Charisma 100: My Academy Life As A Heartbreaking Commoner-Chapter 207: Myths

Aegis was asleep at her desk.

She hadn’t meant to fall asleep, obviously. She’d been going through a stack of financial documents, cross-referencing expense reports with income statements, making sure everything was in order for when that accountant started sniffing around. It was important work. Vital, even.

It was also monumentally boring.

At some point, the numbers had started blurring together, and Aegis had thought to herself, "I’ll just rest my eyes for a second." That had been, judging by the candle that had burned down to a stub, about two hours ago.

Now she was slumped over a pile of parchment, drooling slightly on a very important-looking ledger, completely dead to the world.

A pair of soft lips pressed against the back of her neck.

Aegis jolted awake, nearly knocking over her inkwell.

She spun around to find Nazraya standing behind her, red eyes gleaming with amusement, black hair falling loose around her shoulders. She was wearing one of her more casual outfits, which for Nazraya meant a robe that technically covered everything but also left very little to the imagination.

"You’re pushing yourself too hard, pet."

"I wasn’t pushing myself, I was just..." Aegis looked down at the documents scattered across her desk, several of which now had her drool on them. "Working."

"Mmhm." Nazraya’s smile widened. "And how is that working going?"

"It was going fine until someone decided to interrupt my very important nap."

"Your nap looked uncomfortable. You had your face pressed against a report about..." She glanced over. "Grain shipments."

Aegis glanced at the damp parchment beneath her. Sure enough, there was a detailed breakdown of wheat imports from the Northern provinces, now slightly smudged from where her cheek had been resting on it.

"Grain is very important."

"Very." Nazraya laughed, low and warm. "Come. You need a break."

"I really should finish—"

"That wasn’t a suggestion, darling."

Aegis sighed, but she was already pushing back from the desk. There was no point arguing with Nazraya when she used that tone. Besides, her neck was stiff from sleeping in a chair, and her back was making sounds that backs probably shouldn’t make.

---

They made their way down to the ruins beneath the manor. The air grew cooler as they descended, carrying that faint smell of old magic that Aegis had come to associate with these chambers.

Nazraya led her to one of the smaller rooms and gestured for Aegis to sit on the stone floor. Aegis complied, crossing her legs and trying to find a position that wasn’t completely uncomfortable.

"Shirt off," Nazraya said.

Aegis pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it to the side. The cool air raised goosebumps on her skin, but she knew she’d warm up soon enough.

Nazraya knelt behind her, and Aegis felt those familiar hands press against her back. Warm. Steady. The professor’s fingers found the points along her spine where the aether pathways converged, and she began to work.

It hurt, at first. Not too badly, but sort of like an uncomfortable tingle.

[Ah, she’s purifying the shadow magic again. I... probably should have asked her to do this myself a while ago, but glad she’s doing it now.]

"Breathe," Nazraya murmured.

Aegis breathed.

She felt the magic moving through her, Nazraya’s power pushing against the blockages. It was an unpleasant sensation, like being squeezed from the inside out. Her skin prickled, and then she felt sweat breaking out across her back.

Except the sweat wasn’t normal. It was black and oily, seeping from her pores like ink.

"You’ve been practicing more than I realized," Nazraya said. "There’s quite a bit of buildup here."

"Been busy."

"Clearly."

They sat in silence for a while, Nazraya’s hands moving across Aegis’s back, drawing out the corruption bit by bit. The black sweat ran down Aegis’s skin in thin rivulets, pooling on the stone floor beneath her.

This was probably as good a time as any.

"Hey, Nazraya?"

"Mm?"

"What do you know about the Shadow Empress?"

Nazraya’s hands paused for just a moment, then resumed their work.

"That’s an odd question."

"I ran into the name during some of my, uh, research." Aegis shrugged, which was a bit awkward given her current position. "I figured you’d know more about it than most people."

"And why would you figure that?"

"Because you’re literally the only person I know who practices shadow magic? Seemed like a safe bet."

Nazraya laughed softly.

"Fair point."

Her hands continued their work, and Aegis felt another wave of corruption rising to the surface. More black sweat.

"The Shadow Empress is a myth," Nazraya said after a moment. "A legend. The kind of story that shadow practitioners whisper to each other in dark corners when they’ve had too much wine."

"What kind of legend?"

"The dramatic kind. Apparently, one day, a woman will arise who embodies the power of the Umbral Realm itself. She’s supposed to be the reincarnation of Queen Rosanna, but twisted by shadow. Where Rosanna united the kingdom through light, the Shadow Empress will tear it apart through darkness, lead the umbral forces in a great war, all that apocalyptic nonsense."

Aegis kept her breathing steady.

"And the Umbral Blade believes this?"

"That cult? How do you know about them?"

"I told you... Research."

"Well, they’re absolutely devoted to it. Some of them think she’s already here, walking among us, just waiting for the right moment to reveal herself." Nazraya’s tone made it clear what she thought of that idea.

"And what do you think?"

Nazraya’s hands stilled for a moment.

"I think it’s a convenient story for fanatics who want to believe their cause has divine backing." Her fingers resumed their movement, gentler now. "Queen Rosanna was a remarkable woman, a woman I admire greatly, but she was still just a woman. The idea that she could be reborn as some kind of shadow goddess is, frankly, ridiculous."

"So you don’t believe it?"

"I believe that shadow magic is powerful and dangerous, and that it attracts people who want to use it for terrible things. I believe that the Umbral Blade are zealots who would happily burn the world if they thought it would bring their empress to power." Nazraya leaned forward, her breath warm against Aegis’s ear. "But prophecies and reincarnations? No, pet. I’m a scholar, not a cultist."

Aegis nodded slowly.

The in-game lore had been similar, actually. The Shadow Empress was always presented as this apocalyptic figure, the final boss you had to defeat to get the true ending. But the details had been vague, more about atmosphere than actual backstory.

The difference was that in the game, the Shadow Empress had been someone else entirely. Hell, it could be multiple people.

And now, apparently, it was supposed to be her.

[Great. Cool. Love that for me. Really looking forward to being the prophesied destroyer of worlds or whatever.]

"Best not to trouble your head with such myths, darling." Nazraya pulled her hands away, and Aegis felt the last of the corruption drain from her system. She looked down at the floor beneath her, now stained with black residue. "You have enough to worry about with audits and politics. Leave the shadow cultists to me."

"Yeah, sure. No shadow empress worrying happening over here. I’m completely normal and definitely not having any concerns about ancient prophecies."

"Good." Nazraya stood, and before Aegis could react, she was being lifted off the ground. Nazraya had scooped her up like she weighed nothing, one arm under her knees and the other behind her back.

"W-What are you—"

"What else?" Nazraya’s smile turned predatory. "You’re going to take a bath and wash off all this corruption. And then I’m going to rearrange your guts."

Aegis opened her mouth to protest, realized she had absolutely no objections to this plan, and closed it again.

"Yeah, okay. That works."

Nazraya laughed and carried her toward the stairs.