Chronicles of the Red Sovereign

“Nyxie? Are you okay?”

I couldn’t help but groan. I hated that nickname (and I still do). It’s too cute and I did not do cute back then. I was a goddess of war who could burn down armies. Cute names did not fit me.

My sister used to call me that to annoy me.

“Nyxie?”

I did not respond. My mind was pondering to the time when the foreign gods who called themselves the Greek Pantheon decided to call me Nyxie as well.

“It’s because in their circle, there’s a primordial goddess of the night called Nyx. She lives in Tartarus, which is basically their form of hell, and she’s evil. Or at least in the stories she is. They probably feel uncomfortable with the name ‘Nyx’ so their calling you Nyxie instead.” Elthesia explained after I almost got into a fight with the one named Ares.

I remembered being so confused that time, yet I just let them call me that. But it did not last long and they started calling me ‘Nxtriel’ instead no matter how much of a mouthful it was. Only a few continued calling me that awful nickname; Sun Wukong included.

My mind stopped on its tracks when a question suddenly popped up in my mind.

-How did Elthesia know that? We just recently met them that time. How could she know such information?

I sat up from where I was curled up and looked at Wukong.

“E-“ I stopped myself before I could blurt out my sister’s name.

‘Names have power.’

Is what I was always told. And it’s dangerous uttering someone’s name, especially if they’re a powerful person in the Celestial Realm. On mine and Elthesia’s case, we would be found. I was being hunted and Elthesia was supposed to be dead. Not a great option.

“Err… Zaira,”

-Ugh! Calling her casually as Zaira now it kind of awkward.

“Zaira said you can tell me the past she has hidden. What did she mean by that?” I asked.

Wukong suddenly looked away, rubbing his nape.

-The damn monkey is nervous!

I sighed in annoyance. I had a feeling he would be a little hesitant to reveal it to be honest. But the man, who calls himself the Monkey King, was never a good liar and would never get to keep something from me for a long time.

“Then, how does ‘she’ know so much about your world when I’ve never even heard of it before your arrival.” I said again. “For example, knowing who Nyx is despite only meeting recently back then.”

Sun Wukong sighed, finally in defeat. He could no longer hold the secret anymore.

“Your sister remembers her previous life.”

“I know that. She remembers her life as my sister despite being born as Marii von Chrishni about two hundred years ago, right?”

“That’s not what I meant.” he shook his head. “I meant, before becoming Marii. When she lived her life as Elthesia Wetcheit li Stedus, she already remembered her previous life. Her life as Dr. Zaira Blake.”

I stared at him, agape. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My sister used to say strange things when we were younger. Even when I grew up in the Celestine Territory where I knew her as Aunt Zaira.

-So that’s why?

“She’s originally from the world where I came from. And she’s the reason we were given the second chance in Afasia.”

He had this melancholic look on his face, probably reminiscing memories of the past.

***

After a long talk with Wukong, I calmed down a little. Sure, I was still a little pissed off that my sister had to send me away forcefully but I did understand her intentions later on. She already stated it in her later; she wanted to what she can as my sister and she wanted to prepare me for what was to come.

True, she taught me the value of friendship and teamwork among others but she also emphasized how individual strength was important. But back then I was too focused on becoming strong and was satisfied in living in the shadows of my sister. Despite being called a goddess of war, I was more of a supporting character for her.

It would’ve been nice to go to a distant land with them and become strong together but I guess I had to become stronger since I also had the goal of collecting my tails. Staying in Praiji won’t let me get anywhere. Even I knew that playing the weird yet honor student wouldn’t let me progress much. As for my friends, I love them, but unlike me, who didn’t really have much chaining me to Praiji, my friends had their duties and responsibilities in the empire as its citizens.

-Heh. I can’t believe I’m taking advantage of being a member of the Celestine Family. But I guess now’s a good time to make use of it.

I sighed as I realized why Zaira had me and my adoptive siblings study incognito. We could get away with things like a sudden disappearance or something by using our status, but we also wouldn’t get caught in any political struggle within the nobility.

I couldn’t help but laugh just by thinking about it. It was so like Elthesia to think of everything a few steps ahead.

“You’ve finally gone crazy or something?” Wukong commented once I noticed him watching me.

“No, just thinking about something.”

“You sure?” he paused and peeked out the window. “Look, we’re almost there.”

I took a peek at the other window and gasped as I saw the island floating in the middle of the sky, seemingly isolated from the world.

After travelling for three days using the carriage spirit, we finally arrived. I was very relieved that I no longer had to endure doing nothing but sit as we travelled.

“You have Artemis’ ring right?” Sun Wukong asked.

My eyes landed on the ring on my thumb and remembered the pair of foreign god twins who gave it to me. Artemis, the Greek goddess, told me I would need it in the future.

-How the hell did she know that? Was she part of Elthesia’s plan?

A lot of things were running on my mind at that moment.

“She wasn’t.” he responded. “Apollo, her twin brother…”

“The sun god with overly bright teeth and has an obsession with three line poetry?”

“Yes, him. He has prophetic powers. He probably saw something and shared it to his sister.” he sighed and shook his head. “He’s vain and annoying, but he is useful you know. His ability with the bow is also amazing.”

I just nodded my head.

Minutes later, we landed and I was finally able to get off the flying carriage. I look around and marveled at the new surroundings.

“Welcome to Avalon Isles, where your new life will begin.” Wukong said and exaggeratedly opens his arms in a dramatic way.

“Stop it monkey, you sound like a real estate agent who’s going to cheat her.” a new voice said.

A young man with golden hair came into view. He had a smirk on his face and one of his hands was on the pocket of his pants. Other than the unusual glow around him, what made me get taken aback were the two sets of arms on his torso.

“Indra!” I called.

“Hello Nyxtriel. It’s nice to see you again.”