Part 5
Vordea was positively delighted at how their meeting with Xellma went, and made her pleasure known immediately.
"Oh that went absolutely wonderfully!" She said, her smile beaming across the room.
"It did?" Drota asked, puzzled. "She sexually harassed me, used some kind of mind control magic on Thalassius, and then implied she was going to rape him later, before leaving."
"Oh yes for the Demon Queen that was quite excellent." Vaust replied, nodding. "You do know what a succubus is, don't you?"
"You understood Xellma's magic?" Neptis asked with a raised eyebrow. "I'm impressed. Even I had to ask Vordea."
"Not quite. He seemed to be compelled to obey, but I didn't see her cast any magic." Drota admitted. "I merely used intuition."
"Then allow me to explain." Vordea said, clapping her hands twice, her jacket being replaced by her formal gown. "My oh so sweet Xellma has a very special demonic aura. She named the effect Queen's Orders, which I think suits it perfectly."
"Queen's Orders?" Drota asked.
"Yes. I'll spoil the surprise and say it's soul magic." Vordea continued, glancing over at Eigengrau, who grunted but made no other reply. "An irresistible command is carved into the soul of the target, and they must obey her command, but only when she speaks their name."
"Truly Godlike power and all she uses it for is pranks." Neptis sighed, shaking her head.
"Fitting, really." Eigengrau stated. "A true granddaughter of Mira Frost."
"Oh?" Drota asked. She had heard of the name Mira Frost, but everybody seemed cagey about the name. "Just who is Mira Frost?"
"You didn't even bother telling her, dear?" Agbus asked.
"No." Vordea said, looking down.
"Maybe it's best if she meets her. Well, the memory at least." Vaust suggested.
"To help them understand the pain the universe itself was built on." Sargon added, nodding.
"A moment." Eigengrau replied, disappearing.
Eigengrau returned moments later with Mira's memory, who seemed positively delighted at what she encountered.
"New Inner Gods?" Mira asked, a large smile on her face. "You've been busy, me."
"Drota, Thalassius, meet Mira Frost, the Last Lord of Carcosa. The Corpse King. The source of your powers." Eigengrau said, introducing Mira with a bow.
"Quite the titles. Mind explaining them, Mira?" Drota replied, finally taking a seat.
Mira laughed heartily at this. "To so casually ask about what you don't understand. Yes, you deserve the title of Magic God." Mira said, a twinkle of insanity in her eye. "The Last Lord of Carcosa is far easier to explain. In the devastating final years of the previous universe, I was one of the final rulers of my people. The last commander of the last fleet, Fleet Admiral Mira Frost of Demhe Station. I did not go quietly in the gentle night, of course. I raged against the dying of the light. We broke the very walls of reality when we created her."
"Who?" Drota asked, intensely curious.
"Me." Mira said, gesturing at Vordea. "My crowning achievement, my legacy of terror. Part human, part... something else."
The other Gods were entirely silent now, including Vordea. She knew she never heard any of this from Mira, and that the real Mira was leaking into reality, but this was information about herself that she had desperately wanted to know for her entire life.
"It wasn't enough. Our best scientists created... something. I never figured out what it was, but they said whoever drank it would become capable of defying reality itself."
"Alright that's quite enough Mira." Eigengrau interrupted, speaking up before Mira could keep talking. "I know the Corpse King when I see her."
Mira smiled unsettlingly, and bowed. "Drota, there is some good advice when dealing with both me and me." She continued, gesturing at both herself and Vordea. "Never trust either of us. Even a memory can become a conduit for the real thing, and the Broken Mirror reflects only a partial truth. As for the second title, The Corpse King." Mira paused, closed her eyes and shook her head. "No, I think I'll tell you the truth."
"You considered something else?" Drota asked.
"It would have been simple to lie. The Primals would have covered it up. No, The Corpse King is the real Mira Frost. All divine power originates from her uncontrolled reality warping. She is the dead body that all of creation is based upon."