Suta POV

Celestial Court- 200 feet Prison Hidden underground

Darkness. A cold and eerie feeling.

The prickle of cold stones caressed beneath her knees.

She made a futile attempt to shift her body, the soft rattle of chains echoed in response. A force acted against her movements, reminding her she was bound in place. Nothing but the fog of the cold night clouded her view. Occasionally the soft pitter pattering of footsteps sounded, but it was mostly silence she felt. Her knowledge told her silence incantation was likely in play.

They purposely marred her vision whilst they drained her free from her powers. But that was futile to someone like her. She could still sense their mana cores, beating feverishly with their unique signatures.

She could smell them all . Rank 5 Arcanists they were. Four of them left. All she needed was another chance. Another moment to break free, and then, she wouldn't allow a single one of them to walk away this time.

The sound of a large boulder being moved sounded. Followed by footsteps and hurried breaths.

"How is she... d-did she?"

"Sigh ... She's... she's dead."

A loud bang sounded, followed by the descent of crumbling debris.

"DAMN DEMON! I'LL KILL YOU!" A man raged bitterly in the darkness,

A heavy presence descended upon her, an air so dense that her head was forced low. She didn't even attempt to resist it. Without her sight, she could still sense the incantations being cast into play, so there was no use to attempt to evade. Bear it she must.

"Quell your anger. We all knew the risks once we decided on this undertaking. Do not sully their memory with reckless actions." She heard another voice, an aged male perhaps.

"Thranx is right. The job is still half done. We must complete the extraction of the dragon hearts or else this was all a waste of our time... Zero, remove her blindfold." A feminine voice spoke forth coolly

"W-what! And why would I do such a foolish thing?" A childish voice replied

"Hehe, you're not scared of a little girl tied in chains now, are you?"

"The same little girl who has severed the heads of five Celestial Court members? Oh, and subdued five ancient dragons, and had time to mortally wound four Rank Five Arcanists? Don't patronize me, Lady Astor. A man who fails to take heed of disaster is foolish and fated to taste the sourest of ends."

"He is right. The girl has far exceeded any talent we have ever seen. Dare I say, that boastful attitude and relentless vigor... it reminds me of..."

"The Shinjin? Well, that's because she is one." Another voice arrived from a little further away from the group, followed by approaching measured footsteps.

Soft gasps escaped the mouths of the four.

"L-Lord Syrex... is it really... is it really you?"

"We thought you were dead... Haha, well done on surviving you lucky Elf. That makes five of us now."

"Wait, Shinjin? What the hell are you talking about, Elf?"

"Oh, you haven't realized... Well then, allow me to elaborate." That unsettling voice drew nearer. She braced herself for the worst outcome but instead felt the tension around her eyes releasing. The veil was removed from her eyes at last. Her vision was hazy at first, but very quickly, she found focus again.

She sat on her knees atop a series of complex cyan-colored runes drawn on the ground beneath her. "This incantation... it's a spatial ward spell. I've only seen a lesser counterpart used outside specific cities across Arcadia. Heh! To think they'd go to such lengths for little ole me. Should I be disturbed by that, or honored, I wonder?"

The girl's lips curled into a wry smile as she took in her surroundings. The four Arcanists stood before her, their faces a mix of fear, anger, and curiosity. Not one of them felt comfortable around her, that much she was assured of by the noticeable distance they kept away from her.

And then there was the Elf, Lord Syrex. Those calm and rather gentle eyes of his always stirred an unusual tension throughout her body. She had hoped she was rid of him a while ago, only to now understand the unusualness of those who studied beneath the banner of the dead arts. Necromancers, her greatest bane.

Despite her unwavering confidence, she knew she was in a precarious position right now, but her mind was already working, calculating her next move. These fools had no idea what they were dealing with, and she would make sure they paid for their ignorance because of that.

Her gaze shifted to the tense atmosphere. She found herself in a strange hall with no walls but a noticeable thick fog almost shimmering into existence around her, at first she thought this must've been conjured into existence, some kind of dimensional prison, but that thought soon passed once she noticed a tall roof existing way above. The ceiling was made of a glassy mirror, with a constant whirling azure sphere adorned with golden smiling faces slowly moving in a clockwise motion.

"Grrr... just look at those eyes," she heard one of the voices in attendance say. The rough-voiced speaker was the man she sensed was the angriest. He wore crimson and golden robes with purple runes shimmering along the hem of the sleeves. He had blazing red hair with a well-groomed forked beard and dandy mustache. From the little she recalled about what she knew about these people. He was the current Headmaster of the School of Evocation, where Elementalists were born.

"That's a demon if I've ever seen one!" He spat crudely at her

"He's right. Her complete mastery over her Mana core, her ability to regenerate at high speed, the almost genius-like adaptability she has in combat. Only a demon or a Demi-God could exhibit such traits."

This time, those words were spoken by the only woman in attendance. Her lavishly long robes were a blend of azure and cyan, short-cut and slightly tight to enunciate her very slender and curvaceous frame. She carried a set of blonde braided hair woven into a styled bun. Her eyes were a shimmering grey, while her smooth, unblemished skin was a darkened brown. She was the headmaster of the school of Abjuration, the ward benders.

The other two were an old man dressed in orange robes with long silver strands of hair flowing down his head. He was the tallest in attendance, caressing a wooden cane with a strange emerald orb attached to it. And a shorter, young-faced fellow with sallow skin, wearing purple and black robes. He had narrow, shifty eyes and wore a tall, pointed hat. Compared to everyone else, he looked the calmest. She had heard of the old fellow, Thranx the Arcanist and headmaster of the school of Abjurers, whilst by default the young-faced fellow was the prodigy Arcanist. Zero, headmaster of the school of Illusions. By design, each one of these fellows was at the apex of their discipline and craft. But none more so than this fellow before her.

'Yes... this one here. This annoyingly handsome Elf. He's the most dangerous.'

She felt a very real need to keep away the moment he appeared. Short curly silver hair, deep fountain blue eyes, and those sharp pointed ears too. Syrex, a talent said to be born once every one thousand years. There were even murmurs of the Elf becoming one of the first Kings of Arcadia. A wizard king so to speak.

He beheld her in a strange way, unlike the others who either hated or feared her. His own was simple enough to grasp hold of. It was intrigue.

"This will feel...odd, but I must ask for your forgiveness early. Mi-lady you see, I fail to hold myself back in the midst of excitement.'

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He reached out his bony pale fingers with caution before lightly prodding her against the middle of her forehead. She felt a cold touch, followed swiftly by a sensation almost willing to pull something out from her. She couldn't fight it; she hated this feeling. It was too bright, burning hot even.

'Stop it... just stop it.'

Her body wasn't under her control beneath this warding incantation. Something forgotten was being pulled out, something she rejected with all her heart.

Something... golden.

She felt a dormant power being stirred awake and a rush of divine energy swallowing her entire being all at once. Her eyes flashed wide, and her jaw slacked open. She could feel it. That disastrous foreign power being pulled from the pits of her gut. Golden light poured out of her orifices. And then something snapped. An eruption of a violent shockwave pulsed forth. An ancient power roared and tossed aside anything standing in its way.

The ghostly hall trembled under the force of the unleashed energy.

The robed Arcanists almost vanished a few feet away in unison. Only the strange silver-haired Elf remained, choosing to take the full brunt of the golden outcry head-on.

A small pendant shaped into a teardrop shone and violently shook. His entire body was covered in a green light that miraculously kept him unscathed from the golden force. Once that dreadful pain had subsided, her body felt so weak she could barely hold her head upright. Panting with deep breaths, her gaze slowly found the pale-faced Elf again. He was smiling at her with a devious glint encircled within those pale irises. The gold particles surrounding his entire body slowly subsided. She then heard a noticeable cracking sound before watching tiny pieces of glass falling from the pendant wrapped around his neck.

"Beautiful," he mouthed with a crazed expression that unsettled her heart.

"By the Gods!"

"Y-you were right?" Thranx spoke

"Sh-sh-she's one of them, b-b-but how?" Zero remarked

"That doesn't make any sense. There are 8 Shinjin. How can there be a..."

"It's quite obvious if you think about it," replied the Elf, answering all of their curious thoughts.

"Perhaps if you knew her true name, you might understand it. All the signs were sitting right in front of us. We were merely consumed by the terror she left in her wake to miss it.

Her mother... her father... Little girl, you don't even know of it yourself, do you?"

"What the hell is he babbling on about, Lady Astor?"

"..."

She stared into those cold and calculating eyes beheld by this strange, smooth-talking Elf. She held no idea what he was going on about, let alone who the parents she had never met were.

"I... I don't know what you're talking about," she slowly breathed.

"Not to worry, I believe you. How could you know? After all, I imagine those lurking in the shadows, orchestrating these series of events tried their very best to hide you. Hmm, I wonder if the Demon King knew... or perhaps the royals?"

"Oi, ELF! SPEAK UP! WHO THE HELL IS SHE?" roared the fiery haired fellow dressed in red and orange blazing robes

"Ehh, so loud. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to use that brain of yours once in a while. Though, I heard elementalists are prone to firing first without thinking."

"Why you little..."

A slender but firm hand fell in his way.

"I admire your wit, Lord Syrex, but as you can imagine, this is a sensitive situation. So I must... insist you speak up about what you know." The slenderly tall woman spoke

"Haha, ah, of course, of course... I'm sure we've all heard of that aged tale, haven't we? A union of deceit and taboo. Two siblings, born beneath a perfect dawn. And yet, beneath the so-called grace of perfection, they chose to fall in love.

And I imagine... you were the proof of their union. Were you not... Princess, child of Princess Selestia and Prince Nocturne?"

The room fell silent, with the weight of the Elf's words settling upon them like a suffocating blanket.

"Impossible," Lady Astor whispered, her voice carrying a slight shiver.

"Sister and brother...how absurd. But it suddenly makes all the sense in the world" Thranx pondered to himself with furrowed willow brows.

"What will we do now?" the young-faced Arcanist asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"We finish what we started," Lady Astor said, her eyes hardening with resolve. "The dragon hearts... We must complete the extraction."

"Or, might I present a more better idea. There is a great pit of mysteries to be had regarding the Shinjin. And since we have one right here, why don't we take advantage of this situation?"

"Outside of the court? You must have a death wish you damned Elf."

"Hahaha oh don't be like that, I am an opportunist. Besides, which one of us wouldn't kill for the chance to perhaps advance another Rank? I believe the secrets to our bottlenecks, the wall between immortal and normal lies within the very blood coursing through her veins."

"Even if that is so, we have laws in place for a reason. Do you think the church will allow us to do what we wish with a descendant of the perfect dawn?"

The Elf shrugged his two shoulders helplessly.

"We've been in a silent war for almost a decade now. I think we've gone past expecting things to smooth over."

"Tsk! It's a risk that may spell a consequence too large to bear if we get this wrong. But what the heck...I'm in."

The others shared looks of uncertainty before reluctantly agreeing. Syrex lightly clapped his two hands creasing a delightful smile.

"Ah perfect-perfect, this makes things easier. Hahaha, what a great day I'm having...Ah- but not for you mi lady. You will have to die whilst I do unspeakable things to that divine body of yours."

He licked his lips whilst rubbing his pale hands together. Staring into those empty eyes, the girl bound in chains felt no shroud of fear nor anger. She felt surprised she had just remembered this feeling.

'Huh?...Oh...I see...They think...they think I've lost.'

"Hehe...buahahahahaha...Good-good, then there's no need to hold back, I should do it, shouldn't I? I should...let go."

Before Syrex was given a second to respond, a tremendous dark energy burst out from her entire body. The force was so sudden, so great that it slammed directly against the side of his beautiful face.

"WHAAAAAAAAA!" His voice cried bloodily but he held no time to cry and swiftly dashed away in order to defend himself.

The girl knew doing this would likely destroy one of her cores, and likely cause her to either die or be reduced to a state much worst than death. But she held no more time to wait. Her entire powers soared from 0-100 in mere moments.

The arcanists reacted.

She heard their voices casting an incantation in response to her.

"Book!"

"Book!"

"Book!"

"Book!"

One by one their grimoires appeared floating above their outstretched palms.

She wore a cruel smile as a thick inky mass of darkness shot forth into the air. She opened her palm. And cast a regretful look against the five strange grey symbols that appeared. Tears of blood slowly fell from her gaze, she knew it was time.

"My will...I leave it in all your hands...avenge me."

Her Mana finally spiked to dangerous levels and went into a frenzy.