Part 2, Chapter 9
Part 2, Chapter 9
Translation: godsn
"Rachel, remember this. You must take everything and make it yours. You mustn't leave that woman any path to survive—you mustn't repeat your foolish mother's mistakes."
Overlapping with the voice sternly repeating these words came her mother's final admonishment, gripping her wrist painfully as she shouted.
"Swear to me! Swear you'll never forget your mother's words!"
Rachel's mother had been the Shadeia tribe's prophetess.
When the Goddess descended upon the primordial continent, she needed a representative to convey her words to humanity. So she chose one human, fed them her blood, and bestowed upon them omniscience—including prophecy and healing.
That human's name was Shadeia.
The first "Saintess" that the Holy Kingdom finds in its mythology is merely a figure modeled after the primordial Shadeia.
After helping the Goddess drive back the darkness and establish humanity's foothold, Shadeia closed her eyes.
And over generations, her bloodline inherited the position of the Goddess's representative.
These representatives were called "prophetesses" by the people.
Though the Goddess's blood had thinned over millennia and could no longer manifest such mighty omniscience, Shadeia's primordial lineage continued nonetheless.
And when it reached the generation of Medeia's mother, Selene, a revelation descended upon the prophetess of that era.
[The Gold Star is shrouded in calamitous mist. Only when the darkness bearing misfortune is expelled will the pure light illuminate the world.]
On the night when—just as prophesied—the Gold Star's orbit aligned with the holy city of light, the prophetess's daughter gave birth to a child and departed the world. The tribe named the child Selene and called her the "Child of Prophecy."
This Selene had a maid named Lilith—an orphan the prophetess had found in the desert.
"A granddaughter born on the same day and year as my own. Surely this is a bond sent by the Goddess herself."
Lilith faithfully served as both maid and friend by Selene's side, and Selene in turn treated her like family.
Yet Lilith always harbored one question.
"I was also born in the holy city of light... So why am I not the Child of Prophecy?"
The only difference between her and Selene, who shared the same age and birthdate, was bloodline. That question soon became a yearning—one that grew uncontrollably.
"Tell me truly... is it possible to defy the prophecy?"
"My, my, little maid. You still don't know the omniscience of black magic, do you? Why do you think the Goddess worked so hard to drive back the darkness? Because it's powerful enough to make even gods tremble in fear."
So much so that Lilith eventually sought out black mages and crossed into forbidden taboos she should never have touched.
"Trust us. We'll make you into Shadeia's prophetess."
At last, Lilith resolved:
If the prophecy wouldn't choose her, she would seize it with her own hands.
"Sob... Lady Selene...! What should I do...?!"
She deceived Selene, branded her with black magic's sigil, then reported to the tribe that Selene had broken their taboos.
"Black magic?! Selene, how could you?!"
Caught in this cunning scheme, Selene was stripped of her qualifications as prophetess and driven from the tribe.
"The 'Child of Prophecy' would never dabble in black magic. Perhaps we misinterpreted the prophecy?"
"That maid who serves Selene shares the same birthdate, didn't they say? Could it be that the prophecy actually pointed to her instead of Selene...?"
And so Lilith succeeded in becoming Shadeia's prophetess.
But was it the Goddess's punishment upon a tribe that failed to recognize her true representative? Disaster after disaster befell the Shadeia tribe.
Hordes of magic beasts overran them; floods and storms ravaged them. The few survivors perished under the Holy Kingdom's persecution.
Lilith, elevated to prophetess in Selene's place, had foreseen none of it.
In the end, the tribe was annihilated. Only then did they realize:
"Lilith is a fake! That's why the Goddess is enraged!"
Fearing her deeds would be exposed, Lilith abandoned the tribe and fled to the black mages.
And then she realized.
That she hadn't stolen even a fraction of Selene's destiny.
"Did you know? Selene became the Queen of Valdina."
"What?"
Lilith was devastated.
Her former mistress, blessed by that damned goddess, had not only avoided ruin after being cast out from the tribe—she had risen to even greater nobility and happiness.
It was incomparable to Lilith, who had to scurry beneath the surface of society, trailing after black mages.
Lilith couldn't bear it.
This wasn't how it was supposed to be. She had stolen Selene's fate—so why was everything still the same?
Why was Selene still bathed in radiant light while she remained trapped in this suffocating darkness?
"I should have killed her back then..."
Only then did Lilith realize her fatal mistake.
Even after seizing the path that should have been Selene's, she had been unable to wield the goddess's power—because she hadn't taken everything.
"I should have stolen her life too! Only then would Selene's destiny have truly become mine!"
At the time, she had been so fixated on becoming the prophetess that she had simply let Selene go. Now, it was an eternal regret.
Not long after, Selene was killed by enemy forces.
But Lilith felt no joy.
Because she hadn't taken Selene's life herself, she could no longer interfere with her destiny.
"Don't worry. There's still a chance. The knot of this karma that you couldn't sever—your daughter will bear it."
This was her opportunity. The fate she had ultimately failed to grasp could still be fulfilled—through her daughter.
Selene and Lilith.
And their daughters—Medeia and Rachel.
In this life-and-death struggle where one must steal or be stolen from, coexistence was impossible for either side.
"Rachel, don't forget. To make her destiny yours, you must take everything—her family, her love, her achievements... all of it. Even her death!"
Until the moment she closed her eyes, Lilith drilled this into her daughter's mind. Hoping Rachel wouldn't make the same foolish mistakes she had.
"Don't worry, Mother. I haven't forgotten."
Rachel murmured quietly as she gazed into the mirror.
Sssss—
Then it happened.
The round pendant placed before her emitted a searing heat. Rachel opened it. The sacred image of the goddess that should have been inside had turned black.
- Has the King fallen yet?
A rough, metallic voice spilled from the pendant.
"Not yet. But the Agema are almost there."
Rachel answered. The way she spoke so naturally to the pendant suggested this was a frighteningly familiar exchange.
"I've left the mark. Once the brainwashing stabilizes, they'll move as commanded."
The Holy Power she had so benevolently bestowed upon the knights had, in truth, been a means to brand them with black magic.
- Don't spread the marks recklessly. You haven't even gotten close to the primary target yet—don't waste precious power.
Even the news of successfully brainwashing the Agema didn't bring joy to the voice in the pendant. Instead, it scolded Rachel for squandering her counterfeit Holy Power.
Brainwashing through black magic was powerful—but fleeting. Unless reinforced periodically, its effects would weaken. A fatal flaw.
That was why, even after arriving in Valdina, Rachel had lingered around Pelleus and the Agema.
- The Holy Knights will arrive soon. You don't plan to leave empty-handed, do you? Do you have any idea how many sacrifices we've burned through just to trigger the Wave?
Finally, Rachel snapped, unable to hold back her frustration.
"I know. But what am I supposed to do when nothing goes my way?"
King Pelleus of Valdina was infuriatingly resilient—his mental fortitude was unshakable.
Even Dianzel, the head of the Royal Guard, had been swayed somewhat. But this so-called Holy Slaughterer gave no opening for black magic to take root.
The King's defenses—cold, towering, and impenetrable—never once faltered.
And this was despite Rachel being the very one who had saved his life.
Why...? This shouldn't be happening...
Nothing worked—not her salvation, not her goodwill, nothing.
And after arriving in Valdina, he even refused purification, cutting off any chance to plant a mark on him.