Juliana, with her youthful appearand pink hair maintained her authoritative stance.

  “What did you mean by ‘Wele to Heaven’?” Kintovar inquired with unease.

  Juliana Kintovar, still in her green military suit and b coat, leaned forward. She responded, “Varta Kintovar, you have been away from me for a long time, and in your absehings have ged. Wele to this new world, this ‘Heaven,’ where we have the power and knowledge to reshape reality.”

  Kintovar’s fusion deepened. She tried hard to make sense of Juliana’s cryptic words. Juliana tinued, “But don’t be mistaken, Varta. This is a world of both creation aru. In this world, sd magic coexist, but we hold the keys to shaping our owiny. It’s a realm where we recim what was taken from us and achieve the ultimate power.”

  Juliana turned around momentarily and then spun to face Kintovar. “Tell me, Varta Kintovar, what do you believe came first: Creation or Destru?”

  Kintovar pondered for a moment before responding, “Creation came first. From creation, everything is born, aru follows wheion ceases.”

  Juliana’s lips curled into a faint smile. “A reasonable response, Varta. But what if I were to tell you that here, in this ‘Heaven,’ the boundaries betweeion aru blur? That they are two sides of the same , inseparable and interdepe. In our pursuit of power, we must prehend this fual truth.

  So, while creation may e first, to achieve our true goals, we must be prepared to embrace destru. It is the process of reshaping and remaking that which we desire. Creation aruust walk hand in hand t about our dreams.”

  Kintan to grasp the depth of Juliana’s philosophy and responded, “It’s about reshaping the world to our vision, even if it means dismantling the old order.”

  Juliana paused for a moment and then raised up one hand in the air. “Varta Kintovar, would you like to rule this world with me? To bee architects of a new age, shaping the destiny of Jancito acc to our will?”

  Kintovar sidered the proposition carefully. She was already beginning to sider what she could create under such circumstances. Her thoughts were interrupted by the high-pitched, eic Haras, seemingly bursting with enthusiasm. “Whoa there, Kintovar, are you actually sidering ruling the world now? What happeo just w on your experiments to prove teology’s p the world?”

  Juliana questioned, “And who is this bubblegum?”

  Haras suddenly ged to a serious tone. “I’m Kintovar’s b partner. But not just that, I’m her soul mate!” She tched onto Kintovar, embrag her tightly.

  Kintovar pushed her away aed, “How utterly preposterous! We are not soul mates, Haras.”

  Juliana Kintaze lingered on Haras with a touusement before she addressed Kintovar. “It seems you’ve brought an ued guest into our little discussion. This is someone who went under my radar—a minor ht, but one I’m fident won’t cause any signifit problems.”

  Juliana’s eyes shifted to Runebelle, the somber creation in the room. “Ah, Project Rune. I remember this one.”

  Kintovar eyed Juliana curiously. “How do you know my creations, Juliana? You’ve never even seen schematics for them.”

  Juliana responded. “I know more than you might think, Varta Kintovar. I know about your days as sves to Magis on the Mystical Isnd, about the three creations you desigo eliminate all the mages on that isnd. I even know how you crossed 1000 miles of o using the power of the Magical Forest, although I don’t know whose body you filled with that power. I know almost everything there is to know about you, Varta Kintovar.”

  Kintovar’s jaw dropped. “How could you possibly know all of that, Juliana?”

  Juliana pced her hands behind her back. “Your exceptional IQ level is something I couldn’t ignore. I didn’t want to miss a moment of yrowth and brilliance, so I developed a way to monitor your life closely. I created a highly advanced system that not only allowed me to observe your every move but also ensured your rapid development.

  The system I installed in you is unlike anything the world has ever seen. It is a bination of artificial intelligend magic, desigo not only enhance your natural abilities but to collect data from your experiences. It’s thanks to this system that I knew about your past, your journey.”

  Kintovar was still trying to absorb this overwhelming information, but her curiosity couldn’t be tained. “So, the system... it’s responsible for everything?”

  Juliana nodded. “Yes, Varta. This system allowed me to stay ected to your life, to ensure you were oh to greatness. You see, Varta Kintovar, the truth is... I am yrandmother.”

  Kintovar’s world seemed to spin as she processed this revetion. Her eyes widened as the pieces fell into pce. “My grandmother? You’re saying that you’re my grandmother?”

  Juliaended a warm, maternal smile. “Yes, Varta. I am Juliana Kintovar, and you are the granddaughter I’ve watched over and loved from afar. You have a legacy to uphold, and I’m here to guide you along the way.”

  “How long,” Kintovar questioned.

  Juliana’s face grew with a wide smile “From the day you were born.”

  Kintovar’s eyes were wide with amazement. “From the day I was born? That means... you’ve been watg over me my entire life, even when I was just a baby?”

  Juliana nodded with an affeate smile. “Yes, my dear. It was the very same day I found myself in jail for my ‘very damaging teology,’ as you put it. That’s when I made the decision to create this system, to ensure I wouldn’t miss a moment of your life, even if I couldn’t be there physically.”

  Kintovar stammered “I... That… raises so many questions…. What were the charges?”

  Juliana’s gave a more serious look. “I was imprisoned for my experiments and the potential threats they posed to the world. My teology had the power to reshape reality itself, and it was sidered too dangerous by the authorities. They feared I could disrupt the bance of the world, so they locked me away… those…damn…”

  Juliana’s eyes fred with hatred. “Mages…I despise them. They are nothing but parasites on this world, using their magic to trol and manipute. My own daughter, Rosebelle, became one of them, and it sis me to my core! I couldn’t stand the thought of her being one of those wretched creatures!”

  Juliana’s face darkened while she tinued. “The mages, Varta… They are the ones who sit atop this world, reveling in their power and influehey look down on everyone else, especially those who, like us, rely on sd reason. They have made it their mission to denound suppress anyone who dares challeheir supremacy.”

  Her speech grew more intehey trample over innovators, treating us like scum beh their feet. When you walked in here and saw the cages, did you notiething? None of those cages held mages. They’re never arrested or imprisoned because they’re deemed untouchable by the very system they trol.”

  Juliana’s eyes were abze with a fierce, burning anger. “It’s a btant injustice meant to empower their arrogand self-righteousness. The mages live in their ivory towers, maniputing and trolling the world as they see fit, while those like us are cast aside.”

  Kintovar’s face still held curiosity. “So, mages… they’re never held atable? They’re above the w?”

  Juliana nodded vehemently. “Exactly. They operate with impunity, exploiting their power to maintain their dominance. And in their eyes, our stific pursuits are nothing more than a threat to their precious status quo. That’s why I was imprisoned and why my work was deemed too dangerous. They couldn’t tolerate the possibility of someone like me challenging their trol.”

  Juliana and Kintovar fell silent for a moment. Kintovar took a deep breath, abs the torrent of information she had just received. To herself, Kintovar murmured, ‘I khis versation would be iing, but I never expected to uncover so much. This world, and the power dynamics within it, are far more plex than I imagihere’s so much I didn’t know.’

  Kintovar raised one hand up to the side of her face. “Juliana, you mentioned your daughter, Rosebelle. What happeo her? Why does she matter so mu all this?”

  Juliana shifted to a somber refle. “Rosebelle was my you. I had two daughters: Julia and Rosebelle. Julia was the eldest, but Rosebelle... she was always special. After a b ihat ged everything, Rosebelle went off the grid. I searched for her relentlessly, but she was missing for years.”

  Kintovar’s i was sharpening. “And then?”

  Juliana tinued. “She turned up eventually, but she was different. I discovered that a pany had brainwashed her—using her as a pawn in their schemes. I tried everything to remove the brainwashing, using my teology and teaming up with a few trusted allies to take on that pany. We succeeded in exposing their operations and dismantling their power, but the damage to Rosebelle’s mind was already done.”

  Kintovar’s eyes widened. “That sounds devastating. But how did she bee...?”

  Juliana said with bitterness, “I attempted to help Rosebelle, to restore her to her former self. Unfortunately, I trusted a mage who promised to assist us. That trust was mispced. This mage betrayed me, and Rosebelle fell deeper into darkness. The betrayal turned her into something monstrous among mages—a twisted refle of her former self.”

  Juliana’s gaze hardened. “That mage’s deception altered the course of her life and mine. Rosebelle became a symbol of the corruption I loathe. She adopted a new name, one known in the world as ‘Dark Whirlwind.’ She embraced her magical abilities with a vengeance, being a powerful mage and a feared figure in the world of magic.”

  The revetion struck Kintovar, Haras, and Runebelle like a lightning bolt. Runebelle’s face held shock. She realized that the past was far more plicated than she had ever imagined. Runebelle finally spoke up. “I’ve seen Rosebelle in my memory fragments. I know more about her than I’ve ever shared…It was before we became creations. Rosebelle was w for Shadowcroft, and she was one of many doppelgarained by the pany in order to Repce Roselle and Risebelle.”

  Kintovar turned in shock. “Wait, Rosebelle was w for ‘Shadowcroft’? And she was supposed to repce Roselle and Risebelle?”

  Runebelle nodded with sadness. “Yes, Kintovar. Rosebelle was tasked with repg both Roselle and Risebelle, taking over their lives entirely.”

  Kintovar was struggling to e to terms with the depth of the deception and dahey had been exposed to. Kintovar turo Juliana for firmation. “Is this true, Juliana? Did Rosebelle work for Shadowcroft, ahey really in danger of being repced by her?”

  Juliana nodded her head. “That sounds abht, Kintovar. I was the one who created Shadowcroft, and everything Runebelle saw in these ‘memory fragments’ are things that actually happened. I am the true boss of Shadowcroft, and the anization was my creation. You’ve uncovered a signifit piece of history, and I’m proud to share it with you.”

  Kintovar’s mind raced. She pieced together the fragments of the versation. “Wait a minute,” she interjected. “Earlier, you mentioaking on the pany of Shadowcroft, but how could you do that if you created it? Was that a lie?”

  Juliana turned somber. “No, Varta, it wasn’t a lie. I did create Shadowcroft, but I was eventually driven out of it. There was someone who rose through the ranks, someone who took over and forced both Julia a of the pany. That person was Dr. Winter.”

  Kintovar’s eyes widened with reition. “Dr. Winter? I met her retly. She had the same kind of hatred fes that you do.”

  Juliana nodded. “Yes, Dr. Winter. Her rise to power within Shadowcroft was a signifit blow to my pns. She shared my disdain fes, but her methods and ambitions diverged from mine. While I sought to use Shadowcroft to reshape the world from the shadows, she had her own vision of domination and trol. Her as plicated everything and caused even more suffering than I had intended.”

  Juliana chuckled. “But your teology is truly amazing, Varta. The fact that Runebelle even have access to that memory shows just how powerful your creation truly is. Having creations with their own souls is a powerful teology in itself. From that memory, I dedue thing: Runebelle and I must have crossed paths in the past. It’s the only logical expnation for her presen a memory from before you created her.”

  Kintovar could only nod in agreement. Juliana’s gaze shifted to Runebelle, who had remained mostly silent during the versation. She looked at her with a knowingly. “Now, Runebelle, I have a question for you. Is your soul actually one of the three pos of the fusion known as ‘Sadie’? ”