Chapter 443: The Suspected Killer

Electra's POV

For a few long seconds after the creature finished speaking about my mother, neither of us said anything. The silence felt heavy, like something had been dropped between us and neither of us was willing to pick it up. I stood there, still staring at it, but my mind wasn't fully in the room anymore. It kept going back to what it had said, repeating the same thing over and over again in a way that made it impossible to ignore.

"...if Solara had chosen to give up on you… she would still be alive today."

I didn't like how those words stayed with me. I didn't like how they didn't just fade away the way everything else usually did. It was irritating, more than anything else, and the more I stood there, the more I felt like I needed to shift the conversation before I started thinking too much about something I had no control over.

The creature was the one who broke the silence first.

"Do you have any more questions?" it asked, its voice calm again, like the conversation we just had hadn't been anything important. "I do not have much time left to spend here. There are other responsibilities that require my attention."

I let out a quiet breath at that, finally looking away from it for a second before bringing my attention back. The mention of time made something click in my head. If this thing really knew as much as it claimed, then letting it leave without asking everything I could would be stupid.

So I forced my mind to move forward. "There is one thing," I said slowly, my voice steady again even though my thoughts weren't as clear as I wanted them to be. "Who killed her?"

The creature didn't answer immediately, but this time I didn't give it space to avoid it.

"If someone knew exactly when she would be at her weakest," I continued, narrowing my eyes slightly as I looked at it, "then it couldn't have been random. It couldn't have been a human either. Humans wouldn't know something like that." I paused briefly before finishing, my tone firmer now. "So it had to be someone who knew her, someone close enough to understand how she worked like you do. Am I wrong?"

The creature watched me quietly for a moment, and then it gave a small nod. "You are not wrong," it said simply.

That only made my expression harden slightly. "Then answer the question properly," I said, my patience thinning again. "Who was it?"

The creature let out another sigh, this one heavier than before, like the answer I was asking for was something it didn't want to give. "The real killer was never confirmed," it said slowly. "There was no witness, and no direct proof. Only suspicion."

I frowned slightly at that. "Suspicion isn't enough," I said flatly. "You clearly know something, so stop dancing around it."

Its gaze didn't leave mine as it spoke again, but this time, there was something different in its tone. "It is suspected," it said carefully, "to be someone whose name I cannot say, as it is forbidden."

That made me pause. "What?" I asked immediately, my brows pulling together in confusion. "What do you mean you can't say it? Since when do names become forbidden?" I tilted my head slightly, studying it more closely. "Who is this person, and what does she have to do with my mother?"

The creature stayed quiet for a moment, and it actually looked hesitant.

"I am not supposed to tell you this," it admitted finally, its voice lower now, almost cautious. "But considering your current state and everything you have already been forced to face…" It paused briefly before continuing. "I will give you a general account of events. You can draw your own conclusions from there."

That didn't clear up my confusion at all, but I didn't interrupt. I just nodded slightly, letting it continue.

"There was once a deity," it began, its tone shifting into something more distant, like it was recalling something that had happened a long time ago. "A very powerful one. One who ruled over more than just a single domain, and this deity had two daughters."

I didn't say anything, but I was already paying closer attention.

"They were very different from each other," it continued. "From the moment they were born, it was clear that their paths would not be the same. The older daughter… was destined for something greater than anything the realm had ever seen. Her power was unmatched, even as a child, and it only grew as she did. There were already rumors that one day, she would surpass even her father."

I didn't need it to say her name. I already knew. "That was Solara," I said quietly, more to myself than to it.

The creature didn't confirm it directly, but it didn't need to.

"The younger daughter," it continued, "was not without power. She was still the child of a deity, and by any normal standard, she would have been considered exceptional, but compared to her sister… she was always seen as lesser."

I crossed my arms slowly, my eyes still locked on it as I listened.

"She was not as strong," it went on. "Not as gifted, and more importantly, she was not as loved."

That made me frown slightly. "Because she was weaker?" I asked.

The creature shook its head. "That is what she believed," it said. "But it was not the truth. The older sister was loved not just because of her power but because of who she was. She was kind and compassionate. She cared about others in a way that most beings in the realm did not. People were drawn to her, not out of fear, but out of genuine respect."

I didn't say anything, but something about that description made me feel… irritated.

"The younger one," it continued, "was different. She was bitter and resentful. Even as a child, it was clear that she did not see the world the same way her sister did. She did not understand why Solara was loved the way she was, and instead of trying to understand it… she chose to hate it."

I let out a breath, my fingers tightening slightly against my arms.

"She believed that the only reason her sister was loved more was because of her strength," the creature said. "So in her mind, if she could take that strength for herself… then everything would change."

I scoffed quietly at that, shaking my head slightly. "That's pathetic," I muttered.

The creature didn't react to my comment. It just kept going. "She broke the laws of the realm," it said. "Went against everything that had been set in place. She tried to take what was not hers, to force power into herself in a way that was never meant to be done."

I raised a brow slightly. "And I'm guessing that didn't work."

"It did not," the creature replied simply. "But the damage was already done. Her actions stained the name of her father, and the consequences were severe."

It paused briefly before continuing. "She was banished permanently, removed from the realm entirely, and her name…" It hesitated slightly before finishing. "Her name was forbidden. No one is allowed to speak it, and anyone who does faces consequences that are… not worth risking."

That made me narrow my eyes slightly. "Like what?"

The creature didn't hesitate this time. "Exile," it said. "Or worse. There are fates in our realm that are far crueler than death. Being bound to the Tree of Death… is one of them."

I didn't respond immediately, but I could feel the tension in my body shift slightly at that.

"And after that?" I asked after a moment.

"No one saw her again," it said. "No one heard from her. For almost fifty years, she disappeared completely."

The silence returned again, but this time, it felt different. I stared at the creature for a moment before letting out a small breath.

"So," I said slowly, piecing it together out loud, "what you're telling me is that my mother had a sister, one that hated her, and one that was powerful enough to actually be a threat to her."

The creature didn't interrupt.

"And that same sister was banished, had her name erased, and disappeared for decades," I continued, my voice steady as I followed the line of thought. "Then my mother dies at the only moment she could be killed… and no one knows who did it."

I tilted my head slightly, a faint, humorless smile forming on my lips. "That's not exactly a mystery, is it?"

The creature remained silent, but that was enough of an answer.

"So basically," I said, my tone sharpening slightly as I looked at it directly, "my mother's own sister… my aunt… is the one suspected of killing her."

The creature gave a slow nod. "It is not confirmed," it said carefully. "There is no proof, but yes… if anyone had both the power and the intent to do it… it would be her."

I let out a quiet scoff, shaking my head slightly as I looked away for a second. "My evil, forbidden aunt," I muttered under my breath.

The words sounded almost ridiculous when I said them out loud, but at the same time, they fit too well. When I looked back at the creature, my expression had shifted again, something darker settling in my gaze.

"And if she really did it," I said slowly, my voice calm but carrying an anger I didn't try to hide, "then she's still out there somewhere."

The creature didn't deny it, and that was enough for me.