The Aozaki sisters followed Rellana, along with her knightly bodyguard, as they traveled northeast from Ensis Castle toward Shadowkeep, where Queen Marika's son, the supreme commander of the expeditionary army, Messmer, resided.
Shadowkeep was an enormous fortress. As soon as Aoko stepped out of Ensis Castle, she could already see the towering, pitch-black castle in the distance, its silhouette draped in the veil of the Shadow Erdtree, exuding an overwhelming sense of oppression.
Through Rellana's introduction, Aoko and Touko learned various details about Messmer—his identity, his duties, and the power he wielded.
His identity and duties were self-explanatory, but it was Messmer's power that piqued Aoko's interest—his two primary abilities were fire and serpents.
Her first thought immediately went to Rykard of Mt. Gelmir.
As the son of Radagon and Rennala, Rykard had originally studied the fire magic of the giants, successfully transforming the flame incantations of Mt. Gelmir into flame-based sorcery, which was then taught to the warriors and mages under his command.
And in the end, that man became entangled with the blasphemous serpent, turning into something neither fully human nor fully serpent. Though he was ultimately defeated by the Tarnished, he seemed to belong to the category of beings that refused to truly die.
From this perspective, the imagery of serpents in the Lands Between was anything but a good omen.
However, Rellana assured the Aozaki sisters that Messmer's serpentine power was innate, present since his birth, rather than the result of some later corruption. Furthermore, he had always used the white serpent of wings to suppress the black serpent of the abyss, demonstrating an unshakable will.
This was outside Aoko's realm of knowledge. She had no understanding of these winged serpents or abyssal serpents—all she knew was the blasphemous serpent. Thus, she decided to accept Messmer's invitation and personally meet this enigmatic demigod in Shadowkeep.
After passing through a vast military encampment filled with towering spears and swords, the four of them arrived at Shadowkeep's main gate.
Rellana led the way, with Muritil guarding at her side, while Aoko and Touko followed behind. After confirming their identities with the gate guards, the four of them stepped through the towering entrance of Shadowkeep and boarded a massive elevator.
Everything about this fortress was colossal—the gate alone stood at least dozens of meters high as if designed for giants.
Its architectural style bore a striking resemblance to the royal capital of the Golden Order, Leyndell, yet its color scheme was the opposite.
Leyndell's buildings were primarily white, gold, and pale yellow, whereas Shadowkeep was dominated by black and dark gray, perfectly matching its name.
One could imagine that when constructing this fortress, Messmer must have been thinking of his homeland's royal capital while also contemplating the remnants of the Messmer people, leading him to build such a pitch-black Shadowkeep.
However, Aoko did not dislike this architectural style. She found that Shadowkeep and Leyndell each had their unique charm, with no clear superiority between them.
As soon as the four of them stepped off the elevator, they were greeted by a massive statue of Queen Marika in the grand hall.
Along the walls, dense racks of spears were displayed, each over ten meters long, emphasizing Messmer's preference for impaling weaponry.
While the fortress's facilities were still largely intact, signs of neglect were evident—many areas had fallen into disrepair, with no one tending to the damage.
Yet, as Aoko and Touko ascended toward the top of Shadowkeep, every soldier of Messmer's expeditionary army they encountered was on high alert, diligently standing guard and patrolling.
However, Aoko also noticed several spectral knights in white armor, lurking in the corners with expressions of despair. They muttered fragmented words, seemingly unable to accept that Queen Marika had abandoned them.
Rellana did not explain, and Aoko and Touko didn't press the issue. They simply followed the twisting paths of the fortress, making their way ever higher.
Since the Aozaki sisters were wearing Carian-style mage robes, only the flame knights clad in red cloaks—Messmer's guards—occasionally stopped them to verify their identities before quickly allowing them through.
Aoko speculated that despite their Carian outfits, they were still questioned because of their striking red hair. After all, red-haired individuals were incredibly rare in the Lands Between.
Among the famous red-haired figures, all were either demigods or legendary heroes—most notably, the golden Radagon.
As Aoko's thoughts wandered, the group finally arrived at Shadowkeep's Specimen Archive.
To Aoko and Touko, this place was a fusion of a library and a museum, housing biological specimens alongside invaluable scrolls and texts.
Ghostly figures, their consciousnesses faint, still lingered in the archive, tending to their duties. Aoko could sense their deep attachment to this colossal library museum.
She had once wondered what the Grand Archives from a certain game would look like in reality—and now, standing in the Specimen Archive, she felt as though her imagination had come to life.
Touko, however… Touko could no longer move.
She was clutching an ancient stone tablet, possibly thousands of years old, gently running her fingers over its surface, greedily absorbing its inscriptions, as if trying to inhale the scent of history itself.
"…Sorry about this," Aoko said apologetically to Rellana. "Touko has this habit—whenever she sees artifacts or artworks with a long history, she just can't help herself…"
Rellana and the bodyguard knight exchanged glances. Although they hadn't known the sisters for an exceptionally long time, they had been traveling together for several months. Never had they imagined that the usually calm and composed Aozaki Touko had such a side to her.
Suddenly, the image of this divine being in their minds became more three-dimensional.
Aoko, meanwhile, hurried to urge Touko to put the stone tablet back. She suggested that after meeting Shadowkeep's lord, they could request permission to study the archive's contents in detail—there was no need to keep Prince Messmer waiting.
Touko understood this logic and, albeit reluctantly, carefully placed the stone tablet back in its original position. She then followed Aoko and Rellana up the archive's staircases.
The Grand Archive was even more massive than Aoko had imagined. They navigated several shifting mechanisms and rode an intricate, rotating elevator before finally reaching the seventh floor of the archive—the path leading to Messmer's tower. Yet even this was not the archive's highest level.
After confirming their identities with the chief flame knight, the four of them arrived at the entrance to a dimly lit yet spacious chamber.
From outside, Aoko could see a tall, slender figure kneeling before a statue of Queen Marika.
"…The foreign godborn."
A deep, youthful voice with a faint nasal tone reached Aoko's ears.
"I've heard about you from Rellana—the Sorcerer Sisters."
"Enter," the figure in the red cloak rose from the ground and extended an invitation.
"I have some questions for you."