Angel Monarch

Victoria was confused and terrified. Even her mother, Bea, didn't know the story of her evolution. That mysterious person asked her not to tell anyone.

In panic, she teleported to the place where she usually ran to hide...n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

She stood in the small forest Bea had created in the Gate room. The place had changed a bit since the last time she saw it. There were much more cobwebs on the trees and ceiling.

Close to her, barking noises approached, fast. Brian, the spider-dog came running out of the forest, with his tongue hanging loose.

He jumped on top of Victoria and started furiously licking her face. The strange dog's presence and affection turned her mood. She even started to giggle and laugh as the dog didn't stop.

"Well, can't say I was prepared for a trip to a strange indoor forest... Is that one of Mary's creations? I never understood why she loved spiders so much."

The voice surprised both Vicky and Brian. They jumped to the attention, and prepared to fight, but upon seeing the golden-haired woman leaning against a tree with a kind smile, Vicky deflated.

Brian walked in front of Vicky and began growling at Sera, but her daughter quickly calmed the large pet down.

He began bumping into her small body, demanding pets. With a small giggle, Vicky obliged, and while she scratched Brian's ears, she turned towards her mother with a guilty expression.

"I'm sorry I teleported you away. I didn't mean to, but when I'm emotional, my precision decreases."

She looked down at the ground with a sad expression, but soon she felt her mother's hug, and she felt much better.

"I'm happy you brought me with you. It's clear you were distressed, and I would like to know why... Only if you don't mind sharing, of course. I'm just here to give you much needed support and love."

The words didn't feel too sincere, but they calmed Vicky all the same. She brought her arms around her mother, hugging her even tighter.

They stayed like that for a few seconds. That's when Brian had enough of the lack of attention, and he shoved his large head between them.

Both Sera and Vicky chuckled, then they started petting the large spider-dog. They spent a good ten minutes just showering him with love, but eventually Vicky felt a sense of guilt.

She wanted to tell Sera everything that happened, but that person said to keep it a secret.

The more time passed, the more she realized her lack of care about that strange person. She wanted to tell her mother everything, and if this decision would have consequences, she would deal with them accordingly.

Sera noticed the change in her daughter, too, but said nothing and let Vicky deal with her problems on her own.

When Vicky was comfortable enough, she began to tell the story to Sera...

...

Vicky flew through the snowy plains in her ghost form. The monsters crawling around the place were terrifying, but in the past one and a half year, she got used to hiding.

The Realm of Boundless Frost was by far the worst place she lived at. Excluding Nightmare and his torture, of course, but she didn't even consider that living.

It wasn't so bad after her mother began growing the giant tree in their town. It kept the climate in control, stopped the snow from falling, and even kept the constant frost at bay.

She single-handedly made a paradise from hell, but Vicky didn't care. Even after more than a year, the pain hadn't eased.

The melancholy and depression kept assaulting her mind, trying to take hold of her once again.

About a year ago, Faith had to stop her from doing something permanent to herself.

From that point on, everyone kept a close eye on her, and she could never be left alone. Her only escape was this spirit form.

Here, in the endless clouds and frost, she could be free. The pain seemed lighter while flying, like the burden of her soul gets lifted with her projection.

In the past year, she spent more time in spirit form than in her actual body. Bea and the others think she should be more careful, and explore less.

But since they couldn't stop and force her, Vicky just did what she wanted.

She flew through the empty plains, only approaching the ground, when she finds some interesting ruin. There weren't many of those, though, so she spent most of her time in the clouds.

But unlike most times, she was currently attentive and watched the ground with eagle-like eyes.

In the past few days, she had a nagging feeling each time she went into her spirit form. It was like a call of sorts. She did not know where it came from, what it meant, or if it was dangerous, but she didn't care.

She was so lost in her grief that death seemed like a blessing. She would do anything for this torture, her life would end.

But it wasn't all melancholy that pushed her towards the feeling. She was also curious, since she never felt anything even remotely similar.

During the days she made good progress, and now she felt the call, like it was next to her.

It was really close, but she didn't know what to look for, so she scanned the ground closely.

Your journey continues on empire

It took her only half an hour to find the place. There was a lot she expected or fantasized about the feeling. She was very surprised to find something utterly weird at the source.

She wasn't sure what to look for, but when she saw a few meter radius, where the snow melted, she knew that was the place.

In the middle of the circle of melted snow, a small campfire danced on the waves of the frosty wind.

Vicky had seen many fires lit by the people in the town, but they all died down in minutes.

This fire, though, it happily danced upon the wind. It didn't seem to mind about the cold and the constant snowfall.

With a curious expression, Vicky approached the fire, and noticed a woman sitting nearby.

She wore a bodysuit, which should've provided no warmth in this weather. Her long, light brown hair hung in a neat ponytail, and she wore a pair of large sunglasses for some reason.

The Realm of Boundless Frost never seen unobscured sunlight, which made the sunglasses even more ridiculous.

In her hand was a regular stick, with some white thing at the end. The woman held it into the fire and watched it turn crispy brown.

When she seemed satisfied, the woman put the white food on a cracker, and she happily ate it.

"Oh, that's fantastic. Why don't you people have marshmallows? I wonder if you lost it during the Apocalypse, or even sooner in the Old World. You definitely had it. I was in your past before all the crazy space travel, and I could swear you had it."

Vicky watched as the woman rambled to herself. At first she thought her insane, but the more she spoke, the more confused Vicky had gotten.

"I mean, it's probably good you lost it. Marshmallows are unhealthy. They are basically fluffy sugar, which we caramelize and melt over an open flame. Strange what foods people come up with..."

"Have you ever eaten the fish eggs? They are disgusting, and people once held them as luxury items. That's why I always say money doesn't make someone smart, they only make them lucky."

Suddenly, the woman turned to the place where Vicky was standing in her ghost form.

"Why are you still standing there? Come, sit close to the fire or you might catch a cold!"

Vicky looked turned around, but there was nobody else here. Only the two of them. Her eyes widened as the realization set in, and with widened eyes, she turned back to the stranger.

"Wait, you can see me?" she asked, in a disturbed voice.

The woman just chuckled, like Vicky had told the best joke she ever heard. Then the woman jumped to her feet and grabbed Vicky's arm.

Everything happened so fast that Vicky couldn't even question how did the woman interact with her nonphysical self. The woman yanked on her arm, and she fell to her knees.

It took Vicky a few seconds to realize what had happened. She felt the ground beneath her feet; she felt the cold stone biting through her makeshift clothing.

The woman didn't just touch her noncorporeal self, but she somehow reunited her soul with her body. Even worse, somehow she teleported the body right here.

Thoughts circled around Vicky's mind. What the woman done supposed to be impossible, but again, the word impossible didn't exist in this world.

This revealed one information to Vicky, though. Whoever this woman was, her powers were beyond Vicky's comprehension.

The woman sat back in her place and used her stick to cook another marshmallow. She continued to grin at Vicky, too, which was very frightening.

"Now, this is much better! It's great to finally meet you, Victoria!"

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