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Once again, the Mana inside Aella had become slightly purer as she quickly used her aura to reel it in. The others were asleep, and now that Seraphina could utilize an Aetherstream, she’d be sensitive to Mana.
Opening her eyes to see the notifications, Aella hummed quietly, pondering the words she saw.
‘Capable of ascending? To what, the Big Bear? But I’m not at the peak of Ursa Minor yet… What would those benefits even be?’
Putting the pop-up to the side, Aella scanned the building before letting out an annoyed sigh.
‘Of course, Blair isn’t here. Guess I won’t have a second opinion.’
For the next few minutes, Aella surfed the web, hoping to find anything related to this trial. She didn’t expect anything, considering the System said she was the first to use an Aetherstream in this world.
Unsurprisingly, she didn’t find anything. Anything that seemed all that useful, at least. Talks about ancient trials related to the Gods of old to test the mettle of you and your dragon were everyday talk amongst the stronger folk in this world.
“The Gods of old… Even this world couldn’t escape those old fogies.” She muttered under her breath.
Shaking off her idle thoughts, Aella decided to start the trial. She was sure that as long as something was possible, she’d find a way through it, regardless of what they did to her.
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Tapping on the [HELL] difficulty right away because Aella, contrary to popular belief, was not a bitch, gained a disappointed frown after she realized that it just wouldn’t let her pick it.
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Although she knew it wouldn’t work, she tried pressing on [Hard] next, only to get a similar message.
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‘What’s the point of giving me a difficulty selection if you’re not gonna let go straight to the hardest difficulty?’
Ignoring her thoughts, Aella eventually caved and chose the [Easy] difficulty. She could do a simple trial within a few minutes if she tried her best.
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The air around Aella shimmered, a kaleidoscope of colors twisting and turning as if reality was being pulled apart at the seams. She felt a sensation like no other, stretching and compressing of her very being, and then, with the abruptness of a snapped string, she was elsewhere.
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She stumbled slightly as her feet found unfamiliar ground, and she looked around in wonder and shock.
“Spatial Magic? No, there wasn’t a Mana fluctuation; that wasn’t magic.” She mused, her following thoughts being interrupted by a small coughing fit.
“The Mana is so thin as well. That damned System actually sent my physical body somewhere? Damn it, I need to finish this before those kids wake up.”
Gone were the familiar surroundings of her world; in their place was a landscape that spoke of devastation and despair. She stood in the remnants of a city, its buildings reduced to skeletal frames, their hollowed eyes staring blankly at a sky shrouded in perpetual twilight.
It reminded her of the scene shortly after the [Abyss Nest.] If her city didn’t get back to functioning in time, she imagined it’d look something like this.
The air was thick with the scent of decay, a pungent reminder of a world that had once teemed with life. The streets were littered with the remnants of a civilization long gone. Rusted vehicles, shattered glass, and fragments of what had once been the everyday items of a bustling society.
Such uncanny destruction left a bad feeling in Aella’s mind. Architecture like the world she currently resided in, mixed with the destruction that she was all too familiar with… Two things that should have never met.
She placed her hand on the ground and poured a small amount of Mana into it to assess the situation, causing her brows to furrow.
“No sprouts, weeds, or animals within 100 meters of me. This place is on the verge of dying, and you want me to communicate with the world? You must be insane.” Aella scoffed at the System.
Communicating with the world wasn’t hard. It was extremely easy, just as this trial said it’d be. Any Spiritual race is capable of doing such a thing at birth, especially the Foxin Tribe, which was known for signing contracts to protect the planet they resided on.
Aella didn’t like the thought of needing to do that to a dying planet. Planets are alive and are far more conscious than people realize. Like a cornered animal, a star on the verge of dying can be sporadic and dangerous. She was only in the Ursa Minor stage. Even if it was dying, she couldn’t beat the embodiment of an entire planet.
Yet…
“I’ll just walk for a bit, I guess. I really don’t like the thought of doing something so risky without knowing the exact situation of the world.”
She wasn’t sure if walking through this city would grant her the answers she was looking for, but at the very least, she could make sure no wild animals or remnants of whoever built this place would come out of nowhere and attack her.
As Aella ventured further into the city, the silence was overwhelming. At least with the Abyss Nest incident, dogs and other domesticated animals could be heard making a ruckus because of the event. This was the quiet of abandonment, the hush of a world left behind.
A scene which she had encountered, a scene which she had created countless times in her pursuit of those who wronged her. It brought back such terrible memories, yet she felt at home. She deserved to reside in a world where the only sound that existed was that of her footsteps echoing off the broken concrete.
As she walked, she noticed subtle signs of nature’s resilience. A solitary flower pushing its way through a crack in the asphalt, a lone tree standing defiant amid the ruins, its branches reaching toward the sky as if in a silent prayer or call for help.
The sky above was a tapestry of dark clouds, swirling ominously, casting an oppressive pall over the landscape. The air was heavy as the Mana was thin, almost suffocating in its stillness. It was as if the world itself was holding its breath, waiting for something, anything, to break the silence.
Aella’s heart ached at the sight, as she thought it should. This world had lost its harmony, a planet torn apart by unknown forces. “Murderers’ should be locked away in their regret. Is this world not perfect for me?” She mused, continuing to speak aloud to consider her options.
“To bring out the embers of life? It can’t mean picking these up and taking them with me. I lack a way to preserve them. No, I doubt it. The goal should directly relate to the [Will of the World].”
With an idea in mind, not a good one but an idea nonetheless, Aella closed her eyes and reached out with her senses, feeling the residual energies of the world around her. Though scarred and broken, the earth beneath her feet still held the faintest whisper of life. Though heavy with despair, the air carried a spirit of defiance in its demise.
Summoning Sylpheed to her hand, a large magic circle began to form underneath her. Its diameter reached further than any other circle she had created in this life, reaching nearly 50 meters in diameter.
“I really hope I have enough Mana for this.”
Releasing Mana from her body, the particles began to ignite into blue flames that circled Aella, sweat falling down her forehead as she felt her Mana rapidly drain. Following this, she moved her fan outward, opening it to reveal the intricate cloud design it had.
The situation wasn’t great for this, and she lacked the proper tools and attire, but it was the only way she could think of getting this dying planet to take notice of her. Her people, The [Gray Fox], were not a subspecies of the Foxin who specialized in fighting, despite what Aella might make you think.
They were a very passive group. Whenever their home was in danger, they gave their support through rituals that could reinforce the world. Typically, however, the world would assist with this ceremony; it had more than enough Mana for them, but Aella didn’t have that luxury.
All the Mana used was her in. This would kill her; it should kill her now even, but with [Sylpheed’s Whisper], which made her Mana far more efficient, she had a chance at surviving this.
Her chance of surviving is higher than when she fought Canda. That’s not very high, maybe 5% at most, but she liked those odds.