God-Daughter

"Wait a second!"

Jinx whirled around, facing Sunny and Vince. "She... she can track water?" Her voice was laced with disbelief.

"I didn't know about it either," Sunny admitted, a hint of confusion in his tone. "It seems this skill is part of her, maybe she was born with it." He mused:

'Even the system didn't say anything about it... Are there more skills in this daughter of mine?'

Jinx's gaze dropped to Ellen. "If you can track a water source, then why didn't you say that from the start and come with me?! Instead, you let this big buffoon come with me!"

"...?!"

"...!!"

"...?!"

Sunny, Vince, and Ellen were all dumbfounded by her outburst.

"This will be a long walk," Vince muttered to himself, shaking his head slightly.

'I can't use Space Master because I haven't seen the water source, so we'll follow Ellen,' Sunny thought, completely unfazed by Jinx's tantrum.

___

[Star Empire.]

Matilda, cross-legged on her bed, slowly opened her eyes. She was still clad in the flowing white dress. Standing up, she walked towards the colossal mirror and gazed at her reflection.

".....?!"

Matilda was stunned. "What is this?" She reached up, touching the distinct strand of red hair intertwined with her silver locks, her face a mask of shock.

"Why did some of my hair change?" She leaned closer, noticing a tiny red dot in her pupils, just above them. "What?"

She moved even closer, scrutinizing her eyes.

WHOOSH!

Matilda glanced over her shoulder, seeing nothing. Unbeknownst to her, the spectral phantom of the Queen materialized in the mirror, a smirk playing on its lips.

Matilda turned back to the mirror, examining her new appearance once more. "Okay... I can do with this. It's just a change of hair and my eyes... the glow isn't that bright." She smoothed her hair.

"I still gained something good out of this. I am now at the peak of the Heavenly Rank. I just need one more thing so I can enter the Celestial Rank."

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Matilda turned towards the door. "Who is it?"

"My Queen..."

The old senator's voice resonated from the other side.

"Oh... Senator Gabriel."

Matilda stole one last glance at herself in the mirror. Satisfied with her appearance, she walked to the door and opened it.

"Senator Gabriel, why are you here?" she asked, a smile gracing her lips, careful to avoid eye contact.

"Empress, the Dragon Nation sent a messenger," Gabriel stated. "I think it's related to the annual auction, the Supreme Auction."

Gabriel was the oldest senator in the entire Star Nation. Though human, he had fallen in love with an elf and fathered a half-elf, who was currently under Matilda's wing. This girl was one of Matilda's special people and a key part of her forces. Recognizing this, Gabriel pledged his allegiance to Matilda, becoming one of her staunchest backers in her quest for power. His influence in the Capital was more terrifying than all other Senators and Joshua combined, making him an invaluable asset to Matilda. He was also feared, being the second strongest among the nation's top five, his strength at the peak stage of the Celestial Rank. He had lost his wife years ago, and Matilda, for the sole purpose of securing his unwavering support, had taken his daughter as her god-daughter. She had succeeded; he would do anything she commanded, even wiping out an entire city.

"A messenger?" Matilda feigned surprise.

"Yes."

Gabriel's gaze flickered to her hair. "I see the Empress is trying something new."

"Oh... yeah." Matilda smiled faintly. "I will be there in ten minutes."

"Okay, Empress."

Gabriel nodded, then turned and paused. "Senator Philip is dead... We just got the news."

"What?! What happened?!" Matilda exclaimed, putting on a show of shock.

"Bandits ambushed him," he said, looking at her over his shoulder. "I know you killed him... Next time, let me know. I will handle it."

"Thank you, Senator," Matilda said with a small, knowing smile.

"Your god-daughter will be coming back in some months. The competition is also coming up. Are you planning on using her?" he asked.

"The competition requires blood relatives," Matilda pointed out.

"That rule can be changed at any time," he countered, looking away.

"If that is possible, I will have to trouble my god-daughter," she said with a smile, as Gabriel nodded and walked away.

'If it were anyone else who knew my secret, they would be dead by now... But Gabriel has always been with me, helping me all the way. He is the only ally I trust. Besides, I can't kill him; no one can... unless the Immortals descend.'

She thought, closing her door. "My god-daughter, I haven't seen her for such a long time... I wonder how her expedition in the Wendigos' territory is going. Come back with the head of a Wendigo's elder, and I will officially announce to the whole galaxy that you are my daughter."

Indeed, she was the elf Gabriel had fallen in love with, and the so-called god-daughter was actually Matilda's biological daughter. Sunny had no idea about this; no one did, not even Joshua.

"I will do anything to get what I want... Nothing will stop me." She paused.

"Wait a second... Gabriel knows I am her mother, but others don't... By changing the rules, everyone will think I am her god-mother, and when I give the announcement, everything will fall into place..." She smiled.

"I will have to think of a time to reveal this to her."

Matilda slowly undid a button of her dress, then paused, turning her gaze to a corner of the room. "You know I can have your head for this?!" she hissed.

Jabez materialized from thin air and dropped to one knee. "My Queen, I brought news!" he declared.

'Huh? Why is he so respectful?' Matilda raised an eyebrow. "For entering my room without my permission... This must be important."

She walked towards the bed and sat down, staring at him. "Tell me."

"We just discovered the Blood Soul Artifact. It will be displayed in the Supreme Auction tomorrow, My Queen must have it; it will increase your strength greatly," he said, adding, "We also detected a group of Wendigos rushing towards the nation, the weakest is at the Half Heavenly Rank... Our mission is to protect the Queen, so should we wipe them out?" he asked, looking up at her.

"Hmm..."

Matilda was silent, deep in thought.