Athanasia glances between Astraea and the withered body on the ground.

  “I greet you, Astraea.”

  The purple-haired girl does not reply, turning around to leave.

  “Do not go yet.”

  Still without responding, she begins climbing the ladder.

  “Astraea.”

  With a sigh, the woman runs over and places a hand on her back. The healer stops and turns to look at her, frowning, and says, “What?”

  She steps down and observes the room before saying, “Where am I? Who are you?”

  Athanasia offers a small smile and replies, “We have little time, so I shall be brief. You would know my name- Athanasia.”

  “The founder of the Thanasia family?”

  “Yes, I-”

  She is interrupted by Astraea grunting and placing her hand on her forehead.

  “So it was you who caused all of this?”

  The woman shakes her head.

  “I had no intentions for such atrocities to be committed. Now, let me tell you two things.”

  Astraea leans back against the wall and listens.

  “Firstly, despite this being the noble family I founded, I am not entirely against the purging of them. The man you killed was the most vile of them, having sacrificed hundreds, if not thousands, of people to learn how to recreate souls. All of that work was with the goal of, in name, resurrecting the greatest scholar to slave away so he himself would no longer have to work. As you can see, that plan has mixed success.”

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  A moment of silence passes as they both look at Azrael's corpse, before she continues.

  “The most important part is that your brother is not truly culpable for his crimes. All was done with the manipulation of the man whom you know as Novus, and he is currently in your former estate. Be aware that he is ready and likely has traps for you.”

  Astraea stares with a dumbfounded expression for nearly an entire minute before finally asking, “Why?”

  Several seconds pass before Athanasia speaks again.

  “I, unfortunately, do not know. I sincerely apologise for how unhelpful our first and final true meeting was, but I hope you can use this to break free from his control.”

  The girl winces and stumbles forward with a pained expression. The woman quickly stands from her chair and catches her.

  “Child of life; Incarnation of my beloved. Our time has come to an end, and I bid you a permanent farewell.”

  Beside the two of them, a third person spontaneously appears. The newly-present man runs his hand through his short, brown hair. His face betrays discontentment and he speaks with an irritated voice.

  “Athanasia. I thought I was rid of you centuries ago, but it seems that fool tried to bring you back without consulting me.”

  He stamps on the body’s torso, crushing it with a few dry snaps. He resumes talking.

  “And now you're interfering in her mission. Astraea, I don't know what she told you, but it's almost certainly just to sow discord between us. Forget about it.”

  Before either of the two have a chance to respond, he takes a step forward and places a palm on each of their heads. Within a second, both fall to the ground, unconscious.

  Novus sighs.

  “It should be fine. Unlike that relic of history, I am truly powerful. My plans will come to fruition regardless, and then I will be free of these cursed restrictions placed on me.”

  He crouches down to the healer's body and spends ten minutes infusing energy into her forehead, which produces a subtle orange glow in the air. Then, he disappears.

  Right away, Astraea awakens. She does not hesitate to climb out of the room and leave the building, passing by the carnage without reaction.

  She begins making her way to the Lifebringer estate.