I slowed down my movements and looked at this fool.

“Please... don’t absorb me...”

I smiled.

“Why would I do that? You are worth much more to me alive.”

I placed my hand on the side of his face, and he began to screech in pain.

“Celios, King of the Skies. You are declared less than the dirt we stand on. As repentance to your crimes, you now serve me and only me. I declare this as the queen of gods. You will lament for the rest of eternity and aid me in my goal of returning to my rightful throne. Do you understand?”

He was screaming as his mind was bending.

“No... Yes. AHHH. Please no. Mistress....”

Then his screaming stopped.

“Mistress, I will serve you to the end of time.”

I smiled. I had dominated the will of Celios. Now I cou-

“ROSE!!!”

The world was spinning before I fell back to familiar darkness.

_

“Do you think Rose is still present in the body?”

“What do you mean?”

“All 10 shards took over then, even her stubborn self wouldn’t be able to outlast that.”

I realized that they didn’t quite realize that Rose was Purity.

“I’m sure, Purity found a way to preserve her.”

“I hope so...”

Dalis was mourning the only casualty of the battle, Royce. As a captain in the Kingsguard, he was one of the most liked and well-known people in the kingdom. His death sent ripples of hate to Celios, who now had declared loyalty to Rose, who he kept referring to as Mistress Kala.

“What should we do with Celios?”

I looked at Jalad, who’s knuckles were white due to being clenched too much.

“I agree with Purity’s judgement, even though he did kill Royce, he can still be of use. Also, I think that he received quite the torture session.”

“He deserves more pain.”

Jalad was childhood friends with Royce, both children of minor lords, they quickly grew attached, that was why, despite being lower ranked then him, he was still able to threaten him and joke around.

Me and Royce weren’t particularly close until meeting Rose, then we saw each other as rivals, but I knew that it was a losing game from the get-go. I understood that she had loved Royce, and that she only saw me as a friend.

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Rose’s rage was pure and terrifying. Even Celios didn’t generate that much fear when he threw around both Wrath and Rose.

“Hey Celios, what’s Rose’s condition?”

“The Mistress’s condition is decent. She has begun full recovery; she should be awake in about 2 months.”

“You call that decent?!”

Jalad was about to punch Celios again, but I stopped him.

“Celios has been alive for a long time, he doesn’t see 2 months as long like we do, so he considers that as a fast recovery.”

Then the Drummel king entered the room and looked at Celios.

“Celios, what are the other gods planning?”

“I do not know. I was planning to destroy the mistress, but I was cast aside before I could share my plan with them. So, I don’t know if they intend to kill her or let her live. I personally think that they are split on the issue.”

“Is Rose still alive?”

Celios had a minor look of confusion, but then he saw my face and nodded.

“The mind of Rose Hood is merely exhausted like the shards.”

Jalad breathed in relief. He didn’t know that Rose was Purity, so he didn’t know that we should be more worried about the other shards than her.

“By the way, why are you on our side now?”

“Oh right, mortals are not able to understand the ancient language. As the mother of gods, Kala has a unique skill called Domination. You actually saw its effects shortly after Purity awakened first, against the Whilder King.”

“When he just ran.”

“Correct. She used the same skill against me, but at a much higher level, to the point where I can question her orders, but if she tells me to do something I have to do it.”

“Like a slave?”

Jalad asked that with minor concern, Rose was very anti-slavery, so she would likely feel guilty about enslaving someone even in a rage.

“Not at all. Depending on how extreme the order is, I can still disobey. So, if she, say, were to order me to kill someone close to me, I could entirely disregard the order. For minor orders that go against my code, I can still resist, but far less so.”

“I see, so it’s not quite slavery.”

“What’s with the mark?”

Celios, ever since the battle, had a hand shaped scar on his face, where Rose had her hand.

“Oh, that’s the sign of a higher level of Domination.”

“What do you mean?”

“When she used domination against the Whilder king, she used low levels of Domination, just to make him run, but against me, she used the highest level of Domination to make me fully devote myself to her.”

“I see. And is it your free will?”

“Hmm. Let me put it like this. It’s like a necromantic servant, they serve their master, but they still have their regular mind trying to free itself. Even if said regular mind admires and respects them. Currently, my regular mind is torn between what to do, so I can’t really say at the current moment if it could be considered my free will.”

“That is minorly concerning.”

“I suppose it could be, but as of now at least, I belong to Kala, the queen of gods.”

Celios gave a look reminiscent of Silas back when he was still Alzath, servant of Lust. I did not trust him, but I felt the same feeling I felt when I saw Rose battling the Whilder king during Falden’s attack, when she dominated Celios.

Jalad was also concerned about Celios.

“Are you sure that you can’t betray her?”

“Oh, I fully can. I can still act on my own until she gives me an order.”

“So, why should we trust you?”

“You probably shouldn’t. I’ll return to my hiding place for now. I will return once she awakens.”

And with that, Celios was gone.

“That man worries me.”

The king of Drummel suddenly speaking caused us to jump.

“But as a first lineage I am aware of the effects of Domination, and I also know that he was cast out. There is no one he can betray her too, and if he tries returning with a brand on his face, he will be ridiculed by the gods and absorbed. So, I think we can feel safe for now.”

Jalad nodded slowly.

“I understand, but I still wish that she could awaken sooner.”

“Keep in mind, she simultaneously fought a god, purified 5 shards, and utilized the power of the queen of gods. I doubt she’ll be able to use something like that again for a long time. I wouldn’t even be surprised if the shards are in a coma for a long time.”

“I guess.”

“If Rose was a spiritual entity, she may have been able too, but even still she would be in a coma. She used a mass of power that would cause any of us to implode, and she managed it with little to no injuries.”

We sighed. Then Jalad spoke.

“I will get back to my patrols, and Dallel, the king wanted to speak with you.”

I headed toward the king’s castle as I lamented my weakness in the battle.