I will strive beyond this cursed bloodline!

“Your [Father] only had a daughter, and that is you. Besides he never married [Echidna].” Jenna pointed out immediately after what Elizabeth had said. She was doing her best to mask it, but Elizabeth could perceive it. The gnawing doubt at the back of Jenna’s eyes.

 

“Did you see something like that with your [Skill]?” Elizabeth asked, unsure of the limits of that [Skill].

 

“....I was never able to peek too far into your [Father], some peek at nearby [Realities]? Easy. But something that far changed? No. And after the [Advent] I haven’t been able to find him in any of the [Realities] I look into.” Jenna answered with a sad tone. “As for [Echidna]? All her [Echoes] are clad in [Shadows]. Trying to look into that mess I never find anything, the woman is too paranoid.”

 

“And yet you could see into me? We both have [Shadow] aligned powers.” Elizabeth pointed, “What is the difference? Are you saying that my power is weaker?”

 

“Of course it is.” Jenna answered back immediately, again. “You are what? Seventeen? Eighteen?”

 

“Seventeen….sadly.” Rossie pointed from the side in a downcast tone. Even while depressed the girl was cute.

 

“Right, [Echidna] has been around since the second world war. She is a true [Monster], don’t let her appearance deceive you, she was one of the very few [S-Tier] Villains around. The true [S-Tier] not the ones the people believe they are S-Tier.” Jenna brought a notebook and opened it on a page with information about [Echidna]. “Eleanore Windsor, first seen during the recruitment force for personnel to replace the lost members during [The Stygian Bane] event…”

 

The documents told the story of a young woman enlisting in an attempt to get some kind of closure after the death of her family. A sad story about a young woman with nothing to lose.

 

She dedicated all her life to work, had the best work ethic possible, she sought only to be the best at what she was doing. The woman wanted to leave a long-standing mark on the world…

 

On a world that feared another cataclysm-level event and was just recovering from the shock of a new supervillain destroying a city and killing almost all their heroes…

 

“If not for your [Father] she would have never managed to climb within the army after what [Ethan] did.” Jenna said as she turned the page to the next one. “She managed to showcase a mastery over [Shadows] that far eclipsed what [The ShadowCaster] ever showed, and her [Skill] unlike him. Thrived within the [Fears] of others, she was going to be an integral part of the [Twelve].”

 

“...till they found about [The Taint].” Elizabeth guessed.

 

“Yes, when they found she was among the first to volunteer to being [Sealed], all so no more would suffer what she did…” Jenna turned the page again and now the notes showed a grainy picture of what seemed to be a younger Echidna walking into a jail cell. “And you are telling me, that in some [Reality], she still managed to Marry [Your Father]?”

 

That was…a very good point.

 

“Chloe…The reality in which Papa married Echidna the [Stygian Bane] wasn’t born, Ethan didn’t go crazy. In that reality [The Tainted] didn’t exist, the [Twelve] didn’t have [The American Crusader].” Elizabeth said as she fished among the memories that Alice had left for her, “In that reality Ethan continued working as a member of the [Twelve] till he retired because his [Skill] faded away.”

 

That had been an interesting part to find out, “He moved to become president of the American Federation, Papa became an honorary member of the UN, Echidna became the Speaker of the UN…”

 

“....what kind of nutjob world is that?” Jenna said astonished, it seemed that she couldn’t see [Echidna] as a paper pusher?

 

“And in that world, it was her destiny to kickstart the [Advent] and ascend, instead of having [Framework] and [Odyssey]. That reality only had a single [Goddess].” Elizabeth still didn’t know why anyone would ascend willingly like that, to be isolated from the world to work for all eternity? No thanks, “[The Shadow Weaver].”

 

“...should I pray to you?” Jenna joked, while Elizabeth would ignore how both Rena, Rossie and Beatrice nodded her heads.

 

She would also not turn to look within her [Shadow Haven], for she didn’t want to find more dragons nodding along.

 

“If you want, but I only listen to cute and hot girls. And I don’t answer prayers unless they are done in the bed by pink-haired hot girls or red-haired cute girls.” Elizabeth smirked at her own smart-ass answer.

 

Yes, she was leaving the bimbo realm!

 

“...right. So that is fun and all, but what was she doing in this [Reality] if this Chloe girl was supposed to be born in another reality?” Jenna asked ignoring her obvious flirt with her girlfriends. Boring.

 

“Yeah about that…In this Zaanam…Chloe Ashcroft was the daughter of Echidna and…Honestly I have no idea who Chloe’s father was, she never told me.” Elizabeth said finding that she was missing a very important part of the puzzle.

 

Chloe herself never said anything about a father to the last minute, she only asked her about Echidna.

 

“You know her whole life in an alternate reality, but don’t know anything about the reality that should matter to us?” Jenna asked confused, “You really do live up to your image huh.”

 

….Rude.

 

“I got the information of the alternate reality from the alternate reality me from there.” Elizabeth defended herself, “Alice gave me that information, but Chloe didn’t leave anything for me besides her [Skill].”

 

“....Elizabeth? How many….girls….have you eaten?” Jenna asked as she narrowed her eyes, “I knew about Alice and…no wait just a goddamned second, how many Chloes are there? Wasn’t this Chloe the one I met as Elzbeth?”

 

“Oh that? No, Elzbeth was an awkward name, and besides she didn’t have one. That one didn’t have a name till I gave her the name of Chloe to honor the memory of Chloe Ashcroft.” Elizabeth answered summoning a projection of the original Chloe Ashcroft. “This is Chloe Ashcroft, also known as [The Thunder Queen].”

 

There she was, the black-haired, red-eyed girl…and her blonde Hero Persona at the side.

 

“...That is Alice and you dressed in fancy blue clothes.” Jenna pointed out, “No wait, [The Thunder Queen]? Wasn’t she a trainee with high hopes of making it to A-Tier?”

 

Jenna said aloud while going over her notebook, “Yes, here it is. She was scheduled for an internship with [The Elementalist] and [The Tinkerer] to practice her [Thunder] skill….But disappeared during the [Advent] and was deemed KIA.” So they didn’t lose the memory of Chloe? That is unfair.

 

“Well, that is Chloe. The original one anyway.” Elizabeth nodded, “She was my other half.”

 

“How many girlfriends do you even have? Are you three-timing?” Jenna asked as she sat just a little farther away from Elizabeth.

 

Once again, rude.

 

“She wasn’t my girlfriend! I didn’t even knew I liked girls at that time!” Elizabeth defended herself turning to look at Chloe’s photo. “I mean, I did think that she was cute, and that I would love to look at her while she was changing into her Hero persona…And that I would love to take a shower with her….”

 

Elizabeth continued rambling while staring at the picture before catching herself, “Oh god…I was into girls before Rossie? Nah, it was probably the same phenomena Chloe described.” Yes, Elizabeth convinced herself of that.

 

“Phenomena?” Jenna asked at that, thankfully not pointing out the flaw in her thinking.

 

“Yes, Chloe told me that she felt a… call, as if she needed to reunite with me. That she thirsted for my body.” Elizabeth recounted what the vestige of Chloe had told her, “That she didn’t know why she felt compelled to taste me.”

 

“....you attract weirdos huh.” Jenna commented turning to look at Rossie, who smiled at the blue-haired girl.

 

Such good manners! Good Rossie! She deserved a smoochie.

 

“It wasn’t like that, you see…I…didn’t have the most normal of births.” Elizabeth ignored the weird look she got from Jenna at that statement, “As you may know my Papa WAS one of the most powerful [Powered] in the world.”

 

“Yes, no one ever lived to his name or power. The [S-Tier] solely exists for him.” Jenna nodded at the statement, “The only other person that ever came close to him in [Mana Weight] was your Mother.”

 

Heh, Elizabeth knew that her parents were awesome.

 

“Well, Mother had a hard time conceiving because of that. They both had just too much [Mana], so it was hard for life to form within her womb. For [Humans] aren’t meant to be born within a [Mana Maelstrom].” Elizabeth had found this after the fact, so much more after the fact, and only because some of the [Data] that had been left behind within her [Spire].

 

Like the procedure her [Mother] went through.

 

“...And yet here you are.” Jenna said pointing the obvious.

 

“That is because Mother was a very resourceful person. And because she went and made a deal with a monster.” Elizabeth then went ahead and explained how that had gone, as well as the deal her parents made with the Saintsworths. And how the asshole had hitched a ride and maintained her [Soulscape]. “And so I was born, the most beautiful of all.”

 

“And cute,” Rossie added at the side.

 

“And mighty.” Rena of course also added.

 

“And also humble! Really, you have everything Elizabeth!” And Jenna joined too! Even if she spoke with sarcasm.

 

Elizabeth would still take the compliments.

 

“Problem is…I wasn’t supposed to be born like that, my [Soul] was called upon by Papa’s [Seed] granted to him by the world.” Elizabeth still wasn’t sure how that had worked, but worked with what she knew. “The [Vessel], that was being nurtured by…who was supposed to be my [Mother].”

 

And she had done a perfect job, the [Vessel] she nurtured matched her powers perfectly, and even after so many changes, the [Vessel] still matched and acclimated to her like a glove.

 

“So your [Soul] was provided by [Your Father]? By [The American Crusader].” Jenna brought a [Picture] (Signed edition) of [The American Cusader]. “While your [Vessel] was provided by [The Mother of Monsters]?”

 

At the side of that picture one of [Echidna] was placed, and under both of them a third picture of Alice.

 

“But I wasn’t born like that.” Elizabeth stated.

 

“You instead got born by the union of [The American Crusader] and [The Stardust Explorer].” Jenna then pulled another photo of her papa (Also signed) and one of [The Stardust Explorer]. “So…who is the father of this girl then?”

 

“Don’t know, shouldn’t you have access to that data?” Elizabeth asked also wondering about that. If [Echidna] was supposed to give birth to her, then she should have roughly around the same mana amount as her papa at that time.

 

And to be able to match him…her mana should also be volatile and hostile to life. So who could withstand that and be able to create life within Echidna?

 

Who could bed [The Mother of Monsters] and survive?

 

“Who is…” Elizabeth started the phrase.

 

“No one, Echidna doesn’t have a partner.” Only to be interrupted by Jenna. “She never married.”

 

What?

 

“So she is a single mother?” Elizabeth asked. From what Alice had told her, Echidna was more of a stickler for the rules and propriety. How had that come to be?

 

“She only had a son as far as we knew. Now you are telling me she had two?” Jenna asked.

 

“What? She had two, Alice had a brother. Max something something.” Elizabeth said, Chloe did imply the presence of a brother at least…That or was she getting extra info from somewhere?

 

“Maximilian Windsor, her son is around 20-22 years. Currently a Hero MIA, at least officialy.” Jenna said with a sigh.

 

“And unofficially? Where is he? Can we speak with him? I would like to pass on the last message from Chloe if possible.” Elizabeth said, at least that way she wouldn’t have to worry about speaking with the woman.

 

She didn’t want any awkward relationship to spring, she felt bad about how Chloe had ended of course, but…she would not replace her Mother.

 

So she couldn’t give Echidna anything even if she wanted.

 

“Alice and Elzbeth already met him actually.” Jenna said grimacing, turning to look at the distant city they had come from. “He was known before as [Shadow Pact], but lately he goes as [The Shadow Tide]. Kidnaping [Shadow Users] and doing god knows what to them.”

 

….[Shadow Pact]?

 

“Alice and Elzbeth claimed to have woken up one day in a dark basement with him raving about Chloe, before running away. “ Jenna turned towards Elizabeth, “I didn’t knew why, but now I guess we have a clue…any idea about how this went around?”

 

….dang it.

 

“[Shadow Pact] may have been near the [Advent]....” Elizabeth said aloud.

 

“He was, when you were possessed by [Ethan], he was getting trashed by your [Father] for attacking your body. I don’t know how that ended since I was forced to leave, but I know he was near the point zero of the [Advent].” Jenna answered her question before Elizabeth finished formulating it.

 

“So perhaps he managed to keep some memories? Mother separated my [Soul] from my [Body] and tucked me into Chloe’s body. Perhaps he noticed how I invaded Chloe’s body?” Elizabeth wondered aloud.

 

“YOU WHAT?!?!?” Jenna said surprised while standing, “HOW?!? WHY?!? WHEN?!?!?”

 

“...At the [Advent], Mother did it. And we spoke about it with Chloe, she decided to give me her body. She lived a crappy life where Echidna never spoke with her or cared for her.” Elizabeth said, venom dripping in her voice, “That woman didn’t deserve her daughter. Chloe wanted a happy life so much that she decided that giving away her body and me having a hope at having a happy life was better.”

 

Elizabeth still got mad at that from time to time.

 

“...right.” Jenna said turning to look at Rossie and Rena.

 

“I already knew.” Rossie said shrugging, “Who Elizabeth is, and whose body she uses doesn’t matter to me. So long Elizabeth is there, she could be using a man’s body, an animal’s body…she could even use yours. It doesn’t matter to me.”

 

Rossie licked her lips at the last part as if to strengthen the statement, this was true love. Knowing that even if she was to become a worm, her girlfriend would still love her.

 

“I didn’t know.” Rena said after, “But it doesn't matter to me either, Elizabeth was willing to take me in, to kiss me, to embrace me, even when I hated myself, my body and my weakness.”

 

Rena’s eyes shone in red light as if a fire burned in them, “When I hated my body because I thought I was dirty, she still kissed me, she still wanted me.” Rena’s eyes turned to Elizabeth, “So it matters not if Elizabeth was to kill someone and take their body, I would still want to be with her. To me, this world may burn. All that matters to me is that Elizabeth is okay.”

 

“....that can’t be healthy.” Jenna sighed, “Real relationships usually don’t include genocide or destroying worlds.”

 

“Real relationships are boring,” Elizabeth pointed, “And now you will tell me that real relationships are usually limited to two people.”

 

“Sorry, Elizabeth, but some people are into multiple people. They are called polygamy. You aren’t that special in this case.” Jenna sighed, “Not the point, so? Now you know. I know you probably wanted to speak with [The Shadow Man] or something. But he may be a victim.”

 

“....nope, he is the bad guy.” Elizabeth said while nodding, “He scared the living hell of a cute girl, stalked her across the country and even attacked her.”

 

Elizabeth had decided how to deal with [The Shadow Man], as Alice had referred to him. She…was somewhat conflicted about his identity, of course. That her childhood crush was the [Villain].

 

“...So? [The Elementalist] was chasing him, how do you know he isn’t captured?” Jenna asked pointing that one out.

 

“Easy, no [Shadow User] is easy to capture, and no son of [Echidna] would fall so easily. If I were to guess, he probably has a version of teleporting skills.” Elizabeth didn’t knew for sure of course, Alice hadn’t been trained under Echidna. But…if she was to take a guess…. “Spread out far and wide! Find me this [Shadow Tide]!”

 

Elizabeth channeled her shadows, and from them, all her army flew out. Looking at it, merely 70 weren’t that many. So Elizabeth picked the nearby 30 shadow dragon eggs ready and made them join her armada. They would be the base for now and would evolve later.

 

“Mistress, shall we have a cup of Tea while we wait? The cook has a few slices of cake ready.” Beatrice materialized again with her maid outfit offering a cup of Tea.

 

The little girl had disappeared at some point while Elizabeth was distracted.

 

“Sure,” Elizabeth said accepting the cup of Tea. “Anything else that we need to discuss while we wait for the location of this lost useless brother of Chloe?”

 

What else was to discuss?

 

Elizabeth hoped that Jenna didn’t want anything outrageous, such as Elizabeth having only one girlfriend. How was a girl supposed to survive without two girlfriends?!?!?

 

Besides, she had already given both of them engagement rings, it was too late to stop her!