"At two, she could crush boulders in her tiny hands.
By ten, even my mother—the reigning Monarch—struggled to defeat her in a test of strength.""The people... they began to whisper.
Some saw in her the future of Shurima. A monarch unlike any before.
Ambition grew. Greed grew.
And then came the assassination attempt."
Lithaa's voice faltered for a heartbeat, old wounds reopening.
"My husband was killed."
A silence heavier than iron settled between them.
Lithaa straightened her back, her eyes steel.
"The Elders, desperate to maintain tradition, came up with a plan.
If Akrona could not be officially the heir as a daughter...
They would force her to become their son."
Nioh's mouth opened slightly in horror.
"They made her fuse with an S-Class Biocore designed to switch gender.
It should have worked."
Her voice cracked slightly—only slightly.
"But they underestimated the Heart of Gaia.
It is a purely feminine Biocore.
The fusion backfired."
Lithaa shook her head slowly.
