When Wonderweiss woke up, the first thing he felt was his pounding head. His equilibrium had staged a revolt, punishing him thoroughly for previous indulgence.
Blinking away his hangover, the old man surveyed the devastation of his bar. The lounge area showed only minor scuff marks, but the counter had been reduced to kindling, with unconscious patrons sprawled at its base. Most striking was the window—now featuring a perfect silhouette of someone who'd crashed through it.
Edgar and Thessa sat amid the wreckage, their expressions cold as creditors after a default. They nursed glasses of clear alcohol while cleaning drones moved around them, gathering splinters and debris with mechanical precision.
"What did I miss?" Wonderweiss asked the two, trying to banish his spinning vision with a forehead massage.
"Artemis revealed Eleanor inherited a Demon Lord's will," Edgar stated coolly.
Wonderweiss didn't even need to be freed of his migraine to estimate what had happened next. Vienna might be the finest Wizard to ever grace the house of war, but she was clueless, comparable to a eucalyptus-eating marsupial, when it came to emotional maturity. She had likely used her Wizardry to dash through a bulletproof window, yelling "I knew nothing" and convincing no one.
As her teacher, he, personally, thought it was one of the most wasteful uses of Wizardry he had ever seen. Something even his belligerent ally agreed with.
"Hey," Edgar started, still contemplating the sheer stupidity of what he saw previously. "Uncle Chuck never told me much about Vienna, but I think I heard a sonic boom when she crashed through the window."
"You didn't hear wrong. Vienna held the record as the Fastest Wizard Alive. I believe she could even outrun lightning."
"And she used that ability to run away from her problem?" Thessa quizzed, both disappointed and impressed. "Just wow," she muttered before refocusing on Eleanor's issue. "And about the Demon Lord thing? How does that even work?"
Wonderweiss slipped into a familiar lecturer's routine despite his hangover. "When powerful Demon Lords die, they sometimes leave behind a residual will, an Astral Body. Theoretically, a compatible fetus could absorb it. Eleanor's the first confirmed case." He nodded at the woman-shaped hole in the wall. "Don't be too harsh on Vienna. I don't think anyone with her troubled upbringing would take it well when she found out the closest thing she had to a—" he tried and failed to fish for the right word "—best frenemies," he settled, "had spawned a daughter out of nowhere. Anyway, what else did Artemis tell you?"
"She told us about your supersoldier program," Edgar answered. "Just so you know: I'm in."
Wonderweiss's mouth dropped at sudden cooperation from a Communicator of all people. "Pardon?"
"Artemis said it's my best chance to walk again." Edgar stared at his immobile legs like they had committed a crime. "I'm tired of feeling helpless, and this injury is killing me slowly." He paused, remembering the shadowy melody from the Realm of Consciousness; even after so many years the sight of the laughing demon sigil never left. "Besides, our next enemy won't be as easy as Alpha. We need every advantage we can get."
For a moment, Wonderweiss felt a spark of gratitude. It had been ages since anyone had supported his ideas wholeheartedly, let alone someone who despised him.
Alas, Thessa picked that exact moment to cut his surging hope. "That treatment will take time." Her glass clinked against the table like a judge's gavel. "And time, alongside numbers, is one thing we don't have much of to spare."
Edgar felt his eyes twitch in annoyance. He knew Thessa was right, but she didn't have to drag the morale down. "We cannot solve the problem with time, but don't we have over ten thousand people worth of personnel hanging out in space right now?" He turned to the old Wizard nursing his headache. "Right, Wonderweiss?"
"Should I have Artemis prepare a list?"
"Show me everything."
"You know there are over ten thousand names, right?"
"Just do it, old man."
The old man obliged, summoning a holographic screen with a gesture and sliding it forward. The electronic window glided toward Edgar like a bowling ball across felt, stopping at the touch of his finger. The Sovereign's eyes scanned the names; Planetary Energy danced as he let his fingertip follow the path of the best future. Forty names he knew nothing about—aside from the fact they would create the optimal future—were compiled into the list, and sent back to Wonderweiss.
"It is done," he announced.
Wonderweiss stared in disbelief. "How are you so fast?"
"I might be crippled, but I can still see the future, Wonderweiss."
Taking in the explanation, Wonderweiss scanned the list; his eyes traced down, neutrally theorizing where each name placed in this grand scheme, until one name sent his eyes bulging in sudden shock. He turned toward the Pioneer. "Are you mad? Why did you choose Helena Christy to be in the first batch?"
"Helena who?" Thessa asked.
"She's a former Militia personnel turned cyber-terrorist," Wonderweiss said. "A crackpot conspiracy theorist, who believes the Administration is secretly managed by a covert force of blood-drinking, orphan-killing cabalists who want to turn civilization into a galactic despotic regime."
"Wonderweiss, High Terraria is a galactic despotic regime. It's why we're here trying to start a backup civilization on Omicron," Edgar pointed out.
Wonderweiss's mouth pressed into a thin line. Headache of how one woman's illegal radio network caused endless information leaks couldn't stop flowing through his mind.
"I don't want her here."
"Then why did you even recruit her? If you're not planning to use her."
Wonderweiss had no answer for that. It was less of Helena being recruited and more of her forcing herself onto this project. The daring criminal heard of what he planned to create, and crashed the party. In an ideal world, he would never have thawed her from that space station.
Thessa, deciding the atmosphere between the two men juggling explosives felt too dense, decided to bring another issue up to Edgar. "Speaking of your healing, should we discuss our marriage?"
Her conversation partner nearly choked mid-drink. Meanwhile, Wonderweiss tried the hardest to be invisible.
Put before the conversational guillotine, Edgar Shin thereby had to question his priority.
Did he love Thessa? Unquestionably. Since the Leviathan Nest, she had embodied the perfect ally—intelligent, resilient, and striking even in exile. He knew he was lucky to have her loyalty; and, deep down, he did realize he had a taste for resilient and exotic women.
But Eleanor existed. She was his childhood and adopted sister. He was aware she had a feeling for him, and he was terribly afraid of what a spurned childhood crush could do to a person.
Choosing between them was akin to picking his poison. The loser would not take it well, and both women had the power to break this settlement in half before the Fae Garden could do them in.
With no viable alternative and time pressing upon him like atmospheric pressure, Edgar reached for the only tactical retreat available.
"Thessa, we're still dealing with your family, and Eleanor needs time to sort through her situation," he said, gesturing at his wheelchair. "I promise you'll have your answer once everything settles, but not now."
The Light Clanswoman's scowl spoke volumes, but she swallowed her protest. "Very well. When I return, you'll give your answer in front of everyone." She turned on her heel, the automatic door whisking open and shut with barely a sound.
To Edgar, that silence echoed like thunder.
Wonderweiss, watching the young man's shoulders slump, decided it was time for some elderly wisdom.
Wonderweiss cleared his throat, assuming the sage demeanor of one about to impart timeless wisdom. "Take my advice: show her you care. Perhaps a box of chocolates, or flowers. Maybe a nice dinner to ease her into the idea."
"I must advise against taking the Prime Magister's counsel," Artemis's voice chimed from a bar speaker, carrying an unmistakable note of amusement. "His track record with women is concerning."
"Artemis!" Wonderweiss spluttered, betrayal etched across his features. "Why would you—"
"Need I remind you about Luna, Prime Magister? Your romantic overtures not only earned her complete rejection but somehow managed to split society into warring factions."
Wonderweiss stared at the ceiling, defeat written in every line of his face. One thought crystallized with perfect clarity: he had definitely made some questionable choices in his AI programming.
While the Prime Magister and Communicator grappled with matters of romance, Vienna tore through the Leviathan Nest's bluish foliage like a hunted creature. Ozone crackled in her wake—the air itself seeming to howl with predatory intent.
She would have insisted she wasn't running away. Why would she run? Not even when Elvaine's torch entirely consumed her arm did she blink. Magister Vienna stood as a living legend, fearless and invincible.
These were the thoughts she recited like a mantra when a massive shadow fell across her path. Two Omicron Dragons descended, their rows of fangs bared in terrifying bellows that overwhelmed the heavy beating of their wings.
The human Wizard met the first creature's gaze and struck faster than thought could follow. Earth erupted beneath her feet as she leaped, and her kick bisected the predator in a single, savage motion. They weren't even worth her time—merely obstacles barely slowing her escape.
But that thought betrayed her, revealing the original 'why' behind her action. What did she truly fear that drove her faster now than against any enemy she'd faced? Logic dictated she should turn back and explain everything to the girl.
Yet even as she oriented herself midair, and reduced the second Omicron Dragon's brain to pulp with her axe-kick, those rational courses of action remained the furthest thing from her mind. Vienna landed with characteristic grace and bolted forward, breaking the sound barrier to flee from the inevitable.
At long last she caught sight of her target: The Ambassador, parked where she left it; a ticket away from ever explaining Elvaine to the girl. Getting this close should be enough for the ship's sensors to detect her presence—but to her bafflement, the automatic door remained unmoving.
"Artemis?" she called out.
The AI's voice rang from speakers deep within the silvery hull. "Sorry, Magister, but I judge this conversation is necessary for you."
Vienna's face slackened. Had she just taken a life lesson from an AI? What was Wonderweiss thinking when he programmed her?
But a flash of heat distracted her from such thoughts.
Plasma flame she knew all too well fell from the sky, and with it Eleanor arrived. Supported by jets of fire, she floated down like a descending goddess: a very upset and frustrated goddess, to be precise.
Vienna took one look at the girl's tear-streaked face, and prepared to run another hypersonic marathon.
"Why are you running away so hard? Do you hate me so much?" rang a girl's hollow voice.
Vienna had to admit the girl raised a good question. Why had she been so afraid? Even in a nearly impossible circumstance where the ghost of Elvaine possessed Eleanor, she could have easily exorcised such a freakish experience in a single punch.
No, maybe it was all of Eleanor's possible reactions which terrified the Magister who could outpace everyone but her own fear. There, cornered and lost, Vienna decided to finally bite the bullet. She leaned against the motionless ship's hull and sank down to the ground, looking up at the blue sky cracking through the leaves of the undergrowth. She prayed she hid her shaking leg well.
Eleanor came over and plopped down beside her childhood hero who trembled at the thought of becoming a disappointment.
"How much do you know?" Vienna asked.
"Only what Artemis told me," the girl said. "Elvaine is a Demon Lord you fought during the 2nd Millennium War, and is considered one of the biggest threats during her days. And I somehow inherited an Astral Body she left behind—" she averted her eyes from Vienna "—Is that why you don't like me? Do you hate her that much?"
"Elvaine wasn't so bad," the clarification sounded gentle. "She was nuts, there are no ifs or maybes about that. But also sincere, strong, and a little bit of an air-head; something you certainly got from her." The following story was almost wistful. "She was tough as nails, but also hated her position in life. We crossed swords several times during the 2nd Millennium Entropy War, and—" she stopped, a shadow cast over her "—she only smiled in a fight. Her life had no meaning outside of battle."
With the dam cracked, more stories flowed. The shadow seemed to thicken as if the departed had come to listen.
"She was never a Wizard. Unlike us, demons warp physics just by existing, but even without such a gift, she was spectacular at creating carnage. When she appeared, the sky itself became a sun," Vienna shook her head, complaining like a teenager remembering an odious essay. "It was so annoying evacuating before her rampages. At least she was honorable enough to wait; 'No use fighting over weaklings,' she'd say." She snorted, a slight smile crossing her face before another thought struck her. "And if you meet demons in the future, don't be surprised when they call you 'niece'. Demons are born from consciousness flowing into the Great Eye—to them, you're basically that muscle-brain's daughter."
"You two sound rather close," Eleanor observed, witnessing the most talkative version of Vienna yet. "Wasn't she supposed to be your enemy?"
"We never hated each other," she replied. "Sure, Elvaine was compelled to end humanity, but it wasn't personal. She'd go ballistic at the thought of ambushing me outside a duel." Her voice grew wistful. "In another time and place, we might have been friends, but—" she paused, seeing her rival's reflection in the girl beside her "—given her strength, we had to take her down to win the war." She glanced at her metal-covered right arm. "I still miss her."
"Have I been under your telescope since day one?" Eleanor finally addressed the elephant in the room; the existential question lurking behind her unnatural spell count and the gift of the Elvaine's Blood itself.
The leaves around her rustled as the shades waited for Vienna to speak.
"Not exactly. Wonderweiss's surveillance software discovered you when you were five. Your face simply resembled her too much." Vienna finally laid the girl's concern to rest. "That was quite a day. He considered training you early but I put a stop to the project. I don't want to drag an innocent girl to fill in for Elvaine."
"Is that why you avoid me all this time?"
"Did I avoid you because I don't want to replace her with you?" Vienna narrated her true answer to the question she didn't fully understand herself. "I don't think that is correct. The truth is you have one thing that idiot never had: a choice. She couldn't be anything but an engine of war. You are different. You were born to a good family with a cute childhood friend; a dream Elvaine would kill for." She looked at the girl and revealed her hope. "I wanted you to have a peaceful life, be a mother with children and have the healthy family that moron never got."
"But why did the draft happen then?" The girl recalled the day everything changed. Her grip tightened an iota.
"That draft happened because a group of idiots in the Administration thought it was a good idea to pad the Militia numbers," Vienna scowled. "I already killed them. Don't worry about it."
"Oh." The young Magister suddenly connected her adopted father's promise of retribution in that alley to the woman beside her. "And you asked Uncle Chuck to adopt me." She watched the Magister confirm it with a nod. "But why didn't you try to interfere with my career if you don't want me to become Elvaine?" She realized something. "Wait, is that why I'm training as an Electromaster?"
"Eleanor, Elvaine can torch a continent. It took me everything to bring her down. The last thing we need is an eight-year-old with the power to blow up worlds."
Eleanor looked down at her knee. She only had one question left, inspired by what her uncle had told her.
"Wait, is it true you love giving people protein bars—"
"It's perfectly normal food!" Vienna staunchly defended her choice of comfort snacks. "Good for recovering in the hospital."
Eleanor decided to keep her opinion of those tasteless sticks to herself as the day faded.