While Alethea and Astarte fought Kaede, Kye and Astraia were facing their own challenge. In front of them stood a near twin of Kye, only shorter and with smaller breasts.

“Greetings, Lady Astraia,” the girl said, her voice softer than Kye’s. “I am Azalea of the Nexus. I have served as Lady Elysia’s partner since before the first universe was created.” She held a plain katana with purple tsuka-maki. “I shall test you before you enter Lady Elysia’s core. As a weapon, I am known as Jouten, Heaven’s Blade. Please ready yourself. I shall begin as soon as you are prepared.”

Kye nodded and turned to Astraia. “Before that, you should see the true me.”

“The true you?”

She nodded and suddenly released an immense burst of golden aether, her aura and eyes refined as if using Overdrive. Astraia’s eyes widened as Kye’s aether increased more and more, far beyond anything Astraia had thought possible.

“This is the true you? Your aether is... godlike. This is what you could be capable of in our world given time?”

“This and so much more. What you see is just a taste. My power is the result of millions of lifetimes of experience.”

“No wonder the measuring orb shattered when it tried to measure your capacity. To quantify such an enormity...” Kye held out her hand. Astraia took it and transformed into her weapon form. Kye placed the weapon on her right hip so that she could draw with her left hand. “My weapon name is Hikarimaru.”

Kye stood ready, poised to draw at any moment. “Azalea! Begin!”

Meanwhile, Alethea and Astarte had just finished up their own challenge. Since they were inside her soul, Alethea was able to draw upon her true power. The most that Astarte had ever experienced as a weapon was when she was wielded by Atalante. Alethea’s true power was so much greater, and her skill so much finer, that Astarte felt a sensation that she described as indescribable.

The match ultimately resulted in a draw, but the goal was not for one to defeat the other. Kaede would never allow another inside her master’s core without knowing her master could wield them. Once the match was over, Astarte returned to her human form. Afterward, Kaede bowed and confirmed that Astarte was worthy of Alethea’s hand.

Before she allowed them to pass, Kaede had one more important question to ask. “My lady, how will you find me once I reincarnate into your current world?”

“There are three main social classes. Commoner, noble, and royal. I was born a commoner and adopted into royalty. It is not likely you will be born into royalty unless you wait. Kye and I may have children in the future but I know you are too impatient to wait for that.”

“Yes, I would like to join you immediately.”

“Assuming Lady Eve allows it, you are most likely to be born a commoner, but you could be born a noble. At age five, you’ll be-”

“That long?!”

Alethea sighed in exasperation. “You’re so impatient!”

“My lady, I wish to be of service as soon as possible!”

Alethea shared glances with Astarte, who had an idea. “Could you not ask to be born on a specific day and planet? That would drastically narrow down the possibilities. I’m sure we could conduct a search from there.”

“That depends entirely on Lady Eve. It’s not-”

“I’ll beg her until she agrees!”

“You’re just going to upset her.”

“Then I will just have to upset her! I will even give her an earful for putting you in the same world as that despicable Shiro Shikigami.” Alethea was beyond exasperated and Astarte was beyond shocked.

“What am I going to do with you...?”

“She’s going to scold Goddess Eve...? I can’t believe I just heard those words come out of someone’s mouth.”

Alethea gave her an apologetic smile. “Well...”

“It’s fine!” Kaede insisted. “I will ensure I am born before midnight tonight according to your world’s calendar. What planet should I target?”

“Terra, Alcanus, Nippon Sekai, and Drachenheim are the best bets. If you can prioritize those, then do it,” Astarte suggested.

“Are you currently on one of those?”

“Nippon Sekai.”

“Then I shall see you soon!” And with that, Kaede disappeared.

Astarte turned to Alethea. “What the hell?”

“I... heh. Sorry about her. She’s... unique. You’ll learn all about her soon, so I’ll forgo the details for now.”

“Very well.” Astarte glanced over at the door. “Shall we?”

Alethea opened the door and the two went inside. The core was brimming with pink-colored aether. A large sphere floated above the ground, just high enough to walk under it. An endless field of pink flowers surrounded the sphere as far as the eye could see. Inside the sphere was a person nearly identical to Alethea, only a bit older and naked. A katana identical to the one Kaede wielded was floating next to her within the sphere.

“I have lived a long time,” Astarte said. “In our world, the concept of having a different societal gender to one’s birth sex was not introduced until a few years before the war that destroyed Terra. That war ended in year 2025 of Atlantean Era 1. It was called the common era at the time, but to bury that dark past, we completely removed the concept of religion, which sparked the war in the first place, and remade the planet. The continents were drastically changed, and the members of Paragon became the founders of the royal families we know today. Thus, began not a dystopia following nuclear war, but a utopia. We have protected our peace for ten million years. It’s been so long that our maps are different. The continents have shifted naturally. In the utopia we have created, people may freely choose to be what they want. I’ve always thought the soul reflected one’s true self, and now that I see your true self... I am happy we were able to help you with your transition.”

“Thank you, Astarte,” Alethea said. “I was quite distressed when I was born into this body. It’s not the first time I’ve been born male, but it’s the first time I’ve truly felt comfortable with it.” She smiled. “Although I would still rather be the real me.”

Astarte nodded. “I questioned Atalante the day you were born. She wanted to adopt some commoner born in an orphanage. I couldn’t fathom why. After learning of your white mana, I accepted you without question. Even after you told us what you are, I had trouble believing it. But standing here in the very core of your soul, I see the truth. You are a champion who has experienced far more than my comprehension. If you were not born with white mana, would we have still found you? Due to our societal norms, I question that. My own mentality has shifted. I feel more... no, that’s not right. I feel that over time, the ruling class has grown complacent. We do our duty and keep our people safe, but do we not look down upon them? I cannot truthfully say I have never looked down upon a commoner. Alethea, you have changed Lanti, Kari, and I.”

Astarte turned to Alethea and knelt. Alethea was taken aback. “Astarte?”

“Alethea, I swear to you here and now. Wherever your fight leads you, no matter the hardships ahead, I will stand with you.” When she looked up, Alethea smiled at her and faded into pink energies that were absorbed into the sphere before them. “Alethea!” She looked up at the body floating in the sphere just in time to see her eyes open. Upon closer inspection, Astarte could see small pink glints within the girl’s silver irises.

The older pink-haired girl gently floated down and exited the sphere. She gave Astarte a warm smile. As she spoke, a pink and white flowery kimono formed upon her body. “I am Maya the Second. I thank you for your offer, Lady Astarte Atlantis.” Her voice was slightly different, indicative of her matured self. “I will allow you one final chance to rescind. If you remain undaunted, then take my hand and we shall begin.” Astarte nodded and took her hand without hesitation.

Once they awoke, Kye and Alethea shared happy smiles and stood up. The weapons that were given to them by Astarte and Astraia had disappeared, but now they were able to summon them at will. They summoned them and the Atlantis sisters took their human form. The four of them shared congratulatory grins. Kye nodded to Liliana, instructing her to inform the others that they were finished.

“So...” Alethea mumbled. “Hey, Kye...”

“Yes?”

“What do you say to us becoming parents?”

Everyone else in the room was shocked at the question, but Kye was unfazed. “I was planning to ask you the same thing. It may be a bit difficult with the academy and all... I would like to have two so that I can bring Azalea and Suzuka into this world.”

“Oh, no, I mean adopting one.”

Kye narrowed her eyes. “What are you planning?”

“Well... you see...”

Kye raised an eyebrow, “Kaede?”

“Kaede.”

Kye sighed and Astarte used her royal authority to access birth records. With a population of billions per planet, there were numerous births already logged for the day, but she knew she could safely disregard any prior to the soul bonding.

“You should only need to search the births in the past probably ten minutes. If I know Kaede... she got what she wanted.”

Astarte nodded and sent them the results.

“The closest one is a small town not too far outside New Tokyo,” Astarte said.

“Kaede probably bullied Lady Eve into...” Kye sighed again and shook her head. “Never mind, let’s go...” She stopped short of the door, reluctant to open it. “You know... if we do this, we’re going to be monsters taking a child away from its parents...”

“Yeah, there’s that...” Alethea said.

“Leave that thought at the door,” Astarte said. “There is no citizen that would refuse to have their child adopted by royalty. Think of it from their perspective instead. Kye, you are the heir to the throne of Nippon Sekai, and you are personally appearing to these parents when their child is born on your own birthday to give your blessing and possibly even adopt their newborn child. To them, that is a miracle.”

Kye sighed in relief. Though her doubts weren’t quite quelled, she was ready to go nonetheless.

Kye and company arrived at the small town in seconds via teleportation and located the hospital. The clerk at the front desk nearly had a heart attack being greeted by so many royals. One of the staff led them to the room where the parents and the newborn were.

“Catch her!” “She’s too fast!” “What do we do?”

Kye and Alethea shared amused glances and knocked on the door.

A man opened it and a newborn girl cloaked in white mana suddenly flew into Alethea’s arms. The white mana dissipated as the girl fell asleep there. “Oh my.”

“My lady, I’m terribly sorry!” The man panicked as he held his hands out to take the child, knowing not to reach to take her from a royal for fear of retaliation from their guards, in this case, Liliana and Aliana.

“It’s quite alright,” Alethea said with a smile. “May we come in?”

The man was confused, but he led the royal entourage into the room. His wife was holding another child, and a nurse was helping take care of it. After introductions, the new parents began explaining the circumstances.

“It’s the strangest thing,” the woman said. “We were certain I was pregnant with only one, but I gave birth to two. We were just in the middle of naming them and the girl suddenly was covered in white mana and started flying all over the room!”

“Yes, she was so fast that I couldn’t catch her! Lady Alethea, are you certain it’s not too much to allow her to sleep in your arms?”

Alethea shook her head. “It’s quite alright.”

Kye stood up and began channeling light aether. “If it please you,” she wrapped her aether around the parents and both newborn children, “I offer my blessing to this family who have received new members on my birthday.” Her aether soon settled down, but the warmth it brought remained. The parents were unsure how to react. Both had stars in their eyes. “I wish for you a happy life in our kingdom.”

“Thank you, Your Highness!” the parents replied in unison.

Kye smiled. “I have a very advanced ability to sense mana and even disregarding what I witnessed when the door was opened, I can tell that only this girl here possesses white mana. Given how extraordinarily rare it is...” Kye and Alethea simultaneously released a bit of their own white mana. “We would like to adopt this girl into royalty to ensure she is given the best environment possible to grow her abilities.”

The woman was shocked into silence and the man was barely able to form words. “Royals... adopt our...?”

“Yes,” Alethea said.

“Please come to the royal palace immediately,” Kye said. She casted a powerful healing spell on the family of four to ensure they would be able to safely leave the hospital right away. “My parents and I will see you immediately.” She turned to Liliana. “Please stay behind and bring them to the palace via teleportation, specifically my father’s study. We shall be waiting there.”

“Yes, Princess.”