out of order...But that egg seems to be eating the runaway mana that would be sent into the atmosphere..."

The egg of course didn't do anything, if anything it seemed to be calm and composed, "And you say....Our daughter is in there?" Asked Rossie, still confused, "How is that possible?"

That was a very interesting question Rossie asked, "I have no idea." And that wasn't the answer Rossie expected to get, as her cute lovely face frowned at her.

"Let me explain by saying that... Beato wasn't...Something I made on my own." Elizabeth started her explanation as she walked towards the egg, "She was born apparently out of some of your mana and parts of my runaway mana."

She still wasn't quite sure of the process as she wasn't actually aware at the moment, but she had some insight thanks to her new [Eyes] and what [Knowledge] she could glean from her [Inheritance].

Apparently, Alexanders was very good at making monsters of all kinds. Who would thought.

"She was born out of our mana and had awareness beyond any of my other shadow dragons, she was even capable of speech." Elizabeth remembered fondly those days, those more simpler days. "And this egg was created from parts of my runaway mana and also parts of your mana."

"...So you think our...[Daughter] is in there?" Asked Rossie, she tried to prod the egg with her mana again, and the egg synchronized its mana to make Rossie's spell flow easier towards it. "...The mana is definitely ours, and yet...It isn't."

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"Yeah, also my [Minion] skills show one of the [Shadow Dragons] has the same [Job] she had, and following that [Job] it ends here." Elizabeth said while pointing at the egg once more, "So yeah, I think our [Daughter] is in there."

"That is too much to digest...And you say I was okay with this?" Asked Rossie, so she really had no memories of that...

"You were the one that started calling her [Daughter], for me it was another summon." Elizabeth said, "Let me try something."

Elizabeth wasn't quite sure what to think, if the same [Beato] was birthed from the egg...It would be too heart-crushing for her, so she needed Rossie to [Remember].

Now, her plan may not work, and it may be weird if it did, but she had an inkling about something.

"This shouldn't hurt..." Elizabeth said as she extended her hand towards the lock hovering above the egg, the one that had on its inside the picture of her girlfriend.

The one that was a crystalization of their [Link], she was able to feel it and prod it with her mana, so maybe...

"[Join the links that were severed by unjust Divine Intervention.]" She spoke as the [Idea] flowed into her mana, then into her [Shadows] and finally into the [Chain] that joined both girls.

From there, a single thread of mana birthed and it flew towards the dragon egg, for Elizabeth it seemed as if the time had stopped, everything around them lost color and while she could see just fine, she also couldn't move.

She however, saw a little girl made of ethereal blue flame walk out of the egg, it was the same girl she was fond of, the little girl that would cook for them each morning. Beatrice, Beato, the head maid.

"[Mistress, you shouldn't have done this. Why are you straining your soul?]" The little girl spoke as she walked toward them. "[I made sure Mother wouldn't have memories of me, so she wouldn't suffer my disappearance, we were but safeguards. To make sure you wouldn't awaken early.]"

She looked different, in this stopped world Beato seemed more....alive. She moved with fluidity akin to a living being and not a mere construct made of shadows, and her eyes...her eyes sported a pupil with a heart on the outside and a star in the middle.

"[Yes, I know you want Mother to remember, to remember everything, but wasn't her love enough?]" Asked Beato as she stood in front of the frozen Rossie. "[She remembers her love to you, she remembers the jokes you both made, the time you spent, she even remembers Catherine and Jack...Well mostly, since they ascended she remembers them as their new personas.]"

She wanted to move, to speak, to scream, to hug that little girl who seemed a step away from breaking apart.

"[We weren't supposed to survive. Sebastian didn't speak to you for that reason you know? He said it would make it easier. But I couldn't do that, I was an accident you see...Only he was supposed to come, I was a normal Soul that stepped forward to help stabilize your fragile vessel.]" She wasn't supposed to...she was an accident? "[It was Mother's mana that nourished me into sapience, it was her personality that molded me...It was her desire for happiness that made me play a role. The role of the daughter that wanted to be loved and would do anything to fulfill that.]"

MOVE

MOVE ELIZABETH STARBRIGHT

"[Even so, I cherised those moments as a Daughter. But this must come to an end, I thank you Mistress for trying to link me to grant Mother memories of the days gone. Had you acquired Pride or Greed instead of Glutony, you may have managed it.]" Beatrice spoke as her eyes shone once more, and in the same light, the egg started to crack. "[I told you before Mistress, do not attempt to revive nor summon me.]"

Cracks of golden light, she could feel the egg starting to siphon more and more mana, way more than it could hold, was she attempting to burst it?

"[Mother will not remember me, she should not. A healthy Mother-Daughter relationship should be nurtured from the cradle. And towards your own flesh and blood, not towards a mana construct that just wanted love.]" Beatrice continued speaking, as her own figure started to crack under the pressure. As her eyes filled with tears, as her body seemed to be breaking down, not in the physical sense, but in a more deeper way, in a way a [Soul] shouldn't turn.

Was she going to lose Beatrice like that?

Was she going to lose another family member because someone had moved strings in a pre-determined way? Was she going to be a toy in [Fate]'s hands once more?

[NO]

She [Was the owner of her own fate] she [Was the only one that decided the outcome of the decisions she made.] She [would not allow it, wouldn't permit it.]

So Elizabeth [Opened her eyes once more, not her normal ones, but her TRUE EYES] her [pupils turned into those of a dragon once more, a blue azure flame dancing in her eyes.] The sign of her [Inheritance shining like a beacon of light.] in the darkness. In that stopped world the [flame in her eyes danced, and it brought light to the grayscale world.]

"[NO MISTRESS STOP YOU AREN'T READY!]" Beatrice spoke as she tried to channel more mana into the egg, so it would burst sooner but [she soon noticed how the mana seemed to move in reverse, as if the WORLD wouldn't grant her wish, slowly the golden mana started mending the wounds, and cracks. And those too deeply carved would be burned close by azure flames, they would be treated at a later date.]

"[STOP THIS, WE HAD A DEAL!]" Beatrice screamed to the heavens, "[I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME WORLD! DO NOT LET MY MISTRESS STRAIN HER SOUL MORE!]"

But [no one answered back, no one could answer back. This had turned into a CLOSED WORLD. No outside interference wou], there was a crack. A gigantic crevice formed at the outer parts of the ruined city.

"[STOP IT MISTRESS, YOU NEED TO ALLOW YOUR SOUL TO FULLY SYNC, YOU NEED TO LET LORD NYXFYRE AWAKE FIRST!]" But Elizabeth wasn't listening, even as [the Shadow Haven viciously cut out the part that had broken, it allowed it to fall into the core as nourishment to reinforce the integrity, allowing it to fully close itself. No outside interference would be allowed.]

"[Please...I...don't want you to waste the love and care in a mere simulacrum.]" But Beatrice's plea fell on empty ears as the gray world turned the colors back to normal.

"Eli-Eli? What happened, who is that girl?" Rossie said as she started moving and noticed the little girl crying. "...What happened to your eyes?"

Her eyes? Oh right..."Nothing important right now," Elizabeth said as she [willed] a mana thread to materialize from the lock hovering above the dragon egg. "Rossie, if you wish to remember all you need is to infuse your mana in this thread and give it to [Beatrice] that will solidify her [existence] and return all the memories that were [stolen]."

She was getting tired, so tired...

She would [not allow this to end just yet, not till it was resolved though.]

"God, how the hell did Alexanders and [Ethan] make it look easy." Elizabeth grumbled under her breath.

"...Hello little girl." Rossie said as she took in the mana thread, "Do you want this to happen?"

Beatrice seemed to be startled by this, as she looked towards Rossie, "It's okay, no one can hurt you here. Eli-Eli wouldn't allow it, and even if I don't remember it...I wouldn't allow a lovely girl like you to be hurt either, memories or not." And then started crying.

"I'm sorry Mother...I tried...I tried so hard...But now Mistress is...Mistress's soul is..." And continued crying as she hugged Rossie.

"Eli-Eli...Do I need to be angry at you again?" Asked Rossie in an even tone.

"Nope, not my fault this time. She started it!" Elizabeth defended herself.

"[All-seeing eye.]" Rossie intoned as she used one of the compound spells she had built a few days ago. They were within the [Soulscape] so she could summon the nodes easily enough. "Hmm....The [Soulscape] seems to be fine, I think you are missing a few of the outer walls though."

Rossie hadn't found anything wrong within her ruined city, and that was obvious since [she had made sure to ditch the outer parts that were empty roads going to nowhere.] No one would miss those since they weren't used anyway.

"Eli-Eli is okay, but tell me...Do you want this? If not we will not force you." Rossie said as she offered the mana thread to Beatrice.

The little girl seemed to hesitate, "Mistress...can you promise me that you will not do this again?" And asked Elizabeth, "That you will not use [that]till lord Nyxfyre awakens."

"I promise to not strain myself so long a loved one isn't in danger." Elizabeth said instead, "I can't promise to let Rossie or you be in danger if I can help."

Rossie seemed to understand that something had happened and was frowning as more diagnosis spells were fired all around, but [they would find nothing wrong.]At least in this instance and for this moment.

"...I will look forward to working for you again Mistress." Beatrice ended saying as she took the mana thread and so, the memories of their first year together flooded Rossie once more.

"No...I will look forward to living with you again Beatrice." Elizabeth answered instead.

And at that moment usually in most of the stories Mother told her about, the [Hero] would lose consciousness, since they had strained beyond reason, but this wasn't a story was it?

Even if Elizabeth felt like crap [she wouldn't lose consciousness] she would instead enjoy this small moment of happiness, as the little girl hugged and spoke with her Mother about what they had missed, what had happened in the half year she was missing.

Till Rossie was sure the little girl would not fade away to oblivion, till the little girl promised to do her best to return to them, "I think it's about time Mistress." Till the little girl spoke those words.

"Time?" Asked Rossie, as she eyed warily the little girl.

Beatrice shook his head and answered, "My incubation period isn't finished."

"I didn't want to wake her up either, she woke on her own." Added Elizabeth, "And the egg seems to have healed enough so she is being recalled."

"...will you come back soon?" Rossie asked as the little girl started to turn into motes of blue light.

"Yes, I am no longer working under [The World]. But under [The Inheritor], so my return is guaranteed." Beatrice said as her figure started to blur more and more. "I think this doesn't need saying, but if you try to [Return] Sebastian before Lord Nyxfyre awakens you will suffer a heavier backlash."

That was enough for Rossie to glare at her, "I was made mostly with fragments of Mother's soul, fueled by your mana Mistress. But Sebastian isn't like that, the mana that made him no longer exists here. If you wish for his return you will need [that mana], and your [Core] can't make it anymore."

And with those ominous words, Beatrice returned to the egg, and Elizabeth's eyes returned to normal.

She...kinda expected a heavier backlash to be honest.

"Eli-Eli?" And it seemed that Rossie too, since she had quite a number of healing spells both divine and otherwise hovering around her.

"I'm fine...Kinda thought that would hurt like a-" Elizabeth started saying only for a spike made of crimson blood to burst from her belly opening a fountain of blood. "Yeah, that makes sense."

"ELIZABETH!" Last thing she heard was the crying voice of Rossie as she seemed to run toward her.

That would be quite romantic in most settings, "[Emergency Exit]" But like said before, this wasn't such a story.

She was feeling the spikes forming within her body and while this was the realm of the soul and she was quite durable here, she wouldn't expose Rossie to that, so she forcefully removed her from the [Soulcape] and returned her to the real world.

"Contain...Not like that huh...[Contain], yes. Like that, no wait I'm speaking, does it count?" Maybe it was the blood loss, but Elizabeth didn't quite feel well.

Either way she had enough consciousness to teleport into an empty containment chamber as another crimson spike blossomed from her back.

This...This would take some time to deal with, but in the meantime, Elizabeth knew there was only one thing to do, so she took a deep breath and "AAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!" Screamed as tears of blood started to fall from her face.

One by one crimson spikes made of inky tar-like substance blossomed from her body, each one a promise of pain and righteous vengeance.

Vengeance towards someone that [Usurped] the authority that they shouldn't have, for even as an [Inheritor] she no longer was [The Akashic Record Inheritor].

She was Elizabeth Starbright, Orphaned girl.

And [The Akashik Record Inheritor] was Elizabeth Starbright, Daughter of [The American Crusader] and [The Stardust Explorer].

And this...This wasn't that girl.