Why had the Tamara Family split apart? Xio pondered for a moment, combining what she had seen in the illusion with the fragments Abner had mentioned. Uncertainly, she said:
"Was it because they chose different paths? One group chose the Apprentice path, while the other remained committed to the family's original Arbiter Pathway?"
As she spoke, Xio thought of herself and Fors. One was an Arbiter, the other an Apprentice. Sometimes, things really were coincidental.
Princess Vera nodded, then shook her head. Turning her gaze toward the bustling docks outside the window, she sighed. "The divergence in Pathways was only part of the reason, but it wasn't enough to drive a united family into splitting apart and slaughtering one another..."
"Then why?" Xio asked curiously.
"It was because the Tamaras of that time had lost their ancestors' protection. The harsh living conditions, their thirst for power, and their hatred for the six gods led members of both Pathways to independently establish connections with evil gods...
"The Tamara Family's final split was, in essence, a life-or-death struggle between believers of different evil gods."
Having said that, Princess Vera, dressed in a naval officer's uniform, picked up the transparent dagger again and continued:
"So, even though it was made into a Beyonder item, the characteristics within it still retained the lingering influence of an evil god. Whenever there was a Blood Moon, it would cause people to lose themselves in illusions and do things they could never take back...
"When I gave it to you, I never expected a Blood Moon to appear. That was my oversight... Fortunately, you were very lucky!"
When she said the word "lucky," Princess Vera's tone carried a deeper meaning.
Xio herself had also felt that the faucet bursting in the washroom had been far too much