Ty responded with slight amusement, "Elithira is your sister?!" Skepticism slipped into his voice because the two women felt nothing alike. "I’m not sure if you’re lying because you seem nothing like her."
The woman looked offended. "Excuse me?!" She then spun around to show him her back, slowly lowering her shirt to reveal two small wings nestled against her pale skin, emitting a soft glow.
As Ty walked up to her, she pointed to her back and explained, "See, the wings are a little smaller since I’m down here. We aren’t supposed to have anyone see us in our other form. Otherwise, they would start to question themselves and the world they live in."
"Or something like that, I honestly forgot since I’ve been here for so long," she said with a slight pout.
As Ty walked closer, intrigued by her apparent connection to Elithira, he gently placed his skeleton hands on her small wings. The sensation was unexpectedly warm and soft, unlike anything he had felt before.
"Wow, they actually are wings," he murmured, both surprised and fascinated.
Before he could think further, she spun around abruptly, her eyes wide with fear and indignation. "Don’t touch my wings!" she screamed. Reacting instinctively, she slapped Ty’s skeletal skull.
The force of her action caused her more pain than it did to him, and she yelped, "OWW!" while cradling her hand in shock.
Ty, taken aback by the sudden intensity of her reaction, advised quickly, "You should cover yourself back up." He added, "I apologize, I wasn’t aware wings were sensitive.
Elithira also hid her wings on Alexira... there’s more to this than I realized," he stated, piecing together the puzzle of their relationship.
As the woman hastily covered her wings, the light from the crystal flickered.
Her demeanor shifted from fear to excitement in an instant. Grasping Ty’s skeletal hands, she eagerly asked, "How is Elithira doing? I haven’t seen her in so long!
I really should go back one day when my work here is done," she said, longing and happiness brightening her face.
However, her smile soon faded as she contemplated returning. "But then again, father will probably just put me back to work," she mused, her tone tinged with reluctance. "Maybe I should stay here a bit longer.
The sleep is great, though it does get lonely, always having to be sneaky."
Still holding Ty’s hands, she remarked, "Your hands are surprisingly warm for a dead skeleton, you know."
Ty responded, "Yeah, it’s a long story. I don’t mind sharing if you have the time, but I really need to get back to my friends soon."
With a sad laugh, she replied, "Sadly, I don’t have the time. I need to get this crystal fixed before tomorrow evening."
She glanced back at the damaged surface and clicked her tongue.
"If that thing fails during the ritual, half the children below will walk away empty-handed, and then everyone will blame the local church instead of the sleepy idiot who cracked the core."
Ty chose to ignore that she was describing herself.
He also filed away the part that mattered.
The ceremony was not just a public tradition. It depended on this crystal working, and the wrong crack could decide whether a whole generation walked away with weapons or empty hands.
Ty’s curiosity was unmistakably piqued, leading him to ask, "What is that crystal for, and why do you need it tomorrow evening?"
Realizing Ty’s unfamiliarity with local customs, she replied, "You really aren’t from around here, are you?" With a flick of her wrist, she summoned a portal similar to the one she used earlier. From it, she effortlessly retrieved a giant bottle of wine.
Uncorking it with a casual motion, she began to take sips, a comfortable ease in her actions.
As she continued with the wine bottle in her hand, Ty felt a shiver run down his skeletal spine. Her casual display of power and the mystery surrounding her and the crystal only deepened his intrigue.
"That’s a pretty big bottle of wine," Ty remarked as he watched her. "But how are you going to fix that crystal?"
She opened another portal like the one from earlier. Ty’s jaw nearly dropped as she began pulling out an array of equipment -- a face shield, a large welding gun, and a gas tank.
"Simply, of course," she replied confidently. "I’m just going to repair it by burning a new piece in its place." As she spoke, she effortlessly ripped off her bracelet, which was adorned with tiny crystals.
"I want this finished by tomorrow so everyone’s weapons aren’t delayed again."
She continued, with a hint of nostalgia in her voice, "This one planet I was on had books instead of weapons, and I woke up late once, forgetting to give some kid a book.
It worked out in the end, but it was so embarrassing to deal with.
That was a super long time ago, though."
As she spoke, she deftly threw the face shield down and began connecting the gas tank to the welding gun, her movements fluid and practiced. Ty watched in silence, intrigued by her methodical approach to the task at hand.
As Ty observed her busily welding the bracelet crystals onto the damaged part of the giant crystal, he realized something about her nature.
She seemed lost in her own world, paying no attention to him.
A thought struck Ty. "Now that I think about it, it makes sense for the Demon King to have more than one child, considering how long he’s been alive. It’s only natural he’d have a few offspring."
This realization led him to ask, "How many kids does he have anyway?" His voice was tinged with curiosity.
She lifted her welding helmet, pausing her work, and replied, "That should do for now. I’ll need to weld more pieces once this dries. As for your question, he has 15 daughters."
She sighed. "I’m daughter seven. Elithira gets called firstborn, and she never lets us forget it.
She always thinks she’s better because she’s usually working at the castle with father." Annoyance sharpened her tone as she rolled her eyes.