“Without laws there can be no Justice. Without hope there can be no future… [data lost] taught me that, and I know you all see it in her. I know McArthur didn’t abandon us! He’ll return. He’s the strongest. We all know it. So maintain your hope for a brighter future; we can see it in the hope she sparks in the children.” - Shane, The Lost Diaries, Vol. III.
They stopped in front of a decent neighborhood—from what Clover had seen of the town—it was a duplex, which was big for the tight-spaced places along their journey.
So, this is the place where she’ll show me answers about my clothes, huh? Interesting location.
Getting out, Clover brushed back her braided hair, noticing the mountain chill of the elevated area, yet it didn’t affect her the way she remembered; cold and hot were simply a realization of her current environment rather than a discomfort.
She managed her dress in the soft breeze, Melissa motioning for her to follow her to a path that led them around the back. The neighborhood had noticeably less traffic than the other roads they’d passed through, and the maintenance was done regularly by the cleanliness of the streets. “Well… This is a nice part of town,” she commented.
Melissa took out a small ring of keys, opening three locks on the high gate before opening it for Clover to walk inside; on inspection in passing, the woman’s intricate uniform seemed far more durable than the cotton Clover wore.
“A lot of the town’s residents keep the area cleaned up since a few spirit users used to live in the area… It’s, umm, kind of a shrine, you could say.”
“A shrine?” Clover put a hand on her hip as Melissa locked up behind them and guided her to the back door. “Do they worship the spirit users here?”
“Some, sure,” Melissa gave a weak shrug. “We, uh… we get people that idolize us, fear us… hate us, and, yes, some worship us—anyway, it’s in here.”
Clover followed her inside, glancing around once Melissa sealed the entrance, the dark hiding nothing from her enhanced vision. They’d come through a kitchen; no dust or dishes were lying around, though it didn’t look like the house hadn’t been in use for many years with how perfectly orderly everything was.
“Do spirit users have permanent residences if they always travel and never sleep?”
“Heh,” Melissa’s eyes lingered on the stove and the table for a moment, “we’re not robots. The SPU used to have a few permanent residences in every city, dedicated to spirit users—it’s shrunk since—but we still need a private area to relax and take some personal time… little as it may be.
“Umm, I like to read some of Skydream’s old literature The, uh, the new stuff can be a bit, eh… too wild for me,” she mumbled with a weak chuckle. “The arts have become… let’s just say not very spirit user friendly—at least, not for me.”
“I see. So, what are we here to see?”
She followed Melissa into the next room, where an old 155 cm TV was mounted to the wall as the woman gave a nervous laugh. “So, this is only for educational purposes, okay?”
“Okay?”
Melissa went to a shelf and opened it up to reveal an old tape set with the recordings beside it. “Only about twenty-three or so percent of the spirit rulers with Armaments had clothes like yours—all of the spirit users that were Class-5 and above.”
“More than I thought, considering the ambiguity I’ve been getting regarding the topic,” Clover whispered, watching her sort through the tapes; Melissa’s skin was hot as she fussed with her hair and the cassettes. “I… get the impression we’re doing something illegal—not that I’m against it—I don’t want to get you in trouble.”
She shook her head, extracting a recording and putting it in. “No, no, no—it’s not illegal… some people are just really silly about some things… Yeah, no, I wasn’t ever in the higher spirit user circles—well, not for those kinds of conversations—and a lot of that information was kept secret by the Class-4 to 7 spirit users, so this is the best short-term solution I have.”
“I can understand that,” Clover mumbled, turning to the TV as Melissa flipped it on, “but why can’t the general request the data?”
“Two reasons… Because he hasn’t reported you to the SPU yet, and… spirit rulers and spirit masters rarely talk to those not within their circles about their abilities—including the SPU—and a lot of rules left by McArthur protect them from divulging it… Oh, here’s the part.”
Clover folded her arms under her bust, shaking her head as the horrible quality of the home-recorded video played. “Not selling me on the SPU.”
“There are good parts and bad parts—like anything,” Melissa whispered.
Observing the screen, Clover hummed. Judging by the voice from the unknown person recording, it was Melissa; she sounded younger, but it was the carefree tone in her voice rather than her coming off as old now.
The blonde hugged herself while watching, expressing a mixture of bitter-sweet memories as a thin layer of snow spread across a deep, frozen valley with several iced-over rivers that gave the area a magical vibe.
Melissa’s body heat continued to elevate beside her as it went on, showing massive, ice-blanketed trees spaced across it, and a handsome blond man in his early twenties popped up on the screen, half turned away as he smiled at the camera.
Clover was instantly drawn to the yellow field of electricity that occasionally flashed across his body, yet her attention was then drawn to his infectious laugh—pure and genuine.
“Lisa! You’re the one that wanted me to take you to Firefly’s snowy wasteland, but you’ve been fiddling with that thing since we left the city.”
“Hey! Hey! I think I’ve got it working again! Look! Look!” she raised a cheer, running over to show him; behind them was a scarred landscape of a ruined northern city, practically torn to its foundation, a military helicopter standing not too far away. “We need to preserve the memory! Oh, and let’s do what we talked about!”
A silver-haired man with his long locks pulled into a simple ponytail walked over to throw his arms around the blond man. “Now, Melissa? C’mon, girl! We’ve finally gotten Shane away from Skydream; let him chill a little.”
“Alma! It will only take a minute, and you guys never tell me anything about the cool stuff!”
The man sighed, waving his hand with a low groan at Shane’s grinning shrug. “You’re always so random, Mel. Alright, I’m gonna take Benson to scope out the mountain; someone’s gotta do some work here.”
“Thanks, Alma!” Melissa cheered, the camera shaking as she waved him off.
Clover shifted her hips the opposite way while looking at the unassuming man the woman was badgering—he was handsome and had a kind face. “I assume he’s strong?”
Melissa’s lips lifted a little. “The strongest,” she whispered. “The only person Shane could be compared to would be McArthur.”
“A spirit emperor?” Clover asked, returning her focus to the recording. “And Alma?”
“One of the three Class-6 spirit masters at the time.”
“Hmm…”
Shane put his hands in his pockets with a soft, teasing smile. “You know, sometimes I wonder if you’re even listening. I’ve told some of this stuff to you in the past, silly.”
The younger Melissa seemed delighted to have this personal time with the legend. “Yup, I know, but you know how miserable the SPU’s spirit user incorporation program is… I just thought we could help things along for those of us that get chucked out of those black holes and aren’t super strong; I know I would have loved to hear it from you!”
He rolled his eyes while shaking his head. “Don’t compare yourself to everyone; you’ve got rare healing abilities while I just make stuff go boom. I’m not that special.”
“Says the only Class-7!” Melissa returned. “C’mon, Shane, please! Oh, tell future generations about the cool stuff—like your clothes!”
“Someday, there will be dozens of Class-7, and I’ll look like a total loser with how everyone treats me, but, huu-haaa… okay, it is pretty cool. Although…” Shane’s smile turned suspicious as he looked down at his business clothes in the frigid environment. “I’m starting to think you just want me to take off my clothes,” he laughed with a teasing smirk.
“Please! For future generations!” Melissa chimed.
“Melissa?” Clover asked with a slight smile directed her way.
She blushed. “I-It was a joke! Just ignore that part… Shane was kind of my mentor at this time.”
“That you asked to undress? Mhm…” She turned her gaze back to the recording as Shane’s clothes shimmered black and changed into winter wear, complete with a scarf.
“Pleased?” he winked, spreading his arms.
“I mean… It’s a start,” Melissa returned. “At least you don’t look like you’re about to walk into a business meeting. Umm… oh! Tell them about it!”
“I’ve told you like eight times!” Shane sighed, ruffling his blond locks with a forced smile.
Clover giggled. “Obviously, you weren’t listening to his voice while he spoke.”
“Not entirely true,” Melissa mumbled.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
However, her past self shattered the illusion with a mischievous tone, “I forgot!”
“Ah,” Clover teased, “you were just so taken in by his voice that you lost the words.”
“Hehe. More like you weren’t listening,” he huffed, causing Clover to point at him in agreement.
Melissa looked away, fidgeting with her hair; the woman was clearly infatuated with her ‘mentor.’
“Forgive me! I’m just… I’m just distracted! For posterity! History!”
“Posterity?” Clover laughed, sending Melissa to turn away to cool her heated face.
“Fine! Fine! Okay, but listen this time, Mel.”
“Heh-hehe! It’ll be recorded so I can come back to it if I do forget!”
She’s a love-struck puppy… Melissa had it bad, but he seems like a good guy.
“Okay… so, I like to call this Full Armament—Spirit Weapons and Spirit Armor are just too generic,” he grumbled. “We gotta sell the cool factor to get the people hyped.”
“Spirit masters can change into all sorts of outfits!” Melissa nodded. “Oh, we should go to the beach next!”
“Calm down, girl,” Clover smirked.
“…It was a different time, okay?” Melissa forced out in a mumble, clearly embarrassed at herself. “Just watch.”
Shane forced a smile while scratching the back of his head. “Maybe… Inferno has been moving in that direction recently, and we never know when the next crisis will hit. Anyway, when spirit users with Full Armament exit the Void, it’ll be challenging to shape it, but it reflects your inner spirit. Also, it can be swapped between your normal outfit and combat because you wouldn’t want to fight rassi or transevil in cotton!”
“Mhm! Mhm! Unless you’re a spirit emperor!” Melissa cut in.
“No,” he laughed. “Not even then. Just because you’re a spirit emperor doesn’t mean it’s easy—or you want to fight naked—there are a lot of really strong transevil and rassi.”
Someone might want you to, Clover internally snickered, seeing Melissa hiding her bright red face.
Clover’s internal musings abated as the yellow lightning intensified across his body when Shane pressed a hand against his breast and plucked out a strangely shaped object, releasing a similar deep-yellow haze.
“We call these brooches, and they’re infused with dense energy, depending on what transevil you found them on.
“There are four Styles we’ve identified—Standard, Violent, Assassinate, and Bastion—each that have beneficial Set Effects if you manage to match the Style and Grade.
“This is a Tera Assassin brooch, which has a Class-4 spirit user minimum requirement to wear; mine has the Evanesce modifier that helps to eliminate rassi and transevil Super Armor.
“It’s… not my favorite, to be honest, but the Set Bonus makes it worth using it over the Peta Assassinate I have since I can’t match it with others.”
“Sets?” Melissa asked in awe. “What’s that all about—is it like matching cards in that one game?”
“Heh,” Shane’s brooch vanished in light to be replaced by a cyan-colored, teardrop-shaped one. “This can get complicated; we should start at the basics—if you really want me to explain it.”
“Mhm! Please!”
“Okay… You have the four Styles I mentioned—this one is Assassinate—and the light-blue color marks its Grade as a Peta. The shape shows it’s an Effect-Type. It goes like… Okay, let’s have this ‘student’ get out a paper and write this down!”
Melissa’s eyes lit up. “Oh, yeah, like a university quiz!”
Clover turned to give her a lifted eyebrow. “I don’t need a paper to memorize something.”
“Lucky…” Melissa whispered, only partially paying attention to her as she watched the video; she was starting to wonder if the woman wanted to show her this to have an excuse to see Shane again.
Taking Shane’s advice, Clover desired to be in her outfit; instantly, the shimmering purple and light blue force swirled around her body as the clothes took shape and her dress vanished.
Shane just plowed on, and Clover listened intently. “Heh, it’s kind of embarrassing to have you record me like this… Eh, Set Effects are the most important piece of the process, and there are ‘five’ separate effects you can mix and match with because you have five combination pieces or items of clothing that count…”
Clover’s vision narrowed as he pointed at each item. “Three Types of brooches—Attack, Defense, and Effect—can be placed into your five spiritual pieces of clothing—Shoes, Gloves, Bottom, Top, and Helmet—and there’s an optional invisible mode if you want to stick with your normal clothes, by the way,” he winked, and Clover could see the appeal with her own situation.
“As for clothes, they could also be a hair bob or anything else—it’s completely customizable to your style—at least in proportion to your strength and personal vision of yourself at the time.”
What does he mean by personal vision? I saw myself like a… whatever I was dressed as when I exited the Great Void?
Shane took a deep breath before pointing at the cyan-colored Assassinate Effect brooch in his hand. “You cannot fit Effect-Type brooches into an Attack-Type slot, and to get the Set Effect, you need to match the Grade and Style… Basically, an Assassinate Attack, Defense, and Effect that are all the same color.”
The Grade colors are what have to be matched for a set, huh? That’s simple enough to remember, but what are those colors and their…
It was like he’d read her mind as he went on.
“Grades start at Kilo—green—special, hard-to-kill Class-1 transevil drop these, and it only goes up from there. So far, we’ve identified Mega—which is deep-blue colored—Giga, red; Tera, yellow; Peta, cyan, being the highest that are formed from the Class-5, but Wilfred swears there’s some magenta one that McArthur had…” he trailed off as Alma walked back into the frame with a teasing grin on his face.
“Spoutin’ Wilfred’s rumors, Shane? Geez, you’re gonna confuse the kids!”
The legend gave a weak chuckle and shrug. “I mean, who knows what we’ll know whenever someone watches this.”
“True!” Alma gave the camera a wink. “To set the record straight, I’ve got the only full Peta-Set in the SPU, baby! Check it!”
He spread his arms with a big grin as his outfit changed to swimming trunks, complete with a ponytail, sandals, and glasses; a swirl of cyan rays, aura, smoke, and shell-like pattern erupted across his frame. “I’m drippin’, bro—get me a towel ‘cause ain’t I sweaty? Wooh!”
A few cheers came from a few men and women off-screen as he flexed his muscular body and fanned himself; he was quite the specimen, and the playful nature he had made her smile.
“He’s quite the character.”
“You… have no idea,” Melissa sighed, and the past Melissa brushed him away with a dismissive hand. “Yeah, yeah—weren’t you going to do some work?”
“Oof, harsh!” Alma laughed, giving Shane a thumbs up. “Yo, I’m tellin’ ya, I’ll beat you at surfing any day!”
“Put it on the calendar,” Shane returned. “You know Inferno’s been heading to the sea area.”
“Yo! I’m lit, bro; you just wait!” He jogged off to join the others, but Melissa only had eyes for Shane.
The blond-haired man’s half-smile followed his exit, and Clover realized whenever this was taken, there had been total stability; they could joke, go on a semi-vacation, and have complete confidence, yet at some point, that all changed.
“When was this?” Clover asked.
Melissa’s hands were gripped tightly at her front. “Huh… Oh, when? Umm… it was a few months after I left the Void—Shane spent time with all the new spirit users.”
She slowly nodded. “So… the Sixth Void Year.”
“Y-Yeah, eh… you really do have a good memory,” the flustered woman chuckled. “Oh, there’s not much more.”
Returning to the recording, Shane got back to the topic after listening to some of his comrades’ conversations and waving a hand at Melissa’s continual attempts to get him to notice her. She had to remind herself that Melissa was technically still a teenager at this point; then again, so was Clover.
“Umm… Yeah, that’s the basics, though. Five Set Pieces to your outfit, four Styles, three Types, and five—possibly six—Grades, and the properties each individual brooch can have is just too many to count!
“Transevil somehow create or carry them through the Voids, and rassi collect them to use themselves, which makes raiding their camps worthwhile, and in general, the spirit user that finds it keeps it as a rule of the SPU. Any other questions, you can direct to the blonde girl recording me!”
“W-What?! No! I don’t even have an Arma—”
The video promptly cut off, ending the recording. Clover slowly nodded as she mentally went through the information. “Interesting. I can see the appeal, and… yes, it doesn’t look like I am naked when I dismiss the outfit,” she mumbled as her dress reappeared. “I… only have one question left.”
Melissa blinked. “Uh… I probably don’t know the finer details.”
Clover’s gaze returned to the blank screen. “How was he making them appear and disappear?”
The blonde made an oh-face before chuckling a little. “Disap—wait! Okay, yeah, spirit users have a kind of personal, uh… I don’t know—some people just call it a black hole?” Melissa rubbed her chest before gesturing to a seat as she took the one across from it; complying, Clover crossed her legs and listened.
Even more confused now, Clover scratched her neck. “Black hole? Explain.”
“Well, it’s like—like a little personal bag that you can store things into—the stronger you are, the more you can fit in there and take out with a desire. It’s the ghetto version of Spirit Armament that every spirit user has, but it only works on inanimate objects that are infused with the special energy of the Voids.”
“So…”
“Like a rock or metal piece with a bunch of the rassi powers in them and stuff; it can actually be extracted by some people, but… that business is kind of illegal now,” she added with a weak laugh.
“Mmh… that’s fascinating.” Not forgetting the woman’s previous statement, Clover’s gaze settled on her. “And… you said the general hasn’t reported me to the SPU yet… Why not, and why have I been assigned Lily?”
“You see…” Melissa shifted uncomfortably. “The Eastern Division of the SPU is kind of at war with a major rassi group, and the general is worried you’ll be ordered out if you suddenly declare yourself a member.”
She shifted a little, looking away while rubbing the back of her hand. “Well, that, or he’ll be pressured to put you in that position if he does report it.”
“Hmm…” Clover sat back, playing with her thumbs while looking at the cabinet of home videos; it was becoming clear that this place was solely used by Melissa as a reminder of better times and no other spirit user.
“I can understand that logic—I cannot see myself becoming a part of the SPU in any case—helping those around me seems much more enjoyable than dedicating myself to a random cause, even if that is to become the hope of humanity.”
“No pressure from me!” Melissa smiled. “I’ll say you’re weird for not joining, which is totally off-marker for spirit users, but I’m happy to have your help and make your acquaintance!”
“Wow. So, I’m weird, huh?” Clover mused.
“Just a little. Hehe.”
“Well, ditto—you seem to be the weird one to me for just blindly following—so, is that everything you wished to show me?”
Melissa got up with a sad smile. “I know it was a long drive for something so short.”
“No, it was nice,” Clover said, rising to smooth out her dress. “I learned a lot today—I think it is enough to have me in thought until morning.”
“Great! I’ll take you back to Lily’s then,” Melissa chimed, already moving to the door. “There are some old wines left over if you want to have one… Oh, Lily actually messaged me that she is at the local 24-hour bar, and she brought the change of clothes in case you wanted to get into them as soon as possible.”
Clover slowly shook her head. “I don’t drink—the age limit was 24 in Skydream when I was… Well, what is it now?”
Melissa’s smile became forced. “Oh… I didn’t know that. Umm… sixteen, but it’s more of a guideline.”
“Wow… okay,” Clover mumbled in disbelief. “That is… surprising. We can go meet up with Lily and take it from there.”
“Great! I’ve got a small bit of time before I go back out, and unless it’s a special kind of laced alcohol, then it doesn’t affect us; spirit rulers are completely immune!”
“Huh… A brave new world,” Clover sighed while exiting the building for Melissa to lock up.