Liralau ran towards the city, the home she recently abandoned. A den of slavery, debauchery, and last but not least, greed.

There's not much damage to the city itself. She thought as she approached. Smoke? She leaned forward until she shifted to running on all four of her limbs spurring herself to greater speed.

The gate? She stopped running and approached the city walking upright. She inspected the archway to enter the city. She smirked to herself when she saw what remained of it. What raw strength he has.

She delayed momentarily looking over the groaning, barely conscious guards, and quickly lost interest. Entering the city gave her pause at the sheer number of guards and sentries beaten flat.

"Still alive," she breathed in relief. She had no love lost for her people, but she still had a shred of care left. "What a monster," she bit her thumb. What a monster we've created. Shaking her head she cleared her mind for her task at hand.

She looked them over one by one from afar. They all had a bruise. A single mark indicating the blow that bested them. "A mercy if I ever saw one. He wasted no effort beating them up, just hit them once hard enough to knock them out."

She kept walking. "If this were reversed... and we attacked them..." she came to a halt and shuddered at the following realization. "Of the eight of them, only Vivian or Jaden could put up a fight. I can't envision either of them losing against us, but if we managed to overpower them, they'd die. The rest would be taken for slaves."

"Who's the real monster here?" she compared the two scenarios and considered what the prophecy meant for her people. Shaking her head, she continued making her way toward the royal palace. She released a long, slow sigh. How long has it been?

"Twelve years? Not that my memory from back then is crystal clear, but I hardly recognize the palace," she slid her hand slowly over the gaudy palace door, pushing it open.

"Your Grace!" the palace occupants tripped over themselves as they rushed forward.

"Sorry, you've got the wrong person," Liralau scoffed disdainfully at their haste. "I'm pretty sure the last time I saw any of you was when I was thrown from the palace like a piece of trash. despite that, now you try to revere me like a-"

"Princess," an aged voice broke through the ensuing pandemonium completing her sentence unintentionally, returning silence to the palace hall.

"I've got nothing to say, least of all to you," Liralau's tone bit like venom. The city bells tolled, ringing clear they filled the city with a somber atmosphere. She continued looking over them disdainfully as their expressions brightened. The tyrant ruling over them had vanished. The previous royal family appeared at the same time. What could they call this but good fortune?

"It sounds like your ruler is no more," Liralau turned on her heel and started walking away from them. "Have fun deliberating over whose life you'll ruin next. I want no part of it. I just came for memories of Mother and Father, but the palace isn't anything like it was back then," she sighed disgustedly. "Nothing is the same. Except for you."

The elation vanished from their expressions. "Princess, please! We had no choice then. Our god willed it."

"I'm not interested in your excuses. There's always a choice, even if you're unaware of it at the time," her voice echoed powerfully through the palace. Her brisk footsteps filled the silence as she headed back out the door she came in.

The Liralau God wishes to enter a [Contract]. [Yes]

Go to hell. You're just itching to prove my parting words, aren't you? NO.

"My, my, my. How many people would dare to reject their god?" Liralau shuddered at the sudden voice whispered into her ear. The sudden warm breath tickling her skin. She cocked her arm, twisted her body, and launched a punch. Her fist hit nothing but air.

"Resorting to violence? What did I do to earn such hate I wonder?"

"Give my parents back you heartless wretch!" Liralau poured everything she had into her voice. She vented years of pent up sadness, suffering, regret, hate, anger, and rage all into her single shout. The god's presence imploded upon itself and she was alone once more.

Liralau panted heavily taking a moment to relax and calm herself. She straightened herself and proceeded with dignity toward the busted city gate. I should at least know what I'm rejecting. She halted at the gate and cast her gaze skyward. "What do you want of me?"

"Fufufu nothing difficult, just a minor trifle," her god intoned in her mind. "In exchange, I'll grant you anything within my power, once."

"No. For such a reward a minor trifle doesn't match." Liralau walked out of the city without another look back. I hope whoever does accept is fully prepared for their foolishness.

Race-wide Contract Offer Liralau God offers a [Contract] to any willing female.

Task: Assist in the rebirth of the sphinx, Othello.

Reward: A single request of your God. Anything within my power.

[Accept] [Reject]

Couldn't hide your true intentions with the actual contract, huh? Liralau rushed to press the reject option, but the offer disappeared before she could. That means someone accepted. I wonder if they truly understand what 'assist' means here?

[Unnamed] accepted the role.

Per the contract, state your wish.

"I didn't accept why am I getting this message?" Liralau's eyes slanted in anger. "Race-wide contract request. You're worse than scum."

"Fufufu. I always get what I want, you should know that by now. Please, make your request so I can begin the process."

"I wish to annul this contract that I didn't accept in the first place." Liralau glared at her god. "If you can't do that, then my wish is for you to utterly destroy the soul of Othello so he can't be reincarnated. I will not be your sacrificial puppet."

"Are you sure? Both of those wishes will result in a breach of contract and you will be my pet." the god grinned.

"In that case," Liralau drew her daggers. She placed one at her own throat, the other aimed at her heart. "I'd rather die."

Her god cast a bored look over her, "Please reconsider."

"My last wish then. I will not compromise any further on this: after I have the Spinx in my body, erase me from existence, leave no chance for rebirth, reincarnation, or re-creation."

"That's... I hope you don't live to regret this." the god's tone dripped with malice as she vanished. "Annika."

Contract voided

Liralau's eyes widened as the name swirled through her mind. She sighed and sheathed her daggers. "No guessing the intent behind this name." She stepped into the forest without looking back.

"That's why you attacked us?" Vivian sat on a rock and spun her staff lazily around her fingers.

"It is. It is." the rat commander hastily replied, covering his head fearfully as he watched that evil stick; his eyes glued to its every move. "No more head hitting, please. Please."

"I think you broke him, Mother," Jaden stated.

"He should have been truthful from the start." she shrugged and stowed her staff on her back, "I do apologize, you did make it harder on yourself though."

"Yes. yes. My fault. My fault." the rat relaxed visibly when the evil stick left her hands.

"Tell your 'princess' if she's looking to gain my favor she's failing miserably," Vivian stated as she hopped to her feet. "I just want a peaceful life and everyone is making that impossible. Maybe peace is just a foolish dream. But I'll be that dreaming fool."

"Mother." Jaden interrupted as she turned to walk away. He hugged and released her, "I'll make your dream a reality. I won't stop until you have your peace."

She ruffled his hair. "Does a monster bring peace?"

"The only recurring rule in this world is might makes right. The strong do as they please, the weak live in hiding or become slaves to the strong." Jaden answered. "I'll unite the world into a single empire."

"That's a lofty goal. How will you do it?" Vivian asked.

"As peacefully as the world allows me." Jaden sighed knowing he'd spill a lot of blood on this road.

"Don't lose yourself in this path," Vivian sighed, "As much as I don't want to admit it... that city showed me deep-rooted darkness in this world that I can't ignore."

"Mother?" Jaden saw only sadness in her pure white eyes. She said nothing, just stared at him without blinking. Pitch black eyes locked onto pure white. The sadness she felt projected onto him, becoming stronger as her memories flashed unbidden through her mind.

"Jaden?" she struggled hard and only barely managed to whisper.

"Just let me do this. I'm sorry for making you re-live the pain, but there's something I have to see," his hands cradled her face holding her eyes in his gaze. He pushed deeper into her memories, probing into events that she had never experienced first-hand. He looked into the memory of her blood; millennia of oppression, slavery, debauchery, and the blessed release of death. It didn't matter who they met. Race after race after race, they met with hostility.

He dove even further. He looked back before the other races appeared. A happy farming community. The people lived peacefully, day after day. Night fell. The entire village gathered around a giant fire. A group of women appeared each one carrying a staff. They spun them slowly, artistically. They walked, hopped, ran, took half steps. An intricate dance. A beautiful choreography. A celebration. But for what? The scene faded. Why? Jaden asked. Why couldn't things have stayed that way?

Jaden shifted the memories forward. An expedition. A group of slavers. The peaceful community left destroyed in its wake. Men and women resisted the raid; slain and abandoned to rot. Men, women, and children chained and carted away, their future stained in blood with only bleakness to look forward to. Daryl. Lulu. Evan. Bayne. Molli. Emily. The faces of their clan appeared one by one in the memory as they watched the scene unfold. Vivian's body tensed visibly. Jaden's eyes swirled into a dangerous torrent. "They've reincarnated?" Jaden asked as they looked back on their history.

Bayne wielded his pitchfork to protect his family. The assailants quickly outnumbered, surrounded, and sliced him to death. Molli watched on screaming as tears filled her eyes while shielding her daughter. She turned her tear-filled gaze to Emily.

"Mommy?" innocent azure blue eyes looked back at her. Molli hugged Emily close. They were corraled into a line and chained in place. Further away, Molli caught sight of Daryl, Lulu, and Evan. "I don't know what their plans are for us. I do know this: Life as we knew it is over. We could argue that we're the lucky ones, we're still alive. But what if the dead are the truly lucky ones?" murmurs of her people discussing both options surrounded her. "I won't mince words, and I won't force anyone to follow me...other than my precious daughter." Molli paused. "I'm opting for death. At least this way I know what my future holds."

"But how?" in response, Molli pulled out a pouch. From it, she pulled out a berry.

"That's..." Vivian gasped.

"Yeah. A primitive version of the Rowan berry." Jaden replied and they fell silent.

Tears in her eyes, she pushed the berry into her daughter's mouth, kissed her forehead, and held her as she fell into her final sleep. She passed the pouch around, it came back to her empty. The memory followed Molli through years of abuse and cruel service to various owners. Every attempt to end her life met with failure, and subsequent whipping. The light in her eyes dimmed gradually before dying completely. Long before the abuse finally ended her life, she'd stopped talking entirely.

It was a horrible thing to experience, but Jaden couldn't bear to push the memory away. They watched it in its bitter entirety.

"Living through that scarred her soul," Vivian's eyes glazed over and tears streamed uncontrollably and unbidden down her cheeks and onto his hands. He released her face and slowly blinked, suppressing the memories that were not her own. The spell broken, she sobbed openly as he wrapped his arms around her; providing all the comfort he was able. "I'm sorry Mother." I'm sorry Molli.

Jaden sighed, his own eyes wet with tears for his created race. He blinked them dry, his expression hardened. "I can't change the past. But I can make sure it never happens again. The cycle of the strong preying on my people ends now. We will prey upon the world."

Sasha. Remove Mother's limiter. Completely.

This will require deeper integration.

Let her make that decision.