The Violet wasp had obviously laid countless eggs in her life, since populating the hive was one of her most important responsibilities. Naturally, she had to be quite experienced at this – at the very least, there was no doubt in Percy’s mind that producing a Starry Breeder’s egg was downright effortless for the Queen.

  Giving birth to a new descendant, however, was clearly as far from effortless as anything could be…

  Through their connection, he felt the strain on her soul, her entire body convulsing. The colourful dots on her exoskeleton shone brighter than ever before, as even her core went above and beyond, pumping so much beast mana into her circulatory system that Percy thought for a second that she was going to activate a boosting art by mistake. Flashes of golden light travelled across the watermarks and toward her abdomen, converging – along with the mana – at the hole right beneath her stinger.

  Just when Percy was starting to question whether she’d lost the ability to even produce the eggs, the Queen pushed herself one final time, causing the markings and her channels to flare with unprecedented power. This lasted for just the briefest of instants, a tiny sphere soon popping out of the hole and into the crater on the ground with a wet squelch.

  Percy’s features couldn’t help but twist into a grimace as he fought to suppress his disgust. Between him and Micky, they’d accumulated three lives’ worth of memories, yet the universe apparently still held some rather nasty surprises for them.

  Pushing the distracting thoughts aside, he focused his multifaceted vision onto the egg, desperately searching for signs of life.

  “Nothing,” he spat through gritted teeth upon failing to spot the slightest trace of silver inside the round object. He would have clenched his fist in frustration if he wasn’t worried about crushing the fragile pyramid still floating inside his palm.

  Either way, this didn’t bode well.

  If even a fresh egg was completely inert, Percy wouldn’t be able to help the Queen. Still, he’d promised her to try a couple of times, so he wasn’t going to quit after the first setback. Turning his attention back to the Violet creature, he noticed that her soul and markings had dimmed once more. Clearly, producing the tiny egg had taken a lot out of her.

  ‘I’m sorry… the first one is a failure,’ Micky told her, feeling a pit form in his crystalline stomach as he sensed her despair. She remained silent, however, commanding her subjects to refill the larger hole with nectar.

  Knowing that she was going to need longer to recover a second time, Percy drained the humming orb of most of its mana. He had to reduce its internal pressure, as it was starting to accelerate the pyramid’s decay. The structure couldn’t possibly survive for several hours with the wisp filled to the brim with mana, and Percy didn’t want to risk moving it into and out of his body again.

  Standing motionless over the pit, he waited patiently for the Queen to prepare herself. This time, she took about four hours, and Percy could tell that she hadn’t even recovered fully. Evidently, forcing her to lay multiple royal eggs in quick succession wasn’t the most optimal way to do this, but the pyramid’s deterioration didn’t afford them the luxury of delaying.

  Unfortunately, a similar situation repeated itself shortly afterwards.

  The sight of another dead egg popping out of the Queen’s body caused Percy’s heart to sink and his fleeting hope to evaporate. After two failures and paying such a hefty price for her efforts, the odds of the Violet beast succeeding the next time had to be even lower. She probably understood this too, but Percy was going to give her one last chance if she insisted.

  Preparing for the third attempt took the Queen close to six hours. Leaving Percy’s wishes aside, it was clear by her appearance that this was going to be their final shot. Trying a fourth time wouldn’t just be ineffective – it might be dangerous. Her soul was flaring erratically as her core’s brightness fluctuated, and this was before she’d even started.

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  ‘Your Majesty… no matter what happens, I won’t allow you to try again,’ Percy said. The last thing he wanted to do was to discourage the creature, but he knew it was time to douse her with a dose of reality. Unless he adopted a hard stance early on, the wasp might insist on self-harm.

  Nodding dejectedly, the Queen began the process once more. This time, Percy could sense her anguish as she squeezed every drop of mana out of her thorax and into her abdomen. The violent flow of energy caused her channels to swell and burst, ravaging several organs in its path. Her carapace cracked in many spots, green blood oozing out of the holes as the golden patterns on her exoskeleton nearly turned white.

  This was it – the Queen was clearly determined to pour everything into this egg – no matter the cost.

  Watching her, Percy was tempted to stop her, afraid that she was going to kill herself. Gritting his teeth, he allowed her to continue against his better judgement, however. Whatever gamble she was taking, this was ultimately a leader’s responsibility – to do everything necessary to give their subjects a future.

  In a way, the Queen’s determination reminded Percy of Nephthys’s sacrifices. Even now, her dormant wisp continued to protect the Amenthei, refusing to let go. This only reinforced Percy’s view that the Starry Princess was the perfect match for the goddess’s soul.

  ‘Assuming this works…’ he thought, swallowing hard. ‘Otherwise… they both lose. And so do I, as well as all of Remior…’

  Percy watched with bated breath as the third and final egg emerged out of the Queen’s body. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the small object plunged into the pool of healing fluid with a soft ‘plop’, slowly sinking to the bottom. Percy’s gaze remained glued to the sphere. Ignoring the layer of Orange mana inhibiting his Mana Sense, he focused entirely on his Soul Vision.

  Just as he feared that this was going to be another dud, he spotted – to his unimaginable elation – the faintest spark of silver, rapidly dimming inside the egg. Traces of life mana were trying to seep into the object in an attempt to preserve the weak life housed within, though it was clearly a losing battle.

  Unwilling to waste the precious chance that the Queen had so bravely created, Percy activated his bloodline, allowing the ghostly claw to enter the grey orb attached to his head. The claw twisted the wisp, causing the pyramid to shatter into half a dozen pieces. Percy’s soul mixed violently with Nephthys’s, as well as the countless silver dots glinting inside it.

  Naturally, Percy had no idea whether any of them would survive the process. Even if the goddess did, he wasn’t even sure what she had expected to happen to the dying mortals. Each of them was in a far worse state that Micky had been in, so the best-case scenario would be for them to merge with her, becoming a part of the emerging familiar. It was far from a promising fate, but Percy knew that this was the best Nephthys could have done for her people under the circumstances.

  A loud snapping sound echoed through his soul as the claw tore the wisp off. Percy managed to lean over the pit just in time to aim his forehead toward the egg, watching the grey comet shoot into it in an instant.

  The shock of his severed soul no longer affected him as much as it used to, so he was able to retain his senses to observe the process. The wisp entered the egg successfully, wrapping itself tightly around the fading spark.

  ‘So far, so good…’ Percy thought, exhaling in relief.

  Obviously, this was just the start of Nephthys’s battle, but they’d already overcome many of the most serious hurdles.

  Unlike its siblings, this egg had definitely come out possessing a soul, and it had to still be alive in there, otherwise the others would have had nothing to latch on. On top of that, Percy knew how malleable newborn souls were, so the spark had likely already began fusing with the rest, gluing Nephthys’s and Percy’s souls together in the process.

  Still, it was difficult to tell with certainty what was happening in there. The bundle of souls rolled violently inside the orb, its components twisting one another into the world’s ugliest yarn ball. Whether it would stabilize in the end into something capable of hatching remained to be seen.

  ‘What happened? Did this go any better?’ the Queen’s voice rang through the elemental body. It was soft like a whisper, betraying her pain and exhaustion, though an unmistakable hint of hope bled through her words for the first time in several hours. Not that Percy could blame her.

  ‘Well, Your Majesty… the two of us have already done everything we could,’ Percy replied, plopping down weakly. ‘The rest is up to her...’

  No matter what, Percy had no regrets. He’d already warned both the Starry Queen and Nephthys of the risks, and they’d agreed to go through with this regardless. On top of that, he’d managed to do everything he’d promised, bringing everyone to a single step before the very end.

  Still, tossing another glance at the battle of silver, crimson and grey raging on inside the tiny egg, he couldn’t help but pray silently to the Amenthei goddess for her success. The fate of not just one, but two worlds was counting on her…

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