Lust Knight

"Thalara..." The name of the Leviathan echoes in Lucien's mind, sounding more and more like a person than the monster that caused him so much physical and mental pain.

Of course, he won't forgive the brutal creature just because it has a name and a humanoid form, but he wants to understand more about her. After all, knowing his enemies well is an invaluable advantage.

The Water Spirit can clearly see that Lucien is thinking about the Leviathan, so she asks him a question. "Do you hate her for what she did to you?"

"Hate her?" Lucien wonders about that.

He wouldn't blame the Leviathan for wanting to hurt him because of Aylin killing her mother, but separating him from his wives and making them suffer so much is unforgivable.

"Yes," the Water Spirit repeats the question. "Do you hate Thalara?"

Lucien shakes his head in denial. "I don't hate her, but I know she's my enemy and a threat to my family, so I'll kill her if I have the chance."

Contrary to his expectations again, the Water Spirit smiles at him. "Yes, that's what you are."

He is confused by her words, but before he can ask anything, she continues. "But do you understand why she hurt you and still wants to harm you?"

"Because Aylen killed her mother?" He asks rhetorically.

"Yes," the Water Spirit nods. "But it's not that simple. Do you understand why she held so much resentment for several millennia and wants to hurt someone she doesn't even understand is truly related to the Dragon Queen of War?"

Lucien tries to use logic to answer that question, but he can't find a rational answer because revenge is entirely emotional.

He remembers how he felt when Michael said that his mother was dead, and years later, she was still alive, messing with his emotions in a cruel way.

Yet, he can't say for sure how he would feel if he saw his mother die as happened with the Leviathan; probably, he would want to kill everyone in his way.

As Lucien can't answer the Water Spirit's question, she does it herself. "That's what we call the legacy of blood and hatred."

"Legacy?" That word echoes in Lucien's mind, making him instinctively think of Aylin's Golden Naginata.

"Yes," the Water Spirit nods. "Everyone likes it when they inherit treasures, wealth, and power from their ancestors, right?"

The question is clearly rhetorical, and Lucien doesn't respond to it, but he wonders about that, especially Aylin's soul weapon.

He has worked hard to achieve his victories, but he can't deny that he probably wouldn't be alive without the Golden Naginata.

That weapon, literally the physical embodiment of Aylin's soul, has given him a lot of power and is already as crucial as any part of his body.

The Water Spirit carefully observes Lucien's expressions and continues speaking. "But we don't always inherit good things from our ancestors..."

"Sometimes, we inherit debts, responsibilities, enemies, and grudges that endure for several millennia..." Her words sound increasingly sad.

Then, Lucien sees the Water Spirit's expression turn into a mix of sadness and longing. "And also pain, a lot of pain."

Once again, Lucien attributes the Water Spirit's sadness to the loss of her mother or other members of her family.

The Sins within his soul are very curious to learn more about the Blue Lady, her origins, her relationship with the other Primordials, and anything that could give them an advantage.

But Lucien, on the other hand, is more interested in understanding what causes pain to the Water Spirit and how he could help her. After all, if he could heal her wounds, she could become one of his most valuable allies.

"Inheritances of blood and hatred..." Lucien comments as he looks at the Water Spirit with a gentle and friendly expression. "Have you gone through something similar to Thalara?"

The Water Spirit stares at him in silence.

Lucien expected many different reactions from the Water Spirit, but the strange silence surprises him. Many emotions flash in her eyes, but he can't get a clue about what she's feeling.

"Not exactly," she responds in a neutral tone, and then her gaze becomes increasingly affectionate but also sad. "My father was a respected and loving man with his family..."

"Father?" Lucien is shocked that the Water Spirit mentioned her father instead of her mother.

He is so used to seeing terrible parents that it's natural for people, especially women, around him to be more connected to their mothers.

"Yep," the Water Spirit smiles at seeing the confusion in Lucien's eyes. "My mother didn't leave me anything valuable, but my father left me power and so much love."

"That's good, right?" He asks.

But her answer shocks him once again.

"No," her expression turns cold and sorrowful. "He died defending me and my sisters."

Lucien doesn't want to awaken sad memories in the Water Spirit, but he can't help but voice his opinion about it.

"Since you're here, he succeeded, and I would consider such a death honorable," Lucien explains.

"That's because you're stupid and arrogant," she quickly responds.

"What?" Lucien is confused when the Water Spirit seems more upset than he could have anticipated.

She rolls her eyes disapprovingly. "It doesn't matter how he passed, but the fact is that he's no longer here to take care of me, so he failed his promise..."

The Water Spirit is clearly becoming more upset and sad, which makes Envy complain in Lucien's mind.

"Damn, what are you doing???" Envy questions him.

Lust quickly agrees. "Envy is right, you're making her irritated with this strange conversation."

Sloth doesn't say anything, but she is very curious about who the Water Spirit's father was, more curious about someone than she has ever been in her whole existence.

Lucien hears the advice of the Sins, but there is something instinctive within him screaming, a huge desire to express his opinion.

"What should matter is the fact that he tried his best, shouldn't it?" He questions the Water Spirit.

"No!" She seems more like a sad and upset little girl than one of the oldest and most powerful creatures in the universe.

"It doesn't matter if his best wasn't enough," she explains.

Lucien tries to disagree, but the Water Spirit acts quickly and tries to change the subject. "Are you going to keep asking me annoying questions?"

"Oh..." He is surprised by his own actions, after all, he had many questions and ended up talking about her father, which doesn't help him now.

"Don't make that dumb face," the Water Spirit teases Lucien, which makes her open a beautiful teasing smile.

He thinks of many things to ask, but it's difficult to choose one to be the first.

Yet, before he can ask anything, the Water Spirit speaks first. "You can ask anything, but I can't answer things that are other people's secrets."

Lucien doesn't exactly understand what the Water Spirit means, but with so many questions arising in his mind, one stands out.

So he asks directly, "Do you know who my mother is?"

All three Sins inside Lucien's soul are surprised by his words, but the Water Spirit seems to have expected that since she continues to look at him calmly.

"Yes," she also responds directly.

Lucien is confused; he asked that question, but he himself didn't know which answer he wanted to hear more; and now he doesn't know what to think.

"Is she okay?" He asks.

"That's relative," the Water Spirit responds quickly.

"Relative?" He asks.

She falls silent, and then he asks another question. "Is she safe?"

"Relative," the Water Spirit responds in the same way again.

Lucien thinks about his next question before speaking. "Can you tell me where she is?"

" I cannot." The Water Spirit gives another answer that doesn't please Lucien.

But he insists. "Do you not know where she is, or do you just not want to tell me?"

The Blue Lady doesn't seem upset by his questions and responds in a neutral tone. "As I said, I won't answer questions that are other people's secrets."

Lucien can't help but feel disappointed; after all, he found someone who has answers about his mother, but that person doesn't want to reveal such things.

On the other hand, he doesn't blame the Water Spirit for keeping his mother's secrets.

"Perhaps they are allies?" Lucien mentally comments to the Sins.

They weigh the possibility like him, but instead of dwelling on that, they encourage him to try more questions about his mother.

Instead of asking multiple different questions, Lucien only asks one more question about the mysterious red-haired woman.

"Can you tell me anything about her?" He gets straight to the point.

"No." The Water Spirit responds immediately.

... Lucien falls silent. Most of his questions were somehow related to his mother.

The Sins encourage him to ask questions about the other Primordials, but as those questions would be about other people, Lucien believes the Water Spirit wouldn't answer them.

He doesn't want to irritate the mysterious Blue Lady and end up with no answers at all, so he thinks of something that would only be related to her.

He soon thinks of another question, but as that question might sound quite strange, he thinks of something simpler first.

"Why did your shell open to me and not to Nea?" He asks.

The Water Spirit's cold and slightly irritated expression disappears, replaced by a gentle smile.

"That's complicated to explain," she says.

Her response is not a direct denial, so Lucien has hope of receiving that answer.

"You can try," he smiles as he refills her wine glass.