With Phee defeated and the girl’s final words lingering in Lucina’s mind, the Empress set off in haste to find Sophia’s whereabouts.

She came to a large, rectangular domed building. A flight of marble stairs led up to its simple facade. Strangely to the Incandestine regent, the dome bore a large stencil of a green starfish.

The building appeared to have been the centre of conflict based on how the surrounding streets were piled up with white salt.

Lucina strode up the steps, weapon sheathed, but with an air of menace about her.

She found the hospital surprisingly empty.

Striding up to the receptionist’s desk, Lucina came face-to-face with the head nurse.

“If you are here to find Grandmaster Sophia, she has already escaped to the Labyrinth.” The head nurse said before Lucina could even draw her weapon.

“Say that again,” Lucina said, placing the tip of the Bloodfire Blade barely a centimetre from the nurse’s throat.

“If you are here to find Grandmaster Sophia, she has already escaped to the Labyrinth.” The head nurse repeated herself tensely, with eyes full of righteous anger.

Lucina narrowed her eyes. “You are well aware that I will come back to kill everyone here if you are telling me anything less than the truth?”

“Yes.” The nurse shot back with blemishless resolve. “You are welcome to do whatever you wish. But, I would encourage you to consider the idea that power brings out the worst in people.”

Lucina withdrew her blade and turned away, already headed to investigate the catacombs beneath the city. “You are wrong. Power brings out a person’s true nature. Nothing more and nothing less.” The Empress said as she left.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

And the weak have no choice but to use distasteful means to achieve their ends. Lucina thought disparagingly of herself.

Lucina made for the catacombs, following in the footsteps of Blue and Sophia.

Though the catacombs were a maze, the salt lining the floor had been clearly disturbed, so Lucina knew the right path to follow. Nevertheless, the Empress continued carefully, wary of an ambush set by Rolynd or another of his allies.

It took some time but Lucina finally reached the depths beneath the city where sandstone gave way to grey stone bricks. Here, there was no salt; Lucina had to find her own path.

She made use of the tracking skills she had learned through brain-uploads. But even so, she spent considerable time finding her way to the Labyrinth Entrance.

Pale blue light shone off her expressionless face, unsure of what to make of the scene before her.

A black hole.

That tiny speck dominated the wide open space. Twisting its surroundings in such a manner that Lucina’s subconscious mind screamed with anxiety. This was true even despite Lucina being used to the sight due to her homeworld of Portum orbiting a black hole. Rather than the sight of the singularity itself, it was the surreal nature of seeing it existing in close proximity to other objects rather than in the cold, endless vacuum of space. It was like seeing a bonfire lit atop a child’s bed, rather than in an open field. The sense that something terrible could happen at any moment could not be shaken.

But separate from this sense of anxiety, a deep fear gripped Lucina’s heart so strongly that she felt like she might stop breathing altogether.

Something about the Labyrinth Entrance intimidated her. Perhaps it was what the black hole represented… But Lucina’s rational mind could not find a single reason why the scene intimidated her so. Nevertheless, the Incandestine Empress was frightened to the very core of her being, to the depths of her bones.

She had never felt so deeply uncertain in her life. Like a child experiencing pain for the first time, Lucina was completely overwhelmed by the unknown emotion, struggling to come to terms with the alien feeling she was inundated with.

Lucina glanced briefly at the warped after-images of Sophia, Blue, Rolynd, Effie, and the Three Lords of Night, before turning her attention to the plaque above the doorframe leading to the inner chamber.

The Empress’ heads-up display translated the plaque for her, giving her a welcome distraction and opportunity to recentre herself.

She let out a short, uncomfortable, barking laugh.

“What am I, that seeks justice? A fool that desires something that I do not understand?” She asked aloud with a smile on her lips. Her mind was made up. “We shall have to see.”

Lucina would have her justice, and humanity would thank her for it.