"My other half..." Minx muttered as she lounged on her throne.
"Your incarnations lived lives far beyond that of the Father’s son," she remarked, casting a quick glance at Male’s existence as well.
As counterparts, they had both experienced countless incarnations over roughly 254 Cycles.
Yet, much like the way they stood now, not everything was the sa. Male simply didn’t have as many remarkable incarnations to his na.
"Alright, we’ll just do this," she decided after a mont of thought.
If she wanted to steal Ash from the Mother and help him win the ga without making her intentions too obvious, she would simply use his incarnations as a starting point.
"Alright, we’ll just do this," she decided after a mont of thought.
If she wanted to steal Ash from the Mother and help him win the ga without making her intentions too obvious, she would simply use his incarnations as a starting point.
Minx stood up from her throne, her small hands moving with deliberate grace as she began to manifest items from the Treasury.
One by one, they appeared in the air before her, glowing with ancient, powerful energy.
"The Bloodline of Eternal Bonds," she said softly, pulling it from Ash’s 4th incarnation — a shimring thread of golden light that pulsed with the concept of unbreakable connections.
"This will tie him to those he loves... and make them stronger together."
Next ca the Phoenix Nirvana Flas — a swirling orb of white fire that flickered with the promise of rebirth. This was obviously from Seraphiel’s first tears.
Then the Bonded Ten-Tailed Celestial Fox — or in other words, Vaeloria back when she was sealed.
She went on, drawing forth more items that had co into existence over the years.
The Primordial Sin Scripture, embodying the essence of Lust, was her key. Like many other characters in the novel, she had found a way to break free from the constraints of her written destiny.
The Ever-Calm Haven — sothing she had casually summoned from the treasury on a whim.
And several others — each one a remnant of Ash’s past lives or a treasure from the treasury, now refined and enhanced into tools designed to help him grow beyond any plot or limitation.
Minx smiled as she finished, then sent the collection of items into Ash’s soul.
She rose from her throne, stretching her petite arms as her gaze drifted toward the distant edge of the Treasury.
"I should properly introduce myself to the Mother and the Father," she murmured, a quiet thrill flickering in her dual eyes.
"After all... I’ve been anticipating this ga for quite so ti."
With a lighthearted skip, almost childlike in its playfulness, she disappeared from the Treasury, making her way toward the place where Existence and Nonexistence touched.
----
When she appeared, Minx stood at the edge — the neutral void where the white of pure Existence t the black of pure Nonexistence.
The boundary was a razor-thin line of perfect balance, humming with tension like a taut string ready to snap.
With a small, curious tilt of her head, she summoned a simple table and tea set with sweets.
A low wooden table materialized first, followed by two elegant chairs.
Delicate porcelain teacups, a steaming pot, and an assortnt of small pastries and cakes appeared on the surface.
The sweets looked impossibly perfect — colorful macarons, fluffy cakes, and chocolate truffles that shimred with faint conceptual energy.
Minx paused, gazing at what she had just made. Her black-and-white eyes blinked slowly, a rare hint of genuine surprise crossing her face.
"...Well, this is new," she murmured, tilting her head as she studied the setup.
"I guess this is what those things use while they wait?"
She sat down on one of the chairs, her legs dangling slightly as she poured herself a cup of tea.
The steam rose in lazy spirals, carrying a sweet, comforting aroma.
She took a sip, then picked up a pastel macaron, biting into it with a soft crunch. Her expression softened into quiet contentnt as she enjoyed the simple act, waiting patiently.
Ash and Elysia watched from within the mory, both of them feeling the sa undercurrent.
"She’s following another instinctual pull," Elysia murmured. "She doesn’t fully understand it herself... but if I’m not mistaken, sothing is going to happen soon."
Ash gave a slow nod; his reddish-purple eyes locked on the scene before them.
"Well, it makes sense," he said, rembering how each of her instinctive urges had always been followed by a major event.
"I an, she was called the Catalyst, after all."
Ti passed.
A full cycle — an entire era — unfolded in the mory.
Minx remained seated at the table, sipping tea and nibbling on sweets, her form looking almost peaceful in the vast, neutral void.
She didn’t move, didn’t speak.
She waited patiently, as though she had an eternity to spare.
And in truth, she did... but sothing else had shifted.
Over ti, she altered her appearance, just before the mont of the next catalyst.
Then, one day, they ca.
The Mother and the Father erged on opposite sides of the boundary, their imnse presences making the neutral void shudder.
The Mother’s brilliant white light t the Father’s all-consuming darkness in a fierce clash, yet neither gained the upper hand.
They remained there in a tense stillness; their gazes fixed on the small girl now sitting quietly at the table between them.
Minx looked up at them, her black-and-white eyes calm.
CLINK!
In that mont, she felt it — a lock.
As if her existence had been montarily chained, bound by the combined weight of the two primordial forces gazing upon her.
Unnoticed by the characters within the mory, the Author’s voice resonated again, reaching only Ash and Elysia.
"She’s strange enough already... now, just like everyone else, you’ll have to figure out how to break free from my story. Maybe you’ll discover who you really are... the First Absence... or maybe you’ll just lose yourself in the very ga you began."
A long pause followed before the Author spoke again.
"I truly wonder how things will end..." he mused, "Minx... oh, Minx."
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