Part 11
Zeta stands on the nocturnal rooftop and looks down upon the academy. Her golden tail sways in the cold winter breeze.
“It’s time,” she murmurs.
“At long last?”
“I see you’ve made your decision.”
There are two figures standing behind her.
One of them is Victoria. The other is a girl with her hood hung low.
“I’m going to revive Diablos,” Zeta declares.
“What did Master Shadow say?” Victoria asks.
“We talked. That’s all.”
“Did you get his permission, then?”
“That was never my plan. But if he was going to stop me, I would have stopped.”
Victoria smiles. “I take it that means he has to tell you to stop.”
“Nope. From here on, I’m acting of my own accord.”
“You know this means betraying the Shadow Garden.”
“I don’t care. Alpha is too soft. She has no vision for after we crush the Cult. But I do.” Zeta narrows her icy-purple eyes. “I’ll revive Diablos and obtain eternal life. Then I’ll control the world forever.”
Victoria’s cheeks flush with ecstasy. “And Master Shadow will become a god.”
“You’ll be reviled,” says the hooded girl, who’d remained silent throughout the rest of the exchange.
“Master wants eternal life. I’ll shoulder all the sin.”
“Let’s do this, then, shall we? Long live Master Shadow.”
“…The plan proceeds.”
Victoria and the hooded girl vanish without a sound.
Now Zeta is alone on the rooftop. She stares intently at the academy’s lights.
“I’ll steal it all—eternal life and control of the world. Then…we’ll finally have a perfect world where mistakes never happen again.”
The lights waver in the darkness of the night. They remind Zeta of the torches from that night so long ago.
“This is my duty.”
She squeezes herself tight to double-check.
Good, her knees aren’t trembling.
Her heart is still.
Standing alone, she releases a long, foggy exhale into the night. Then she follows it with a few words.
“Father… Master… I’m strong now.”
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