The hallway shimmered with golden light.

  I stood perfectly still, hands folded before me, watching as the liquid coalesced into form. It rose from the carpet, pulling itself together with agonizing slowness - first legs, then torso, then arms, finally a head crowned with flowing golden hair and a back with pure white wings.

  The woman who emerged looked almost exactly like Mary. Older, yes. More refined. But the resemblance was unmistakable.

  Her golden eyes met my red ones - complete, incomprehensible, layered with eldritch patterns that hurt to perceive.

  I smiled.

  "Hello, Liza."

  Her expression twisted immediately - shock, then fury, then something approaching horror.

  "You should be dead," she hissed.

  My smile widened, taking on a mocking edge.

  "It seems you failed."

  Liza's hands clenched into fists, trembling. "How-" Her eyes went wide. "It must've been him-!"

  I tilted my head, feigning innocence. "Who?"

  She opened her mouth - then stopped. Her jaw worked silently, face contorting with rage and frustration. The name wouldn't come. Couldn't come.

  I laughed - light, delighted.

  "It seems it's still working. That's good." I leaned forward slightly, eyes gleaming. "It would be bad if you told Mary everything, after all."

  Then my expression shifted. Serious. Cold.

  "Though I doubt you even remember. After all..."

  I stared at Liza with piercing certainty.

  "...my sister's dead."

  Liza's fury dimmed, replaced by something heavier. She looked away.

  "Her soul," I continued, voice soft but relentless, "if it even exists, should still be in the Veil. Which means you must be a fragment. Strong enough to impart her eyes, perhaps. But not her. Or maybe you awakened after that girl awakened my sister's eyes? I wonder, hm?"

  My smile returned - cruel, mocking.

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  "Perhaps now you wish to kill my Damian using that girl? I wouldn't try. That girl's already enamored with him, it would be quite difficult to do so."

  Liza's expression twisted into a strained smile.

  "You never knew how to shut up, Charlotte."

  I laughed again.

  Liza's gaze hardened. "But seeing how the world is right now, it seems that even though we failed at killing you and the others... we stopped the inevitable."

  "Indeed you did," I said, still smiling. "Though in all honesty, I never cared if it succeeded or not. In the end, I got what I wanted."

  I smiled mockingly, staring right into my sister's eyes.

  "As usual."

  Liza's eyes narrowed. "What's your goal, Charlotte? Do you have some unresolved business with this world? You've given that boy a surprising amount of autonomy - which is especially shocking from you."

  I stepped closer, my smile sharpening into something predatory.

  "My goal is for you to play along like a good puppet," I said softly, "if you want that little girl to survive."

  Liza's breath caught.

  "And," I continued, "to help me make Damian stronger."

  "Who is he?" Liza demanded, voice tight. "To be gited... no, cursed with his power? Not to mention yours as well. You've all but doomed him to a life of conflict and madness, do you not understand that?"

  My smile widened, turning maniacal.

  "Do you not realize who Damian is yet?" I murmured, almost to myself. "Surely his expressions was a dead giveaway. Even if your only a fragment, surely you could recognise him."

  Liza's eyes went wide - realization dawning slowly, then all at once.

  "Is that boy's parents-" She stopped, breath catching. "No, not parents. That boy is-!"

  "Ah, ah," I interrupted, raising one finger. "Don't say it. You're not allowed to say it, remember?"

  I leaned closer, my smile stretching wider, eyes gleaming with feverish delight.

  "That little girl's life will remain safe," I whispered, "as long as you're a good little puppet and listen to Charlotte."

  Liza's jaw clenched. Her hands trembled.

  Finally, she spoke - voice hollow, defeated.

  "If for a moment Mary's life is in danger, I won't hesitate."

  My eyes flared crimson, red threads erupting around me like living fire.

  "I dare you," I hissed.

  Liza didn't flinch.

  I laughed - high, wild, unhinged - the sound echoing through the infinite hallway.

  "The will Damian has inherited will continue," I said, voice dropping to something quieter, more dangerous. "It must. To create a better world, the world we envisioned. After all, he's..."

  I trailed off, smile lingering, eyes still burning red.

  Liza looked at me, her eyes bleeding golden. She held my gaze, before asking.

  "I wonder, dear sister. Has there ever been a day in your life..."

  The golden liquid at Liza's feet began to dissolve.

  She was fading.

  But before she vanished completely, she spoke one last time - listless, almost uncaring.

  "...Where you've told the truth."

  Then she was gone.

  As I stood alone in the hallway, smiling into the darkness, I couldn't help but laugh.

  I laughed - too loudly, too brightly - until the sound cracked into something wild and breathless. Hysterical. Blissful. A release a millennia overdue.

  After everything.

  After everything I’ve had to carve out and choke down - finally.

  I pressed both hands to my face, fingers trembling, smile breaking through the gaps like light through shattered glass.

  “I do all of this for you, Damian. Every choice. Every sin. It will hurt. It will break you. You’ll curse me for it.”

  My body began to unravel - threads of red unspooling from my skin, drifting upward like burning paper. The room dimmed under the color of my divinity, the walls bleeding crimson.

  I watched myself fade, and for once, my eyes softened.

  “But when it’s over…”

  A warm whisper, almost a prayer.

  “…you’ll finally be happy.”