Whispers of a Dead Empire

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I awoke and felt great. My eyes fluttered open, and I glanced at my screen to see if any significant notifications appeared while I was sleeping. Thankfully, nothing significant had happened. Well, domain-wise, that is.

A pair of arms were laced around my waist, pulling me into a little spoon, and my heart raced in my chest as I thought back to what happened last night. My cheeks flushed as my heart rushed through my veins. Doubly so, since I can't remember what happened after Alessia kissed me.

"Good morning Empress." Alessia cooed in my ear, causing my flesh to rise in goosebumps.

"Hey." I rolled over and wrapped my arms around her, and nestled into her. How long has it been since I've done something like this? In fact, how long has it been since I've had a relationship with someone outside of the various one-night stands that I've had?

"Did you sleep well?" She ran her fingers through my hair, and I couldn't help but melt at her touch. Ugh, being like this sucked. I hate feeling like a giddy schoolgirl.

"I did." I nuzzled into her more and tried to figure out the exact chain of events that led me to this moment. I never expected this moment to come when I made her when I first arrived here. I still don't know why, but I will not complain. It was like a twisted version of twilight, but it involved a beautiful spirit instead of a handsome vampire.

"Are you still going to take the day off?" Her fingers ran through my hair, and a happy sigh forced its way through my lips.

"Probably not. Octavian wants to launch his crusade in a few days, and I need to get with Kharon to figure out what the delegates want, and retrieve Nyx from him." I reluctantly sat up, pulled away from Alessia, and stretched out my body. Thankfully, I was still clothed, so nothing happened last night. Not that I would have complained about it, but I wasn't even sure how something like that would work.

"Are you going to tell Nyx about us?" She sat up and pressed herself against my headrest, gazing at me as I walked around the room, trying to get ready for the day.

"Right now? No, though I'm sure she will figure it out." I walked over to my dresser and went through it to grab some fresh clothing. Not that I was dirty or stank, but now I had to keep up appearances.

Alessia hummed in response next to me as I felt a pair of hands wrap around my waist and a headrest against my shoulder. I paused for a moment, relishing the physical contact. "Alessia, I really need to get ready." I placed my hands on hers and leaned back into her.

"I know. I just wanted to spend some time with you before I went back to training with the guard." She nuzzled my neck, and I couldn't help but giggle.

"Stop." I swatted her away playfully as I reached into my dresser and grabbed a new, blood-red cloak with subtle patterns of black lines that stretched across its length in unworldly patterns. I decided a while ago that just having one cloak wasn't good enough, so I created a few different variants to wear outside and whatnot. Though I refuse to have anything that is overly extravagant. Simple is good. Simple is nice.

"When will you be back?" She asked as I quickly donned my new cloak.

"Well, I'm gonna pick Nyx up and then have a meeting with Kharon. So in a few hours, I'll be back around. I'm going to have to establish a better routine now that Nyx is here." I mainly complained about my sake since I wanted to keep grinding away at everything.

"You need to take it easy, though. You can't keep overworking yourself." She walked over to the corner of the room and picked up her poleaxe and cloak that she had draped across one of the chairs.

"I know, but it's just how I am." I threw on my sports bag after checking it to ensure that all the stuff I would need was in there; and walked over to Alessia and threw my arms around her to steal away another hug.

Her arms fell across me, pulling me tightly into her. "Take it easy, alright?"

I rolled my eyes and gave her a quick peck on the lips; it amazes me how easy this feels with her. Almost like it was meant to be. "I'll do my best. I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Of course Empress." She gave me one last peck on my forehead before I teleported to the stronghold to retrieve my daughter, drowning in my newfound happiness.

"Mother!" Nyx screamed as she ran over to me. Her backpack thrashed wildly on her back as she scrambled over to me as fast as she could before she crashed into me like a runaway truck.

"Hello there." I chuckled as I rested my hand on her raven black hair.

"Oh, how I've missed you so. I was worried you forgot about me, mother." Her words were slightly muffled as she pressed her head into my stomach, pulling me as close as possible.

"No, never. I was just busy with some things." My face blushed slightly as I thought back to the things I was busy with.

"What could be more important than me?" She huffed at me as she stepped back and crossed her arms, shooting daggers at me.

"Well, I needed a break, but I promise I didn't forget about you." I reached forward and gave her another head pat. "But tell me, how did you like school?"

Like a switch, her whole attitude changed as she jumped up happily. "It was so much fun. Kharon taught me how to use magic! Look!" She raised a clawed hand, and a small flame flickered in her hand. It was no larger than a small candle, but I was so happy to see her like this.

"Oh, look at you! I'm so proud of you! What other kinds of magic did you learn?" I asked as I placed my hand on her shoulder and walked around the stronghold on my journey to find Kharon.

"Well, Kharon made me select only three to focus on, which isn't fair if you asked me. I wanted to learn them all." She stated matter-of-factly as she walked along with me.

The more I thought about it, the more that I realized I had very little knowledge of how my system worked, so already Nyx was becoming stronger than I was. But I would pester Kharon with questions like that later. "So, what did you choose?"

"Fire, Ice, and wind. Kharon said that once I get good with them, he would teach me more." She bobbed her head as she spoke and skipped along happily, leaving me to my thoughts.

It's been a bit since I've actually taken stock of what I have for magic. I need to compile a list of all my assets so that once the war party leaves, I will be able to utilize everything at my disposal. Yes, the talk with Kharon may be a long one after all. "That's amazing. Which one do you like so far?"

"Well, I like them all. Fire makes me feel powerful; ice makes me feel relaxed. But wind makes me feel fast. So I'm unable to decide." She scrunched up her eyebrows slightly as she talked.

So far, I was envious of her. Using magic seems like it would be so fun, but that boat has long since sailed for me when I chose my soul class. But I really needed to get back to training before my daughter leaped ahead of me. "How did all the other classes go outside of magic?"

"Well, Mr. Flint taught me how to throw a punch, which was fun. Kharon said that he would teach me how to fight in the next class, and I can't wait."

Ah yes, she was growing up so fast. I also wasn't surprised that she liked to fight. She was a dragon, after all. Right now, I wasn't worried about it, but one day I fear for Flint's safety. "You know, Lieutenant Flint was my teacher too."

"Was he really?" She paused and stared up at me like I was a completely different person.

"He was, and it drove Alessia nuts." I looked back on that memory, and I couldn't help but grin. She was so jealous then.

"That doesn't surprise me. Ms. Alessia is always staring at you when you aren't looking." Nyx said it so innocently, but I knew the meaning behind it. Perhaps it could be seen as a little creepy, but I know that's how she is, so it didn't bother me.

"Does she now?" I feigned innocence as we walked further into the stronghold. A few soldiers spared us gazes, and a few bowed before us. Thankfully everything seemed like it was going well here.

"Yes, mother, it's a little strange if you ask me."

I chuckled as I patted her shoulder. If you only knew little Nyx, if only you knew.