Mihari had to admit, she felt pretty good. She had a purpose for the first time in memory. And fate practically gift wrapped the perfect tool for her too. She was moving freely, back in the real world, with no looming deadline where she had to finish a fight before being ousted by her Vital Net. In fact, she didn’t have to fight at all, if she didn’t want to. Not that she minded a good battle, but it was nice to stand around and breath for a bit.

Yes, in fact, everything was perfect. Everything… except for a certain pest.

That’s not a nice way to think about your nephew.

“Why is it I have to listen to you, when you didn’t?”

I would guess it has something to do with this being my body. Besides, I would say it’s not that I didn’t have to listen to you, but rather I didn’t get to.

“Don’t act like you’re bothered.”

I mean, I am, a little. It would have been nice to hang out with my Aunt Mihari, and especially to have someone who knew my mother and didn’t worship the sands she walked on.

Mihari huffed. The boy was a little charming, in his own way.

I have a name, you know.

“I’m… I can’t—“

Yeah, yeah, okay. But you could call me Seishin. You’re supposed to be from a Noble House, after all, even if a distant branch.

She sighed. “Fine, Young Seishin, but can you be a dear and give your aunt some peace.”

If you wish, for a while anyway.

She could feel her nephew watching, but he remained quiet. For now she turned to the task at hand. She remembered the general location of Morgan’s hideout from her time with the Oracle Stone and so had little trouble coming to its entrance. She did not, however, know how she was supposed to get in.

This facility was the Eternal Archive, something discovered a decade or so before the Fading, almost six centuries ago. In fact, it was none other than Dr. Magnus himself who lead the expedition that found it.

The structure was a sight to behold, a vast complex contained within a single massive building. Its walls were made of a pure white material, wholly unblemished by age or visible joints. The surrounding cavern was not so lucky, having sustained several cave ins over the centuries, though the falling stone apparently tumbled harmlessly off the structure.

Mihari herself was in a large clearing, standing in front of what appeared to be the facility’s only door, although she doubted the tiny thing was anything more than a service entrance. Behind her was a vast cave, seemingly natural, though there was a place that might have once been a landing pad of some kind, and there was evidence of major excavation in a few places.

The cave itself opened to the sea, though by coincidence or design it did not have a particularly good view. Mihari guessed that from almost any angle, the cavern would be hard to detect from outside. She could see how the place remained undetected so long.

What she could not see was how to open the door in front of her. Well, that wasn’t entirely accurate. She suspected the keypad next to it would do the trick. Surprisingly, it sill lit up when touched, filling the panel with a matrix of enigmatic glyphs. They looked a little Southern, though she didn’t know enough to be sure.

She tried a few combinations. The device gave little feedback, only tracing the path of her finger between touch and release. She had no idea how many digits were in the code, or even if it was looking for a code at all. She frowned, then shrugged. She could deal with an uncooperative entryway.

She drew her sword, placing both hands on the hilt. Little Seishin didn’t have much of an arte selection, but he kept a decent tech library. She spent a couple minutes switching in a high powered slash, then fired it off.

She found herself thrown back, tumbling to the ground. The sword slipped from her grasp, clattering across the stone. Her Vital Net reported several tears and fractures from the unexpected impact.

After staring at the ceiling for a few minutes, she slowly climbed to her feet. She grabbed her weapon on the way up and gave it a look once she was standing. The glow was notably dimmer.

Mihari peered at the door, walking closer until she was within arm’s reach. “What the hell?” There wasn’t even so much as a scratch in the material. She ran her fingers over the spot where she was certain the blade had struck. “Could shatter myriaite with that,” she mumbled, then turned her gaze to the sword. Had the edge been out of alignment?

Hey! That’s rude. I wouldn’t make a crappy tech like that.

“Do you have a better theory?”

Could the structure be built out of arteware? That would also explain how the building held up so well.

She ran her hand over the door and walls. They were both cool to the touch, but not any cooler or warmer than the surrounding area. “I don’t know about that. I’m not seeing any signs, and this facility predates artes anyway, right?”

She could feel something like a shrug from her nephew. I don’t think it matters. Morgan must of had some way to get through. Is there anything in his memories?

“I don’t see why you’re acting helpful. It’s not like you support my plan or anything.”

Of course not, I think it’s mental, but how is being insulting or belligerent supposed to help.

Mihari felt a little called out, but the Young Seishin was entirely genuine. She tried to glare at him, but he was distracted by something. He came back a moment later.

I poked around a little, but I couldn’t find anything from Magnus or Kimi about how they got in. You must have overlooked that part.

“Who?”

The girl! Don’t go stealing people’s memories and not even look at them. Hitori huffed, which felt weird coming from within her own mind. Anyway, they most likely Shifted. I think you’ll have to find another way.

“Such as?”

I don’t know, why don’t we look around a little?

Mihari shrugged. He had a point. She turned her attention to the keypad, getting her eye as close as possible. She doubted the device could be pried off by force, or damaged in any way, but perhaps there were clues. People must of had some way to get inside at one point.

What’s that on top?

“Hmm?” She ran her fingers over the short lip that separated the pad from the wall. There was a coarse dust wedged in between. She brushed some into her palm. “It looks like it could be from rotted cord?”

Maybe there’s something on the ground nearby?

Mihari peered off to the side, trying to aim her gaze inside at her Little Seishin. If he thought he could somehow charm her into giving up or letting him go, he was going to be sorely disappointed. She didn’t sense a reaction from him. He was entirely too even-tempered, like her sister.

No matter, he had a point. She circled out from the door, checking for signs of what might have been attached to the pad. She eventually found a small card nestled in a pile of rocks. It must have been carried there by wind or flood. In either case, it was a plain white rectangle, unmarked by anything more than a few strange symbols, similar to the ones on the keypad.

She brushed the dust off, then carried it to the entrance. The door slid open with a swipe over the pad. Mihari tucked the pass into a pocket and stepped inside.

She found herself in a dark hallway, a cool breeze fluttered in from behind, soothing on her warm skin. The air was dry, sterile even. She could detect no hint of any scent beyond what was carried in from the sea. In fact, beyond the patch of dim light where she stood, it was almost like nothing at all lay within. No sight or sound of any kind escaped from its depths.

It was more than a little eery, like she stood on the cusp of oblivion itself. In spite of how clean it smelled, or even her general knowledge of its contents from Morgan, she couldn’t shake the feeling this was a tomb. A place for long dead things, some of which were best left untroubled.

Then the door slid shut behind her.

Mihari almost jumped, her heart spiked a beat. She felt like she was… back…

I bet there’s a light switch by the door.

She shook her head and exhaled, then turned around to check the wall adjacent to the door. With the help of her glowing sword she found another panel, and after playing with it for a bit was able to flood the hallway in a dazzling white glow. There was no obvious source for the light, and it made everything unpleasant to look at.

She knew where Morgan hunkered down from her visit with the Oracle Stone, though she hadn’t paid any special attention to the rest of the layout. Not that it mattered, she wasn’t in any particular hurry. Morgan was the only other person on Esper who knew where this place was, and he was dead.

She spent about an hour wandering the facility, getting a feel for the layout and trying to guess the nature of this place. Most doors would open with a touch, though a few needed a little coaxing from her keycard. An even rarer few were unimpressed by it, but none likely in the way of her goal so she let them be.

As for the rooms, most were large exhibition halls, although Mihari could only guess at their themes. There were also a fair number of storerooms, and a few that must have been for administration. There were many desks with terminals, which hummed to life with a touch. Their user interface, however, was completely inscrutable so she ignored them.

In one of the exhibits, close to where Morgan set up the Unity Crystal, she found a large mirror. She couldn’t guess what made it special, being rather plain in appearance, but judging by the other items in the room it was somehow related to fashion. Part of her knew she wouldn’t like what she saw, but she had to do it anyway. She stepped in front of her reflection.

It was him. The- Maia’s son, staring back at her. She could see traces of her own face in his, though he’d certainly inherited the long legs and wide chest from his father. Her sword hung casually from his hip, resting snug in its black scabbard, and she carried the satchel a little off center. She’d always liked it that way.

His armor fit snugly, in fair condition. There were a few places with obvious repairs, but the set would be useable for years to come. The only major flaw was one she introduced herself, the place where Morgan’s Shaping Stone embedded itself into her body. She wasn’t quite sure why it stuck to the surface, though it had been the same with Dr. Penthu.

She stared at the large crystal. A faint shadow could be seen swirling in its depths. It was… surreal. In a very real sense, she was staring at herself. When Morgan was finishing Alvina’s Ex Stone, he added, amongst other things, a safe place for him to dwell. It took a little thinking, but Mihari figured out a way to use it for her own purposes.

She wasn’t content to live as a simple projection. It would be far too weak and fragile. Still…. She looked again at… her body. It would have been nice to control what she looked like. But then… that crystal of Alvina’s….

Hey! What are you thinking?

Mihari reached into her satchel and pulled out the Reaping Stone. The crystal had quite a few options available. Most weren’t of any interest, to her or Magnus, but there was at least one she could make use of.

If you do that, I’m sure you’ll regret it.

“What? Are you going to get mad at me or something?” She laughed.

No, well, I mean, yes, but actually it’s a terrible idea tactically and strategically. For starters, my armor won’t fit anymore, and you’ll waste a bunch of Vital Energy too.

“We don’t need armor kid, you’ll see what I mean. And don’t be so cheap, I have all four of your Wolf Stims, we can spare a couple.”

Still… it will cost reserve material from your body. If you take a big hit your Vital Net won’t have anything to do repairs with, even if it has the energy.

She shook her head. “With a power like this, you don’t take big hits.”

Mom did.

She scoffed and shook her head. “I have no idea how she managed to either. We went twenty years with barely more than a scratch, and she manages to get ripped apart in her first big fight without me.” She shrugged. “But whatever, I can manage not dying a few days.”

She lifting the Reaping Stone to her eyes, then shut them as she focused on drawing out the interface. She could still feel a wary gaze from Little Seishin, but pushed it away. It’s not like he was the one that had to live in this body right now. She might as well make herself comfortable.