It was strange for a quarrel between children to become something so life-threatening, but such was the reality of a world where power was so accessible.
Damien had never expected for the situation to take this kind of turn. He came into this girl's spiritual world with every intention to kill. But here he was.
Two different versions of the same girl sat on their knees in front of him with their heads hanging low while he endlessly berated them about how idiotic they were.
Even when the evil version's destructive nature acted up, Damien simply flashed a hint of his Void Essence and it immediately calmed down.
"Sigh…at least tell me your circumstances so I can help you solve this problem." He tiredly said.
"Yes…" the girl responded. She then began telling her story.
The Ice Spirit Tribe. They were a tribe that was originally formed by an elemental seed that evolved into a spirit, but over time bloomed into a full-blown spirit tribe.
By the time they reached the girl's generation, they were closer to faeries than they were to elemental seeds, even though their origins were different.
As for how they ended up living underground in the secret realm, the girl wasn't privy to that kind of information. All she knew was that they had been living in peace.
Until she was born.
She was an outlier within the tribe. With her ruined appearance and occasional outbursts, there were many that became wary of her.
From the moment she was born, there were two of her. It was something they called the Twin Spirit Body. Under normal circumstances, this kind of constitution would be a heavenly gift, but her case was different.
It was because of the complexity of her element. Under the influence of the Twin Spirit Body, her yin element was also segregated into two parts. And after that, things went generally similar to what Damien had already guessed.
The two grew up differently and never acknowledged each other as the same person. At the same time, they fought to control their body.
And with how destructive their battles got, the Ice Spirit Tribe was eventually caught as collateral damage.
It made sense why Damien hadn't seen any traces of life. That tribe had been accidentally exterminated by one of their own, not an outside influence. And as a final struggle, the tribe sealed this girl under the shrine so that she could no longer hurt anyone else.
But her isolation didn't leave any adverse effect on her. She spent most of her time in her spiritual world without paying attention to what was happening outside, and since the two of them could keep each other company, they never felt the terrible effects that isolation could have on their mental state.
There was no way this girl was the same age as her body and mind implied. Damien could at least tell this much from her story. But he couldn't explain why her physical state never changed.
It didn't matter either.
It was a tragic story, sure, but Damien didn't think that even this little girl understood the actual results of her actions.
She didn't understand that she had destroyed the Ice Spirit Tribe with her own hands.
But he didn't think she'd care either.
From the way she told it, it seemed like she was isolated and seen as a monster by them, who emphasized purity. Their destruction could partially be attributed to how poorly they treated the girl without trying to actually save her.
But Damien didn't really sympathize. Looking at how lively this girl was, he didn't think there was a need to. And judging by the stability of her spiritual world, he didn't think her attitude was the result of some mental damage or regression.
'But the Twin Spirit Body is really an interesting thing. It basically grants double the comprehension speed and thinking power, as well as the ability to dual-wield elements without any strain. Not to mention all the other benefits that come with having parallel minds.'
If the two spirits could attain harmony, the synergistic effect would be immeasurable. In fact, Damien was excited to see it.
But subduing this little girl came much easier than he expected. Or maybe it was just because he had been so strict in his lecturing.
'Did she just want attention and affection? Or is it something else? Either way, a kid will be a kid regardless, huh. With the two of them being so cooperative, solving their problem will be much easier."
"Oh, right. I don't even know your name yet. How should I call you?"
"I'm Crystal!"
"And I'm Kuro!"
"…"
Damien stared at them blankly.
"Ow!"
"Ow!"
Two strong flicks landed on their foreheads.
"Seriously? What's with your naming sense? Crystal because your body is crystalline? And you, Kuro? Because of what? Your mana? Really? Wait, isn't that Japanese? How the hell do you know Japanese?"
Damien exploded. He understood that these girls never had someone name or take care of them, but this was too much!
Crystal! Kuro! Ignoring the extremely suspicious fact that they somehow came up with a Japanese name, their naming sense was so bad that it was even worse than his own!
"I can't accept this. I refuse to accept this. How about I give you new names?"
"You will?"
"New ones?"
The two girls' reactions were surprisingly positive. But when he thought about it, it somewhat made sense. They had only chosen their names because nobody else had bothered giving them proper ones.
He was already saving them and showing them care, so it seemed they had grown somewhat attached. Being named by him wasn't something they rejected at all.
Damien thought hard about it. 'There's no way I'll let my poor naming sense leak here! I can't lose face in front of them after everything I've said!'
"Alright, I got it. From now on, you will be Lily and Mei."
Short and sweet, and he also followed their naming scheme. It was perfect! Damien grinned in satisfaction.
"Lily!"
"Mei!"
The girls also seemed happy with their new names, as they kept repeating them over and over again. Although they were simple names, they were names given to them by someone they cared about. That's what mattered most to them.
Damien smiled wryly. These kids were at each other's throats only a few minutes ago, yet now they were happily celebrating their new names together.
'I'll have to help them increase their attention span too.' Damien thought wryly.
But that was a future matter. Now that these two had been properly disciplined, it was time for him to help them control their spiritual world. After that, they'd finally be able to regain stability and achieve the full potential of what their Twin Spirit Body could offer.
"Alright. If the two of you work together, then achieving equilibrium won't be hard. Mei, stop trying to devour Lily's territory. And Lily, expand your territory until it takes up half the space along with Mei's."
The two girls obediently listened to his instructions and began working. Although their personalities were that of children, their actual control over their power far exceeded their age.
The process soon started. The pure white land of snow and ice expanded to take up exactly half of the spiritual world. Meanwhile, the hellscape retreated to accommodate it.
"The two of you are sisters who share the same body. Even if you fight, you can't harm yourselves. If I see you doing it, then I'll punish you. Okay?" Damien said strictly as he watched over the process.
The two girls nodded in response. After the first scolding they got, as well as the harrowing feeling that Void Essence gave them, they had no thoughts of being disobedient.
Even the raging emotions brought by their elemental influence had been quelled.
Void Essence ruled over all other forms of mana, so it wasn't a surprise. Only, Damien never expected for things to be so easy.
But he wasn't complaining. Although the two girls hadn't completely made up yet and they hadn't actually begun seeing each other as sisters, he had planted the seed in their head.
Now, all they needed was proper time and nurturing to become a powerful existence under his and Ruyue's care.
As the process began to reach its end, Damien nodded his head in satisfaction.
'It seems like my help isn't needed here anymore. Let's exit the spiritual world and wait for them outside.'
And with that, the unexpected situation had finally reached a temporary close.
