Sin returned about half an hour later to help her master out of her bath and into a new set of clothes. In the entry hall she was greeted by beasts and retinue, standing attention.

They followed their master down into the basement and into Yggdrasil´s chamber. The place by now was overgrown with sickly white foliage, stirring as the group entered. They formed a wide circle with fine intertwining lines, beginning to glow after being put into place.

"The next time that it is required of me to do the near impossible I would like to be given some time to prepare in advance." Yggdrasil was speaking through her teeth, her hands gripping her trunk. "Be quick and step in, forcing a way through the seal like this is quite, quite painful."

Maria gave one look at Sin, then stepped into the circle, her entourage following. The green light of the vines grew brighter and brighter. A sinking feeling spread in the pit of her stomach at the thought of returning to that place.

Sin had already closed her eyes as she looked back at their soldiers. "Remember, whatever you do out there, don't look up. We need you sane enough to function."

The light became overpowering, even through Maria´s hand that she had placed over her eyes. When she could see again, they were in the other world, in the middle of a large plaza.

Her guards sprung into action immediately, spreading out in teams of three with weapons drawn. They made way into nearby buildings, only to find nothing.

Maria used the time to take in her surroundings, now that she was not under pressure. In the middle of the plaza was a large fountain, filled with a black liquid. It was thicker than water, and perfectly still and filled the multiple levels of the fountain near to the brim.

She reached out to touch it, but Sin grabbed her hand. "Our blood is poison to man, my master. It would be best if you staid back."

Her servant opened the bag she had been carrying, and pulled out another of Yggdrasil´s seeds. It was much larger than the ones before, already pulsating in Sin´s hand. She laid it into the fountain and watched as it drained empty before her very eyes.

The seed sprouted roots, delving into the pipes that lead to the source of the blood, the seed itself starting to glow and pulse faster.

With a look of disgust, Maria turned away, pinning her attention on something, anything else. That is when her eyes fell upon the tower.

It was the largest building around, as far as Maria could make out without staring into the gaping nothingness above. Two female statues, clad in heavy armour and holding great lances flanked the gate, decorated with the heraldic symbol of a rose.

Her symbol.

"Why is this here, how is this here?" Maria was dragging Sin along while also having to lean on her for support. With her Lore glowing across her arm, she laid her hand on the gate and pushed.

It didn't budge.

"This is where your ancestors found the inspiration for their own image, my master. For decades they tried to breach the door, with no success." Sin ran her hand across the gate in turn, her lips moving silently.

"There is nobody beyond, still." Sin shook her head. "There are quite a few buildings like this, my master. Sealed shut, no trace of power or a flicker of life beyond them. Let us move on for now, my master. Sisters!"

Her words roused the beasts out of their own routines. Menagerie and Armoire had been wandering around aimlessly, Tetra was studying the stone everything was built out of, and Elaine had just been standing there, gazing up into the darkness.

They all hurried to their great sister for their instructions.

Armoire and Tetra were to aid her retinue in mapping out the city, while Elaine and Menagerie were to join their master in her path westward. The road would be long, and so Sin had to carry Maria, giving her master the freedom to look around, let her mind wander. And she didn't like it.

The city was just how it had been on their first visit: Completely abandoned, pristine, and void. There was no wind, not the faintest breeze, Maria was not even sure if there was temperature, she did not feel cold, she did not feel warmth.

All buildings they passed lacked doors, there was no glass in the windows, nothing that separated the in from the out. Maria could see into the sparsely decorated and furnitured rooms, all out of the same white material, all left in a pristine and orderly way.

She could not imagine that anyone could've lived here.

But what unnerved her more than the views into the buildings they passed, were the times when she could not. It followed no pattern she could recognise, but some of the buildings had a door or gate, neatly ornamented like the one at the tower, closed. Her head turned to stare at them until they had completely passed them, but they would not leave her mind.

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Gradually the buildings grew shorter, simpler as they reached the outskirts and Maria´s attention was consumed by something else: The sea.

It dominated the scenery when they passed the last buildings. A black ocean going as far as the eye could see, formless, motionless, featureless, except the arm.

Far far in the distance it reached out, a single, pitch black arm, titanic in size, hundreds if not thousands of kilometres out into the ocean it was still clearly visible, the fingers reaching out to the black void above.

The ground they walked on was of the same pure white as the city, which made the edge where ocean and land met all the more jarring. There were no waves, no tides, just a single edge that marked beginning and end. Far to her right Maria could see the land rise and form massive cliffs, and she could not help but see them as walls, desperate to stem a flood.

"I never thought I would get to see it with my own eyes." Menagerie´s voice was shaking as she began to walk into the ocean, the thick black blood clinging to her clothes. She leaned down and cupped it up with her hands, a mad glow of joy across her face.

"With this, all of this I could make an army, a horde beyond reckoning!" She stared back at her master and Sin. The blood in her hands had already taken form, becoming a more solid, clay-like substance that she was moulding into shape.

"And exactly that is your purpose here. Do not rest and do not pause until you have assembled an army worthy of our master." Sin waved Elaine closer and ran a hand through her sister´s hair. "Dear, ensure that our sister focuses on her work. Time is short and I don't want to return here finding she wasted all her time on a single tauric monstrosity again."

Elaine´s eyes were fixed on her master. "My purpose is to be my master´s shield, great sister! How can I hope to be of any use if I sit around here instead." Her eyes were watering as she clung to Maria´s skirt.

"Do not banish me from your side, my beloved master. Let me not be without my purpose!" The small beast was trembling, which did not cease when Maria ran her hand through the beast´s hair.

"There are no enemies around here, Elaine." Her master´s voice allowed the beast to calm down enough to let go. "I need someone who makes sure that Menagerie does her work, it is essential. The moment you are done you can return to my side, and you wont have to leave it again."

A cough from Menagerie interrupted the tender scene, as the tall beast rose back to her full height. "Young master, Is there anything you wish for me to consider during my creation? My children are yours, it is only proper that you give me direction."

The question left Maria silent for a while. Her very own army of horrific creatures. The first thing the world would associate with her rule.

"Make them scary, but not too ugly. Orderly but only on a leash. Make them something that will make the world tremble, for fear of me letting them loose."

With her orders given the plan foresaw that they would return immediately, but Maria had a different plan. Under her authority Sin carried her further north west, until they reached the massive cliffs.

There, high atop, Maria stared at the titanic arm, glad to be in her servant´s arms because the mere sight caused her legs to feel weak.

"That thing, is what you are made out of right? After it died and everything." Maria could not help but whisper, her mind screaming at her to not raise her voice to not wake it up.

"Yes, my master." Sin mirrored her tone, following her gaze. "It´s blood makes up my body and that of my sisters. However, it is not dead."

Maria clung to Sin, her blood turning to ice. She could not breathe normally, what little focus she could muster all went into remembering how to.

"Something cannot die if it was never truly alive, after all. When I sank down into the dark, I saw it´s face." Sin held onto her master more tightly. "It´s name, those of the others, it´s last thoughts, they became my own. I dare not say it´s name here, though I cannot help but wonder."

Sin leaned her head to the side and closed her eyes for a moment.

"Your entire magical being, my master, was shaped over generations to command and dominate me and my sisters. How does that relate to them?"

Maria could not answer, she could barely think, nor trust her eyes. Was the arm moving, ever so slightly? Could she see the faintest twitch of a gigantic muscle? If she screamed, would it wake? The questions raced through her mind, and she wanted no answers to any of them.

They left the cliffs as quickly as they came, and this time Maria paid no attention to the city, to anything but the immaculate ground beneath them. It gave her a sense of comfort, the flawless, polished stone.

The only thing that spurred her curiosity were the sealed doors they passed, the sole places of this city that denied themselves to be viewed.

Back at the plaza Maria found her retinue almost dissolved. Men and women in their black combat armour sat on the ground near the walls, covering their faces, staring at the ground.

Hawkes greeted them at the fountain, next to a stack of weaponry. Her playful smile was gone. "Reporting, Sir. No trace of life or anyone passing through, four casualties, half of my squad is out of action."

Put back on her feet Maria looked at her lieutenant in shock. "How are there casualties when you didn't fight anyone?"

Hawkes pointed towards the pile of guns and shook her head. "When you tell someone not to do something, they'll do it the first chance they get. Idiots looked up and four really didn't take it well."

Sin crossed her arms in front of her chest and eyed the disheveled group. "I put more stock into Merlayne soldiery. How many are left in fighting condition?"

"Ten, maybe twelve? Sir, with all due respect, it would be best to evacuate them as soon as possible." Hawkes was looking around the plaza in a hurry, her grip on her weapon tight. "We're not meant to be here, nothing is meant to be alive here."

With trembling hands Maria pulled out her key from her pocket, looking back at Sin. "Can I do that? I don't want more of them dead."

Her servant shook her head. "It is very unclear where you would end up in the normal world, and for you to then return would take up a lot of Yggdrasil´s energy, which she needs for our plan to succeed. They will have to stay here until we are done."

"Alright, then it would be best for you all to stick to this spot here, I am sure Armoire and Tetra cann finish the task on their own." Maria limped away from the fountain. The seed had grown the first few sprouts of a tree, gradually subsuming the stone fountain and growing all around it.

She could not help but to return to the gate, the one sealed of place that bore her own insignia. It still would not budge, not open and reveal it´s secrets to her. Her mind was torn, between the desire to know, and the fear of what she would find.

"Sin."

Her servant was quickly by her side. Maria did not look back, so she could not see the look of worry in her face as her master uttered her order.

"Break this open."