Vivia and Zerath were already aware of the three forbidden rituals - four, including what Finnian had explained. The two rituals that came closest to inferring Nara's situation were either bringing the dead back to life or consuming someone else's years to extend their own lifespan.
Both made her heart sink - but she was certain of one thing.
"Master would never take someone else's life to live more."
Zerath gave a solemn nod. "If she's the same person we refer to as the Varkhail, then she has fought to end the war and protect lives. She wasn't greedy for more life or power. Besides…" He coughed lightly. "At times she'd look like she was so done with her life."
Vivia's brow twitched - but she had to admit there was some truth to it.
'Ughhhhh such a long ass life this is…!' Nara had muttered once.
Little Vivia had never understood her impulse to just kick the bucket.
'You're too young and beautiful to die, Master. Why do you keep speaking of death?'
Nara had simply given her the flattest look manageable. 'Before a tree as ancient as me, you're practically a seedling, kid. Don't compare yourself to me.'
Vivia had never understood that comparison until now. If Nara had lived through centuries like an old, towering tree, then yes - Vivia was nothing more than a seedling just beginning to sprout its first leaves.
She looked at Zerath. "We know she'd have nothing to do with the second ritual you had spoken of. Does it mean that…"
Arzan said, "Yes. The Varkhail would've died at some point in her life but was brought back to life."
"Who would do that?" Zerath knitted his brows. "Some close family member?"
As far as he could recall, Nara had never mentioned having a family. But then again, she had always been an enigmatic woman, guarding her own secrets. Secrets they were beginning to uncover only now.
"It's possible."
"But," Vivia asked, uncertain, "Didn't you say such forbidden rituals always come at a great cost? Would someone truly have gone that far to bring Master back to life?"
Even as she asked, she understood that person's feelings entirely. She loved Nara deeply herself, and she couldn't imagine a world where Nara simply wasn't in it. The fact that she had died somewhere along the way but somehow kept living beyond her lifespan five centuries later sent chills through her heart that had nothing to do with Lake Morveth's water.
What kind of a person was he or she to go this far for Master? Perhaps her husband? Her children?
"People can go to any lengths to achieve what they want - as we have seen with the illegal breeding," Arzan's voice brought her back from her thoughts. "And yes, that person who would've done the ritual would've borne the cost of it."
"Death?" Zerath asked.
"Divine punishment takes many forms, my lord. But it does seem unlikely that person would've survived…"
That made Vivia's thoughts churn inward towards her own reincarnation. Defying death wasn't something that happened by nature's will, unless someone manipulated their way.
But who?
Only two people came to her mind.
She ruled out Audreya almost immediately. If she had delved into a ritual of that magnitude, there was a slim possibility that she would have even turned up in Orseth looking perfectly fine and chasing Clairette for revenge. There was no sign of divine punishment on her.
Which left only one person.
Vivia's trembling hand reached up to her throat, the mere possibility scaring the wits out of her. As Clairette, she had encountered nearly everyone connected to her former life.
Audreya, Raffert, Walterce - everyone except for Nara.
Nara was out there somewhere wandering between the realms, as she always did. But more than six months had passed since Vivia's death. Was it truly possible she hadn't heard at all? And if she had - had Nara ventured into a forbidden ritual to give Vivia a second chance?
"Princess!"
Zerath caught her arm. Vivia had gone pale - as though she had encountered a ghost. Her complexion looked paler than the time the poison was coursing through her body.
A sudden rustle in the trees snapped Zerath's attention sideways. He pulled her behind him and drew his sword.
Arzan clutched his coat in a panic. "M-My lord, what if it's a human? If they see demons in their realm, it'll be a mayhem!"
"There's no place to hide, Arzan. We face whatever comes our way."
His eyes then narrowed, squinting at the distant darkness. "Who is it? Reveal yourself."
The creak of twigs grew louder and closer. Arzan gripped Zerath's coat tighter, shivering hard. Only when they came face-to-face with a certain spear he was all too familiar with - did Zerath release his exhale.
"I rather enjoy pointing my blade at other people, not the other way around. Kindly lower that sword, Your Highness," Silas's snarky voice reached them.
Beside him was Judith and behind them followed Finnian, barely able to take a step forward.
Silas narrowed his eyes. "You could've done some of the hard part of finding us too, you know?"
"Glad to see you safe, Silas. You too, Lady Judith. Finnian."
Judith moved closer and noticed Vivia's pallor. "What happened to the princess? Is it poison?"
"M-My lord drew out all the poison from her body!" Arzan cut in breathlessly, defending Zerath - even though Judith wasn't trying to accuse them.
"Ah, this tantalizing fatigue makes me breathless…" Finnian was close to collapsing.
Watching the eerie blush spread across his cheeks, Arzan promptly backed away.
Zerath looked at Vivia, then back at Judith. "Let's just say we discovered something we could've never anticipated?"
"Oh, you too?"
"What do you mean?"
Silas leaned against a tree. "That at present, we aren't the only three demons present in the Human Realm. There's one more - and he nearly froze us to death."
Zerath stared. "Froze you?"
"I could be wrong, but…" Silas tilted his head, "my best guess right now is that I just came across Eurus's father."
"Eurus's father?" Vivia regained some of her strength, eyes widening slowly. "You met him?"
"More like he tried to kill us and then escaped," Judith was still salty about the fact that they lost him.
Her gaze then drifted towards the one-eyed warrior's statue, and she approached it with curious eyes.
Meanwhile, Silas said, "That ice magic was just like the kid's. Also, I had caught a glimpse of his hair through his hood. Again. They looked pale and white from a distance, but I'm pretty certain they were ice-silver."
Zerath was left stunned. "If that's true, then how could he be in the Human Realm? A demon? Wait, is it possible that he, too, stumbled here like us through the Shifting Vein…?"