Sora rolled onto her back, squinting open her eyes as the sun began to brighten the room; a small smirk lifted her cheeks when seeing the curtains drawing back on their own accord. It seemed her daughter had spelled them to open on their own.
She was a tad surprised to see a decently sized fox curled up between her legs—Mofupsi—it seemed her sister-maid had taken her comments the earlier week to heart and invited herself to sleep at her mistress’ feet.
Although the fact she was still sleeping showed how hard the over 7,000-year-old woman had been pushing herself the previous week. The amount of energy it took for her to adapt to the new Founder-style desire magic was having an effect on her.
Sora settled back in, pondering what the best action to take was. If she let her rest, she’d feel flustered that she wasn’t doing her ‘duties’ to their house; Mofupsi had a strange idea about her position in the ‘hierarchy’ of the family, but it made her happy, so who was she to decide how the woman should feel?
Lying there for a time, she smiled at the Null-Void collar around her neck; it was over a year ago—to her, at least—since she’d given it to the woman, and Sora hadn’t seen Mofupshi remove it once. She knew the fox had to at some point—bathing, for instance—yet Sora had only now realized she’d had grossly overlooked something fundamental that Emilia would have a fit about if she knew.
Luckily, Sora didn’t have to ponder what to do regarding the sleepy vulpes, as her ears twitched a few minutes after the curtains revealed the early morning sun.
Mofupsi yawned as Sora pretended to just get up herself; it wasn’t like she’d been awake for ten minutes, debating over random thoughts.
Smacking her long mouth and twisting in an odd position to stretch her spine, the orange fox’s nine tails flopped to the opposite side as she lifted herself up and arched her back.
“Morning, Moppy—yaaah… Rest well?”
“Mmh. I seem to have overslept,” she mumbled, yawning again before taking her human form to float to the floor. “I apologize for not having breakfast ready.”
“It’s good, actually,” Sora chimed. “I wanted to cook with you today, anyway, and… I just realized something.”
“Hmm?” Sora hoisted herself up and reached forward, causing Mofupsi’s ears to pull back and her tails to pause as she unclipped her collar. “Mistress?”
“And… yellow!” she cheered, creating another color before handing it to her. “Now you have a brown and yellow one to swap it up; we can work on more colors, and I’ll mention it to Emi as we cook. Fashion is queen! Well, heh… as Emilia would say.”
“Mistress… For what reason was I rewarded?” Mofupsi asked, eyebrows drawing together in confusion. “I slept in…”
“Do I need a reason to treat my big sister who spoils her family by serving us every way she can?”
“I… would think so?”
“Sh-sh-sh,” Sora snickered. “You can be so polar opposite; elegant and reserved one moment, and cute and innocent the next! Okay. Let’s go get breakfast.”
“Am I to not receive an answer?”
Sora hovered toward the door, turning to wink at her. “Nope!”
Laughing, she went downstairs, leaving Mofupsi to make her bed; Emilia was already downstairs, arms crossed while glaring at her.
“Late!”
“I disagree,” Sora returned with a chipper tone. “I think just on time is exactly whenever Mom gets up—Moms are never late; children are just early!”
“That’s total bittercups, Mom—who made that rule?”
“Moms everywhere—probably,” she mused, opening up the book to scan through the recipes while trying to get her daughter to focus on her aunt. “Have you seen Moppy?”
“No—she’s upstairs, isn’t she—you were talking to her about some secret I can’t know?”
Not sure how she got to that conclusion, Sora lifted an eyebrow. “Uh… sure. Moppy—biscuits and gravy—I don’t think you’ve made that yet?”
The woman teleported beside her, scanning the book ingredients with a tight expression. “What is gravy… this sludge in the picture?”
Sora maneuvered behind her and began jabbing her fingers, gesturing at Mofupsi and trying to get her daughter’s attention.
Emilia giggled. “It looks like sludge, but it’s so tast—Mom, why are you acting like a crazy cat lady?”
Sora’s eyes dulled; sometimes, she had no clue how Emilia’s mind connected things, but her daughter’s eyes widened in surprise as they fixated on Mofupsi’s neck when she shifted her head.
“A new collar! It’s yellow! Oh. My. Frosting! We need to bedazzle it!”
“Huh?” Sora hadn’t heard that word since she was in grade school; she’d never expected Emilia to suddenly say it. “You mean… with real gems you find in the mountains?”
“No need!” Emilia scoffed. “There’s the rainbow mountain on the yellow planet.”
“A rainbow mountain?” Mofupsi asked.
Sora suddenly had an idea; she did want to bring Emilia to see Eyia and Jin but needed to figure out what they were doing exactly. “I have an idea!”
“Don’t hurt yourself, Mom,” Emilia snickers.
“Ha-ha. So… you don’t want a surprise day off where you go bedazzling and outfit-creating with your Auntie Moppy?”
“Haaah?” Emilia breathed in. “You mean it?!”
“Yeah, and I’ll tell White and Tola they can have their own little date day. Hehe.”
Sora smirked, looking to the side while recalling how ragged White had appeared a few days ago; it seemed Tola’s virgin hormones were really starting to do a number on him as her body appeared to have adapted to draw in her target—she was on the offensive—and Sora was here for it.
“What’s with that evil look, Mom?”
“Plots… evil plots. So, you ready to have a nice day with your auntie?” she sang, starting to take out the supplies.
Her daughter smirked, tails twisting curiously. “I’m… kind of scared now, but soo want to know… Oh, can Rayla and Luna join us? Huuuh! We could all get collars—a bedazzle show!”
“Hmm. Sure. You good hanging out with the girls today, Mop?”
The nervous woman held the book in front of her, trying to divide her attention between the instructions and plans they were rapidly developing. “I… will do whatever you wish of me, Mistress, but may I question what this bedazzle is and how it relates to the drama shows you have been watching?”
“Hahahaha—oof—heh-hehe!” Emilia fell off her chair. “You have much to learn, Ms. Padowan, but I—the master of bedazzle—will show you the ‘Way of the Dazzle!’ ”
“You do that,” Sora snickered, laughing at her daughter more than the bewildered fox. “Okay, let’s get this mud made so we can smother our warm, crispy, buttery fluff with them!”
“We are… smothering our tails in this?” Mofupsi questioned, her focus darting to the book again to see at what step they’d do the unusual action.
Sora almost collapsed due to laughter, and Emilia couldn’t constrain herself.
Correcting the poor vulpes, Sora guided her through the process of making their food; unfortunately, Wendy slept in, missing the fun, and Sora wondered if her poofy, brown-furred sister had been secretly pushing herself in the training room at night to catch up.
Rita and Vix were with her—the fox on her shoulder and the fairy on her head—Kedragor lagging behind, practically crawling down the stairs.
She learned the four were actually attempting to do the weeding of her Persona and Shadow Sora had mentioned to her; it was a rough, slow, and time-consuming process that she’d been doing when sleeping.
Filling Wendy’s plate up—basically a giant bucket, knowing she’d recently gotten an appetite—Sora hummed. “I don’t know if it’s really all that helpful to do it when you’re sleeping if you don’t recover.”
“Mmgm… thanks, Captain Obvious. Oh, this is delicious gravy… biscuits are a bit dry, though.”
Sora stuck her tongue out. “I think they’re perfect!”
“They’re a bit dry,” Emilia confirmed, making Mofupsi’s shoulders slump. “Oh—not you, it was… Oh, sorry, Auntie Moppy; I thought my mom made them.”
“Weren’t you paying attention?” Sora huffed. “No, you were probably daydreaming about bedazzling.”
“Oh. We used to do that—heh, your dad hated it because we’d take expensive clothes and glue plastic all over them.”
“Hehe. What a time…”
Reassuring Mofupsi her muffins were great for how new she was to cooking, Sora had her maid-sister contact White and Tola to come to the house when they were free. Ten minutes later, they knocked at the door.
White’s ears pulled back in a ‘help me’ fashion when Sora broke the news that they had the wonderful ‘opportunity’ of a free day to spend with one another. Tola was looking strong today, which was a massive improvement compared to ten weeks ago, and she asked White to teach her a few of the dances from various vulpes cultures.
Sora’s mouth tightened at the request; she wasn’t pulling punches anymore.
Savage! She’s going for the tails!
Waving them off while returning White’s pleading gaze with a ‘you reap what you sow’ innocent grin, she couldn’t wait for the three weeks when Sora expected to hear wedding bells; the man was an imposing juggernaut to Tola at the beginning, but she’d powered past the hard parts with them supporting her, and now she was on the home stretch.
Mofupsi teleported Emilia to her friends’ house, and Wendy decided to go back upstairs with her pets to nap after breakfast.
Left alone in the hallway, watching Wendy drag her fluffy tail up the stairs to disappear around the corner; her pets weren’t doing much better.
Breathing out a long stream of air, Sora crossed her arms under her bust, suddenly realizing her two aunts hadn’t returned yet; they’d said they’d be back two weeks ago, but her brain had spaced it after she’d become ill.
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She decided to pull the trigger and figure out what was going on before attempting to transcend the dimensional boundaries of the Vulpes Realm to meet with her two friends, doing their own training.
Having the Realm teleport her to Qebhet, Sora was a little surprised when she entered a pitch-black space and used her energy to support herself; she cast her eyes around to see the colossal shell she’d entered.
The little snake child had a bright blue glow pulsing out of her as she circled a star-like gem the size of a mountain.
“Where… is this?”
Qebhet appeared next to her with a welcoming smile. “We are at the central point of the Red Planet; think of this as the reactor and regulatory hub that supplies energy to and manages everything upon it. I have been analyzing the changes made to it from those I’ve transported onto its surface. What can I do for you, Lady Sora?”
“Huh…” Sora was again reminded that her Null-Void was quite limited in many aspects compared to her mother’s side, which could create whole omniverses and probably an extraordinary number of things she couldn’t even comprehend. “Can you send a message to my Aunt Seiōbo and Nari? I’m just worried since they haven’t shown up in a few weeks.”
“Indeed… they have been rather silent. May I touch your spirit to use the tether you have to connect to them?”
“Of course!”
The little girl took her hand, and Sora felt a soothing ripple pulse out of her in two incredibly thin strings; a frown touched her lips.
“What is it?”
“Mmh… It appears our omniverse has had a scout from the Primordials enter it, and they are using their magic to hide this universe until the invaders pass; they are not concerned but will need to rest once they return.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, Sora nodded. “Thanks, Qebhet.”
“Is there anything else you require of me, Lady Sora?”
“Nope. Everything good in the Realm?”
“It is! Lady Inari has fully restored every aspect of this Realm that she could; naturally, those of the highest levels were unable to be calibrated due to them being housed in the 13th dimension, but it only means minor repairs are required from time to time, which I can more than handle.”
“Alright. I’ll leave you to it.”
“Have a wonderful day, Lady Sora,” the girl replied respectfully, bowing her head before returning to her task.
Puffing out a long sigh, Sora knew it didn’t matter where she attempted to transcend the dimensional boundaries; it was all relative on the higher scale, like trying to move a single raindrop over to get a better look when it really wasn’t much of a change of view.
Preparing her spirit, Sora’s vision shuddered a bit, creating multiple images as she calmed her inner Core and willed herself to release the anchor she subconsciously locked to the 3rd dimension; she’d never tried to go beyond the 4th dimension, but all it was was the act of letting go of the safety rope that tied you to the boundary.
If she were to imagine it, she took the description Jin had explained to her of an ocean planet; the 3rd dimension was a person stuck within the waters—eyes closed and unable to escape the tide—they didn’t have the power or will to face the possibilities and break the surface.
Once reaching the 4th, your sight was opened, and you could train your muscles to fight past the waves to remain stable enough to see what lay around you, peering into future and past timelines around your immediate vicinity in the murky, dark waters.
Escaping the sea to break your head above the waves—the 5th dimension—the person was swimming with or against the tide to be met by the relentless wind; she could struggle to the next zone, or, if she’d worked hard enough and built her body into a ship, she could navigate those waters with relative certainty.
Sora felt weightless as the world flew away, showing various timelines of the Vulpes Realm. She smiled at how peaceful and active each mirror was, untainted by Nephesh’s plot. Then she noticed that the power within the central planet—her grandmother’s nightmare—had been used in every refraction of the Vulpes Realm.
It was interesting to see the singular existences within each; Rayla and Luna had various counterparts across the multiple fragments. Yet, while Emilia was so tiny, her singular point was like a blinding sun among little, infinite sparkling stars, twinkling into eternity; her daughter was the only beacon of her type, showing her divergent identity as a Founder.
The most exciting observation was Mofupsi and Wendy; her new sisters had clones in other timelines, but where all of them were connected in a long chain, they had separated from that network to become brilliant lights like Emilia.
A shimmering, rainbow light flashed out of nowhere to reveal Eyia, acting as a giant boat and pulling her aboard to stabilize her wobbly position; she offered just enough help to allow her to still have a challenging time and work to keep afloat in the 5th dimension, but stable enough to talk.
“Welcome, Sister! You have grown at an incredible rate,” the blonde complemented, shifting her thick braid to her front.
“Hmm…” A thought struck Sora as she observed every action in the dimensions below; it was a bit too much to fully comprehend, but she knew she’d adapt in time. “You knew I was sick and what happened with Kari and me?”
Eyia floated around to her front with a tight expression aimed at the pillar-like star that was Kari. “I have accepted your desire for peace with the Fenris Wolf, yet I know you understand I cannot reconcile with the sins of her family. So long as we keep our distance, I will not have a problem with her…”
Her frosty eyes centered on her, making Sora force a chuckle.
“What?”
“The recklessness you have exhibited as of late reflects the traumas regarding the spiritual worm… if handled to a more acceptable degree. Your mother assured me you would become a stronger woman through these trials because of them, which is something my father instilled within my training.”
Sora couldn’t see the connection between what Odin had done to Eyia and the things she participated in of her own free will. “I know you’re worried about me. Uh… I finally reached the 5th dimension—I’m getting stronger!”
Her leery gaze brightened. “You have made excellent strides considering your age. Do you wish to train with Jin and me this week?”
“Mhm! I’d like to learn more about dimensions. Do you think I’ll be able to make it to the 6th by the end of the week?”
“Hahaha! Your jokes are most amusing, Sister!”
“Aww…”
“Perhaps you may obtain a more stable footing within the 5th and have a clearer grasp of the 4th if we push your spiritual perception… It is not power which restricts dimension-locked creatures, but the spiritual awareness of one’s place within the framework where you are trapped.”
“Hmm.” Glancing around at the swirl of dimensional refractions, Sora sighed. “I can understand this much, or get here… so, now I need to work on repelling the hook of the lower dimensions attempting to hook me and drag me back in?”
Eyia nodded. “It is a start. Think of this as when you first learned about the Outer Body Technique compared to how much more you understand of it now.”
“Oof! Hehe. Let’s hope I can ramp up my progression a bit faster than that!”
Sora hissed in protest as Eyia’s spear appeared in her hands. “That’s the spirit! Time is far more irrelevant in this sphere than in the room you have been using; let us strengthen your resolve and awareness through the most potent of methods.”
“Haaa. Combat…”
She wasn’t able to enjoy the near omniversal vision of the Vulpes Realm from her vantage point, and the activities of her daughter, the twins, and maid-sister; Eyia kept smacking her back into random places across the Realm, driving her like a comet into the ground, and she was reminded just how much of a difference there was between the valkyrie and herself.
Picking herself out of the ocean and allowing the water to be separated from her body with a low groan for what seemed the ten thousandth time, she forced herself back through the layers of universal barriers that separated the various dimensions to return to Eyia.
“Ugh… You know, you’re the only one that really hurts me. How do you do it—my shoulders are killing me—you keep hitting the same spot!”
“Haha. I must continue such blows until you learn to defend them properly. Huu-haaa,” she breathed with a reminiscent tone. “I recall the grand bees of the high winter season that taught me accuracy by their incessant stings, defending their blue crystal honey.”
“Right… blue crystal honey. Umm. I think we’re almost done for the day; I don’t know if my chakram can take much more… you chipped me,” she cried, pointing at a particular sore point that felt like her shoulder bones were fractured.
“Mmh. Damage brings resilience! I have felt you adapting with every blow; it is quite incredible, Sister!”
“Uh-huh…”
Sora wasn’t convinced, and even if it was true, Eyia’s attacks always slipped by the tricks and plans she’d developed over the past year; she could counter her Existence thread pull attack, using Existence’s flow to maneuver well-beyond light speed, self-automated clones—Eyia was a battle goddess.
“Where’s Jin? I thought she’d show up.”
A strained laugh finally touched Eyia’s voice as she shifted. “Jin is… not willing to descend to the 5th dimension due to… temporal variances that will trigger her birthday.”
Sora blinked. “Jin’s… Right! When is your birthday, and why is Jin scared of hers?”
Eyia shrugged and scratched her neck, looking to the right. “I am unsure; it is something I may have overlooked… Understanding one’s own temporal cycle of essence development and redoubling is an important aspect to track. Hmm. Thank you for giving me something to consider, Sister.”
Sora didn’t even try to understand what she was talking about. “Why is Jin afraid of her birthday?”
The valkyrie appeared deep in self-reflection, most likely pondering things Sora could dream about for a century or more; of course, she was getting stronger shockingly fast, and even if all she could do in this space was move around—the moment she tried to attack Sora was instantly pulled back into the 3rd—she was getting a more sure footing in the 5th.
“This will be Jin’s 100th birthday, which is when Dragon Founders—at least, of her type—undergo a powerful change that brings them to a stage of… you would call it teenage years?”
Sora’s mind blanked. “Teenage years? Jin is a kid?!”
“For Dragon Founders,” Eyia nodded. “I, myself, have yet to reach battle maturity to be taken into my warrior years; sadly, my elder brother was unable to finish my training before our… Mmh.”
A pained look crossed her face, making Sora realize how little she actually knew about the girl that called her sister for over a year. “What was your brother’s name—actually, how many siblings do you have?”
Floating above the molding and glittering dimensions, Eyia rubbed her left arm. “Many… My father sired many children but my mother… I have two sisters—Gersemi and Hnoss—whose names mean ‘treasure,’ and… they are so beautiful and elegant compared to my rough appearance. I am my mother’s warrior maiden, not one of sightliness.”
Sora snorted at the absurd admission. “Well, if you’re the ‘ugly duckling,’ I’m down in the bug category! Wait… you haven’t seen your sisters since you woke up?”
Eyia shook her head. “No. I only have the memories of my older sisters from my father’s visions he left me… One day, I am sure my most valiant brother will return.”
“Oh? Who is he?”
Eyia created an image that made Sora choke and cough, almost losing her grip on the valkyrie’s support structure and falling out of the 5th dimension; muscular beyond reason, tall, with ginger hair, and lightning dancing around him, she could guess on sight who she was referring to.
“Thor? Well… I guess if Odin is your dad, then, yeah… that would make sense. Your half-brother?”
“I was a very small child when I last saw him,” Eyia whispered, longing in her voice to meet what Sora assumed was her idol. “He undertook a quest to find a solution to a problem we faced. Ahem. I apologize for my weakness,” she whispered, showing a vulnerable side Sora didn’t think she’d seen in the powerful valkyrie.
“No. It’s fine… I get sad about my father every once in a while, even though he’s still out there… somewhere. Hmm. Maybe after we finish this thing with Jin, we can go look for your brother?”
Eyia’s eyes creased, looking away in a way that didn’t necessarily say she didn’t want to, but she doubted it would be possible for them.
Sora put her hands on her hips. “Okay. So, basically, I gotta get stronger! Challenge accepted. Oof, just… be a little more gentle,” she hissed, rubbing her damaged chakram. “It hurts to even float here.”
“Haha!” Eyia’s melancholy vanished in an instant. “Pain is required in training to temper one’s mind against failing concentration. I look forward to this week of training with you, Sister!”
“Yeah-hehe… haaa. Umm. Do you think Jin will come down at some point? She can’t hide up there forever, right? And, shouldn’t she be celebrating her birthday… getting stronger, or maturing or whatever?”
Eyia shrugged. “I am not sure as to her motives behind delaying that which is natural, but it has stunted her growth, which also upsets her… Jin is confusing.”
“Huh… Well, see you tomorrow!”
“I look forward to it, Sister.”
Returning home, she spent the rest of the night in the front room, watching Emilia’s fashion show as she presented her aunt’s dazzling, gemstone-covered collars; she even had one for her—emeralds and rubies to match her other jewelry—they were the collar family!
Sora chuckled at the moving pictures they’d created before seeing everyone off to bed; Mofupsi seemed to have been rejuvenated by the experience instead of tuckered out.
The next day was focused on the 3rd dimension, with Eyia helping Emilia learn how to use Sora as a weapon—which tickled the girl to no end—and her daughter was not gentle with her sore body.
Another day with Eyia, and the next—before long, the week had flown by—and still, Jin hadn’t made her appearance, yet on Saturday, she finally showed up in Sora’s room at dawn; Mofupsi was already making french toast downstairs with cream filling—she had an addiction to it for the past three days, which Emilia wasn’t complaining about.
“Jin?”
The small Korean girl crossed her arms with a tight, nervous expression. “Sora… there may be a problem. Can you come with me?”
“Sure? Umm. Can I tell the others I’ll be out for a bit?”
“You don’t need to; you won’t be gone for long here… I’ll take you to the 6th dimension.”
A little apprehensive at the sudden change, Sora got up and swapped into a training bra and shorts. “Okay! I think I’m ready.”
“Heh. You’re funny sometimes,” the black-haired girl sighed, sounding very unlike the cocky dragon Sora had become accustomed to. “Here, take my hand… My brother’s orb is… doing something strange to me.”
With those ominous words, Sora was pulled through dimensions.