It was a small and messy room. The only window that looked towards a flower-filled garden had its blinds closed for the past decade, barely letting in any sunlight. Instead of a bed, only a worn mattress was placed next to the wall, hidden away, buried under multiple blankets and old clothes. There was barely any furniture inside: an antique dresser with some of its drawers completely pulled out, its contents spilled all over the floor; a tall, standing mirror turned away, facing the wall and covered with a blanket. Ina only walked inside a few seconds ago, closing the door behind her after being escorted back by her grandfather. She was just standing in the empty room with dull eyes. Dragging her feet, she finally walked to her mattress, slumping down onto it, leaning against the wall, knocking her head backward, and filling the room with rhythmic, weird noise, like a damaged clock counting the passing seconds.

"You should take care of yourself…" a gentle whisper came from every direction, making Ina's head stop as she blinked her eyes. She was trying to figure out if she once again just hallucinated or not.

"I…" she opened her mouth, looking around, finally seeing the swarm of clothes on the floor move as Ariana's body slowly emerged between them. “Y-you… are you… Death?" She asked with a trembling, choking voice, crawling towards her on all fours. "Are you coming for me… for what I have done? Why not take me sooner?" She grabbed onto Ariana's clothing, not letting her speak up at all, to her surprise. "Why wait for so long? Was it my punishment?"

"N-no, I'm-" she tried to say something. Still, her senses were utterly overwhelmed by the raw and unfiltered emotions erupting from Ina, making Ariana sway and almost collapse from its concentrated agony. "Shit…" She clicked her tongue, finally grabbing onto her wrists, kneeling down before Ina so their eyes would be at the same level. "I'm not Death; neither am I here to punish you or anything like that!"

Ina couldn't see that black tentacles were sneaking around her, burrowing themselves into her body, leaving no physical marks on her. They started to siphon away all the negative emotions wrecking her body and mind.

"If you are not Death… then… who are you?" She asked, trembling, afraid she just imagined something once again.

"I'm here to reunite you with your son."

"Daryan!" Ina yelped loudly, and Ariana felt like she was hit by a tsunami of emotions, rushing forward, trying to drown her mind as she was now connected to Ina.

"Calm… down…" Ariana groaned, biting her lip, trying to stay composed and sane. "The way you are now… It would do you more harm than good to see him." she picked her thin and frail body up, sweeping away the clothes on the mattress so she could lay her down. At that moment, Ariana realized Ina was using old, yet never before used, baby clothing as blankets. They were clearly made by her own hands. She wanted to say something, but nothing could describe what she felt. Not when she could read Ina like an open book, connected to her deepest feelings and emotions. "Damn it…" Ariana sniffed, as tears were running down her cheeks subconsciously while she laid her down, pressing onto her forehead, sending Ina into a deep sleep. "Master…" She picked out a transmission crystal quickly from her pocket.

"You sound awful. What happened?"

"Daryan's mother. She is almost completely gone; I don't know if I can bring her back."

"Mmm… I see… What are you going to do?"

"I'll try it anyway." She replied immediately with a smile, wiping away the tears.

"Good girl!" Ren chuckled. "Stay with her and do it. I'm preoccupied with my new, annoying guest anyway…." Ren moaned in a slightly frustrated voice.

"A guest? Someone came?"

"Not just someone, one of the other Spires' Lord… and he is like a mix between Shaman and my father!"

"Ah… then that's good, no?" Ariana laughed softly, and her mood lightened quickly after speaking with Ren. She was a positive influence on her mind and, by proxy, on the unconscious Ina.

"It's just annoying… ahh, no matter, I can get used to it! Take as long as you need to!"

"Will do, Master." Ariana nodded as the connection was cut, and she returned her mind, focusing on Ina, trying to free her troubled consciousness from more than a decade of self-loathing.

…

….

…..

It was early evening, and inside the Spire of Keina at the dining hall, the tower's namesake was sitting at the helm of a long, decorated, and completely filled dinner table. She was leaning towards the left, resting her chin on the back of her hand, holding a small smile, but everyone who knew her could read her eyes and knew she was completely incensed. The present servants dared not to make a noise or raise their heads; all just stood still, looking at their reflections on the marble floor tiles.

"This is unacceptable!" Keina's guard captain slammed open the door of the room suddenly as she loudly stormed inside. She was wearing her complete armor set, puffing out white air from her nostrils like an angry bull. "If you sent out an invitation, not even Rudrick dared to refuse it in the past!"

"There is a first for everything, Nuray." Keina raised her head, answering. "I did not expect the first to do it to be a newcomer. Maybe that is why? She has yet to realize how things work here! Especially as she is yet to be named Queen!"

"We should not take this slap to the face silently! We need to act, My Liege! And act now!"

"A slap, huh? Well… it certainly felt like one!" She chuckled, holding onto her chair's armrests. "Go, take some Valkyries with you and ask for an explanation!"

"Yes, My Liege!" She slapped her metal breastplate, bowing towards her. As she turned, her red cape swirled behind her, as if she were a heroine walking off from a painting to head towards the decisive battle.

"Nuray!" Keina called out, stopping her in her tracks. "Use caution. She did kill Rudrick." In the end, Nuray only nodded in response before leaving the spire.

In the Spire of Ren, Ren was entertaining two unexpected guests while Nuray was calling up members of the Valkyrie squad, the private army of Keina. They were all in the Harmony realm and a purely female warrior group, the only one in Rozex.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"It is my first time setting foot in one of the towers! I never expected to see it from the inside, at least not if I wanted to live to tell it to others!" Paoma exclaimed with pure amusement, followed by Ludwigh, who nodded in agreement. He watched the decorated, golden-laced staircase as Ren led them up to her new study.

"We are still refurbishing many rooms, so sorry for the mess." Ren explained as they ascended the spiral stairway.

"Please! We are only allowed into Rozex because we are nobility." Ludwigh added, "That is in itself a privilege… but coming into one of the five towers? No chance. Not before! So, only seeing this is already something we could brag about to the other kings!"

"I was always curious about what it looks like from the inside! But… besides being luxurious, it is… pretty normal!" Paoma said, watching Ren's back as they stepped onto a floor decorated with paintings of the ancestors of Rudrick. The parquetry under their feet was covered with a long, red carpet leading forward.

"Well, it is also well equipped. It has a small workshop, an extensive bathroom, a giant, multifloored library, and we even have a completely soundproof torture chamber." Ren smiled as she led them forward on the well-lit corridor.

"Ugh…" Paoma and Ludwigh looked at each other. "That was a sharp turn…." Paoma mumbled. "Hope you are not taking us there for the sudden visit!" She sighed jokingly.

"Nope!" Ren grinned, opening the door to her new study. "It is my-" She stopped mid-sentence as she stepped inside. The quick stop made Paoma almost fall over Ren, who froze in place. "You did not go home?!" She shouted as Rabout stood before one of the bookshelves, going through it lazily.

"Oh my!" He smacked his own forehead, looking out the window, playing dumb. "It is already night? My, my! Time flies quickly, isn't it?" He laughed, watching the flustered two behind Ren. The other rulers in the Kingdom of Ten did not know how Rozex worked inside. They knew that the five towers represented the city's rulers, but their only connection to the Naulin line was Rudrick and his family branch. Or Zelig himself, since he came back. "Guests?" he closed the book he was holding, placing it back onto the shelf with a smile.

"Yeah!" Ren sighed, giving up on getting rid of him. "She is the current Queen of the Astran Kingdom, and he is the current King of the Lotharin Kingdom."

"Oh!" Rabout clapped. "Welcome! I am Rabout. It is rare to see outsiders coming to Rozex!"

"Our pleasure." replied both of them simultaneously, cupping their hands while Ren collapsed into a brown leather recliner, signaling them to sit on the couch.

"You don't need to be overly cautious; he is another Spire Lord, plus he is harmless. He doesn't stand on any side."

"Hey, I may not be a good fighter, but I am still at the 2nd stage of Harmony!" Rabout grumbled, crossing his hands as he also sat down. "Plus, if you can get me what I want, I can support your claim for the throne! That would almost guarantee you will take it as every other branch only supports themselves!"

Hearing his words, Paoma and Ludwigh gulped simultaneously. This meant that if everything went smoothly, Ren would be the new Queen of the Naulins. Achieving it quickly… would surprise Zelig, that is for sure.

"I'm not that sure about that!" Ren shook her head. "I'm still trying to settle in first and foremost; I'm not here to forcefully take over everything. I want to build it up and win over the people. Not the other Spires… but the people who live here." she clarified her intentions, drawing a smile onto Rabout's face as he listened to her. "But let us talk about why you two came!" She looked at the pair of rulers.

"We want an honest answer!" Paoma spoke up before Ludwigh could formulate a not-so-direct question, making him twitch his mouth. "Are you at the 3rd stage?"

"Oh?" Rabout snapped his head towards Ren.

"I am," she answered without a pause, even letting her aura slip for a moment, letting them feel it for themselves.

"I knew it…." Paoma clicked her tongue as Ludwigh fell into a deep silence with a pondering look, scratching his chin.

"Oh my!" Rabout clapped. "Now I am sure you can keep your promise; I can't wait for tomorrow!"

"A week! We agreed on a week! Damn you!" Ren scolded him, but her distant relative just laughed without any worries. "So, now that you confirmed it, your next step is…?" She ignored the man, looking back at Paoma and Ludwigh.

"We want to leave the alliance too, same as King Kaipan." they laid out their cards on the table without holding back anything before her.

"Oh?" Ren raised her eyebrows, a little surprised. "If you two also quit, the alliance will be done for! Your two kingdoms are bordering Kaipan in the north; by doing so, the only remaining kingdom above you two would be the Nervadask Kingdom led by Frode. Also, you would cut off Heaven's Gate from the others. Zelig would send Frode out to wage war on you two."

"He is a rabid dog. We could hold him back," Ludwigh replied with confidence.

"Oh, Zelig would dislike that," Rabout said suddenly. "This Kingdom of Ten is his lifework. I am sure he would drop any and all pretense and eliminate you two. He plays nice because he is obsessed with how others view him and his achievements… but if nothing else matters, he is willing to burn everything to the ground until only he remains! He did it once when fighting against Aerthus."

"He did?" All of them asked at the same time.

"Um. It is recorded in my private library. It was documented by my forefather. He was a child of his and his fourth wife. Any other documentation was destroyed." Rabout explained with an excited voice. It was clear that one of his hobbies was researching and keeping historical records. "Before it, our side, like the Empire before the unification, was home to multiple small kingdoms. If you want a precise number, it had 21 different, independent territories. He tried to unify them in the same way as Aerthus but failed in the end. So he went with a massacre. After torching down every town and city, the remaining places were the current Ten Kingdoms! All of them were raised by him! They redrew the borders and rewrote history; by the time I was born, it was said the Ten were always here." he finished with a proud smile, watching their stunned expression.

"But… we have every document, going back for long, long years!" Paoma protested as it was hard for her to believe it.

"Of course you have! Victors are the ones who write history! Plus, don't forget one important thing! Zelig can not just rewrite something on paper!" he said as he tapped his head, looking into their eyes, making them realize why everyone feared those violet irises. "If it comes to the worst, he will do it again… and you won't even notice it."

His warning words made the King and Queen pair turn deathly white as their bodies were drenched in sweat.

"Don't worry, it won't be the same." Ren leaned back, smiling a little. She was confident in her own abilities. "We can talk about it, but only after I became Queen. Then I'll be able to support you," she answered, looking into their eyes. "For now, do nothing that would further raise his suspicions!" she said with a bit of scolding.

"Nobody knows we came to see you!" Paoma replied, a bit frustrated at Ren's tone.

"Yeah, sure!" Ren and Rabout laughed at the same time. "Look…" Ren leaned forward, "For now, stall for time. Don't meet with Zelig. If you are pressured, try to resist! If all comes crumbling down, you can come to me for help, but I'd prefer you to resist until I am Queen."

"Mhm… we can do that!" Paoma nodded, fired up, and it was that moment when the room's door opened, and Kitten walked in hurriedly.

"We have a problem!" She said, looking at Ren, ignoring the rest. "There are troublemakers at the gate! Some guards were already injured, and Master is in a brawl!"

"Yeah, I felt it. I was hoping you could deal with it…." Ren moaned, feeling like the day just refused to end for her. "This is why I told LeiLei I hate managing and leading things... headaches after headaches instead of just lazing around in bed!"

"It is probably Keina," Rabout said with a relaxed smile, interrupting Ren's frustrated mumblings.

"It seems until I show a little force, nobody is going to let me do my own thing in peace!" She pouted, looking like a frustrated little kid. "Damn it! So be it!" She stomped, shaking the whole spire before flashing away. They only heard thunder rumbling as the window was already opened, and a purple bolt of lightning flashed right toward the main gate of the courtyard.