The clock's relentless march continued, as it always did, but for Cate, time had taken on a new, unsettling rhythm. The revelation of her parents' audacious attempt to open the Vault of Souls, and the sheer audacity of their ambition, had ignited a spark within her. In a past life, fueled by a searing desire for vengeance against the gods and the world, she had sought the Vault, only to be met with crushing failure. It had once been her singular, unyielding path to retribution.
Centuries had passed since then, their passage mellowing the fierce inferno of her rage into a simmering resentment, occasionally doused by the cold, hard water of her own helplessness. To make a god regret their actions demanded power, a power she had tirelessly, yet fruitlessly, pursued through countless lifetimes. After her rebirth, she had resolved to cast aside the specters of the past – the horrific deaths of her parents, the chilling curse that had twisted her into a monster, loathed by all. She simply wanted to live. But fate, with its cruel sense of irony, had seen fit to place her in a family whose ambitions mirrored her own, rekindling the embers of a buried fury.
Days bled into a hazy, dreamlike state, the fog in her mind refusing to lift. The question hammered at her: should she embrace the path of revenge, even now? The odds of failure were astronomically high, threatening to plunge her into an even deeper abyss than before. If she was to embark on this perilous journey once more, she had to forge her heart and steel her mind. After what felt like an eternity, though for others it was merely two days, she reached a decision. She could not abandon her quest for vengeance. Happiness might elude her on this grim road, but it no longer mattered. For now, all that consumed her was the burning need to exact revenge on those who had twisted her life into a cautionary tale of horror and despair. With a resolute press of a button in her quarters, she summoned Ion. He appeared mere seconds later, his loyalty unwavering, whether by day or night.
"How many keys did they manage to collect?" she asked, her voice devoid of emotion.
Ion, hearing her words, understood. His young mistress had chosen her destiny. "They managed to collect the first five keys," he replied.
To unlock the Vault of Souls, one needed to gather the Twelve Keys of Chaos. These keys, born alongside the Vault at the dawn of creation, were divided into four sets: the Three Keys of Past, the Three Keys of Present, the Three Keys of Future, and the Three Keys of Destiny. Without them, the Vault remained forever sealed. In her previous life, as Medusa, Cate had failed to acquire even a single key before her beheading.
Cate already possessed this knowledge, yet she allowed Ion to elaborate, hoping for any new information that might have surfaced during her centuries of imprisonment and forced use as a magical artifact. When he finished, it was clear that his knowledge of the keys held no new revelations for her. She accepted this as expected; the keys and the Vault were ancient beyond measure. Any new discoveries in just a few centuries would have been truly astonishing.
"Which keys did my parents have that made them so confident in opening the Vault?" she inquired.
Ion took a deep breath before answering honestly. "They managed to collect the Three Keys of Past and two of the Three Keys of Present."
Cate was genuinely impressed by the accomplishments of her deceased "parents." She immediately pressed for details, and her admiration only grew. Her parents had been anything but gentle in their pursuit of the five keys. They had wielded the darkest of magics, cutting down anyone who dared to stand in their way. In their era, they were regarded as the vilest dark sorcerers. A few individuals across the world had already connected with one or two of the keys, and the moment these individuals were discovered by Cate's parents, they were relentlessly attacked, with the Wandering Palace spearheading the assault. They, and anyone foolish enough to protect them, were mercilessly slain. In this brutal fashion, Cate's parents had amassed five of the keys.
Yet, Cate remained confused. Ion had implied earlier that they had been on the verge of opening the Vault. She simply looked at him, and Ion understood her unspoken question.
"Your parents were profoundly skilled in magic," he began. "They both hailed from extremely ancient and powerful bloodlines, granting them access to a wealth of knowledge, including many lost spells and potions. They were able to devise a spell that could locate the remaining keys. All they had to do was use the keys they already possessed, and the spell would pinpoint others similar to them. With this spell and the five keys they had, they discovered the sixth key, one of the Three Keys of Destiny.
"It turned out that your ancestors had long ago acquired this key and used it as the core to construct the Wandering Palace. Upon learning this, your parents also realized that they were not the first masters of the Wandering Palace to attempt to gather the keys. The Wandering Palace had, in fact, been built with this very objective in mind. Your parents then merged the five keys they had into the palace itself. With the Wandering Palace now powered by six of the Twelve Keys of Chaos, it gained the ability to track down the other keys.
"Your parents were overjoyed at that moment. They could see their ambitions on the cusp of fulfillment. They only had to wait a few years for the palace to fully integrate the keys, after which it would simply summon the remaining keys through space. All your parents had to do was wait for the keys to fall into their laps, and they would become gods among men. It was during this time that your mother became pregnant with you. This was to be expected, given the sheer excitement they allowed themselves in those years.
"When it was finally time for you to be born, there were a few unforeseen complications. Sorcerers can live far longer than normal humans, with some exceeding two hundred years. This longevity, however, comes with certain curses from the earth. One such curse is increased difficulty in procreation. Your father loved your mother deeply and could not bear to watch her die. He ended up taking the Wandering Palace out of the void between worlds. He wanted to take her to a hospital, but the moment he entered the real world, the Wandering Palace was besieged from all sides. The Avalon Society had used seers to foresee this moment, and they knew they had one chance to stop your parents. They seized it.
"The battle was fierce, but your father still managed to abduct a doctor into the Wandering Palace before we fled. Unfortunately, your father was already critically injured and soon died. Your mother then died in labor. Even with the doctor, only you could be saved. To make matters worse, we later discovered that the Avalon Society had seized the opportunity to infiltrate the Wandering Palace and take away the five keys your parents had added. They succeeded because the keys had yet to be fully merged into the palace."
Cate was left speechless by the tragic tale of her parents. She finally understood why she, in her past life, had failed to acquire even a single key, and why her parents, despite their proximity, had also fallen short. The answer, ironically, was still the same: love.
In her past, she had desired the keys but had meticulously controlled her actions to avoid harming innocent people. She had not attacked a single soul, and even when she knew individuals who possessed a few keys, she had not moved against them. This was because she was still deeply in love with the only person she had ever given her heart to: the goddess Athena. Despite the profound betrayal, she still harbored a faint hope for the goddess's affection, and for that reason, she had not allowed herself to fully embrace evil.
Her parents, conversely, had willingly surrendered to evil for the sake of the keys. They had managed to obtain several, reaching a point where they were on the verge of opening the Vault. But in the end, their profound love for each other and for their unborn child had become their undoing.
'Love is truly the downfall of all evils,' she mused.
"Since I already possess one of the keys, it would be a true shame not to complete the plans my parents had for me," she declared.
With those words, Ion visibly relaxed. He had worried that he would be saddled with a useless mistress in this generation. Now, knowing that her ambition was no less than her parents', he was even more content to serve.
Years unfolded after this conversation. Cate used the time to prepare herself, to acclimate to this new world. She had been a master magician in her past life, but now she had to adjust to her new body and the immense magic that came with it. She practiced her magic and immersed herself in the knowledge of the world. She devoured books on politics, geography, and all the developments made by humans and supernaturals over the past centuries.
She was particularly struck by the astonishing pace of human progress. It was shocking to learn that some of their inventions could rival low-level spells. It seemed as though technology was beginning to stand shoulder to shoulder with magic. The supernatural world, on the other hand, appeared stagnant. Very few new spells had been created, and those that had were weak compared to the ancient ones. The Wandering Palace possessed a vast library, and within its confines, she learned all the new spells that had spread through the world, while simultaneously mastering the knowledge of the human realm. She had always been an exceptional learner, and in just a few years, she transformed into a truly learned woman.
Now eighteen years old, she felt ready to embark on her plans. The first step was to become the true master of the Wandering Palace. She had to bind this magical treasure to herself. A ceremony existed for this very purpose, but it involved something she had never done before. Despite being branded as evil by the world and her name cursed by many, she had never truly succumbed to malevolence. The Wandering Palace was a dark magic treasure, and the binding ceremony was truly evil. It was called the Wandering Hunt.
Cate entered the central hall of the palace. There, she spoke her intent aloud, allowing her magic to flow into the palace floor. "Ecaterina Danescu demands the right of union with that which her ancestors forged." The moment these words resonated through the hall, the palace trembled. She then felt an immense power sweep over her body, penetrating even into her soul. This power was endless and unstoppable. She allowed it to enter her, though she could have easily resisted.
When the palace finished confirming her direct bloodline to the Danescu family, a sinister brand materialized on her right hand. It was the crying skull of a child, complete with red skin and piercing green eyes. This was the mark of the Danescu bloodline. With this mark, the first step of the ritual was complete. She now had to move to the final, most difficult step. The brand granted her limited control over the palace. With a thought, she directed the palace towards a city. She chose Lagos, Nigeria. She could have gone anywhere, but it was the closest city to the palace at that moment, and she saw no reason to travel further.
The sinister-looking palace hovered above the city, invisible to mortal eyes. With her will, the palace showed her every corner of the city. She saw all the people and their activities, displayed on the clear screens before her. Ion watched everything in silence. He understood what she had to do next. He had witnessed her parents perform the ritual, and he hadn't been this nervous since, knowing their hearts and capabilities. He wasn't sure the innocent girl before him could ever go through with what the palace demanded.
"Show me the violent crimes taking place in the city right now," she commanded.
The Wandering Palace obeyed, sifting through the deluge of information. The screens narrowed to a few thousand.
"Show me those with murder," she ordered once more, and the palace complied. Only three screens remained. These screens displayed individuals actively engaged in killing others.
She did not hesitate. She knew what needed to be done, and she did it. She had already donned the black robes used in this ritual. With a mere thought, the palace teleported her into the city. She appeared in the dark alley where one of the murders was taking place. The moment she materialized, the woman in the act of killing a young man froze in place. She tried to cry out for help, but Cate would not allow it. Moving with swift skill and grim determination, Cate cut through space with the dagger in her left hand. The dagger sliced through the woman's neck, severing her voice. Just as the young man, about to be killed, began to feel a surge of relief, as though Cate were an angel sent by God to deliver him from evil, the dagger plunged through his head, easily breaking his skull and killing him instantly.
Afterward, Cate produced a brown gourd, which she used to collect the blood of the people she had just killed. When their bodies were as dry as the desert, she began to run through the city, adhering to the shadows. She chanted a simple spell that allowed her to move through the shadows to such an extent that no mortal could perceive her. She also used another spell to increase her speed. In just a few seconds, she reached the mansion where the second murder was taking place. Fortunately, she arrived just before the old man killed his wife. She did not hesitate, using her dagger to gut both of them. She collected their blood and moved to the next location. By now, she was sick to her stomach.
The last one was a shaman, in the midst of sacrificing a young girl no older than eight. This shaman was indeed a supernatural being, possessing some magical ability. The moment she entered his shrine, the old man saw her through the shadows. He spoke a few words and began to glow with power. Cate immediately understood that this one would not be as easy as the others.