“The rats are coming out of their hiding place,” the duke said as he infused his sword with magic.

The priest standing at the front, who seemed to be the leader of their small group, gave a sly smile.

“Calling servants of God rats. I see you are truly not as pious as your father.”

Selen watched as the duke rushed at the priest and launched an attack. At the same moment, the priest summoned a circle of black magic that produced a massive flash when it collided with the duke’s sword.

“You dare speak of my father. I will kill you and your little group,” the duke said after stepping back from the impact.

“And how exactly do you intend to do that?” the priest exclaimed, revealing an arm almost completely blackened by dark magic.

Selen felt a wave of nausea. That man was infested with dark magic.

“We are servants of God, and everything we do is to bring back our saint. Your father and your brother died serving our God, and soon it will be your turn,” the priest continued while creating another circle of black magic.

“I told you not to speak their names, you filthy bastard. I don’t know which god you serve, but it certainly isn’t the one we know,” the duke said as he counterattacked.

Selen wanted to intervene, but she had to be cautious with the priests since some of them came from noble families and could be descendants of Artheris like the High Priest. She knew she would have to act, but she preferred to first see what her opponent was capable of by watching him fight the duke.

“Do you know how our saint created our empire with our beloved emperor?” the priest asked. “By killing all the unbelievers who refused to believe in God. So a holy war is the best way to bring back our saint,” he exclaimed.

He looked completely deranged. Going so far as to create heretics only to then start a false holy war could only be the work of a twisted mind. Yet Selen knew that the stakes of this story went far beyond religion. Paralyzing the north through this so-called holy war allowed the emperor to control the formidable warriors of the north.

“It’s a shame you and your sister weren’t in that carriage and that your stupid uncle failed to get rid of the two of you, but today I will correct that mistake.”

Selen saw the people who had been connected to the purple crystals detach themselves and stand up. They were surrounded by a horde of hundreds of heretics and deranged priests.

“It seems the situation is getting complicated,” Noah said while looking around.

Selen could clearly see that the duke’s attacks were not affecting the priest, but the most worrying part was the other priests behind him who had begun to spread out and form circles of black magic. Yes, the situation was more than complicated.

“The blood that will be shed today and tomorrow is and will remain righteous, for you will contribute to the return of our savior Belladore. The grace of our saint will soon illuminate the continent once again,” exclaimed the priest, whose body was literally being consumed by dark magic.

“We need to leave this place or we’re going to die here,” the duke told them after getting back up from the priest’s attack.

“If you have a solution, we’re listening,” Noah replied sarcastically.

Selen stepped forward toward the priests. She had to fight if they wanted any chance of leaving this cursed island alive. Just as she was about to summon magical swords, a violent pain struck her chest and she felt the blood pounding in her ears.

“Kill them… they must all be killed…”

Those damned voices again, and this time they were louder. As she was about to get up, a blinding light appeared before her. When she opened her eyes again, she realized that everything was frozen: the duke, Noah, the priests, and the heretics. It was as if time itself had stopped.

“You’re not even going to say hello?”

Selen turned around when she heard the familiar voice.

“La… Layla,” she exclaimed.

Layla smiled before approaching her.

“Congratulations, Selen. You are the first of my reincarnations to come here of your own will.”

“The first? What does that mean?”

“Look.”

She raised her arm and conjured what Selen recognized as a memory. Inside it, several young women were chained in a mine.

“I told you that several of my reincarnations were exploited by the temple, and this place is one of their favorite locations to do it.”

“But how are you here? I thought you only appeared when one of your reincarnations lost her life,” Selen asked.

“That is true, but the emotions and energy of several of my reincarnations rest here, so in a way I am connected to this place, and it is thanks to that energy that I was able to come to you. Emotions strengthen magic, so imagine the amount of energy resting in a place that has witnessed so much despair and hatred from those who were tortured here.”

“So the voices and the strange weather?”

Layla nodded.

“They are all parts of us crying out for vengeance, and some of them were warning you not to come here. Many of them were thrown into the sea after their deaths, which is why they continue to haunt this part of the ocean.”

“So you came to help me?” Selen asked.

Layla laughed at her.

“Help you? Right now I am only the manifestation of the emotions of my reincarnations. If you want to get out of here, you will have to do it through your own efforts. All I can do is guide you.”

“Guide me how?”

“I told you, this place is filled with energy. If you absorb it, you will be able to kill everyone here and destroy this place.”

“Absorb it? But how?”

“I will explain it a little later. In truth, I was waiting for you to reach this point in your journey to tell you.”

“What do you mean?”

Selen sensed hesitation from Layla, which was unusual since she had shown her even the smallest fragments of her past.

“You know it yourself. The power to control time is a divine power, and I am not a god. My power comes from a curse that I created myself, and therefore it is imperfect.”

“What does that mean?” Selen asked, feeling a bad premonition.

“It means there is a chance that some people have been or will be affected by this power.”

Selen felt betrayed. Layla could truly be detestable at times.

“And you’re only telling me this now?”

“It doesn’t happen often, and very few people manage to remember their past lives.”

Selen felt anger rising within her.

“Rare or not, that’s information I would have wanted to know from the very beginning.”

“I didn’t want to frighten you from the start. The last time I made the mistake of telling one of my reincarnations, she ended up committing suicide because she became so paranoid.”

“So that’s it. I feel like you sometimes forget that we are not just your reincarnations but also people, and we have the right to know everything before committing to something as massive as the destruction of an empire.”

Layla seemed troubled.

“You’re right. But I knew you would eventually reach a place where I could materialize before you and tell you, so I never intended to hide it forever.”

Selen sighed.

“Is there anything else I should know?”

“No… well… regarding those who can remember the memories of their past lives, it is mostly people who have the ability to see through time, like your sister Arie. I would have liked to tell you more about them, but you will learn everything soon.”

“What do you mean I will learn everything soon?”

“Trust me. Don’t forget, I watch over you. I have a broader view, and I know things you don’t.”

Selen felt like strangling her out of frustration.

“The spell that stopped time will soon be undone, so I must explain now how to absorb the energy here.”

Selen had almost forgotten the critical situation she was in.

“There is something you must understand first. You are not immune to dark magic. Your body simply purifies it before it reaches you. As you know, our blood can purify and heal because it is highly concentrated with magic, but you are only a part of me, so you do not possess all my powers. Your body cannot withstand all the dark magic that is about to be unleashed on you.”

“What should I do then?”

“Once you absorb the energy, you must strike first, and above all you must kill every priest present here and destroy this place. It is the only way to calm the anger of your sisters.”

Selen smiled. She had already planned to kill them all, and destroying this place posed no problem to her.

“I will kill them and reduce this place to ashes if I must. But what if one of the priests is a descendant of Artheris?”

Layla smiled at her.

“I already explained it to you. Our soul and Artheris’s soul are connected, as are all his descendants. If you focus enough, you will be able to feel your link with them. Nevertheless, let me reassure you—none of them here are one.”

Selen felt lighter. She should have thought of it herself. Now that she knew how to identify Artheris’s descendants, things would be less complicated.

“Alright. I’m ready.”

“I like your motivation. You will need it to absorb the energy, because to do so you must first concentrate, feel the energy, and then endure the suffering of all those who left their energy here as you absorb it.”

Selen already knew what that pain felt like, having experienced it on the ship. She was ready to do anything to achieve her goal, so she considered it simply another step to overcome.

“If you’re ready, then begin to focus. And one last thing—you must not let the energy or the emotions you absorb consume you. After you kill the priests and destroy this place, you must release everything.”

“What will happen if I can’t release it?”

“You will most likely die.”

Good to know, Selen thought before closing her eyes to concentrate.

She began to feel the energy, and when it started entering her body she felt as if every bone in her body was being shattered from the pain. She didn’t even realize she was crying out as tears streamed down her face until she felt she had absorbed the maximum amount of energy her body could hold.

“Don’t forget… don’t let it consume you,” she heard just before time resumed its course.