The Secret History of Castia: Becoming Human

From the first moment Murphy saw the Ranger-General, he was certain that this woman had something to do with "Source."

Although they were at different stages of life, and were technically different races—an elf and a half-elf—their brows, cheeks, and even their eyes looked as if they had been carved from the same mold.

That was why Triss had also come to the ruins, hoping to uncover the truth.

It turned out that Murphy really couldn't investigate everything. If he uncovered something, it might lead to all sorts of trouble, just like the awkward and bizarre situation they were in now.

Luna, the half-elf codenamed "Source," was an artificial human. That was already outrageous enough, but even more outrageous was that the Ranger-General, Lady Phelosiel—the biological "mother," or "maternal gene donor," of Luna—was also, damn it, an artificial human!

Wow. This story had suddenly taken on a real Frankenstein vibe.

And Phelosiel claimed to be a female clone of King Quirion of the Elves. That sounded so familiar to Murphy, and Triss beside him felt a powerful sense of déjà vu too. Wasn't this just a repeat of the relationship between Lord Paine and his blood descendant Lily Cappadocia, who was suspected of having an improper relationship with him?

Oh, so all you Ancients share the same ethical playbook, do you?

Now, faced with the Ranger-General being forced to make a full confession under the "coercion" of the god of Avalon, Murphy hesitated. He reviewed the situation in his mind, then asked:

"Triss said you're a half-finished divine scion. Is that accurate?"

"Accurate, in a manner of speaking."

Seated cross-legged on the floor, the Ranger-General tilted her head. She toyed with the ends of her faintly green-tinted hair as she answered, once again using her distinctive verbal tic.

Then she