Why, why did she had to come all the way to Desierto? Some might have had considered a foolish notion, she had better things to do than to chase myths and legends, but there was one particular myth she had overheard that had drawn her interest, a curious little story she had overheard during her passage from Seven back toward Fiore.

According to this tale, the common folk believed the royal family of Desierto to be direct descendants of their god Atum, which by the origin of their story would had made them either Demigods or the descendent of one. Of course this tale of 'Godsblood' had earned the young woman her interest and so she had chosen to make a small detour on her way homeward.

Approaching the royal palace she was, as anticipated stopped by the royal guard who seemed bewildered at her arrival, but nonetheless didn't intend to let her intrude upon the palace. "By orders of the royal family I can't allow you to enter the palace!"

The woman's gaze shifted calmly toward the guard that addressed her, leading to the woman to remark softly. "According to the origin myth of Desierto, the royal family are all descendants of the God Atum right?" The guard nodded his head firmly. "Of course! Everyone in Desierto knows that!" To which the woman continued her inquiries. "Then by definition of the legend, they all have the blood of a Demigod within them to a certain degree, correct?"

The words made the guard blink in bewilderment. "I... guess?" As the woman took a step forward she raised a hand toward the halberd the man was holding, lightly gripping a hold of the bladed part, just enough to let the edge dig lightly into her hand and cause bits of the bright red, almost golden blood drip from the halberd.

"Do you happen to know that divine blood has a bright, almost golden color to it?" The words made the the guard who had been flabbergasted at her actions rapidly call to one of the guards further in. "Call someone from the royal family!"

Yet as she heard those words the woman's lips curved up into the hints of a smile. "Khalfani will do, I'm sure they will be eager for a reunion."

And with those words she took a step back, waiting for either Khalfani to appear, or to receive a guide to bring her to the quarters of the wayward princeling. She had a reason behind wanting this meeting, but why would be something that she would not reveal all that quickly. Indeed, her reason for being here would be revealed in due time, and only to a specific person." Gently wiping the traces of the blood along the markings on her stomach, it seemed they glowed faintly, soon making the blood disappear altogether.

"I did always love learning about myths and legends, and Desierto has their fair share of them~" The young woman mused calmly.

It was fortunate that she didn't need to wait long before a woman approached her alongside a cadre of guards. She smiled politely at the woman, a light nod of her head following in affirmation to the greeting after which she followed the individual deeper into the palace. Judging from the confidence yet somewhat humble composure she could image the woman to be one with experience in court manners, perhaps an attendant or an advisor to the royal family. After arriving at the tent where Khalfani had been bathing the Demigod remained silent as Khalfani spoke, yet as his eyes opened a hand raised to her lips, an index finger pressing lightly. Whether Khalfani would recognize her right away or not remained to be seen, but she didn't wish to take any chances with what was about to follow.

"Indeed, it is a pleasure to finally meet one who carries Atum's legacy~ I am... Cressida, daughter of Aphrodite of the Sevenese Pantheon and came to seek an audience with you."

A gentle sway of her upper-body followed forwards, a hand raised under her chest as she gave the princeling a small bow. "Although, while you seem aptly prepared for talks of leisure and pleasure, I fear my meeting carries some topics of... dire importance to both of us, and therefore would like to request our audience to be done between just us two."

The Demigoddess expected a certain degree of objection from the guards, but was already prepared for that as she continued. "I assure you, I mean you no harm. As one of your talents will surely be able to perceive, this vessel of mine is somewhat... in a stage of development so to speak, so even if I were to try to overpower yours truly in martial combat, it would lead to an overwhelming defeat on my behalf."

A playful chuckle followed as she shrugged her shoulders lightly. "And unlike the one you met in Stella, this body is lacking when it comes to the art of magic." Indeed, she lacked the proficiency in the field of magic that she was once considered a forerunner of. But then why did she come here, and what business could she have with the princeling? "I believe the knowledge I bring will serve you quite well Khalfani, just like it did before~ Although this time I'm afraid it will be lest of a gift from me, and more of a mutual exchange for our mutual benefit."

With those hints given she was sure Khalfani would pick up on her identity. Standing upright once more the Demigoddess smiled calmly, awaiting to hear the princeling's response. It would be a long day, that was something she was sure of, but at the same time even if she was in an unfamiliar body, the soul it inhabited had given Khalfani a gift in the past, helped get rid of the vampirism that troubled their mortal coil. So would the princeling remember their debt?

The brief exchange between the princeling and their entourage was silently observed by Esperia, till they were dismissed and she was greet by Khalfani's words, earning a brief smile from her. "I should have expected you were to be granted Gaia's insight. The world does have its way to pick the intriguing individuals. Yet, I am curious what made you so certain it was me~ Were it the hints? If you relied on the World you would have only learned about my life after I was reincarnated~ You see, even if my soul is still the same, the body is different and as such the mana it releases as well. Therefore it is, to a degree capable of fooling the wisdom the world bestows onto you. After all, it does not permit you to gaze into one's soul~"

As she trailed after Khalfani she waited for the princeling to take a seat, after which she took one of the three remaining chairs and took a seat herself, folding her arms underneath her torso and hummed briefly. "Indeed, one of your standing has little left in terms of 'material' desires~ But what if this mutual exchange is one of a much more precious value than any golden relics you might be offered?"

She paused, waiting for a moment to see whether Khalfani would react to the idea. "I will tell you the tale in due time, for it aligns quite closely to the matter of this mutual exchange I mentioned. As you might have guessed already... Divinity is something of quite an importance to most people in Desierto right? Especially considering the religious belief that the royal family are direct descendants of the gods, and by definition Demigods themselves. Of course, few would be bold enough to contest the claim, blasphemy they would call it."

She chuckled softly as she leaned a bit forward into the direction of the princeling. "Yet what if I told you, this bold claim does not have to remain a myth? What if, yours truly was able to transcend even further than the limits the mortal coils of mankind possess?"

She went quiet for a moment to consider how to explain the next part. "As your guard mentioned earlier, this theory of mine has proven to have results. And now I am seeking to develop my research further. As you know there are countless individuals in Earthland who by all rights are powerful enough to be considered equal to some of the gods on the lower branches of the Pantheons, but what if there was a method for those individuals to grow even further? To transcend to an even greater height?"

She leaned back into her seat and sighed softly. "So far it has been a slow progress. My reincarnation has weakened me considerably, and while I am gaining more affinity for this body by the day, it will be a while before I can advance to the next stage of my plan: For mortals to stand as equals to the gods, and possibly even surpass them. Which is why I am currently preparing to search for noteworthy individuals to join me on a certain adventure in the future~ A grand siege of one of the Sevenese gods their domain. I hope to confirm some of my theories in practice there, and would absolutely love your attendance in that regard~ Should you be interested, perhaps you can even enjoy some of the boons from my research?"

Esperia couldn't help but chuckle at the Princeling's words. "Careful there Khalfani, the wisdom of the world can make you overconfident if you let it~ For starters the knowledge you gained was purely based on the hints I gave you. If I didn't do that you would have struggled much more to decipher my identity. After all, the world only grants you knowledge based on the perception the people have of you. In that regard you can only see me as Cressida the Sevenese of Goddess. It does not let you peer into my soul or any fancy shenanigan. Or you would have started babbling nonsense trying to reveal my identity."

She waves a hand lightly in amusement after which she listened to Khalfani's words. so the first Pharaoh was a Demigod, and the rest of the royal family was riding their coattail? It was a pity, she thought Khalfani would had been more ambitious, but perhaps it was a miscalculating from her.

"Careful there Khalfani, myths and legends might be intriguing, but unless you can ascertain the fact that you bleed gold, you're as human as anyone else. Then again, one could say that was your desire to start with when you asked me to cure you of your vampirism?"

She pondered for a bit, shaking her head lightly. "The chance to gain eternal fame as one who toppled one of the divine? Then again I guess that you are satisfied with where you are at now, which is a pity."

She rose onto her feet, taking a step toward the exit of the tent. "I guess the luxury has rusted the adventurous spirit of the princeling. Should you someday seek to grow even further than the limits mortals have imposed onto themselves, we can meet again~ Until then I believe we neither have something to offer~ After all, I don't seek an army, I seek a champion whose thirst for adventure and growth is never ending."

She closed her eyes for a moment, memories of the Demigoddess her body drifting into her being as she spoke once more. "But you know Khalfani? The beliefs of your ancestors does not turn myths into fact. Neither you or your kin are of divine blood, and yet that doesn't matter to me. Even if you had been a god or Godsblood, the moment you allowed yourself to be satisfied by the riches and comfort your luxurious existence as a princeling gave you, made me lose the interest I developed in you back in Stella. It is a pity the adventurous spirit of your being seems to be missing..."

A sigh of melancholy escaped her lips as she prepared to make her exit, but before she did she turned back toward Khalfani. "Perhaps you should consider a trip beyond the comfort of your palace again, it might make you remember there are so many things still waiting to be seen by you, and perhaps, I hope it shall rekindle that spark I saw in you that day.

[Exit attempt]
[I also asked, the World's Tarot does not allow you to see my soul, or know anything about Esperia prior to her rebirth, as such the world itself would not make you aware of who she truly was, but that was what the hints were for~]