A beautiful marble temple upon a barrow overlooked the streets of Celestia. Within its inner sanctum, a young maiden, Machia, was running through its halls.

Her brown hair was messy and disheveled; her eyes were red from the tears still flowing. She was at full strength, but each step toward the grand sanctuary felt painful and weakening. As if she thought the news she just received was a lie that would be proven true if said aloud…

Yet it was she who was about to scream what she didn't want to hear.

Machia burst through the door and stared at the caped back of the head priestess, the Holy Maiden of Celestia, Rivania.

Machia screamed:

"Captain Riva!"

Riva's eyes opened slowly, and she pushed off the ground, standing from her kneeling position. She sheathed her blade she'd been leaning on before turning around with a displeased look, swiping a strand of her blue hair that fell in her eye, and tucking it behind her ear.

Riva scowled at the young maiden and said:

"I assume it's something important if you feel the need to interrupt prayer."

Machia shuddered in fear at upsetting Captain Riva, but she knew she had good reason. An Apostle had died! And not just any Apostle…

"Miach… Miach is dead!"

Her brother had died — at least, that is the conclusion Machia had come to.

Riva's eyes opened wide for a moment. But then, she remembered who she was dealing with… the one who screamed and cried that her brother was dead every time he went to bed.

She would have long been kicked out of the inner sanctum for her antics if she weren't such a talented enchantress.

"What makes you think so?"

Machia screamed as tears streamed from her eyes:

"I… I-I'm sure of it. The cloak I gave him went silent!"

Riva looked at her pupil and sighed:

"That… He and his team probably decided to attack a dungeon. Remember, dungeons are not of this world. Tracking enchantments stop working when inside one."

Machia screamed:

"B-but there's no marked dungeons around where I got the last signal!"

Riva's eyes narrowed, a little concern seeping into her head that she dared not show.

"Miach is not an idiot. He wouldn't go rushing into an unmarked dungeon unless he had full confidence in survival… But keep me updated. We cannot afford to lose an Apostle when war may break out any day. If you get no signal after three days, then we can start assuming the worst…"

Machia cried:

"T-three days! Send a search party now!"

Riva sighed and trudged over to Machia and placed a hand on her shoulder:

"Listen… I'm sure Miach is alright. He may be the weakest of us, but he's still strong. Besides, even if you receive no signal, it could be because he took it off, it's been disrupted, or it got destroyed."

Miachia's voice was breaking.

"B-but!"

Riva gave the small girl a comforting smile:

"Shh… no buts. We have too much to worry about with Akkuron unveiling their disgusting weapon."

Machia began to open her mouth again, but then clamped it closed. She sniffled a little before giving a hopeful nod and running out of the room.

Riva stared at the door as it closed behind Machia…

'This is bad…'

Riva looked away from the door and back to the statue of Celestia she'd been praying under.

"Has one of your children fallen?"

Riva stared at the statue for a moment before a sudden crash made her shiver. To her right, one of twelve wooden effigies fell.

'No…'

Riva ran back to the door and swung it open. Then called out with all of her voice:

"Machia! Gather all Apostles for an emergency meeting!"

Machia, who'd been running away with puffy eyes, turned around and saw the strained expression painted on the Holy Maiden.

An expression that confirmed her worst fears…

The country of Celestia was named after the goddess Celestia.

Each god or goddess could have one Apostle follower who could tap in and use a tiny, tiny fragment of their power.

Celestia had twelve children, all of whom were also gods and goddesses. Each one of those gods was also capable of having an Apostle. Meaning, there were thirteen Apostles of Celestia — Riva was the head Apostle, Apostle of Celestia herself.

And as the follower of the mother… it was her duty to watch over the followers of her children.

When an Apostle first gained their Contract, Riva tied a small fragment of their soul to an effigy. Not an amount that would have any bearing on their tethered existence to the mortal plane, of course.

But… if the effigy containing the soul fell.

'He's dead…'

***

Machia didn't attend the meeting…

She didn't even have clearance to. Besides, she already knew what it was about.

'Why… why did I say it out loud!'

Machia slammed her face into her pillow.

'I curse everything!'

A statement which was much more literal than she'd love it to be…

Machia was a talented enchantress. Especially so since her Aspect about enchanting was of the third-highest Class, Paragon.

However… for some reason, her Aspect made it so every tool she made was cursed in some way in exchange for the effect Machia applied.

On her brother's cloak, [Stay Safe], she'd imbued it with a tracking ability that constantly updated her on his general location if his Aether was remotely close to it at all. But its drawback was that it was always a little off, never precise.

While that drawback was tame, that was because the enchantment itself wasn't the most practical, and it was simple.

A better example of her cursed creations would be the bow she'd made for Miach's secret girlfriend Meryil, [Draw Back], which would strain the user but allow for a terribly powerful attack…

Regardless… Machia wanted to scream and cry until her eyes and throat bled.

Each yelp she let out accompanied a building desire for revenge, no matter the cost.

But what could she do… a simple enchantress with no combat ability.

How would she be able to defeat a foe who felled her brother, an Apostle…

A bit of madness bubbled in the girl's mind as she thought and thought of ways to get her vengeance

She came to one conclusion…

A cursed Item.

Of course, she couldn't make whoever or whatever killed her brother use the Item, but she could make one so cursed that if she were to activate it near them, death would be assured. Even if mutual.

As for what she was thinking in her bruised mind…

How about sending the bastard to the Lost Expanse, give them some time to realize how screwed they are before they die.

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