Before Aunt Lavinia could respond to his teasing provocation, the Empress spoke up. "Those matters are indeed beyond your current capabilities, however, you are a contractor and thus, can become an asset. The stipulation being you become a Weaver sooner rather than later. Luckily for you, this conflict won't meet its resolution. This should provide you with plenty of time."

Aleister sighed. "I understand." He would just ask Syn once she was available. Today's events only piqued his interest in the mystery of this room even more.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," the Empress made her way forward, "I need to at least start cleaning up the absolute mess that the universe just handed me." She scrunched her brows and rubbed her eyes with the hand she rested upon her face. "That reminds me, I have bad news for you."

Aleister looked around before pointing at himself. "Me?"

"Gil told me all about your vendetta."

"If I pretend to not hear this, will that make things any better?"

She ignored him and continued, "I'm not saying you can't exact your revenge ever, but you need to put it on hiatus for now. Of course, I only base this statement on the current information I have on Vallonia. You should already know our relationship has never been the best with them. The new regime only made our disagreements worse. But since the crystals have descended, all seven territories will enter a temporary peace treaty for the trial."

"And I woke up feeling good today too." Aleister let out a sigh. He really wanted to say for her not to sign it, but why would she listen just for him. Honestly, if he was in her place, and hated them, he would still probably sign the treaty to avoid the ire and pressure of everyone else. This also meant while he couldn't touch them, they couldn't touch him. Not that they knew he still lived. If anything, this was for the best. "Twenty years, right?"

"It's a long time even for us," Ryellia said.

"Oh, sweet children of the summer," Aunt Lavinia said. "Twenty years shall pass faster than you realize."

"Hopefully, my empire isn't in complete and utter ruin," the Empress said.

"It's not," Kyoko said, walking into the room with slumped shoulders. Her little sister followed close behind. "As soon as the eclipse ended, the group of creatures we fought vanished."

"Citizens still died as a result."

"Maybe, but none that I saw died."

"I didn't see anyone die either," Nana said in addition.

"How strange."

"More importantly, what in the name of Lilith happened to the Vitreus?" Kyoko asked, her confusion transparent. "And, fancy meeting you here, Aleister."

"You're the guy that took sis away from me the other day," Nana said, pointing her finger straight at him. He felt her examine his entire being with her eyes.

"Oh, you didn't know?" Aleister grinned. "I'm Lilith."

"Lei," Ryellia said in a disapproving voice.

Aleister rolled his eyes. "Maybe not, but I am your older cousin, so that does make me an important person to you.

Her eyes widened. "You're him? But, you look so, plain."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"The Vitreus chose Mitre," the Empress said.

"Phew." Kyoko let out an exhale of relief. "I thought it would choose me. That would have been such a pain in the ass."

"Why would it have chosen you over me?" Nana said with crossed arms. "You don't focus on your prayers enough."

"I can only pray for so long."

The Empress shook her head. "Why am I not surprised by the fact you didn't even want to be chosen?"

"But the fact the Vitreus chose that boy over me means I haven't devoted enough time." Nana dropped to her knees. "Oh Lilith, please forgive this one for her failure."

"I also wanted to ask, since the Vitreus is gone, does that mean all the Anima Caligo is gone too?" Kyoko asked. "I couldn't find any to manipulate to get down here."

"Yes, there shouldn't be anymore Anima Caligo, but that didn't have anything to do with the Vitreus choosing Mitre. The existing amount would have remained if the mysterious entity from the Ethereal Plane didn't show up," Aunt Lavinia said with a glare. "On a more important note...who gave you permission to tell other's my name."

"I forgot. It's a dumb rule in the first place."

"You fail to understand the power behind a name."

The Empress grabbed Nana off the floor. "Come with me," she said as she walked away.

Before Aunt Lavinia could do the same, Aleister turned to her and gave her the three jars. "No need to thank me."

"Ok," she said, and left.

"That was a lie by the way." Aleister put his hands on his hips and let out a sigh.

"You should get that wound treated," Gilmore said. "Even if it is a shallow cut, it can grow infected and get much worse. Trust me."

"Don't scare him like that!" Ryellia said. "There wasn't anything here that could poison him."

"And if there was, I threw it all up, anyway." He flexed his arm up and down, displaying his full range of motion. "Seems fine to me."

Ryellia looked at him with wide eyes. "I didn't mean you shouldn't get someone to look at it."

"Fine," Aleister said, letting out a hefty puff of air. He rubbed the knotted up strap. "I need to get a brand new bag, anyway." He left the Throne Room. Kyoko followed him to the entrance as he had no other means to get out right now.

"How do you feel that your little brother was chosen?" Kyoko asked.

"Happy of course. I just hope this doesn't make him get in over his head."

"Glad to hear it."

"Sure, by the way, what happened between your mom and dad?" Aleister asked.

Kyoko stumbled forward as she lost balance. "Where did that come from?"

"In an earlier discussion about who the Vitreus would choose. Your mom said she would rather Nana be chosen over you because he influenced your behavior too much." Aleister waved his hand. "Don't tell her I told you, though. I would like to keep living."

She laughed. "It's just that my dad left a lot of obligations back home when he came over. Family ones at that."

"Oh, I see."

"He's been gone for around—five years now?" Kyoko tapped her finger against her chin. "How much do you know about Titans?"

Aleister coughed on his one spit. "Your father is a Titan?"

"Looks like it's your time to be shocked."

He sure was. Titans, along with dwarves and some other select few races, carried primordial bloodlines. Blood of the universe, many called it, as the universe manifested Primordials into existence itself. Dwarves were the most common. Sun elves and moon elves would follow up, but they had mixed fey and primordial blood. Not many people ever lay eyes upon a Titan. So much so that the debate if they had gone extinct or not arose many times in scholarly debates. "I have so much to ask now."

"I can't provide you with the answers you seek," Kyoko said. "If you are wondering how many still exist, I can tell you what my father told me."

"I'm all ears."

"Only one tribe in the Icewind Tundra. So only around ten pureblood titans remain." Kyoko's lips grew into a cold half-smile. "So, I'm sure you understand why the matter would be so important to him that he left."

"I understand. It doesn't seem like your mom does though."

"She does the most. Just think about how many members of the royal family do you really know?"

"Five. You mom, my dad, my brother, you, and your sister. Six, actually, if you count me, but I don't think we will in this scenario."

"And of those five, only my mom and your dad are pure members of the Crystal bloodline."

"Does the Crystal Throne not activate your bloodline?"

"It does, but with every passing generation dilutes the blood pool. Even your brother is no exception."

True. It was strange hearing her say it, though. He never really questioned his mother and grandmother's bloodline. And wasn't his grandfather Kyoko's godfather? He stayed silent and pondered upon some thoughts.

"Oh, looks like my mom already took care of the problem," Kyoko said. In front of him, the usual set of stairs. "I'll be seeing you later."

Aleister waved her off. He found it strange that Syn hadn't talked to him yet, but headed towards the marketplace nonetheless. The knot he created really dug into his skin.