---------

Karna placed her palm against the window overlooking the nursery. A small smile danced on her lips as she looked inside. There were several babies and small children in the nursery, but two in particular captivated her focus. Both could be called hers, though only one she had carried. The first one was the child being gently held by a couple of titans hugging each other. The child was the one she’d conceived with Hyperion and the one she’d used to bait Pride. It had not been easy to give birth without providing an actual moment of weakness for Pride to exploit, and to keep it a secret from her guards. Fortunately, there was a relatively easy solution. She was in part a phoenix, and phoenixes laid eggs. Eggs could be laid fairly quickly, especially if you could speed things up with magic, and the fluctuations in her power were not quite as noticeable when compared to the more common way of giving birth. She’d considered ending the pregnancy another way just in case but had simply not been able to bring herself to do it. Old traumas never completely died and the memory of the child she’d lost in her old life was still there.

As the child was supposed to be the heir she provided for the House Titannica, and because she wouldn’t have the time or opportunity to properly raise him, she’d given the child for the titans to raise. In a bit of irony, the titans had given the child to Hyperion’s parents to raise, though it did make sense. Titans could also be surprisingly communal when raising small children. That didn't hold after the child reached a certain age, but as a baby it certainly held true, mostly because titans were not the most fertile of races. Every child was important. It would be interesting to see what bloodlines the child inherited. Seeing as there had been an egg involved, a phoenix bloodline seemed obvious.

Her impending ascension to the position of the empress, and the subsequent bid to become the being controlling the rules of the multiverse meant that raising children was just not in the cards for her. While it was unfortunate, she didn’t really regret it. She’d raised many children in her time, her own and adopted, so the whole thing had gotten old for her a long time ago. She also knew others could be good enough as parents as well, so she could trust her child to the care of others. The two titans had obviously done a decent job with Hyperion.

The other child, a bit older, belonged to Tsumi. Both Arjuna and her former master were playing with the child happily. Strictly speaking, she had not been part of the conception of that child, but as the child had been born thanks to the Sacred Lady’s power, she wasn’t exactly unrelated either. Especially now that the same power had become part of her once again. Tsumi would make for a good parent. And Arjuna was there to help her. For now, at least.

“You still haven’t told them.” Gem chided her. “It’s been weeks.”

The weeks after the battle with Pride had been tumultuous, to say the least, and for many reasons. It had become obvious that she'd inherited the Sacred Lady's powers, a sensation on its own but the least of the shocking events that had happened. The Imperial Guard had rebelled, something that had never happened before according to the records, though Karna doubted those records a bit. The Assembly was still debating what to do with those captured, and with the rest of the guard that had remained loyal. The current prevailing idea was to allow them an honorable death by having them attack the Inferno until they either earned forgiveness through victory or died trying. Karna suspected the decision would wait until she took the throne, thus giving her the chance to make the judgement.

The last thing of note was that she’d defeated a rank 14 being. Beings of that level had been felled before, but not by a single rank 13 being. She’d basically proven to have the power to equal one, yet obviously still had room for growth. That had caused waves.

“I’m not sure if I should.” She answered in a quiet whisper. Even though the glass was soundproof, she didn’t want to take any chances.

“Why?” Gem asked a little confused. “Are you hoping that you can somehow return them once you take the position that supposedly comes with omnipotence?” They had already talked about the fact that she currently had no way to return them.

“There’s a little bit of that. However, even if I do get the position and get the power, I’m not sure if I should. They might be reborn by that time. It wouldn’t do to rip them out of the new life and bring them back here just because Arjuna would be sad. Would they even be the same? Even if they hadn’t been reborn, most of their soul would’ve been cleansed of memories by that point.”

“Omnipotence, remember.” Gem reminded her.

“Oh, I’m aware. I’m not saying it’s impossible. Just that they would essentially be copies. Anyway, I don’t mean that I won’t do it. I simply will make the decision if and when it becomes an option. We actually have no idea what kind of power that position truly comes with. We’ve been given hints but not much in the way of proof. That’s not the only reason why I haven’t told Arjuna. Despite everything, I just don’t want to shatter the happiness he currently has.” She looked at her father playing with Tsumi’s child. “I know I have to do it. I just…want to give him a few more days before I shatter his world. He isn’t as used to loss and grief as we are.” And despite everything, Gem was a spirit and for them loss was different.

As the two started walking away from the nursery, Envy finally felt it was a good time to join them. “I’ve found something that you might find interesting.” She said simply, handing her a pair of moving pictures. She had been sent to investigate the guard and especially everything to do with Pride, so Karna could guess this was likely important.

Despite never having seen the two people in the pictures, it didn’t take much to identify them. The female one was in deep slumber, looking exceedingly happy despite the stark surroundings of what looked like a prison cell. The man looked emaciated, as if he had not eaten anything for years. His ribs were clearly showing even through his clothing. It was hard to judge his age as it looked like he had not grown up properly due to a lack of nutrients.

"Sloth and Gluttony," Karna stated with a raised eyebrow. "I was wondering when they'd show up."

“Apparently Pride has held them prisoner for quite a while. According to the guards I interrogated at the site, Pride was planning on using them to attack you, but you know how the two are. Pride was in a rush, and the two weren’t very cooperative.” Envy shrugged. Another matter complicating the issue with the guards was that some of those that had planned on rebelling never got the chance to. So it was difficult to tell the difference between innocent and guilty guards.

“Indeed.” She replied simply.

She was a little leery about how things could’ve gone if Sloth had been present. The Sin’s power was tied to her name. Anyone she engaged with would be put to sleep, though so would she. Sloth and her enemy would slumber until her opponents withered away, while she only grew stronger as her cultivation was focused on sleeping. It was a very simple tactic, but also very effective, especially against crowds. Entire empires had fallen due to her influence, although mostly unintentionally as the Sin was too lazy to really make power plays. She just wanted to sleep.

Karna had talked to Sloth a few times, and the fellow Sin had mentioned that the worlds Sloth built in her dreams were a lot more interesting and friendly than reality. And as Sloth had argued, who could really say what was reality? Her dreams were better, so why not stay in them? Karna couldn't agree, but she could understand. Reality was often unpleasant. If Sloth had the opportunity to not engage with reality, then why not get lost in dreams? In many ways, Sloth was the simplest of any reincarnator, as all her lives were essentially the same. She slept, as much as she could. And she clearly was happy. Perhaps the happiest person Karna had ever met.

Gluttony was in some ways similar, but also the complete opposite. He too had given into his Sin, but he had less choice in the matter. He had to eat. His Sin turned everything he ate into power. He could eat almost any attack, making him defensively very powerful, but if he couldn't gorge himself, the result was just what Karna was witnessing. An emaciated being barely alive. Powerful, but practically dead. Of all the Sins, Gluttony was the worst off and the most unfortunate. Where Sloth was always happy, Gluttony could never truly be more than temporarily sated. Karna was fairly certain that he could’ve found ways around his malady, but he’d rather satisfy his cravings by gorging himself.

“What did you do with them?” She asked, suspecting Envy had not just left the two Sins alone.

The answer somewhat surprised her. “I left Sloth as she is. Why disturb her, when she’s clearly enjoying herself? She also earned her respite by not going along with Pride. Granted, it was likely because she was too lazy to and Pride couldn’t wake her up, but still. Gluttony was clearly suffering, so I gave him a last meal and sent him to his next life.”

“This is going to sound a little twisted after you just killed someone, but that was considerate of you.” She gave Envy’s shoulder a pat, which she seemed to enjoy.

“Well, I don’t really have anything against the two specifically, unlike the other three. Greed’s a real cock, Pride a right prick, and Lust a real cunt.” Envy replied with a grin.

“Very graphic of you.” Karna laughed, though she didn’t really disagree aside from maybe Lust. And she knew better than to argue that point right now.

The two walked for a short time before Envy finally asked. “What now?”

"That's a good question. With Pride gone, the time pressure is suddenly gone from us. I suppose that next, I will have to take the throne, and then we can figure out a way to deal with the guards that rebelled. Aside from that, I think we can relax for now. Have some well-earned rest. I will have to visit the emperor to get the details on how this shift in power is going to happen."

“You know, I heard a part of what you said to Gem. There is another way. Hope could bring Duskclaw back, and you could more simply bring Hope back since she doesn’t lose her memories when she dies.” Envy pointed out.

“I can’t ask that of her, and I won’t. She hardly even knows Duskclaw. And remember, this would be more for Arjuna’s sake than mine. While Hope might do it for me, I’m not so sure she’d be happy to do it for him. Besides, I’d just be trading one problem for another. No, let Hope live her life as she chooses.”

------

It wasn’t the first time Karna was at the imperial palace, though last time she’d been accompanied by her rivals. This time she was only accompanied by her allies, although the others were forced to wait outside as she entered the throne room. This time the emperor had changed the room into a rather majestic one, with pillars made of quite literally all of the various valuable materials, walls full of art that depicted profound concepts, and the size of the room was enough to hold tens of thousands of people inside without trouble. Not that there were more than her and the emperor inside currently. Even the guards had been sent out she noted as she walked on the incredibly plush carpet. Carpets were entirely inferior to pillows, but in the grand scheme of things, they too got her approval. Soft and fluffy was soft and fluffy.

“Your majesty.” She greeted the emperor once she was close enough that their distance was polite. She didn’t bow, but her tone was respectful.

“Empress-to-be.” The emperor replied with a similar tone of voice.

The two looked at each other for several moments. Well, at least Karna looked at the strings of beads covering the emperor’s face. “You emerge victorious.” The emperor stated simply.

"Was there any doubt?" She asked in response, a slightly challenging tone in her voice.

“Not in your overall victory. Just the timing of it. You went for it faster than we expected. I did not truly expect things to come to a fight between the two of you until several years from now. Well, at least originally.” The man said with a light tone.

“We?” She noted with interest.

“You will meet Him soon.” She could hear the small smile in his voice. “Very soon in fact.”

“I have questions.” She said firmly. Gathering information about what awaited her was a priority.

"I’m not surprised. I would in your place as well. Unfortunately for you, the answers are not mine to give.” The emperor seemed to be genuinely regretful, although there was a hint of schadenfreude in his voice as well.

That made her pause a bit. “Well, there are some questions that you can answer. Mostly to do with the coronation.”

This time the emperor made an amused sound. “I’m afraid that will be pointless because there won’t be one.”

"What? Why?" She was caught genuinely by surprise.

“Originally we would've waited until the coronation since it would not be odd for the new empress to disappear for a short time in order to adjust to their new duties. In fact, that is normal. However, someone decided they’re no longer under a time-pressure when it comes to the competition for the more important position.” The emperor chuckled openly.

“W-How did you…?” It had only been a couple of days since she’d said that to Envy. It was rare that someone managed to catch her by surprise like this.

“I didn’t and can’t. However, do remember what kind of position we’re talking about. Omnipotent, remember? Anyway, He isn’t going to wait around for decades or centuries just because you managed to get rid of the viable competition. You will be called to him once we are done here. We both know you weren’t really interested in becoming the empress anyway. That’s a positive thing by the way. I usually find that those uninterested in power are the best at using it. No, I will remain the emperor until you’re done with Him. After that? Well, now that’s entirely up to you. Literally everything will be. If you still want to play around as the empress, you can do that. Or you can make the position redundant.”

“You make it sound like me becoming this omnipotent being is guaranteed. I seem to recall that anyone trying to claim the position would be judged.” She pointed out.

“He will explain. To ease your worries though, every reincarnator has already been judged. You wouldn’t even be here if you had been found wanting.” As he spoke, the emperor looked upwards. “It’s almost time. If you want to say something, do it now.”

“My allies. They will protest my disappearance. Envy especially.” Karna realized that this might turn bad if she vanished without saying anything.

“Do not worry. They were already informed. In fact, they were informed by Him, just so they don’t have to doubt the source of the information.” He reassured her.

As light seemed to be gathering around her, she hastily asked one last question. “Who are you?”

“Does it matter?” The emperor laughed. “If you must know, just think of the Virtues still missing.”