The last of the gifts had been distributed hours ago. The courtyard lights dimmed. Servants had retreated. Even the distant laughter from the outer terraces had faded into memory. What remained was the gentle clink of porcelain and the faint sweetness of tea.
Elyonari sat and across from her, Veneri leaned back like the table belonged to him. A half-eaten pastry was in one hand and a fork in the other. She broke the silence first.
"Why are you so stubborn?"
Veneri didn't look up immediately. He took another bite, chewed thoughtfully, swallowed and pointed at her with the fork.
"I'm not. You're just upset I'm right."
"I am not—"
But the words died. She couldn't even decide which angle to attack.
"See?"
She opened her mouth again, then closed it.
That silence said more than any argument could. Veneri set the fork down with a soft clink and leaned forward slightly.
"Ely, I know what it means to be treated like a religious figure. I know what that weight looks like. That's why the Dynasties never wanted it. The moment people start kneeling instead of negotiating, you stop being a ruler and start being a symbol. And symbols don't get to be normal. You're not just ruling an immortal race. You're the High Priestess of a Supreme Entity. That's heavier than anything Richinaria deals with."
And he meant it.
"Adelasta, Phaenora, Asenane and I rule Richinaria but we're merchants. We export technology and resources. We build routes. We negotiate. We move goods across continents. It's complex, yes, but it's measurable."
He tapped the table lightly.
"Trade routes, infrastructure, supply chains, I can analyze those. If I mess up, we lose profit. If you misstep, you might cause chaos."
"..."
"Narisva doesn't carry that weight. She's always been a wanderer. Starisnova never anchored her. Adelasta stayed with me for five years because that's her temperament. Asenane was adjusting to her new life with Shimmer, Phaenora and Runner. But you? Apparently you're the only one among us who carries more responsibility. And yet since we met again after half a decade… you haven't gone back."
Elyonari inhaled slowly. He wasn't wrong.
"You don't even like the High Priestess position that much. I don't know why. I won't pretend I understand the theology behind it. But if you loved that role the way you claim to, you wouldn't be with us back in the Richinaria Palace every single day."
The tea between them had gone cold.
"And now you want to take on my problems too? You think sharing burdens means stacking them on yourself. It doesn't."
He picked up the fork again but didn't use it. He just twirled it between his fingers.
"It's not like you'd let me share the burden of being High Priestess, right? Relationships involve working together but we still live individual lives. Some roles are structurally singular."
He pointed toward the lights beyond the terrace.
"Adelasta handles Dynasty meetings better than I do. She thrives in that environment. I'm usually just a representative. Asenane and Phaenora support her there."
He turned back to Elyonari.
"But when it comes to approving trade decisions, analyzing routes and evaluating export risks, that's me. Adelasta can't replace that. Asenane can't. It's not because they're incapable but because that's my domain."
He set the fork down again.
"It's the same here. I can't take over some of your burdens and you can't take over mine. And especially not now. We're in another realm. We don't know what variables exist here. You're already overseeing your Elves in foreign territory. Why would I let you dilute your focus by absorbing my complications? That wouldn't even make me supportive. That's actually selfish."
She suddenly slammed her palm against the table.
"Stop."
Her voice cracked.
"You're right. I can't deny that."
It hurt Elyonari because the argument was sound.
"It hurts hearing you dismantle me with reason. You're right but what am I supposed to do then? What else am I supposed to do to show that I care?"
Veneri watched her for a long moment. Then he sighed.
"Ely, caring isn't measured by how much weight you can carry. You think you have to prove something but you don't. You had every reason to return to your people but you didn't..That says more than you think."
His voice was soothing this time.
"I don't need you to solve my problems. I need you to be who you are, not stretched thin trying to demonstrate loyalty. If you collapse, who benefits from that?"
"..."
"Do you want to take a breather?"
"Yeah. I need it."
°°°°°°
The climb up a cliff wasn't steep for us since we can fly. When they reached the cliff's edge, the rainforest stretched beneath them like an emerald ocean.
Except it wasn't beneath. It hung above.
The Hidden Citadel is literally upside down, if you don't remember. The sky pools under your feet like a dark lake and the forest grows toward it. The elven city glowed softly in bioluminescent strands of gold and pale green. They sat on a flat outcropping of stone.
"You know, I almost forget that this place is upside down. And yet after a month, it almost feels normal. Sometimes day and night stretch too long here. The cycles aren't stable either. We've had mornings that lasted thirty hours."
"That explains the late sunset."
She almost smiled.
"By the way, the World Tree gave me seeds when I became the Split of Life. I planted one when the Dynasty got all Elves and it grew into that."
She gestured to the glowing city suspended in the inverted canopy.
"That's a replica of an Elven city. The Tree must have anticipated this."
Of course it did. World Trees rarely do anything without anticipating fifteen possible catastrophes. So that's how the Elves have a home here.
"Do you know what a High Priestess actually does?"
Veneri answered without hesitation.
"Rituals and speaking for Mintherenia?"
"That's part of it. I act as a judge for serious feuds. I also judge cases that can turn violent. When a forest is infected by Krepsunas, I purify it. I heal Elves and I attend funerals. Every one that requires sanctification. Elves don't bury without the High Priestess present. We have rituals for planting, for bonding, for mourning, for season shifts and for transitions of power rankings too. Most of our rites require me."
Then she said something that changed the tone entirely.
"When I became the last High Priestess of Mintherenia, I rewrote the structure."
Veneri glanced at her with actual surprise.
"For five years, when I was separated from Sentina Erideae, I didn't waste time grieving for you. I rebuilt the New Holy Temple of Mintherenia. Most rituals are now conducted by priests and priestesses under my command. I appointed judges — capable ones — to handle disputes. I restricted myself to massive ceremonies and funerals. I deliberately shed a lot responsibilities so that if I vanished, the system would continue."
"..."
"Every role ends with someone below me now. So they have figures to look up to. There are eight hundred thousand Elves trapped here with Dynasty Mintheris and most of them aren't even Third Phase Ascenders."
Which means fragile. When one becomes a Divine, Ascenders don't feel that powerful. And since they're an immortal race and not Divine Beings, Ascenders are actually weaker.
"Now I have to be a beacon. It's nice they don't treat me like a Deity, even though I will be soon."
She dropped her head slightly.
"I'm tired, Veneri. I never liked being High Priestess. It was forced on me by the last one. And right now, people are afraid."
Her voice thinned further.
"I hear the murmurs, you know. They're worried this peace won't last. They don't believe stability here is permanent. But if it weren't for my sister-in-law announcing her pregnancy, this place would already be spiraling. After tomorrow, which is the last day of Etdramira… they might riot. And I'll have to stand in front of them as High Priestess. I'll have to make them fear me and I hate that."
Even in the most benevolent systems, the structure itself demands hierarchy. When belief becomes the organizing principle of society, dissent becomes heresy instead of disagreement. That's why Dynasties didn't want religion in the first place.
"Anyone can reach Divinity if they can. But for mortals like Humans and immortals like Elves, it can take centuries or millennia. Those Minafallen Academy students teleported with us during the First Epoch Cycle were lucky to become Divine."
"Ely—"
"I don't know what to do."
Her voice finally cracked.
"That's why I wanted to carry your burdens too. I thought if I shared yours, I'd feel less… useless."
Again, this is why I hate religion. It elevates you so high that when you feel ordinary exhaustion, you interpret it as failure. To Ely, symbols aren't allowed to be tired. Spiritual leaders aren't supposed to doubt. Because if the beacon flickers, what happens to everyone looking at it?
"I thought if I could carry yours… then maybe I'd feel like I'm contributing to something normal."
Elyonari doesn't hate Mintherenia, by the way. She hates being the vessel through which everyone processes fear. She hates that she has to become stern and distant so they don't collapse. She hates that tomorrow she'll have to stand tall and authoritative when all she wants is to sit on a cliff and admit she's overwhelmed.
Honestly, this is why religion is a very bad thing in modern society...