Strongest Among the Heavens-Chapter 530: Kneading

Daughter kneaded his shoulders. Poured the cold, dreadful Kundalini in him, which merged wonderfully into Dasha Pang. His gi and cloak were off. Direct palm to nape contact.

As he mentioned, her powers were very compatible with his.

Dasha decided to pose a question: "I killed a god, yet I did not receive a God Killer Class."

Daughter hummed. "God Killer? Of course there isn’t. Seven War Classes and nearly a hundred other smaller classes, yet none of them pertain to divinity. None of them allow rebellion against divinity. It makes sense, no? The System can only make you so strong."

"So the Kingslayer was not granted such a class."

"No, not even him."

’Only makes you so strong,’ he repeated in his head, ’you speak like you once possessed the System yourself, not as an outsider.’

The tinge of familiarity: it indicated one conclusion. Once upon a time, Daughter was a player.

"You’re Egyptian," Dasha stated. "This castle must feel right at home."

Daughter laughed. "Too obvious? Yes, admittedly, yes. It does feel like home. The architecture and the smell...hah. It feels great."

’A woman who has lived as long as her probably doesn’t understand the significance of her own words. Mehen is a god of Old Egypt, when humans were young and Egypt had been sparsely unified. By the era of Cleopatra and Caesar two thousand years after, Egyptianologists had begun to walk the deserts. Ancient Egypt is so old that Ancient Egypt studied even older Ancient Egypt.’

2000 BCE or further back, Daughter must have emerged from then for her to be so taken with Mehen’s castle. He didn’t need her verbal confirmation, the moment he saw her hum and smile, he understood she was close to this era. Her reply was icing on the cake.

Her Kundalini seeped into him. Dasha took it for himself, chewing it up and making it his own. More than that, he was understanding it. His eyes flickered gold. His eyes saw memories that were not his own. Im his Territory, with his power now his, he saw it all. He understood it all.

Within Qi were memories. Within Qi was a signature. Mehen the god never met Daughter. Mehen, however, did meet the god whose energy was suspiciously similar to hers.

He saw a snake. He saw darkness. He saw a flicker of hell.

He figured it out as he returned to reality—what Daughter was. Who she was the Daughter of.

’Thank you, Mehen, for the small memories you’ve left behind. I have solved the mystery of a woman who holds mysteries itself.’

"You should go. You have to take the giant’s corpse through your true form, don’t you?"

Daughter’s smile waned. "...what."

She heard what he said. He didn’t explain himself. However, the same way he was able to gain insight into her, she was able to see into him. She saw the same memories. She saw that there was a connection. Her palm pressed deeper into his nape.

Dasha did not look back.

A horror of a woman was behind him. A monstrosity with no equal.

"JuSt hoW mUcH dO yOu KnOw AbOuT ME, GREAT SIN?"

Dasha did not look back. He could not for behind him was a manifestation of darkness.

He responded with honesty. "I saw the symbols. I know of you, the Whispers, and...the Liberator."

"What. Do. You. Know?"

"You shouldn’t let your power seep out too much, Daughter. This Territory cannot contain it."

"..."

How? How, how, how?

How did he figure it all out?

It was the same question every politician asked on Earth. How? Just how? Simply seeing wasn’t enough. Simply feeling wasn’t enough. Simply knowing what vague era she was from wasn’t enough.

The answer was the same.

Cold, hard logic.

Deduction.

Understanding of history, people, and what they did on a daily basis. Understanding that she was ancient, taught by Sekhmet, wielding her energy in its truest form, and therefore not of Dasha’s era or the medieval eras.

The Heavenly Games began in the Post-Classical Era, specifically in the High Middle Ages. Daughter came from way, way before that, yet somehow, she was a player. Dasha had a general idea of why and how. Daughter dropped too many hints. In her view, she thought she was keeping an arm’s length from him. She was careful enough. To Dasha, every tiny twitch meant something. Every response and answer was shelved in his mind.

"I kiss," Dasha said, "I do not tell. Do not worry, your future will go as He wills."

"Hm. Ha. Hehe. This is the first time I’ve considered killing you. You are much more powerful and dangerous than I could have thought possible, Sinner. Ah, but this is what the Witch warned me about. With Sin, you do not know it latches onto you until it is too late, and by then, you are already corrupted."

The darkness receded, although the Kundalini did not. Dasha closed his eyes, the wounds of his soul healing and not bothering with a question.

Time passed. Once he was healed, in silence, Daughter left.

Dasha sat on the bed, knee raised and his gi on and untied. Xavier appeared in the room a second too fast for Dasha.

"Xavier."

"Great Sin."

"The Underground has a way of swallowing those who think they can tame it. That is what you told me."

"..."

"You realize it, do you not? I am the Solution."

Xavier did respond to his proclamation. "What do you plan to do with those kids?"

"Daughter mentioned running a daycare for hostages."

"Are you making a joke?"

"Do I look like I’m making a joke?"

"...the Whispers aren’t a daycare center."

"They are now. Daughter will see to it."

Xavier’s hat had never been set this low. It felt—no, it definitely got longer. Even Xavier’s aura had changed. "She has been becoming more and more ambitious because of you. First the Monster Hunters, then the Underground, and now the assassin...I presume it was your idea to send the Omen to kill Jack the Ripper?"

"You know as well as I do that is not the case. Daughter planned to assassinate the real Jack from the start. Another one of the Whispers must have been tracking him from the very beginning."

Dasha had been hoping to locate Jack, find the Whisper, and gain further information. Maybe negotiate with Jack the Ripper and collude with him, assuming he was a man of reason. Alas, it seemed Daughter had her own plans in mind. He would respect them.

"Hm." Xavier let out a frustrated breath.

"Tell me, would you prefer to serve the real Jack?"

"Compared to you? Yes. However...Daughter has made it clear this has been the plan all along. I was...simply not informed of it."

"You will do your duty then?"

"If I must."

Look at that hold she had on them. Dasha had to admire Daughter. To be able to have a man this capable and this against her and still follow her every whim, it was rare. Truly rare. Dasha could never read Xavier’s emotions or intentions up until now. Now, he could see the dedication he had toward the Whispers and his unwillingness not to listen. It was almost like the concept of disobedience did not exist.