Queen vs. Arcane Heart

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Envy cracked open an eye, half-expecting the Queen of Shadows to be sharpening her metaphorical claws—or worse, her wit! But instead, Eydis was calmly wiping clean her sigil.

‘Crisis averted?’ Envy wondered, crossing its nonexistent fingers (and tail, and even its forked tongue for good measure).

Though, a tiny, serpentine knot of disappointment forming in its stomach. Where was the sheer, unadulterated chaos she always managed to unleash upon the Sins? Had she finally run out of creative ways to torment them?

Eydis merely sighed, reaching for her chalk to sketch another pentagram.

'Ah, there it is,' Envy thought, its optimism deflating faster than a punctured balloon. ‘She's just warming up. And by the looks of that pentagram, I'm either going to be a tie-dye nightmare this time, or worse…’

A shiver ran down its spine. 'Wiggly worm? Oh, horrors of the abyss, anything but that! Perhaps I should make a strategic retreat while she's distracted...'

"So, your little tantrum was caught on camera," Eydis smirked knowingly, as if she could read Envy's panicked thoughts. Her eyes remained glued to the sigil, occasionally glancing at the ancient glyphs in her newly acquired tome. "I suppose, with this realm's obsession with ‘likes’ and 'sharing,' it was only a matter of time before your fifteen minutes of fame arrived."

Envy's golden eyes widened in surprise. "You expected this?"

"Elementary, my dear serpent.” Eydis replied. "Considering the vast array of gadgets these humans use to document their lives, from their 'deconstructed' avocado toast to their 'charcoal-infused' everything, it was practically inevitable. It's why I'm so fond of their 'social media', even if the algorithm seems to be suffering from a severe case of existential angst lately."

"Speaking of identities," Envy piped up, "Athena mentioned the school tried to contain the information, but some rebellious Gifted student leaked the footage despite the NDA."

"Mortals view contracts as mere suggestions, open to interpretation and reinterpretation,” she quipped, shooting a pointed glare at Envy. "Unless, of course, the agreement comes with a side of soul-sucking, compliments of your charming kind."

'You're technically human, too,' Envy thought, before smoothly changing the topic. “What's an NDA, Your Majesty?"

"Non-Disclosure Agreement," Eydis explained. "Everyone had to sign one, even the lovesick teenage me." She winced at her slip-up, then continued, "Apparently, Gifted abilities are kept secret from the public, especially for those under twenty-one."

She paused, recalling the details Natalia had shared. "Leaking that video was a grave offence. And you mentioned a Council and Adrian, who likely oversee these supernatural matters."

"Quite right, Your Majesty," Envy confirmed. "But who would leak this video, and for what nefarious purpose?"

"Entertainment value? Followers? Likes?" Eydis purred, twirling a strand of her dark brown hair around her finger. "But to risk expulsion or worse, having this 'Council' breathing down their necks… Who else could be behind this but Thomas Blackwood? Likely dangled a hefty bribe in front of some Gifted student."

Envy hissed in surprise. "But why?"

"Athena mentioned this 'Adrian' character preventing the Blackwoods from revealing you. Not the Council, just Adrian.” Eydis's eyes flashed with a spark of curiosity. "I'd wager Adrian is a Gifted individual with some rather... persuasive abilities. So, Thomas got clever and staged a public pity party. Let the internet warriors do the detective work while he reaped the benefits."

Realisation dawned on Envy's serpentine face. "He's using me to garner sympathy votes, isn't he? The audacity!"

Eydis's grin widened, revealing a hint of fangs. "Sympathy votes? Please. Humans only care about themselves, and maybe their kin if they're feeling exceptionally charitable.”

"I don't get it. How would that help him win?"

"Probably crafting some righteous revenge narrative as we speak," Eydis mused aloud. "The noble protector, whose innocent daughter was tragically stolen by the very creature that haunts their nightmares. It's a classic recipe for mass hysteria and a boost in the polls.”

She turned to Envy, her amber eyes twinkling with amusement. “Congratulations, Envy, you're the new spokes-serpent for fear-mongering. The monster under every bed. They'll be singing lullabies about you soon, I'm sure."

Envy recoiled. "Preposterous! To think that the likes of him could ever lay a slimy finger on my pristine scales..." Envy paused, examining its blindingly white body with a hint of disgust. "Well, formerly pristine scales. I now glow like a lightsaber.”

The Queen winced as a recent internet search slammed into her mind with that imagery. She shook her head, clearing the image from her mind. "Just sit back and enjoy the show. This is going to be quite entertaining." Her voice softened slightly. "Well done, serpent. You've been most helpful."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Envy's golden eyes shimmered with pride. "Naturally, Your Majesty. I am your most indispensable asset, after all. Though, if I may be so bold... why am I constantly your test subject while that gluttonous puppy lolls about in your mind, consuming all the mental bandwidth?"

"Envy, have you considered the logistics? Trying to fit a rejuvenated, bottomless-pit-of-a-roommate into my mind would be like shoving a dragon into a shoebox. And trust me, my mental closet is already overflowing with embarrassing memories."

"I wouldn't call Astra a bottomless pit," Envy retorted, then added slyly, "Besides, isn't she already occupying half your m—" A sharp squeeze from Eydis's telepathic grip cut the serpent short.

"Eeek!" Envy squeaked, feigning a coughing fit as if its lungs had been punctured. "Fine, fine, point taken. But can't you just... unleash your inner goddess and let the dark magic do its thing?”

"That was plan A," Eydis nodded, eyeing her intricate pentagram, subtly modified to allow for a slow and controlled expansion of the mana core. "Plan B was a bit too... unpredictable, even for my tastes."

"Unpredictable is putting it mildly," Envy muttered, still sulking over its makeover. "But didn't you say cultivating indoors wasn't advisable, Your Majesty?"

Eydis grinned and snapped her fingers. Cerberus, in his Doberman form, materialised, his tail wagging excitedly at her presence. "You know your duty,” she said.

"Woof woof!" Cerberus barked, nearly vibrating with eagerness.

Envy hissed in disdain. "Seriously? Did your vocabulary get lost in the bleach with my scales?"

"A minor punishment for his earlier... indiscretion," Eydis replied with a shrug. "And frankly, I was getting tired of his internal monologue critiquing my diet."

"Woof!" Cerberus interjected, a single, indignant bark that translated to, "Diet? You haven't eaten in centuries!"

Cerberus’s witty retort, sadly, was lost on Eydis.

Envy preened, basking in its position as Eydis's most trusted confidante. Emboldened, it slithered closer, ignoring Cerberus's wounded whimper. "Before you commence your training, Your Majesty," it said, “can we please discuss my current pallid complexion?"

Eydis arched an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Vanity can wait," she deadpanned, settling into the heart of the sigil. "Now, where were we?"

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Eydis shut out the world, seeking not the tangible realm of flesh and bone, but the deeper currents beneath – the living, ever-shifting energy of darkness that bound reality together. Here, darkness was not an absence, but a presence, painted with unseen strokes by countless minds.

And of all those minds, the human psyche was the most delicious... so wonderfully convoluted, their emotions a delectable feast. Each flavour orbited around that central star: the Ego, the source of their brilliance, their ambition, their downfall.

The Ego, that delicate, fragile sense of self-importance, the righteousness, the virtuous conviction that birthed Pride, the so-called root of all evils. And from that root, the primal evils she'd bound to her will: Envy and Gluttony.

Her familiars' senses were her radar, guiding her through the quiet depths of the abyss: Envy's bitter venom, Gluttony's indulgent sweetness. She drew them in. With her limited core capacity, she had to be selective, seeking only the darkness that harmonised with her familiars' essence.

The sigil flared with a deep plum hue, greedily devouring the ambient shadows. Her teenage body resisted the influx of power, but the resistance was futile.

Cerberus, attuned to her very thoughts, responded with a burst of violet mist, eagerly devouring the excess darkness. He silenced the overflowing essence before it could escape, becoming an extension of Eydis herself. She could feel it—the immense darkness within him.

Her eyes blazed violet as Cerberus, ever the enthusiastic eater, channelled the darkness not as a gentle trickle, but as a raging torrent into her magic core. She gritted her teeth, suppressing a cry of pain as her core strained under the onslaught.

Gluttony, indeed, was his lifestyle.

"Enough!" Eydis commanded, cutting off the flow of dark energy with a sharp gesture. Too much, too soon. Her magical core, accustomed to the meagre scraps of magic in this world, needed time to adapt, to stretch its limits. "Pace yourself, you overgrown pup!"

Cerberus let out a pathetic whine, the equivalent of a puppy dog apology, while Envy hissed with barely concealed glee. "Amateur," it sneered.

"Grrrr, woof!" Cerberus snarled, baring his teeth in a silent threat.

Envy lunged, coiling its dentist-approved body around the dog's neck and squeezing.

Eydis rolled her eyes. With a silent spell, she sent both familiars sprawling across the room, slamming into opposite walls with twin yelps of surprise. "One more outburst, and you'll be sharing a shoebox for the night."

Ignoring their whimpers and grumbles, Eydis refocused on her task.The ancient text's instructions were simple enough: silence the mind, embrace the light source (or, in her case, the darkness).

Expand, gently, patiently.

In her own realm, such caution would have been unnecessary. Magic flowed through her like blood, as natural as breathing. But here, cultivating magic was less about channelling energy and more about damage control. Thanks to her narrow mana pathways and Cerberus's 'more is more' philosophy.

Hold on, narrow pathway?

Her mind wandered back to the very first item in this realm that had intrigued her: the faucet. A simple device, yet so effective at controlling the flow of water without the need for incantations.

"Of course," she mused.

Eydis closed her eyes, crafting a system of channels and valves within her mana core—a network of magical plumbing, if you will, complete with a single, controlled opening—a faucet. She turned the handle of this imaginary faucet, allowing a measured flow of Cerberus's essence to seep into her core.

As the darkness surged, she could feel her core reaching its breaking point. A sharp pain jolted her mind. With a mental turn of the handle, she reduced the flow to a mere trickle. The crackling subsided, replaced by a gentle warmth as her own essence flowed through the cracks, mending the unseen damage. Slowly, ever so slightly, her mana core expanded.

Time warped and twisted, hours melting into minutes. With each repeated cycle, she could feel her magic growing stronger, her core's capacity expanding moderately. When Eydis finally emerged from her trance, she realised an entire afternoon had vanished into the ether.

Her fingertips crackled with violet static. With a satisfied grin, Eydis stood, weaving a spell that restored Envy to its former obsidian glory.

Glancing at the gash in her right palm, she sent a subtle mist of dark power to partially seal it, deliberately leaving a faint mark. If Astra had indeed seen it, a sudden disappearance of the wound would only raise more questions.

Now that she had a handle on training in this realm, perhaps she could branch out into more... creative sigils. (Envy, who had been gleefully admiring its restored obsidian lustre, felt a shiver slither down its now pristine scales at that prospect.)

But first, nourishment. Eydis could practically hear Cerberus's excited yapping in her mind at the mere thought of dinner. She rolled her eyes, but a smirk tugged at her lips. The hound was right; she would need her strength for what was to come.

The Blackwoods were her next target, and if her gut was right, she'd need every ounce of power she could muster. After all, compared to them, Cerberus was just a palate cleanser on the grand buffet of evil.