Brother and Sister
She stared into the bright flames thoughtfully. Her mind was still replaying the conversation and everything new she had learned.
She tried to keep a nonchalant facade, but inside she hid deep fear and worry. To be honest, she did not know what to do. Leaving seemed to be the best option, but she was afraid to leave the city in the hands of these evil forces.
They would go in a few days, no matter what, but it still didn't sit right with her.
This thought was also strange and unusual. She was never a righteous or particularly kindhearted person. Doing good was never her priority in either of her lives.
In the first one, she lived a great and normal life. She never had problems with money and such, but she was also never living in luxury, so she didn't care about the people living below her.
In her second life, it was the other way around. She lived a life of poorness, trying to survive each day. She had no time to worry about being good.
Even when she got adopted by that wealthy family, she was more concerned about who she was than who she wanted to be.
The more she thought about it, the more she realized that few people have the time or money to think about such issues. Also, thinking about it didn't really matter, since as a normal person, you can't make much of a difference.
But she wasn't a normal person...
With these questions inside her head, she asked for the only nearby person for his opinion.
"Hey, Tom. What do you think about being good or evil?" asked Veronica, then took a long sip of her wine.
"Oh, don't tell me you were a philosopher in your past life." He laughed, and Veronica answered while smile, "I had philosophy classes in university, but I was more into history."
Her brother chuckled loudly, causing Veronica to laugh as well, then awaited Tom's answer...
"To be perfectly honest, I never thought about morality. I always followed my heart, even when it led me down on a dark path... I think it would be nice to be good, but change can't happen on a smaller scale, since it would just lead to an established society's crumbling..."
"See these protests, for example! There is two options out of this. Either the current leadership will give in to their demands or they will die by the mass's hands..."
"These bombings and mass shootings aren't caused by supernatural forces. They just expedite everything, but the seeds of chaos have been sown there for a long time!"
Veronica stared into the flames with a sad and reminiscent smile. She really missed her brother's quick and amazing mind. He was always great to see through a situation, even if he didn't have the full picture.
He didn't even know how correct he was about the protests. Back on Earth, the civilians even made a special device to behead the rich and the nobility. But, he wasn't hundred percent correct...
"But if change can't happen from the bottom, and the top don't want to change, then how do we become better as a society?" she asked while taking another long sip and awaited her brother's answer with a small smile.
"You know the answer already, little Vera. If you are at the bottom, then you should strive to be at the top. From there you can change everything, and yes, this is even more true for the supernatural world."
This was the exact answer Veronica was hoping for, and with a small giggle, she spoke...
"That's the trap, isn't it? That is why the top set it up this way. When you reach that high place, where you can only look down at the rest of humanity, would you truly want them to be your equal? If you are a god, why would you care about what the ant thinks of you?"
Veronica shifted on the couch and laid down on it. She then stared at the ceiling, while listening to her brother...
"Yes, but it's even worse in the supernatural world. A regular human is like an ant to the higher Orders, and those are like ants to the Gods. How could you expect them to care about the people who are way smaller than ants in their eyes?"
She just sighed at his answer and downed the rest of the wine in her glass. She then stared at the reflection inside her glass and noticed something strange. The earrings had changed colors.
Instead of one dark blue and one brown, both were red with blue and brown tones inside.
"Oh. That's interesting! It seems that the ritual accidentally fused the Ethereal Item's Characteristic inside the Relic too," he said in a shocked tone, one that Veronica matched. "I didn't even know this could happen. Does that mean it gained more powers?"
"I think so... Maybe... I have no idea... The ritual shouldn't have done that! It only should've transported the Ethereal Property, while destroying the Characteristic. Or at least change its state, so it wouldn't be accessible for a few thousand years!"
With curiosity, Veronica jumped to her feet and marched into the bathroom. There she looked at the earrings in the mirror.
They had become much more beautiful, and symmetrical. They glinted in blue and brown colors, while the dominant color was blood-red. The gold casing stayed the exact same, which was a shame she favored silver over gold.
"Well, I don't know if they got any new ability, but they sure as hell look better now!" said Veronica cheerfully, and in her mind Tom began laughing his ass off.
"Of course. A powerful Relic made of three different Ascended Characteristic, but the only thing she cares about are its looks!"
They both continued to chuckle for a while, then eventually Veronica grew curious and tried to divine the Relic's powers in the living room.
Her dance only lasted for a few seconds before the divination proved successful.
She saw a few pictures of a person disassembling and reassembling a repeater rifle. She then saw the same person hit and moved with unnatural strength and speed.
The divination also showed a few other already familiar images about the Mind's Eye and Moon's Magnificence. There was also one new spell...
The few images she saw depicted a slender, glowing needle piercing the armor of a medieval knight. It went straight through him without slowing down, killing the person instantly.
As the divination ended, the name of the spell came to her mind too... Starlight Needle!
Without giving it much thought, Veronica tried to summon it, which she managed to do on her first try.
On top of her palm, a tiny needle-like energy appeared. It glowed in a deep blue color, but it illuminated nothing, like it wasn't truly there.
She tried to keep her concentration going, but since this was the first time she used this spell, she didn't have that much control.
When her focus was inevitably lost, the needle shot out of her palm. Veronica was facing the wall to the outside, so the needle didn't go through most of the apartment.
It did pierce the wall though, and as Veronica bent down, she stared outside through the small needle sized hole.
Her face turned bright red from embarrassment, and Tom's gleeful laughter didn't help at all.
"At least we are moving away in a few days..." she whispered to herself, causing Tom's laughter to increase.
With a touch of annoyance, she started to test the other new abilities the earrings had granted.
She took out Lady Helper and took it apart with no issues. She then put it back together in less than a minute, which was three times as fast as she usually done it.
Her body also felt a bit stronger and faster, but the change wasn't anything too interesting.
What was better than either of these was the practical knowledge she gained. Previously she hadn't noticed it, but now she knew everything there was to know about firearms and she knew how to use every single one of them.
This might turn out to be useless, but she still loved to learn more about anything gun related!
After getting everything straight inside her mind, she yawned with exhaustion. The day was long, and she really needed to rest.
The fire in the hearth was burned out. She turned off all the gas lamps and went to the bedroom, where she crawled under the warm covers.
Smiling slightly, Veronica closed her eyes and spoke to her brother.
"Will you watch over me while I sleep?" she asked playfully, but his voice sounded serious and comforting. "Always, little sister."
A small tear travelled down her face... "I'm glad you are here, with me... I love you, big brother..." her voice broke by the end, and in a similar affectionate tone he said, "I love you too, little Vera. Good Night."
Soon she had already cried herself to sleep, but these weren't tears of sadness. They were from deep joy and love. She finally felt at ease, no more fear, no more anger.
She felt content, and overall good. This feeling lasted only for a few days though, then the worry returned as they were about to leave Hammon...