Testing her weapon, Sora flicked her hand toward the Vulpes; it blazed forward at an incredible speed, leaving behind a trail of white flames that lingered for several seconds.
It won’t reach her…
Mofupsi didn’t move, arms folded under her chest while studying its approach. “Hasty,” she mused as the item collapsed to appear around her wrist, reaching four feet from the woman. “You haven’t completed your transformation yet, my Founder.”
Sora grimaced, raising her arm to expand it again and call it to her fingertips. “Not attacking me right away? That’s … presumptuous.”
She didn’t like Mofupsi’s casual posture; they were supposed to be fighting for the rights of owning each other—the loser would become a slave. However, the confusing part was that indignation filled her breast, not the angst of battle, which was new to her.
The blonde Vulpes hummed, shifting her weight to the opposite side and fanning her tails a little. “I want a challenge, not a one-sided victory, and had your powers plateaued, then I would have made my move—they have not. How long will it take?”
Sora’s jaw tightened, her vision falling to the circlets, hovering above the back of her left hand and at her right’s fingertips. “Hmm … I wish I knew.” Her focus moved to the woman with a sly smile. “I can always test out…”
I’m a what? No … No, that’s … that’s crazy…
She trailed off, smile falling as her father’s side started eradicating her physical form, and a third ring formed from the flames, enclosing her lengthening silver hair. Her locks were pulled into a ponytail as her environment changed—Sora could feel the spatial flow and movement of time around her.
Aura increasing to wrap her in an achromic cloak, and she rose into the air, instinctual knowledge flooding her brain that was like breathing; she’d known these truths all her life.
If this is … Dad is like a Soul Weapon … His real body isn’t flesh and blood … My flesh and blood are being converted.
Her vision settled on the two chakrams as they slowly spun around her body, but it wasn’t her physical form—her frame was merely a mental representation her mother’s side wove into her Core.
Reaching up, Sora slid her fingers through her fiery locks, lingering on the ring enclosing them—her new body. How can I be a chakram? I don’t even have bones … No, I guess this weapon is me … I’m a weapon … What?
The weapons circling her were copied from the original, formed out of the chaotic power that infused the ring around her hair. Her father’s race was weapon manifestations of the highest order; Soul Tools comprised their very essence.
When releasing her energy in this way, her physical Vulpes form was destroyed and would reconstitute itself when her spirit was at rest. She wasn’t comprised of the matter found in this existence but of something entirely foreign that acted as a predator to this reality. She wasn’t just breaking down the magical weaves around her but existence itself, yet she wasn’t strong enough to consume it.
Mofupsi was still studying her change to better understand what she had to do to defeat her while Sora prepared for battle.
A primal instinct to push her limits was infused inside her very Core, spreading out to mix and suppress her Founder side; it would take time for her mother’s genetics to properly weave through her fathers. It now made perfect sense to her why her parents were incompatible.
How did Mom and Dad meet … How did they even grow to love each other if … No, Dad can take on a physical form, just like I am … How’s that make sense? Why would they create a body to wield themselves? What kind of creature am I?!
She could manifest as many copies of her soul as her current strength allowed, which at the moment was two. Some weaknesses came with her father’s side, but it was more than acceptable, and the benefits she gained were incredible.
Controlling the chakram by instinct, she giggled, feeling invincible while spinning it through the air. Her soul was under pressure—she was dying, yet her white flames were for more than just destruction; her spirit was being renewed quicker than it could be broken down.
A light frown touched Mofupsi’s lips. “You’re rising energy isn’t slowing … it’s speeding up. Fascinating. He-he-he, well, let’s see how far I can push you until you can meet me on an even playing field,” Mofupsi laughed, spinning to release a wave of red flames before teleporting away.
Right, brilliant, fight my fire with yours…
Sora threw her chakram before Mofupsi vanished, tracking the Vulpes with her new spatial awareness fifty feet to her right.
Allowing her weakened flames to be harmlessly repelled by her fiery cloak, Sora laughed. “That’s what I wanted from the start!”
Mofupsi lifted an eyebrow upon seeing the swift-moving ring heading to her right, off course. Sora launched at her like a bullet with her second ring circling her.
“Hmm?” The Vulpes wove more magic to create mist that exploded across the entire area to test her senses. Knowing the general basis of Vulpes spells, Sora could sense another style of magic was infused into the liquid filling the air, but it wasn’t dangerous or poisonous.
A setup spell, huh?
Her rings cut a radiant streak through the flames as the fog filled the colossal battle arena, but Sora was testing Mofuspi. The chakram passed the woman, flipping in the air and expanding in conjunction with the one in front of her. She dove through, grinning as Mofupsi’s mildly intrigued face turned to face her exit, and Sora’s flaming hand extended to grab the Vulpes’s face.
The one she’d left teleported to her side, both following Sora’s desire to attack the council woman's neck, but her joyful expression fell upon recognizing the style of magic the Vulpes was weaving—elemental.
Lightning? Why … Oh, well, shoot…
Figuring she was trying to defend by attacking, Sora redirected her rings, causing one to pass through the center of the other, tripling its speed.
The councilwoman simply held out her magic-infused hand and caught it, tails batting the other away. “Not strong enough.”
Sora felt so slow, watching the woman casually increase her movements to the next level to avoid Sora’s dive for her throat. Processing all the new information her father’s side gave her, she was stunned upon realizing just how outclassed she still was, and it angered her—it wasn’t as if this level of attack would kill her either.
Spark of electricity filled the space, carried by the amplification and transferal spell written into the fog, leaving no opening.
That’s so overpowered…
“An interesting ability,” Mofupsi giggled, effortlessly crushing her halo as bolts of lightning erupting throughout the area with the mist as its medium; the fog was infused with an amplification and transferal spell. “Do you have any weak spots?”
Sora’s cloak disrupted the energy as it struck but it wasn’t strong enough to handle the electricity, and it harmlessly passed through her flaming form. Her physical form disrupted, she fell from the sky to reform upon the ground.
“It’s just—annoying,” Sora grunted, seeing her flickering arms construct themselves again while getting to her feet. “I have to admit, that was an impressive combination.”
Mofupsi floated down to place a hand against her cheek. “You weren’t even stunned—I see, you don’t have a physical body anymore. Whatever you are, it’s very disruptive and hard to analyze with my magic. Is this Founder magic in action … I wonder?”
Creasing her left eye, the core of Sora’s being radiated the desire to become stronger; she was more agitated with herself than Mofupsi.
I should be better than this … No … Why would I … Really, Dad? Sora shook her head, rubbing her forehead; the fact she had some kind of body was evident but it was alien to this reality. It hasn’t even been a full two minutes. Fight the instincts…
“Grrahrggh!” Sora scratched the side of her head.
“Hmm?” A curious smile lifted Mofupsi's lips. “Something the matter, Sora?”
Looking away while folding down her blazing left fox ear, Sora huffed. “Just trying to work through some internal stuff—nothing new.”
“Mind sharing?” she asked, taking a sitting position. “You are still far from a challenge to me.”
Sora sighed, trying to interpret the base instincts of her father’s race compared to her Vulpes Founder. I let Mom’s side rage unchecked before Aunt Inari stabilized the transformation. Dad’s side has a superiority thing going on and the need for combat … I just need to learn how to express it without it taking over.
It was easier thought about than done; it took a considerable effort to refrain from charging the Vulpes. I’m basically going through my childhood and teenage years in a matter of minutes with all these … whatever kind of hormones Dad’s side has. I’ve got energy to burn … No, using the power will help me better understand it!
Mofupsi patiently waited, spinning her fingers around to play with the fog that lingered around the room. “Discovered something?”
Sora smiled as her cloak intensified. “I need to keep practicing to better grasp these powers. Mind obliging?”
The Vulpes shrugged. “I haven’t had something new spark my interest in ages; if it will provide more entertainment, then I don’t see why not. However, the moment you plateau, I will take this fight seriously.”
I need inspiration to draw from … There’s gotta be something I can do with all this power … Gah, I’ll figure it out as I go. It’s not like I’ll die.
“I can’t wait,” Sora said, reforming the chakram that was destroyed. “You aren’t afraid you can’t kill me?”
Mofuspi smirked. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” A complex spell wove around her, rendering the Vulpes invisible while simultaneously teleporting her away.
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Sora’s weapon was already spinning to her location, sensing her through spatial distortions rather than by sight.
The second she let the tap loose on her power, strength filled her breast, increasing by the second; her abilities were instinctively flowing from the rising heat in her Core. Just as her aunt said, her father’s power would slowly build into a finale before dying down, unlike her mother’s that flooded manifested in an instant.
A third chakram appeared around her left ankle, and teleported to her side, spinning ahead to continue chasing the Vulpes sightless movements. The woman’s speed rose with every spike of power Sora felt.
Mofupsi soon abandoned the illusions with a smile on her lips, casually floated backward, evading every trap Sora tried to create with the three weapons. “What is this unknown force that can disrupt my magic? I’ve never experienced anything like it.”
Sora’s brow set with a grin as Mofupsi held out her hand, gathering magic around Sora’s body. Can I break it?
Funneling strength to her cloak, the white flames erupted into an effulgence. Her speed increased, a circlet returning for her to pass through, doubling her propulsion. Wincing, she became a comet, bypassing Mofupsi’s spell entirely.
Sora’s body felt like it was breaking apart, unable to fully handle the amplification her chakram gave her yet. She could hardly think, but Mofupsi easily floated around her.
The ring was positioned to teleport her back on track, yet it didn’t matter. The woman’s chest shook with laughter, and in an instant, Mofupsi’s magic-infused hand closed around her face and passed right through, destroying her form with raw magic alone.
Dammit! Condition stabilizing, Sora flipped around in the air, flames reigniting.
Mofupsi folded her hands inside her sleeves. “I don’t deny you have a very potent source of chaotic force, yet all you do is teleport through your rings, throw them at me, and speed up with them.”
Dozens of flaming balls of foxfire summon around her. “Do you have any other tricks?”
She’s right … I need different ways to use my powers. I’m too…
Sora gasped, left hand clasping around the chakram tying her hair as a new pressure erupted within her Core and a fifth tail emerged. Her weapon illuminated with black alien symbols around the inner Core, and she understood more about her transformation.
Her essence was being converted into a Soul Weapon, which meant she didn’t have access to everything from the start; the variety of attacks she could use would increase as more of her father’s side bloomed within her. Two more chakrams manifested around her first two tails and a third at her ankle, making six in total.
The thrill in her heart was a roller coaster ride, pushing her to jump forward and telling her it wasn’t even worth trying, and her thoughts were anything but stable as she wistfully turned left and right to follow the weapons’ paths.
I’m a weapon … A very powerful weapon, sure, but do I really want to be a weapon? Can I eat food? Why do I even want to? It’s not like I’ve had anything divine, and what does a universe taste like? Oh, when do my baby teeth fall out so I can chomp down on a galaxy? That’ll be interesting to flavor … Will it taste like a rabbit?
Mofupsi straightened a little. “That was quite the power spike! How can one tail provide so much?” Snapping her fingers, another spell hidden in the mist activated, collecting into razor-thin crescent blades of water. “There’s a possibility you could crack my shield … Such fascinating flames.”
Thousands of blades passed through Sora’s frame, cutting her into pieces, yet she didn’t feel a thing; the backlash of channeling too much of her own energy was more painful.
Within five seconds, her flaming cloak had reconstituted with her body, and her six chakrams shot forward, sawing into a golden shell the Vulpes created; it was damaging the weave itself rather than the completed spell.
Sora slowly rose back to her feet, looking down at the small puddle that had formed from what water wasn’t utterly consumed by her collecting aura. “I’m practically invincible,” she whispered, flexing her fingers.
“Your weapons aren’t,” Mofupsi hummed, pointing a finger at one of the three circlets chewing through her barrier. Lips tightening, she spread her fingers and created a dense gravitational field around the one that had made the most progress.
Interested herself, Sora put a hand on her hip and watched, pondering her growing strength; she wasn’t worried in the least. So long as she didn’t reveal her true chakram, then it would take an incredible effort to hurt her.
If it is a copy, then does that mean she could crush the original? Wait, it’s a copy of me … Oh! Wait, no, no, no, no … I eat galaxies with my baby teeth; that’s like much … I think? Why am I so confused?! How long until I can eat a multiverse for breakfast? No! Think about the people … But will they really mind? Oh … yeah, we’ll have to return to that topic later. Dad was never this insane! What’s wrong with me?!
Forcing her mind back to the matter at hand, she compared what she’d seen so far. Sora’s real soul weapon could take an incredible amount of damage itself, as shown from Mofupsi’s previous spells, but it was linked to her soul—to hurt it was the equivalent of breaking a glass ball that held smoke, and if that gas left the sphere, she was dead.
The white flames slowly dimmed as Mofupsi’s magic increased in strength. Sadly, it didn’t take long for the circlet to fracture, dispersing into wisps of white flame.
Sora’s gaze fell to the floor, suppressing the urge to press a hand against her breast. A portion of her power collapsed in on itself.
Every copy is a representation of a portion of my energy output. I could become exhausted if they’re all broken too many times—I’d be unable to fight back—returning to my flesh and blood state—or maybe my chakram state, which is another way to kill me. That’s my lose-condition.
Luckily, because this was her first transformation and her entire spirit and intelligence were forming around this new type of force, what she lost was swiftly recovered.
“It doesn’t appear to do much,” Sora chuckled.
Mofupsi hummed upon seeing her left hand rise, spinning a finger to generate a replacement. “Perhaps, yet your aura diminished significantly for a moment. These certainly are a bother, though,” she sighed as Sora’s chakram broke through her shield.
The Vulpes casually snapped her fingers and her weapons were obliterated milliseconds before striking her; thankfully, Sora’s rising power covered the loss as her fifth tail completed its growth.
Sora pulled it around to stroke the incredibly soft flickering white inferno; the anxiety in her heart was swiftly fading by the second. “How fast is my energy rising? Can you tell when we will be equal?”
Cupping her chin, Mofupsi’s eyes narrowed with a small smile. “I have yet to even use half of my true strength, yet that in itself is something in itself. I never expected you to be this powerful … No one in the Yellow District could face you, and it’s not from finesse. Your raw chaotic force would just overwhelm them.”
“Oh?” Sora snickered, folding her arms and looking down at herself. “I’m finding this new transformation rather intoxicating, really. I’m no longer afraid of you. How long do you suppose you can keep up—because I’m only getting started,” she mused, wistfully glancing around the colossal room.
“Hmm … as long as I’m enjoying myself,” Mofupsi chimed, holding her hands behind her back while floating back down. “Honestly, at the moment, I’m more intrigued by your strange abilities than the fight itself. You’re certainly durable, but I have a feeling it is limited in its application. Also…”
“Also?” Sora asked, her tails flicking back again.
Mofupsi’s mischievous lips tilted with her head, scanning her frame. “Are you even the same Vulpes? I haven’t sensed a single weave of magic from you. Hmm … No, you’ve only shown rapid regeneration, matter destruction, and teleportation through those rings. Is that the height of what a Founder can do?”
If only you knew … No, she should know! This is nothing like my mother—could I beat myself … What kind of thought is that? It is a good question, though … If I were to put a clone of Founder self … oh, that might be fun, but … Oh, no … can I even go into the Outer Body Technique like this?
Sora looked down at her glowing fingernails and shimmering skin underneath the cloak of fire flicking off her skin. “Who said this was my Founder magic? My mother is a Founder—my father … he’s something else.”
“Oh? How beguiling,” she mused. “I suppose if you gain another tail, I could be in trouble. Although, I am confused.”
Sora rotated her neck while stretching out and checking her new appearance. “Of? Oh, maybe Emilia really does take after me … Look at my curves! I think I’ve grown a little taller, too—what am I, five-nine?”
Mofupsi brushed back her bangs with a snicker. “You should see your face; it is quite different.”
Sora’s tails went on end, fingers cupping her cheeks. “What?! How … I didn’t consent to my face changing! Is it bad—good?”
“Mmh … he-he-he, I find it appealing, myself,” Mofupsi whispered. “There’s a carefree authority in it, although your last look wasn’t bad by any means. As to what confuses me … I wonder how it is you plan to keep me alive with such powers. I look forward to the results, but I am about to become serious. Prepare yourself, Sora…”
Eyes narrowing, Sora summoned her seventh chakram; her power was increasing rapidly now, and she’d bought enough time to close the gap. It was the initial surprise and testing that had given her the chance to learn more about the abilities of her father’s side, and with every spike, she knew more.
“I have one way,” Sora replied with a secretive smile. “Still, I’ve learned quite a lot in this little time we’ve chatted. I’ve only scratched the surface of my father’s powers—I admit, I’m not nearly as elegant as my Founder side since this is all new, but given time, I’m sure you will be surprised—because I’m taking you out of this realm with me!”
Chuckling at her statement, Mofupsi touched her neck. “With a collar around my neck … I look forward to it.”
Sora shook her head while rolling her eyes. “You are enjoying that line far too much.” Lifting a hand into the air, she laughed. “I think I might like that, too!”
Flames gathered in her palm, expanding into a pulsating white star and she used one of her new techniques, creating a reactor at the sun’s core.
Mofupsi’s eyes widened as she darted back. “What is that?”
“Only the beginning!” Sora grinned as her mind bloomed with possibilities upon remembering an old game she liked to play called Touhou.
It’s perfect! It works! I’m totally a … I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner!
“What’s that look on your face?” Mofupsi hesitantly asked.
“I just realized I don’t need to chase you—after all, you can’t leave this room since this is our battle stage, and I have a sneaking suspicion that without its protection, I’d destroy everything! How will you handle a bullet hell?”
“A what?” Two thick golden barriers encircled Mofupsi. “Why does that feel like a second you? It’s building energy at a…”
Twirling her finger, Sora set the sphere into a random attack pattern since she had no clue how it actually functioned. The star shot into the center of the room, and Sora closed her fingers into a fist. “Scatter!”
Mofupsi’s face paled as her barrier turned to swiss cheese from the hail of energy that showered out of the radiating sun in all directions, peppering the Founder Magic reinforced battle room.
Sora folded her arms, laughing as the swirling mass of chaotic, alien force mottled the room in white flames, turning the space into a raging inferno with Sora walking through the wake of her destruction unfazed.
She could create reactors out of her energy to generate a never-ending barrage if held at a specific output, and with how quickly her power was growing, it would last forever.
Golden chains shot from the Vulpes’s tails, weaving through the complex mass of exploding flames to snake around Sora’s body, but her seven chakrams erupted with light, emitted beams of calamitous emanations that eviscerated the weaves of magic.
“C’mon, you can do better than that, Mofupsi! I thought we were just getting started?”
The blonde teleported to the left corner of the room but found no reprieve as the glimmering emanations discharged in every direction, the pearly sun releasing streaks of destructive balls.
Sora couldn’t help but find the whole scene amusing. “Ha-ha-ha! I’ve really turned into a bullet hell boss! This is great!”
Harmlessly passing through the fire that raged across the room, her chakram continued to search and destroy the Vulpes as she created five clones of herself. One blurred in Sora’s vision, expertly evading the hundreds of spheres emitting from the sun; Mofupsi was getting serious.
Twinkling rays of golden light erupted around the clone to focus over thirty yellow shafts of elemental force plunging into the star. The core was penetrated and the reactor detonated, sending a short wave that destroyed the copy.
Sora giggled, putting a hand on her hip and looking at the four clones and original that took up a crescent formation around her, standing between the sea of flames. “Finally ready to get serious?”
A smile brightened the Vulpes’s face. “That … That is what I’m looking for, Sora. I think it is time we get serious.”
Stretching a hand above her head, Sora smirked as her sixth tail began to grow; this one would take much longer to fully form, given the gap she felt was closing. From where she started, as a Vulpes Founder with two tails, she’d been a drop of water to an ocean where she currently stood.
Fanning out her tails, Sora engineered six self-sustaining stars that grew at their tips, and her eighth chakram formed, hoving around her. “I’m starting to get excited. There’s so much to learn about my father’s side, and I’ve only scratched the surface.”
No longer did she feel like strategizing or thinking ahead; she just wanted to fight. A storm was brewing within her that needed to be released—she’d reached some kind of limit break. It was time to give in to the moment.