Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

Inside the Human Continent’s Royal Palace, the grand hall remained still as it bathed under the sunlight of the morning. Many different faces stood on each side of the throne room, all of them being the newly appointed Nobles chosen by Velmira herself.

At the centre of the hall, Eliomor floated in the same orb-like form as always while Velmira remained standing in front of it with narrowed eyes.

For a long moment, silence remained in the hall before Velmira finally sighed and spoke, ”You want to appoint me as the Queen?” Eliomor seemed to nod as the orb moved slightly in agreement before it said, ”Yes, that is correct but before we get to that, there is something I must do.” There was a short pause before its heavy and mechanical voice became quieter.

”I am sorry Velmira...” The moment Eliomor apologized, the newly appointed Nobles standing on either side widened their eyes as they realized that the World itself was personally apologizing to Velmira. ”I know that this single apology would never amount to the suffering you had to go through because of my own plans and...that Veyron who was not actually Veyron himself.”

”But still, I would like to apologize first and return the ones whom I had no choice but to see get killed.” The moment Eliomor said those words, Velmira widened her eyes for the first time during this entire conversation.

Her pupils trembled as three small glowing orbs suddenly appeared, each one radiating an intense amount of soul force from within them. ”Y-You mean...”

”Yes, it is exactly as you are thinking, your mother, father, and brother were all killed a thousand years ago, but I had kept their souls safe with me. Although it took a long time to contain the souls inside Eliomor and prevent them from meeting true death, I accomplished it by using a small amount of my own life force,” Eliomor explained as the three small orbs slowly floated toward Velmira.

Velmira’s hands began trembling as she watched the three orbs approach her before they finally landed in her palms. She could have never imagined that the people she had desperately wanted to save would still be alive after all this time. From the soul force she could feel coming from the three orbs, there was no doubt that they really were her mother, father, and brother.

”As for the bodies, they are already constructed by Mostleon and the others, so all three of them would have no problem living inside them.” Eliomor continued explaining while looking at Velmira’s expression, but tears had already filled her eyes as she held the three tiny orbs in her hands.

She had spent a thousand years with the feeling of emptiness in her heart without her own family, yet now...she was seeing their souls to be alive? She couldn’t believe it at first.

Velmira slowly lifted her head as she continued holding the tiny orbs in her palms. ”I still can not forgive you. You have made so many people go through so much, just giving back the dead would never be enough to compensate for the deeds you have done...never.”

Her weak voice echoed through the room as the Nobles finally realized that something terrible must have happened for Velmira to still refuse to forgive Eliomor even after being given back the people she had lost.

”I never intended for you to forgive me. I already know all the blame lies on me and...I will gladly accept them. After all, a parent responsible for their children should take responsibility for their own deeds too.” Eliomor spoke as guilt seemed to surface within its consciousness, and the regret of the past made it difficult for it to continue speaking for a moment.

Velmira silently stared at it without saying anything.

Velmira exhaled a long breath before speaking, ”Alright then, I am entrusting these souls to you again, give them a living place in their respective vessels...” The tiny orbs slowly floated away from her hands and returned toward Eliomor before disappearing inside it. Eliomor seemed to nod after receiving them.

”Now that one thing has been cleared up, the rightful owner of the throne should sit on it, wouldn’t you agree?” Eliomor shifted the subject back to what they had been discussing earlier, causing Velmira to stare at it for a moment before she brushed away the tears escaping from the corners of her eyes. ”No, I can not sit on the throne when I am the one who should be inside the prison for the deeds I have done.”

Silence fell over the hall once again as Eliomor floated quietly while looking at Velmira’s state of mind. She lowered her head as she continued thinking about everything she had done, and after a moment, Eliomor finally spoke, ”Velmira, there are things that ought to be done even if you were to burden yourself with the guilt of the entire world, you were the rightful owner of the throne to begin with, and if you do not sit on that throne, there might come a day when the same things repeat themselves. Would you want that?”

Velmira snapped her head up before widening her eyes. ”You already know that the innate trait the Human species possess is ’greed’, and this very greed will lead them to their own demise. Even if you appoint a King or Queen to someone you trust very much, wasn’t that the same case with the first Human King?”

Velmira finally realized what Eliomor was getting at. From the records she had read and the things she had heard from her father, the Second Human King had also been someone Luberion trusted very much, and that man had come from the Embersun family.

”Luberion trusted his friend so much that he gave him the throne without a single shred of hesitation and what did the Embersun’s do? You already know that...” Eliomor finally finished while Velmira remained still after that sudden realization. She thought about what had happened before and slowly realized how similar the current situation was to what Luberion had done.

’I...had almost forgotten.’

Velmira continued thinking about the entire situation while Eliomor remained silent. Luberion had trusted someone close to him with the throne, only for that trust to eventually lead to another family taking control of the Human Continent. If Velmira were to simply choose another person she trusted and hand the throne over to them, there was no guarantee that history would not repeat itself.

”He left this world while a snake had taken hold of the throne, you want to repeat that? Or do you want the continent to finally prosper and gain a better place amongst the other continents?”

Another long silence filled the hall as Velmira went into deep thought. She could have never imagined herself in a situation like this, but now that she was standing before such a decision, she needed to choose between leaving the future of the continent in someone else’s hands or taking responsibility herself.

She clenched her fist as she looked at it and thought about everything that had happened during the past thousand years. ’I...I want the people of this world to live a good life, not oppressed by strong Nobles just because they are weak. There need rules to be established...and maybe it is wishful thinking but, maybe I can redeem myself of the deeds these hands have done.’

Her chest felt heavy as she continued thinking about the people who had suffered under the previous rulers, including those who had suffered because of her own actions. Tears once again fell from her eyes, but this time she did not try to hide them as she finally came to a decision. She slowly raised her head and looked toward Eliomor before speaking with resolve.

”I, Velmira Ashenworth shall accept the throne of the Human Continent.”