My kind? The words stung, not because they were untrue, but because they were far too close to the truth for comfort.
"And what kind is that?" I asked lightly, though the edge in my voice betrayed my rising irritation.
"Opportunists," she spat, her disdain palpable. "Those who will say or do anything to achieve their goals. I've t countless mortals and fae alike who play the sa tired ga you're attempting now. They dress their ambitions in noble rhetoric, masking their true intentions behind carefully constructed facades."
"I—" I began, but she cut off with a raised hand.
"Let finish," she snapped, her voice cold and commanding. "Do you know what I despise most about creatures like you?
"It's not your ambition or even your cunning. It's your complete lack of a moral foundation. You mold your principles to fit whatever situation benefits you most, discarding them the mont they beco inconvenient."
Her words struck with the precision of a well-aid arrow, each one lodging itself deeper than the last. I forced myself to maintain my composure, even as her accusations began to chip away at the mask I wore so carefully.
"Viviane," I said, my tone calm but firm, "You're making quite the assumption about my character."
"Am I?" she retorted, arching a brow. "Tell , Narcissus, how many tis have you justified morally questionable actions in the na of progress? How often have you silenced that faint voice of conscience, convincing yourself that the ends will always justify the ans?"
Her words were a mirror, reflecting aspects of myself I preferred not to acknowledge. I felt the weight of her gaze, pressing against the taphorical armor I wore like a second skin.
Of course, I'm not usually the person who gets easily flustered. I'm not even showing a single hint of it right now, but I couldn't deny that every word she threw at was closer to the truth than what I expected.
It didn't change the fact that these masks I created were my thod of survival.
Especially when I was still a man with the na of Lothair.
"I do what's necessary," I replied, my voice quieter now, "For the sake of my bastion's stability. For the people who depend on ."
"Is that what you tell yourself at night?" she sneered. "That every deceit, every manipulation, every moral compromise is for the greater good?"
Her words hung in the air, each one heavy with accusation.
"You speak of morality," I said, sharpening my voice, "as though it's so universal constant. But the truth is, morality is subjective. What you see as compromise, I see as adaptation. Survival requires flexibility, not rigid adherence to so arbitrary code.
"Don't you already know that after eting with a lot of people in your line as the Lady of the Lake? I think you're pointing your sharp words at the wrong person here."
Viviane's laugh was cold and humorless. "Spoken like a true opportunist. Do you even hear yourself? You're so caught up in your own justifications that you've lost sight of what it ans to stand for sothing, let alone taking my words to its earnest."
Again, her words stung more than I cared to admit, even though her presentation would be on the Kuzunoha's level of annoyance—there was still a hint of wisdom that I could digest for the betternt of myself.
Still, it was true that I had always prided myself on my adaptability, my ability to navigate the complexities of life with wit and cunning preparation.
But Viviane's disdainful gaze made feel exposed, as though she had stripped away every carefully constructed layer of my persona—just to show how disdainful she was towards soone of kind.
Was there a certain incident that made her feel that way? Or was that just part of fae's insufferable tendency when it cos to their way of communication?
I felt a great sense of intrigue, now that I tried to dissect her actions. And at so point, I could feel a hint of care in those words, a hostile one at that.
"You wear your taphors well, Narcissus," she said, her tone cutting. "A mask here, a smile there. To you, the world is nothing but a stage, and everyone else is rely an audience to your performance.
"But let tell you sothing—there is nothing more pathetic than living your life as an actor, constantly playing a part to achieve your desired outco."
Ah, I wanted to argue, to defend myself, but the weight of her accusations left montarily speechless.
Not to ntion, arguing back to a hard headed person like her would just make the tensity between us worse.
Not to ntion, it definitely felt like I was being scolded by my own elder, despite her hostile language.
Though, it still didn't diminish an ounce of my urge to make her part of my bastion.
"You think you're clever," she continued, her voice growing softer but no less cutting. "You think you can outmaneuver anyone and anything with your sches and half-truths. But in the end, you're only deceiving yourself.
"You're still so young, Narcissus. You have much to learn about the world—and about what it truly ans to acquire a worthy ally."
The silence that followed was deafening.
AAAAA-
Replying now would just make things more awkward.
"You're not ready," she said finally, her voice gentler now. "Not for , not for what you seek. Co back when you've learned that there is more to leadership than manipulation and ambition."
With that, she turned away, the water rippling around her as she moved. "Leave, Narcissus. The Ordeal of the Dusk approaches, and I have no desire to see what becos of you when the mask finally slips."
The words Viviane left with—the sting of her disdain, the outright dismissal of my worth—should have been enough to end the conversation.
But of course, nothing is ever that simple when you're Narcissus, one destined to solve the world's problems, one improbable calamity at a ti.
When she turned and began to sink into the shimring lake, I decided, with everything calculated in my head, that this was not how the day would end.
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Without a hesitation, I jumped in after her.
The water was colder than I expected, and as my boots hit the lakebed, I found myself wondering if this decision might have been a tad rash.
But there was no turning back now. Viviane, the indomitable Lady of the Lake, was descending deeper, her form becoming a silhouette against the dim light filtering through the water.
"Viviane!" I yelled, though the sound was muffled in the liquid embrace. "I'm not done talking to you!"
I kicked off the lakebed, swimming furiously toward her. My own personal Skypiercer strapped to my back didn't help with the drag, and honestly, the idea of trying to negotiate with soone while subrged probably wasn't my finest tactical move.
Viviane turned her head slightly, her orange eyes catching the faint glow of the water around her. Even underwater, her expression was one of pure disbelief.
"What are you doing?" Her voice echoed faintly in my mind, carried by a psionic thread I didn't even know she had cast. "Are you seriously chasing down here? Have you no sense of dignity?"
"Dignity is overrated!" I ntally shot back, closing the distance between us. "And you're not walking—or swimming—away from this!"
I reached out, my hand catching her wrist just as she moved to glide further into the depths. She twisted around, her free hand lashing out in a swift motion that sent a ripple of energy surging toward .
"Release !" she demanded, her voice sharp even through the ntal connection.
"No!" I shouted back, feeling the force of her magic push against like a physical wall. "You don't get to just drop so existential sermon and then disappear! I'm trying to help you by offering good things!"
This was much more fun than I expected, especially since I'm dealing with a feisty fish that was basically screaming for to catch her and bring her to my humble bastion.
Her lips curled into a snarl, and before I could react, the water around us surged with power.
A glowing vortex ford beneath her, sending a spiraling column of force upward that knocked back several ters.
"I don't need your help!" Viviane roared, her magic carrying her voice like a bell tolling through the lake. "You're insufferable, Narcissus!"
I caught myself, my grip finding a jagged rock to steady myself against. "You're not the first to say that!" I replied, pushing forward again. "But guess what? That doesn't stop from getting things done!"
Viviane's hands moved gracefully, almost lazily, and I felt the lake respond to her gestures. The water turned against , currents swirling and battering my body as if the lake itself had decided to expel .
Before I could be swept away entirely, a flash of purple light split through the water above us.
Kuzunoha and Verina descended gracefully, their presence imdiately tilting the balance of power.
"Narcissus, you really do know how to attract chaos," Kuzunoha remarked dryly, her scarlet eyes gleaming with amusent. She floated effortlessly just above the surface of the water, her ornate parasol in one hand and an expression of detached bemusent on her face.
"Viviane of the Ordinary Lake!" Verina called, her voice amplified by an arcane spell. "Care for a real confrontation, or are you going to keep bullying our feeble and adorable leader of questionable sanity?"
Viviane shot a glare upward, her lips tightening. "This has nothing to do with you!"
"Oh, but it does now," Verina replied with a rare eerie smile, the kind that would make most people rethink their life choices, especially from soone whose expression was dead most of the ti. "Narcissus is ours to bully, thank you very much. And if you're not going to listen to her, then I'll happily take over this conversation—with force."
That was the reason you're going to use here!?
Viviane's scowl deepened. "You think your crude sorcery can match with my magic? Foolish mortal kin."
"Mortals, fae, or otherwise," Verina said, drawing a nurous spellblade from the air with a flourish or arcane sorcery. With the glowing barrel of her musket pointed forward, her Black Wheels spun with grotesque speed, bending the psionic fire it was covered with into a terrifying arc. "Magic is magic. And I happen to be quite good at it."
Before I could protest, Verina darted forward, flicking her musket into the sky and shot sothing radiant high above. anwhile, her conjured arcane blades were slicing through the water with unnerving precision.
Viviane's hands moved in a blur, conjuring a shimring shield of light that deflected the attack with a resounding crash that echoed through the lake. As if that wasn't enough, nurous white projectiles began showering the entire lake from the afternoon sky of Carcosa.
I surfaced, coughing and spluttering as Kuzunoha hovered gracefully above on a conjured platform of shimring arcane threads.
"You could have warned before pulling your dramatic rescue act," I grumbled, clambering onto the arcane platform my secretary conjured.
"And ruin the spectacle?" Kuzunoha replied with a smirk. "I think not. Besides, you're quite adept at throwing yourself into hopeless situations and then winning sothing out of it. It's almost inspiring."
"Almost?"
"I wouldn't want to inflate your ego."
I rolled my eyes but quickly turned my attention to the ongoing battle. Viviane and Verina clashed in a srizing display of power, the lake glowing with the force of their magic, and then there was Verina, who attempted to suppress the whole lake with the barrage of her spellcasting prowess.
It was as if Verina knew from the start, that she was supposed to be fighting the entire lake, and not just Viviane alone.
"Kuzunoha," I said, my voice dropping to a more serious tone, "What exactly is Viviane doing? Her magic, her spells—it feels… different."
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