CHAPTER 12: RADIANCE (2)
~12.2~
*****
“Restraining myself?”
“Elysia, you believed Alfia when she told you she is your older sister. You do recall you are not only my first creation but also my biological daughter as Elysia Athas?”
“I do.”
“What will it take for you to stop taking on everything by yourself?”
Kye instinctively stepped back. “What do you mean?”
Eve stood up and approached Kye. “Elysia, my daughter, I love you and your siblings more than anything else. I have given you more than anyone else. If you only asked, I would give you anything you wanted.”
Kye’s expression quickly changed from hesitant to annoyed. “If that’s the case, why do you not answer my questions?”
“If you truly want nothing more than information...” Eve sighed. “Surely you want more than that? If you ask, I will even break the seal on your memories and prevent the flood from destroying your mortal life. Do you want Elysia’s memories without any risk of dying as Kye? Do you want the system’s restrictions lifted so that you can safely access your full power?”
Eve pulled Kye into a warm embrace. It wasn’t until Kye felt a tear reach her shoulder that she realized that Eve truly would give her anything she wanted.
Kye smiled at the thought, but pulled away. “I cannot accept. I have gone through too much at this point. I feel I would only insult myself if I took a shortcut now.”
Eve shook her head. “It’s hardly a shortcut. You’ve worked harder than any other. To say that you’ve done enough to earn a respite a thousand times over would be a gross understatement.”
“She’s right,” said Alfia. Kye looked over and saw her sister staring daggers at her, not out of spite, but of concern. “I know what happened. Maya knows, Adele knows, and Adara knows. Everyone from Athas other than you knows what you did, and how much you’ve done. You are the only one that doesn’t.”
Kye smiled at her sister. “I trust myself. If I locked those memories with something as extreme as origin magic, then I believe it was for good reason.”
Alfia sighed. “You’re not wrong.”
“Anyway, if you won’t let me help you, then on to the next topic,” Eve said, eyeing the Atlantis and Venturi sisters. “Atalante has already received her blessing. Atalante the Fifty-Second.”
Kye’s eyes widened, as did her wives’ eyes.
Eve nodded. “Yes. You all know that the ninety-nine was not complete before you began transmigrating. Fifty-two was blessed ten million years ago out of necessity. And now, I am blessing Astarte the Fifty-third, and Astraia the Fifty-fourth.”
She waved a hand, and the two began glowing in green and golden light, respectively.
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“Astarte Atlantis. Gaia. You are the Light of the Earth. You were the fifty-third concept I imagined before anything existed.”
“Astraia Atlantis. Hikarimaru. You are the Light of the Heavens. You were the fifty-fourth concept.”
She waved her hand again, this time at Liliana and Aliana. Liliana’s body began glowing with a fiery golden light and Aliana a blackish purple.
“Liliana Venturi.” She smirked. “You are the Seraphim Angel, or Seraph for short. You were the fifty-seventh concept.”
“Aliana Venturi. You are the Void Angel, or Shadow for short. You were the fifty-eighth concept.”
The four were unsure how to respond, but when their bodies glowed, they realized that Eve was not simply stating their names or titles, but engraving them upon their very souls. The light glows around them condensed into powerful auras of aether. “These are the colors of your immortal souls. You are among my ninety-nine, just as Elysia, just as Maya, and Adele, and Adara. You may choose your true name, as they did.”
“““Thank you, Lady Eve.”””
“Think hard on it.” She gave them a smile, but then her expression hardened. She looked at Alfia. “Do what you will.” Alfia nodded, and Eve disappeared.
“December 11, 12004 of AE100,” she said, approaching the group of eight.
“That’s today’s date.”
“Yes.” Alfia’s body glowed with silvery aether. She waved her hand and the scenery changed. They were brought to a graveyard on the floating island housing the city of Atlantis. “Look there.”
The group turned and saw several grave markers. Everyone in their group on Atlas was included. Astraia read some of the names aloud. “Astarte Atlantis, Astraia Atlantis, Alexandra Romanov, Hannah Marshall, Ginchiyo Tachibana, Akane Tachibana, Kanade Tachibana… and all of you kids are here, too. Alaira, Rika, Joseph, Johanathan, Liliana, Aliana, Adele, Michelle, Alethea, Kye, Kaede… and others. The only one not here is Allison Barrett.”
“What is this?” Kye was taken aback, as were the others.
“Why are you showing us this?” Michelle asked. “You are saying we die today? Our lives are only just beginning here!”
Alfia flicked her wrist, and many horizontal lines of mana appeared, some connected randomly. “In the worldline where this happens, a single mistake is all it took.” She pointed at a line with a split in it. “We’re on this worldline, right before this split. If you die, the world shifts to the next line. If you live, the world remains on this line. This is the difference between two choices.”
“What two choices?” Kye asked anxiously. “What in the world happened that killed even elder royals?” She narrowed her eyes at the line representing their death. It didn’t extend very far past the split. “Why does that lower line end abruptly?”
Alfia changed the scenery back to that of the platform. She hesitated, not out of caution, but of anger. “I must be careful what I say. Eve will interrupt the conversation if I try to say something she won’t allow you to hear.” The look in her eyes did nothing to hide her anger. “Unless you accept her help, you cannot be given all the answers lest we risk the seal on your memories.” She was concerned about the scene, and she knew what to do about it.
“The world is still paused, is it not?” Michelle asked. Alfia nodded. “Then take your time.”
Alfia gave Michelle a smile.
Why must I endure this? These godforsaken worldlines. If only I could speak freely.
She took a deep breath before looking at Kye. “I wish very much for you to return to your body and stop working your soul to death. But...”
Kye smiled and hugged her immortal sister. “It’s fine, Fia. Everything will work out.”
“No.” Alfia pulled away. “If I let you make the wrong choice, and everyone dies, I get what I want.” Kye started to question her, but Alfia held up a finger. “What I want will come eventually. I can wait. I want you to be happy, and if that means staying in Atlantis for a while... so be it.”
Each of Kye’s spouses tried to argue, but Alfia stopped all of them from speaking up.
“You’ve noticed, haven’t you?”
Kye nodded. She knew what Alfia meant. “There’s a powerful mana signature far out at sea.”
*****
Revision: 2024-2-12
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