Bro, I'm not an Undead!

"You handle stress pretty well – or rather uniquely, I should say," Muezzi said with a small smile. She looked at Kintar as though she were a child, eyes glistening mildly.

That was exactly what Kintar hated about this woman. "I should say the same. Unlike me, you haven't been tempered – beaten down, and forced into a cruel training regimen meant to make you unbreakable. But here you are."

Muezzi chuckled and looked around them, at the Troops, most of whom had recovered enough to slowly and sneakily retreat from the two women. Grim had quietly advised them to give Kintar and Muezzi some room.

"I expected a clever retort to my compliment," the former Contract Knight said. "Do you believe me now?" She scanned the room for the Stars and Troops. "I have no doubt that you've been through hell and back, but whatever training you've been through… blood still counts for something. You're a notch above most."

Kintar narrowed her eyes. "Blood, huh?"

It had been earlier, just as Pherdanta was addressing the new recruits and appraising them thoroughly in order to get a glimpse of those who stood out without a physical evaluation, when Kintar had sensed something odd coming from Muezzi. As it happened, Muezzi herself already had her eyes on Kintar since they met.

There were signs. The hair – dark blue. The nonchalance. The arrogance. The strength.

Muezzi hadn't hesitated to approach Kintar and inform her of the obvious:

We're of the same blood.

Some of the Stars and Troops had heard and spread the word, even though they'd seen how Kintar dismissed this at first. It indeed seemed trivial. Perhaps it was only an important fact for someone who was still bound to the notions of mortality.

That was what Kintar had told herself, anyway. Since then, she'd mulled it over more deeply, however.

"Vali is from a bigshot Family, has the same hair, and is… mildly talented," said Kintar. It was a good thing Vali wasn't in Metgard then to hear the mild jab aimed at her. Kintar scoffed. "How can you be so sure that it's you and me that are related. Maybe it's you and her."

"No," said Muezzi flatly. Her eyes never left Kintar. "I promise you, this is no mere conjecture." She adjusted the way she sat and looked out the transparent walls of the Metgard, at the collection of Prime Worlds in the distance, making the vague shape of a sword.

"You're an Incandescent Stage expert, same as Pherdanta, right? You're leagues stronger than I am, but there are pockets of perks you're missing – benefits of reaching the Beyond the Veil Stage. That natural progression to the very edge of mortality gives you a sensitivity that even Arch-Mages envy." Muezzi turned to Kintar. "Of course, you're beyond that, but I'm quite sure you've never devoted your senses to trying to ascertain the similarities between one individual and yourself."

Kintar scoffed, annoyed. Was her obnoxious narcissism that easy to spot?

"It's relatively easy for me to sense a connection with someone possessing similar traits. Whether via the body, or the soul, or something even more vague. I felt it the instant I saw you." The former Contract Knight paused. She seemed to lose herself in a memory for a split second. "Back in my time, bloodlines were essential to basic life. Commonfolk suffered for being ordinary. The few who were exceptional at something were even invited into Families and Houses. I happened to be one of them, but… I was a woman. My talents would have been squashed, no matter how deep they ran. Fulgardt's chaos made men, even ones from the prestigious Houses and Families, worse – hardened, cruel, and blind. I wouldn't risk it."

Yuyui was listening while making a desperate effort to not make it obvious. She understood Muezzi immediately. She'd met women who'd turned into devils because of the savagery of the Second Grand War, after all.

"Thus, you became a Knight? Because that makes more sense," said Kintar with a skeptical brow raised.

"Plenty of sense," replied Muezzi firmly. "Back then, Purity Knights, Capital Knights, Contract Knights, Paladin Champions… These were the greatest of occupations. Honor in plate form. No one without that title dared to join the frontlines against Fulgardt's forces."

"But you had to earn the title. Fight and win. Simple as that. The standard was horrendously high – far more than whatever it has become now, I imagine – but I wanted it anyway. It took hard, bleeding grit, but I managed. In that dark time, I wanted nothing more than to be me – to flourish in my potential without being weighed down by status. Strength alone would be my status."

Kintar folded her arms.

"An elaborate story for sure." She scoffed, but didn't dismiss Muezzi entirely. "Where you an only child?"

"Yes."

"Parents?"

"Died as casualties to a battle near my town. Before I became a Knight."

"Hmm…"

Kintar's lips thinned.

"So, in the end, you decided to have a family?"

"I had no choice. I was powerful, but that mattered little in the face of Fulgardt's monstrous hordes," said Muezzi with the slightest trace of melancholy. "I didn't want to become so hardened by the war that I wouldn't ever feel human again. Besides, it didn't seem as though the war was going to end in our favour. So, yes, I had a child with another Knight I loved, a few days after we emerged as the sole survivors of a platoon sent to intercept one of Fulgardt's Chosen."

Her face darkened. If guilt was a drab colour, it might have been the reason her face turned grey. Locking her fingers to stop herself from shaking with fury, Muezzi drew a breath.

"That wasn't enough either. In fact, it made me feel worse. After all, I now had much to lose in a world approaching a close. I made a choice that I would regret for the rest of my life soon after I gave birth."

It was rare, but it happened now and then: Kintar's face softened.

'And that's how she became entangled with Fulgardt,' thought the Unlimited Star.

She understood. Of course, she understood. She could tell from Aegir's face that he felt the same as Muezzi.

Both were drowning in regret, hence why they were so keen to redeem themselves.

"I see…" said Kintar.

"I hope you do," said Muezzi. The colour slowly started returning to her cheeks. "That's all that matters."

"Is it?" said Kintar, frowning.

"It is. I don't mind if you don't care for our blood ties," said Muezzi. "I'm just pleased to know that my mistake bore something precious – something that wasn't punished for my wrongs."