'What are they trying so hard to protect...?'
Antanasia stared at the empty place where Xalier had vanished.
For a few seconds, she only stood there.
Then she clicked her tongue.
'Anyway, there is no point guessing. I will know once I see it.'
She stepped forward.
The world folded.
A wave of magical force pressed against her body from every direction, squeezing her senses, twisting her balance, and dragging her through the unseen boundary.
'Ugh...'
Antanasia grimaced and covered one eye.
'I never liked this kind of space magic.'
A moment later, her feet touched solid ground.
She shook her head, trying to push away the nausea.
Then her instincts screamed.
"Huh!?"
A fireball rushed toward her face.
"The hell...?"
Her right hand moved instantly.
One katana left its sheath.
Slash.
The fireball split in half and scattered into sparks.
Antanasia's eyes narrowed.
'Weak...?'
No.
Not weak.
Controlled.
The fireball had enough force to hurt, but not enough to kill someone of any real level.
It was training magic.
Her gaze shifted toward the source.
A child stood in the clearing, sweaty, panting, and holding a spear in his left hand.
No.
Not exactly a child.
His appearance was young, but the aura around him felt strange. Too dense. Too distorted. Too layered.
And right now, he was trying very hard not to collapse.
huff... huff...
Temorsth landed on the grass, sweat dripping from his face as he gasped for air.
'I need to get close...'
He pushed forward with the Heart Wood Spear.
The moment he moved, Elah raised one hand.
"Baby..."
Her voice was sweet.
Too sweet.
"If you are going to charge straight at me, you should at least fire magic first."
"Ugh—"
Before he could answer, a strong gust of wind struck him in the chest.
"Uhhh!"
Temorsth flew backward.
Ough.
He bounced once.
Ouch.
Then twice.
Agh.
Then rolled across the grass and stopped near Xalier's feet.
The white flames of the Heart Wood Spear flickered around his body, protecting him from real injury, but they did nothing to protect his pride.
"Uh..."
Temorsth stared at the sky.
"This is not fair..."
He was not using Balance Breaker.
Against Elah, that would have been stupid.
The altered form of the spear might have been more effective against living beings and elves, but even the smallest chance of its instant-death effect activating was unacceptable.
Training was one thing.
Accidentally killing his mother was another.
"Oh..."
Temorsth tilted his head back and saw Xalier standing above him.
"Welcome home, Dad."
'Dad!?'
Antanasia's thoughts stopped.
Her eyes moved from the child to Xalier.
Then back to the child.
"Dad..."
Temorsth slowly lifted one hand toward Xalier.
"Mom is really scary..."
Xalier looked down at his son with a strangely warm expression.
"Son, you do not know half of it. Your mother is a real monster on the battlefield."
His voice was different.
Not the cold, emotionless voice he had used with Antanasia.
Not the king.
Not the executioner.
A father.
Antanasia's mouth opened slightly.
'No...'
The pieces began to move in her head.
'No, no, no. It is a misunderstanding. It has to be.'
Then a woman's voice came from the other side of the clearing.
"Hey. Don't talk about me behind my back."
Antanasia turned.
A beautiful woman approached with a relaxed smile, her white dress moving gently around her legs. Her silver-white hair shone beneath the artificial sky of the hidden world, and her blue eyes were soft enough to look harmless.
Only an idiot would believe that softness.
Antanasia's face changed.
"Olendriant Elahnleth..."
The name slipped out of her mouth.
Then her pupils shrank.
"No. This... this can't be..."
Temorsth pushed himself up from the grass and turned toward the unfamiliar voice.
"Who...?"
Then he saw her.
Long black hair.
Sharp eastern features.
Snow-white skin.
Blood-red eyes.
Red and black clothing.
A green transparent veil floating around her shoulders.
Three swords at her waist.
Temorsth blinked.
"Wow..."
The word slipped out before he could stop it.
"Pretty."
Antanasia looked at him.
For a moment, the entire clearing became still.
Then a voice inside Temorsth spoke with absolute certainty.
Relatio: 'A mature beauty.'
Temorsth's expression twitched.
'Uh, Relatio? How can you be so sure?'
Relatio: 'She is a vampire, and she looks a little older than Mother.'
'Fair point.'
Then another thought arrived.
A worse one.
'Wait...'
Temorsth slowly looked up at Xalier.
His father had one hand on his shoulder, helping him stand.
A strange grin slowly formed on Temorsth's face.
Xalier noticed it immediately.
"...Son?"
Temorsth ignored him.
"Mom!"
Xalier's fingers tightened on his shoulder.
"Son."
"Dad went hunting, right?"
"Son."
"Um, yes," Elah said, still mostly watching Antanasia.
Temorsth's grin widened.
"Then why did he come back with a beautiful woman?"
Xalier vanished from his side.
A fireball passed through the place his head had been a heartbeat earlier.
"Elah—"
Another fireball.
Then wind blades.
Then lightning.
Xalier dodged backward again and again, trying to speak between attacks.
"She is—"
Boom.
"—just—"
Crack.
"—a gift!"
Elah's expression darkened.
"Oh. Is that what you call it now?"
Elemental magic gathered around her like a storm.
Fire.
Wind.
Water.
Lightning.
Earth.
Temorsth collapsed onto the grass, holding his stomach as laughter shook his whole body.
"Hahaha! Go on, Mom!"
Antanasia stared at the scene.
Her brain, already overworked from pain, blood loss, hidden worlds, and oath negotiations, began to fail.
'What is happening?'
She had known Xalier was connected to the elves.
She had known he must have been meeting the Elf Queen.
She had assumed secret alliances.
Political betrayal.
Forbidden negotiations.
Maybe even treason.
But a child?
With Olendriant Elahnleth?
'He looks... older than ten? No. Wait. He is mixed blood, so maybe around thirty...?'
Her thoughts spiraled.
'They have a thirty-year-old child? What the fuck? How long has this been going on?'
Then Xalier finally got enough room to shout.
"Not for me! For our son!"
Elah's magic stopped.
Her eyes narrowed.
"You..."
She looked at Temorsth.
Then back at Xalier.
"He is not even seven."
Antanasia froze.
'Seven?'
Her gaze snapped to Temorsth.
'Seven!?'
The child was still laughing on the ground.
Xalier coughed lightly.
"I started at seven, and he looks more than seven anyway."
"What?"
Elah's voice became dangerously soft.
Xalier smiled immediately.
"Nothing."
Temorsth finally stopped laughing, though his shoulders still trembled.
Xalier sighed, then gestured toward Antanasia.
"Come here."
Antanasia stared for a moment.
Then inwardly gave up.
'Fuck it. I do not understand anything anymore.'
She walked over.
Carefully.
Very carefully.
She knew Xalier.
She had seen him before.
She had heard enough about him, fought him enough, and nearly died to him enough to understand that provoking him was stupid.
But Elah was different.
Antanasia had seen the Elf Queen only a few times, mostly during major events her sister had dragged her to. Everything else she knew came from rumors.
And every rumor said the same thing.
Olendriant Elahnleth was not someone to anger.
Xalier placed one hand lightly on Temorsth's shoulder.
"Antanasia, this is our son, Temorsth."
Antanasia's eyes moved to the child.
"Son, this is Antanasia Blesteman."
A pause.
"Your new servant."
"What?"
"What?"
Temorsth and Antanasia spoke at the same time.
Elah's eyes narrowed as well.
"What?"
Temorsth pointed at himself.
"Why am I getting a servant?"
Antanasia did not speak again.
She did not dare.
Xalier looked at Elah first.
"You heard him earlier. He wants to go outside. We cannot always be with him, and there are very few people we can trust to guard him."
Elah looked at Antanasia.
Her expression did not soften.
"You trust her?"
"No."
Xalier answered immediately.
"I trust the oath."
Antanasia's jaw tightened, but she said nothing.
Xalier continued.
"She is strong. She knows how to fight. She knows how to kill. And once bound properly, she cannot betray him."
"But still..."
Elah's voice became quieter as she looked at Temorsth.
"What if..."
She stopped herself.
Because the answer was obvious.
What if someone came while they were gone?
What if Temorsth went outside one day?
What if he needed someone who could protect him without needing to know everything?
What if their enemies moved faster than they expected?
Xalier looked at Antanasia.
"Then you know what to do."
Antanasia exhaled slowly.
Then she knelt before Temorsth.
For the first time, Temorsth saw her properly lower her head.
"I, Antanasia Blesteman, swear by my Dao Heart and my Mana Core to serve my lord, Temorsth."
Her voice was steady.
But her fingers were clenched tightly.
"This oath will not be broken until my sister is protected, until I am given no order to harm her, and until I am allowed to meet her if I wish."
She paused.
Her eyes shifted slightly.
"I also will not be sent to my death, and my memories will not be changed—"
"The last two conditions are invalid." Xalier cut her off without hesitation.
Antanasia's eyebrow twitched.
"...Fuck... the last two conditions are void."
Temorsth blinked.
A voice inside him immediately reacted.
Feral: 'I like her.'
Persona: 'Of course you do.'
Temorsth's face shifted slightly.
Xalier noticed.
"Son."
"Uh, yes?"
"This is a Dao Heart Oath."
Xalier's voice became more serious.
"If you do not trust someone, you can make them swear by their Dao Heart. If you want it to be even harder to break, especially against demonic or corrupted beings, you also bind it to the Mana Core."
Temorsth nodded slowly.
"So if she breaks it..."
"She suffers the consequences of breaking both."
Antanasia's face remained lowered, but her hands tightened.
Temorsth looked at her for a moment.
Then said, "I understand."
"Good." Xalier nodded. "Now follow after me."
Xalier spoke the beginning of the response, and Temorsth repeated it carefully.
"I, Lear Olendriant Temorsth, accept Antanasia Blesteman's terms and accept her as my servant."
The moment the last word left his mouth, green energy appeared between them.
Not light.
A chain.
It formed from Antanasia's chest first, then reached toward Temorsth.
For half a heartbeat, Temorsth almost stepped back.
Then the chain sank into him.
A strange pressure touched his soul.
Not painful.
Not pleasant.
Only heavy.
Antanasia's body trembled once.
Then the oath settled.
[Notice: The Host has formed a soul connection with another being.]
[The Host's new servant, Antanasia Blesteman (Cursed Blade), is chained to the Host's soul.]
Temorsth stared at the window.
'Servant... tab?'
A new section appeared at the bottom of his Status window.
He opened it with a thought.
[Servants:]
[Antanasia Blesteman (Cursed Blade)]
Temorsth stared at the name.
'What can I do with a servant?'
Aidana answered immediately.
[The Host can give orders, and the servant must obey as long as the order does not violate the conditions made during the oath.]
[The Host can send commands, emotions, and memories to those connected to the Host's soul.]
[The Host can also read emotions or memories from them, depending on the strength of the connection and resistance.]
[The Host can feel the presence of those bound to the Host's soul. If the Host allows it, they may also feel the Host's presence.]
[These abilities function as long as master and servant are on the same Plane or connected dimension.]
Temorsth frowned.
'Can I see her status?'
[Not fully.]
[The Existence Rank difference is too great. The world does not grant the Host the right to view her full status, level, skills, or cultivation.]
'Again with Existence Rank...'
[Then become strong enough that Existence Rank cannot bind you anymore.]
'Hm...'
Temorsth brushed the thought aside for now.
That was not something he could solve today.
Antanasia slowly stood.
The moment she did, Temorsth noticed her staring at him.
"What is it?"
He tilted his head.
"Is there something on my face?"
Antanasia hesitated.
Only for a moment.
Then her tone changed.
More formal.
More careful.
"You..."
She swallowed.
"My lord is dying?"
The clearing became quiet.
Neither Xalier nor Elah looked surprised.
Antanasia was only two Stages below them. It was natural that she could see the Light and Dark inside Temorsth's body fighting each other.
Temorsth looked at her.
"Yes."
His answer came coldly.
Too coldly.
Antanasia's posture stiffened.
"I... apologize for asking."
"Hm?"
Temorsth blinked.
Then realized how his voice must have sounded.
He softened his tone slightly.
"Did you do anything?"
Antanasia paused.
"I... did not."
"Then why apologize?"
She looked at him.
For the first time, she seemed genuinely unsure how to answer.
Temorsth looked away.
"I just don't like thinking about it."
His hand moved to the Heart Wood Spear.
"Right now, all I can do is use this to control some of the leaking energy. That's it."
Elah's expression softened.
Xalier said nothing.
Antanasia looked at the spear.
Then at the child.
Her new lord.
The king's son.
The Elf Queen's son.
A child not even seven years old, already half-dying from powers inside his own body, holding a divine spear and speaking as if death were merely an annoying condition.
For a brief moment, Antanasia felt the oath chain in her soul grow heavier.
'What the hell did I get dragged into...?'
Then Temorsth looked back at her.
His expression was calmer now.
"Also, don't be too formal."
Antanasia blinked.
"What?"
"I don't like it."
"You are my lord."
"Yes, but if you keep saying it like that, it feels weird."
Antanasia looked at Xalier.
Xalier looked back.
He did not help.
She looked at Elah.
Elah smiled politely.
That somehow helped even less.
Antanasia exhaled.
"...Then what should I call you?"
Temorsth thought about it.
Then shrugged.
"Temorsth is fine."
Antanasia stared.
The oath chain remained silent.
No punishment.
No forced correction.
Nothing.
"...Alright."
A strange smile slowly appeared on her face.
"Temorsth."
Xalier's eyes narrowed slightly.
Elah's smile became a little colder.
Antanasia immediately added, "Young lord."
Temorsth sighed.
"Better, I guess."
Feral: 'No, I liked the first one.'
Persona: 'That is exactly why she should not use it.'
Temorsth ignored them.
Antanasia looked at the family before her.
The vampire king.
The Elven Queen.
The dying child with a divine spear.
And herself, newly chained to him by Dao Heart and Mana Core.
A laugh almost escaped her.
She swallowed it down.
Barely.
'How troublesome.'
Then her smile returned.
'How fun.'