A month would pass before Marché and Roland were in any position to relay their findings back to the city. In the meantime, Lieze turned her attention to devouring the tome hidden in the castle's secret laboratory. Its contents were laced with dense information regarding the Scions and their shared purpose, though perhaps in a manner that struck Lieze as a tad too flowery.
By day, she funnelled her impressive reservoir of mana into the strengthening of her army, and by night, she delved into the tome's secrets with a mind hungering for knowledge. For the first time in years, her days became so mundane that they began to blend together.
With each new page of the archaic tome deciphered, Lieze's ongoing theories regarding the Scions were proven to be on the right track. Lüngen's hypothesis of the 'contest' imposed by the Gods was supported by fragmented testimonials of scholars past, who claimed to have reached the same conclusion after studying tablets found in archaeological digs.
Lieze wasn't the first of her kind. The Scions had gone by various titles over the course of recorded history, but their abilities remained the same throughout. She pored over a list of not-entirely-unfamiliar names - individuals chronicled in the epics and tales of her youth; Assem, the supposed progenitor of Elvenkind; Desh-Mansir, the folk hero hero said to have slain a Dragon the size of a mountain.
Of course, it all made perfect sense to Lieze. She understood the potential of the Scions more intimately than anyone else. She - and any others chosen by the Gods - were merely the latest in a history-shaping legacy of heroes. Her power was the very same that sculpted the Black City of Akzhem and laid the first bricks of Tonberg - though, granted, she had been putting hers to use in a slightly less heroic fashion.
But why? That question continued to haunt her. She wouldn't relent in her messy devouring of the tome until that final query was dispelled from her thoughts once and for all.
The door to her chambers burst open, obliterating her concentration. Drayya waved a hand in front of her face to dispel the motes of dust lingering in the air as she entered.
"Alright - I think you've done enough reading for one night." She declared, "One of the Briarknights discovered another dungeon in the wilderness today. We'll be plunging into its depths tomorrow afternoon, so that means it's time for you to get your bottom into bed."
"I'm on the verge of making a discovery that could turn this world on its head, and you're worried about how much sleep I'm getting?" Lieze replied, "A few more hours of this, and I'll discover the answers that have been evading me since- wha- Drayya!"
Before Lieze could finish her sentence, the tome had been slammed shut and she was being lifted out of her chair by the armpits.
"It's not going to disappear if you take your eyes off it." Drayya said, "You get even more fussy when you're sleep-deprived. Crawling into a comfortable bed at the end of the day is one of life's great pleasures, you know?"
"I'm perfectly capable of deciding on my own schedule, thank you very much." Lieze replied, "I don't need someone barging into my study and forcing me to go to sleep every night."
"Come on. You'll regret not being in top shape when we're in that dungeon tomorrow."
"Who said anything about plundering a dungeon?" She asked, "You've got the entire cult beneath your thumb. Take a few members along with you. I don't want to waste time butchering my way through a labyrinth just to be rewarded with more magical teapots."
"No. No teapots this time." Drayya insisted, "This one is deeper. Better. More dangerous, but also more rewarding. And what's the chance that we run into another Golem near the bottom? Imagine a second Manticore added to our ranks. A Cyclops. A Drake."
Lieze paused, "...How do you know it's deeper?"
"Because…" She blinked, "-Because I just do."
"Do you?"
"Who cares! The last one was just a fluke!" She said, "We'll find something better this time! And you still want to get stronger, right? Don't think I haven't noticed that your strength has been suspiciously consistent for a while now. You need to do these sorts of things to acquire more power, don't you?"
That was enough to give Lieze pause. It was true that ever since the occupation of Tonberg, she had been receiving less quests from the system than normal. The dungeon she'd pilfered some time ago had been a welcome source of experience - useless magical teapots aside.
She sighed, "...I don't recall ever telling you that."
"When we were battling Alistair and Sokalar, you were accruing more power by the day." Drayya replied, "I won't pretend to understand how it works, but it's clear that conflict has something to do with it. Plus, it'll be a good way for you to blow off some steam."
"Do you think murder is the only task I find enjoyable?" Lieze asked.
"Enjoyable? I wouldn't go that far." She smiled, "Do you enjoy anything?"
Lieze opened her mouth to reply, but found no answer. Had she ever been asked that question? When was the last time she committed to something out of genuine interest rather than duty? Was there such a thing as a 'hobby' in her poisoned mind?
"Oh, Lieze…" Drayya's expression fell, "You really do have a long way to go, don't you?"
"What?" She frowned, "It doesn't bother me in the least. I don't have time to enjoy myself."
"Now that's just a bare-faced lie." Drayya replied, "How long is it going to take before Marché and Roland complete their mission? How long before Baccharum sends another report, or before the Dwarves muster enough support to launch an attack? I can't be certain of the answer myself, but I would guess 'months', at the very least."
"-Months I could spend preparing myself for the trials ahead."
"You're a real piece of work, do you know that?" She smiled, "What do I have to say to break through this troublesome shell of yours?"
"I will rest when I am dead." Lieze declared, "It's as simple as that."
Drayya twirled her around by the arm and brought the two of them into an embrace. The gesture might have lasted for more than a second if the thorns sticking out from Lieze's face hadn't pricked Drayya's cheek immediately.
"Ow!" She yanked her head back, "That's it! I'm sick of these barbs always getting in my way!"
In the next moment, Lieze was pushed back onto her chair. Drayya unsheathed the dagger at her waist and took the blade right up to the girl's skin, slicing with just enough force to snap the wire-thin needles off.
"What do you think you're doing?" Lieze asked.
"I'm getting rid of the problem." She replied, "I'm going to ask Lüngen if he can concoct some kind of medicine that will return your body to normal. This just isn't working for me."
"This flesh is the only source of Mercuria we have." Lieze winced as the blade pressed up against her skin, "Getting rid of it isn't an option. It has too many applications."
"Then we'll find a way to synthesise it artificially using alchemy." Drayya placed her free hand beneath Lieze's chin, "Are you really not bothered with treating your own blood like some kind of commodity? We've accomplished stranger things in the past, so I can't imagine it will be too complicated."
Lieze could no longer hide from the fact now that she'd admitted it - the regions of her body infested with the Blackbriar's tainted flesh were trapped in a cycle of agony. She'd been willing to tolerate the pain for as long as she could make use of the resulting Mercuria, but her shameful breakdown the other day revealed a hidden desire to be rid of it.
Yes. That's what it was - desire. She wanted something, not for the sake of her cause, but for the sake of herself. Drayya's suggestion to create a facsimile of the Godflesh was far-fetched, but tempting to consider. For the duration of her stay in Tonberg, Lieze had been playing by the system's rules, submitting herself to whatever boons it saw fit to bestow upon her and never questioning whether she could use it to fulfil her own desires.
She had plenty of time to ruminate on the thought while Drayya shaved any abnormal growths from her face. By the time she was done, her features were no less corrupted, but at the very least smoother than before. She wondered whether the thorns would grow back, and allowed herself for an instant to hope that they wouldn't.
"Better." Drayya admired her handiwork, "Not ideal, but better."
"What's your definition of 'ideal', exactly?" Lieze wondered.
"The way you used to look." She answered, "I want to see your smooth skin and the light in your eyes again. It's painful having to remain satisfied with these little glimpses of your old self."
The tip of her finger caressed Lieze's lower lip - just about the only part of her face untouched by the Blackbriar's taint. The contrast of salmon pink against black revealed just how fiercely her features had been warped by her constant use of [Supreme Regeneration].
"You make it sound like I'm a different person." She said.
"No… I didn't mean it like that." Drayya's tone became worried, "You've always been the same person to me. I don't care how you look, really - I just want to ease your pain."
Lieze didn't resist when Drayya knelt down and wrapped her arms around the girl's waist. She wasn't sure where to place her hands, so kept them by her sides like a doll.
Drayya's voice descended to a whisper, trickling into Lieze's ear. "...Why don't you ever react when I do things like this?"
"React…" She repeated, "What do you mean?"
"You know - like 'Ah! or 'Kyah!'" Drayya feigned embarrassment, "Now that I think about it, you aren't very girlish at all, are you? You need to be more in touch with your femininity."
"I don't understand." Lieze blinked, "How much more feminine could I possibly be? I've already got all the parts I need, and I'm missing the parts that I don't."
"You see? That sort of thinking isn't feminine at all!" She lectured, "I know you're secretly a sensitive person-"
"I'm not."
"-Right, of course not - so why don't you ever let it show?"
"You already know why." Lieze answered, "We can't afford to look weak in front of others. Roland and the Deathguards are already accustomed to not seeing me as a threat. If I don't constantly remind them of my position as the Order's new leader, they'll start to think they have a chance at replacing me."
"Hm." Drayya pursed her lips. "What about me?"
Lieze paused, "...What about you?"
"You aren't afraid of letting your guard down around me, are you?"
"I don't."
Drayya snorted, "You're such a ridiculous liar!"
"What?" She frowned, "I wasn't joking…"
Their embrace ended. Drayya wore a self-satisfied grin as she stood.
"Alright, alright." She said, "Of course you don't. Whatever you want. Now, if I haven't already made it clear enough that you need to crawl into bed and have yourself a good night's sleep, then consider this an order to do so. We've got a dungeon to clear in the morning."