Saga of Atlantis

55  Villainess Valeria

The Darkoina continent, to put it bluntly, is a pretty fucked-up place.

Its chaotic landscape is bordered by seven kingdoms, each vying for dominance and control.

The encompassing empire that dominates nearly half of the continent rests atop this chaotic continent. The empire, however, is never content.

 It yearns for more land, more power, and greater control. The empire is commonly referred to as the imperial faction.

While the seven kingdoms are weaker individually than the vast empire, they have a brilliant trick up their sleeves.

 They've understood that there is power in numbers and have banded together to form a unified front.

Why? So they don't get trampled by the emperor's insatiable ambition. The seven kingdoms are collectively referred to as the Noble Faction.

So, what happens when the princes and princesses of these kingdoms and empires all meet in the same place? Oh, yeah, drama.

That is the premise of the second game in the "Saga of Atlantis" series.

The royal ass drama.

And in all of these power battles, the common people suffer the most.

In this world, one cannot advance beyond Origin Level 5 in either the knight or mage paths if they do not have any aura arts or mana arts, and this is where noble families have an advantage; they use the arts as a means of currency to enslave talented individuals from commoners and use them as cannon fodder in their wars.

And that's where the third party comes into play—the neutral faction or the commoners faction.

The commoners faction was made so they could provide help to talented individuals, and by doing this, they became the enemies of both nobles and royals as they labeled them as rebel armies,

but they could never take them down completely because their leader is someone whose reputation strikes fear even into the hearts of their ancestors.

 She is known as the "witch of the past" and the undefeated main antagonist of the second game, Valeria Talon Ondina.

The soothing voice of a woman next to me broke through my contemplative silence.

 She looked at me curiously and asked, "What are you thinking so hard about?"

I returned her look with a smile hidden under my mask and replied, "Nothing much, just explaining a few things."

"Explaining to whom?" she said, her brow wrinkled.

her ash-grey hair cascading down her waist and framing a face of exceptional beauty.

Her entrancing gray eyes glowed with mystery, and her total appearance oozed grace and elegance.

Sitting on the bench near the grand fountain, I had Zaira on my lap as she enjoyed her ice cream.

 Valeria erected a protective mana wall around us, forming a private little bubble in the midst of the bustling crowd, causing us to vanish from sight.

I couldn't help but feel my heart racing; this woman exuded a fearsome aura, and her sheer presence was both mesmerizing and scary.

And yet, her sole weakness at the moment was sitting on my lap, contentedly enjoying her ice cream.

"You didn't tell me your name?" Zaira's curiosity broke the silence between us. Her gaze met mine, and she appeared really interested.

"Neil," I said, and Valeria trembled slightly as the word left my lips.

"That's an unusual name.How did you get it?" Valeria inquired, her former indifference masking her earlier reaction.

"My mother liked the name," I explained, throwing the blame on my mom the same way I did when Sylvia asked me.

My attention was drawn to Zaira as I cleaned her face, which had become a smear of melting ice cream.

"Hmm".As she spoke, her gaze dug into me as she leaned in closer. We both sat quietly.

She moved her hands closer to me, and it was now my turn to flinch.

"Bye, Papa," came Zaira's playful reply, and I nearly had a heart attack from the shock.

13:39

 My gaze shifted slowly towards Valeria, only to find a bittersweet smile on her face, laden with emotions I couldn't quite decipher.

 She paused for a bit before softly moving her warm hands over my mask, feeling the contours of my face. But, much to my surprise, she proceeded to pet my head.

"What are you doing?" My voice became confused as I inquired. I couldn't figure out why she did what she did, and I was completely bewildered.

 Despite this, she seemed unfazed by my question and proceeded to pet my head.

"It's time to go, Zaira." She remarked, gently taking Zaira from my lap and beginning to make her way when she finished petting me.

In all her youthful stubbornness, Zaira couldn't help but pout and complain, "Awww, I don't wanna."

Despite her initial reluctance, she eventually heeded her mother's call and moved away from me.

"Bye, Zaira." I waved to her with a small smile behind my mask, watching them as they walked away.

"Bye, Papa," came Zaira's playful reply, and I nearly had a heart attack from the shock.

 My gaze shifted slowly towards Valeria, only to find a bittersweet smile on her face, laden with emotions I couldn't quite decipher.

"It was great to see you again, Neil. I hope to see you soon." Valeria's parting words lingered in the air as she raised Zaira and stared at me longingly.

"Again?" My thoughts raced as I tried to absorb her words.

They both left before I could seek clarification or probe further into this mystery, leaving me alone and bewildered.

I couldn't get rid of the nagging thought, "What does she mean by 'again'?" My mind was jumbled as I sought to recall any previous encounters with her, either in the real world or within the bounds of the game.

I made my way towards the merchant guild, lost in thought regarding Valeria's strange words.

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