When Regina blinked and opened her eyes again, she realized she was somewhere else. She almost jumped, but managed to control her reaction. Instead, she focused on what she could perceive.

They stood on top of a hill, part of a picturesque scene of rolling hills stretching out around her. They were covered in vibrant green grass and occasionally dotted with colorful flowers, none of which looked familiar. But that barely registered to her next to the mana in this place. It felt odd, but in a very different way than where she’d just been. Instead, the mana here felt strong, very strong, but almost as if it was flavored with something else. Something she vaguely recognized from her recent contact with Alianais and the other goddess.

“Welcome to the Mirrored Halls, Regina.” Lianaleine started walking, and Regina quickly matched her. “It’s also sometimes called the Celestial Home, or similar titles.”

As they kept walking, it felt like the world around them started to shiver, and then, within a few steps, Regina found herself walking through a dimly lit, ancient forest. She glanced up at the towering trees, listening to the echoes of birdsong, though no birds were to be found.

“Am I supposed to be here?” she asked.

Lianaleine smiled and shook her head. “Mortals usually aren’t, but since you are a champion of Alianais, sort of, it’s okay for you to be here. As long as you don’t linger too long.”

Regina glanced around, trying to watch as the forest changed once again and they were walking in a desert, sunlight sparking off the perfect white sand. “What is this place? Some kind of parallel dimension?”

“Sort of. In truth, it’s a place that doesn’t exist anywhere in the world, but somewhere outside of it. Not quite a pocket dimension, although it is significantly smaller than your world.”

Regina frowned as she looked around. Something about what she was seeing felt off. Besides the obvious shifting between different landscapes. But now, as they walked through a pristine path on the side of a lake or ocean, the impression persisted.

She shook her head to chase the thought away and glanced back at her guide, who was strolling forward at an unhurried but still quick pace. “So, I don’t mean to be rude, but who are you, exactly? What do you do?”

“Like I said, my name is Lianaleine. Once, I was a goddess of — well, it doesn’t matter much. Just a minor goddess of something the people of the world do not need. Nowadays, I am what you would call an administrator of the System.” She winked at her. ”But that’s not why we’re here.”

Regina’s eyes widened involuntarily. A System admin? That seemed to confirm that the System did come from the gods.

They kept walking, passing through several more biomes. Regina kept looking around, trying to make sense of what they saw. At some point, a white structure began to appear in the distance, and it stayed there, growing closer with every step. Then, as she started to recognize it as a giant building made of some almost shining white stone, Regina realized what had been bothering her. Namely, the horizon. There actually was one, it wasn’t like they were walking on a flat pane. But it seemed like it was too close, like the world they were on was a smaller sphere than the planet should be.

It didn’t really seem like it was a real planet, though. Maybe all of what I’m seeing is just some kind of illusion. Leianaleine doesn’t even seem to notice or care.

She glanced at her guide again, who seemed focused on her task. The playful demeanor she’d shown the first time they’d met appeared to have almost disappeared. Although, Regina did catch her looking at her once, and the goddess turned her head back to look forward again right away. Regina frowned. It’s almost like she feels some … guilt? I don’t know.

Then they reached the foot of the building, and before she could ask where exactly they were going, the next few steps brought them onto a white courtyard. On second glance, it seemed like a large balcony, made out of marble or some other posh material, with an intricately crafted balustrade some meters away. But Regina couldn’t spare the location any attention, because the woman she now faced took all of her focus. She knew right away that this was Alianais. The feeling of her mana, the sensation of her presence, was familiar.

The goddess of change and progress had the same pointed ears as the other goddess and the same shimmery skin, although hers was darker. Her face looked almost human, but her eyes were a shining gold which almost seemed to shift from the depth of a burning forge to a flat gold pane. She had long white hair, though it didn’t make her look old, but was thick and lustrous. Strands of it were braided in a crown, the only kind of crown she wore. Unlike Leianaleine, she didn’t wear a dress or gown, but sandals, black pants and a white shirt of some glimmering fabric Regina didn’t recognize.

Regina hesitated, unsure what to do or how she should greet the goddess. But Alianais stepped forward immediately and offered her a warm smile.

“Regina. It’s good to see you in person. Thank you for coming.”

Regina bowed her head and tried her best to smile without letting her see that she felt a bit off-balance. “Of course. Thank you for the help, Lady Alianais.” She hesitated. “Am I supposed to call you something specific or perform a certain greeting? I’m afraid no one’s told me if there’s any custom to follow.” She’d rather not offend someone who could probably kill her with a thought, though.

The goddess shook her head. “No need for that. Using my name is fine.” She then turned to Leianaleine. “Thank you, Leian. I won’t keep you any longer.”

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The other goddess nodded, then gave Regina a smile and a wink. “Bye for now, kid. Enjoy the visit and don’t make trouble. Maybe we’ll see each other around.” She didn’t wait for a response, just bowed to Alianais and then vanished.

Regina blinked, then turned her attention back squarely to Alianais. She couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous. A part of her would have liked Leianaleine to stay, although it might be better to talk to Alianais alone.

“So, this mark you gave me,” she began. “What is it? And how does it work?”

Alianais seemed to sigh softly, although the sound carried a bit oddly in this place. “That’s a little complicated, actually. In essence, the mark is there because of the interaction you got with my magic previously. I simply ‘made it stick’, so to speak, and later turned it more visible to those who may be looking for such things. I apologize if you felt that was violating your privacy or putting pressure on you, but it seemed advisable given the dangers you faced.”

Regina frowned. “You’re saying you just wanted to protect me? When did I come into contact with your magic, anyway? Was it when I met the elves and Leianaleine showed up, or what?”

“I would indeed like to protect you.” Alianais smiled slightly, but it still seemed to carry the brightness of a small star.

“Why?” Regina asked bluntly. She could think of a few possibilities for why the goddess of change and progress might be interested in her, but it was still a bit concerning, and she wanted a straight answer from her.

Alianais hesitated again, and looked like she was considering whether to give it to her. But then they were interrupted. The light seemed to grow brighter again, and Regina blinked, only to find another figure seemingly falling towards them from above, but just standing on the stone of the terrace a moment later.

She couldn’t help but tense up as soon as she saw the man. He had the same pointed ears as the two goddesses, and long silvery gray hair. His skin was about the same shade as Alianais’, and his eyes were a shining white, not just the irises, but uniform white orbs that didn’t show any pupils. But those didn’t faze her much compared to the fact that he was wearing what appeared to be a three-piece suit. It looked off, the dimensions kind of uneven and the cut odd. Like someone hadn’t seen a suit in twenty years and then decided to recreate one from memory.

“Deirianon,” Alianais said, frowning a little as she looked at him. “Did you need to interrupt? I’m in the middle of a conversation.”

“I know that you were talking to your little Hivekind project.” The man, who had to be another god, turned his head slightly towards Regina. It was hard to make out his expression, especially with his featureless eyes that didn’t show where he was actually looking. “Hello, little Hive Queen. That is why I came, Alianais.”

Regina tensed. Suddenly, she realized that he wasn’t speaking Global, and yet, she could understand him perfectly. When she focused on it, she recalled vaguely the actual sounds he’d made, but not enough to write a transcript. It just felt like he was talking in Global. At the moment, she didn’t remember if Leianaleine or Alianais had done the same.

“What is it you want, Deirianon?” Alianais asked. She was clearly annoyed and didn’t bother to hide it. She also seemed to be talking in Global. “You don’t have a leg to stand on if you want to complain about Regina being a champion of mine. We all still remember that boy you wouldn’t let die even after he’d got half a kingdom overrun with monsters. Which is very much against your ideal.”

That made Regina remember where she’d heard the name before, in the information Tim and Bea had brought from the elves a while ago. If she recalled correctly, Deirianon was the god of peace.

Clearly, Alianais didn’t like him very much. Which was a bit concerning, in principle. Maybe it has something to do with peace being connected to stagnation, or something like that? Or maybe they just don’t like each other for personal reasons.

“I wasn’t going to complain about that,” he said, a bit indignantly. “Although I still don’t approve of this, Alianais. You’re stirring things up that should better be left alone. Do you even consider how much death and destruction you might cause, for every bit of ‘progress’ you might get?”

“Change doesn’t have to be destructive,” Alianais replied. She sounded like they’d had this argument before. “And it’s not like there’s any lack of death and destruction right now, you know. I wish you’d all just opened your eyes long ago.”

“You’re incorrigible.” He shook his head, then sighed and turned back to Regina. “I advise you to practice restraint, Hive Queen. I might not be able to smite you easily, and it’s not in my nature to do so, but that’s still in your own and everyone’s best interests. I know you’re still human enough to care about the virtues of peace, in any case.”

“Are you finished?” Alianais sounded annoyed.

He turned back to her and gave her a smile that might have been a bit mocking, before the god started to disappear. Unlike Leinaleine, he didn’t just vanish, but appeared to disintegrate in a curtain of sparkling light.

Regina stared at where he’d stood for a moment, before she turned back to her apparent patron goddess. She couldn’t help the frown on her face. There was a lot to unpack in that conversation.

One thing, however, stood out to her most clearly. “He said I was ‘still human enough’. What does that mean? What do you know about my past? So I was really a human before? How did I come to be a Hive Queen?”

The goddess smiled and held up a hand as if to stem her stream of questions. “Easy, Regina. I was getting to this explanation. Yes, you were human, to the best of my knowledge. To be precise, your soul was, or rather, it was once a young human woman’s.”

“My soul? Did you do this?” Regina demanded.

“No, I most certainly did not,” Alianais responded, now a bit of sharpness in her voice. “I assure you, your situation is not of my doing. Your kind, the Hivekind, did what they usually do, as I understand it.”

Regina blinked and took a deep breath. “They … moved my soul from a human body into, well, this?”

“Indeed. Into the egg of an infant Hive Queen that had just been conceived, evidently.”

Regina shook her head. “That’s horrible. What kind of practice is that? And is that why I don’t remember my previous life? But I did keep a lot of memories, obviously.”

“I wouldn’t be so quick to condemn your antecendents, girl.” Alianais frowned, suddenly looking a lot more severe than the friendly woman she’d appeared to be so far. “As for your memories, it is my understanding that the removal is also part of the usual practice. Something you surely knew about when you agreed.”

“I … agreed?” Regina stared at her. “I agreed to die and become a Hive Queen?”

“You didn’t really die. And yes, you did agree.”

Regina shook her head and took a step back. “I need a moment,” she mumbled, but she barely noticed Alianais’ reaction. She just stared out at the Mirrored Halls, not really taking in the view.

She’d have a lot of other questions later, she just needed a moment to come to terms with this. She’d just heard that she had once been another person, a human. And for some crazy reason, she’d agreed for her soul to be put into a Hive Queen’s developing body. Well, there were a few reasons she could think of, but it was still a lot. And since she’d apparently given up her personal memories in the process, she didn’t know why.

Regina took a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair. Maybe it was better that she didn’t remember what she’d lost, not on a personal level.