"The World...is not a fair pce." Chloe's words, spoken from the remembrance id on Maximilian Windsor's hands, echoed with a haunting truth. "I have known this from the beginning, for I was shunned by my own Mother and my brother...The only person in the world who seemed to care about me didn't have enough ce to e and rescue me."

  "No! I tried! I tried it all!" Max's voice, filled with regret, echoed in the silence. His efforts, though palpable, were futile as he screamed at the pendant. He was bound by Elizabeth's s, uo ge the past or the present. His past was a haunting reminder of his failure to save the girl in danger.

  Elizabeth khis to be true, for Chloe still suffered, and in the end, she sacrificed herself for someone else's sake.

  She had givehing so that Elizabeth could have a sed ce. Was it something that couldn't be helped? Perhaps. It had been Mother the oo shove her into Chloe's body, but even so. Elizabeth liked to think that even without doing that, even with the might of [The Stardust Explorer], she could not foreoo give what she didn't want.

  Even if Elizabeth had to find another way to survive, she would have accepted it. She eace with the idea that she might not have been brought back, tent to live happily at the back of Chloe's Soul. She would have been different, but she would have been okay with that.

  Even if she hadn't been brought back, she could live happily at the back of Chloe's Soul. She would...probably be very different, she wouldn't have noticed how much Rossie meant to her. She would have not saved Rena...

  She would probably not embraced her Iance.

  But Chloe would be here, and she may have fixed her family.

  "NO!" Instead, here she was, seeing the man she once admired g and pining about his poor choices.

  "Even so, I was happy." The voice of Chloe sounded once more. "Even while Mother's Minions tried their best to make me fortable without iing too much with me...For my power made them unfortable.."

  Elizabeth could imagi, minions trying to i as little as possible but even so, they felt bad for Chloe who was isoted from everyone she knew.

  "Even while people at the school thought I was a Vilin just because I had red eyes and bck hair..." Chloe almost sounded happy about that.

  And Elizabeth smiled at that.

  "IS IT FUNNY?!?!? THAT MY SISTER WAS BULLIED?!?!?!?" Max screamed at her wheiced the smile on Elizabeth's face.

  "I was very happy whehought I was [The Shadow Empress]." Chloe's voice started once more, "Because the mere thought that I had a Shadow Alligned power meant that I would be loved by Mother...That my brother wouldn't have to worry about what Mother thought when he came to see me...That you could spend more time with me..."

  But that e dream.

  "Even if it e dream." Chloe said in a downcast tone, "And so I started to look into the girl they thought I was, it was impossible to discover, of course. Sihe secret identity was quite well protected. Even so, I found someone who caught my eye during the first days of school, someone I could look up to."

  As Chloe spoke the faax ged, did he thought Chloe would say that is was him who gave her hope?

  "Elizabeth Starbright." Max's face ged from hope to surprise, auro stare at Elizabeth. "A blonde girl who always seemed happy and strived to do her best. Who didn't ignored me, or thought of me as someone lesser."

  That was of course something that Elizabeth would never do.

  "She eve bad for me, and did something that you usually only do with someone who you care, love or are in a retionship." Chloe said, by her tone Elizabeth couldn't help but imagine iling at her. "She showed me her secret identity."

  Max eyes grew as he eyed Elizabeth, he knew of her name of course. Elizabeth introduced herself as such, even while under her [Shift]. But he didn't know the name of her Shift. So she was still safe.

  "She showed me her secret identity; it was such a surprise to find out that the geous blonde I had e to fantasize about was also the bck-haired and red-eyed Vilin that everyohought was my secret identity." Chloe ughed while saying that, "It was even funnier by the mere fact that everyohought that Elizabeth was my Hero identity. That she was [The Thunder Queen]."

  That was indeed a hat Elizabeth had taken on this persona too.

  "You..." Max said as if he was going to add something. But Chloe didn't allow him, as she resumed speaking.

  "I don't know what you went through or how long it has been since I departed. I asked Elizabeth to deliver this if she could. But I hope you didn't make it hard for her." Chloe said, making Max wi the reproach, "I am sorry for not being born with Shadow Aligned powers."

  "NO! IT WASN'T YOUR FAULT! IT IS THIS CURSED WORLD'S FAULT!" Max screamed at the pendant. Of course, it was meaningless.

  "But I am happy that I was born this way. For the first time ever, I am happy to be Chloe Ashcroft." Chloe said, fusing both Max and Elizabeth.

  Elizabeth had thought that Chloe would say many things, but that? She hadn't expected that one.

  "It is thanks to this fact, the fact that I am Chloe Ashcroft. That I was able to meet Elizabeth, that I was able to find my other half." Chloe tinued speaking, this time Elizabeth could almost see the emotions on the voice that came from the pendant. "As I leave this message, what is left of my Soul is fusing with Elizabeth, so I know. I am sure of it, I was born as the sed half of Elizabeth, it was my fate to reuh her, I am happy. Happier than ever, for I feel it. My Skill is growing as it settles on Elizabeth."

  ...Elizabeth did got more power on her Elemental Manipution after returning...

  "And her Soul, it is such a majestic pce...The mere thought that I be part of this? That I help her grow...." Chloe...was turning weird... "Nnnghhh...I 't get enough of this. My only regret now is that I 't be bain to rejoin her once more. That I 't say to her how much I love her, desire her..."

  "OKAY! I GET IT!" Elizabeth said to the pendant and attempted to take it back.

  But the thing turned intangible as she attempted to grab it.

  "..." "..."

  It stayed on Max's hand. So it was solid. But Elizabeth couldn't touch it.

  "Sorry about that, the euphot the best of me." Chloe coughed and Elizabeth could imagihe bck-haired girl blushing, "What I mean to say is this. While I am sorry for making you worry about me all this time, and f you to care for me. I am happy now, and I leave with s. For I will join my other half and be happy, she has a loving family. A Mother who cares for her, a Father who loves her... And iure I am sure she will have a loving family of her own, I am sad that I will not be her wife. But be it a husband or a wife. I am sure whoever Elizabeth picks will love her deeply."

  .....Yeah....At least on that she was right.

  Elizabeth was lucky to have Rossie, and even more so to now have Rena. She doubted more people would e into her life like that, but even if they did, no one would take the spot that Chloe had on her life. And she hoped that the new Chloe, who now lived in another part of her Soul, could live up to that hout sacrifig herself for anyone else, if possible.

  "No...No....Please...return...e back..." Max started whispering as the pendant started to turn transparent.

  "And tell Mother that I hope her daughter live up to her expectations... And...That I am sorry...for being born like I was..." The pendant disappeared at this point, leaving Max staring at his open hand as if something would pop up suddenly.

  Nothing did pop out of course.

  "...Why?" Max asked turning to Elizabeth. "Why did you curse me with this knowledge...These...Memories..."

  Memories?

  "You remember now then?" Elizabeth asked, eyeing Max as she focused mana into her eyes, turning them into her [Dragon's Eye], she couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.

  "Yes." Max answered, "I remember y Sister."

  Well, even without the [Gem of Greed], this one was still a sis, huh? Someone who loved his sister a little too much.

  "And I also remember you, Elizabeth." Max said , well...she did meet him on the first day of csses. "And your parents."

  ....Well now that was something else.

  "So?" Elizabeth asked as a set of three pairs of yellow energy wings blossomed on her back. She took this ce to once more open the doors to her Armory and a new renewed set of spears tip maed from ripples in the air. "You thought I didn't know you were friends with my parents? Only reason you are still alive is that Chloe wanted me to deliver a message to you. Or what, you think I don't know why Papa kept the other ten members of the Twelve around?"

  Elizabeth khe truth, the [Twelve] did to help her parents, but to deal with the things they didn't want to deal with. Only a few members of them were important. One of them was Jenna of course, Elizabeth now khat. But before? She had thought only [The Beast Master] was important.

  "...You should be dead." Max said.

  "Well, that is rude." Elizabeth answered back.

  "I don't mean it that way, your body got corrupted beyond what was salvageable, Ethan made sure of that. And while I don't know what kind of magic Catherine used. No soul should be sturdy enough to e back, what I mean is..." Max said trying to once more el his powers, of course Elizabeth's s stoped it. "... If you e back, why 't Chloe?"

  "... The dead rarely return to the world of the living." Elizabeth felt weird saying that, with all of her powers that raised them back as Minions and everything. "The problem is that Chloe's Soul is no longer around. I could maybe make a body that looks like her, twist a Soul into thinking that it is Chloe Ashcroft and give it her mannerisms. But it would not be Chloe."

  Really, the mere fact that this was something that Elizabeth was able to do was scary.

  "How do you know it wouldn't work?" Max asked with gritted teeth, "You didn't try it! It may work! Besides, if we give it our memories of her. My memories of her!"

  *Sigh*

  "You are a very sad and pitiful example of a man who tries to take too much, yreed will be your downfall." Elizabeth said, then sighed again before closing her energy wings and pushing back the spear tips into her Armory. "Reginald? you keep those s w for some time?"

  "Who-?" Max was about to say before thuruck at their side.

  "Mistress? Do you need me to keep this...trash in pce?" Spoke the small dragonoid that appeared.

  Reginald was his yellow jacket and his body oozed lightning discharges, he also seemed more... cocky.

  "Yes, I o show this idiot something." Elizabeth answered, then before doing it she asked. "Also, I hope you are keeping that thing tained."

  "Yes Mistress." Reginald bowed ohe new denizens are quite patible with your Divine Lightning, as such, are quite apt to keep things tained. Even if they seem to ck...intelligence or wits as your normal Shadons."

  ...Great, she had hyperactive dumb round birds that bursted from time to time. She would che that ter, for now...

  "Shift - cel." Elizabeth released her Shift, her body turned once more Human, and while she didn't ge that much since her Thunder Queen form was blonde and had blue eyes. She still felt...less. It would not be for long though, "Shift - Shadow Empress."

  Elizabeth felt the fual ge in her make bloom from her Core to the outside, slowly her body once more ged from ohat was Human into her Shadow Attuned form.

  She felt as her Soul slowly ged, the night sky above Aqui turned more dark, a deep, intense darkhat seemed to swallow everything in its path, and she noticed how at the settlement of the round yellow birds some of them seemed to run around their small little houses.

  As if the end of the world was arriving.

  Till one of them grabbed another one and threw it towards a pole in the middle of it, as it impact it turned into a bulb and illumihe settlement, thus calming the other birds.

  "Such weird birds..." Elizabeth said as she flexed the armored arm and checked everything was okay on her form, she hadn't ged like this before.

  She hadn't quite used her [Skill] but her Skill. So there was some ges on her form. For starters, this form seemed to be more... ominous.

  "...how?" Max asked fused.

  Elizabeth ignored him and focused inald, he hadn't seem too affected, but Elizabeth noticed how her Shadow Haven had returo normal and the presse of her shadons had retur the back of her mind. While the presence of the round birds seemed to be...

  Roughly the same? If anything they shone more brightly at the back of her mind, weird birds.

  "I am my parent's Daughter," Elizabeth answered while shrugging, she had half a mind to summon her helmet to increase the impact of her appareance, but decided against it. "And I didn't ge just to rub it into your face how stupid was the discrimination you and [Ea] did to Chloe."

  That seemed to make Max wince, but it o be said.

  "No, I ged for other reason. Because I he extra boost to show you. What you wanted for Chloe is impossible to achieve." Elizabeth said as she started pulling into her Authority over Shadows.

  Now that [The Shadow Tide] was no more, Elizabeth was the untested Shadow Wielder on this pce, especially now that Max was being sealed by her Divine Lightning a thing that she totally should iigate...and would not.

  Even so, for now she pulled on her and over Shadorepared for what she was about to do. Taking a deep sigh she started weaving the words, "Heed my call dwellers of the dark, those of you that exist between the pnes of the living and the dead..." Her words resonated with the space around them.

  She could feel her words w itself into Reality, even while the stupid yellow birds weren't shadow attuned, she could feel them too, ready to ao her call. Even if they wouldn't e with as much power as if she had called them ohunder Queen form. They would still e.

  "Wha-" Max said from the side as some specs of shadows left his body and started floating around Elizabeth. These weren't Part of his shadow, but probably were Souls that had g to him after he killed them.

  The grudges of those that had enough power to not be tainted by him and wanted revenge. Elizabeth sent them towards her Shadow Haven to let them decide what they would do, either follow her, or return to the normal circle of transmigation.

  "...Seard find, trad recover, bring to me the Soul of the ohat I desire." Elizabeth said as she pictured Chloe Ashcroft. The shadows under her feet extended as if making a plex web that seemed to sink into the ground as it extended.

  "Okay, we will let that work for a few minutes." Elizabeth said as she turned her blood-red eyes to Max, who hadn't said another word and was just staring at her, mesmerized.

  She would have liked it before, but right now? It was just annoying.

  "Now, for this part, this is what you should have done first." Elizabeth said as she pced her hand on the floor, a shadow puddle formed under her hand "Rise and walk on this p once more. I and you, take the form of the one I wish to embrace more."

  As she said those words she stood up, the shadow puddle rose with her hand as a humanoid form started f.

  Her head took form as a short bck hair formed, then her face, her chest, arms, hands, waist, legs, feet.... Part by Part, the body started taking form. A lithe bck-haired girl.

  Simir to how Alice looked, but less elegant and refined. Even so, Elizabeth would never fet this fad figure. The form of a bck-haired girl with red eyes.

  "Shadow Doppelganger - Chloe Ashcroft." Elizabeth said as the form of the Doppelganger finished f. From afar no one would guess that this was not the real Chloe Ashcroft. But from close?

  It couldn't be more obvious, for this girl even thought it breathed and blinked like a normal being, had dead eyes. She was wearing a white sundress and was barefooted, but that was, without a doubt, the visage of Chloe Ashcroft.

  "Chloe..." And even thought that was the case, Max couldn't see it. For he was too busy g while trying to release himself to no avail from the s that Elizabeth had set up, "LET ME GO! SHE IS WAITING FOR ME!"

  But Elizabeth hadn't finished, for the web of shadows that she had set up before had returned. A shadon rose from the ground with a small holding a purple gem on it.

  "Now...This is the st step of what you should have done, be ready Maximilian Windsor. You are about to see the fruits of your efforts...should you have mao achieve your Wish." Elizabeth said as she took the small purple gem and walked to the Doppelganger of Chloe. "I and you. Move."

  And on that note, Elizabeth pced the purple gem on the chest of the Doppelganger of Chloe.