Meera followed behind the God King of the Varshan empire as they walked through a corridor that held paintings of past kings from the looks of their attire. The paintings were life-size. The painter had done a marvelous job capturing their features. Some stood with swords in their hands while others sat on their impressive throne. There were even some who stood with their sons.

"Are these your ancestors?" Meera asked.

"Yes, Reverent Lady," Arhazar replied. "These are my sires, going all the way back to the first king of the small kingdom of Varsha, which was hardly worth considering by the powers of this world."

"Well, judging by this palace alone, you've come a long way from that time," she commented.

Arhazar smiled, but she didn't miss the sadness in his eyes. Her Essence attribute was telling her something, but she couldn't discern what it was. The best she could figure was that it had something to do with this man's fate.

She tried to look deeper and see if she could sense his mana and mana channels, but she couldn't. This made her frown, as she could see Kalrina's when she tried. All she saw was him. She focused on Sekaramal and saw his channels, as well as the green color of his Mana, with no problem.

Is it because he is also an Ascendant?

This made her wonder if Arhazar tried to do the same to her, would he not be able to see anything as well? That might give her away as an Ascendant, or would Misidentify stop that and let him see her Mana channels? The only way she could truly find this out was by asking the man, and that was as good as giving away her Ascendant nature.

So, she stayed quiet. They soon arrived in the royal quarters, or so it looked, as there were guards posted on every door. They wore the same white and gold uniform, but they were nothing like the guards that she had met so far. For one, they were much stronger.

[Ivory Bone Spearman – Level 283]

They passed by and through many doors, and each time, the guards would bow at their waist while Arhazar and the prince ignored them.

Finally, they must have arrived at the women's quarters because all the guards were women who wore the same white-gold uniform, and their levels were comparable to those of the men. Arhazar stopped at a pair of massive gilded doors and, like most things here, had vine-like designs. Though the vines on this door culminated into a Lotus in the middle.

Munral stood waiting for them outside. He bowed his head to his king. "The queen is ready."

Arhazar nodded. "Wait here, Sekaramal."

"But Father—"

Arhazar silenced his son with just a look. The prince was not happy about it and looked like he wanted to protest, but didn't. He simply nodded.

One of the guards opened the door, and Meera followed the God King and Munral. It must have stung Sekaramal that his father took Munral inside but not him.

The queen's room was as grand as they came. It was bigger than Narikas's entire audience room, and that was saying something. They had fought two Cosmarians there, and this room still dwarfed that room in size and opulence. However, Narikas was going more scaring his guests rather than delighting them.

There were couches and divans to entertain guests. There was a massive dresser with a mirror that must have been a dozen feet high. There was a door which, Meera figured, must've led to the washroom. And in the center of the room was a massive bed, and in it lay the queen.

The woman was withered. She had stark white hair and sunken cheeks. Contrary to her husband and son, she didn't wear any exquisite clothes or jewelry. She wore a white silk gown, and a girl sat on the bed caressing her hand gently.

The girl wore some expensive-looking clothes. Her dress was breathtaking, as was the girl herself. She must've been Meera's age, if not a little younger. Meera could see the familial resemblance to Arhazar and the queen.

She stood and dipped her head. "Father."

"How is she doing, Rehia?" Arhazar asked.

His daughter shook her head lightly. "Not good. I don't think she has long."

"I'm right here," the queen coughed. "And can hear you."

Arhazar sat on the bed and took her hand. "She is here. The Reverent Lady is here, just like you said."

Finally, the queen opened her eyes, and they were stark gold. Meera had never seen eyes like hers. Despite the rest of her form, her eyes practically shone. Meera's Essence attribute immediately told her that she didn't have long. Her life force was dimming by the second. Arhazar must've felt it, too, as he heaved a heavy sigh.

She smiled and patted her husband's hand but said nothing. Their eyes met, and the message was delivered. They must've known her end was coming for some time.

"I thank Lorendor for giving me enough time to lay eyes on you, Reverent Lady," the queen said. "I am Nuraha."

Meera bowed at the waist. "Your Majesty. My name is Meera."

"Yes, we know," she said. Her voice sounded so frail. "Your brother often spoke about you. He missed you dearly."

Meera didn't know why, but that brought tears to her eyes. Of course, he would've missed her. The two of them were very close. She was practically a doting mother to him, but still, for the first time in two months, she had heard from someone that Neel had missed her. It was the confirmation that wrenched her heart.

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Meera blinked rapidly to will the tears away and smiled. "I miss him, too."

"I wish I had the time to talk with you more," Nuraha said. "But my body is failing me, and there is something I must tell you."

"Rehia," Arhazar motioned to the door.

"Can I not stay, Father?" The princess protested.

"This is not for you," the God King replied.

Rehia looked to her mother, who shook her head lightly. Rehia huffed and stormed out of the room. Thankfully, she didn't bang the doors. However, Meera doubted that she even could, given how heavy they looked.

Arhazar nodded to Munral, who once again covered them with a shadow bubble. He was about to step out of the bubble, but the queen spoke up.

"Stay," she said and looked at her frowning husband. "I don't know how, but he will have some part to play in the coming events."

Munral tilted his head to the queen and stood aside, silent as a shadow.

"Reverent Lady," The queen spoke in a frail voice. "I must confess it was not I that had predicted your coming, but the Lady Domina. She is my superior in the seeing arts. It would not be wrong to say that she is the greatest oracle since Seranya herself. After her conversation with Neel, she came to me and informed me of your coming and left me with a prophecy which she asked me to pass on to you."

I knew it.

Meera's first thought was to tell her to keep the prophecy to herself. That she didn't want to see or hear it, for it could only contain more misery. And yet, it could give her a glimpse of the future and the events to come. Maybe she could glean some new way to get to Neel. In the end, her curiosity won out, and there was no way she could say no to the prophecy.

"Well, this would be the first," Meera commented, making the imperial couple frown. "Oh, the last two prophecies that this Domina issued were issued to people I knew. Coincidentally, I had a major part in both of those prophecies. This is the first that she's issued to me directly. It's funny she knew of my coming before even I did."

"That is the part of being an oracle that excites me the most," Queen Nuraha's eyes lit up. "You could never know when Lorendor might bless you with a glimpse of a future that truly matters."

Meera frowned lightly. "Lorendor is in charge of oracles, too? I thought he just judged a soul's worth."

"Oh, he does, but since he can see the past, present, and future, he's the God of oracles as well," Nuraha replied.

"Good to know, and my prophecy?"

She pulled a scroll out from under her pillow and handed it to Meera. Unlike the yellow parchment on which Veridiana had scribbled her prophecy, this was a nice scroll. The handwriting was exquisite. It was as if someone had gone out of their way to make the words as fancy as they could.

A quest in peril, a brother lost,

A sister ready to pay any cost.

One son falls to ambition, another to schemes,

Foes unite to fulfill the Rukari's dreams.

A god's decree broken by a sage,

Devastation unleashed through a newborn's rage.

Your choice will save the empire or see it damned,

The way unlocked by the enemy's hand.

This was the most convoluted of the prophecies she had read. Save for the first two lines, nothing else made any sense. She read through it again but couldn't make heads or tails of it. She didn't like the part about her choice of choosing the empire's fate. She wanted nothing to do with this empire. She just wanted to know the true prophecy and head for the Warlocks as soon as she could.

"Who is Rukari?" Meera asked. She had an inclination of who it was, but needed confirmation.

"It's an old Sarahi word," Arhazar said. "It means Lady. A lady who will bring about great change."

Nothing more needed to be said. Their eyes said it all. Rukari meant her. But the only dream she had was to find Neel. Did this mean I'm close? That some of my enemies are going to unite to help me find a way to him.

It would be a lie to say that didn't make her hopeful. She failed to keep the smile off her face.

"I know what you are thinking, Reverent Lady," Queen Nuraha said. "But I will warn you that these prophecies have more than one way of unfolding themselves."

That wiped the smile off Meera's face. "Believe me, I know."

"But there are some things that are quite clear," Nuraha said. "There will come a time when your choice will be the only one that will matter the most in determining the fate of the Varsha empire."

Meera looked at her briefly, then lowered her gaze. "I will be honest, Your Majesty. I do not want anything to do with that. I just want to find my brother. In my pursuit of him, I've destroyed a great many things. I do not wish to destroy this empire as well."

Munral tensed at her words. He didn't think she could see behind her back, but she could. She saw his hands clenching into fists. His expression hardened into a scowl. She did not doubt that if the king and queen weren't present, he would have tried to imprison her here and now.

"You wouldn't even have to lift a finger to do that," the queen said. "My sons will do that for you."

That made Meera frown. "Your Majesty?"

"My sons believe that I'm unfit to rule," Arhazar said. "They've been waiting for me to step down. To give them the power that is within me and appoint the next God King."

"They're asking for your death," Meera blurted out and then mentally kicked herself.

The king was surprised for a moment. "So, you know I'm an Ascendant."

Meera nodded. "I do. Veri—a sorceress, told me about them. I didn't think I would meet one here."

"I, maybe not as great an oracle as Domina," Nuraha said. "But I've seen some things too. I've seen my sons tear into each other. I've seen the blood of this empire turn the rivers red. I've seen the once-great Varsha empire tear itself apart and fall to ruin. But I've also seen hope. A lady rising to take action to save our empire. I've seen you. It has to be you. Domina's prophecy states it, too. My sons will fall. My family…" Tears lined her eyes. She held out a hand towards Meera.

She stepped up to the bed to grasp her hand. Nuraha's grip was so weak. Her body was failing her.

"Please, protect my family, Reverent Lady," she said. "Only you can."

"I don't know what power you think I have, but I am just one woman," Meera replied.

"Your brother, too, is just one boy, but all the people of the three worlds have put their hopes on him in defeating an evil that even the gods could not."

Meera had never thought of it like that, and now that she had, she was beyond scared for Neel. She was downright terrified. Her resolve to find him and get out of here strengthened even further. Prophecy be damned.

Nuraha continued. "You do not know the strength you have in your blood. Your bloodline is sacred. Yes, it is. The fools in the other worlds might not realize this, but you can do wonders. So, I am asking, no, begging you as a mother, please save my sons, my family…my home."

The woman was openly weeping now. Her hand shook, but she still didn't let go of Meera's hand.

"I-I will do all I can," Meera lied. She had no intention of getting into this family's drama. She lied to give some comfort to this dying woman.

"Thank you," Nuraha said. "A thousand blessings upon you, Reverent Lady. A thousand blessings…"

"There, there," Arhazar hugged his wife. "Don't you worry, everything will be well. The Lady will take care of it all."

Meera couldn't stay here any longer. It felt like she was prying in on something private. She bowed to the king and queen and walked out of Munral's bubble. He popped his bubble and followed along, leaving the royal couple alone.

Meera stepped out to find the princess pacing the hallway. Her beauty once again struck Meera. The woman looked so effortlessly beautiful. Celebrities spent thousands of dollars to perfect their face, while this woman was just naturally drop-dead gorgeous.

She stopped walking when she saw Meera and made a beeline for her. "Reverent Lady, we must talk."

Why does it feel like I'm getting more and more entrenched in this family's issues?

"Sure, princess."

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