"The World...is not a fair place." Chloe's words, spoken from the remembrance laid on Maximilian Windsor's hands, echoed with a haunting truth. "I have known this from the beginning, for I was shunned by my own Mother and my brother...The only person in the world who seemed to care about me didn't have enough courage to come and rescue me."
"No! I tried! I tried it all!" Max's voice, filled with regret, echoed in the silence. His efforts, though palpable, were futile as he screamed at the pendant. He was bound by Elizabeth's chains, unable to change the past or the present. His past was a haunting reminder of his failure to save the girl in danger.
Elizabeth knew this to be true, for Chloe still suffered, and in the end, she sacrificed herself for someone else's sake.
She had given everything so that Elizabeth could have a second chance. Was it something that couldn't be helped? Perhaps. It had been Mother the one to shove her into Chloe's body, but even so. Elizabeth liked to think that even without doing that, even with the might of [The Stardust Explorer], she could not force someone to give what she didn't want.
Even if Elizabeth had to find another way to survive, she would have accepted it. She was at peace with the idea that she might not have been brought back, content to live happily at the back of Chloe's Soul. She would have been different, but she would have been okay with that.
Even if she hadn't been brought back, she could live happily at the back of Chloe's Soul. She would...probably be very different, she wouldn't have noticed how much Rossie meant to her. She would have not saved Rena...
She would probably not embraced her Inheritance.
But Chloe would be here, and she may have fixed her family.
"NO!" Instead, here she was, seeing the man she once admired crying and complaining about his poor choices.
"Even so, I was happy." The voice of Chloe sounded once more. "Even while Mother's Minions tried their best to make me comfortable without interacting too much with me...For my power made them uncomfortable.."
Elizabeth could imagine it, minions trying to interact as little as possible but even so, they felt bad for Chloe who was isolated from everyone she knew.
"Even while people at the school thought I was a Villain just because I had red eyes and black hair..." Chloe almost sounded happy about that.
And Elizabeth smiled at that.
"IS IT FUNNY?!?!? THAT MY SISTER WAS BULLIED?!?!?!?" Max screamed at her when he noticed the smile on Elizabeth's face.
"I was very happy when they thought I was [The Shadow Empress]." Chloe's voice started once more, "Because the mere thought that I had a Shadow Alligned power meant that I would be loved by Mother...That my brother wouldn't have to worry about what Mother thought when he came to see me...That you could spend more time with me..."
But that was a pipe dream.
"Even if it was a pipe dream." Chloe said in a downcast tone, "And so I started to look into the girl they thought I was, it was impossible to discover, of course. Since the secret identity was quite well protected. Even so, I found someone who caught my eye during the first days of school, someone I could look up to."
As Chloe spoke the face of Max changed, did he thought Chloe would say that is was him who gave her hope?
"Elizabeth Starbright." Max's face changed from hope to surprise, and he turned to stare at Elizabeth. "A blonde girl who always seemed happy and strived to do her best. Who didn't ignored me, or thought of me as someone lesser."
That was of course something that Elizabeth would never do.
"She even felt bad for me, and did something that you usually only do with someone who you care, love or are in a relationship." Chloe said, by her tone Elizabeth couldn't help but imagine Chloe smiling at her. "She showed me her secret identity."
Max eyes grew as he eyed Elizabeth, he knew of her name of course. Elizabeth introduced herself as such, even while under her [Shift]. But he didn't know the name of her Shift. So she was still safe.
"She showed me her secret identity; it was such a surprise to find out that the gorgeous blonde I had come to fantasize about was also the black-haired and red-eyed Villain that everyone thought was my secret identity." Chloe laughed while saying that, "It was even funnier by the mere fact that everyone thought that Elizabeth was my Hero identity. That she was [The Thunder Queen]."
That was indeed a name that Elizabeth had taken on this persona too.
"You..." Max said as if he was going to add something. But Chloe didn't allow him, as she resumed speaking.
"I don't know what you went through or how long it has been since I departed. I asked Elizabeth to deliver this if she could. But I hope you didn't make it hard for her." Chloe said, making Max wince at the reproach, "I am sorry for not being born with Shadow Aligned powers."
"NO! IT WASN'T YOUR FAULT! IT IS THIS CURSED WORLD'S FAULT!" Max screamed at the pendant. Of course, it was meaningless.
"But I am happy that I was born this way. For the first time ever, I am happy to be Chloe Ashcroft." Chloe said, confusing both Max and Elizabeth.
Elizabeth had thought that Chloe would say many things, but that? She hadn't expected that one.
"It is thanks to this fact, the fact that I am Chloe Ashcroft. That I was able to meet Elizabeth, that I was able to find my other half." Chloe continued speaking, this time Elizabeth could almost see the emotions on the voice that came from the pendant. "As I leave this message, what is left of my Soul is fusing with Elizabeth, so I know. I am sure of it, I was born as the second half of Elizabeth, it was my fate to reunite with her, I am happy. Happier than ever, for I can feel it. My Skill is growing as it settles on Elizabeth."
...Elizabeth did got more power on her Elemental Manipulation after returning...
"And her Soul, it is such a majestic place...The mere thought that I can be part of this? That I can help her grow...." Chloe...was turning weird... "Nnnghhh...I can't get enough of this. My only regret now is that I can't be born again to rejoin her once more. That I can't say to her how much I love her, desire her..."
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
"OKAY! I GET IT!" Elizabeth said to the pendant and attempted to take it back.
But the thing turned intangible as she attempted to grab it.
"..." "..."
It stayed on Max's hand. So it was solid. But Elizabeth couldn't touch it.
"Sorry about that, the euphoria got the best of me." Chloe coughed and Elizabeth could imagine the black-haired girl blushing, "What I mean to say is this. While I am sorry for making you worry about me all this time, and forcing you to care for me. I am happy now, and I leave with no regrets. For I will join my other half and be happy, she has a loving family. A Mother who cares for her, a Father who loves her... And in the future I am sure she will have a loving family of her own, I am sad that I will not be her wife. But be it a husband or a wife. I am sure whoever Elizabeth picks will love her deeply."
.....Yeah....At least on that she was right.
Elizabeth was lucky to have Rossie, and even more so to now have Rena. She doubted more people would come into her life like that, but even if they did, no one would take the spot that Chloe had on her life. And she hoped that the new Chloe, who now lived in another part of her Soul, could live up to that name without sacrificing herself for anyone else, if possible.
"No...No....Please...return...Come back..." Max started whispering as the pendant started to turn transparent.
"And tell Mother that I hope her next daughter can live up to her expectations... And...That I am sorry...for being born like I was..." The pendant disappeared at this point, leaving Max staring at his open hand as if something would pop up suddenly.
Nothing did pop out of course.
"...Why?" Max asked turning to Elizabeth. "Why did you curse me with this knowledge...These...Memories..."
Memories?
"You remember now then?" Elizabeth asked, eyeing Max as she focused mana into her eyes, turning them into her [Dragon's Eye], she couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.
"Yes." Max answered, "I remember Chloe, My Sister."
Well, even without the [Gem of Greed], this one was still a siscon, huh? Someone who loved his sister a little too much.
"And I also remember you, Elizabeth." Max said next, well...she did meet him on the first day of classes. "And your parents."
....Well now that was something else.
"So?" Elizabeth asked as a set of three pairs of yellow energy wings blossomed on her back. She took this chance to once more open the doors to her Armory and a new renewed set of spears tip manifested from ripples in the air. "You thought I didn't know you were friends with my parents? Only reason you are still alive is that Chloe wanted me to deliver a message to you. Or what, you think I don't know why Papa kept the other ten members of the Twelve around?"
Elizabeth knew the truth, the [Twelve] didn't exist to help her parents, but to deal with the things they didn't want to deal with. Only a few members of them were important. One of them was Jenna of course, Elizabeth now knew that. But before? She had thought only [The Beast Master] was important.
"...You should be dead." Max said.
"Well, that is rude." Elizabeth answered back.
"I don't mean it that way, your body got corrupted beyond what was salvageable, Ethan made sure of that. And while I don't know what kind of magic Catherine used. No soul should be sturdy enough to come back, what I mean is..." Max said trying to once more channel his powers, of course Elizabeth's chains stoped it. "... If you can come back, why can't Chloe?"
"... The dead rarely can return to the world of the living." Elizabeth felt weird saying that, with all of her powers that raised them back as Minions and everything. "The problem is that Chloe's Soul is no longer around. I could maybe make a body that looks like her, twist a Soul into thinking that it is Chloe Ashcroft and give it her mannerisms. But it would not be Chloe."
Really, the mere fact that this was something that Elizabeth was able to do was scary.
"How do you know it wouldn't work?" Max asked with gritted teeth, "You didn't try it! It may work! Besides, if we give it our memories of her. My memories of her!"
*Sigh*
"You are a very sad and pitiful example of a man who tries to take too much, your Greed will be your downfall." Elizabeth said, then sighed again before closing her energy wings and pushing back the spear tips into her Armory. "Reginald? Can you keep those chains working for some time?"
"Who-?" Max was about to say before thunder struck at their side.
"Mistress? Do you need me to keep this...trash in place?" Spoke the small dragonoid that appeared.
Reginald was clad in his yellow jacket and his body oozed lightning discharges, he also seemed more... cocky.
"Yes, I need to show this idiot something." Elizabeth answered, then before doing it she asked. "Also, I hope you are keeping that thing contained."
"Yes Mistress." Reginald bowed once, "The new denizens are quite compatible with your Divine Lightning, as such, are quite apt to keep things contained. Even if they seem to lack...intelligence or wits as your normal Shadow Dragons."
...Great, she had hyperactive dumb round birds that bursted from time to time. She would check on that later, for now...
"Shift - Cancel." Elizabeth released her Shift, her body turned once more Human, and while she didn't change that much since her Thunder Queen form was blonde and had blue eyes. She still felt...less. It would not be for long though, "Shift - Shadow Empress."
image [https://i.imgur.com/vVbcGHY.jpeg]
Elizabeth felt the fundamental change in her make bloom from her Core to the outside, slowly her body once more changed from one that was Human into her Shadow Attuned form.
She felt as her Soul slowly changed, the night sky above Aquila turned more dark, a deep, intense darkness that seemed to swallow everything in its path, and she noticed how at the settlement of the round yellow birds some of them seemed to run around their small little houses.
As if the end of the world was arriving.
Till one of them grabbed another one and threw it towards a pole in the middle of it, as it impact it turned into a bulb and illuminated the settlement, thus calming the other birds.
"Such weird birds..." Elizabeth said as she flexed the armored arm and checked everything was okay on her form, she hadn't changed like this before.
She hadn't quite used her [Skill] but her Skill. So there was some changes on her form. For starters, this form seemed to be more... ominous.
"...how?" Max asked confused.
Elizabeth ignored him and focused on Reginald, he hadn't seem too affected, but Elizabeth noticed how her Shadow Haven had returned to normal and the prescense of her shadow dragons had returned at the back of her mind. While the presence of the round birds seemed to be...
Roughly the same? If anything they shone more brightly at the back of her mind, weird birds.
"I am my parent's Daughter," Elizabeth answered while shrugging, she had half a mind to summon her helmet to increase the impact of her appareance, but decided against it. "And I didn't change just to rub it into your face how stupid was the discrimination you and [Echidna] did to Chloe."
That seemed to make Max wince, but it needed to be said.
"No, I changed for other reason. Because I needed the extra boost to show you. What you wanted for Chloe is impossible to achieve." Elizabeth said as she started pulling into her Authority over Shadows.
Now that [The Shadow Tide] was no more, Elizabeth was the uncontested Shadow Wielder on this place, especially now that Max was being sealed by her Divine Lightning a thing that she totally should investigate...and would not.
Even so, for now she pulled on her command over Shadows and prepared for what she was about to do. Taking a deep sigh she started weaving the words, "Heed my call dwellers of the dark, those of you that exist between the planes of the living and the dead..." Her words resonated with the space around them.
She could feel her words worming itself into Reality, even while the stupid yellow birds weren't shadow attuned, she could feel them too, ready to answer to her call. Even if they wouldn't come with as much power as if she had called them on her Thunder Queen form. They would still come.
"Wha-" Max said from the side as some specs of shadows left his body and started floating around Elizabeth. These weren't Part of his shadow, but probably were Souls that had clung to him after he killed them.
The grudges of those that had enough power to not be tainted by him and wanted revenge. Elizabeth sent them towards her Shadow Haven to let them decide what they would do, either follow her, or return to the normal circle of transmigation.
"...Search and find, track and recover, bring to me the Soul of the one that I desire." Elizabeth said as she pictured Chloe Ashcroft. The shadows under her feet extended as if making a complex web that seemed to sink into the ground as it extended.
"Okay, we will let that work for a few minutes." Elizabeth said as she turned her blood-red eyes to Max, who hadn't said another word and was just staring at her, mesmerized.
She would have liked it before, but right now? It was just annoying.
"Now, for this part, this is what you should have done first." Elizabeth said as she placed her hand on the floor, a shadow puddle formed under her hand "Rise and walk on this planet once more. I command you, take the form of the one I wish to embrace once more."
As she said those words she stood up, the shadow puddle rose with her hand as a humanoid form started forming.
Her head took form as a short black hair formed, then her face, her chest, arms, hands, waist, legs, feet.... Part by Part, the body started taking form. A lithe black-haired girl.
Similar to how Alice looked, but less elegant and refined. Even so, Elizabeth would never forget this face and figure. The form of a black-haired girl with red eyes.
"Shadow Doppelganger - Chloe Ashcroft." Elizabeth said as the form of the Doppelganger finished forming. From afar no one would guess that this was not the real Chloe Ashcroft. But from close?
image [https://i.imgur.com/RCKCxYE.jpeg ]
It couldn't be more obvious, for this girl even thought it breathed and blinked like a normal being, had dead eyes. She was wearing a white sundress and was barefooted, but that was, without a doubt, the visage of Chloe Ashcroft.
"Chloe..." And even thought that was the case, Max couldn't see it. For he was too busy crying while trying to release himself to no avail from the chains that Elizabeth had set up, "LET ME GO! SHE IS WAITING FOR ME!"
But Elizabeth hadn't finished, for the web of shadows that she had set up before had returned. A shadow Dragon rose from the ground with a small net holding a purple gem on it.
"Now...This is the last step of what you should have done, be ready Maximilian Windsor. You are about to see the fruits of your efforts...should you have managed to achieve your Wish." Elizabeth said as she took the small purple gem and walked to the Doppelganger of Chloe. "I command you. Move."
And on that note, Elizabeth placed the purple gem on the chest of the Doppelganger of Chloe.