CHAPTER 22: THE FIRST EMPRESS

Aegis tried to push herself up.

Immediately, she fell on her face. Her body, after all that, wouldn’t listen. She hadn’t fallen to her death, but it immediately became clear that the return journey would be several times faster than the journey upwards. Probably with a lot of help from gravity.

[I can’t feel my arms.]

That ghostly figure, Queen Rosanna, walked over. Aegis wanted to scurry back like the rat she may as well have been in this woman’s presence, but she couldn’t even manage that.

"Hm."

With a casual gesture, Rosanna let aether pour out from the tip of her right index finger. That aether expanded and then wrapped around Aegis, and all her soreness started to wash away. It was like dipping into a warm bath. Even her uniform stitched itself back together.

[Holy shit.]

Aegis flexed her fingers. It was like she’d never climbed at all.

"Better?" Rosanna’s voice carried a small amount of amusement.

"I—yes. Thank you."

"Good." Her voice was as smooth as the transparent clothing wrapped around her. "Stand."

Aegis obeyed literally as quickly as she could, marveling at how her body responded. No soreness. No weakness. She felt better than she had since arriving in this world.

Suddenly, Rosanna began walking around Aegis. She circled her, her ghostly eyes looking Aegis up and down and taking in every single inch that made her up.

"Now. Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

The familiar tingle hit Aegis’s mind.

Dialogue options bloomed in her vision:

1. "I got lost." [LIE]

2. "What are YOU doing here?" [DEFLECT]

3. "I came to meditate and expand my aether pool." [TRUTH]

4. "Looking for beautiful ghosts, apparently." [FLIRT]

Aegis only took a moment to consider those options.

[She’s a ghost queen who just healed me with a gesture. Pretty sure she can see through bullshit.]

"I came to meditate and expand my aether pool." Aegis met those ancient eyes. "The aether density up here is supposed to be incredible."

"Is it now?" Rosanna’s lips quirked. "And who told you such things?"

"I... heard rumors."

"Mmm." The ghost queen turned away. "Meditation can take many forms, child. Care to join me?"

"Uh... sure?"

She beckoned Aegis to the platform’s edge. Aegis walked over slowly.

The city sprawled below them, thousands of lights from sconces, magical lampposts that turned on and off on their own, and lamps behind people’s windows twinkling in the darkness.

From up here, Rosevale looked so peaceful.

"Tell me what you see."

Aegis studied the view. She could feel Rosanna’s presence next to her, almost overwhelming, but the view made it easier to handle.

"The academy. The city. All of Valdria, it feels like."

"Surface observations, child." Rosanna’s tone held gentle reproach. "Look deeper."

[What does she want me to say?]

"I see... prosperity? Growth?"

"Do you?" Aegis looked up to see Rosanna’s gaze fixed on the streets below, narrowed in an... unsatisfied expression. "I see a kingdom balanced on a knife’s edge. Power concentrated in too few hands. Corruption spreading like rot through wood."

Aegis stayed quiet. Rosanna continued.

"When I founded this kingdom, I dreamed of something better." Rosanna’s form flickered momentarily. "A land where none starved and prosperity was universal. But dreams have a way of twisting in mortal hands."

Aegis waited to see if she had more to add. When it became clear she didn’t, at least for now, Aegis asked:

"Are you real? Or... are you just an illusion?"

Rosanna turned, eyebrow raised.

"Which answer would you like to hear?"

"Huh?"

"Heh," Rosanna smirked, looking away. "I’m asking if it would set you at ease to hear that I am but a mere projection of someone who once existed. Or, if it would scare you to know that I am indeed Queen Rosanna herself, standing before you, with the power to unmake you with a mere flick. What would you like to hear?"

Aegis looked away to think about it. It was hard to think of anything with those ghostly eyes on her.

1. "Reality is subjective anyway." [PHILOSOPHY]

2. "I’d like it if you weren’t real." [DEFENSIVE]

3. "As long as you can touch me and I can touch you, that’s all that matters." [FLIRT]

4. "I would be disappointed if you weren’t." [HONEST]

Aegis’s eyes widened.

That last option felt like the System had looked into her own heart and plucked the option out.

"I would be disappointed if you weren’t," Aegis answered, sounding like she was surprising herself.

"Interesting... Well, in this world, death is rarely final. The aether binds all things. Life, death, memory, will. With sufficient power and purpose, one can... linger." She gestured at herself. "To answer your question, I am what remains of Rosanna Valdris. Not alive, not truly dead. In places dense with magic, like this tower I once built, I can manifest. Touch the world with my own two feet again. Review the consequences of the paths I chose," she said softly.

Her eyes narrowed.

"Speaking of paths, you’re tainted."

Aegis tensed.

"Tainted?"

"The Umbral Realm clings to you like honeyweed smoke." Rosanna circled again. "Shadow magic. Dangerous for one so inexperienced. And..."

She stopped, staring at Aegis’s back.

"You also wear my cloak."

[Oh... shit.]

"My greatest creation." Rosanna’s voice went cold. "Hidden in the crypts to be buried with me, where none should find it. Yet here you stand, wrapped in moonlight and shadow both. Explain."

Naturally, Aegis got new options:

1. "I found it by accident." [LIE]

2. "I was robbing the graves, but I didn’t know what this was." [HALF-TRUTH]

3. "I looked for it because I knew where it was." [HONEST]

4. "... Finders keepers?" [DEFIANT]

"I had done some research and came across rumors of where your cloak was hidden. So, I looked for it, because I knew where it was. Also, I found out someone at the academy is a shadow sorceress and asked her to teach me. I want to acquire every advantage I can."

Rosanna’s eyes widened. Aegis looked away. If Rosanna was about to actually snap her fingers and decide that Aegis didn’t need to exist anymore, she didn’t want to see it happen.

Silence stretched between them.

She moved closer.

"I see in you something familiar. A bright mind. A passionate heart. The willingness to grasp power regardless of cost." Her expression darkened. "I walked that path once. Built an empire. United the realm. And in the end, I destroyed everything I loved."

[That’s heavy...]

"The shadow magic will corrupt you." She said it with the same energy someone else would say ’tomorrow, it’s gonna rain’. "The power you seek will demand prices you cannot imagine. Continue this way, and you’ll repeat my mistakes."

Finally, one more set of options appeared.

[CRITICAL CHOICE]

1. "I’ll be different." [STUBBORN]

2. "Then, what choice do I have?" [RESIGNED]

3. "Then, help me avoid the mistakes you made. [SPECIAL]

[Wait, what? Special?]

That third choice pulsed with golden light. Aegis hadn’t seen that yet.

But, looking at it now... It was obvious what option she needed to go with.

"Then help me." She stepped forward. "If you can keep me from walking down the wrong path, why not ensure I don’t repeat your mistakes?"

Rosanna’s eyes widened slightly.

"Bold." The word carried weight. "You’d ask a failure like me to guide you?"

"Failure? You built a whole empire!"

"Heh," Rosanna shook her head. "Yes... An empire I would trade away in a heartbeat if it meant undoing my errors."

Aegis pressed on.

"You failed because you were alone." Aegis pressed on. "I don’t have to be. You see the corruption spreading? Then... Let me be your hands in the living world. Teach me the right way to use power."

Rosanna raised a transparent brow at her.

"Hmph. To walk the same path as me... It’s been centuries since anyone walked it. Pure magic. Not untainted, but rather tainted by everything. Difficult. Demanding. Most who try it break."

"... Your Majesty," she said, and Rosanna tilted her head. "When you saw me, I was covered in cuts and scrapes from climbing this tower with no help. Nothing to carry me here but my own limbs and will. With all due respect, I think I’m sturdier than most."

Emily would have laughed trying to say such a thing.

"... So you are." The ghost queen studied her. "You need not call me ’Your Majesty’, however. I am no empress. Not anymore." She sighed and turned toward Aegis. "Very well, persistent little student. But understand, this isn’t a game. The path I’ll teach you requires absolute dedication. If you thought Shadow Magic was overwhelming, well... I suspect what you’ll be learning from me will have you wanting to jump off this place, hehe."

[... A bit scary, but whatever.]

"I understand."

"Do you?" Rosanna waved her hand. The meditation platform shifted, runes rearranging into new patterns. "Then we begin right now. Sit."

Aegis sat cross-legged in the center. The aether here was thick enough to taste.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Hidden Path Unlocked - Aether Weaver]

[Proceed?]

[YES] / [NO]

She selected [YES].