So many questions and so little answers, Elizabeth was more confused than ever, she of course knew that things had gotten to this point because of her own personal choices.

Why was her Soulscape turning into...whatever this was?

Because she never fought against the things that got thrown into her lap, the first time she arrived at the laboratory/library for example. She had gotten the feeling that this wasn't what her Soulscape should be.

And had she attempted to seek help or change it... A single call to her Mother would have solved it.

Mother would have probably purged the thing clean and helped her make a new one or even checked if it was really hers.

But she did not, granted at those times she was... a little more mentally challenged, with all the thought rollbacks the system was giving her, it was a surprise she was even functional.

She still had to deal with some of the bad habits that got ingrained into her for that same reason.

Namely...Her penchant for ignoring problems, but it was so easy...to not deal with her problems.

"Okay, Mordred. This is your first job." Elizabeth said turning to her newest ... what was she even? They ended up giving Mordred all of Beatrice's jobs because she was more than a mere Minion.

"At your service Mistress," Mordred said, bowing to her. Did this girl have a thing for bowing? She had bowed enough for all the minions here. And she didn't even leave the room. Why was she even bowing again?

"Check where the Shadow Haven influence ends and what type of connection it has with those around it." Elizabeth said summoning a map of the Shadow Haven.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at the thing. It looked big, but with a mere flick of her will, zoomed out, and the Shadow Haven turned small compared to all the dark on it.

"Do you wish for us to expand the area of influence?" Mordred asked, Elizabeth could see the fire of conquest on the girl's eyes.

"No." So Elizabeth squashed that thought from the start, she didn't want to start a war with...the denizen of her... "*Sigh* We don't want to start a war with the people of...My World."

It huuuuuuuurttttttttttttt (Not really), Elizabeth really needed to do this, to leave her bimbo ways behind and look clearly at what was standing in front of her.

"It will be done," Mordred said without thinking too much about what had happened.

"Are you well Mistress? Do you have a fever?" Aura suddenly teleported to the side of Elizabeth, placing her hand on Elizabeth's forehead.

She had some fever medicine and a cold pack ready.

"...I hate you so much sometimes Aura." Elizabeth said, glaring at the purple-haired girl.

"You hurt my feelings Mistress, I was just making sure you were okay. Overthinking is not good for your bimbo brain." Aura said with a smirk as she staggered backward, pretending to be hurt. Of course this wasn't believable since the girl was smirking all the way.

She wasn't even pretending that hard!

"I came to report that Lady Beatrice's Soul has settled on the temporary temple within your Domain," Aura said, raising her left hand and projecting a small ball of energy surrounded by azure and golden light.

"...thank you, Aura," Elizabeth said, turning her attention to the projection; she tried to get a feeling for where it was, so she could perhaps visit it later or bring Rossie there.

But she came up empty; no matter how much she extended her senses, she couldn't find the place within her Soulscape.

"Sis? Did you find that girl?" And suddenly a voice sounded from the projection.

"No, how did she even get here? No one but us should be able to come here! At least not unless Elizabeth finishes her apotheosis." A second voice sounded; this one almost sounded like Elizabeth. The inflection was wrong, and this one had a slightly higher pitch than her.

Aura closed her hand killing the projection atop her hand and acted as if the voices hadn't been there, "So, I assume the new girl going around will take on Lady Beatrice's work?" Asked Aura.

"...Yes, she will..." Elizabeth said narrowing her eyes at Aura, "Where is that place Aura? Because I can't feel that within my Soulscape."

"Of course you can't, there is no way a mortal soul can withstand another one awaiting resurrection." Aura shrugged as she answered, "Do you really want to know?"

The atmosphere around Aura changed as she uttered those words, her eyes seemed to change from the usual purple to ones that looked as if they held constellations on them.

What the hell was wrong with the people within her Soulscape?!?!?

"...Yes," Elizabeth answered, bracing herself. If something happened she was ejecting Aura from here, she should be able to do it... At the very least she should be able to eject her from the Shadow Haven...

Even if that left Aura wandering around...Her World.

"Okay!" Aura said with a smile as her eyes returned to normal as if what she had seen was nothing special. "Lady Beatrice's Soul is within your Divinity."

...HER WHAT?!?!?

"...Aura?" Elizabeth said coughing into her hand, "I am Human."

"Allegedly, yes. You are indeed Human." Aura answered nodding.

"What do you mean allegedly!" Elizabeth retorted back, " I am human, what part of this (Quite gorgeous) body isn't human!?!?!?!?"

Aura looked her up and down, "I mean, sure. That body is Human." Said the purple-haired girl as she nodded. "But a month ago your body was closer to a True Dragon."

....ugh... There was no denying that.

"No normal Human can change from that into this, hell. I am half sure no normal Dragon can achieve that either, and they are usually at the peak of their Worlds." Aura said smirking once more, atop her hand images of cities being razed by giant dragons and civilizations springing and advancing.

Some worlds had swords and magic, others flew through the sky in brooms, and others used metal wings. Of fire, water, wind, and in one particular instance, someone just flew through the sky.

Had...had Aura traveled all those worlds?

How?

Hadn't she just revived recently? What the hell had Aura been doing?!?!?!?

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

"So tell me Elizabeth, what reason can you change from something that should put you in your path to becoming something great...into this?" Aura asked.

...She...

"Well, I just used my Shift..." Elizabeth answered she hadn't...well, of course, she had checked, and the thing's description had grown to accommodate her desires. Her wish.

Oh...

"Exactly," Aura said, "You used something to change into something else, but what you used was something special to you... Something that only you have."

So that was it?

"That is your Authority. Or one of them anyway, usually the Divine only has one, your case is different since you have three." Aura said sighing.

No wait, three? How or why did she have three?!?!?

"The first one is the one you were born with, the one that you were supposed to achieve on Zaanam." Aura said, raising a finger.

"The Shadow Weaver?" Elizabeth asked, or well, confirmed. Since she was sure it was that.

"Yes, you were supposed to become the Goddess of Shadows - The Shadow Weaver." Aura said, nodding, "The one to link and provide, to help the world flourish and extend her authority to all the living beings on this plane."

Yeah...that sounded like too much work, better to let the System that Papa and Mother were sustaining to do that.

"The second?" Elizabeth asked, she... hoped it wasn't what she thought it was.

"The second is the one passed down to you in that [Heart]," Aura said pointing at Elizabeth's chest. "The one that put you in the path of the Dragon, and the reason you became The Debauchery Dragon."

...Elizabeth did not like that title.

"And the third is the gift that was given to your past life to enjoy on his second life, the gift Alexanders Saintsworth passed down to you when he decided that he didn't want a second life." Aura said, nonchalant; even so, Elizabeth caught a glimpse of...regret?

She wasn't quite sure, but it was as if Aura was remembering something.

"And that is?" Elizabeth asked, "What, my Shift? That was an authority granted to Alexanders?"

That seemed...underwhelming.

"Yes, he wished for freedom. And what is freer than someone who can become anything? He was someone who was bound more than anyone, even though he was rich and powerful. " Aura said shaking her head.

He was?

Elizabeth never got that feeling from him. Granted, she hadn't interacted that much with him.

"And how do you know this?" Elizabeth asked, she... was sure Alexanders hadn't interacted with anyone from Zaanam. She wasn't that sure about Alexa for some reason, even though the little girl was mostly just adorable and cute.

"That...Is for perhaps another time?" Aura said sheepishly, only to be glared at by Elizabeth for an answer. "*Sigh* Fine, I saw him."

She what?

"You what?" Elizabeth asked, "How? He was dead. He may have roamed around on my Soulscape, but that wasn't the Shadow Haven, and if what impression I got from him is right... Mostly from the security I have available on this spire, then the Soulscape I had at the time he was around was not something just anyone could invade."

To be fair, neither was this one.

"I didn't see him as in, know him." Aura clarified, "Most like...I saw some fragments here and there from some of the nearby [Worlds] that are being born on the immediate reality nodes close to us. Memories of his life and regrets, being shared willingly to nurture new worlds..."

That...

He was sharing his life? Elizabeth didn't even get a glimpse of that life! And it was her past life!

"And?" Elizabeth asked.

"Well, he was a very unlucky and chained man. Tied by society and law, tied by his own choices and his bad decisions." Aura shrugged, "Overall... I wouldn't recommend it, and if anything. It puts into perspective your decision of wanting to just laze around, if that my past life. I would too wish for nothing more than to laze around as much as possible."

...Well, she felt as if that should be an insult, and yet couldn't say anything against it.

"Fine, so I have these things. Why does having a Bloodline from a Dragon, a Skill that allows me to be whatever I wish and a Fate that I don't want means my Soulscape turned into this?" Elizabeth said, feeling somewhat silly for saying it aloud.

"Really?" Aura asked, "You have no idea why any of those three things would end up with this?"

"Mistress? There are no exchanges between the Shadow Haven and the settlements around us." Mordred chimed up from the side.

"Thank you Mordred-" Elizabeth was about to dismiss her when she noticed the wording, "No wait just a goddamned second. Settlements? Plural? There are more?"

"Yes, besides the Thunder Settlement, there is some evidence of a Fire settlement being formed, and what seems to be a nomad group of fireflies flying around. Do you wish for us to investigate them in more detail?" Mordred said bringing up the evidence to the front.

"No, not for now. These...doesn't seem to be fully formed yet, we will deal with them as they come." Elizabeth... would need to sit down and check everything wouldn't she?

"Good choice! That is the bimbo we love!" Aura cheered from the back. Earning herself a glare from Elizabeth as a result.

"I will deal with that AFTER dealing with this, there are many things I need to deal with, and going on a tangent right now is not the answer." Elizabeth said to Aura, then turning to Mordred, "Good work Mordred, get started on checking your new job and if you need something let me known as soon as possible."

Aura shrugged at the back and waved as Mordred left in a smoke of shadows.

"The new girl is too edgy Mistress, you may end up cutting yourself if you try to kiss her." Aura giggled as she said that.

"I am not going to bed her!" Elizabeth screamed back, holding her head as she sighed, "I am not a nympho that jumps on the first cute girl that shows up, I would probably tie you down if that was the case."

"...you get nothing from flattery." Aura grumbled, "... too late for that."

"So? You were going to explain this mess." Elizabeth stated once more.

"Right, well. First of all," Aura said standing straighter, "Your first thing is, your Fate as the Shadow Weaver, this alone would guarantee that you would grow to godhood after being born to Eleanore Windsor and Jack Ashcroft."

"Which I was not," Elizabeth said, "I was born to Catherine Starlight and Jack Brighton."

"Semantics, you have the body made from Eleanore Windsor's Power and the Soul nurtured by Jack Ashcroft." Aura shruged, that sounded like something important that Elizabeth needed to check later. "As a second point, you have a Heart made to take in Souls and refine their faith and power into Divinity."

...Wasn't the Seven Series Heart something to purify Sin Energy? Elizabeth thought it was made to purify Sin Energy...

"And last but not least by any means...You have the Shift, something that allows you to twist reality into being your Bitch and allows you to bridge reality with delusions." Aura giggled as she said those words, "So you have the base to become a Goddess, the energy source to become a Goddess and the power to become anything you wish to be. What do you think your soul would look like in these circumstances, then?"

"...As something normal? Since I did use my Shift to become Human." Elizabeth grumbled.

"Yes, this is a VERY HUMAN SOUL looking place Mistress." Aura shrugged, "It is very normal to have A WHOLE FRICKING WORLD stuck in the place that your Soul should be."

"...So? I don't taste any Divine Mana here, or Prana for that matter." Elizabeth pointed out. "If I was already on the path to divinity, where is that?"

"That...is actually fair," Aura said, nodding, "Here it is."

"SIS! I FOUND HER!" The scream of Alice resounded as a chain made of shadows tried to fly throught a portal that Aura had summoned. "Oh...hello Elizabeth."

"...Hello to you too, Alice," Elizabeth said, waving at the black-haired girl...and the chain made of shadows that were stuck against an invisible wall. "What...is happening there?"

"Oh, nothing much. Your ex is just going into places that she shouldn't." Alice said while glaring at Aura.

It was a good thing that Rossie wasn't around...Or Rena...Or any of the valkyries.

"My what?" Elizabeth asked turning to look at Aura, she had never been romantically involved with Aura though...

"Sorry to break it to you Discount Elizabeth, but unlike your progenitor I don't swing that way," Aura said with a mock smile.

"..." "..." Both Alice and Elizabeth looked at each other. Neither said anything.

"So? Why are you poking holes into Elizabeth's Domain." Alice finally said turning to glare at Aura.

"Mistress is finally moving past her bimbo behaviors and is asking the right questions, so I wanted to respect her choices." Aura said while pointing at Elizabeth.

"...Really?" Alice asked with a surprised face.

"You found her sis? ...Oh, Hello Elizabeth...We...are a figment of your imagination!" Chloe said as she got into the frame of the window, "Alice! Close that thing before we overwork Elizabeth's bimbo brain!"

...Rude.

Fair, but Rude.

"Really?" Elizabeth said with a sigh, "I am not that dumb. I know for a fact that whatever or wherever you two are isn't the Shadow Haven. Or within my Soulscape for that matter. Is it also on this planet? Outside my area of influence?"

"...Yes...?" Alice said in a questioning tone.

"...No...?" Chloe said almost immediately too.

And finally, but not least, Aura added, "That would be...not quite right." To make it more confusing.

"...So they are within this planet, but outside my area of influence." Elizabeth asked.

"Yes, they are within this planet that you have not named yet." Aura nodded.

"We are within your Divinity, problem is, you are not a god. So you can perceive us, I could be at your side, and you would not notice." Alice added with a smirk.

"Since only Gods can perceive Divinity. Then how do I have Divinity if I can't perceive it?" Elizabeth was already feeling the headache forming.

"You have a cheat making it for you, something crafted with the blood and tears of a hunk- I mean, of a man at his wit's end." Aura said quickly, correcting herself when she mentioned Alexanders. "Like I said before, any of your two first gifts would propel you to Divinity, it is the third one, the one left to you by Alexanders vestige, the one that gave you the key to control it. The only reason you haven't been ejected by the mortal plane."

"My Heart?" Elizabeth returned to the beginning.

"Yes, your Heart is sublimating several of the Original Sins of mankind into something pure. What is Faith but the utter belief in something? And what was that thing made for?" Aura said, pointing at Elizabeth's chest.

"...To channel the Sin energy into something usable?" Elizabeth asked.

"No, that is what YOU use it for, that thing was made to take in the souls of the damned into his host, refine them, purify them, give them hope, and become a beacon of hope in the darkest hour," Aura said snapping her fingers and making a new portal that showed the image of a wasteland. A world that was decaying, ravaged by storms and dimensional rifts.

In the middle of this wasteland the image zoomed in to the image of a blonde man crying while kneeling on the ground.

Elizabeth could see the ruined city of Aquila at the back and to her eyes, the souls of an innumerable amount of people surrounding this man, Alexanders.

"It was made to spit into the face of Fate, to get a second chance for everyone...And while it failed..." The image changed as the souls were siphoned into Alexander as he screamed and cried tears of blood. "Its main use was to usher him to new heights of power. The fact that you followed in his footsteps and started taking Gems of Sin does not mean that it is limited to only those. You are already making a new one right now after all."

Aura said as the image changed to a new gem, one of golden color.

"Your own Gem of Divinity." The gem was floating surrounded by others she recognized.

The Gem of Wrath.

The Gem of Gluttony.

The Gem of Pride.

The Gem of Envy.

..........................And around them, the open spaces for three more.

The Gem of Greed.

The Gem of Sloth.

And of course, The Gem of Lust.

Elizabeth...probably shouldn't have walked down that path then.

"Is it too late to change my approach to this?" She asked, turning to Aura, who smirked at her, to Alice, who looked dumbfounded, and to Chloe, who shook her head.

"Yes, Mistress... It is too late, maybe if you had taken some Virtues at the same time, but now you do need to finish this thing before it bursts." Aura grinned, "You need the Pride to stand tall while reality begets the question of whether you will survive, you will need the Wrath to fight against the mortal coil that wants to bind you down, the Gluttony to strive for more than you should be able to take in, the Envy to take that which should not be yours, the Greed to desire and find what you need, the Sloth to take your time and assimilate them within you...And of course..."

Aura took a step forward her, and an impish smile on her face "The Lust to partake into the pleasures of leaving your mortal coil and step into the Divine, even if it means becoming the owner of the Original Sin as The Debauchery Dragon."

...

Well, Dang it. Elizabeth...just hoped she could take on a new name as a Dragon. No wait, did she even need to become a dragon anyway?!?!?!