17 - Chapter 16 - Day 1753
Adya was sitting in front of mother, who was expecting an answer to her last question. Adya had been diverting away from providing answers by asking a series of questions that hinted towards her secrets without actually revealing any.
She knew that she needed to let her mother, and potentially her wider family, into her secrets. She was just finding it hard to take that step into opening up, a part of her still wary of her response. She took a deep breath, steeled herself and jumped in head first.
“The reason I asked you all those questions mother, is because I can remember my past lives.” said Adya with trepidation. “The reason I was in that coma after being born was due to my memories being too much for me to handle and it took that long for my brain to process it.”
Gauri was stunned by the revelation, she had always known that her daughter was different. She was far to mature for her age, far too focused, far too driven. She had always attributed the behaviour to the coma, thinking that it had changed her. Now if she was to believe her daughter, not only was the coma a result of the strangeness in the first place, but that her daughter had her memories of her past lives. She could see that her daughter was very anxious about her reaction. She decided to probe further before reacting. She didn't want to say or do anything that could potentially cause a rift between them.
“Ok, that is a lot to take in.” replied Gauri. “Tell me about what you remember. Tell me about your earliest memories.”
Adya wanted to let her mother in, but even now was struggling with how much she should let her mother know. She decided to just answer her questions for now, and decide how much additional detail she wanted to add as the conversation progressed.
“So, I have memories of four lives, but they are not four separate lives, but two sets of twins that lived and grew up together.” replied Adya. “In both sets of memories I was in universes with no system.”
“What is a universe, and what do you mean no system?” asked a bewildered Gauri.
“A universe, how to explain.” mused Adya. “So we are on a planet that revolves around our sun. All the lights you can see in the night sky are other suns. A sun and its planets together is a solar system. A collection of solar systems is a galaxy and a collection of galaxies form a universe. That is a very simple and inaccurate explanation, but an universe has trillions of star systems. In my memories the worlds and the universes I lived in had no system.”
Adya decided to go further and tell her mother about her interactions with the system. “In fact when I was born, the system told me that my memories are from two different universes and that neither had yet been integrated into the system. It then picked this universe for me to be born into, as it was the closest one that was suitable.”
“What do you mean the system told you?” asked Gauri, finding it harder and harder to maintain her calm countenance. “Have you been receiving messages from the system?”
“My system has been active since I was born.” replied Adya. “I had no idea, until I overheard people talking about it, that most people don’t get access to the system until 13, and not full access until 17.”
“Do you have skills, classes?” asked a now visibly frantic Gauri.
“I have a child class and some general skills that I have been working on.” replied Adya. While she was willing to let her mother in, she didn’t want to reveal all her secrets. Her mother’s reaction already told her how unusual her situation was.
“What skills?” asked Gauri. She was shocked that at the age of five Adya already had access to her system and skills. The Child class was normally unlocked at 13.
Adya pondered how much of her skills to reveal. She had already decided that she would need to reveal her ability to create mana stones if she wanted help to convert them into a format that she could use. That would also necessitate her having to reveal her storage skill.
“I have meditation, mana manipulation and spatial storage.” replied Adya. She was not sure whether to reveal her ability to cultivate just yet. She was definitely not going to reveal her ability to create will power and stamina stones or her access to Sai and Mai.
“You..you already have access to Mana?” blurted out Gauri, the more she heard the more impossible it all sounded. “And you have an actual skill called Meditation? What even is spatial storage?”
“Since you seem more concerned about my having access to the system and skills,” asked Adya, “does that mean my memories of previous lives aren’t as big a deal?” Adya wanted to understand what was driving her mothers reaction.
Adya's question left Gauri speechless; in her need to understand what Adya had already achieved, she had forgotten where this conversation had started. She took a deep breath and visibly calmed herself. Guari forced herself to ask questions in a more structured manner. She wished she had a parchment to take notes, but then it was probably better not to have notes that anyone could read. She looked at the anxious daughter, and realised that she would need to reassure her first, before she could get answers to her more pressing questions. She finally understood why Adya had asked her to make time for this conversation. Adya had accurately predicted some of Gauri’s reaction.
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“Ok, I am sure your answers are going to take a while to get to the bottom of.” replied Gauri calmly. “Let's take each thread one at a time, and we can return to my other questions. If I am reading you correctly, then your concern is that I will think you are not my daughter?”
“Yes” answered a most anxious Adya.
“Put that worry from your mind,” replied Gauri. “While remembering past lives is unheard of, reincarnation itself is not. The soul moves from life to life, you were born to me, and are my daughter. No matter what else, that will never change. That doesn’t mean you should reveal the details to anyone else. It also means I have a lot of questions.”
Adya’s posture relaxed and the tension she had been holding onto bled out of her posture. “Thank you mother,” she said, “You don’t know how much hearing that means to me. I am happy to answer all your questions, I just hope that the answers won't change your view of me.”
“Nothing will change my view of you as my little girl.” replied Gauri, “Now let’s get to my questions. I have a lot of them. You have a formal meditation skill, and a mana manipulation skill already? What levels are they at? What can you do with that mana manipulation skill? What is a spatial storage skill?”
Adya decided to turn the conversation into a show and tell. Evidence was always more convincing than simple works ever were. Adya pulled out a tier 1 mana stone and placed it on the table. She made sure to be very overt in her actions, showing her hand as empty then plucking out the stone, as if from thin air, then placing it on the table. She waited for her mother to pick up and examine the stone.
“Is that…is that a mana stone?” asked Gauri, “Where did you get it from?”
“Well mother, you asked what spatial storage is.” replied Adya. “It’s a separate space I can access. Think of it like a room that only I can see, I can put items in and take them out. I retrieved the mana stone from there.”
Gauri was once again left speechless. This power should not exist, she had never heard of anyone being able to store and retrieve items. If this skill could be replicated, it would have a massive impact on the world. That was wondrous enough, but where did Adya get her hands on a mana stone? Even the family only had access to a limited number of them to be used for paying healers and artificers.
“But where did the mana stone come from?” asked Gauri. “Did you find it around the house?”
Adya took a deep breath, this would definitely be a big deal based on how her mother had reacted so far. “I can use my mana manipulation skill, in conjunction with my spatial storage to create mana stones.” replied Adya. “I really wanted to keep that skill a secret, I don’t want to get kidnapped to become a mana stone factory.”
Gauri’s reaction to that pronouncement was shock. It seemed her daughter was intent on destroying her worldview in a single conversation. Adya was not wrong, if anyone outside the family found out about her ability, she would end up being forced to produce mana stones for the rest of her life. It was a resource that was in demand and generally monopolised by the cultivation sects.
“How many can you produce?” asked Gauri in a hushed whisper. “What level are your skills?”
“My meditation is at level 19 and my mana manipulation is at level 49.” answered Adya just as quietly.
“What do you mean your skills are at 19 and 49, how is that even possible?” replied a bewildered Gauri. “Most people don’t get their skill above 10 before they are in their 30s. How can your skill be so high?”
Adya shrugged, “I had nothing better to do. I was bored, I have been aware since I was born, so all I have done is practice non stop.”
Gauri had to control her outburst yet again. Every answer to her questions only created a dozen more questions. She had truly underestimated her daughter and capabilities, though how she was supposed to have realised that her daughter could do things that hadn’t even been conceived of in works of fiction, she had no idea. She took another calming breath.
“Ok, my daughter is a genius and has her system fully unlocked from birth.” said an exasperated Gauri, “And she can create mana stones, and hide them away in a magic room. Oh yes, let's not forget she has memories of her past lives. Have I missed any more absurd things?”
“Well…since you asked mother.” replied Adya, taking out the light formation she had created earlier. “I just taught myself how to create basic formations after watching the artificer in town the other day. If you put a little mana into the design you can see for yourself.”
Gauri picked up the parchment with trembling fingers. Formations required sturdy materials and special inks or etching tools. She had never seen a formation on parchment that was real. She shakily put a small trickle of mana into the design and watched it light up. The formation fully activated and produced more and more light. As it started to get hot, she dropped it onto a plate, and watched the formation get brighter and hotter, until the parchment caught fire and burned away to nothing.
“Sorry mother,” said Adya. “It was my first attempt and my materials were lacking, so that was the best I could make. I just wanted to be able to prove what I could do, in case you didn't believe me.”
The things Adya was so casually revealing were so beyond Gauri’s expectation and experience, that it was beyond ridiculous and outrageous. She didn't have the words to express her shock and wonder. Neither had it really sunk in. Gauri started to try and work out the ramifications of the secrets that Adya was revealing. The secrets that really would have to be kept. Gauri wasn't sure if she could even trust her husband and sons, forget the wider family. Even if no one was malicious, the secrets could lead to Adya being targeted for kidnapping and assassination. No one would want her to have access to such wealth and power. They would want to control her, or failing that ensure no one else could. On the other hand, if she could find a way to leverage her daughter's skills, her family’s fortunes would rise. And this wasn’t even the end of the conversation, what other secrets would her daughter reveal?