Chapter 93: Girl’s Talk

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’White and gold against the ash,

A falling star, a blinding flash.

She did not raise her staff to strike,

But held the child against the night.

The Paragon, the First Light’s grace,

Who looked the demons in the face,

And saw not monsters in the mud,

But beating hearts and crimson blood.’

---

The rich, melodic voice of Nyssa filled the humid air of the bathhouse. It was a sharp and welcome contrast to the metallic grime of the Labyrinth they had just escaped.

Anise sat submerged up to her collarbones, her eyes closed. She listened to the ancient words with a quiet, profound reverence.

A single tear slipped down her pale cheek, mingling with the warm bathwater.

She scooped a handful of warm water over her glowing, olive-toned shoulder.

"My grandmother used to sing that folk song to me every night before I went to sleep," Nyssa said softly.

"It has been passed down in my family for exactly one hundred years. It was a constant reminder that true heroes do not judge a life by the color of its skin."

Anise opened her hazel eyes. She looked across the steaming pool at the Aetherion Goblin.

"Thank you, Nyssa," Anise whispered. Her voice was thick with heavy emotion.

"You have absolutely no idea what it means to hear that. I went to sleep in that freezing crystal believing my entire life was a complete failure. I thought humanity was lost to its own cruelty. Hearing that song... knowing that the little boy survived and lived a full life... it honors me more than any medal or title the Holy Alliance ever gave me."

Lysandra shifted comfortably in the warm water. Her dark maroon wings were draped carefully over the smooth edge of the pool to keep them dry.

"You are a legend, Anise. Even the purist Elves whispered stories about the human who broke the laws of her own kind to show mercy. They feared your legacy."

Kaelith rested her arms on the smooth stone edge, looking deeply relaxed. She offered a respectful smile.

"It is strange," Kaelith noted.

"You are the greatest Hero of the human race. Yet, here you are, sharing a bath with an assassin, a succubus, and a goblin scholar. And you do not look scared of us at all."

Anise let out a soft, genuine laugh.

"I spent ten years fighting monsters, Kaelith. But the only true monsters I ever met were the men sitting on golden thrones draped in holy vestments. Monsters and humans are no different. Both contain vice and virtues. Both sin, and both repent. Both are greedy, and both are stupid beyond reason."

She offered them a warm smile.

"Besides, you are Robert’s family. That makes you my family, too."

The three non-human women smiled warmly in return. The last remaining walls of hesitation and caution vanished completely in the steam.

"Tell me about this world," Anise requested. She leaned her head back against the warm stone edge of the pool. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Tell me everything. How did Robert become Grik? How did you all end up in this massive, mechanical city?"

Nyssa eagerly took the lead. She detailed the current structure of the continent.

She spoke of the Zenith Academy, the brutal school where the elite trained to rule through fear and dominance.

"That is where we met him," Nyssa said. A fond, deeply loving smile touched her lips.

"He woke up in the body of a low-tier goblin. Everyone treated him like dirt. But he possessed a brilliant mind. He understood physics and logic in a way that completely defied our traditional magic."

Kaelith picked up the story, splashing a little water over her dark shoulders.

"He did not just survive the Academy. He dominated it. He saved my life in the sparring pits. He showed me that I did not have to be a mindless weapon for my cruel family. He gave me a choice when the world gave me none."

"And he protected us," Nyssa added.

"We formed a squad. We fought through the dungeons together. But he grew too fast. His power threatened the ruling class. Specifically, a deeply arrogant Incubus Lord named Valerius Thorne."

Anise’s eyes narrowed slightly at the mention of the noble.

"Valerius. I remember dealing with arrogant lords. They do not like being outsmarted by people they consider beneath them."

"They do not," Kaelith agreed.

"Valerius tried to force Grik to submit. He set up a death trap during a major tournament. Grik fought back, but the political power was stacked against us. We had to run for our lives."

Lysandra spoke up next.

"They escaped the Academy and fled here to the Kingdom of Iron and Steam. This place is entirely different. They do not care about bloodlines here. They only care about what you can build and what utility you bring. The King-Regent and his daughter, Elara, are humans, just like you. But they respect Grik for his mind and his strength."

Nyssa nodded proudly.

"Grik and I designed a revolutionary steam turbine. We used his knowledge from Earth and my magic to cure Elara of a fatal lung disease. In exchange, the Prime Minister granted us state protection. We became Honorary Knights of the Forge."

Anise looked genuinely impressed.

"He cured a plague with a machine? That sounds exactly like the Robert I knew. He never stopped looking for solutions, no matter how impossible the problem seemed."

"He did not stop there," Kaelith smirked.

"He also uncovered a massive corruption ring. He exposed the former King of this very city for funding a blood-magic cult in the sewers. Grik fought a corrupt Elven knight in the royal colosseum, crushed his mana core, forced the King to abdicate, and put the Prime Minister on the throne."

Anise let out a loud, delighted laugh. It echoed brightly off the tiled walls of the bathhouse.

"He overthrew a king? In a few months?"

"It was quite a busy week," Nyssa giggled, covering her mouth.

"And then," Lysandra said, her voice dropping to a quiet, reverent whisper.

"They went into the deep sewers to clear out the remnants of that cult. That is where they found me. I am the illegitimate daughter of a High Elf noble and a Succubus. My own father locked me in a freezing cage to harvest my magic for his experiments. Grik shattered my chains with his bare hands. He gave me my life back."

Anise looked at Lysandra. Her hazel eyes were filled with profound understanding and deep empathy.

"He broke your chains," Anise repeated softly.

"He broke mine, too. A century apart, and in two entirely different bodies, but he is still exactly the same man."

"He is," Nyssa agreed.

"He evolved into a Goblin Lord. He is incredibly strong now, but his heart never changed. He protects his pack above everything else."

Anise leaned her head back, looking up at the steam gathering near the ceiling. A deep sense of peace washed over her.

"So," Anise said, a playful glint returning to her hazel eyes.

"You said you have exactly two months until this Valerius Thorne arrives for a continental summit?"

"Yes," Nyssa nodded, turning serious.

"Grik wants to use the time to train and build new weapons from the Labyrinth data."

"Good," Anise smiled, a fierce, determined spark igniting in her expression.

"Because if these purists want a war, they are going to get one. I may be restricted to Level 50 right now, but I still know a few tricks about dismantling arrogant nobles. They treated me like a weapon once. I think it is time I show them exactly how sharp I can be."

Kaelith laughed, a sharp, genuine sound that conveyed absolute approval.

"I think you and I are going to get along perfectly, Anise."

The bathhouse was filled with the sound of their shared laughter. The warm steam wrapped around them, sealing a bond of sisterhood that crossed the boundaries of race, time, and worlds.

Anise finally felt truly awake. The past was buried, and the future was waiting just outside those doors.