“Why did you locked my memories away from me?” More and more answers slotted into place as realizations occurred to me, but there was still more there that needed to be answered.

“The answer is complicated. I could simply lie to you and tell you it’s because I’m spiteful and jealous, but that isn’t the case. In all reality, the chains that bind your memories serve as a safety measure. We have both lived two different lives. For all my life, you were there, though for all of yours, I was a distant memory.” She paused for a moment and crossed her legs before clearing her throat. “But I shrouded your memories so you can focus on the present, and in due time, they will be returned.”

“That isn’t fair. What makes you think you have the right to decide my life?” Rage sparked in my chest as her words graced my ears. How dare she. She doesn’t have the right to take that from me and hide who I am.

“Life isn’t fair, Calixa. It isn’t fair that I had to kill myself to save everyone I’ve ever loved. It wasn’t fair that I had to send countless innocents to their deaths just to buy enough time to save what was left of the world. I have so much blood on my hands I drown every time I close my eyes. Yes, I stripped you of most of your memories, and I wish I didn’t have to. By every god that has existed, I wish I didn’t have to. But, it’s been almost five thousand years since that day. You’ve lived dozens of lifetimes. I’ve lived one. If I don’t piecemeal our memories together, we will die and everything I’ve worked for up to this point will be for nothing.” Her words came out in a measured cadence and were so thick with vitriol I shuddered.

My anger quickly faded as her words slammed into me like a truck. I held my tongue for a moment as I tried to work through everything she had just told me. She and I are the same, but separate. It would make sense that our souls were the same, but we shared different bodies. “I’m sorry. I’m just angry. Nothing makes sense to me right now, and I can’t stand that my memories are shrouded like this.” I felt bad that I had snapped at her. But I had a right, didn’t I?

“It’s fine. I knew you would be angry.” She sat forward in her chair and stared at me. Silence hung in the air between us, and I was thankful for it. It gave me enough time to figure out some questions.

“How did we die?” That was the first and the heaviest question.

“That is a long story. But in short, in order to combat a fell ritual, I had to sacrifice my core. Though in the process my body was damaged so much I died shortly after.” She shrugged, as if it didn’t mean all that much to her.

“But if you are dead, how are you here?” I started to connect the dots as I thought about her response. But I needed to know if I was right.

“Because in exchange for sacrificing myself, I became the god of the undead.” Her eyes flickered sadly again as she sat back in her chair. The passing of time looked as if it weighed heavily on her. Even though she was fully clothed, I could see how her burden was pressing her down.

“So, by extension I am a god too.” The final dot connected in my head, and it all made sense now why my memories were hidden from me. We were two souls that were fractured from one another. We were separate but not equal. She needed me to grow in power, so we can become one in the future.

The shear scale of her sacrifice was terrifying as well. Was I truly capable of doing such a thing? How did she have the heart to do that? How did she become a goddess? It was just question after question and it made my head throb trying to think about it all.

She nodded her head at my answer. “You are. Though at the moment, you are still mortal with a divine spark. You need to regain the power that we have lost, and to do that, it requires you to cultivate and rebuild. Though from the looks of things, you lack the ability to cultivate mana.”

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“My mana orb was dark, and I wasn’t sure why. I was going to ask you about that next.”

“When I fractured my soul, I produced three fragments. This one, you, and a third. Though now the third one has become their own person. I, myself, can cultivate nothing but divine essence. The third keeps the ability to cultivate all three. You, I’m afraid, were the most damaged. Though that won’t be an issue.” Her eyes flickered, much like what Kharon’s did when he was thinking.

“Wait, there is a third? What do you mean, they became their own person?” More questions slid into my mind and I tried to lay them out carefully, since I wasn’t sure how much time I had to ask them.

“In due time, now, are there questions that you would like to have answered?”

I quickly cycled through my questions and really thought about it. I knew who I was, for starters. Which was good. As for where I came from, I wasn’t sure, and neither was she. Though if I had to bet, she may have known and was holding off from telling me. I mean, I’d have done the same thing. But there were a few questions I needed to know in place of that. “What was that fell ritual? Also, what relation does Kharon have to us?”

“The ritual was known as the Ruination of Alemorra. It corrupted a tree of life and shattered the balance between the realms of heaven, hell, and everything in between. With it, the cycle of life on this planet was halted, and the dead roamed freely. However, under the spell, they were mindless, and devoured everything in their path. Once I broke the chains of the spell, they became like you and I. A new race that could live as freely as any mortal.” Her eyes flared and passion filled her voice for a moment before she settled down. “Before you ask, I erased the spell from your memory. It’s better that way.”

She stared at me for a moment; she bobbed her feet in her chair. Giving me some time to digest the new information. So, I was a goddess. I ruled over the undead, which would make sense since I was in a ruined kingdom. That would mean that Kharon was also undead too. I mean, it would make sense with everything he said and how he acted. Did the thought disturb me? I wasn’t sure yet. I needed time to think about that. “And Kharon?”

“He’s like a grandfather. He’s been around since before I was born. Hell, he’s been around since my dad was a baby. Though do be careful. The man has a silver tongue crafted by the gods. He will never bring harm to you, but you may find yourself spun in a web of your own doing.” Her eyes flickered to life for a second before mellowing out a bit.

“I can tell. Thank you for telling me about him. Anyway, while we are talking, can you help me out? I have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing or even how to cultivate.” I had calmed down since I had more answers than questions. Now it was much easier to focus on the task at hand.

“Ah yes. The good news is that I also double as your inheritance. All my knowledge is at your disposal. However, the bad news is that I will only give you three starting techniques.” She shifted her legs and gazed at me with indifference.

I was trying to figure her out as we talked. She didn’t seem much like an empress as we spoke. But maybe that was because she was lonely after all this time. I didn’t blame her, of course. She said she waited five thousand years, after all. “Well, that doesn’t help me. I don’t know what you have.”

I could almost feel a grin cross her face from under her mask. “I know. The first technique I will give you is the basics to the Asterian Dragon. It’s only natural that you have this, as you are royalty.” As soon as she spoke, I felt something heavy press into my mind. It was a flow of information, and it contained information on how to cycle my Ki. How to swing my fist, and move my feet.

As I was struggling to contain the information, she spoke again. “For the next, I will grant you the foundation of the Path of the Forgotten Warrior.”

This time, another wave of information crashed into my mind and with it came a long-lost memory. It was of a man with waves of blonde hair that stretched down to his shoulders. His blue eyes were alight with fiery passion and a wide grin that I could only describe as shit-eating. I couldn’t seem to remember his name, but seeing him brought a pain to my heart. A long-lost friend, perhaps?

The amount of information that was entering my head was, by all accounts, small, yet it was more than what I could handle at that very moment with everything else I had learned. But I had a feeling this was only the start.