Lust Knight

The conversation with the Water Spirit becomes increasingly strange; instead of answers, she only gives Lucien more questions.

Mysterious connections that seem impossible, but they are there, and no matter how much Lucien and the Sins try to see through it, nothing seems to make sense.

"The shell, right..." The Water Spirit looks at Lucien with a mixed expression of emotions, which, while seeming normal, are also exactly the opposite.

"Yes, a shell." Lucien becomes more and more curious about the mysterious object, which could also be a creature or a mixture of both.

As the Water Spirit seems to be wondering about that, Lucien insists. "Can you tell me about it? I mean, if it's a secret just for you..."

"It's not a secret." She quickly responds. "In fact, it was a gift."

Lucien notices a beautiful glow passing through the Water Spirit's blue eyes when she talks about the shell. And now that he knows she doesn't hold good memories about her mother, there's only one plausible conclusion.

"It was a gift from your father?" He asks and immediately regrets making such a question.

Lust and Envy quickly complain in his mind. "Why are you mentioning her father again? This subject will only upset her!"

He doesn't want to make the Water Spirit upset and sad by mentioning her father, but contrary to logic, she smiles gently.

"Yes, he was the one who gave me the shell." She responds. "It fit in the palm of my hand when I was still a little kid..."

Lucien and the Sins have no idea when that was, tens of thousands of years ago? Hundreds of thousands? Millions of years? The Primordials are truly the most mysterious creatures in the universe.

The Water Spirit seems to be having a happy nostalgia as her eyes continue to sparkle, and her lips are smiling.

Lucien takes advantage of her good mood and refills her glass with more wine. "So, the shell... what kind of gift is it?"

"The perfect gift." She quickly responds and takes the glass.

Her gaze meets Lucien's for a second, and once again, the emotions in the Blue Lady's eyes become so varied that it's impossible to tell what she's feeling.

He smiles amiably, but she quickly looks away. "My father was an arrogant fool..."

Her tone resembles more that of a petulant child than an ancient being, but she quickly returns to speaking in a gentle tone.

"But he was also very wise at times," She sighs. "Despite all the love I had for him and my sisters, I wasn't good at making friends when I was five years old..."

Lucien listens attentively to the Water Spirit's words as she recounts her past.

"My father didn't try to change me or anything like that," She explains. "He just gave me that shell."

"I was confused at first, but then he told me that if I took good care of it, it wouldn't just be my best friend but also the most loyal protector."

Lucien can recognize nostalgia and sadness in the Water Spirit's gaze, but then she starts to laugh.

"Damn, what kind of gift is a shell???" She asks, but Lucien isn't sure if she's asking herself or him.

Since she doesn't say anything for a few seconds, he becomes puzzled. "The perfect gift?"

"Yeah," she smiles. "He told me that shell was special, that it could understand any feeling, and that's why it would be an excellent listener and companion."

"Understanding feelings?" Lucien asks as something clicks in his mind. "You mean like the ability of the Mermaids?"

"Exactly," she nods. "Seems like you're not so foolish after all."

Once again, Lucien feels that the Water Spirit is teasing him, but he doesn't mind because he finds her story very interesting.

"Why did the shell have such an ability? Is it some kind of treasure, creature, or..." He begins to ask.

But the Water Spirit quickly interrupts him. "No; it was an ordinary shell, a random shell he picked up on any beach."

Lucien looks clearly confused, and the Water Spirit continues explaining. "But he did something with it, he enchanted the shell, giving it that ability and making it develop a certain level of intelligence."

"Incredible..." Lucien comments, the same way Sloth does in his mind.

Before he can ask an obvious question, the Water Spirit speaks. "Don't think you can just use such an enchantment to gain that ability."

"It must be something quite complex, right?" He asks, curious.

She nods. "I don't even know how my father placed that enchantment on the shell, and I could only use it in creating the Mermaids because they would be pure creatures, without any blemish in their lineage."

Lucien has no idea how to create a race from scratch like the Water Spirit did, and neither do the Sins truly understand her methods.

Yet, he agrees that the Mermaids are indeed pure and magnificent creatures, which makes him wonder why the Nagas didn't receive the same treatment.

The curiosity reaches such a high point that he feels compelled to ask, "What about the Nagas?"

"I wanted to make them stronger..." The Water Spirit responds. "So I used Thalara's lineage in their creation, which prevented me from giving them the ability of the shell."

"Oh," Lucien can't help but think about how the Nagas and the Leviathan have similarities, from gills, ears with multiple tips, to scaly snake tails. "That's why they are so fierce."

"Hahaha..." The Water Spirit laughs, agreeing with him.

Lucien feels an incredible pleasure in seeing the mysterious Blue Lady happy; being near her, talking to her, and seeing her smile feels so natural.

Many things are popping up in his mind now, including a theory that he quickly voices aloud. "And in creating the Mermaids?"

"What about them?" She asks.

Lucien already seems certain about that, but he still asks the question. "You used your own lineage, right?"

The Water Spirit doesn't respond directly but wonders about that. Yet, she ends up nodding. "Partly, yes."

"Hmm..." Lucien wonders about that as he drinks more wine. "So, in a way, they have part of your father's lineage..."

"What?!" The Water Spirit seems surprised by that comment.

Lucien fears he may have upset her and quickly tries to explain. "I didn't mean to suggest anything strange, it's just that I think he must have been a nice guy."

"Humph!" The Water Spirit once again seems like she wants to tease him and just looks away while drinking more wine.

Lucien won't say it out loud, but since he instinctively likes the Mermaids, he thinks that if the Water Spirit's father were still alive, they could be great friends, perhaps even a stronger friendship than the one he has with Ron and Anne's father.

The Water Spirit seems to be getting upset again, and Lucien fears she might stop answering his questions. But she also hasn't given him a direct response.

"I still don't understand why the shell opened up to me and not to Nea..." He comments.

"Because she is like me," The Water Spirit explains. "I mean, her nature is opposite to Dark Mana, while you have an affinity with that element, so you were the best choice to help me."

That answer makes sense, but there are still other things that Lucien doesn't understand. "If the shell only wanted my help with the Dark Mana, then why didn't it let me leave after I dealt with that problem?"

"I don't know," The Water Spirit quickly responds, but her tone isn't convincing, and she knows it too.

"Look, it was my father who made the shell like this," She tries to explain. "I don't even understand what level of intelligence it has now; sometimes it obeys me, and sometimes it does things that I don't understand."

Lucien wants to believe the Water Spirit, but somehow, he feels that she's not being entirely honest.

Maybe it's because she's too clear or something he doesn't understand, but he thinks she's deliberately hiding things from him.

Either way, he can't force her to give him any answers, so he just sighs. "I see..."

The Water Spirit can see that Lucien is disappointed with her answer, which clearly upsets her. "I never said I had answers to all your questions, you know."

He stays silent for a few seconds before looking at her again. "I have one more question if you allow me."

"Go ahead," she quickly responds.

Lucien hesitates for a moment because he is not sure what kind of answer he would like to hear about that. Yet, he has to ask such a question, or he will keep wondering about it forever.

"Before I arrived at the shell..." He looks into her blue eyes as he asks. "Why did I feel that familiar sensation coming from you?"

"Familiar sensation???" The Water Spirit seems surprised and nervous upon hearing such a question, which makes Lucien even more curious.

Before he can say anything, she continues. "It must have been the shell, yeah, it definitely was the damn shell!"

"The shell? How exactly?" He clearly doesn't believe in that.

The Water Spirit doesn't realize how bad she is at lying. "It must have created such a feeling to lead you to me, to help me, of course."

Lucien really doesn't want to pressure the Water Spirit, but the more she tries to give him false answers, the more curious he becomes about it.

"Come on," he exclaims. "I'm still feeling that familiar sensation coming from you, and the shell isn't even here!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" The Water Spirit becomes even more nervous.

Lucien also gets nervous and plays his last card. "What about the fact that you look a lot like me? Don't you know anything about that either?"