It had been quite a long day, even if she didn't feel that tired and in turn felt quite refreshed after all the things they had experienced at the customs and with that weird angel girl. Rossie didn't really mind that much how they looked down on her, but it irked her how they tried to do the same to Elizabeth. But she hadn't thought much about it, since she had seen the obsidian bracelet she held.
And after knowing her parents she was quite sure that she held some degree of influence in the metahuman world... She wasn't sure why she wasn't leveraging those geo-political influences...
Maybe she wanted to strike on her own without the influence of her parents? If so...That was just so adorable ❤
And she was so worried about her too!!
That made her even more delicious looking...If not for that quick bathroom break...She might have leaped on her... That was one dangerous outing... But it wasn't her fault!
If Elizabeth didn't look so gallant, and cool, and gorgeous, and beautiful, and lovely, and captivating...and elegant, and stunning, and breathtaking....and glamorous, and cute, and sweet.........And dazzling, and awe-spiring...AND WHY AREN'T THERE MORE WORDS TO DESCRIBE ELIZABETH?!?
And after arriving at home and doing the whole thing with her skill the blonde went to sleep in her room after she [Evolved] her [Origin]. It seemed that the girl had it hard too. Since she walked straight to her room after making sure she was okay.
No mention of any of the info she sent her way...
She wanted to test her new [Privileges] she had gotten out of the [Bonding] so she focused her mana in her eyes and stared at the blonde walking to her room, nothing happened, she felt something akin to a whisper, and following the instructions she murmured "[Identify]" and then a blue screen showed in front of her.
The wording felt...Weird, as if it wasn't her own voice the one that spoke, but at the same time it felt like it was? She felt mana leave her body and go into the weird blue screen in front of her.
Elizabeth Starbright:
She is the daughter of Jackson Brighton and Catherine Starlight, she was the [Inheritor] chosen by [The World] to further her will into the planet. Currently, she isn't aware of what her mission is, nor needs to know. You as one of her first candidates for partner must help her grow, for throughout her growth your [Wish] may be fulfilled.
The status and skills of Elizabeth are hidden as she hasn't allowed that information to leak yet. Wait for her to release her personal information or use your own mana to try and get the information so it can be recorded in the [Records].
[Do not dissapoint me Rossaline]
That was what it read on the screen, she looked at her own where it depicted her attributes in numerical form, from her strength to her dexterity. Her charm was quite high compared to her more normal status...And she found it amusing how this depicted her strength so low. She could think of a girl that wouldn't think of her as physically weak.
She didn't know why this thing was allocating points to constitution, agility, or vitality... She could do away with Agility and Vitality... Constitution might be useful to...Endure...Her more strenuous activities so she would leave that be, but for now, she would save the [Privilege] to re-ordinate her stats and follow the template it had so far.
But in the future, she wouldn't doubt reorganizing those stats as needed if she required an extra Oomph in her magical power, for now, she just smiled at herself, cleaned some debris in the way (Mostly the debris from just the door to Elizabeth's room and a path towards the kitchen and bathroom). And the pink-haired girl took off her clothes and dressed herself in one of her silk pajamas to sleep.
She had too many things going on today so she also felt tired, she would also need to put her normal wards in her own room and Elizabeth's...Or she wouldn't be able to spend the nights in peace...
So for now she brought her hugging pillow that was dressed with one of the shirts of Elizabeth (The one that was in line to go into the laundry next) and went to sleep. She had plenty of plans for tomorrow after all.
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She awoke when a sweet smell filled her nostrils in the middle of one of her dreamless nights, it was as if the most sweet thing in the world had been shoved into her embrace. It was both warm and firm, just the right amount of squishiness was felt in her bosom, and the thing was hugging her back even!
She half asleep opened her eyes and saw a black-haired girl "W...what?" She had half started preparing one of her spells and fueling it with her mana "[Highest Life Reversal Sm....ite?]" When she cut the mana being fed into it and her brain stopped processing.
The girl that was snuggling to her was mumbling "Rossie....★❤★" and then the girl hugged her while pressing her cute and small face into her chest.
What?
She knew that tone...She knew that smell...And she also knew her four-fold compound spell was disintegrating as she processed what was happening, the girl oblivious to all of this was just snuggling on her while sleeping. She didn't have any care in the world and was just doing that, sleeping.
She wondered if the girl would be awoken by her heart trying to ram its way out of her chest, or by her breathing which was starting to gain speed, she was confused, the girl obviously smelled like Elizabeth, and she spoke using the same tone. But she was different.
"[Sacred Soul Scan]+[Highest Infosect Appraisal]+[Empathic Sense] + [Mana Intent] + [Aura Scan] + [Amp Scan]" So she used all the compound spells she could think to check on this girl.
From her soul to the information, from the intent she had to how her Aura behaved. All her spells returned the same, she wasn't Elizabeth. Everything about her was different, from how the mana behaved to the form of her soul.
From the composition of her body to everything that made her what she was...But even after all of that...Her [Heart] told her that this girl was [Her Elizabeth].
The girl's face was different, her body was different, her hair, her lips, her nose...Everything on her was...More petite. And even so, she felt like her Elizabeth, the way she was dressed as if she couldn't be bothered to grab stylish clothing. The feeling in the clothes that seemed to prioritize comfort above all...And the silly face she made while sleeping was one and the same.
But above all...The [Shadows], they didn't look quite right, she had seen them before of course, the pet dragon of Elizabeth used them quite often. But this girl...This [Other Elizabeth] was drenched in the [Shadows], and even if she couldn't smell it as strongly as with other [Tainted] there was an undercurrent smell of [Wrong] in the deepest part of this girl.
It was while thinking of that, that Rossaline remembered something "Right...I had that...[Identify]." And used the new advantage that she held after the [Bonding] with Elizabeth. She focused on her mind and tried to remember the feeling of mana leaving her body, it was different than the one she usually gets while using the [Spell Nodes] that she had made in her [Soulscape] this one was too...Uniform, she couldn't get a feel for the thing.
Unlike with her [Spell Nodes] which she could still tweak them easily to link them and create compound spells, this one felt more like there was a path in her soul that went to another place. So she tried to find where the mana was being siphoned and shoved as much as she could.
[ Name Pending to be assigned]:
This girl is the closest form to the [True Inheritor] to the Akashic Records, as she should have been born, it was awakened after she left the seals that bound her [Authority] in her hometown. In turn her [Skills] are seeking a way out and evolving at an accelerated pace, her [Soul] while sturdy didn't get the chance to develop in a normal way, so she is at risk.
As the current one that wishes to be the [Paramour of the Inheritor], will you further your pledge and sacrifice your [Authority] so that the [Inheritor's Mana] can be soothed?
That confirmed two things, the first was that the adorable, cute, and smol girl that was searching for something in her chest using her face was indeed her Elizabeth. And second of all, it seemed that she was in danger, she had noticed how her Elizabeth's temper had flared before, and while she found it arousing, and somewhat out of character. She didn't give it too much thought.
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But the [Skill] that her Elizabeth had shared with her was saying that she was in danger, even if her [Spells] said that her mana was normal and her vital signs were normal...
This body she had was indeed different, her sizes were other, and while her normal body was something that looked to be sculpted by the gods during one of their advents (Perfect beyond measure). This one was...flawed.
She was not only smaller in her proportions, but she was also a couple of cm shorter (Her blonde body was measured at 1,60 cm while this one barely made it to 1,45 cm). Her body also was different on the inside, while her normal body was perfect with the right proportions and strong muscles and organs in that lithe form...This one was more...Human.
It had the usual deformities one could expect while growing, almost as if all the time Elizabeth had spent lazying around had affected this reflection, it had a strong evidence of not having done exercise in her life, but even so, her muscles felt strong and mana infused. Probably reinforced in some way.
And while she took this chance to hug her tightly she also was focusing on the information she got, for a new blue screen was showing in front of her.
Notice:
Will you sacrifice part of your [Authority]?
[Y] / N
It had selected itself to the [Yes] already, but she didn't need to question it anyway, the [Skill] that her [Elizabeth] said that she was in danger and she could help.
Even if all the spells she casted said otherwise...Even if the whole world told her that [Elizabeth] was okay...She would still believe the [Skill] that she had bestowed on her.
So she focused her [Will] on the already selected choice. "[Always]" and then she felt it. It was like a part of her [Soul] had been cleaved away, it took all her self-control to not scream, she felt the tears forming in her eyes and how her teeth were sinking on her lips.
She tasted blood and focused inwards to see what was happening at her [Soulscape], the window that showed the shimmering light was cracked, a part of the room had disappeared and instead, there was a gaping wound bleeding light in her room now. But...There was also more color!
The wound was bleeding more colors into her soulscape!
She was brought to the real world by a nudge on her lips, was Elizabeth k-k-kissing her in her sleep!?!?!?!?!?
"Mother, are you okay?" She wanted to scream, for once again she got woken up by someone that wasn't her Elizabeth(Or at least her usual form). This time it was a little girl with dragon wings on her back, she was carrying a handkerchief with a Stars & Hearts motif.
"Mother?" And she got brought back from her musings once again by the little girl's insistence.
"Eli-Eli is asleep...Was she trashing?" Asked the pink-haired girl, wondering why she was looking at her while calling for her Mother. She smelled like the pet dragon of Elizabeth, so she was probably another new facet of her [Skill] after part of her [Soulscape] or [Authority] meshed with the blonde.
"I know Mistress is asleep. Lord Nyxfyre already informed me that he would muffle my greetings to you Mother." Said the little girl while finally noticing how the little girl was hovering in front of the bed, she carried on while pocketing the handkerchief. "I wish to inform you, Mother, that you strained your [Core] while helping mistress conceive me." Stated the little girl, she noticed how her lips were trembling as if she was about to burst out crying.
She silently cast a spell on herself, she wasn't stealthy enough as the little girl seemed to have caught on, "Hoh...yeah...that will take a while to fix..." Said the pink-haired girl, her mana channels were a mess, her [Soulcore] was rampaging inside of her and she was bleeding mana all over the place.
The little girl stood proud and tall, but she could already see the start of a few tears in her eyes, "It's okay." Said the pink-haired girl while caressing the cheek of the little girl. "Momma will be fine after sleeping, Eli-Eli taught me the advantages of spending all day sleeping...I will however need you to deal with breakfast...Can I trust you...With...That?" Said the pink-haired girl.
She was feeling lightheaded already...Also...Did she call herself Momma? She didn't remember having these kinds of feelings on her...
Was she...Getting better?
No, she needed to focus, she needed to weave quite the advanced spell if she was to fix herself in one day.
"Leave it to me, Mother." Said the Little girl while giving a small bow, "As the Head Maid of my Mistress I will not disappoint you." Smiled at the small little thing, she didn't notice before but she had almost pinkish eyes and heart hairpins on her, and the black hair resembled the current form of Elizabeth, so that was quite the marvel.
She wondered how much of herself was in that girl...A mother could hope only the best parts had passed on to her...Wait, she had good parts?
'The mana loss must be getting to me if I'm thinking nonsense.' Thought the pink-haired girl.
And before going on another tangent she started weaving the needed spells. "Okay...Eli-Eli can't hear me right now right?" Asked the Rossaline girl to the little girl.
"No, my mistress will sleep comfortably till she awakes naturally. Lord Nyxfyre promised this boon of me as a birthday gift. You don't need to hold in back the pain Mother." Answered the little girl. She also was adorable, but that was something that was granted if she was the daughter of Elizabeth...No wait if she was the mother...Was Elizabeth the father?
But she was born from the [Skill] of Elizabeth...Shouldn't Elizabeth be the mother and she the father?
"Focus Mother, you are running out of time." Said the little girl while nudging her with one of her little hands.
Right, she needed to focus.
"First...Gotta hide the problem...Never thought I would use these on me..." Said Rossaline with a smile on her face while casting from the reservoir of Magical Circles in her [Soulscape], focusing on four in specific. "[Hide Intent] So that Eli-Eli will not notice my plans..." And so she casted the first spell.
That would hide any stray thought that leaked into her mana, "[Hide Mana] + [Hide Aura] + [Hide Evidence] = [Execute Nefarious Plan]" She weaved the next compound spell with the mastery of someone that had done so before. While this one wasn't being used for what she usually cast it...
It would suffice for her current problem, it would hide the mana rampaging on her while also hiding the disturbance on her Aura...Any other problem brought by this would be then hidden away by the mental aspect of [Hide Evidence] finishing and executing her plan.
She wasn't sure why this spell ended up being called [Nefarious]...She only used it for [Good] things!
"Almost there Mother...Now the last stretch." Said the little girl, at some point she had grabbed her hand and was currently using a bloodied handkerchief to clean something?
Was she bleeding? Why? From where?
"Focus Mother." She could swear the voice was coming from a faraway place, but she was right...She needed to focus, no matter from where she was bleeding, she needed to make sure no blood would fall on her Elizabeth.
"First...[Triage] find the most serious problem. Second [Diminish Pain] soothe the pain and make sure we don't worry Eli-Eli for nothing..." She was starting to feel lightheaded, the room somehow was darker...?
Was Elizabeth's shadow spreading?
"A little more Mother...You only need to cast the [Healing] spells now..." The voice of her daughter was far, almost a whisper...Right
Healing, her thing.
"[Life Renewall] + [Holy Mend]....Should I use better spells...? But those are for Elizabeth..." Mumbled the pink-haired girl while thinking of the spells at her hand.
She still had a few ones she could cast, especially now that her [Origin] had evolved. "MOTHER!" Came the voice of the little girl, now angry.
"Fineeee...[Divine Revitalizing] There...That should deal with most of the problems." That was a spell on the same line that those that she had used to heal Elizabeth the first time she got wounded by a [Skill backlash]. It should help in her situation.
She was even starting to feel better!
"[Area Purification]...Make sure no evidence of this gets shared with Eli-Eli..." Said Rossaline after casting her last spell.
That one would purify impurities in the area, making for a good soothing sleep...And the impurities would include dirt, sweat, grime, and blood. So Elizabeth would never find out about her problem with the backlash after helping her.
Notice:
Well done [Paramour]. Your work and care will be rewarded, sleep well, for [The Inheritor] is safe and the influence on her will diminish...Her [Mother] will deal with the remnants trying to [Influence] her actions.
Know that while she may not know about your [Sacrifice] nor the extent of what you gave. She shall [Resonate] with you more easily now.
She was happy and dismissed the blue screen after noticing how it claimed Elizabeth was safe now...That was all that mattered to her, that this warm feeling in her chest would stay and be okay.
She could feel her Elizabeth and her Elizabeth could feel her...Everything was okay and she would make sure it stays that way...