Lady Gemini?
Hearing this title, Amalia’s consciousness wavered montarily, a surge of intense astonishnt rising from the depths of her heart.
As a peak tier Magnus who had studied under Astrid at Elizabeth Academy of Magic, Amalia naturally understood the significance of this na within the modern human magical system, and its weight in the hearts of countless mages.
She was the transcendent master who translated ancient human languages and constructed the modern magical frawork, her strength reaching the pinnacle of human achievent as a Spell Creator. It could be said without exaggeration that the rank of Spell Creator, a title no one else had ever consolidated, was tailored specifically for Gemini. The term "Creator" itself was established to acknowledge her monuntal contribution to the entire magical system.
Could the Lady Gemini ntioned by the First King truly be that legendary figure?
Yet according to existing historical records, Lady Gemini had only been active during the early establishnt of Lorin, the human empire, and then disappeared without a trace afterwards.
How, then, had she co into contact with the First King of Valeria?
As Amalia pondered, more fragnts of mory surfaced.
Following the First King’s words, a woman dressed in a deep purple gown, with a slender figure, erged from the shadows into the light.
Within Amalia’s field of vision, this violet-haired woman had waist-length hair, dignified and beautiful appearance, and skin as flawless as snow, glowing with a pristine radiance. Most striking were her eyes, unlike most people, their centers shimred like blooming flowers, a brilliant violet hue.
The woman addressed as Gemini gazed at the gemstone stained with the First King’s blood and spoke softly.
"By sealing a covenant with blood and using the soul as an anchor, the law you seek has already been inscribed upon the scepter."
As she spoke, she raised her hand. Instantly, ripples of magical energy filled the entire room. The scepter, destined to be regarded by countless future emperors of the Valeria Empire as a symbol of power, shuddered violently, fragile like glass within the vast ocean of Gemini’s released magic.
With just a few delicate flutters of her eyelashes, formless ntal energy transford into countless intricate patterns, searing themselves like imprints onto the surface of the scepter. The pale blue light from the outward surge of magic illuminated both the First King and Gemini’s faces, causing those petal-like spreading violet pupils to shimr faintly.
"You may seal the mories you wish to pass down within this scepter, for your descendants to read."
Gemini’s voice was ethereal. With a graceful wave of her slender hand, the floating imperial scepter was gently pushed forward, finally settling quietly into the First King’s palm.
"Thank you, Lady Gemini."
The man accepted the scepter, his rugged face filled with reverent respect.
The related scene ended here. What followed were mories of the First King’s reign and the enactnt of various laws. Knowing Gemini’s existence, Amalia skimd through these fragnts briefly. After confirming the mysterious figure wasn’t present, she continued delving deeper.
The First King’s final mory unfolded on his deathbed, where the violet-clad woman once again appeared.
After more than a hundred years had passed, the First King, his life drawing to an end, was now covered in white hair, while the Spell Creator Gemini before him remained unchanged in appearance, showing not a single sign of aging, as if ti left no trace upon her.
"Great Spell Creator, Lady Gemini..."
The First King coughed a few tis, his weary eyes fixed on this mysterious, elegant, and peerless master.
"You... remain as youthful as ever."
Gemini’s expression remains calm. Her gaze rested on the First King, as if observing a person, yet also as if peering through him, glimpsing the flow of ti itself.
"According to the Valeria Kingdom’s inherited calendar, your vitality will sustain consciousness for another twenty hours and forty-eight minutes."
Her voice carried little fluctuations, as if she had long grown accustod to life and death. Yet, upon close inspection, one might detect a subtle undercurrent of other emotions.
After a mont of silence, the First King spoke in a hoarse tone a few minutes later.
"Lady Gemini... there has long been a question troubling about your existence..."
"Before I die... I wish to receive an answer."
Seeing the First King’s aged face, Gemini lowered her beautiful eyes. Her two bare, slender legs stood upright and poised, her entire form silent.
"Are you... an ancient human who survived the cataclysmic disaster of the past?"
"..."
The mont the words fell, the palace plunged into a silence as still as death. This question that had haunted the First King of Valeria his entire life seed to briefly freeze the air itself.
Half a minute passed. Gemini’s pink lips parted slightly.
"By modern human understanding, I am, and I am not."
Seeing Gemini’s eyes remain as tranquil as a deep pool, the First King understood that if he continued asking, she wouldn’t provide a detailed explanation. After a brief pause, he shifted to another question.
"The cataclysmic disaster... will it ever recover?"
["The sky torn apart by lightning, the sun plunging into the deep sea, the earth splitting into fragnts"]
["Dragons soaring through the skies broken in thunderstorms, the elves’ fountain of eternal youth drying up and spewing magma, goblin cities collapsing amid tremors"]
These descriptions from ancient texts had once filled the king with dread. Especially when standing west of the Valeria Kingdom, gazing at that abyssal fissure said to have been torn open by a blazing light descending from the heavens, he always felt humanity’s insignificance and fragility before nature.
Even ancient humans, masters of powerful magic, had been nearly driven to extinction by the disaster. How much more than for modern humans, still in the exploratory stages of magic?
Facing the First King’s tone filled with desperate yearning for truth, Gemini slowly responded.
"All things in the world follow certain laws. That which is destroyed shall be reborn, and that which is reborn shall be destroyed. From life to death, from death back to life, this is the unchanging law."
"However, one thing you may rest assured about: for human lifespans so brief, its arrival is extrely slow. At the very least, it will not reoccur within the next thousand years."
Hearing Gemini’s answer, a flicker of relief passed across the First King’s face. His erald-green pupils slowly shifted.
"And... one final question, if I may trouble you..."
"Why did Lady Gemini, who had disappeared for such a long ti, suddenly appear and guide in the arcane magic concerning souls?"
The Lorin Empire had endured for thousands of years. Gemini’s identity had always remained a mystery. Why had she appeared exactly at the mont the empire disintegrated and fragnted?
This ti, Gemini’s gaze no longer rested on the First King. Instead, she looked toward the imperial scepter nearby, placed close to the bedside, its surface embedded with dazzling gemstones.
"Because..."
"[......]"
The next sentence was incomprehensible to Amalia. Gemini did not use the common human tongue, but another strange language.
Seemingly influenced by this peculiar language, the fragnt of the First King’s mory suddenly ended here. Nothing beyond this point was recorded, only earlier monts in the tiline remained.
Amalia opened her eyes, staring at the imperial scepter in her arms. Her white-stockinged legs, which had been tightly gripping the tal shaft, modified relaxed. Her slender, fair feet, resting against the bed, gently shifted back and forth, only feeling grounded once they gently touched the soft plush carpet, finally escaping the floating sensation she’d experienced monts before.
"Sister..."
Softly calling out to Astrid, the silver-haired beauty, previously seated at her desk writing docunts, turned her head, offering Amalia a warm, affectionate glance.
"What is it, Amalia?"
The white-stockinged girl smoothed back her golden hair that had fallen across her chest, took a deep breath, lifted her gaze to Astrid, and spoke with solemn seriousness.
"I saw so very important information within the First King’s mories."
"It’s about the original Spell Creator, Lady Gemini."
"She knew the First King of Valeria and helped him modify the functions of the imperial scepter."
Upon hearing Amalia ntioned Gemini, Astrid’s eyelids flickered. She imdiately set down her work. Her two legs crossed gracefully as she lightly walked over to Amalia’s side.
"Lady Gemini?"
Feeling the soft bed sink slightly under the added weight, Amalia edged closer to Astrid, placing the scepter gently aside the woman’s thigh.
"I never imagined... that legendary figure would actually have a connection with the First King..."
Amalia carefully recounted to Astrid everything she had seen in the mory fragnts, the First King’s rise to power, and his conversation with Gemini at the deathbed.
"The final part of her words... I couldn’t understand. It wasn’t the modern human common tongue. Considering the speaker was Lady Gemini, it was most likely Elders Speech."
Amalia knew Astrid could understand Elders Speech, and she was also aware of her sister’s theories regarding the world’s restraining force.
She herself couldn’t decipher the aning of the ancient language, this was the limitation imposed upon her by the world and the era. Even if she tried to morize it, the words would vanish instantly, let alone enabling her to cast powerful ancient spells.
Only her sister, or Gemini herself, could translate those words.
"Can you pronounce it for ?" Astrid asked.
Amalia shook her head, her voice low. "...I can’t."
She had tried to rember, but with little success. In the ti it took her to exchange just a few sentences with Astrid, the words had already slipped completely from her mind.
And this was the mory of a peak tier Magnus. If it had been a re magic apprentice, they probably wouldn’t even retain a vague impression by now.
Astrid frowned slightly upon this, instinctively crossing her hearing legs as she seriously pondered the information Amalia had just provided.
From the First King’s mories, it was confird that the Spell Creator Lady Gemini indeed exists, not rely as a generic title. However, her identity as an ancient human remains ambiguous, answered with a vague "yes and no."
Moreover, the historical cataclysm was not baseless rumor. Besides archaeological evidence, there was now a direct, traceable source. And from Gemini’s words, it was clear the disaster wasn’t a one-ti event. Her assurance to the First King was only that the early Valeria Kingdom would not face such a threat within the next thousand years.
But now, the kingdom had long beco an empire, the king crowned as emperor, with power shifting across countless generations. That thousand-year promise, already distant for the First King, was no longer valid.
"..."
Besides this, there was another piece of intelligence unknown to all others, known only to Astrid.
That was Lyra’s identity. She was the absolute protagonist of the world, the fated heroine personally designated by the author.
According to typical novel logic, the protagonist’s presence often implies that the era they live in will undergo trendous upheaval. Only conflict provided the stage for the protagonist to showcase their talents. In other words, Lyra’s appearance ant that no matter how dangerous the coming events, as long as they were ntioned in the background, they would most likely affect her.
Just like a gun placed in the first act of a script, sooner or later, it must fire. The so-called cataclysmic disaster was likely the sa. Since it was emphasized in the novel’s setting, it was practically unavoidable.
The current plot Astrid knew was that Lyra would head to the Kingdom of Velys to cooperate with the Saintess of Light. Following the progressive narrative, she will first eliminate Astrid, the early-stage antagonist, the wicked princess, then defeat the militaristic blonde tyrant. After that, the stage will expand to the entire continent, raising the scale to encompass all of humanity.
It seed her plan to quietly settle down sowhere in the empire and live out her days in peace wouldn’t be so easily realized.
As she pondered, Astrid suddenly heard Amalia speak.
"Sister... I have an idea..."
The girl looked at the imperial scepter resting beside Astrid’s leg, her voice gentle.
"Why not try briefly linking your spirit with mine? Just like back in the old castle, when you taught magic."
"Perhaps that way, my sister could also see that fragnt of the First King’s mories."
Undeniably, this was indeed a good thod. The imperial scepter requires royal blood to recognize its master. Only the current empress, Amalia Valeria, can view the mory fragnts. However, if Astrid’s soul briefly connected with hers, it might be possible to bypass this restriction.
Yet this thod involves the soul and requires absolute trust between the two participants. Otherwise, if one of them harbored ulterior motives, the consequences could be disastrous.
After a few seconds of thought, Astrid gave a slight nod.
"We can try it."
With that, she saw Amalia’s lips curve into a faint smile. Within her elental vision, ntal energy slowly spread outward.
Since they had attempted this once before, reconnecting was much easier. Astrid closed her eyes. Her ntal energy intertwined and circled through the air, gradually linking with Amalia’s.
The sensation was like being enveloped in water. The gentler the emotions held by the other party, the less it disturbs the connection, just like the tender touch Amalia was offering her now.
On the other side, the comfortable sensation of ntal fusion was faithfully transmitted to Amalia. The golden-haired girl bit her lip slightly, her two legs clad in delicate white stockings pressing tightly together, her fingers unconsciously clutching the bedsheets beneath her.
Once everything was ready, Astrid saw the First King’s mories within the imperial scepter, and beheld the elegant figure of the woman dressed entirely in purple, emanating mystery from head to toe.
"Because..."
The violet-haired woman, wearing sheer lace gloves, slightly parted her red lips and spoke softly.
"...within the fate I glimpsed, one concerning the survival of humanity, this is an indispensable link."
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