Chapter 131 The Memories
Only Thomas’s presumed family showed any reaction to the reveal. Evernya glanced at Elizabeth, expecting her to show sympathy, but instead all she saw was a frown.
Catching Evernya’s gaze, Elizabeth spoke. “After your supposed death, Arthur led a smear campaign against anyone with a connection to you. Probably because he knew you were alive, and he was afraid of your connections. I tried to weather it for as long as I could, but when they forced Thomas to step down, I followed suit.”
Elizabeth glanced at Meira, prompting the elf to add, “while they returned Maylin, like my human partners, they leveled any sanction they could on me while pressuring all my customers. Eventually, all I had left was my most loyal customers, and I didn’t want them to go down with me, so I cut off contact. This didn’t satisfy them as someone kept triggering my barrier alarm in the middle of the night. After several months of harassment, I contacted Elizabeth and Thomas saying I was going to retreat here and they followed.”
Boiling with rage, Evernya turned to Avonya, giving her a pleading look. “Could I please have Arthur at least?”
A vicious smile formed as Avonya responded, “I’m sorry, my little princess, but no. He will receive his just punishment soon. No one harms you without facing the consequences.”
“What do you have planned?”
Avonya gave her daughter a teasing smile. “That’s a surprise, but I’m sure you’ll be satisfied. If everything goes according to plan, the entire Sespina line will fall by tomorrow.”
“How? Are you going to put on a show trial?”
With a poker face, Avonya replied. “Maybe, my subordinates are setting things up as we speak and everyone is just about ripe for the picking.”
Before Evernya could question further, a pained whimper sounded from near the tree. Too quiet for most to hear, only Evernya and Avonya turned to the source to find Aya collapsed to the ground, clutching her chest in pain.
Despite her misgivings about her mate, Evernya rushed over but is soon as Aya caught sight of her she pushed herself back to her feet. Her face turned blank, but her trembling body gave away her condition.
As Evernya reached Aya, Avonya glanced at her tree spirit friend, shaking her head, prompting the tree spirit to step back. Kya followed suit, giving a bow to Evernya before giving them room.
At war with her instincts and painful memories, Evernya stared at Aya with a conflicted expression. “What’s wrong?”
Aya averted her gaze as she mumbled, “Aya is fine.”
Evernya ran her eyes down her mate’s trembling body with a skeptical expression. “No, you aren’t.”
Aya opened her mouth to refute, only for her eyes to widen as she collapsed to the ground once more.
Unable to resist any longer, Evernya dropped to a squat before hoisting Aya into a princess carry. Despite Evernya’s lack of strength, Aya felt as light as a feather. Now looking closer, Evernya spotted what was wrong. Unlike before, Aya’s mana system was in turmoil, lashing out at her body as if to punish her for something.
At a loss for what to do, Evernya turned to Avonya and the tree spirit who were standing next to the tree accompanied by a conflicted Kya. “can you help her?”
Both old ones shook their head as Avonya spoke. “Only Aya can help herself and maybe you.”
Elizabeth moved to approach only for vines to block her way. She directed her attention to the obvious culprit, the tree spirit, but received a negative headshake, causing her to back down and rejoin the other former Druth residents.
Aya’s body spasmed, but she refused to make a sound as she hid her face behind her hair.
With growing panic, Evernya demanded, “What’s wrong with her!?”
“Several things, that’s the problem. It’s up to her and you to solve them.”
“How am I supposed to solve anything if I don’t even know the problem?” Snapped Evernya, causing Aya’s already drooping ears to flatten further.
“I’m sorry, my little Princess, but I can’t say as the system forbids it. All I can say is it’s between you and her.”
Now, as a higher being, an instinctual understanding of the system smothered any anger she had toward her mother. Despite that, she continued to prod. “Is it something to do with our bond?”
Avonya gave her a sympathetic smile but remained silent.
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In a vain hope, Evernya turned to the tree spirit, but all she received was a finger-pointing toward a treehouse to her right.
Giving up on squeezing out any more information, Evernya silently followed the tree spirit’s direction, entering a house to find a beautifully decorated wood and leafy interior but she ignored it in favor of ascending the stairs running along the right side of the circular treehouse. At the top of the stairs, she found a bedroom and proceeded to gently lay Aya’s trembling on the leafy bed.
Despite the lack of their bond, Evernya used her telepathic training from her first life to establish a connection. “How are you feeling Aya?”
Aya showed no indication she heard as she stared vacantly at the ceiling, body seizing.
With growing panic, Evernya used her shifted eyes to scan her mate’s mana system once more. This time she caught a thick stream of mana flooding Aya’s body from someone unknown. For some reason, instead of embracing the potent mana, Aya’s mana system violently opposed it, causing her current state. She followed the stream with her eyes, but a sharp pain speared through her mind as she glimpsed the source through a blurry rift.
Evernya narrowed her eyes, refusing to give in as she pushed through the pain, catching a glimpse of two Kitsune of similar features to Aya.
The Kitsune smiled down at Evernya as one of them spoke into her mind. “The fates chose an excellent mate for our descendent. I know you have questions, but like your mother, the system binds us. This is between you and little Aya.”
Evernya scowled but didn’t retort, as she could feel their worry radiating through the rift.
She redirected her attention back to Aya’s prone form as another whimper escaped her lips. “Aya, can you hear me? Please respond with anything.”
Again, Evernya received no response as Aya’s glazed over ruby eyes stared vacantly at the ceiling. She glanced at the two Kitsune still watching her through the rift for help, but they shook their heads negative.
Another idea formed, but a moment later she dismissed it is too dangerous only for her memories from her first life to push to the front of her mind. Is it worth the risk? I’ve never used this type of magic. Well, not in this life at least. Avonya was quite thorough in my training in my first life. I wish I had all of this knowledge back when I first woke up. Well, and the power, though I’ve never lacked in that department.
Aya’s body seized up as the mana clashed within her, banishing Evernya’s hesitation.
Evernya took a deep breath, hoping she’s making the right choice as her eyes glowed brighter, drilling into Aya’s. A moment later she found herself in a labyrinth, but knowing what to expect from her training, Evernya expertly weaved through the mental defenses, reaching the other side in mere minutes.
Once past the labyrinth, Evernya reached a blank white room. A frown formed at Aya’s lack of surface thoughts but pushed ahead, following her first life’s training ingrained into her.
As she expected, she reached another barrier, this time in the form of an opaque white wall. Evernya ran her hands over the obstruction, looking for any weaknesses, but found none. Refusing to give up, Evernya stared at the wall with a critical eye, instinctively activating her divine eyes. Despite not actually using her eyes to see the room lit up with threads of mana, likely the mana veins within Aya’s brain.
She followed the veins, finding them to converge on a single point at the center of the wall to her right, causing Evernya’s tail to puff. I nearly forced my way through the wrong wall! I could have made Aya brain-dead. I’m not qualified for this. I should get Avonya’s help. The problem is she will probably just say I need to solve it myself. Dammit! I hope I’m making the right decision here.
After taking a minute to psych herself up, Evernya approached the correct wall. Unlike the previous wall, which was solid, Evernya passed through it as if it was an illusion.
On the other side, she found herself staring at a video playing on the walls of a long hallway. Despite the urgency of her mission, her curiosity won out. The first video showed a low and wobbly view as Aya approached a giant six tailed brown furred Kitsune looming over her. Aya’s movement seemed to pick up pace but also increase in its wobbling the closer she got to the massive Kitsune. When she reached the giant, it bent down, then picked her up, bringing her up to eye level. “Hello little Ayame.”
Ayame? That must be her original name. Aya is probably her nickname or the name she chose to distance herself from her previous life. Though did she ever really leave her old life?
Needing answers, Evernya pushed forth, only giving brief glances at the early memories, watching as the giant woman either shrunk or Aya grew, likely Aya growing. After a couple minutes of walking, she paused at a rather vivid memory. This time Aya and the other Kitsune were about eye level. What drew you Evernya’s attention was the tears of anguish clear displayed in the woman’s eyes.
“I’m sorry, my lady, but this will be the last time we meet. The matriarch reassigned me to a new position. Please stand strong just because you’re one tailed, that doesn’t mean you’re inferior.”
Aya reached out as if to grab the woman, only for her to vanish.
A foreboding feeling fell onto Evernya as the memory restarted from the beginning. With an inkling of what will happen next, Evernya trudged forward.
As she thought, Aya’s previously happy, though isolated, life darkened with each memory. Without the support of the unknown woman, she faced constant bullying from other white-haired Kitsune, all with more tails than her. As the memories moved closer to the present Aya spent more time staring at the floor than meeting the eyes of her family and staff.
Evernya’s hands ached to give her mate a hug, but needing to know more, she pushed herself forward. The next bright memory caused Evernya to freeze.
Aya was kneeling in a gorgeous but gaudy Eastern styled throne room as usual staring down at the floor as a familiar voice spoke in a tone devoid of emotion. “The seers found your mate.”
For the first time in what felt like forever, Aya’s eyes shot up, meeting her grandmother’s cold ruby eyes. “Really? Where? When do I get to meet them?”
“Silence!”
Aya’s mouth snapped shut in an instant as she averted her gaze downward once more.
Satisfied, the matriarch announced, “You will be prepared immediately. I shall annul your previous betrothment.”
Excitement and hope bubbled within Aya, imagining all sorts of increasingly fantastical images of her mate as she followed the directions of the guard.
Worry began to sprout as she found herself being led underground to an area of the palace she had never been to before. A shiver ran through her tail as the atmosphere seemed to take on a dark tone.
Still, despite the change, hope still shined through, only to be snuffed out as something wrapped around her neck. Her hands shot up, thinking someone was trying to assassinate her, only to find a smooth band around her neck. Pain shot through her entire body before everything went black.