065. The Surviving Conscience

As the monarch responsible for the cursed immortality, Gnevomir became consumed by an obsession to retaliate against the Bashkirs, Huns, and Avars, whom he perceived as challenging the sovereignty of Vorshkony. The once just and wise ruler had completely transformed into a figure seemingly devoid of sanity, overshadowed by a vengeful madness that eclipsed his former self.
When Nadezhda confronted Gnevomir, urging him to recall his duties and responsibilities as a king, her father exploded in anger. Amidst the tumult of his fury, a revelation emerged. Gnevomir pursued immortality not to shield his entire populace from the agony of loss but solely to find a way to perpetuate the kingdom, safeguarding his throne, treasure, and power.
Not only did he abandon the hope of his people, but the king also mocked Nadezhda's genuine concern. Gnevomir even went so far as to blame Marzanna's death for the decline of Vorshkony's glory. At that very moment, Nadezhda realized that the figure standing before her was no longer her father. The wise and caring Gnevomir had perished along with her mother.
However, the people's oath of allegiance to its leader could only be severed by death. The princess knew that, for better or worse, Vorshkony needed a leader. Nadezhda believed that as a king, neglecting his responsibilities was still preferable to oppressing his people. However, such contemplation compelled her to reassume the role of the ruler.
Amidst the duties and responsibilities that should have belonged to her father, Nadezhda was the only one who consistently endeavored to uplift and encourage everyone. Despite the loss of her beauty, replaced by the visage of a desiccated corpse, Nadezhda's kindness touched anyone who interacted with her. Hence, they dubbed her ‘The Light’. For the entire populace, Nadezhda stood as the sun that illuminated the darkness and suffocation of the Vorshkony underworld.
Meanwhile, led by Bogdan, the alchemists' research persisted tirelessly. Their quest was to find a way to replace their decaying and fragile bodies, eroded by the relentless onslaught of their voracious life energy. Various raw materials were involved in experiments, ranging from soil and stone to fossils. However, everything quickly crumbled under the relentless force of their unbridled life energy. Until Davorko discovered an area abundant in copper content. Bogdan's research confirmed that copper was a resilient substance against the ferocity of their life energy.
Centuries passed unnoticed beneath the earth. Merging alchemy with various proto-scientific disciplines, Vorshkony perfected a unique technology. Copper emerged as the primary material shaping their civilization. The alchemists' research yielded a remarkably robust metal alloy, serving as a substitute for their bodies. The entire populace underwent a transformation, adopting a robotic skull-like amalgamation of this alloy, with facial distinctions between males and females. Men allowed their faces to take on a skeletal appearance, while women had pale faces sculpted from aluminum.
The term ‘human’ faded into oblivion, replaced by the self-designation ‘vorshk’. They had evolved into beings unlike any before. However, the loss of organic bodies left them incapable of reproduction. The process of their form's refinement consumed many lives, and the absence of a succeeding generation prevented population growth. Such stagnant and somber immortality was far from enjoyable. Then, one day, a vorshk guarding the outskirts of Vorshkony stumbled upon a miner who had accidentally dug too deep.
Asphyxiated and poisoned, the miner was dead even before the vorshk could conduct an inquisition. By sacrificing the unfortunate miner, Bogdan discovered a formula for creating a synthetic compound that successfully underwent transmutation into artificial skin. He could even control pigment colors and texture smoothness. To prevent further casualties, Princess Nadezdha volunteered as the first subject for the alchemist's groundbreaking discovery. Nadezhda regained her form as she was before becoming an immortal being. However, the king was not satisfied with merely witnessing his daughter's restored appearance; he desired Nadezhda to regain the ability to reproduce.
Once again, Bogdan consented to the king's request. However, he needed other humans to develop a formula capable of creating artificial reproductive organs. Waiting for humans to come to their territory proved more challenging than finding a needle in a haystack. Impatient, Gnevomir commanded Nadezhda, now in human form, to search for humans on the surface. As always, the king's orders were absolute.
Nadezhda still remembered the joy she felt when she first gazed at the morning sun above the Ural Mountains after centuries of dwelling far beneath. Two years had passed since that moment. The thought had crossed the princess's mind several times to escape her duties and responsibilities of supplying humans as raw materials for Bogdan's experiments. The mindset underlying her father's commands had become increasingly irrelevant to life on the surface. Above ground, a nation named Russia had emerged.
Nadezhda quickly learned the Russian language from her victims, kind-hearted individuals who only sought to assist the princess when they found her walking in tattered clothes with bare feet. Nadezhda herself always endeavored not to harm them, but the girl's sense of duty overcame her conscience. Thus, reluctantly, at least once a month, she would kidnap every human she encountered, taking them deep into a hole in the borderlands of Ural and Karabash.
Apart from the suffocation, humans would perish from radiation poisoning due to the waste generated in crafting liorum alloy when they reached the bottom of the hole. Subsequently, the vorshk guarding the gate would bring the humans to Bogdan. Nadezhda seized this moment to exchange information. Occasionally, Davorko would directly approach the princess just to inquire about her well-being. Nadezhda used these opportunities to teach Russian and narrate the civilization on the surface to Davorko and every vorshk warrior accompanying him.
The commander played a significant role as a father figure to Nadezhda, especially after Gnevomir became blinded by his obsession. Hearing the princess's tales of the surface world, Davorko even tried to persuade her to escape and live as a human. He reminded her that Nadezhda had no obligations to the vorshk or her father, who had lost his sanity. Davorko also cautioned the girl that every civilization had forces safeguarding its security. Even in Vorshkony's law, Nadezhda's actions were considered a crime, it was only a matter of time before those forces turned against her.
Facing resistance from soldiers in Chelyabinsk, Nadezhda came to realize the truth on Davorko's advice. She also discovered that human weapons could penetrate Bogdan's synthetic skin. Repairs to the artificial skin could only be made through transmutation, requiring the spinal marrow of a human. While Bogdan equipped Nadezhda with a tail-like syringe at the back of her body for precautionary measures if her skin was damaged, he never told her that using the tool was tantamount to killing a human directly. And killing a human directly differed from letting them suffocate below ground. Thus, the princess's conscience wrestled with the dilemma.
Nadezhda understood the nature of surface civilization. Regardless of the reasons, the fact remained that she had killed numerous humans. Without the king's orders, even in Vorshkony culture, her actions would warrant the death penalty. But, Nadezhda didn't mind. Death would be an escape from the guilt tormenting her for repaying the kindness of her victims by taking their lives. The crown princess who once cherished life had transformed into a cold-blooded killer, all for her father's obsession.