*Two weeks ago*
A beautiful lady sat in an empty room as she bit done into her meal. She was alone in a grand restaurant, completely sated with the solitude and silence that came with it.
She had beautiful golden locks if hair, charming blue eyes and a calm and passive aura around her but there was something dangerous about her.
Despite her calm and beautiful demeanor, she had the terrifying ranking of a tier seven expert.
In this world, she was classified as the top of the world, able to move as she liked without the feat if facing any repercussions whatsoever.
She was in the second array which was higher compared to the king in Aewdwen who was in the first array. However that didn't mean that she didn't have someone who was higher than her.
She looked at the tea in her hand before she calmly took a small sip of it. "Hah!" She signed in satisfaction however the calm atmosphere was disturbed by a man who walked over to her.
He stood right behind her as where she was seated was situated next to a balcony. He went on one of his knees as he had a respectful air around him.
His name was Azriel, a tier six monster on the fourth array and the head of the royal nobles situated in the capital of Ashendell. "My Queen Sylarana."
Sylarana looked at the tea in her hand before looking out the balcony. "Azriel, may I ask what you are thinking when I'm having my tea?" Sylarana said softly however Azriel seemed on edge.
"Oh, then in that case I'll take my leav-" Sylarana raised her hand making Azriel halt his speech. "Since you are already here you might as well tell me why! Right?" Sylarana trailed off before taking a sip.
"Right! Your majesty! The investigations have proved that truly the Miss had actually slain the Hydra. Her name turns out to be Ashley."
Sylarana paused as she heard this. She was acutely aware of the hydra, a tier seven monstrosity, one of the few beasts that could talk the same language as them.
She had heard numerous tales about it as to how it would wreck terror and calamities to those who would dare tread on its waters.
And now it was dead. "What else?" Sylarana added. "We have tried to lock onto where she may have originated from and we were able to find a small island that seemed to have signs of inhabitation."
"However something was strange about it. Everything on it that was organic had already rotted leaving the entire island bare except for one thing, or one person."
"Huh?" Sylarana mused in amusement as she finished off her tea. Her dainty hands were gloved as she clutched onto her head. "Is there something wrong your majesty?" Azriel quizzed.
"No, nothing wrong just keep on going." Sylarana brushed it off. Azriel had knew when she gave off such an indication, it was the sign of something else brewing underneath however he could only let go of the matter for now.
"We have been able to make the 'thing' talk however the only problem is that it will talk only in short intervals before expressing extreme pain all over its body."
Tired with the scenery in front of her, she stood up from her chair. "Let's go meet him." She said with a smile to which he seemed startled before responding.
"Very well." He led the way out of the restaurant and the two went into a carriage that was densely decorated as they made their way through the capital.
The whole place was heavily guarded, with lots of the guards being on the fourth tier with few exceptions being on the fifth however such people were those at the top of the rankings.
The two made their way till they went to a small forest located outside of the capital. Sylarana had casted a cloaking spell thus almost no one could tell where they were.
Shortly after, they got off as they went to a weirdly huge tree. Azriel applied a little bit of his mana and a magnificent array manifested beneath their feet, teleporting the two elsewhere.
The carriage had already left by now. The two figures appeared in a decrepit and damp place, resembling a dungeon.
"You should really clean this place." Sylarana said as she led the way. "I will have it attended to, your majesty." Azriel shortly commented as he followed her.
The two were actually deep in the castle, in one of the various hidden places present. It wasn't long before the two came to a room before stepping inside.
There were numerous people who all seemed like veteran mages who upon realizing that the queen was present, all have respectful bows to her.
"We greet our Queen." They all said in unison however Sylarana didn't seem all that fixated on that as her blue eyes landed on the mass of flesh in the middle of the room.
"We have tried to make him talk however he can only do so if we cast pain numbing runes all over him. It seems to work for about ten minutes before he succumbs to mild insanity."
One of the scientific mages spoke. Sylarana seemed shocked as she looked at him. "I want to talk to it." The scientist understood as numerous arrays lit up all over the center of the room.
"Gaah! Pain! Make it stop!! Aaahhh!!!" The mass of flesh exclaimed however Sylarana seemed dissatisfied with this. Her right hand glowed briefly to which the mass of flesh stopped shouting as it fell in silence.
It was a pain numbing array which was without a doubt superior to the vials and experiments those present had tried. This was a tier seven! Her skills and talent were unmatched!
"Finally, we can get this going. Now, tell me who are you?" Sylarana asked as she looked all over the mass of flesh. "I...am... Morben..."
He spoke as he slurred with his words. She could identify what he had said. "Very well, Morben. Can you explain what happened to you and your island?"
Morben fell silent. "Very well. The state of the island is due to the work of a lady. Black hair, deep dark red eyes and an otherworldly presence around her."
'It seems to be Ashley.' "Very well. Can you tell me where she came from?"
Morben fell silent once more. "I don't know where she came from but she is definitely strong." He finished off.
"She removed my humanity, cursed me to be a slug that never dies. Only to experience eternal torment on that island. Hunger, pain, loneliness and many more I experienced and yet I never died. She made me immortal so that I can experience this purgatory forever."
Morben croaked as his words were laced with anger and hopelessness. "Immortal?" Sylarana asked as soon as she realized this. "Yes, she made me in such a manner that I cannot die regardless of what I experience."
"This is true, our queen. We have tried to use all kinds of lethal poisons on him, arrays and spells and yet he remained in this state.
Sylarana was perplexed as she heard this. 'So she is capable do granting someone immortality.' She concluded as she looked the mass of flesh on the grey tiled floor.
"Very well. Can we at least arrange a meeting with her? I want to speak with her." Sylarana as she got out of the room. She was getting disgusted of seeing him thus she left the room.
'To be crippled into such a state! What did he do to deserve this?' She mused as she left. Azriel tailed her out.
"It would seem that her current location is unknown. She stayed at Sablestone for some time. Overthrowing the present king and instituting her own. Sevyn."
"She was a trader at tier four and yet she was capable of raising her tier to tier sevens. However she's on the first array."
'What? A being capable of raising someone's tier!' She was shocked to hear this. She had worked to attain her rank for hundreds of years. Making numerous sacrifices and yet Sevyn was simply given the tier herself.
'That would make her the fourth person to attain the infamous tier seven and at such a young age as well. She is at least in her thirties.'
"Is that all?" Sylarana commented as she seemed eager to leave. "No, apparently there has been a cave where everyone was found dead. It seems a case similar to the island however this time they weren't rotting, just dead as if collapsed to the floor with the cause unknown."
"We have high suspicions that it could be her. This cave was found not far from Eldermere." Azriel said making Sylarana pause in her tracks. "So it would seem that she made her way from Sablestone to Eldermere."
'But where could she be going exactly? Is she out to confront Leopold?' She mused however she quickly disregarded that thought.
'Aewdwen is way to the East whereas she seems to be going north thus it couldn't be it but where exactly?' She mused that she would make every king and queen of human kingdom a tier seven, as if on some holy pilgrimage however it would seem that no other popped up.
'Not to mention the Sphin trials are around the corner. This is going to be a mouthful to deal with.'
"Very well. Just keep me updated on her location and anything else she might do. Also prepare a gift basket for Sablestone." She said as her presence was covered in a blue aura before instantly vanishing from sight.
Azriel have out a sigh of relief before recalling her orders. 'I want to kill this bitch so bad but I don't have the necessary arms to do so. Not to mention that freak might intervene and save her.'
'If that girl manages to get on her good side then it will prove all the more troublesome to deal with her. I will just have to postpone my plans for now.' He mused before he too left.
As for the gift basket that she mentioned, Sevyn was surprised that she received numerous gifts such as grants to conduct trade with the elves, numerous paths to crusade through and other benefits as well.
Some of them being potions, elixirs and herbs to help her solidify her foundation however those were unnecessary as she had taken care of that ages ago but she took them nonetheless.
And with that a friendly relation came about between the two sides.
*Present Time*
"We just have to find a way of severing the connection between these two." A noble spoke, he had a long nose, handsome features however this time his face was unsightly.
This was the same for everyone present in the room in the court of Aewdwen. Leopold sat calmly on his throne as he heard the developments that had happened as of late.
'Some small fish became a tier seven overnight.' It was a joke at best however that was the case as of currently.
"The Queen of the elves has proposed numerous exchanges with Sablestone and the connection between the two is considered strong as allies."
The report documented. A lot of people were skeptical as to how she was capable of such a feat especially Leopold. He had been training endlessly for numerous decades and yet someone else was simply given the title as well.
It was an insult to not just him but also the other experts. They had to train days and nights, sharpening and honing their skills to be able to rank upwards which they took great value and showed respect for.
But that didn't mean that because Sevyn's path was cleared for her first hand meant that they could ignore her. She was a tier seven monster with another terror giving her background making dealing with her problematic!
"It's not just the elves, numerous kingdoms have grown interested in her state and it is confirmed that she is a tier seven. Not to mention it seems that she is developing numerous 'machines' she has deemed which has greatly bolstered her economy."
Everyone present knew what the report meant. Sablestone went from a kingdom on the verge of collapse to a neat super kingdom. Naturally the only kingdom that was on this level was the elven kingdom and the Aewdwen Kingdom.
"And this rate of progress has been on the rise as of late. It is speculated that they will become a super kingdom in a few months."
Leopold had an unsightly look on his face. "May I ask who her background is?"