The days slowly turned into weeks, and Lia was back with her Mother, sparring with her multiple times, using the occasions to further her understanding of the elements, especially Reyra's two main ones, light and darkness. Previously, whenever she saw her cast spells, she never had any understanding of them, but right now, she was gaining more from their spars than she first expected. 

"Let's stop it here!" Reyra laughed, wiping her forehead after a clash of light and darkness, making her daughter pout.

"Tsk... I could still go on, Mom! I was on the cusp of grasping something important!"

"I am sorry, my dear... but I feel exhausted. I am still not what I used to be!" Reyra said with a sad smile, looking apologetically at her daughter. 

"S-sorry! Um, then this is it for today!" Lia nodded immediately, flying close to her, hugging her Mother, preventing her from noticing the cold light flashing through her mismatched eyes. 

She knew perfectly well that it was intentional on Paman's side. She also realized Lia was using her to hone her skills and grow stronger at a rapid pace, so much so that it made Paman fear and envy her. Of course, she would never acknowledge it, not even to herself. 

"Weak. Whore. You are being pushed back by my daughter, who is only in the 7th Tier! How pathetic!"

"I would have already crushed her if not for being forced to maintain the facade!" Paman answered coolly in her head while the duo began flying back towards the castle.

"Yeah, like I would let you do it!"

"How's school?" Paman asked, trying to avoid another argument with the real Reyra, especially when Lia was next to her.

"Everything is fine, although I will be going back for the next week or two. It is close to the halfway point of the semester, and there will be competitions. I am going to judge some of them personally, so I won't be visiting."

"Good." Paman blurted out subconsciously, making Lia raise an eyebrow. "You have responsibilities now!" She added, playing it off quickly, ignoring the mocking laughter of Reyra in the back of her mind. 

"That I do. Sometimes..." She chuckled, glancing at her sideways, "I feel like you are not yourself." Seeing her Mother flinch a little further, she widened her smile and continued 'teasing' Paman, "As if you are just acting to be back. To be normal. You know, you should take it more leisurely, Mother!"

"Who is the one who always drags me away to practice?" She asked, trying to act pouty and as if she was joking.

"That is simply physical exercise! It helps the body! I am speaking about your mind, your soul! I learned a lot about it, you know!"

"..."

"I didn't want to bring my death up, sorry... It had to be... bad."

"Mmh." Paman nodded, but she was not silent because of that. The memory was there, and she could feel Reyra's dark and painful feelings from that day, but she was more worried about what Lia had just said. The girl next to her did travel to the Soulbound Sect. With Erias, she was the second most dangerous person who could uncover her true identity. She had to die...

"This is why I say you need to relax! After our Ancestors, I am the best expert when it comes to souls! Keep on fighting, Mom!" Lia laughed, stopping, holding her Mother's hands, squeezing her fingers, and looking deeply into her eyes with an honest and gentle smile, "You don't need to hide the pain, and if you don't feel well! I see through it and know it all! Mom... Listen to me! You will return to yourself soon enough!"

Paman was so confused and troubled at that moment that she failed to notice two things. One was that her eyes began watering and tears rolling down her cheeks, while the other was that Reyra remained silent throughout the whole lecture. The daughter and Mother finally made contact at that moment, and Lia also understood it. The only one who remained in the dark was Paman herself.

"Come on!" Lia giggled, helping to wipe her tears and hugging Reyra, pulling her away, "Let's go home! We can relax and spend the day just doing nothing! After I leave, it will be much later for me to be able to come and visit again...

...

....

......

"You really think she heard you?" When Lia returned to the Academy, Lucian asked her, scratching his chin when Lia told him everything she had noticed. 

"I am pretty sure! The reaction of her body and her tone were utterly different. My Mother is in there, well and alive!"

"Now we just need to wait for that dog to tell us how to separate them, and we can save Reyra!"

"We don't need that either! My Mom is a tough cookie; we just need to give her the chance to trump that old bastard! Did Camyu send any names yet?"

"A handful, yes." He nodded, detailing how they secretly navigated to capture those individuals, eliminating them silently. "Most of them are still weak, so they can't really put up a fight. In all honesty, they don't resist at first, keeping up the facade, only attacking when they realize the jig is up. Our biggest fear is that they send back a message or warn the others."

"That is up to Camyu to deal with! We catch them, simple as that! So far, it seems Paman has no contact with the others, which is good... How many of them are still alive?"

"Four. The rest were going all out, so they were killed. I was thinking of not sending the dragons to deal with them as they never brought back one alive."

"They hate the ancient sects, so it is understandable!" Lia smiled, hearing his complaints, "Where are the surviving ones? I want to meet with them!"

"With the fairies. Cael is there with Melody, trying to persuade them."

"Very good! My disciple is doing work without me nudging him? This is exactly what I was hoping for!"

"You will really take him as your student?"

"Why?" She grinned, standing up from her chair, going before Lucian with a cheeky smile, "You are feeling young to be a grandfather? OWIE!"

"You will get another flick if you continue." Lucian couldn't help but smile, watching her rub the reddening forehead he just flicked mercilessly. "I don't mind, but I will keep an eye on him for you."

"Me too!" Answered Hajna, chiming in.

"Ah, that reminds me, Hajna!" Lia flinched, looking at her bracelet, "Did Erias send word yet?"

"Nothing. I lost contact with them a week ago, but I wouldn't worry about it."

"I don't. Haaaah, okay! Until they are back, let's go and meet with those prisoners!"

...

....

......

The faeries' village changed a lot in the past weeks as, with Albert's help, a proper jail was set up to house the captured Golden Claw cultivators. The little troublemakers were in their element, now wearing 'official' uniforms, acting as guards, making sure the prisoners were kept in their cells. They sometimes even imprisoned one another, saying they were acting suspiciously... Melody had never felt so frustrated before as she was tasked with keeping them in line and preventing the other faeries from initiating a prison riot against themselves.

Of course, the greatest determent from escaping was the three dragons who were also guarding the area, watching for the slightest sign of them wanting to break out. In their eyes, there was no mercy. Try it and die was their motto. 

"I won't become a traitor to the Sect." Echoed a calm female voice, sitting in a cell with nothing but a lone bed and a bucket. 

"The Sect is on the wrong path, Ruri; please listen to me!" Cael pleaded with her, sitting at the other side of the bars, keeping her caged. 

The girl in question looked to be in her late teen years, with long, braided brown hair and eyes, an heir to a relatively large empire, previously serving the House of Nerifits. Her family didn't even notice her missing as she was en route to the House of Ro, still having weeks left of her supposed journey. 

"I told you, I won't betray our Sect! You were an Elder like me! Have you already forgotten the core tenets? That the Sect is above all else? The fact that the benefits of the Sect override the needs of the individual?! Only when the Sect is strong can we prosper!" 

"Really? Then, was the war initiated for the benefit of the Sect? That we played all the other parties, masquerading as the hidden hand behind the curtains?! We lost all the realms we controlled and almost destroyed Meriath itself! Where are the benefits you are talking about?!"

"..."

"It is nothing but a big illusion! The only ones who ever benefitted from everything were the Sect Masters and their immediate entourage! Even they mostly died in the war..."

"They saved us from certain death! The Immortals were killing us without mercy! Any delegation we sent out was massacred!"

"You mean spies. We sent spies."

"We sent loyal disciples." She countered, making Cael shrug his shoulders.

"We were forced into a decision that came from the machinations of our leaders. We either picked death or went with the plan to reincarnate. Didn't you see the world now? Didn't you learn what happened to Meriath while we were slumbering in the Sea of Souls?"

"I did. So?"

"The world has changed a lot, and it survived without us. The only dangers they faced were the Soulbound Sect."

"And?" Ruri snorted, finally standing up, walking to the bars, and grabbing them, "You want to say we are the same as those evil bastards?! We are here to save Meriath from the Immortals! Only we know what they are capable of!"

"They will purge Meriath because of us!" Cael answered, not backing down, standing up and looking into her eyes. "I chose Meriath over the Sect! If the Sect is above the individual, then our own home is above the Sect!"

"Because of us? Hah! They won't be able to do it because of US!"

"No." Cael said, shaking his head, "As we were losing control of our other realms, they never massacred the people in them. They were always clear in their goals. We stepped over a line, and they were coming for us."

"You sound like more than a traitor now! You are excusing the enemy! You have fallen far, Elder Kith!"

"I just can see things for what they are. When someone makes a mistake, it is better to own up to it than pretend it was others' fault."

"A trait that many of your comrades seem to lack." Echoed Lia's voice as she appeared, interrupting their conversation. Ruri quickly scanned her appearance, failing to get a proper reading of her strength. 

"Your face looks familiar. That hair... eyes... you are Lia Amarin, yes? Are you here to kill me?"

"No, I am here to talk with you." She answered with a smile, nodding at Cael, who greeted her with a respectful bow.

"We have nothing to talk about." Ruri was about to ignore her, turning around to walk back to her bed, when Lia's following words made her freeze.

"Your Sect is already falling apart. Camyu had contacted me, and we struck a deal. She also realized that your 'golden' days were over, and to save her 'claws,' the infected one needed to be chopped off. Why do you think we know who needs capturing?"

"You are lying!" She whirled around, heaving heavily, but Lia just smiled, looking into her eyes.

"I have spent the last month with your Sect Master, occupying my Mother's body. Tell me if I am lying or not..."

"..."

"Your side has lost, Ruri, from the Golden Claw Sect. The question is, how badly?"

"You want me to become a traitor, too?"

"No. I want you to become free." 

"By placing me in a cell?!" She laughed sarcastically, opening her hands wide. "How noble!"

"I visited the Soulbound Sect and was there when their master died. I also saw your home and met with Camyu and Swimmy personally. The latter died at my hands!" It was clearly shocking news, making Ruri a shade paler, "Your leaders are placing restrictions on your minds and souls. Seeing how different you are from Cael, I suppose you have one on yourself, too."

"Lies." She said, but her voice was less powerful this time and filled with her hidden, underlying doubts.

"I didn't say it was a hundred percent truth. I just think I am right. As I said before! I am here to talk. We can do it here, or, if you are willing to listen, come with me to my Academy as a guest. Let us exchange ideas."

"And if I say no?"

"Then I will have you stay here until things get resolved."

"So it is either a fake freedom or imprisonment... what a choice!"

"You are already living in a fake freedom, Ruri." Cael said, standing behind Lia, speaking as honestly as possible, "All your decisions are made for the Sect and not for yourself! Give your mind a chance to finally do something for your own benefit! I know you grew up here! We have experienced a rebirth and now have a family! Just compare this live with our previous one, and you will see!"

"The Sect-" She started, but her weak voice was already interrupted by Lia.

"One can work for the benefit of their family and still aim for their own happiness. A real clan wouldn't ask you to sacrifice your own well-being for them. Come with me, and let us talk as humans... I ask nothing more than just to listen to me and let me show you Meriath as it is now and not how you remember it!"

Ruri stood there, looking at the two for a long time before her head slowly and weakly produced a nod. She didn't know what would happen in the future, but at that moment, tiny sprouts of doubts she thought she purged after reincarnation were beginning to take their root again.