Once upon a time, the world was only for humans to inhabit. According to history, the only special creature who oversees the world was a lamb. With the lamb as the guardian of the mortal realm, the world had kept its order for a long time.
Until...
A god, a sinful lower god, had escaped the judgment in the heavenly realm and entered the mortal realm. His existence in the world had born mayhem with his wicked, ferocious, and brutal nature. He sought vengeance on the god and thus, he set forth to meet the lamb to fulfill his plan of vengeance.
Afraid of this sinful beast's return, the god of the moon and the god of the underworld joined hands, and their alliance hatched a creature made of sin. That was how the first vampire was born and it was called the child of evil. The child of evil's only purpose was to slaughter this beast walking freely in the mortal realm.
It didn't matter if the child of evil would die in the process for as long as he fulfilled his mission. However, the child of evil developed intelligence and comprehension, and it didn't take long when he questioned his own existence.
Why must the child of evil have to kill another to survive? Why was the child of evil craved blood? Why... was the child of evil already evil even before he could decide what he was?
Questions after questions and nothing was answered.
This confusion and the unfavorable situation slowly morphed into hatred until the child of evil set his eyes on his creators. With a mission to kill the sinful beast in the mortal realm, the child of evil also sought the demise of those gods.
Hence, the inevitable happened: the great holy war.
A battle between wolves and vampires.
According to history, the great holy war was so destructive the gods had to intervene. The child of evil and his forces were punished gravely; they wouldn't be able to walk under the sun or they would return to ash to where they came from. The sinful beast, on the other hand, was bound by the moon's will.
Everyone thought that was all there in the story; there was more.
During the holy war, humans, who were caught up in the conflict of these destructive creatures who started the holy war, had to find ways to survive. Because of the spread of power and mana from them, witches and warlocks were born.
One particular individual who rose in power and was renowned among witches was called Maleficent, the mother of all witches. There weren't many who knew about this witch's story, nor there were details of who and what she was as a person.
All everyone knew was that this witch was powerful enough to unite all the witches and stand on the same ground as the sinful trinity: the wolf, the lamb, and the child of evil.
"So, you're saying... Lady Aries is a mother and her current state is all her doing? Not the witches?" Conan raised a question, gazing to his right where Isaiah was walking, on their way to the crown princess's tent where Abel was. "No, no, I mean, how is that possible?! I investigated Rikhill and nothing like that turned up! Everyone in that ruined country is human! Also, you're a warlock! You can smell one of your kind with just one look!"
Isaiah cast him an indifferent side-eye. "Being a witch isn't all about blood," he explained tonelessly. "You can be a child of one and not inherit their gifts. Fate chooses you, not the other way around."
"What? I never heard of that." Conan's face crumpled and his head throbbed for a bit.
"Your prejudice towards witches just because you're a vampire had always hindered you to broaden your knowledge in this area."
"Hey! I'm doing a great job being His Majesty's adviser, alright?!" Conan's frown deepened as he glared daggers at Isaiah's side profile. "So, did Lady Aries have some sort of awakening or...?"
"Nothing like that." Conan quirked a brow at Isaiah's quick response. "Lady Aries didn't have an awakening or anything of the sort. She's still Lady Aries."
p "Huh?? I'm confused."
Isaiah slowed down as he caught the sight of the crown princess's tent. The next tent near it had its entrance open; Curtis was sitting near the entrance, eyes on them.
"I'm saying being a witch isn't as simple as that. The power of Maleficent has chosen Lady Aries as its sanctuary. However, that doesn't necessarily mean she became powerful with a snap of a finger. It only meant she had potential. She still needs to learn to control it, tame it, and utilize it properly," Isaiah explained solemnly because being a witch wasn't the same as being born as a vampire or a werewolf or other creatures.
There was a process to everything because they were originally human. They had to devote themselves to nurturing this gift. It would be a long and painful process, and they had an option to embrace it or forget it.
"It's better if she stays the way she is," he added under his breath as they approached the tent, stopping at the entrance. "There's nothing good in awakening another troublesome ghost of the past." — their fates would only become just as complicated and tragic and Abel, the heir of the child of evil and a direct descendant of evil, could attest to that.
Sheltering the spirits of those who nearly destroyed the world… the world would definitely try to destroy them first before they could even think about it.
"Your Majesty, everything is done just as you ordered," Isaiah announced sternly, staring at the shut entrance of the tent. "The witches had helped. Shall I rewrite the memories of those in the next tent?"
Isaiah only received silence, but he maintained his composure. When another minute had passed and he still received no answer, he tilted his head down.
"I will return shortly." That only meant Abel still wanted to spend some time with Aries. Meanwhile, Conan rubbed his chin before he snap his finger.
"Keep their memories," Conan said. "That third prince and Lady Aries's friend. I think that's for the better."
Nove l B(in).C OM
The side of his lips stretched from ear to ear. "After all, they will still know about these existences in the future once they attended the world summit."