for the first time, a look of fear appeared on king roth’s face. “a-a tigerkin?”


    lydia peeled back her hood and then grabbed the spear, swing around it until she was back on the ground level. lydia wasn’t the black cat i had seen in the underground fighting ring. this was the proper lydia. if them was anything different, she somehow seemed even more radiant and beautiful than i remembered. her hair was also more vibrant. the streaks of black were much darker now, and the orange was brighter too.


    “lydia!”


    “it’s lydia.”


    “about time.”


    all of the girls excitedly spoke, and the fighting had seemingly paused for a moment.


    “you... i recognize you...” the lioness frowned. “aren’t you that catgirl of doom?”


    “ah!” lydia put her hands on her cheeks. “don’t say that name, it’s super embarrassing!”


    “a tigress...” king roth let out a chuckle. “you almost worried me. such an enemy won’t change anything. you may have scared me trying to destroy your dungeon like that, deek, but you forget. i’ve seen my demise, and it won’t be by you. no, i’ve passed my demise! i’ve overcome the lore that binds-”


    “you talk too much.” lydia cut him off. “if you’re going to stay in the back, you might as well be quiet.”


    the lionesses’ mouth’s almost fell open. lydia had casually insulted king roth, something none of the other girls had dared to ever do. he wore a frightening grin on his face, his eyes bulging.


    “hehe... i see... first, deal with this woman. bring her to me so i can put her in her proper place.”


    “oh! that’s right!” lydia declared. “master, remember i said i went out to find a proper teacher? i found one! this is sensei dirage!”


    “dirage... like the city and the great labyrinth?”


    “well, they were named after me,” dirage said casually.


    i was having trouble processing all of this so suddenly, but that was when a thought came to me. “you told me the lydia i knew was dead!”


    “i lied.”


    “you...”


    “i ran into your slave as the assassins were upon her. i helped her dispatch of them on a whim. when she saw my talent, she begged me to help her become stronger for her master. so, i started to train her. however, your bond had broken, and it caused her significant distraction. in the end, i decided to cut her soul in two.”


    “why would you do that?” i demanded.


    “several reasons. first off, i was able to create a version of her distraction-free. one worked on her skills and techniques by fighting nonstop, the other worked on her stamina and mental strength. of course, you met the version of her who had been infected with miasma...”


    “why infect half of her with miasm... oh...” i figured it out before i finished the question.


    “what, why did he do that?” celeste couldn’t help but ask.


    “a god soul,” i responded. “to give her a god soul.”