Our Silent Lives Conquer Worlds

Where Reality Sings

"So it's come to this...you've gone and become an Arbiter now, and it's about time to do what has been laid out for you."

Depurator didn't speak as Fool monologued to her, both of them walking through the halls of the palace, towards their inevitable clash. Fool looked over her shoulders, staring at the strong gaze of the girl she met in person not long ago.

"Depurator, I will be the first to welcome you to this stage of your life, as an Arbiter. Moreover, I'm sure my elder sister already told you what to be expecting?"

"Yeah..." Depurator looked over to Fool, her yellow eyes turning pink for a moment. "She told me that I have to kill you."

Even with the blatant threat, Fool smiled. "Good, then she hasn't decided to meddle with this."

"What I'm still trying to figure out is why. Why do you want me to kill you, and...all the trouble that went along with it?"

She looked out the window as they passed, the night sky shining brightly above them with countless stars peering down. "You're still young and a fledgling compared to me and my sisters. Yet, I do believe you are fit for this rol-"

"What goddamn role?!" Depurator pushed past her, shoving the Arbiter back. "What?! What is it you want me to do?! Take over your empire? Kill you? Both?!"

Fool was undeterred, but she did smile down at her. "Precisely. You are the heir to all this Depurator, everything you see, everything you've touched, and everything that will one day be graced by your presence...you are the next in line to rule it all."

She moved around Depurator, continuing down the Hall while staring out the window and to the stars above. She spoke no words, letting the soft footfalls from herself and Depurator gently echo through the halls.

"As per our tradition, to take the throne, you must overthrow the previous ruler, defeating them and taking the throne by force."

"Essentially survival of the fittest?"

"Indeed."

Depurator looked the woman up and down, seeing the dress woven into her skin, which she only then realized was her scales made into a dress. Dismissing the thoughts of this woman basically walking around naked, she went up alongside the Arbiter, looking up at her. "So...that still doesn't explain everything to me. Wouldn't you want to continue ruling as long as you can? Why would you coax a rival to your throne?"

At that, the Arbiter stopped moving. Depurator watched the blank face shift ever so much, in emotions she couldn't put a name to before the woman continued on. "That is for myself to know, and if you continue on, you'll figure out soon enough."

The rest of the walk was done in silence, one that was nearly unbearable for Depurator. Here was the person she spent literal months tracking, one that she and her allies, now definitely well within friend zone, have been attempting to reach and take care of, and all they're doing is walking down a hallway in silence.

So naturally, an icebreaker was needed. "So...Fool right?"

"Yes, it is an off putting name and one I sometimes hate, but it is my name."

Depurator looked at the back of her head, then her eyes roamed upwards a bit. "How does it feel having those huge horns?"

"Hmm...well, I suppose since I've had them so many years, I can't exactly say much due to barely remembering a time without them."

"Good enough for me." She returned her gaze forward, but then she saw Fool look over her shoulder.

"Depurator, would you like to feel them?"