The truth hurts a lot.

Later that evening, feeling restless in her room. Luna stood before Zarkon's door and knocked softly. "Enter," Zarkon said.

Inside, Christie sat on a chair. While Zarkon, seated before her, sipped his wine. He motioned for Luna to sit.

"I might be old, but I appreciate the female figure and its charms. Like artwork, really," Zarkon said, sipping his wine.

Luna gave him a questioning look.

"No, I do not touch Master's women. They are off-limits to me. But I do enjoy looking at them, their beauty undeniable."

Luna crossed her legs, resting her hands in her lap. "What happened to Ignatius?"

"His magic was powerful, but he crumpled to the ground after using it."

Christie turned, facing her. "Master does not use magic."

"What are you saying?" Luna said, perplexed.

Christie turned back to Zarkon. "I will tell you a secret."

Zarkon stared meaningfully at her. "You understand why he granted you this gift after what you did."

Luna's shoulders hunched forward, revealing the reality of her situation. Her actions weighed heavily on her. "I thought everything went well."

"He had his old mischievous mindset back. I have missed that about him."

"We joked as we travelled, but as we entered the town, he became... well, you know, as he is now."

Christie picked up a goblet and sipped her wine. Two bottles stood on a table, one with the Thorn crest and the other a local wine.

Zarkon poured more of the thick red wine into his goblet. "Yet you have not thought of him once in fifteen years, not even a letter."

Luna fidgeted in her chair, staring at her feet.

"Yet, he brought you with him. Master has gifted you with Silvi's magic."

Luna felt the world spinning, but it passed. Zarkon stared at her with his crimson eyes. His face and body were that of a twenty-something, yet his eyes were ancient. "We sense the manna core inside you."

"He created a manna core inside you and remade your body into a primordial elf."

Luna paled. She wanted to run from the room. Her body had gone numb. She could hear her heart beating. It felt like it tried to break through her chest. "He has the power to do the impossible."

Christie gave her a sip of her wine, the alcohol calming and enhanced by her magic. "Let's just say if he decided to end this world, it would end, and neither you nor Zarkon could do anything about it."

Zarkon poured himself more of his wine. "We have consulted the ancients from our perspective tribes."

"We believe that if Master should die, this world will be annihilated as if it never existed."

"We have never sensed any manna from the Master or his orb."

Christie sipped her wine. "His powers are unknown in this world. The only blessing for us is that he hates to leave his home. For some reason, terrified of the world outside."

Luna laughed. "Impossible. We played outside all the time."

Zarkon scoffed. "That was with you, but after your." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "Incident. He did not leave the mansion for fifteen years."

Luna's eyes widened. "What happened to him?"

Zarkon gave her a meaningful look. "You should know."

"How strong was Silvi before murdered?" She had to change the subject. She began to have a sickening feeling.

Zarkon sneered, his mood souring. "My Lady Silvi had reached level eight hundred and forty-six." Zarkon sneered.

"How she could have lost and get murdered vexes me. She was powerful." Zarkon growled as he stared at the ceiling.

Luna had met known magic practitioners intimately in the capital. Stop lying to yourself, Luna, she berated herself mentally. The strongest had been a level hundred and four warrior orc with incredible stamina.

Luna hesitated but asked, "Christie, you said he created my core and gifted me Silvi's magic. Is he a god?" She laughed at the thought.

Christie became serious. Zarkon sat forward, tense. "This conversation should never leave this room."

He gave her a meaningful stare. "If it does, you lose your life."

Sipping his wine. "Do not tell our Master what we reveal today."

"We do not know if he knows we know what he is."

Christie touched Zarkon's hand. "We value our lives."

"Silvi had warned us that he was keeping his origins a secret. She had known he was not of this world the day he appeared."

"She somehow knew she had a daughter. Yet, there he was at the picnic, a boy. She had memories of her daughter Sylvian." Christie said.

"No memories of Ignatius before that day. My coming to Silvi at his birth. She could not remember it happening." Zarkon said.

"She confided in me in my room. Christie was pitching up a month before as well, but I have no memory."

"Silvi said she was busy talking to her daughter; the next moment, he was there," Zarkon said. "She confessed that she was drawn to him as a woman, yet she played the motherly role. You will see many things that no being in this world has seen for millennia."

Christie's smile did not reach her eyes. "The Master is friends with the creator of this world."

Luna almost fell from her seat. She did not want to look weak before them. She righted herself, her hands trembling, her muscles losing all power. She felt weak.

"He might look young to us, but he is the ancient of mythology written about in prophecy," Zarkon said, swirling the thick wine in his goblet.

Luna stood, pointing. "That is ludicrous, and you know it. The ancient is a myth, a being with such power impossible."

She seated herself, folding her arms as she stared at them. How can they tell her such preposterous lies? The two looked at her as if she was a petulant child.

Christie laughed. "Silly little girl, I am from the creator's world."

Christie waved her hand in the air, and an image of a room appeared: a giant silhouette sitting in a strange chair. He had curly blond hair and a well-trimmed beard. The room had weird machines. Pictures lined the wall of elf maidens and Beastmen girls with strange weapons in stranger worlds. A photo of a beautiful red-headed woman with ice-blue eyes adorned his desk. 

The man giant was typing on a keyboard. He slumped forward. He might be casting a spell, Luna thought. Silvi appeared on the black screen, followed by Zarkon. He had created them, and then Misty Cove appeared on the screen. Then, the image faded.

 "There, they create hundreds and thousands of worlds yearly," Christie said proudly. "They enter them and change the world as they see fit. They gift powers to those they deem worthy."

"Ignatius Thorn created Zarkon, Silvi, and me as this world formed at the beginning of time. We were the first beings of this world."

"When I lived in his realm, he was a giant, as you have seen. I loved him more than my life. His sister is the woman in the photo. A goddess amongst goddesses, his whole world till he lost her."

"My presence was but a mere insect to him. The power he wielded scared me yet fascinated me."

"Then suddenly, I appeared in this world. He sat before me on the checkered blanket, with you and Silvi beside him. I had been changed as well."

Luna sat back, unable to believe her ears. Zarkon poured himself more wine. "You have never suffered loss, Miss Luna, yet Master has suffered it many times already."

"You have never fallen in love or lost said love."

Luna objected, "What about Bradley? We were going to marry."

"That, my dear, was due to pressure from your parents and Silvi's death. Which affected your judgement."

"Your main motivation was lust, all those times on Master's estate in his tea garden. It was quite the show; your performance was."

Christie touched her hand. "You love sex. We get it, so do I, but my heart belongs to one man."

Zarkon pointed at her. "Your record in the capital speaks volumes."

Luna paled, placing her arms before her breasts.

"Do not fret; Master does not know, and he never will," Zarkon said. "If you came here to be with the Master, we would support your efforts. But should you betray him as you did, that would make you our enemy."

Luna held up her hand in surrender. "My intentions are true. My aim is Ignatius and no other. I had my fill of men."

Zarkon grinned, his eyes glowing red like blood. "We know many men have filled you. Rowan knows as well. He was my informant in the capital. He watched you, ensuring you were well treated and kept out of danger, for Master's sake. He kept quiet out of respect for the Master and his departed mother, Silvi."

"You should also know that Mayweather is a vampire spy of my clan. She recorded all your adventures and sent it to me to check."

"She had magic surveillance items installed, and it was quite the show every day."

Luna thought it strange that the woman never stepped into the sunlight. Now, it made sense. She was protected and did not know it. She was a failure as a detective.

Christie stood flapping her wings, fairy dust falling around her. She excused herself. "One day, you will know what loss is. Then your agony will begin, and Ignatius's feelings will be known to you."

"Stay a while till Zarkon has had his fill of you. May your outcome be a pleasant one, different from his." Christie said, closing the door.

"He fell apart after witnessing you and Bradley in the tea garden, frozen with shock and unable to escape," Zarkon said.

"I rescued him, and Silvi consoled him as he cried, his heart torn in shreds," Zarkon said, staring into his goblet. He impaled himself on a sword, you know. Silvi saved his life with a rejuvenation potion.

Luna gasped, her eyes wide. "I did not know."

"He had changed after you told him about you and Bradley moving to the capital. You had not even reached the gate. He fell in a sword again. Luckily, I had kept an eye on him." Zarkon said. Pouring the last of his wine. He motioned with his hand, and a bottle floated from his wine rack into his hand. 

After that day, he stayed in the mention. He never laughed or smiled after that day. Zarkon said. He used to be such an energetic, friendly young boy. He sighed. 

Luna walked to her room; two hours had passed since Christie left. Zarkon had made her lie on his bed in different positions for his viewing pleasure; her mind was numb. He saw us. He had known all this time and said nothing.

She would have felt better if he had accused her back then, but he had died inside. She could see it in his eyes as she happily told him about her plans to move and showed him the ring Bradley had given her.

She vomited in her room until she had nothing left inside her. The sweet mercy of sleep did not find her. How could she salvage her situation? This changed everything. How should she act before him?