Although she wanted to know the truth, Maya wasn't prepared for its impact. It was as if her whole centre of gravity had abruptly and cruelly shifted. What once was a firm ground under her feet was now an endless drop.

'You were not chosen, you were picked.'

This meant that her parents were taken from her in order to construct her 'tragedy', which would then motivate her to offer herself to this world. It was a deeply sinister realization.

Continuing to hold her and comfort her, Erik gave her time to rearrange her emotions. But after the river of tears and sobs, seething rage began to swell up inside of her.

It was growing rapidly and out of control, unlike anything she had ever felt. Maya yearned for retribution, a deep-seated desire for someone to atone for the pain she had endured. For the first time in her life, she had somebody else to blame. And it was consuming her, overwriting the self-blame she had nurtured all this time.

"Are they all in on it?" Maya's tone carried a chilling note that surprised even her. Her thoughts listed off all surrogate parents and mentor figures.

Slightly separating from her to see her face, Erik's expression was one of concern. "This is not something commonly known. If people knew it, they would naturally revolt. Only the powerful minority knows."

Maya stared him in the eye, her gaze piercing. "I want them to pay. They murdered my parents."

Erik could feel the weight of her words, and he took a deep breath, carefully considering his response. He had seen the transformation in Maya, the raw pain and anger that had been stirred up by the truth he had revealed. He was torn.

"I understand your anger, Maya," he said softly, his hand gently brushing her hair. "You're not alone in this. We can put a stop to it, but first, you need to listen—"

But Maya wasn't finished. "It has to be Daria! She's the one who led me here!" She sprang up to her feet.

Erik, in an attempt to soothe Maya's fury, gently ushered her back onto the sofa. Her gaze was fixed on a distant point, her mind a whirlwind of unbridled anger. Tear stains marked her cheeks, though the tears had ceased.

"Just breathe, Maya," Erik implored, his voice calm amidst her storm. Gradually, her breathing slowed, her anger giving way to an encroaching tide of sorrow. She fought desperately to hold herself together.

Her gaze fell on Elena, who sat motionless, her jaw set and fists clenched. Yet, she stayed uncharacteristically calm.

"I thought you'd be on the run by now, to take Daria's head for lying to you about your parents," Maya confessed.

"In due time," Elena's response was measured and deliberate. "First, I need to find out their identities. She'll need her head to answer."

Her quietness now made sense. She was plotting.

"No one is removing anyone's head," Erik intervened, his tone firm.

"It's the Trackers? They're the ones doing the dirty work?" Elena calmly sought confirmation.

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Erik nodded slowly.

"Then I'll remove Daria's head," Maya declared.

"Please! You can't put all of this on a single person. She's just a recruiter, and one with not much of a choice." Erik found himself suddenly defending a person from two murderous girls.

However, Maya was suddenly surprised. "How do you know?"

"What?"

"Daria."

'Why would a stranger whom they ran into in the woods know about what choice Daria did or did not have?'

"She's Amellan Academy's sole Conquistrix, so, naturally, I was also recruited by her," he explained and sighed. "Let's focus on Anastasia's story. There are still things to clear up."

Still grappling with a whirlwind of emotions, Maya nodded. She wanted to learn Anastasia's story, seeking a diversion from the tumultuous feelings that were unfamiliar and disconcerting.

The morning sunlight began to seep in through the dusty windows. Erik glanced at Elena, still sitting in the deep shadows of his cabin where the rays could not touch her. She showed no fear or even acknowledgement of it. There was no point since he already knew the truth.

However, the sunlight also revealed the deep fatigue etched in Erik's features. He took up the broken crossbow and sank back in his chair, beginning to methodically tinker with it as he spoke.

"The reason Mellgrah was created was about what they already taught you," he began. "Mages rebelled against humans and their mistreatment and sought to create their own world. However, no ordinary mage could create what they had envisioned. They needed someone powerful enough, and from the Prima Maga bloodline."

Maya halted her breathing. She had been so caught up in the implications of her parents' deaths that she hadn't considered the fact that they, as her sources of hereditary power, must have been mages themselves.

"The Prima Magae family," Erik explained, "were akin to an imperial family amongst the witches. There were many clans of different elements and affinities, but only one family of Primas. Their bloodline alone wielded the unmatched power of the 'First' or the 'Original Witch.'"

"Is the power of Spirit the power of the First Witch?" Maya asked carefully.

"Something like that."

Maya furrowed her brows at the ambiguous answer.

"They have taught you that a Prima appears in time of need," Erik continued with the story. "But the truth is that there was always a Prima present as a leading figure of all mages. At that time, the Head of the Prima family was a young and exceptionally powerful mage. Despite recently succeeding her grandmother's position, she had already surpassed many of her predecessors."

Maya's eyes sparkled as he described her, finding herself completely engrossed in the story.

"Her name was Christine…"

As Erik unravelled the story, the name made Maya blink in confusion.

"I thought you were telling the story of Anastasia?" she asked, wondering if Erik had mistakenly mixed up the names.

Erik simply nodded and continued the story. "Christine was approached with the idea of creating Mellgrah, but promptly refused. Her faith in humanity had not yet been lost. Her refusal, however, divided the mages."

The timing of his words matched his disassembling of the crossbow. With a click sound, he disjoined parts and meticulously arranged them aside, focusing on the damaged component.

"Mellgrah supporters needed Christine. No other living Prima could match the power of the Head family's firstborn. It's not always the case that the firstborn mage is the most distinguished, but they invariably possess the greatest raw power. It's simply how it is."

"And I suppose creating a new world needs a lot of raw power," Maya concluded.

This was a completely new window into the world of mages. Not only did she learn that powers are passed on through bloodline, but also that among the siblings, the firstborn would be the most powerful by natural law.

'As the firstborn and an only child, that would make me the most powerful in my family?'

"Yes," Erik answered. "Since Christine wasn't going to cooperate," he continued, "they needed an underhanded approach. And so it happened, Christine had a younger sibling."

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