For some reason, despite seeing a ceramic-masked murderer charging in her direction, Silk hadn’t moved from her position. She didn’t even seem scared that she was the Avatar’s target.

“Enough,” the Avatar said harshly. She was close enough to Silk to lash out if she wished. The liquid around her bubbled as though her Domain was about to burst into being here as well. “One more step and I will—”

“What?” Rieren had come to a stop, though she wasn’t impressed by the situation in the slightest. “You will kill the target you have been stalking all this while?” She shook her head. “Stop wasting our time. If you meant to kill, you would have done so already.”

Silk stared at Rieren. “Are you calling her bluff and daring her to kill me?”

Rieren ignored the little jibe and took another step closer to the Avatar. She had to admit that this Masked Avatar… was not a run-of-the-mill kind. The woman was hesitating. Her intentions had never been to kill or apprehend them from the very beginning. She had only attacked when it was clear that Rieren was approaching with murderous intentions.

For all Rieren knew, the Avatar had never wished to fight in the first place. Maybe she deserved a chance to get out of this mess.

“Surrender,” Rieren said. “And we will grant you clemency.”

“I am a Masked Avatar of the Forborne Emperor.” The mask might be hiding her expression, but the derision was clear in her voice. “I am Adjudicator. I do not surrender.”

“Then why do you throw yourselves to death regardless of the situation? Is that some kind of condition for being an Avatar, that you kill yourselves before you ever stoop to acknowledging defeat?”

Once again, the Avatar—Adjudicator—hesitated. Rieren wasn’t sure where her sudden impulse to grant clemency came from. Her enemy might be intending to while away the time until Call of the Past was no longer active and Rieren couldn’t defend herself to the same degree. Not against an Avatar, at least. And then Adjudicator would pounce with fatal ferocity.

No, it would be in Rieren’s best interests to end this with finality. That meant killing the Avatar just as she had done her best to accomplish with the other one.

But before Rieren could take a step towards doing so, Silk stepped forward first.

“What exactly do you want, Avatar?” she asked. “Why were you spying on me for so long without acting?”

“I am not obligated to answer a…”

Another hesitation, which was entirely the wrong thing to do. Silk caught it, took hold of it, and wrenched it hard.

“You are obligated to answer,” she said. With every word, her face turned more imperious and demanding than before. For the first time, Rieren did see shades of Silk’s father on her face. “I am the daughter of the Forborne Emperor. The one who shall rightfully take the throne when the time comes. You are aware of this, are you not?”

The Avatar had frozen. There was no denying it. This masked woman had known all along that she was tailing the Emperor’s illegitimate child.

“Kneel,” Silk said.

The command came with a strange sensation of force, and even a part of Rieren was tempted to obey. But whatever strange effect she felt, it was tremendously worse for the Avatar. Adjudicator really did fall to her knees, almost seeming to forget that Rieren was nearby and possessed more than enough strength to end her with barely any effort.

“Silk,” Rieren said. “We do not have time for theatrics. Whatever this Avatar ultimately intends, it cannot be good. We need to end her before she does something irreparable.”

She tried to impress the danger that Call of the Past would run out soon enough, though in not so many words, but Silk ignored it. Instead, her hard eyes were fixed squarely upon her vassal.

“You will answer all my questions,” Silk said. “As the heir to the throne, I command your total obeisance. Is that understood?”

Adjudicator didn’t even take a second to respond. “Yes, o glorious young mistress.”

Rieren had never thought she would see a day where a Masked Avatar bowed her head and called someone a glorious young mistress, yet here she was.

“Silk…” Rieren warned.

“It will be fine,” Silk said. “I only have a few questions and then we can be done with this charade.”

Rieren wasn’t sure how to express that Silk’s questioning might take far too long. She didn’t get the chance to proclaim the need for immediate action, though. Silk launched into her interrogation as though she was a professional inquisitor.

“First of all,” she said, once more summoning all the imperiousness she could muster. “Are you the only one of your kind here, Adjudicator?”

The Avatar nodded. “I am the only Avatar present in this Enlightenment Locale.”

“How can we trust her words?” Rieren asked. “And I am not interested in being forced to have faith in her.”

Silk threw her a momentary smirk. “I have done my own little investigation already. I already have the answers to some of the questions I am about to ask. We will know quite easily when we are being lied to.”

That didn’t exactly set Rieren’s heart at ease, but she was prevented from further protests when Silk continued.

“What was your intention in stalking me?” she asked. “Who asked you do it? And why? How long have you been tailing me?”

The Avatar took a moment to answer, perhaps trying to figure out which one she could lie about and not be detected by Silk. “I bask in the light of your astuteness, young mistress. The imperial court sent me to hunt the empire’s dissidents from the previous timeline. However, my assignment was changed to tracking and guarding a certain disciple from a certain Sect.”

Silk’s face darkened. “Me.”

“Yes. Interested parties are invested in your continued survival and have thus set me to ensure that you reach Vanharron safe and sound when you are finally ready to make your appearance there. As for your final inquiry, I have been following for over two weeks now.”

“Does the Emperor know about my location, or even my existence?”

“He does not. A shame, for nothing reaches the glory of the young mistress’s presence.”

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Rieren frowned to herself. That had the potential of causing a great upheaval in the capital. Even a bastard child laying a claim to the throne was no small matter. As the Avatar had proven, there were those who had a great interest in furthering their position by using Silk.

“What was the last message you sent to your coordinators?” Silk asked.

It sounded like she had a good inkling of what sort of tracking the Avatar was performing. Rieren had to wonder if she had dealt with something similar in her life already.

“A note mentioning that you were present in Falstrom,” Adjudicator said. “Nothing more.”

“I see.”

For the first time since her transformation, Rieren felt the tiniest tug that indicated that her power was coming to an end. She would soon revert back to her original form, and then they would be unable to defend themselves against an Avatar.

“Silk,” Rieren said. “I no longer have the time to entertain this.”

Silk took note of Rieren’s tension. “One last question. How did you come to be here so unimpeded? If the Emperor refuses to help the Archnobles of this region openly, how have the Avatars insinuated themselves everywhere?”

The Avatar sighed from behind her mask. “Your right to know everything cannot be impeded, young mistress. The Emperor doesn’t truly wish for the Shatterlands to suffer because of their leaders’ malignance. We have been sent to assist where we can, in secret, without giving any outward appearance of mollification.”

“The old Archnobles would never have allowed it. That’s why there was this sham marriage and then a capitulation of power. The scions replaced the old Clanmasters, but only because they intended to cooperate with you Avatars in secret.”

“Correct as ever, young mistress. We have entered into a secret pact with the Shatterlands’… overseers.” Something in her tone suggested she’d had a different word in mind at first. “So long as they do not stop us, we will dutifully assist all citizens of the empire.”

“Except your so-called undesirables,” Rieren muttered.

“I am only a servant of the Emperor and his court.”

Rieren wasn’t even properly seeing the Avatar just then. Her mind was filled with images of Mercion holding Silomene back, of the other cultivators disparaging but still refusing to act against the Avatar Rieren had been forced to confront.

This explained it all. She had suspected that they might secretly be in league, but the possibility had seemed distant, considering the continued animosity between the eastern Archnobles and the imperial court. When feuds could last generations in her world, it wasn’t an easy matter to forgive and forget, carrying on as though the argument had never been.

But Rieren had been taken in by their act. By Clanmaster Merolk, his brother Mercion, Gorint Malloh, and all their kind. She supposed her calling their bluff in her sole meeting ought to have been proof enough.

She decided not to wonder if Gorint Malloh was fully in on this as well. One did not destroy an entire city to defeat one’s enemy if one couldn’t be ruthless enough to sacrifice others for one’s own gain. It seemed so short-sighted, though. Wasn’t Gorint Malloh supposed to be one of the undesirables? Appraiser had even mentioned him by name.

Rieren’s mouth twisted. Perhaps the bastard had cut some deal with those in power. That would explain why he was confident in being the exception to the rule.

“What about the Shatterlands?” Silk asked. “How long do your kind intend to stay here and help out?”

She left the real question unsaid, but it was all too loud anyway. There was a good chance that the Avatars would leave once all the undesirable had been caught and apprehended. Depending on how great their assistance had been so far, the Shatterlands might be in deep trouble then.

“Answer me,” Silk barked when Adjudicator hesitated.

“I cannot predict my orders,” the Avatar finally said. “As far as I know, I am to remain in your vicinity to keep watch over you and ensure that you come to no harm. I could not live with myself if—”

“Enough of your babbling, Adjudicator. You might not know what your exact next orders will be, but you know your masters. You know my father. You know the imperial court, for crying out loud. What do you think they’re planning? Tell me your thoughts. I don’t need facts if you don’t have them.”

The Avatar was a little taken aback by her tirade, but she couldn’t disobey. “I believe, when the time comes, all the Avatars will be pulled out of the Shatterlands at its hour of need.”

“What hour of need?”

“When the Dreadflood arrives,” Rieren said.

Silk looked at her sharply. “The Dreadflood… I remember that thing, I think. The whole Shatterlands was flooded by… by the Abyss itself.” She turned her gaze to the Avatar. “That’s when you all intend to leave? Why am I not surprised?”

Rieren frowned at Silk. It seemed she held the Avatars in low regard indeed. She wondered if the other girl had gone through terrible experiences with any of them to cause such a reaction.

The Avatar hung her head. “As I said, young mistress, I cannot predict my orders. But knowing how the court has acted so far, I would not be surprised if this was what they have in store for all of us.”

“When is the Dreadflood coming?” Rieren asked. She had lost track of time while she had been cultivating.

“It has still not appeared in the overworld.”

That didn’t ease Rieren at all. With how ferocious the assaulting Abyssals were getting, including bringing in Aetherians and Arisen to assist with the invasion, things weren’t getting better.

The people of the Shatterlands needed some sort of plan. A countermeasure before the situation turned irreparably broken. Mercion had been on the right track. Somehow managing to grant everyday people more power would help greatly. But it was difficult to say if that would be enough. They might need help of their own, just like their monstrous opponents were receiving.

Though, how was any help supposed to appear? The imperial court was already assisting in secret, and most other regions had their own similar problems to deal with.

Not that any of that was Rieren’s concern. She wished the Shatterlands to survive as well. That was why she had ensured that everyone could claim some power for themselves through the system. But first, she had to take care of herself and her own growth.

Silk caught Rieren’s eye again, understanding that the power of Call of the Past was moments away from fading to nothing.

“I think we have conversed enough,” she said.

The Avatar looked at her. “If our conversation is now concluded…” She turned to face Rieren, her body turning tense with the prospect of violence. “Then I will—”

“You will not.”

“Young mistress, I must follow my orders.”

“Do those orders supersede my own?”

The Avatar was silent. Rieren didn’t trust the woman, of course. Her sword was firm in her grip, and she could feel her blood thrumming, ready for the continuation of their fight from earlier.

“I am ordering you to no longer harm my friend Rieren over there,” Silk said. “In return, we will spare your life. You will head back to the surface and leave the city of Falstrom immediately. You will also bear this specific message to—actually, I need a name. Who are the ones who have been directing you?”

The Avatar’s posture hadn’t relaxed, but there was almost something like regret about her. “I cannot.”

She turned away from Silk to face Rieren, who brandished her sword. A minute left at most for Call of the Past. That would have to be enough to kill Adjudicator. Rieren would just have to be fast.

But then, the Avatar froze, her whole body turning rigid. “Young mistress! I—”

She coughed from behind her mask, the lower edge of it dripping with blood. The white ceramic was now stained liberally with bright, wet crimson.

Rieren took a hesitant step back. She sensed it then, the bloom of strong Essence just behind the Avatar where Silk stood. Her companion was using her powers.

It wasn’t obvious at first what was going on. The Avatar had petrified completely in place now. Her whole body had turned rigid. It was only upon close observation that Rieren found roots claiming Adjudicator.

They weren’t sprouting out of the ground to entrap her feet. It was far more sinister.

No, the roots were burrowing into the woman’s boots. Judging by the growing pool of blood, they were digging into the Avatar’s leg as well.

As if that wasn’t proof enough, another root burst out of the ground. This one was large and thicker, shooting straight as a spear at an angle to pierce the Avatar right through her chest. The force behind the stab carried her off the ground, until the stabbing root came to a stop.

Right over the deep hole that supposedly led all the way to the Abyss.

“Can you hear me?” Silk called out over the precipice.

The Avatar didn’t struggle. Rieren suspected she couldn’t do so even if she had wished. But despite her condition, words did manage to come out.

“I can… young mistress,” she said.

“Good.” Silk crossed her arms, her face a mask of sternness. “Before you die, you will tell me what I wish to hear. Understood?”

Another moment where the Avatar likely needed to gather enough strength to speak again. “Yes… young mis…”

“Who is the one you have been exchanging messages with? Who is the one handing you your orders? Tell me that, and I will release you.”

“Ly… Lyorel.”

Silk nodded as though she recognized the name. “Thank you.”

She didn’t release the Avatar immediately, as Rieren had thought she would. The dozen-pace-long wooden spear erupting from the ground twisted as though something was moving within it. In response, the Avatar’s body jerked and contorted for a moment. A second later, a hundred roots burst out of Adjudicator with a shower of blood.

It was only then that Silk released the Avatar. The hole-riddled corpse fell straight into the Abyss.