The beginning of everything, and the unyielding resolve.

Hearing Eeru’s words, Lore couldn’t help but flinch.

"…Your Highness… has… Ruel’s soul…?"

"…I asked the Queen. I asked her to let Lore meet Ruel…"

Hearing that, Elen’s mind stirred with doubt.

Could a soul that had ascended to the heavens still be identified as an individual?

She blurted it out before she could stop herself—and surprisingly, the Dual Goddesses answered.

"Of course we can~. As long as you’ve made a pact with a spirit."

"Connecting with a spirit grants you some favor, right? Same with human souls. They take time to return to the heavens."

"Time… to return?"

"Hmm… how should I put it? Everything in this world is made of spirit essence, isn’t it? Unlike humans and beasts, spirits have a different concentration of spirit essence."

Spirit essence is basically power. The greater the spirit, the stronger that power. Higher concentration means stronger force, I suppose.

"May I clarify things a bit?"

"Go ahead."

Vaal readily agreed to Elen’s slightly puzzled question.

"Does a human soul return to the heavens when they die?"

"Die… then… up… rise…"

As if filling in Ark’s halting explanation, Voil offered a clearer version.

"Let me explain more clearly. It’s not just people—plants, animals, spirits, anything in this world was created from Origin’s spirit essence. So when something dies, it returns to spirit essence and ascends to the heavens."

"Right. That’s the rule."

"So what happens to the spirit essence that returns to the heavens?"

"It joins the cycle of spirit essence sustaining this world, then pours down to create new life on the earth. That’s where new life begins."

After hearing that, Elen nodded, finally understanding.

"So, when you said earlier that the concentration was different—does that mean spirit essence takes longer to disperse because it’s more concentrated... is that right?"

"Exactly, Elen-chan!"

Val and Voul clapped their hands together, praising Elen for a job well done.

"So if the concentration is high, that means the power is stronger too... and by tracing the lingering remnants of that power, you pinpointed Lüel’s soul?"

"Y-yes, Your Majesty! The Queen sought out Lüel’s soul, tainted by the opposite force, from within my own power!"

Lore, separated from Lüel, had kept Lüel’s final words close to her heart all along.

She’d vowed to protect Lüel’s descendants alone and safeguard this nation.

But her presence... had always seemed a little lonely.

‘By that point, I was already surrounded by the temple. When I shielded Lüel, humans—foolish, as always—tried to corner Lüel. So I chose to stay apart, rather than let Lüel get hurt…’

‘Sister…’

Lüel wanted to go to Elen’s side, but couldn’t move. The hesitation was unavoidable—how could she just walk over, like that, when she was barely able to stand?

After all, she’d endured so much from humans. It was impossible not to distrust anyone outside of Lüel and her descendants.

Maybe she should’ve told Richt… but then again, back then, even as a spirit, she was weak—so weak she might as well have been just an old cat, separated from her kin.

But now, after centuries, she finally said, they’d both grown strong.

That was why she’d come to the Spirit Castle, where the Origin dwelled, begging now—there was no other time.

＊＊＊

After hearing the whole story from Eale, Elen said, “Just a moment,” and fell into thought.

She kept circling Eale’s words in her head, over and over.

(There’s something off… something’s sticking.)

She herself had undergone the ritual known as “Selection,” and through it, the goddess could touch a human soul.

(Why was Mother able to help guide Rulye’s soul into reincarnation…?)

As she thought that through, Elen suddenly realized something.

Not the answer she’d expected—but something else clicked into place.

If Rulye’s soul had been so dense because she’d been bound to Lore… then maybe that meant the bond had affected the mother, or even the unborn child.

“So that’s why Rulye ended up reverting to her ancestors?”

“Huh?!”

Rulye jumped at the sudden stare from Elen.

“What on earth…?”

Durand seemed equally intrigued. A question slipped out before he could stop himself.

“If we’re talking about a soul still carrying Lore’s power, then that power must be strong. Strength like that comes from magical essence. Human bodies are influenced by magical essence. Rulye’s golden hair? That’s Lore’s influence.”

“My hair…?”

‘Is that really so!?’

Lore looked genuinely shocked.

I’d assumed Rulye’s ancestor return was just some simple case of inherited traits—but no, there was real reason behind it.

Rulye’s hair color told the story of a bond so strong it had grown between spirit and human.

“That hateful, traitorous color… it’s Lore-sama’s influence…!?”

Durand’s face was filled with sorrow.

That’s the thing—because they’d worshipped “black” out of devotion to Lore-sama, it’s only natural they’d weep at the thought of Lore-sama’s bond being marked by “the gold of traitors,” isn’t it?

But to everyone’s surprise, Lore herself shot back.

“Durand! Gold hair isn’t a traitor!”

“W-what…?”

“*You* were the ones who betrayed first—your ancestors, several generations back!”

Even Durand, and the guards, and Lüür’s companions, were stunned.

Apparently, generations before Helgner, the struggle over succession had been brutal.

“There was a time when heirs were decided by hair color alone. I begged them to stop—again and again!”

Lüür didn’t want her descendants to fight over something so pointless. But the situation had spiraled out of control. The family with golden hair—everyone of them—was taken away, somewhere.

“You were the ones who exiled them for not sharing my color! The people of Tenbär did nothing wrong!”

“Nn… what… what’s this…?”

“Why do humans care so much about color! I’m me, aren’t I!”

Still, Lore wailed, tears streaking her face—she understood, too, that it was because they’d loved her color that made it hurt so much.

“…The royal family of Tenbär… weren’t traitors, were they?”

Voel murmured softly, calm as ever, cutting through Duran’s rising panic.

“If your ancestors weren’t the same color as Lore, they just tossed you out and told you to find spirits of your own color.”

“Ah, right. That’s true. So we actually went looking—headed straight to the hill where spirit sightings were most common, those kids…”

The Dual Goddesses spoke, as if remembering something long buried.

The truth hit Duran like a hammer—misunderstanding born from the ancient feud between Helgner and Tenbär. He winced, pressing a hand to his temple, forehead furrowed tight. Headache, or something worse? Hard to tell.