The chamber was heavy with silence after Hinesia's departure. For a moment, neither of them spoke. The white mask still sat on the table. Finally, Dark Aurelia exhaled softly.
"That woman is smarter than I thought."
Outer Aurelia tilted her head slightly, still staring at the mask.
"You mean Princess Hinesia?"
"She came in here knowing everything. My exhaustion, my disgust, my… disinterest in the empire. She didn't even bother pretending to flatter me. That's what made her dangerous. She already knew I didn't care about ruling anymore. That's why her deal worked, because she offered what I secretly wanted most."
Aurelia sighed quietly, a hand pressing to her chest.
"At least she offered me something I needed too. I've been doing my best, but the Empire is… overwhelming. The Senate is weird, the logistics are a nightmare, and the people look at me like I'm supposed to be a god."
"You're supposed to be. You are the Empress."
"Maybe, but I'm not you."
That earned her a quiet hum of amusement from the darker twin. Then, Aurelia asked softly.
"Do you still want to die?"
Dark Aurelia hesitated. Her gaze drifted toward the windows, where the faint glow of the Roman skyline shimmered beneath the night. The fires that once devoured the city had long gone out, thanks to the woman who'd just left.
"No. Not anymore. If there's a way out, if I can live without this cursed crown, then I'll take it."
She folded her arms on the table and sighed.
"Of course, that won't come without a cost. If we use the Erethis Chalice, our Combat Flux will be divided in half. I'll lose half of my strength. You'll gain the Goddess of Combat's blessing, but I won't."
Aurelia frowned. "And yet you still want to go through with it?"
Dark Aurelia gave her a soft, tired smile.
"Power isn't everything. I've had too much of it for far too long. What I want now is a normal life. A farm, maybe. It should be somewhere where no one kneels and where no one calls me Your Majesty."
Aurelia's lips curved faintly.
"That's the first time I've ever heard you say something that sounds… ordinary."
"Don't get used to it."
"I'll accept Hinesia's deal With the storyline broken, we're off the rails anyway. In the original sequence, the protagonist was supposed to save Rome after uniting the Imperial Guard. Eighty percent of Rome's population was already gone by then. But now, more than ninety-five percent of the city is still alive because of her and the House of Rameses. She changed everything."
Dark Aurelia nodded.
"Princess Hinesia always struck me as one of those rare types. Ruthless, but not cruel. She reminds me of me before the empire drowned us in responsibility."
"Maybe that's why she wants the Imperial Guard. She sees what this place could become if someone with clarity ran it."
Dark Aurelia traced a lazy circle on the table with her fingertip.
"If the Erethis Chalice doesn't work, then she must have another way. She's not the type to bluff. She knows something we don't."
"She's an Outer. She probably knows everything about us. I don't remember a lot but if she knew the lore of Faceless Identity, she knows a lot. "
Dark Aurelia gave a weak laugh.
"Then she knows how pathetic I've become. And... I'm sorry, Aurelia, for leaving the empire in your hands. It's not that I don't trust you. It's that… I don't trust myself to care anymore."
"Don't apologize. You've ruled for centuries. If anyone deserves rest, it's you."
The dark twin chuckled under her breath.
"You sound sentimental."
"You're the one getting sentimental. Look at you, apologizing? That's new."
"Maybe I'm just mellowing out before I disappear."
"You won't disappear. You'll just change places. And maybe, for once, you'll find something to smile about that isn't forged by blood and bureaucracy."
There was a long pause. Then, in a much quieter voice, Dark Aurelia sighed.
"You suffered a lot, in your world, did you not?"
Aurelia froze.
"You were diagnosed with stage-four cancer. You knew you were going to die. You spent your final months staring at hospital walls, praying for another chance to live and when that chance came, it came here. You didn't ask to be me but you tried. Sorry for making it hard for you."
Aurelia's throat tightened, but she smiled faintly.
"And now I'll keep rebuilding it for both of us."
"You'll do fine. Especially with Hinesia's brother joining you. The Rameses are terrifyingly competent when it comes to governance."
Aurelia sighed softly. "The Senate will handle most of the politics, anyway. I'll give them real authority this time, enough to manage external affairs while I focus on other stuff. I don't want to rule by fear. I want to rule by trust."
"Then you'll need to repopulate the House of Augustus. It's almost empty now."
"Yes, I know. I'll need a partner, someone from a Mid-Tier Bloodline. Someone competent, loyal, and… healthy. The House of Augustus will not remain a lineage of relics and statues. It will change, like Rome itself."
Dark Aurelia stared at her, eyes widening slightly.
"You're serious."
"Completely. The Empire must live beyond us. I won't let it die when I do."
The dark twin was quiet for a moment, and then, to Aurelia's surprise, she smiled. It was a genuine smile she never saw from her.
"You're bolder than I remember being. I like that."
"Then cheer for me."
Dark Aurelia rose slowly, her shadow dissolving faintly at the edges, as if her body was already fading back into the darkness.
"I already do. Live well, Aurelia. Make this world worth what it took to get here. I should leave for now. If I want to reserve my strength for the ritual, so be it."
And with that, she stepped backward into the dark, her form dispersing like smoke into the air, leaving Aurelia alone in the room with the porcelain mask. She took a deep breath, straightened her crown, and smiled.
"Let's begin once more."