228 Divine Civil War (1/2)
Then, just like a while ago, she combusted and burned into ashes.
That's already the fifth time that it happened since I arrived here.
By ”here,” he meant the praying room for Kyro in his palace. He brought Yumi there only to watch his darling wife die again and again in front of him. The frustration and the anger on the god's face couldn't be hidden.
”Why don't you just break Yumi's connection to Kiho?” Aku asked the Moon God in his spirit form, then he crossed his arms over his chest. ”Yumi already betrayed her son. And I heard from Lord Ripperton that she has been disowned by Kiho. A spirit guardian disowned by their master could no longer return to their side. That also means that Yumi's connection to Kiho is at its weakest now. She could cut it off herself, to be honest.”
He knew that much about the bound between a Beast God and a spirit guardian because she witnessed the broken relationship between the Supreme Fire Mage and Lucina Morganna.
The outcome of the separation of the two wasn't pretty.
When Lucina Morganna successfully separated herself from the Supreme after she betrayed her master, she created a human body for herself. But it was weak, so Lucina Morganna looked for a suitable host. A host was something akin to their master. It had to be someone who had a soul that could resonate with the spirit guardian's essence.
”Since Yumi is still a god albeit being a minor one, she could create a human body stronger than what Lucina Morganna managed to create,” he continued. ”Of course, she would still need a host to contain her power.”
Since a banished spirit guardian's physical body was weak, it couldn't contain their power. To avoid breaking that body, they needed a host where they could 'rest' and 'store' their essence into. That was why Lucina Morganna begged Nia in the past to be her new host.
To be honest, he didn't like Lucina Morganna so he made her take a deep slumber inside Nia's heart for a long time.
But when his beloved became stronger, she managed to awaken Lucina Morganna. He figured the spirit guardian could be of use so he let her stay awake. And when Nia was exiled, he used the woman as a messenger for him and his beloved.
”Knowing your wife, I bet she would rather die than be completely separated from Kiho,” Aku continued convincing Kyro to separate Yumi from Kiho. He had a plan after all. ”So you should do it yourself, Lord Kyro.”
”I can recommend a strong host for Yumi.”
The Moon God turned to him. ”And who might that be?”
”The Royal Archmage introduced their latest test subject on me a while ago,” he said with a smile. ”The White Tower was able to create a female that could apparently conceive a child with me even if she's not a Moonchester.”
”Interesting,” he said. ”I thought my daughter-in-law cursed the Moonchesters to not be able to conceive a child outside your family in hopes of ending your lineage.”
”Well, we can't underestimate the mages of the White Tower,” he said. ”Some of them fought alongside gods in the previous wars.”
”That's true,” the Moon God appeared. ”What do you wish to gain by making that witch as Yumi's host, Aku Moonchester?”
Ah, of course Lord Kyro knew that he had a hidden agenda.
”I want to get rid of the witch. I can't allow anybody else to give birth to my child other than Nia,” he confessed. ”But if I kill her, I will earn the wrath of the White Tower.”
”Afraid of those old folks, are we?”
”I'm not afraid of them,” he denied firmly. ”But they'd be useful in the upcoming battle. Now that the memories of Kiho and Lady Nystrom have returned, I'm pretty sure they'll be summoning all their allies next. I should start gathering our army, too. After Nia leaves the Royal Capital with the Nystroms, I shall head to the North myself.”
He owned a huge part of the North and that was where their allies were sleeping.
It was a shame but the territory that Lord Prescott managed to buy was the very area that he couldn't totally control. Although his men managed to kill Lord Prescott and Lord Denver there five years ago, the area ”disappeared” after that.
He had a feeling that Lord Ainsworth and the rest managed to control that territory. That could only be the reason why he failed to find and catch them for the past five years.
”Ah, yes,” Kyro said while nodding. ”We don't need human allies in the upcoming battle against my son and the Supreme. The next war is a divine civil war among gods.”
He liked the sound of it because it made him feel like he was also a god now.
”That's true. This time, the war is a divine civil war among gods,” he agreed, feeling superior now because of the Moon God by his side. ”I'm glad that the Supreme offered that deal. The war will start in the land that drinks blood. It's far from the Royal Capital so my people don't have to die in a battle where humans don't belong to.”
”We've been prepared for so long anyway,” the Moon God said. ”If only we can take Kiho back to our side…”
”We'll get him back,” he promised him. ”I know why you need Kiho.”
Kyro just smiled at that. ”And I know why you need the Moon Serpent.”
He laughed at that. ”That what makes us great allies, Lord Kyro. If only the Supreme wasn't so hard to kill.”
”The Supreme has managed to ignite the little Black Flame left in her,” the Moon God said. ”Make sure that she won't be able to take back the flame that her spirit guardian stole from her, Aku Moonchester. At least, not until I gain a physical body.”
”I understand, Lord Kyro,” he said, then he stopped talking when the ice coffin started to crack. It meant Yumi was about to wake up again only to burn into ashes. The frustration on the Moon God's face was very clear. ”Shall I send the witch to you?”
Kyro fell silent for a while, then he nodded firmly. ”Yes, send the witch to me,” he said in a soft voice. ”I can't let Yumi suffer for eternity.”
Aku bowed to the Moon God. ”As you wish, my lord.”
***
TILLY knew that her day would be good.
First, she and Kiho spent another intimate moment before they went to the main mansion.
Second, she had a touching reunion with their servants. After their memories were returned, they apologized to her for being rude to her. Still, she couldn't tell them the truth about her identity as a Fire Mage. She simply told them that starting today, House Nystrom was no longer a part of the Royal Faction.
Third, Kiho was talking to their children. He first talked to Julian, and then he summoned Winter.
”I'm glad that you and Duke Nystrom have retrieved your memories, Tilly,” Luna said. ”Most of all, I'm relieved that the White Snake and the Moon God can no longer control the duke.”
”I wish I could have killed either one of them,” Tilly said while shaking her head. ”But I figured separating Yumi from Kiho must be prioritized. Plus, even though I felt a surge of power because of the Black Flame, I have a feeling that it wasn't enough to kill Kyro.”
Right now, she was having some tea with Luna.
Roarke, on the other hand, was outside the mansion. She asked the Keeper to contact Jameson and set-up a meeting place for them. It was time that they gathered in the Royal Capital. He also asked Roarke to try and contact Wong to get an update regarding Wixx.
”I think you made the right choice, Tilly,” Luna assured her. ”It's almost impossible to kill a spirit guardian as long as their master is alive. Also, killing the Moon God wouldn't have been possible anyway. Not when he was in his spirit form. Cutting-off their connection with Duke Nystrom was already a huge feat.”
She smiled and nodded. ”Oh,” she said when she remembered something. ”Luna, you have something important to tell me, right?”
The witch suddenly went serious. ”I recently found out that my sister is alive.”
She gasped in surprise. ”The one who made the medicine that successfully made Nia Moonchester infertile?”
”Yes, that's her,” Luna said while nodding slowly. ”During your ”audition,” I saw her in the ballroom. I confronted her so I know that it's really my sister.”
”That means the White Tower has hidden her for the past years,” she said, then she sipped her tea. ”Didn't you say that the White Tower is practically owned by Nia Moonchester?”
”Yes,” the witch said. ”I wouldn't be surprised if she's the one behind it. But I wonder why your sister didn't tell you that she's alive all these years.”
She nodded in agreement.
That's suspicious, indeed.
Their conversation was interrupted when someone knocked on the door. When she let Leni and Lani enter the room, she was surprised when she saw the spark in the twins' eyes.