Athanasia

Arc 2: To Be An Empress (1)

"Welcome to Phantasma, Queen Raskreia."

-o0o-

'Somehow I seemed to have dreamed that a pretty lady fetched me when I died after...' Raskreia suddenly realized that she wasn't in her own room. (Her and her husband live in separate rooms.)

'Oh right! I'm dead... ' She dazedly thought until she understood her situation, so how is she still conscious if she's dead and... Her baby!

HesdeadshefailedtoprotecthimdeaddeadDEAD!

'I failed him... He died because I am his mother... He wasn't supposed to-'

Raskreia immediately woke up from her chaotic state, and suppressed the of negative emotions in her heart. She doesn't know how she's still alive but she's aware that the lady who brought her here was responsible for her situation.

(Unknowingly, her consciousness buried all memories related to her child on the depths of her soul... Presently, she doesn't know she had a child in the first place, and only that her stupid husband cheated and schemed against her. Maybe one day, something/someone could trigger her memories... And hopefully, piece her back together if she breaks.)

How she's still alive and conscious, such things was not as important as being in an unfamiliar territory, completely vulnerable against those with malicious intent towards her.

She was in deep thought but she never once lowered her guard so she immediately noticed a paper crane that was thrown at her from the balcony.

Come to think of it, she still hasn't properly examined her surroundings...

She is in a majestic room comparable to that bastard's chambers, with an open balcony. There is two doors on opposite sides of the bed, and one is white and the other is black. She is on a dark violet bed with a black canopy. There are golden decorations around the room and a crystalline chandelier on the ceiling.

The paper crane was obviously thrown from below, as it landed on the floor. She cautiously picked it up with her nightgown skirt and opened it.

It was a letter from the so-called empress of this place, Jinri Shion. It was written that this place is Phantasma of the myths, where sinners go. Technically, she's categorized as one but who has time to care for that?!

There are several important points in this letter. Phantasma is a matriarchal empire, so it's ruled by only females. The more resentment one has, the stronger they are. Men are- 'what the fuck is a power bank?' 'powerbanks' for women, as the letter states. Most importantly, she's the successor!!

(A/N: Said letter is in the summary.)

--o0o--

She went out of the room using the black door (the white is a bathroom) and wandered around the large hallways. She entered some rooms, which are mostly normal ones- guest rooms perhaps, and finally found a room with an imperial study plaque.

She knocked on the mahogany door, and heard a faint 'come in' before entering. It was a large room, the walls are covered with shelves filled with books, in the middle there is a woman-the one who welcomed her- sitting in front of a rosewood table. The table is layered with a glass top and there are few ornaments on it- practical items such as a calligraphy brush, ink stone and slab, blank papers and memorials.

"Oh, you're finally awake. You've been asleep for two weeks." The lady said, languidly humming.

"You are..." Raskreia hesitated, what if she isn't that person? "Jinri Shion?"

"Ding, ding, ding! And we have a winner, with a prize of...! Nothing. You guessed correctly, as expected of my chosen heiress. Any questions?"

Unexpectedly, the empress is this kind of person. If the ministers knew that the empress' stern and cold face is merely a facade, they would cry tears of blood due to always getting duped by her.

Sadly, they are pitifully unaware.

Time to get serious! Raskreia spoke, "So... When an I getting King...err, empress training?"

Honestly, she truly wanted to ask why she (JS) chose her as successor... But gut feeling tells her that she (JS) would only tease her.

"I thought you're gonna ask if you could return to the surface! Oh, well. I will have my servant deliver your schedule later, so go back to your room and I will tell them to serve you some food."

Raskreia nodded in assent before dismissing herself. On the way back to the room she woke up in, she wondered what Jinri would've answered her with had she asked if she could return back to that kingdom.

(Not that she wanted to, she was never happy in that gilded cage anyways. Then again, if only her big brother Thaddeus wasn't killed, she's very willing to return to him.)

She entered her appointed room, and saw a new addition there- a table with sumptuous dishes for one person.

'Wow. They're quite efficient. But why do we need to eat if we're dead? How curious.' She pondered, but didn't think of it anymore when she tasted the food. 'It's more delicious than the palace feast dishes!'

A sudden knock interrupted her eating, but she asked them to enter anyway. Perhaps it was Jinri's servant tasked to deliver her schedule.

A teen wearing a maid attire entered, and abruptly-took out a short sword and attacked her!

'What the fuck!' Luckily, she never let down her guard even if she knew the reason why she's brought here. She quicky evaded the blade targeting her neck and caught the maid's wrist, twisting it until it broke. The maid's shrill shriek of pain seemed to have attracted other's attention because someone came in without warning.

"Crown Princess! Are you hurt?" The maid quickly apprehended the assassin maid and asked.

The assassin maid suddenly slumped down and turned to ashes. The recently arrived maid frowned and murmured, "Must have hidden soul devouring poison in her teeth."

Raskreia now knew that even in this place, one can still die. And now, someone is pinning for her life.