Blood Moon Fulgurblade

The Shinemoon Scabbard bore with it the idea of scale and gravity, despite its thin and fragile frame. It came from the moon itself, so these concepts naturally occurred to Frein as he began the integration process with it.

The process itself was straightforward, a surprisingly refreshing change this time around. No Dream manifestations, no sudden visions, nor were there any historical nor incredibly powerful beings messing with the standard procedure.

And while Frein appreciated it this time, he couldn’t help but feel a little bored. I guess this is how it’s supposed to go normally, but still…

Elizzel glowed blue as soon as she successfully absorbed the meiyal-charged material. Frein closely followed behind her as she walked down the Exhibit, heading for the Fulgurblade just north of his Mill.

The blade made out of Su’karix’s chipped canine flickered as it shifted in and out of its electric form. Nakiri’s hilt had drastically changed, its length doubling to compensate for its new blade. And the length of the entire sword—if one could consider it that—was probably longer than Frein’s height, and was essentially double of Elizzel’s.

The Faunel of Freedom and Consequences unlatched the Fulgurblade’s display case with a single gesture, causing the material’s power to spill all around the Exhibit. Frein felt the surge of meiyal and the numbing electrical flow throughout his body reaching high levels of intensity. He held on as the faunel turned to him with one hand opened.

Like before, they held hands and touched the lightning blade at the same time. Almost immediately, the Shinemoon Scabbard resonated from within Elizzel, manifesting around the Fulgurblade.

It felt incredibly heavy and strong. Its solid form wrapped around the blade, covering its electrical power and replacing it with its own distinct weight. The manifestation also involved the entire Exhibit.

The white walls that were once blank canvases were painted over by the cosmic and rocky feel of the Shinemoon. Even the roof was replaced by the great emptiness of space, littered with the twinkling lights of the distant stars.

“What in the…” Frein had to take a deep breath to convince himself that he wasn’t really in space. “It’s amazing. Is this permanent?”

As if to respond to his question, the canvas of the moon and space dissolved and was vacuumed into the Shinemoon Scabbard that currently contained the Fulgurblade of the Thousand-Year Storm. The heaviness of power emitting from it also dissipated, humming instead as space literally bended and flowed while it hovered from within its container.

Elizzel closed the latch with a thought, gesturing casually as she turned towards Frein. “It’s mostly your Exhibit receiving the power of the Scabbard, but if you really want, you can redesign the entire room with whatever material you have integrated. Just concentrate.”

Frein didn’t hesitate. The room instantly returned to its vast depiction of space, but this time, without the heaviness of power coming from the material that provided the look.

Elizzel blinked twice. “That usually takes a lot of practice…”

“Amazing,” he exhaled, tracking a distant comet hurtling through the nothingness.

“Nerd,” Elizzel said teasingly.

She made her way back to the entrance to retrieve the Blood-Ribbon Tassel, but she lost her footing along the way and stumbled, reaching on a display case just in time to catch herself.

At the same time, Frein lost his balance, collapsing on the floor completely.

“What just happened?” he asked while pushing himself back up. He saw Elizzel leaning over the same display case, taking deep breaths with her eyes closed. “You alright?”

“Just a little tired.” The faunel took one final inhale and exhale before straightening herself up. “Didn’t think the Scabbard would be so heavy.”

“Let’s take a break,” Frein said. “You haven’t fully recovered from the Tower yet. We can integrate with the Tassel some other time.”

Elizzel shook her head, her adamant attitude causing waves of her pink hair to flow down her waist like the tail of a dancing fish. “I can handle it. We’re so close.”

“I know you’re excited, Eli, but—”

“I am! Besides, it’s better to complete the sword so we can create your stylized Meiyal Arts properly. If we can put all the upgrades together, then we won’t have to compensate. We can do our training more efficiently!”

The faunel’s excitement and stubbornness spilled out like an overflowing glass of water. It was so predominant within the Tether that Frein almost thought it was his. It almost convinced him to yield.

Well, it did, but he had to keep it under control.

“Fine, just take a five minute break, Eli. Take a seat somewhere. I’ll go talk to Nora.”

“Alright, alright. I can’t do it if you don’t really want to anyway.” The faunel plopped on the floor like some puppeteer detached her strings. “I’ll be right here.”

Frein returned to his foyer. As usual, paintings were floating around in seemingly unorganized fashion. He recognized all of them, which memory they depicted, why they were floating, and where they were headed. It was order in chaos, as some would say.

He ignored them and headed for the main door of his Mind Palace. Outside, he immediately saw a small dream puppy, who was yawning and stretching as much as she could.

“Nora,” Frein said.

“Hmm? What’re you doing out here? Done already?”

“Eli’s taking a break. Just wanted to ask, how long do we have left?”

“You have about thirty minutes left, but let me check something.” Norazzel sat on her haunches and closed her eyes. She spoke while concentrating. “We managed to dispatch a corrupted Nora from three Dream Realms away. I don’t think it’s wise to extend your time limit. Either delay the integration for a day or do it now.”

“How close is three Dream Realms away? Whose Dreams are those? Are they alright?”

“They’re fine. It’s very close. As for who, it depends on who’s currently using their Dream Realm. You get shuffled around until you actually enter your Dream. It’s our best method to confuse the corrupted Norazzels. Don’t recognize this person, but it’s not essential to my job.”

Frein couldn’t feel the urgency in her words, but the faunel turned to her.

“Don’t take my warning lightly, Frein. I’ll force you out if I have to.”

He nodded. “Alright, alright. I’ll head back. Thanks, Nora.”

“Mmm. Don’t mention it.”

Frein returned but not before he heard the faunel yawn again. It reminded him of a concern he had before.

“Say, Eli,” he began as soon as re-entered his Exhibit, “are all faunels heavy sleepers? Can’t help but notice you and Nora really like sleeping.”

“Hmm? You could say that.” Elizzel pushed herself up. “I’m definitely looking forward to sleeping. And don’t forget, we haven’t slept for two days now.” She caught herself before Frein had a chance to point it out. “But I still want to finish this before I go to sleep!”

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Yeah, I know, I know. If you’re ready, let’s do it now.”

The faunel hyped herself awake by slapping both hands on her cheeks. She was by the entrance a quick second later.

Frein observed the Blood-Ribbon Tassel once more. Indeed, without the name helping him out, he’d simply dismiss this thing as a weirdly flowing red cloth. And if he didn’t have such a highly sensitive awareness for meiyal, he wouldn’t think of this thing as a meiyal-charged material at all.

Now he wondered if there were many things he already missed, materials that were hiding in plain sight simply because today’s practitioners didn’t think it wise to invest in their Siffera or Mesiffera.

“They’re not as common as you think, Frein,” Elizzel said, pulling him back from his daydream. “Even those that don’t have the awareness to meiyal like you do will instantly recognize a meiyal-charged material when they find one. At the very least, you can rest assured that Palar’gog can’t lie to you with regards to that aspect.”

“Only if it’s a trap, then?”

The faunel nodded.

“Remember what I asked you?” Frein asked, keeping a hand on the container to make sure it remained closed until Elizzel could answer.

“Yes. If it’s a trap, I’ll dismiss it right away so you don’t have to worry about it.”

Frein nodded in satisfaction and opened the container, reaching out a hand towards the faunel. She held his hand and together, they began the integration process.

Elizzel absorbed the Blood-Ribbon Tassel seamlessly and she began to emit a dark red glow. It was oddly similar to Frein’s personal meiyal—Zerax’thum’s meiyal. He still didn’t know if he liked that. Even though he trusted Evanclad, it still seemed too farfetched for him to believe.

“Concentrate, Frein,” Elizzel reminded him. “You can review what you know some other time.”

“Right. What’s your assessment?”

“It’s not a trap. We can safely integrate with it.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

The entirety of the Tassel coalesced within Elizzel. The dark red glow around her body receded into a thin layer of blood-red aura on her skin. She was brimming with power and it was taking a toll on her frail form. They slowly made their way to the Fulgurblade.

Frein opened the display case with his thoughts this time around, allowing the faunel to concentrate on holding the overwhelming power while he guided her by the hand. She steadied her breathing by taking them with each step.

“You okay?”

“We’ll be there in a sec,” she replied, shaking her head with frustration because of the slow progress.

Frein observed her with his Mesiffera. Her concentration was unwavering, even though the Tassel’s power was swirling within her like a raging storm. He Drew a four-meiyal Siffera to help her.

“Thanks,” she said as soon as they made it to the Fulgurblade.

“Ready?”

“Yeah.”

Together they touched the Scabbard of the lightning sword. The material seemed eager to accept the Tassel, taking it greedily from Elizzel. She looked rather relieved at that.

The entirety of the sword turned dim and completely transformed. Never mind that it was taller than Frein. Now it even had a fluid tassel tied around the reformed hilt. The edges of the Shinemoon Scabbard formed blood-red swirling patterns while its main shaft remained the pristine, glowing moon rock that shimmered a soft blue every once in a while.

The sword had taken the shape of a large katana. An odachi, taken directly from Frein’s memories. Frankly, it could be even larger than that. Unwieldy to say the least, but large enough to take down even a Fallen—maybe even a Forest Jaws given the amount of power surging from it.

It reminded him too much of Ayame.

Frein took it out of the case. The heavy aura of the Shinemoon Scabbard returned, but the sword itself felt light in his hands.

“I’m opening it,” he said to Elizzel, who was supporting herself with one hand on a nearby display case.

“Should be fine,” she said, acting tough.

Frein slowly pulled the sword. The entire length of the blade would be a literal drag to pull out. Without any fancy maneuvers, it would be impossible. But he didn’t have time to consider that yet.

The Fulgurblade’s white lightning color that he expected to appear had turned completely black, with streaks of red lightning sparking to life every now and then. It was mesmerizing to look at. Not to mention the solid feel of the Scabbard provided him enough protection to withstand the blade itself.

Frein lightly flicked the sword by the handguard, pulling out the final inches of the blade. He caught it back and swung with a flourish as he took stock of the feel from the hilt. He had a solid grip, even the weight didn’t feel any different. It was as if Nakiri had never left his hands. It almost brought him to tears.

He wished to hold the sword with both hands but he didn’t know where to put the Shinemoon Scabbard. Then he felt something nudge at his consciousness.

Then intuitively, he knew the Scabbard would float beside him when he let it go, as if it had told him beforehand. When it actually remained by his side, he immediately grinned, imagining all sorts of maneuvers he could perform with it.

He ordered it to settle on his back, and it remained there, acting as if it was latched on to something. Just like that, he felt like a kid on a field trip.

Next, he turned his attention to the blade itself. It weaved in the air, leaving sparks of red electricity as he performed practiced swings. He couldn’t determine yet what exactly the blade could do. Elizzel was at her limit despite the smile and amazement on her face.

So Frein did one final thing. Something that the kid in him had always wanted to do. He slowly returned the sword on the Shinemoon Scabbard on his back. He felt the Scabbard adjust for him, allowing him to keep hold of the hilt as he pushed it down. The satisfying click made him feel giddy, and when he let go and the sword remained on his back, he was outright laughing in amazement.

He reached out a hand, expecting the sword to float towards it, but he didn’t expect it to materialize there instead. Before he could even process his amazement, Elizzel spoke.

“Frein,” she began, still smiling, “I think I know what the Blood-Ribbon Tassel can do.”

He started to ask, but when the faunel materialized beside him, the question got stuck in his throat. “Wha—?”

“Try ordering the sword to go there,” she said, pointing towards the entrance.

Frein followed and immediately felt the weight vanish from his hands. With a swirl of blood-red, the sword appeared by the entrance. Elizzel appeared next to it a second later, beckoning him over. Excitement filled his thoughts as he willed himself to appear before them.

The next thing he knew, he was right beside the faunel.

“What!”

“Now order me to go there!” Elizzel said, pointing towards the Fulgurblade’s display case. A thought after, the faunel was there.

“Can you try going back to me?” Frein asked. He hadn’t even finished the question before Elizzel appeared beside him. “What!”

“I should note, this is probably only one of the things the Tassel can do. The Scabbard floating beside you isn’t the only thing it can do either. And we can’t test out the Fulgurblade yet.”

“What else can they do?” Frein asked, his voice raised with excitement.

“We haven’t seen what they can do combined, yet. But we don’t have enough meiyal for that. Plus, the Fulgurblade and the Tassel both provide us an additional meiyal source each.”

“So we’re up to six-meiyal now? I don’t even know if I can Mill that yet.”

Elizzel stared at him with disbelief. “You already forgot, Frein? I do not add to your meiyal sources. I amplify them! Count again.”

Four-meiyal was composed of Brymeia, Elizzel, the Emerald Guidance, and his own personal meiyal. With the addition of the Fulgurblade of the Thousand-Year Storm and the Blood-Ribbon Tassel, it should’ve been…

“Wait, do you only amplify meiyal-charged materials?” Frein asked.

“Correct. I can’t amplify Brymeia’s meiyal since I’m made out of it. I can’t amplify yours because I depend on it. Should be easy to count from that point, right?”

“Eight? Eight-meiyal? You’ll count for three meiyal sources because I have three materials that provide them.”

“You think you can handle that?” Elizzel asked, smiling. She clung on a display case, completely tired.

“We can try after you take a rest.” Frein willed the sword back to its case and closed it with a thought.

“Yeah, I agree.” They exited the Exhibit and entered a room adjacent to the main foyer.

Frein had made a small room for Elizzel to rest properly. A small comfortable bed with a small window to view the Dream Realm outside. There was also a small basket for the puppy Norazzel to sleep in. Dim lights gave it a relaxing feel, but there was pretty much nothing else.

“We should probably sort out one thing first, Frein. Before I completely go to sleep.” The faunel threw herself on the bed, bouncing a few times. It completely ignored her weightlessness. “What will you call it?”

“The sword?”

“Yeah.”

The entire look of the sword, and the materials involved in its creation, had already given him an appropriate name. Still, he felt embarrassed formally naming it.

“Blood Moon Fulgurblade,” he said, finally.

“I guess that suits you,” she said before completely dozing off.

Frein lay beside her and woke up instead.

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Frein could feel his skin sizzling from Art fatigue. But he ignored all that when he found Princess Kristel staring at him with concern, with a M.O.B.I.L.E. on her hand.

“You alright?” he asked.

“Me? Are you alright?” she asked in return.

“Yeah, I’m good,” he replied. There was no one else in the training room. It was also dark outside, judging by what he could see from the windows. “Where’s everyone?”

It took the Princess a second to reply. “They, umm.” She stuttered and tried again.

“Katherine brought Frill and Xiv somewhere luxurious and private for their date. The Skyside’s the name. It’s a fine-dining restaurant. I don’t know the way, so she went to guide them.”

“Oh, she’s covering for me, because I didn’t help Xiv at all. Is that it?”

“Sort of.”

“And that’s how you got stuck here. Because I’m still integrating?”

Kristel nodded.

“Sorry.”

This time she shook her head. “It’s fine. I had nothing to do anyway.”

“What’s with the M.O.B.I.L.E.?”

“You’ve been in Art fatigue for almost an hour!” she yelled, finally breaking her composure. “I was so worried and I didn’t know what to do! No one integrates for an entire day! Frill was also saying something about Su’karix and Palar’gog and how your materials came from Deitars. It all sounded so terrifying!”

“I’m fine, I’m fine, Kristel. Thanks for worrying. What did you do while waiting?” Frein couldn’t help but pat the Princess on the head.

It took her a second to slip away, protecting her light azure hair. “I was practicing the Perpetual-Layered Milling Form for a while. But you started showing signs of Art fatigue, and Norazzel went into your Dream Realm. I got so worried, I couldn’t concentrate.”

Frein checked the time. He expected Katherine to return once the lovebirds are done with their awkwardness. They had time.

“Want to try again?” Frein asked. “I’ll help you out. I can’t Mill for a while anyway.”

Kristel pondered for a second before dropping into a meditative position. “Sure.”

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