The figure tilted his head. "You must have felt it by now. Questioned it too. The power of the Harbinger and Sovereign."
They went still.
"Why do you think you were able to bring Spring to Nethermoor? Why do you think you were able to stop the child's ice tide? The blessings dwell within you two."
His words evoked a chill across their spine. It was a far-fetched notion to believe they were remotely connected to being the Blessed.
"But we weren't born into the Blessed families. This shouldn't be possible," Zerath said.
"That was irrelevant to me. Autumn and Valas were my devotees. They prayed to me and served me when they lived in the Realm of Harmony. When I blessed their child, their status of being a Great Three didn't matter to me. It was a coincidence they belonged to one."
"By Autumn, you mean Lady Melissa's relative?" Vivia struggled to breathe.
"The timeline matches," Zerath pressed his brows. "The war began shortly after they had escaped. Master would have been a teenager when she entered the royal armies - and around the eighteenth year, the war was over."
That brought Melissa's account back to Vivia - the secret letter Autumn had sent her sisters, announcing the birth of her child. It was discovered, and shortly after, Autumn and Valas were found and executed. But their child has vanished. No matter how hard they searched, they couldn't locate the veil-born.
"Autumn and Valas lived a humble life. They were the kind of people who should have held the reins of their realms. Alas, history did not forge itself that way. Nara was the bridge between the past and the present. That was my purpose. Ending the war was her own personal will. I see far beyond."
A question formed in Vivia's mind. "But why through Master Nara? Why a veil-born? Why not anyone else?"
"Hmmm…let's just say, the mortal realm isn't the only place where things are complicated. I had certain restrictions."
Zerath asked, "But only one Blessed can exist in a generation. How can Vivia and I exist at the same time as my cousin and Lady Priscilla?"
The feet that had been still began swinging idly once again.
"The divine powers are far too powerful and deadly for many people to hold simultaneously, so it is true that only one Blessed should exist. But…" he trailed off. The silence that followed was stifling and pressing.
Vivia clenched her fists.
Wait…only one Blessed…?
She lifted her gaze to the silhouette on the branch.
"Is that why I had to die?"
Her question hung in an eerie quiet.
Ever since Clairette's soul revealed Priscilla's intentions, Vivia had spent all this time racking her brain. They had never crossed paths, yet why would the esteemed Blessed of Emberlain plot to kill a mere dancer she had never even met in her life?
Her jaw tightened. "Did Priscilla kill me because she somehow…figured out I could perform the Harbinger's dance?"
Silence.
"Answer me!!"
The words burst out of her, her eyes blazing as she stared at the shadow.
"Why did you want my Master to pass down her blessings? I never wanted any of this. and yet I got pulled into a murder scheme over something I never desired to begin with! Priscilla felt threatened that a no-name woman from a small town would one day try to usurp her position. But all I had ever wanted was to dance…"
Her clenched fists trembled hard.
"My life…ended just like that. My life as Vivia Mariel ended because of you! I was dragged into politics because of this mess. And then on top of everything, my master is dying because she performed a forbidden ritual! So not only did I die, I've also cost my master her life…!"
Tears plopped down her eyes, her voice quivering with each breath.
How was she supposed to live with that? Knowing that the reason behind Nara's fading life was her? Though Vivia was thankful for this precious second chance at life, that chance had come at the cost of her master's life - one whom she held dear to her heart and looked up to like a parent.
"It would've been better if I had just stayed dead. Then Master would've lived…Audreya is in danger because of me too…"
Do I have to lose everyone because of my insignificant life?
The thought felt like a noose tightening around her neck. Every precious person she held dear to her was on the brink of losing their own life - all because of her.
As her tears fell, warmth wrapped around her. A pair of arms pulled her in tightly.
"Nobody is in danger because of you. Don't you ever say that you should've died," Zerath's jaw clenched against her hair.
"Don't console me…! Don't act like this doesn't affect you, Zerath. You loved Master too as much as I did. Can you imagine your life without her? You should be furious with me!"
"No, I won't because.." he lowered his gaze at her and held her face between his palms. He wiped the tears from her cheeks.
"Master did what she did because she loves you. She would've done the same for me - and if the situation were reversed and we'd known there was a way to save her life, we would've tried it too, regardless of the cost."
Vivia wanted to retort. She bit her lip hard instead. It sounded reckless and irrational. And yet she wasn't certain she would have done anything differently.
"Have you calmed down now?" The shrouded figure's calm voice interrupted them.
Her gaze darkened as she looked up. "Don't think you can get scot free! It all started because of you!"
"Hmmm. I won't say it all started because of me - but Gods are indeed involved more than you think."
Gods?
Vivia was still too fierce to think straight, but Zerath held on to his calm and chose his words carefully.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Only that the world cannot afford to lose you two right now. You saw what happened in that cave."
Their breaths hitched in unison - the altar and Finnian's theory of the fourth forbidden ritual all coming back at once.
"It's a grim reality - one that is destabilizing the world's balance. You say Vivia Mariel died because of me. But if things remain as they are, there won't be a world left anymore where you could have fulfilled your dreams anyway. We cannot allow the prophecy to come true."
Vivia said slowly, "But Madam Drisenna said a veil-born is the cause of the peril. There's no way Master Nara, who fought for peace and ended the war, could possibly be the cause of this. There is some misunderstanding here!"
Zerath nodded. "That can't be the whole picture. The master we know would have nothing to do with world destruction. Besides, you said yourself that she…" his voice shook for a moment, "her own life is in danger."
"There are answers you must search for within that prophecy. Don't abandon your purpose, and you will find all the answers you need."
"Then at least tell us one thing. Where is Master right now?"
"Unfortunately, I cannot tell you that. You must forge that path yourself."
Vivia's fingers itched with an urge of violence. She held reverence for this figure cloaked in divinity and mystery in the beginning. But at this point, she wasn't too entirely sure of her feelings towards this Godly existence who was supposed to nurture and protect the world.
"But I assure you she is safe - for now. Zerath Rudaheim. Vivia Mariel. And Clairette Emberlain."
Vivia's eyes widened slightly. She looked down at her opal ring, glowing with an emerald green hue.
"You three must put a stop to those vile entities wanting to take control of the world.
His voice shifted, heavier and deliberate. "And Vivia Mariel. Do not forget your promise. You must protect that person when the time comes."