Chapter 10

Lily walks into the study, Dramatic Play slung behind her in its sleek, collapsible form. Shizuku is seated at his desk, scrolling through several maps of the Northern District, various sigil resonance graphs floating beside him in glowing projections.

Lily
Hey. Can I ask you something?

Shizuku
Mm? Sure, kiddo.
You look… concerned.

Lily
What’s a “Shinzoku”?

Shizuku stops. The graphs freeze mid-air. He turns slowly toward her.

Shizuku
Where did you hear that word?

Lily
The clone.
Right before it faded. It said, “I’d worry about the next one that’s wearing her face, you damn Shinzoku.”
I didn’t think much of it until now.

Shizuku leans back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling as if the answer were carved into it.

Shizuku
That word hasn’t been used in thousands of years. Not formally.
It’s… old.

Lily
So what does it mean?

Shizuku
“Shinzoku” translates roughly to “Divine Lineage” or “Progeny of Origin.”
It refers to beings directly born of—or created by—Primordials.
Not just influenced, not just chosen.
Made.

Lily
Wait, like… Emrys?

Shizuku
Emrys is a Primordial himself. 
Shinzoku are more like living extensions of a Primordial's will.
Some of them don’t even realize what they are until much later.

Lily
So they’re… weapons?

Shizuku
Not always. Some are guardians. Others are destroyers.
But all of them are tied to the original forces that formed this universe.

Lily
Am I—

Shizuku
No.
You’re something else, Lily.

Lily
Then who is a Shinzoku?

Shizuku (quietly)
I have a few guesses.
But if Givre thinks a Shinzoku is after the last fragments, then someone’s playing a very ancient game behind the curtain.
And we’re only now seeing the pieces move.

Lily
You don’t look scared.

Shizuku
I’m not.
Because if a Shinzoku is involved… they’d need to get past you, Alto, me—
—and the rest of the Guard.

Lily
Even Astera?

Shizuku
Especially Astera.
Though if he truly turns out to be one, I’m going to lose a lot of meere on a bet I made with Emrys.

Lily
TRULY?!

...You bet on which one of us is secretly divine?

Shizuku
It’s how Primordials do therapy.

They both laugh. But under it, a flicker of unease lingers in Shizuku’s eyes as he glances back at the frozen map of the North.