Alden waved goodbye to Anika, but she leaned in close and whispered, "You know, Alden, you're wele to e baytime you like. I'll be here, waiting."

  Her proximity and words made Alden blush. "Well, I appreciate that, Anika. But I really should be getting bay wife. She must be worried about me."

  Anika chuckled softly and nodded in agreement. "Of course, Alden. Take care, and remember, you're always wele here."

  Manisha and Priya watched the exge between Alden and Anika with fusion, but Roselle, Risebelle, and Runebelle exged knowing gnces. With their farewells exged, Alde Anika's , heading back to his own with the sisters in tow.

  Risebelle expined everything she had heard during her enter with Queen Nanase and the goddess followers. After finishing, Alden became serious.

  "I've heard rumors about those goddess items before," he admitted. "But it's the first time I've heard of the Queen openly asking for help to find them. The fact that they believe these items bat Dark Whirlwind... it's a dire situation."

  Runebelle, who had been silently listening, looked ed.

  Alden tinued, "We o find out more about these items and their locations. But we 't do it alone. We'll need allies, and it seems like Queen Nanase is willing to cooperate with us. We should sider joining their efforts and w together."

  “Actually, we have to go and search for our creators," Risebelle said, and then immediately realized her mistake. She pced one hand over her mouth.

  Alden raised an eyebrow and asked, "Your creators? Risebelle, what do you mean by 'creators'? I thought there was only one creator..."

  Risebelle hesitated, realizing that she had let slip a secret she had been guarding.

  Alden's curiosity iqued, and he couldn't let this revetion slide. His eyes searched for answers. "Risebelle, you mentioned 'creators.' What did you mean by that? Was I wrong? Is there more than one of them?"

  Risebelle tried to speak, but it looked like her words deserted her at this moment. She turo Roselle and Runebelle, seeking their support.

  Alden turned his attention to Roselle and Runebelle. "Roselle, Runebelle, you shed some light on this? Who are your creators? What's going on?"

  The three sisters exged uneasy gnces before Roselle frowned and Runebelle’s gloomy face became deeper in the sadness. Risebelle oher hand closed her eyes and looked towards the ground.

  Alden's tone softened upon feeling the sadness in the room, "I know you've been through a lot, and there are things you haven't told me, but we o trust each other if we are to work together. Please, tell me about your creators. I am not out to harm you, I promise, I'll do everything I to help you."

  Risebelle took a deep breath and nodded. She had made up her mind to trust Alden with this crucial information. "Our creators are Kintovar and Har—“

  Before she could even finish uttering Haras’ name, Alden's rea was immediate. He fell out of his chair with shod disbelief written all over his face. Kintovar's name had struck him like a thunderbolt.

  "Kintovar... Juliana Kintovar, you mean? But that's... that's impossible." He stammered in disbelief."She's a known criminal, arrested by the CPU for endangering the Eastern Part of Jancito a few years ago. It couldn't have been her."

  Roselle, Risebelle, and Runebelle exged solemn looks. "We don't fully uand it ourselves," Roselle admitted, "But we were created by Kintovar and Haras. They are our... parents, in a way."

  Risebelle nodded and tio expin, "We didn't e from this pce. Our creation happened in a mystical forest, nearly a thousand miles away from here. This is more than likely a different Kintovar, not the one you're thinking of, Alden."

  Alden, still in a state of shock from the initial revetion, slowly began tain his posure. "A different Kintovar... That's... unusual," he muttered, trying to his head around the situation. "But if that's the case, then who is this other Kintovar, and why did she create you?"

  Risebelle, Roselle, and Runebelle exged gnces once more. They began to ret their memories of the mystical forest, the experiments, and their mission.

  Alden's mind was a whirlwind of thoughts after hearing the extraordinary story. It was a tale filled with darkness and cruelty, a world of corrupt mages and a power-hungry headmaster who had caused immense suffering. He looked down at the floing through sorrow, anger, ahy.

  "I 't even begin to imagine what you've been through," Alden said softly. "The cruelty of those mage’s and the headmaster... it's unfivable. No wonder you felt so muger ament towards humans."

  Risebelle, Roselle, and Runebelle nodded in uanding.

  Alden tinued, "From what you've told me, it sounds like this Kintovar is a very different person altogether. She was captured and somehow escaped her owion. Then, she created the three of you and, with a blend of magid teology, defeated the headmaster. And now, she's here, seeking t her teology to this city."

  Alden shifted to a deep sense of realization with one hand underh his . "It's starting to make sense... This Kintovar could be the daughter of Juliana Kintovar….It would expin her e to teology and magic. But there's still so much I don't know."

  Alden turned his gaze back to the sisters. "I o uhe truth behind all of this and uand Kintovar's iions. If she's here t teology, it could ge everything for this city, but it could als danger."

  Risebelle's tourned serious. "Alden, no matter what orders we receive from Kintovar, we will carry them out," she decred. "She created us, arust her. But we…. Well, also trust you now, don’t we?"

  Roselle and Runebelle nodded in agreement.

  "Our creator has her reasons," Roselle added with a smile. "We'll do whatever we to ehat her teology bes this city.”

  Alden gazed at the three determined sisters. In that moment, he uood the depth of their loyalty to their creato. How could he stand in the way of their search for Kintovar and Haras after all they had been through?

  He g the clootig that it was already 9 pm. It seemed that the time was flying to him and now he was locked with a decision. He sighed deeply. “I really hope I won't regret this," he murmured to himself. Then, he addressed the sisters. "I promised to do everything I to help you, and I io keep that promise. If finding your creators is what you o do, then I’m all in on this, you hear?"

  Roselle looked relived while Risebelle maintained a ral look. Runebelle maintained her gloominess but a hint of a smile came to her face.

  "Let's rest for tonight," Alden suggested. "Tomorrow, we'll begin our search. It won't be easy, but I know we find them if we put in our bined efforts.”

  Sally, with her youthful curiosity ying from around the living room er. She couldn't tain her excitement. She made her way towards Risebelle with wide eyes and asked, " we py together? I have lots of toys!"

  Risebelle gred at her, ready to yell at her, but Alden chuckled softly at his daughter, "Sally, it's already te, and uests o get some rest. You py with them tomorrow, okay?"

  Sally pouted momentarily but then nodded relutly, “Okay, Daddy.”

  Alden carried Sally to her room and tucked her into her bed. “Goodnight, my angel, may the goddess bless you in your dreams”.

  Sally waved sleepily to Risebelle who followed them and then quickly drifted off to sleep. Risebelle accessed her internal systems to verify the location, and a message fshed across her internal dispy:

  Location firmed: North Jancito

  The firmation aligned with everything Alden had told them. It was without a doubt, North Jancito, and their journey had led them here, but what had it in store for them?

  Risebelle’s internal systems hummed softly, preventing her from finding the rest she desired. She didn't uand why she had been paired with this child, Sally, in the first pce. The young girl's innod curiosity were sn to her. While Sally seemed to find fort in her presence, Risebelle couldn't shake off the sense of annoyahat g her.

  She paced quietly in in the dark room with her eyes gng at the sleeping child. Her systems were running diagnostics, analyzing the day's events, and preparing for the steps in their mission. But something else was b her, something she couldn't quite identify.

  Why was she feeling this way? She was built for precision and purpose, not for emotions and distras. Yet, here she was, feeling annoyed aless. "I want to sleep, but my systems won't calm down. It's the first time we haven't been able to use the tanks for sleep…"

  With that thought in mind, Risebelle decided to quietly che her sisters.

  Risebelle found Roselle and Runebelle in the guest bedroom, a small room that could only fit two people. Roselle and Runebelle were cuddled up in the bed. Risebelle sighed. She got a strange feeling stirring within her momentarily bringio a smile, but shook it off.

  With a quiet growl, she turned and made her way back to Sally's room. Risebelle hesitated for a moment before moving to the bed. She gingerly reached out and grabbed Sally's hand, feeling the warmth and softness of her tiny fingers. They felt sile, so easy to break. She sat there, holding Sally's hand, trying to uand the differeween herself and this human child.

  The warmth of the child's tiny fingers brought memories rushing back, memories she thought she'd buried deep within her.

  She remembered being once a human, in a past life filled with strict expectations aless pressure. Her mother, a stern woman with little patience for failure, demanded nothihan perfe. Risebelle earraight A's, eae a hard-won victory. It was rewarded with rare moments of approval. But one year, a single bad grade marred her report card. Her parents shed out in aheir words cut deeper than any sword would.

  She had to succeed the year. Failure was not an option. Risebelle poured everything she had into her studies, driven by the fear of their wrath. She succeeded, but the damage was done. Her mother left, and her father, cold aached, sold her off.

  Risebelle recalled the menag faces of those who had purchased her. They had cold, calg eyes stripping away all of her dignity. She remembered the shame, the eorment, and the numbing pain of her servitude. The anger she felt bubbled to the surface. The grip on Sally’s hand was uionally tightening.

  “Mommy, you're hurting me...” Sally mumbled in her sleep.

  Risebelle froze, the words cutting through her anger like a knife. She looked down at Sally. The little girl was shaking. Risebelle looked with pure sadness. It was something rarely seen from her. She hadn't meant to cause any harm.

  She hesitated between the urge to retreat and the o fort the child, but slowly, awkwardly, she began to soothe Sally, gently rubbing her bad whispering softly, “It’s okay... it’s just a dream. You’re safe now.”

  Sally stirred slightly with her breathing gradually evening out. Risebelle's calming touch worked its magid sent Sally to a more peaceful sleep. Risebelle watched the child's fad felt a strange warmth spread through her chest. She couldn't remember the st time she had felt anythiely like it. Maybe never.

  She had always viewed humans through a lens of bitterness and anger. It erspective shaped by her creators' and her own experiences, but here was this i child, who had dohing to deserve her s.

  "I 't hate a child like her," Risebelle whispered to herself. The realization was as startling as it rofound. If she couldn't hate Sally, then what did that mean for her hatred of all humans?

  She thought back to her behavior toward other children today, her stern demeanor, her cold responses. A sigh escaped her lips. Had she been too harsh? Too unfiving?

  While pting this, a gentle speech echoed in her mind. "Project ZAB, you are finally learning to accept that not all humans are evil monsters. It is a step in the right dire."

  "Shut up," she muttered to the system. She was annoyed by its intrusio she couldn't deny to herself that maybe there was some bit of truth in its words.

  With that thought, a weariness settled over her. For the first time in what felt like ages, she felt the heavy pull of sleep and closed her eyes.