Samantha and Xeola were not friends.
Samantha didn't see any merit in provoking the heiress of the oldest duchess and spoke words that pleased the princess.
So, whenever there were any interactions between the two, Xeola was the dominant one.
Xeola wasn't interested in antagonizing anyone without reason, so other than being a little haughty, she didn't show her any disrespect.
Their interactions were as artificial as they were between any two nobles.
Pleasant lies. Fake laughter. Contrived smiles.
But.
There was something between them. Something they never told each other but could sense at a deep level.
The princesses felt, for no apparent reason at all, that they were similar.
It was absurd.
Xeola's standing was way higher. Samantha's talent was acknowledged to be much greater. A bright extrovert who could talk to anyone and a silent introvert who only talked when she had to.
They were parallels lines that should not connect.
But the connection was real.
They didn't know it back then—both of them were maintaining a public image in complete contrast to their true self.
They were both wearing masks, not a typical mask of a noble or a politician, but as a person.
The fakeness in them was so ingrained that it appeared to real to everyone else but themselves.
Only they could feel it from the other.
Samantha was a proponent of harsher rules for Spiritless in the outside world and cemented her position as a Spirit supremacist.
To drive that point home, she publicly mocked her dead spiritless parents, calling them worthless and claiming that she was ashamed that their filthy bloodline flowed in her body.
That speech was her debut into the high society, establishing her profile as a haughty and powerful princess.
Her stomach churned for every word she uttered that day, but Samantha forged ahead.
The reason she embarked on this mission was to avenge her parents. They were killed without impunity by a divorced Spirited because he was irritated by their loving interactions.
After growing up, she managed to kill him in secret. But like many journeys of revenge, all she felt at the end was a void.
So, she decided to go further and use her aimless life for something meaningful.
She'd upend this system and fix it. Unlike her, there should be no child heartbroken.
A world without children crying on the streets, begging and struggling…that should be the paradise, right?
On the other hand, Xeola lived a very, very mundane life despite being very talented. She forgo fame, accomplishments and respect from her peers. She lived a very difficult, dark and boring life.
She sacrificed centuries of youth, gave up friendships that could've lasted for a lifetime and single mindledly pursued the one thing she sought.
Now she had no friends, no lover, no meaningful relationships with anyone other than her grandmother who's set to die soon.
"We're here." Samantha broke into a genuine smile.
Xeola pursed her lips and nodded, her eyes flashing with a frantic desire.
The center of Cradle as they called it wasn't a specific area defined by coordinates. It's the precise place where the influence of Fortune Anvil could be felt.
Zing! Zing! Zing!
The world around them turned…soft.
It wasn't just the wind, even space itself seemed to bend and twist, welcoming them in.
A particular region was enveloped in a divine golden hue.
As they stepped past the hemisphere, their bodies quivered in esctasy. Their injuries healed in a blink without them having to do anything and their breaths grew steady.
It was warm, like stepping in a hot spring. The two subconsciously relaxed and drooped their shoulders.
The rich vitality of this place was overflowing. There were beautiful flowers growing all over the place.
Rather than looking like a dreaded place holding a divine treasure, it was a stunning landscape of flowers that even the best of painters couldn't bring to life.
"Haah,"
"Wow."
The princesses who reached this place were women of firm conviction. They were ready to die for their goals.
But even their hardened minds couldn't help but pause and take a look at the natural beauty of this place.
It surpassed anything a mortal could think of.
Colorful mists gently flowed through the area, swaying the flowers and touching their skin.
The touch of the wind here felt like the caring caress of a parent , the hug from a friend and the parting whisper of a lover.
The mystical aura of a divine weapon gently pervaded the place and swept them like a gentle tide.
Yet, feeling its greatness, the two froze in place.
There was no intimidation in that aura, no hostility.
But…
Like a human being standing on top of a mountain and watching the starry sky, they too froze in wonder.
In this divine land, they were not warriors who reached the peak of rank 8. They were two women as weak as anyone else.
The insignificance of their existence dawned on them like a crashing roof and they looked at each other with a wry smile.
For a moment, they questioned the point of it all.
Why did they have to do everything they did if it's all inconsequential?
A mortal's accomplishments, no matter how great, were trivial in the face of a divine will. Their lives were but a fleeing blink for a living god. The strength they're so proud of couldn't even flutter the robes of the divines.
Whatever they did and didn't, what difference would it make in the grandscheme of things?
They were just pawns in the grandgame played by the cosmic players.
Wasn't everything…meaningless?
"Even so…even if everything is destined to end…even if she's destined to die, I want to see her a bit longer. A bit more." Xeola bit her bleeding lip and stepped forward.
"A god will worry about another god. As an ant…I worry about my fellow ants." Samantha wiped tears from the corner of her eyes and marched ahead.
A beautiful anvil awaited them.
