Iris placed her hands on her lap. She straightened her back, no longer leaning on her sofa, and looked into Vivalin’s eyes. A determined smile materialised on her face, an expression as clear as the crystalised sky.

“Why did you trust me so much, Your Highness?” she said. “I am but a stranger to you, to your empire, to your world. Except for our connection with Lady Lilith, nothing of ours aligns, not our goal, not our dream.”

“Lady Lilith is too a stranger, one of the Five Catastrophes, yet she liberated us, freed us from the shackle of The Divine.”

Vivalin, sitting opposite Iris, tapped her fingers on the table in front of her. As she lifted her hand, a scroll manifested beneath it. She flicked her wrist. The scroll floated to Iris, who caught and unfurled it.

“There exists nothing more painful than faith, Your Highness. Please don’t let me hurt you. Not when you can prevent it.”

“Faith is also the most heavenly of emotions. Has it not granted you endless valour?”

Iris’s countenance melted. Her eyes pinkened with fragmented memory. “I regretted not my choice. They’re my everything, Your Highness. Am I your everything?”

“You’re a part of my everything, a no small part of it.”

Iris finished reading the scroll and placed it on the table. “To give me such a significant authority, the noble must’ve objected to it.”

“Who would dare question my decision?” Vivalin beamed. “If they do, I shall gift them such authority and all attached responsibility.”

“How devilish, Your Highness, using me as a shield.”

“That’s why I made the reward irresistible.” Vivalin snapped her fingers. “Is it not enough?”

“An infinite access to Classical Antique Vault, a Corrupted Imperial Emblem, and the ownership of a palace, are you not fearful of my avarice?”

“I’m waiting for you to try.” Vivalin covered her mouth. “But there is no need to go that far. I can offer you my body, and you—”

“Please don’t say such misleading words!” Iris averted her gaze. “I’m not that kind of person. What you see is merely a consequence of my Condensation.”

Vivalin’s eyes gleamed. Sparks of inspiration and surprises hovered in her irises. “You . . . how could you listen to the whispers of the world?”

“I would’ve already revealed the method if I knew.” Iris pressed her right hand on her abdomen. “This body of mine contains many secrets, secrets that not even I know.”

“Shall we run a few experiments?” Vivalin grasped her own shoulders and drew down her laced nightly dress. “Tying you with my body is beneficial to all of us.”

Iris jumped up from the sofa. Her arms tensed, though her expression revealed no flushes. “This heart has been divided into many small pieces; you’ll lose more than you could get.”

“Experiencing the rumoured bliss as well as receiving your affection, will there ever be a better deal?” Vivalin giggled. “Now, tell me what you desire, in celebration of your Condensation.”

Iris wanted to refuse, but she couldn’t, not when stared at by such a charming gaze. That forceful gaze permitted no denial.

“Your Highness, please allow me to lead an expedition to Geotra Republic.” Iris waved her right hand. An ethereal projection of the map of The Broken Empire and its surroundings manifested on the table. “A relatively small nation near our border. Is it not a perfect place to assert our influence?”

“Although its landmass is inferior to its neighbours, its geography is an excellent natural barrier against invasion. And its upper echelons consist of ancient Elven lineages, tracing from an older Era.”

“It would be unwise to declare war against such a reserved republic without justification.” Iris pointed at Geotra Republic on the map. Her fingertips landed on its capital. “The world confided to me a secret worthy of such an invasion.”

“Did Lady Lilith leave behind a treasure there?” Vivalin lifted her head and stared at a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. “Our archive has detailed that she once ventured to the land that eventually became Geotra Republic. However, we do not know the purpose of her visit.”

“Her means are beyond our reach, her goals beyond our imagination.” Iris swirled her hand around The Republic, fuzzing its image. “All that her shadow whispered to me is its existence. I cannot promise you anything except for a fruitful conquest.”

“Are you to bring me the gift of Falling The Republic?”

“I dare not promise such an extravagant feat. But I dare promise a modest one; Lady Lilith’s Legacy will return to us.”

“What you call modest is unachievable by all but the most distinguished.” Vivalin drew her hand forward. “Your request is troubling, Dear Iris. I can permit your departure, but, although you’ll soon become a Marchioness, you utterly lack an army of your own.”

Vivalin could summon more Monster Girls, but the nobles would object to it, not when they had yet deemed Iris worthy of the favour. Only a select few knew of Iris’s otherworldly origin, and even fewer were aware of her role in the grandest design.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“My debut will be the stage upon which I build my visage. Although my influence won’t match yours, I won’t bring shame to the title you bestowed.” Iris sauntered to sit beside Vivalin. “The issue of reputation will not occur. The issue of manpower, we shall settle it right here, right now.”

“Are you sure you want to treat me like your lover?” Vivalin grinned. Her eyes peered through Iris’s thin clothes, landing on Iris’s bare flesh. “You may tease me, but beware, I may tease back, and it might not end with simple words.”

Iris hmphed. Her mischievous part liked to appear when it should not.

She was in the presence of the Second Princess of The Broken Empire, the True Master who commanded the respect of all Monster Girls. She should’ve been respectful, but a part of her, that devilishly twisted part of hers, thought it natural to flirt with such a historic figure.

Since when did she feel so at ease with Vivalin?

“My ambiguous words may have misled you.” Iris wryly smiled. “I wish to trade a secret of mine for an army of yours. I believe what I hold will be beneficial to your path toward Ascension.”

Vivalin raised her eyebrows. If anyone else asserted such a ridiculous claim, she would’ve already sent them to their knees. Such arrogance before her was worthy of capital punishment.

But Iris, so mysterious was her origin, so enigmatic her knowledge, she was one of the few mortals who could grasp secrets of the transcendent.

“Your offering is too significant to be a mere jest. Please don’t disappoint me, Iris.” Vivalin’s voice seeped into the chilly atmosphere. Her invisibly subtle Domains expanded to envelope the bedroom. “Now, none but us will hear you.”

Iris lightly coughed. Her heart pulsated as her Corruption Power stirred within her body. Her human disguise flickered as her slimy appearance flashed beneath her soft membrane.

She closed her eyes. A series of visions coursed through her. Her past, the past of the candidate for The Lord’s blessing, retraced itself. The scriptures she must recite, the prayers she must chant, they echoed the faintest hint of the laws of the universe.

The Lord, the goddess of an interstellar civilisation, the sole goddess of her world . . . and the goddess who sends her here.

To such an incomprehensible existence, what would the world look like? To such an eternal existence, what would the laws feel like?

Chaotic emotions bubbled within Iris, each framing her soul in a particular mindset. The ordinary burst into sparks of noise, giving way to the ineffable. She carelessly assumed all roles available, and she recklessly gleaned all possible intuition from them.

Yet these all-knowing insights, upon coming into existence within her, crumbled into the void like a ghostly shadow vanishing under the sun. Only the faintest hint of its message persisted, though indescribably.

Frowning, Vivalin disappeared from her sofa and manifested a distance from Iris. An overwhelming yet undetectable aura loomed over her heart. She stared at the trembling Iris, whose expression alternated between all profundity.

Within that countenance lay an immortal mystery, a world inaccessible. Whatever hid beneath it, it was what she had been searching for!

As Vivalin gradually committed herself to studying that unspeakable sensation, Iris opened her eyes. Their golden shades became infinitely blue, endlessly luminous. Within their shadow contained an intergalactic void, composed of celestial filaments, in which resided a sea of stars innumerable.

Vivalin’s pupils cracked. Tears welled at the corners of her eyes. An urge to blink, to protect her sight from the fiery radiance, filled her essence. She forced her eyelids still, and her mind raced against the enclosing blindness.

The fabric of reality creaked. Vivalin took a step back. Her feet pressed against the floor, which softened like a luxurious pillow, and sank into it. She felt her perception drowning in an inconceivable ocean, her heart enclosed by a monumental construction.

The world became perplexing, lifelike, and maddening. It crushed her who dared to seek its secret, and it suppressed every part of her that refused to yield.

Although she was powerful beyond ordinary, she was still akin to ashes coursing with a breeze when compared to the great tempest that was the world itself.

As the blackness consumed her vision, she finally failed to keep her eyes open. Her Pure Power, distilled and compressed to its fundamental essence, exploded from her soul. The mighty pressure vanished from her sense; the darkness dispersed like smoke against a gale.

Something about her, something she had yet to figure out, was different. Her soul shimmered with newborn airiness. The world no longer oppressed her but lulled her. Her intuition, her esoteric perception sharpened.

If she decided to once more sink into the world, she would be swimming in a warm, soothing ocean where fairy whispers informed her of secrets known by the world itself.

Tenderness embraced her. Feather-like sensations tickled her nerves. She gradually opened her eyes and found herself laying on a large bed, with curtains concealing her figure from the outside. She rose up and looked for Iris, who was noting down her prior experience.

Vivalin wearily smiled. Her previously brimming strength lost its shine. Even her unreadable eyes lost their keenness. The ultimate truth revealed by Iris, it’d depleted her very essence.

“How long . . . have I been asleep?” Vivalin said. “You . . . should’ve slept with me, Iris. You’re the master of this bedroom, the owner of this bed.”

Iris stopped writing. She lifted her head and stared at a mirror above her. Its reflection revealed Vivalin’s silhouette obscured by the translucent curtains.

“How could I disturb your much-needed rest?” she said. “If the maids found out that we spent the night together, the rumours would be unstoppable.”

“Would it not solve our problem?” Vivalin’s voice danced. “The reason I took you into the palace is love. The influence you’ll wield as my princess will dwarf that of a Marchioness.”

“That status will also restrict my movement.” Iris closed her eyes. “Your Highness, do you not feel curious about my secret?”

“It’d be a lie to deny, but such a sensitive topic, how could I force you?”

“The truth is, I also don’t know. This body, this memory, are they really mine?” Iris chuckled. “What I did was simply mimicry, but it . . . felt so real, too real to be a simple imitation.”

Why did everyone desire her? She might be able to charm a few of her friends and enemies. But those beings, they stood at the pinnacle of existence. Why would they design such an unimaginable scheme to help her?

This gift to Vivalin, it was also an experiment, a test of her hypothesis. She had yet to find the truth; she had no idea how close she was; she couldn’t even know if she could ascertain the truth. The result, however, gave her a glimpse of what it could be.

Oh Lord, what did you do to me?

“Vivalin, could it be possible, that we were the ones to deceive ourselves?”

“If one cannot trust themselves, who could they trust?”

“The only one they can trust . . . would be no one but themselves.” Iris closed her book and rose from her chair. “Please don’t trust anyone, Vivalin. Don’t trust me, don’t trust yourself, don’t trust . . . even Lady Lilith.”

Vivalin narrowed her eyes. After what’d just transpired, Iris’s words now carried weight too immense to dismiss. She had never known what happened, what was happening, and what would happen.

She couldn’t even trust herself.

“I’ll . . . keep your words in mind, Iris.” Vivalin walked to the door, opened it, and left the room. “For what you’ve given me, I’m thankful.”

Everything Iris did was for her family. Everything Vivalin did was for her empire. What, then, was Lady Lilith fighting for?