Thetis''s face shifted subtly, her amusement giving way to mild confusion. "She didn''t tell you?"

    "Tell me what?" I asked, my unease growing.

    Continue your journey with empire

    Her reaction surprised me. For the first time, Thetis looked genuinely taken aback. Her usually composed demeanor faltered as she seemed to grapple with an internal conflict. After a long pause, during which she seemed to weigh the consequences of her next words, she finally spoke.

    "Khillea," she began, her voice quieter but no less firm, "is Achilles."

    The words hung in the air, heavy and charged, their impact immediate and undeniable. My breath caught, and a sudden silence enveloped the space as her revelation sank in.

    Achilles.

    I stared at her, my mind reeling. Every interaction I''d had with Khillea, every word, every glance—it all rushed back to me, tinged now with a deeper, more profound significance.

    Thetis watched me closely, gauging my reaction. Her gaze was sharp, yet there was an undercurrent of something else—concern, perhaps? Or maybe it was expectation.

    "Achilles," I repeated softly, the name feeling foreign and familiar all at once as it rolled off my tongue.

    "Yes," Thetis said simply, her voice steady. "The one and only."

    "But... Achilles is a man?" I muttered, my voice trailing off in disbelief as my thoughts raced.

    Thetis, her serene expression betraying a hint of curiosity, tilted her head slightly and regarded me with her piercing gaze. "Did you meet Achilles up close?" she asked, her tone calm yet probing.

    "No, not up close," I admitted, the memories surfacing in fragmented flashes. "I saw Achilles from afar..." I paused, a wave of realization beginning to dawn on me. Each time I had glimpsed Achilles, the warrior had been clad head-to-toe in a full suit of armor, concealing their form entirely. At the time, I''d assumed the resemblance to Khillea was simply a sibling similarity. But now...

    "I don''t understand," I murmured, my brows furrowing as I grappled with the implications. "Achilles should be a man," I added, the myths I had learned on Earth echoing in my mind. Every tale, every depiction, had painted Achilles as the archetypal male hero—strong, brave, and unyielding. Until now, every character I had encountered seemed to align with those ancient stories. Why would Achilles be any different?

    "Should be?" Thetis repeated, her voice laced with confusion.

    Realizing I had spoken too freely, I quickly shook my head. "No, I''m just... lost," I replied, my words evasive, as I tried to reconcile the contradiction between myth and reality.

    "I just want you to stay with me... until the end. Until the war ends."

    It had all been for this, then. Every word, every glance, every touch—it had all been spoken with the knowledge that she was preparing herself for death.

    I felt my chest tighten as anger, frustration, and a strange sorrow flooded me.

    "I won''t," I said, my voice firmer than I expected. I raised my gaze to Thetis, meeting her eyes. "I won''t let her die."

    Thetis blinked, surprised by the resolve in my tone. She opened her mouth, perhaps to protest, but then closed it as she studied me. A small, knowing smile tugged at her lips. "I don''t want her to die either," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "But you won''t be able to convince her. She doesn''t listen anymore. Not to me, not to anyone."

    "Then I''ll force her to listen," I replied, my voice cold and absolute.

    Thetis frowned, her serene composure cracking ever so slightly. "Force her?" she echoed, her tone skeptical and laced with concern.

    I didn''t respond immediately. Instead, I reached for the ring on my index finger, the one I had worn for so long to keep my true strength hidden.

    There was no point in concealing it from Thetis any longer.

    She cared about one thing above all else—her daughter. And I would trust in that love now.

    With a sharp motion, I removed the ring.

    BADAAAAM!

    The air around us exploded with raw power, waves of energy rippling outward and shaking even the confines of Thetis''s dimensional space. The atmosphere grew heavy, almost suffocating, as my suppressed strength surged forth in a torrent of unchecked force.

    Thetis''s eyes widened in shock, her composure finally shattering as she stared at me.

    My skin had turned a shade of alabaster white, flawless and smooth, reminiscent of Khione''s own ethereal complexion. My hair, now a pure, shimmering snow white, lifted slightly in the energy surrounding me, as if caught in an unseen breeze.

    And my eyes—one glowed with an icy blue, piercing and cold, embodying the essence of Khione herself. The other burned with a dark gold hue, a demonic slit cutting through its center like a predator''s gaze.

    I was utterly transformed, my strength magnified beyond anything I had shown before. To anyone else, I would have seemed like an entirely different being—a force of nature, unrecognizable and terrifying.