Chapter 644 (1/2)

Selfia’s alarm departed, leaving only confusion in her eyes. Lucretia tried to remember how many years she had lived in Tellus. So long that this past life seemed nothing but a dream. But then Selfia seemed to take in Lucretia’s lavender hair, and her eyes widened. “LUCRETIA?!?”

To Lucretia’s surprise, Selfia rushed up and engulfed her in a hug. Some part of Lucretia softened. She had come back cautiously, not knowing what to expect when she returned as her instincts dictated.

Icklid, or really any location controlled by the Wights, was not a place where emotion was easily shown. They were monsters, designed for a singular purpose. Although the purpose varied, the Propagator’s prided themselves on their efficacy, and none more so than the Autarch. Often, emotions were seen as… superfluous.

“Thank god you are here!” Selfia gushed. Again, Lucretia wondered at her previous cautious attitude. Would this be simple? Or was the casualness of Selfia an indicator that she hadn’t been cautious enough. Would the fate this black thread was dragging her towards be unavoidable?

Pushing Lucretia back, Selfia smiled at her. “...alright I’ve informed the Autarch. You are to be brought to him immediately. Lucretia… he requires your strength, now more than ever. Your timing couldn’t be any more perfect.”

Lucretia’s world was plunged into cold water.

That was a familiar term that ripped upwards out of her recently reacquired memories. There was only one time that a Propagator would ‘require your strength’. It was something of a euphemism amongst the Wights. They only spoke that way when you were selected for deconstruction. You would be reduced to your parts and would then fuel the assembly of a new generation of Wights.

“I-” Lucretia began, but she couldn’t continue. Of all times, her body chose now to break down on her. Not on a truly physical level, but she began to tremble so violently that she could barely stand. There were two parts of her mind at the moment. One yearning to cease.

And another, grown independent in the System, burning with fear that she would soon die.

The Way that Lucretia had utilized brought her right into the compound of the Autarch, in the fortified center of Icklid. Largely ignoring her shakes, Selfia began to drag Lucretia through the halls. The strange blue-grey metals of the building filled her with a strange sense of helplessness and nostalgia. If she had any control over herself at all, she would resist and fight back. She needed time to double check her preparations-

Her Skills! Her Class! All she had worked for! The threads of karma she had woven into Tellus during her long tenure there still remained. They strengthened her and gave her power. Her budding relationship with Randidly, her unmade connection with Shal, her life witnessing so many tiny lives in Randidly’s Soul Skill. Did this really mean that all her connections would cease? Would anyone remember her?

Karma was something that could only be formed by two existences that came into contact with each other in some way or another. They were, by far, her most valuable strength. They were what made her HER. She was the Eternal Witch. She was… she was more than a fucking machine that had fulfilled its role and was now returning for parts.

Lucretia dug her heels into the ground and Selfia stumbled as she tried to continue to pull her. Selfia turned around with a twisted expression. “You dare keep the Autarch waiting?!? I should-”

“Quiet, child.” Lucretia hissed. Immediately Selfia paled as a dangerous aura swirled outward from Lucretia. This is what she feared. The powerlessness. The sense of helplessness. Was it so easy to have that fear grow after her adopted parents on Tellus died because she already knew subconsciously how she was being controlled…?

It was something that Randidly would dwell on, for sure. He deeply cared about feeling in control of himself, which was one way that he was very similar to Lucretia. But Lucretia didn’t fight it on a principled level, as Randidly did. No, Lucretia was just afraid.

Afraid of the other half of herself that was born here. After all, that part of her insisted that this was the Autarch. He would undoubtedly have the ability to preserve her strength and use her to improve the Wights. His understanding of her exceeded all others. He was the architect of the entire species. Rumor had it that the Wights had been a meaningless rabble before the Autarch had ascended to become the completely transcendent being that he was. It was by his hand that they could progress so far.

She was one of his first creations, and the finest. From that alone-