Chapter 410: The Mistress (1st Bonus)
Her grin widened. "In fact...you’ve only been called to a greater purpose than any ordinary mortal."
-
In between, Hayley leaned slightly towards Ethan before whispering into his ear. "Is she...alright?"
Ethan sighed quietly before whispering back. "Yeah. It’s Bella...but not her at the same time." He glanced towards the grinning Dark Bella. "Think of her as...another side of Isabella."
Hayley had an intrigued look on her face. "Ooh."
-
Bettie, however, looked completely confused but went on to ask cautiously, "What...purpose?"
Alter-Bella dramatically stretched both arms outward as though presenting herself to an audience. "Me. I am your purpose... You shall be devoting yourself in glorious service of me."
"Oh dear...oh dear." Ethan sighed as he raised his palm over his face. He then stood and immediately stepped between the two women.
"Sorry about this." He said to Bettie before turning his back towards her.
Now facing Dark Bella, Ethan simply stared without saying a word. Instead, he tilted his head slightly while giving her a pointed look that very clearly translated into: ’What the hell are you doing?’
Dark Bella looked back at him for a second before rolling her eyes in exaggerated annoyance. "Oh, relax."
Ethan gave her one last look before stepping aside again, silently allowing her to continue
Dark Bella sighed, before looking back towards Bettie. "What you’re experiencing is perfectly normal." She said. "It’s what happens after someone becomes a Blessed."
She pointed a finger towards herself. "My Blessed."
Bettie’s eyes widened. She was very knowledgeable and knew exactly what that word meant.
Everyone present did, which only made the revelation all the more shocking.
"What...?" Bettie asked calmly. "Blessed?"
She hesitated before asking the next question. "If that’s the case...does that make you a deity?"
Dark Bella’s amusement suddenly disappeared after hearing the question. As though it had only reminded of a hurting feeling. "I grow vexed claiming that title while I possess only a fraction of the power befitting it."
She shrugged lightly. "But yes, you may revere me as such."
Bettie’s eyes widened even further.
Hayley looked just as surprised.
Ethan, however, was considerably calmer. He had already begun suspecting something along those lines.
Their battle against Dark Nova had only reinforced that suspicion. From Alter Bella’s knowledge of Atia—one of Norman’s Matrons—to her ability to devise a method capable of obscuring Norman’s existence from the deities empowering him, there had already been signs that she understood things no ordinary being should have.
However, this was the first time Alter Bella had openly acknowledged what she truly was.
Bettie was silent for a few seconds, trying to reconcile everything she had just heard. Then, she slowly rose to her feet, still looking thoroughly confused.
"Okay..." She said began. "This is all really complicated...and confusing. But..."
She looked directly at Dark Bella. "Can I ask you to undo all of this? Please."
Dark Bella’s expression softened. "Oh, no, honey. Unfortunately, I can’t. At least...not in my current state."
Bettie gained a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"
"The one to blame isn’t exactly me." Dark Bella replied before shrugging. "Well...it is me, but not this me. The other me chose to save your life."
"And in doing so...she made me become my blessed"
"But I never asked for any of this." Bettie said.
"I know." Alter Bella nodded. "But that’s how it works. Whenever my power directly takes root within another being...that person becomes one of my Blessed."
Bettie lowered her gaze, trying to process what she had just heard.
Dark Bella continued, "And even if I wanted to help you..." She sighed. "Like I said, I can’t undo it."
"Not yet atleast. I would first need to recover the entirety of my original power."
She looked at her own hand before slowly clenching it.
"Only then would I be able to undo what has been done."
The thing was, this had always been one of the defining characteristics of the Mistress of the Endless Dark herself.
Since ancient times, whenever someone reached out to the Mistress to invoke her power, seek her aid, or call upon her in any capacity, this ultimately ended as the outcome.
If the Mistress chose to answer and come to aid, that individual would, by that very answer, come beneath her.
It was the kind of deity the Mistress was. To be acknowledged by her was, in itself, to become one who belonged to her.
Asides the fact that the Mistress associated with that princess; it had also been embedded into the very workings of her power. As a result, the same phenomenon extended even to those who bore her blessing.
Whenever a Dark One allowed the power of the Endless Dark to truly take root within another person or even grant aid using the power The Mistress granted, they were, knowingly or otherwise, bringing that individual under the Mistress as one of her own.
For that reason, every Dark One in history had always exercised tremendous caution regarding how and upon whom they used their power.
They understood that carelessly allowing another to receive the true touch of the Endless Dark was no small matter, for they could very well end up making that person another servant of the Mistress.
This was not an accident. It was simply one of the rules the Mistress herself had established.
Unfortunately, She had yet to recover the fullness of the power that originally belonged to her.
Therefore, she lacked the authority to overturn her own rules or change the nature of her ability.
-
"B-But..." Bettie struggled to find the right words before finally blurting them out. "Are you kidding me right now?"
An awkward silence immediately filled the room.
Honestly, It was an entirely understandable reaction.
Even Ethan wasn’t quite sure what to make of everything he had just heard.
At that very moment, Isabella’s own voice echoed within Dark Bella’s thoughts.
[What the hell are you actually doing?]
Ethan had to forward again, before asking calmly. "Are you saying there’s absolutely no way to undo this?"