The crystal goblet in Fogremia's hand slipped from her grasp without warning.
Clatter!
A crisp shattering sound echoed through the hall.
A second ago, she was still feeling a pride that stemmed from the very depths of her soul for the Sisterhood's brand-new name.
The next second, an indescribable, viscous, and cloying malice, like a maggot gnawing at bone, instantly permeated all of her psychic shields.
A voice rang out directly in the deepest part of her soul.
The voice was androgynous and filled with ultimate temptation; every syllable seemed to interpret a form of art that had reached its pinnacle.
"...Perfect..."
"...Come, my most outstanding creation..."
"...Return to my side, and I shall bestow upon you a true perfection that surpasses all else..."
Fogremia's face turned deathly pale in an instant.
Her body trembled violently and uncontrollably, and for the first time, an expression intermingled with both terror and disgust appeared in her proud purple eyes.
She recognized this voice.
It was He.
The one who dragged her into the abyss of corruption, the one who tainted her pursuit of perfection with counterfeit art... the lord of pleasure!
"Lady Sister!"
Fogremia let out a suppressed growl, not even having time to concern herself with etiquette.
Her figure vanished from the spot instantly, and the next moment, she was already kneeling on one knee before Leticia's throne.
She buried her head deep, forcing herself to endure the excruciating pain of her soul being torn apart, and reported in a trembling voice with great urgency.
"It... it is Slaanesh!"
"His spirit... has invaded my soul!"
No sooner had she finished speaking than that whispering voice suddenly intensified a hundredfold!
Boom!
Endless illusions exploded within Fogremia's mind.
She saw galaxies being sculpted into exquisite works of art.
She saw billions upon billions of souls ascending in eternal ecstasy, transforming into the most magnificent notes in a musical composition.
She saw that the ultimate end of the universe was a grand, never-ending symphonic feast of senses and desires!
All of this pointed precisely to the primal pursuit of the word "perfection" in the deepest part of her soul!
This was the ultimate temptation on a spiritual level!
It was a poison that could not be refused!
"Ah—!"
Fogremia let out a pained moan, her body curling into a ball, her long silver hair spilling onto the ground like moonlight that had lost its luster.
Just at the moment when her will was about to be completely submerged by that ocean of desire.
A warm hand was gently placed on top of her head.
It was Leticia.
She had walked down from the throne at some point and arrived beside Fogremia.
There was no surprise on her face; in those pitch-black eyes, there was only a coldness capable of freezing the Subspace.
Hum—
A power, completely different from Slaanesh's beauty of "excess" and "termination," flowed through Leticia's palm and slowly injected itself into Fogremia's soul.
This was not a violent dispersal.
Nor was it a forceful lockdown.
It was a form of... overwriting from a higher dimension.
If the "perfection" displayed by Slaanesh was pushing everything in the universe to its extreme splendor, ultimately culminating in a grand destruction.
Then the "perfection" that Leticia was displaying at this moment was that primal, tranquil beauty of creation and beginning, like the first star being lit in a nascent nebula.
The former was the art of termination.
The latter was the art of beginning.
The difference in superiority was instantly clear.
Fogremia's trembling body instantly calmed down.
That violent ocean of desire in the depths of her soul melted away like snow before this higher, purer "beauty of creation."
She raised her head abruptly, panting heavily, her eyes filled with the relief of having survived a disaster and an even more fanatical adoration.
"Lady Sister..."
Leticia did not speak.
She simply bent down and pulled this most perfect creation, whom she had personally forged, gently and compassionately into her embrace.
Fogremia's body stiffened.
Immediately after, she relaxed completely, burying her face deep into the crook of Leticia's neck, greedily breathing in that unique, cool scent like that of a newborn star.
That was the scent that could give her absolute peace of mind.
However, this "theft" by Leticia completely enraged that Dark Prince deep within the Subspace.
"...Interesting... new god..."
A sigh filled with greed and playfulness echoed throughout the bridge.
In the air, pure psychic energy began to gather.
Light and shadow twisted and intertwined, and finally, before the throne, outlined an androgynous, exquisitely beautiful phantom that was beautiful to the extreme and corrupt to the extreme.
His gaze did not look at the "creation" he had already abandoned, but instead fell upon Leticia with great interest.
He greedily admired Leticia's god-like countenance, admired the devout loyalty in her arms, and admired this perfect composition of "protection" and "being protected" that He had never seen before.
"A perfect work of art..."
Slaanesh's phantom let out a satisfied sigh, and He extended a slender finger, pointing at Fogremia in Leticia's embrace.
"And a... new god who understands 'beauty' better than I do."
His tone was filled with undisguised possessiveness.
"Tell me, my lost creation."
"Why follow an unfinished imitation instead of embracing the source of art?"
This question, filled with divine temptation, was enough to cause the faith of any mortal or even demigod to waver.
However.
What answered Him was a sneer filled with supreme contempt.
"Heh."
Fogremia slowly raised her head from Leticia's embrace.
In her beautiful purple eyes, all fear had vanished, replaced by an absolute disdain, as if looking at garbage.
"Imitation?"
Her voice carried a pride and fervor that stemmed from her very soul.
"My Goddess, She herself is the definition of 'perfection'!"
"And you..."
Fogremia's gaze, like the sharpest scalpel, dissected Slaanesh's seemingly perfect phantom from head to toe, thoroughly and completely.
"...Are nothing but a clumsy imitator, piling up vulgar colors and playing to the gallery!"
"How dare you speak of art in front of my Goddess?!"
Boom!
This declaration, filled with absolute faith, transformed into an invisible blade made of pure concept!
It viciously pierced into Slaanesh's psychic phantom!
"You—!"
Slaanesh's phantom let out an incredulous shriek.
His perfect body, constructed of psychic energy, shattered inch by inch, and finally, amidst a roar of unwillingness, completely turned into a sky full of pink and purple points of light.
The phantom dissipated.
But His final whisper, filled with playfulness and mad possessiveness, echoed like a curse within genesis, inside the heart of every Sister.
"...So steadfast..."
"What beautiful... toys."
"I will have you."
"Have you... all of you."
------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the fanfiction has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 or more chapters in advance over on my patreon: patreon.com/FTLGenBen
Also every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone, Thanks.