Adelasta adjusted her sleeves as the ship floated quietly on the still surface of the subspace ocean, the ship humming with ethereal power. Its interior was luxurious, lined with reinforced steel and decorated with glowing aquamarine channels running across the walls like veins. Eldrigan sat across from her, his arms crossed and one leg propped up, looking as comfortable as a monarch of a continent that dabbled in eldritch warfare could look.
"So, Dynasty Hanabas and the Viaca House, huh. Weird pairing."
Adelasta raised a brow, her icy gaze fixed on him.
"What, did you think Veneri would group me with someone else?"
"I expected Natalis. Or maybe Peroncerea. Someone who doesn't make me feel like I'm walking next to a cold strategic bomb."
"You're not that far off. But be glad it's me. I'm the only one who won't try to flirt with you to make the trip bearable."
"That's fair."
He leaned his head back against the cushioned wall, the lights casting a soft glow across the slight Eldritch marks on his neck.
"Still, Dynasty Monarch, huh. When did that happen? I blink and suddenly everyone's a ruler."
"Five years ago, Vastarael vouched for me, and the Viaca bloodline already had chosen me at the age of four. The Richinaria seat made it official."
"Impressive. And here I thought all you did was wear cold expressions and call the shots behind Vastarael's throne."
She gave him a look that could freeze magma.
"I am the Grand Duchess of all Richinaria. Half of Rise is run through my court. And for the record, I don't 'sit behind his throne.' We rule side by side."
"Relax, I know. I just like poking the queen bee."
"Well, you're certainly brave for someone whose mother could fold the world with a blink."
"Yeah, she'd probably approve of you though. You like the ship?"
"It's... functional. I can see why you picked it. Why did you even buy this at an auction? Don't tell me you saw a shiny toy and thought, 'Let me throw my royal funding into it.'"
Eldrigan laughed.
"No. I bought it because I needed something quiet. The Hanabas Council won't stop bickering unless I disappear for hours. This thing has cloaking, shielding and can be a submarine. It's practically a vacation home."
"You're better at this leadership thing than I thought."
"You expected me to be all claws and void voices?"
"I expected you to be... well, impulsive. Dark beings like vampires don't usually work well with Eldritch."
His eyes softened slightly. "You're not wrong. That's what makes Peroncerea interesting. She's the fire. I'm the void. We balance."
"You're lucky. Not everyone finds balance. Especially in power."
"You think Vastarael balances you?"
Adelasta didn't answer right away. Her eyes flicked toward the depths outside the ship.
"He gives me the space to be me. That's balance enough."
"I think Vastarael put us together because he knows we won't waste time."
"We don't play games," Adelasta agreed. "And neither of us is dumb enough to rush into a pillar protected by world-bending enchantments without a plan. How far are we?"
"About three hundred meters. We'll surface just beside the first anchor zone. Think you'll need your daggers?"
"I'm not sure yet," she replied. "But if I do, whatever's guarding that pillar won't like it."
"Hey... I've been meaning to ask this for years now. Why do you all call Vastarael 'Veneri'?"
Adelasta glanced at him, startled for a moment. She hadn't expected that.
"I heard Phaenora call him that back in Erna Isles. Actually... come to think of it, I've never heard her call him 'Vastarael.' Elyonari does it too, but it's weird. Almost like... that name means more than just a nickname. What's the story behind it?"
Adelasta's eyes dropped to her hands. Her fingers froze mid-movement. For a while, she didn't respond. Truth was, she did know. Well, at least partially. Veneri wasn't just a nickname. It was a name carried from another life. A name from Earth.
But even she, the woman who married him, who slept beside him for five years, even she didn't know the whole story. Vastarael had shown her fragments of scorched skies, a bleeding world, and a time after chaos swallowed it whole. It was a world filled with machines, cities that touched the clouds and the nature of humanity. However, he never revealed the beginning. He never showed her the part where the man known as Veneri walked among mortals and bled as one of them. He kept that life locked tight in the vaults of his soul.
And honestly... she was fine with that.
She didn't want to know about Greshina Emberforge. She didn't want to hear about the woman who might've loved him before her and shaped a part of him he now kept buried. Vastarael wasn't the kind of man who ran from the past but he did choose to leave it behind. That was the difference.
"I can't tell you because... only Phaenora knows the full story. She started calling him that. I just picked it up. And then Elyonari did. Even Narisva. It just... felt right."
Eldrigan looked at her, surprised.
"Seriously? You're married to the guy and you don't know?"
Adelasta let out a humorless chuckle. "Do you really think marriage unlocks every door in someone's soul?"
"Fair point."
"Vastarael is filled with secrets and honestly? That's what makes him him. He doesn't flaunt his past. He doesn't act like he's some tragic hero. He just... keeps walking."
Eldrigan nodded thoughtfully.
"Yeah. That's true. Even though he's a Divine, I've never felt like he's untouchable."
"Because he's not. He bleeds. He breaks. He's strong not because he was born that way but because he never lets anything keep him down for long."
The auto driven ship hummed louder as it neared the designated zone. From the viewport, they could now see the outline of the first pillar. It was a towering structure of crystalline stone reaching into the seafloor, runes shimmering across its sides like veins of light. It looked... ancient, almost like it didn't belong in this world.
"Alright. Narisva said this place absorbs energy. So we follow the plan."
"No Tethers," Eldrigan recited. "Find the key manually. Once Peroncerea gives the signal, we deactivate it at the same time."
"Right. No Divine tricks. Just skill and focus."