“…”

Silence filled the air. The old woman’s face turned even more sorrowful as she heard Arianne’s question. As much as she wanted to answer, she just could not. She was not a God nor a divine being, just a normal human who happened to be ‘special’ in some ways other humans might not be able to comprehend.

“My apologies, young lady, I couldn’t answer your question.”

“Why?” Arianne lost count of how many whys she had asked, yet none seemed to be getting any deserving answers.

The old woman sighed. Now that Arianne looked at her closely, she found her silver hair glimmering under the sunlight.

“Then, is silver hair related to your identity?” Arianne blurted out.

The old woman smiled.

That was enough for Arianne to guess her identity. The founder of the Kryndelia Empire, the Great Kryndelia herself.

Silver hair, after all, was rare even in this fantasy game world she found herself in. Only those from the direct imperial bloodline had this trait, and amongst them, only the founder was a woman. Strangely enough, women born in the imperial bloodline never had silver hair. Now that she had regained her past and all the knowledge she had, she found it even stranger.

“Why are you bringing me here then, umm… Your Majesty?” Arianne stumbled over her words, trying to find the appropriate word to address the old woman.

“I just want to have a chat with you,” the Founding Mother said, smiling. She did not seem to be bothered by the sudden change of title—she was even indifferent in the first place. “Child, what do you know about this world other than it came from a game?”

“Pardon?”

Arianne seemed lost in thought.

“Do you mean what kind of world this world is? If that’s the question, then I think it’s a magical world. When born, an infant has their own equilibrium point for the percentage of their divine power and mana.”

Arianne paused. She watched the Empress’ expression as if asking for validation of her understanding. When she found her nodding her head, she continued,

“The world itself is also made up of divine power and mana. For example, divine power is related to nature, while mana controls civilization. The two are closely related as they came from the same source: life force. Thus why people are trained to keep their equilibrium point since childhood.”

“You knew a lot,” Her Majesty the Great Kryndelia commented. “Do you know what would happen to those who were born with balanced equilibrium?”

“…” Arianne shifted in her seat, clearly feeling uncomfortable at the question. She did not know why Her Majesty brought up this topic. “Technically, it shouldn’t be possible.”

“Yet, it is.”

“Yeah…”

Arianne fell silent.

“You and I both. We are those people.”

Kryndelia’s words caught Arianne off guard.

“Pardon? Your Majesty has a balanced equilibrium, too?”

Little was known about Kryndelia, except that she was the Founding Mother of the Empire, with countless good deeds under her name. Before she was the Empress, she was hailed as the hero of the continent who brought south, north, east, and west together. The four Dukes of the Empire also came from her bloodline, including the Clarevant family.

Other than what was written in the history books, nothing else was written about Kryndelia. No history of her as a person, not even her personal life before she was hailed as a hero. Either it faded through the passage of time, or—

“Wait, don’t tell me, Your Majesty…” Arianne’s words trail off. She gazed at the woman smiling in front of her, finding herself hesitant to continue. “Did you … then, are you a transmigrator…?”

“That appears to be correct,” Kryndelia confirmed casually, as if she was talking about another’s tale. Or perhaps she had already gotten over the initial shock after centuries had passed. “It wasn’t exactly a good tale. I woke up one day to find myself in this world, knowing nothing of what lies ahead except that I was entrusted with a mission to unite the continent and subdue the evil. Pretty ironic for someone who made a history for herself, huh?”

Arianne could not hide her surprise. Her eyes widened at the confirmation. She opened her lips, only to close them again, unable to find the right words. What could she possibly say to Kryndelia, words of condolence? Definitely not. They might come across as empty words, and Arianne knew better than anyone how pitiful they might make the other party feel.

The two fell silent, each with their own thoughts.

“Your Majesty, does this mean my existence holds a mission, too?” Arianne was the one who broke the silence as curiosity got the better of her. She was never the person who could tolerate quietness—except for Aldwynne’s, but that was not the point.

Kryndelia shrugged, a faint smile on her face. “I’m not sure about that. Even if you do, you should be the one to realize it,” she answered. “The sky holds boundaries one should never cross, even for the special ones like us.”

“Then, it’s not that you don’t know; you do know, but you just can’t answer it—and that includes the reason you summoned me here?”

Kryndelia nodded.

“So, you must be lying about asking for my soul to be brought here. You’re the one who said no one should dare to cross the boundaries, yet you’re no God nor divine being.”

Arianne’s words caused Kryndelia to laugh. It was a breathless laugh that was not fit for the image of the Great Hero Kryndelia. “You’re a smart one, aren’t you?”

Arianne narrowed her eyes at Kryndelia’s reaction.

“Alright, alright, my apologies. It—”

Before Kryndelia could answer, everything around them started to fade. “It seems that our time is almost up,” she said.

“But, Your Majesty—”

“Arianne,” Kryndelia said. Her expression turned serious. Gone was the trace of humor she had displayed casually. “Try to hone yourself; don’t let the limitation stop you.”

And as Arianne’s figure gradually faded, Kryndelia continued, “The sky might be the limit, yet it holds countless weather you might want to master. Storm might come, but—”

Arianne could not hear the last words Kryndelia said as she felt her consciousness travel away.

***

“Father! Look, Mother!” Jaydenn exclaimed as he saw Arianne’s fingers twitching. He had watched over his mother alongside his twin brother and father, not wanting to leave her side. So, when his mother finally opened her eyes, he had to restrain the urge to jump onto her for a hug.

“MOTHEEER!” the twins shouted. They took each side of their mother’s hand, holding them tightly with their little hands. “Mother, you’re awake…”

Arianne blinked her eyes, feeling the stiffness all over her body. She scanned around the room, barely making out her children’s figures on each of her sides, with Aldwynne sitting near her bedside. She coughed as she tried to open her lips. It was dry, even drier than the figs she accidentally left to bake for too long back when she first stepped into the kitchen without her father knowing.

“Drink this first,” Aldwynne said, bringing a cup of glass to her lips. He helped her up, watching her as she clumsily gulped the water. Why did her throat feel so dry, like she barely got any water for days?

Wait, don’t tell me…

“How long has it been since I passed out?” Arianne asked. Her voice barely came out.

“…10 days,” Aldwynne answered hesitantly.

“HUH? What…” Arianne looked at Aldwynne with disbelief. To say she was bewildered was an understatement. After all, she did not think the conversation with the first Empress would take the whole 10 days in the real world.

“Mother, mother, did you know that—” the twins started recalling their days, telling their mom what they missed. Even the usually calm Jaylenn chimed in to his older brother’s story.

Arianne’s hands moved to pat the twins’ heads, although she had her mind elsewhere. What in the world had just happened to her?