"He and I are the same..."
"So you've fully merged with him... I hope the two of you get along because Dragoons live a very long life... And knowing how you, the King Of the Dead Sea, function, Layla might have some problems working with you."
"I'm face to face with the Grim Reaper right now, telling me that I've got a long life ahead of me... It's kinda giving me mixed signals, y'know?" asked Layla, with a shy laugh.
The Ankou retracted his Elemental Aura and walked away from the confused girl. Teemo then barged back in and slammed the table with a file of papers.
"I spent a full year trying to find out the case for the Tengui... I had nowhere to go, direction, or information because of their safety restrictions."
"Why did my supplies and communications all fall silent when they reported one single message to the rest of the Kingdoms? Just one sentence..."
"Do not come for us. I did an investigation on them and we couldn't infiltrate the area. And it was odd when we went over there..." added Matt as he looked at the documents.
"Plus, how could the population have the same amount of people in the kingdom for so many years? Nothing subtracted, nothing added... Even if it's because they have got a long lifespan, it doesn't make sense that there's no increase in the population. Certainly, they must have reproduces..."
"Perhaps, or maybe they've decided not to expand their race for the fear of the war? Not exactly a good call to have a baby when your neighbor's house is being bombed..." added the Loplin.
"It's even more confusing for me when I have no records of the souls over there..." added the Grim Reaper.
"What?" asked Teemo, confused.
"I take charge of lost souls so I do have access to records of how souls pass on. However, for the case of the Tengui, I haven't had any record of them over the few years."
"And do you think it would be connected to current events? Like with Tiamat or the Shadow Trio?" quizzed Matt, glancing at the Ankou.
"Perhaps... I can confirm that it does not have any relevance to the Salt Sea Goddess as she is known as this realm's First Primordial Goddess. She wouldn't be caught up with such small affairs..."
"Then the Brine King? What do you think?"
The Brine King stared at the map for a bit before sighing and shaking his head.
"My guess is as good as the Grim Reaper's... I have an inkling that the spider has taken the Tenguis or that they've been sacrificed to perform more Conjuring Sigils, but those are only mere speculations. Though I do have to say that Arakaali has become stronger the last time I fought her in my old form..."
"You've fought against her before? I thought your areas didn't intertwine..." asked Teemo, confused.
"I did before I became king. But she didn't seem to remember me so perhaps she has forgotten or have been too cursed to recall her past life."
"Cursed in her past life? You mean, she isn't always like this?" asked the Loplin.
"Of course not, there's no race that is half human and half spider... A jealous maiden had cursed her. Ever heard of the story of the Goddess being so jealous that she turns a girl into a spider just because the girl's weaving was better than hers?"
"That's an old Greek story... Athena the Goddess had challenged a lowly mortal named Arachne to a sewing contest after the latter boasted that her weaving was better than a goddess."
"Challenging a god isn't the brightest thing to do so it was a big deal amongst the gods and humans of that time. In the end, Arachne's work had indeed surpassed Athena's."
"But the kicker was what that boastful creature had weaved; a long work of art depicting 21 misdemeanors of the Greek Gods. The Goddess flew into a rage and turned the girl into a spider," recounted the Felidae, as he closed his eyes.
"You'd be surprised at how petty the Gods tend to be... Almighty beings that were capable enough to move mountains and create life are jealous of some small fry who could weave better than her... That's why I never liked them," added the Loplin.
"Whether you like them or not, you can't deny how powerful they can be. And you are correct about the tale of the spider. But for the case of Arakaali, it was a bit different. She didn't challenge the Goddess nor did she make such horrid things."
"And I hadn't expected that she'd become cursed. Like I said, I fought her before and she had just been turned into the spider creature we saw...."