Kintovar’s eyes widened in arm. She quickly made her way to Roselle’s side. Risebelle ehe room and swiftly approached Roselle’s lifeless body. She gently pushed past the others and k down by Roselle. Her fingers moved deftly over Roselle’s body, accessing the intricate systems that made her unique.

  [System Report]

  Lifeforce: 100%

  Magic: 200%

  on Charge: -0 (Warning: issing)

  Risebelle’s face grew pale. “This… this doesn’t make sense. Her vitals are normal, her magic levels are fine, but the on charge is listed as -0, and there’s a warning that the on is missing.”

  Kintovar’s face turned grave. “A ive charge? That’s impossible. It means something is severely wrong with the on or its e. But how could it be missing?”

  Kintovar’s eyes widened as a realization dawned on her. She recalled the battle where Roselle’s on had beeroyed during her frontation with Rawna. Roselle said how helplessness she felt when she lost her primary on. “I should have known. The on’s destru wasn’t just physical—it was crucial to Roselle’s ability to fun.”

  Kintovar quickly began running a data analysis of Roselle’s inner ws. Just then, a troubling thought crossed her mind. “Roselle once said the o like a panion. It’s possible that the on itself has a piece of Roselle’s soul within it. That could expin why her system is offline and why the on’s dition affects her so drastically.”

  Without wasting a moment, Kintovar hurriedly retrieved the now-repaired on. Its massive size made it a tight fit for Timmy’s room. She carefully positiohe on beside Roselle’s body.

  Ohe on was in pce, Kintan cheg the system’s readouts. The status s flickered to life, dispying a new set of readings.

  [System Report]

  Status: Offline

  on Charge: Linking

  Message: Roselle is currently viewing a fragmented memory.

  Kintovar’s eyes widened. “This is unpreted. It’s the first time the system has informed me of any memory fragments when experieng a system issue. Roselle must be reliving past memories due to the on’s e to her soul.”

  Henry looked puzzled. “Does that mean she’s scious in some way, even though her systems are offline?”

  Risebelle growled. “Roselle is scious within her mind. I’ve experienced something simir before, and so has Runebelle and Roselle herself. Normally, we only see the offline message and a generic error message. But this… this is different.”

  Her eyes flickered with a hint of frustration. “Ugh! This is the worst possible time for this to happen! This means Roselle will likely be out of ission for the entire day. We have our own tasks to do today, we ’t wait for her to wake up!”

  Kintred at the system messages she saw. “Risebelle is right. If Roselle is reliving past memories, it’s going to take time for her to e baline. I have an importaing scheduled today, and I o attend to it.”

  Henry stepped forward, his demeanor calm and reassuring. “Look, you and Risebelle don’t o worry about that right now. I keep an eye on Roselle while you’re out. It’s the least I do after everything that’s happened.”

  Kintovar looked at Henry while her face softened. “Henry, we don’t want to impose on your hospitality. You’ve already been incredibly generous letting us stay here.”

  Henry shook his head with a warm smile. “It’s no trouble at all. I insist. Besides, Roselle o be looked after, and I ha. You have your own tasks and responsibilities.”

  Risebelle, who had been listening ily, suddenly spoke up with a hint of defiance. “No, I ’t do that.”

  Kintovar turo Risebelle curiously. “Why not? Henry’s offered to help, and you just saw how kind he is.”

  Risebelle’s spoke steady but with a gre. “Sometimes people are only ni the surface. I ’t trust them fully yet. I won’t leave my sister aloh them.”

  Kintovar’s brows furrowed. “In that case, Risebelle, you should stay with Roselle. If you’re not fortable leaving her with Henry, then you should look after her yourself.”

  Risebelle paused, sidering her options. After a moment’s hesitation, her resolve hardened.

  “Alright,” she said finally. “I’ll stay with Roselle. It’s more important to make sure she’s safe.”

  Kintave a nod of uanding. “Very well. I’ll hahe meeting taking only Runebelle with me and keep you updated. Just make sure to take care of Roselle, and we’ll manage.”

  Rawna stood waiting outside. She eyed Kintovar, Haras and Runebelle and wasted no time asking, “Where are Roselle and Risebelle? Are they ing with us?”

  Kintovar, met Rawna’s gaze. “No, we have to leave them behind for now. Roselle and Risebelle have... something they o deal with.”

  Haras, who had been silently spoke up enthusiastically. “They need some deep rest. Even the mightiest ime to recover! Remember the words from Dark Lotus: ‘Iillness of the days, the dark god finds his rest, so that the night may be quered with rerength.’”

  Rawna raised an eyebrooetic way of saying they’re not ing. Fine, but let’s make sure we don’t waste any more time. Yoing to meet this ‘other’ Kintovar soon. Just make sure you’re ready for whatever that enter holds. I’m not responsible if you three end up dead.”

  The group arrived at the Castle of Darkness. Raresence didn’t go unnoticed by the Maizen Army guards statio the entrahey reized her and began to mumble among themselves; however, they had no choice but to let her and the others ie their reservations.

  The group walked along the blood-red carpet through the grand hall of the Dark Castle. Rawna began to expin. “The West does things a bit differently than what you might have seen in the North or South. In the West, the jail is right ihis very castle. It’s where they detain criminals and wrongdoers. The courthouse, where trials are held, is also within these walls, though it’s not used as often as you might think.”

  She tinued, “The Maizen Army is known for their swift and unpromising justice. They don’t tolerate crime, and if someone is caught i, they might not even make it to a trial. It’s all part of maintaining the order and security of this territory.”

  The group desded the stairs to the lower levels of the castle. Raoke futher,“Down here is where you’ll find the most notorious criminals in the West. Each of them boasts incredibly high IQ levels and has mao outsmart the w at least once. Some are so dangerous that they never even make it to trial. In the West, they believe that people like them should never really be given the opportunity to escape justice, as if they were, they could find a way to cause mass damage to the society.”

  Kintovar observed the surroundings, taking in the sight of the prisoners. There were many of them engrossed in stific pursuits, wearing b coats and tinkering with various teologies. There was not a single mage down here.

  “This is ing,” she remarked with worry. “The fact that they’re all stists says a lot. It demonstrates the impact of teology in our world. But it also highlights one reason why stists are often looked down upon by society.”

  Her words resonated with the others, as they pohe implications of a society where stifids were perceived with such distrust and apprehension.

  The group approached a checkpoint where two guards were stationed. A female guard stepped forward and addressed them with a stern and cautious tohis is the area where we keep the Extreme Criminal, Juliana Kintovar. Just being in her proximity mess with your minds. We don’t care how smart any of you are; you o be prepared for that possibility. We’ve had enough trouble dealing with criminals created by that mastermind, and we don’t need any more.”

  Kintovar, aowledging the warning, spoke up, “I am a Kintovar, just like Juliana.”

  The guards scrutinized her closely, reizing the resembnce. One of them replied, “Juliana Kintovar’s appearance has ged over the years. She doesn’t look like you do now. You see for ourselves, but be warned: we are ready to take a if your minds are promised.”

  The warning hung heavily in the air as the group tinued, aware of the potential dahey faced by approag Juliana Kintovar.

  Kintovar was skeptical of the guards’ warning. She turo Rawna for firmation. “Is this an overrea, or are they telling the truth? Juliana ’t be that dangerous, she?”

  Rawna responded, “They’re not overreag. Juliana Kintovar is a dangerous individual, and you should take their warning seriously.”

  Runebelle’s gloomy demeanor deepened upon hearing this. Haras, curious, questioned, “Juliana Kintovar... Is that your mother, Kintovar?”

  Kintovar pted and replied, “It’s possible. I don’t know much about my past, but it could be her.”

  The group stood before a gigantic cell, with a straube taining a brain. A feminine voice emanated from the tube. “I sehe smell, the sight... One of them wields the spear of destru, one of them is a retive, one of them is unknown, and one of them is a creation of her retive.”

  Kintovar stepped forward, addressing the brain, “I am Kintovar, and perhaps I am the retive you speak of, and this is my creation Runebelle. We’ve e to see Juliana Kintovar.”

  The brain withiube responded, “I am the warden of this cell, the entity known as ‘Juliana Kintovar.’ She, my creator, has been indulging in slumber these days, and I must apologize for her behavior. I will call her using my angry teen girl Voioment please.”

  The brain withiube began ging their tone aing it out for a moment before shouting loudly, “Hey, Juliana Kintovar! What’s your dumbass still doing on the flet up before I smack you around!”

  A figure emerged from behind the brain. It was a woman with pink hair. All present momentarily saw her in a vulnerable state. She crawled towards them, naked. She quickly realized that she had visitors and hastily moved behind the brain to get dressed.

  Kintovar and the others waited, givihe moment she o pose herself.

  Juliana Kintovar, in her green military suit and b coat, with short pink hair and sidetails, and violet-colored headphones, gave a salute to the group.

  “I am Juliana Kintovar, and I am responsible for maintaining order in this cell,” she decred.

  Kintovar and the others exged gnces, Kintovar. Before Kintovar could ask a question, Juliana preemptively said, “I’m 85 years old.”

  Kintovar raised a hand under her . “You look…much youhan I expected.”

  Juliana chuckled, “Of course, I do. But that’s the easy answer. If you want to know the real one, you’ll have to get it out of me.”

  Kintovar decided to take up Juliana on her offer and asked, “What’s the real ahen?”

  Juliana simply smirked and addressed her. “Varta Kintovar, if you thought that would be easy to get out of me, you’re in for a surprise.”

  Juliana’s words struck Kintovar like a bolt of lightning. The use of her first name, “Varta,” was a sho itself.

  Juliana Kintovar’s smirk widened. She leaned slightly towards Kintovar and raised one finger. “You see, Varta, nothing in this world is ever as simple as it seems. We stists uand that very well. Everything has yers, plexities, and hidden truths. But, in this case… well, I suppose I’ll whisper the truth quietly: sometimes, things are exactly what they appear to be.”

  “You know my name,” Kintovar said almost breathlessly. “How do you…”

  Juliana chuckled. “Oh, don’t look so surprised. You and I are more ected than you realize. You came all this way to meet me, and here we are.”

  “Varta Kintovar, you actually made it out of hell. gratutions. Wele to Heaven, my baby bird”.

  Kintovar was left speechless.