There was something else that concerned Elliot.
The more powerful Extraordinary Ones he knew, such as Maeve, Victoria, and Flora, all seemed to have an inhuman side.
Maeve could turn into a monster with six arms and a body covered in long hair, and when he first met Flora, her face had been covered in tiny, hideous openings.
And the even more powerful Victoria could turn into a half-human, half-spider monster.
Now Elsa had grown powerful, but she, too, had a monstrous side.
Not to mention the Reforging Flame, their bodies covered in Iron Prostheses, and the Twin Eclipsing Suns, who could already turn into black sealing wax.
Did ascending ever higher into the supernatural mean gradually drifting away from human form?
Was it the convergence of Paths, or-
Did power itself contain some kind of distortion?
The stronger one became, the more distorted one grew, and the less human one looked.
Humans were shallow creatures, and their sense of self was often tied to their appearance.
Then did these Extraordinary Ones, who no longer looked human, still think of themselves as human deep down? Did they still regard other humans as their own kind?
Then what exactly held the Empire together, making these Sacred Blood Nobles lurk behind the scenes, cloak themselves in the Orthodox Church, put away their fangs, and solemnly enact laws?
Since the nobles and the Royal Family could rewrite even history and strip away even perceptions and memories, why did they not do whatever they pleased? Why did they still maintain this tottering order?
Elliot often felt as though he were gazing into an abyss. The more he knew, the more lost he became.
Behind one veil lay another, and behind one truth lay another.
Yet faint threads connected everything, extending into still deeper places.