“What happens next is not your fault,” Arduelle says, her legs crossed as she rests her arms in a most dignified manner. Her excessive height lends her some level of intimidation even while she’s relaxing on a couch.

“What are you talking about?” I ask, glaring across at her. The confidence that she is constantly exuding fills the atmosphere between us with the sort of weight that makes the air difficult to breathe.

“I just want to make it clear that this inspection from the welfare officers occurs regardless of what you’ve done thus far,” she says. “This is simply the consequence of hiding here as we do. Alien to the Unified States but forgotten by the more dangerous hunters that would come for us. I had hoped to keep them away for at least a few thousand years until you’ve grown up properly, but alas we are not gods, and our desires are but that.”

“How bad is it going to be?” I ask. “They aren’t going to collar you or anything, are they?”

“They will not, simply because they cannot,” she replies with a booming voice. “The same cannot be said for those who shelter with us. We are tentatively considered a separate world, and thus the responsibility of the higher-ranked welfare officers and the armies that they direct, but those officers are busy with the many worlds causing trouble through the universe, and as such, aren’t generally made aware of us as long as we stay quiet.”

“You didn’t explain what’s going to happen,” I press her, leaning forwards. Having experienced a fraction of Unity’s full mental power, I can understand a little just how superior beings like Arduelle are. She’s capable of maintaining countless streams of thought concurrently and assessing information faster and more accurately from a memory filled with vastly more experiences than my own.

It's a quantitative difference that isn’t bridged by my Skills or adaptions. Even burning mana to keep my mind running at the fastest possible speeds, I’ll never compare with Arduelle and others of her power. It does lead me to another question, though.

When I have changed myself to be her equal, and eventually her better, will I still be me?

“They may reinforce the ruins, ensuring that the boundary between the academy and our dungeon is maintained. They may hunt the population of wild beasts into inexistence, and they may bring along some soldiers to try and force Frey and I to submit.

“Most likely, they’ll target those from the academy first,” Arduelle says. “Which means that Gale and Sedena are certainly doomed, those students who play about in the ruins will likely meet the same fate, and others of the upper world will be measured with much more strict scrutiny.”

“And why would I think that this is my fault?” I ask.

“You often take responsibility and dive into problems that are none of your concern,” Arduelle explains. “It is part of your character; you want to change the world and so I thought perhaps you might feel responsible when things happen, and you can only sit by and watch. You will watch this, and you will be powerless to stop it.”

“Arduelle?” I ask.

“As I promised, you and yours will be spared,” She says before I can say anything more. “There’s no reason to let all this game, and all this set-up go to waste. Everything will be moving with you, or at the very least, the factions will get to choose some of their favourite caverns to bring along with them.”

“It’s going to be that bad here?” I ask.

“The welfare officers will primarily come here for their own, but they will cause strife. They will stir conflict, and eventually war. The ‘beastly’ people here will lose, they will be collared, and because of how dense the population of collared beasts becomes, those who manage to graduate into citizenship will be terribly few.”

“It’s harder to survive being ‘tamed’ if there are more collared beasts with you? It seems to go against the values of the Unified States. Aren’t they meant to be better than that?”

“Resources must be allocated to the most worthy people, and that changes depending upon what sort of group is being assessed,” Arduelle explains. “In any regard, that is not your business. Gather your people and in two weeks you will be taken to live with an associate of mine.”

“So, all the effort I’ve taken to work with these people, the republic, the monarchy, the independent caverns…? It’s all going to be tossed on its head?”

“It’s been a good lesson in humility and diplomacy, and now is another lesson. Life rarely remains the same, and it’s important to learn how to adapt to new circumstances,” Arduelle says. “A lesson you would do well in remembering as you flirt with the factions of rebels that exist out there.”

“This isn’t fair, I was supposed to be the one to overthrow everyone and seize their stuff. Now you’re just giving half of it away to someone else, do you even really love me?”

“No, I don’t.” Arduelle doesn’t hesitate to cut me down.

“This isn’t just a holiday?” I ask with a sigh, “We’ll be gone for good, won’t we?”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Arduelle replies, “I cannot find the strength to move your entire empire back and forth at will, and staying here will have you struck down by the welfare officers. What’s more, there is more mana out there for you to grow, than you’ll find here.”

“Why not just throw me into the swirling mana in that universe that you showed me, the one that was destroyed?”

“It takes more than power to make a stand against a being like the one that we face,” Arduelle says. “He will try to turn you, to convince you of his cause.”

“So, he’s not just a mad king?” I ask. “Looking at everything I’ve seen, I just sort of assumed…”

“He’s not mad, but he is blind to his own faults,” Arduelle says. “You must find a reason to stand against him, to take the necessary risks that come with fighting him. You won’t find that by being force-fed mana, it is only healthy to develop by speaking with people who are weaker and stronger than you. Learning how to find your place in any given system, and finding the will and the power to reject that.”

“So, you’re raising me into a proper person?” I ask. “Well, my mother wasn’t there half the time, I can’t say that she’d be disappointed in being replaced.”

“I’m not a replacement mother,” Arduelle replies, her voice lowering as she peers at me over her drink. “You may think of yourself as an apprentice and I’m your master, but I refuse any familial bond.”

“Should I be offended at that?” I ask.

“You can feel whatever you please.”

“So, you don’t mind me falling for you and flirting with you, and crying out your name in a dramatic moment?”

“As much would be natural so I wouldn’t blame you for it, I am clearly the superior choice in romantic partners after all. I would still have to refuse you.” She says, smiling gently. “You so often turn towards amusing attempts at flirting to fill the silence, don’t you? Is it to distract from the more serious topics?”

“You’ve been talking to my therapist, haven’t you?” I ask, leaning back in my seat. “You know it’s unethical to spy on my sessions, don’t you?”

“Oh, that would ruin the fun,” she laughs, a dignified chortle covered by a movement of her hand. “The working’s of the mind, It’s an interesting topic that I’ve not ever considered learning in-depth in the past. The doctor’s theories are so limited, but interesting no less.”

“Great,” I grumble. “Is there anything else? It seems like I’ve got to go kidnap some people before they get murdered by the welfare officers.”

“I’m still going ahead with that academy you intend to build,” she says. “When all this nonsense with the welfare officers is over, we’ll be back to being the safest place in the universe to hide, and I’m guessing that you’ll want your children safe?”

“Yes.” There is no question there, it’s the one hold that they’ll have over me even when I grow more powerful than them. They can provide the safety that I can’t.

“Then, prepare and prove yourself to the universe,” Arduelle says, standing over me. “Grow and learn, so that one day you might be able to save us all.”

“What happens after I kill the man?” I ask her before she can disappear. “There’s an endless expanse of hungry beasts flying between the stars, right? Without someone culling them, they’ll grow too powerful to stop, won’t they?”

“Perhaps, or perhaps another empire will rise, or chaos will reign as people express their freedom in a competition of cruelty,” she says. “I want for change, Kyra. Life was never meant to be stagnant, it was never meant to be still. We need change, whatever suffering comes with it.”

“Some people like the safety that this stagnancy provides…” I say, “I wouldn’t mind building something akin to the Unified States, myself.”

“Perhaps you will, and then maybe it will be necessary to overthrow you,” Arduelle says. “Whatever the case, I know that this is not the way, and I know that you see it the same.”

“If I wasn’t forced to be a soldier… if they didn’t use those damn collars on me and… No, I doubt even then that I could leave it alone. I just can’t ignore the faults even if I don’t personally suffer because of them,” I finally admit.

Arduelle smiles knowingly before disappearing.

We’ll need to do something about those extended caverns that we’ve gained the rights to. I’d like to hunt the more powerful beasts to gain their power and make a push for crystalised mana if I can. There isn’t much time before we leave, and we need every advantage we can get.

I also need to prepare my people for the worst. I’m not even sure what that might be, but I’m sure that Red might have an idea, and Arduelle has never been one to shy away from giving us a challenge.

“It seems we will be forced into another struggle,” Nel says, taking a seat by my side. “Are you prepared?”

“I’m going to mandate public holidays,” I declare. “No work is allowed, and everyone gets to take a break and relax for themselves.”

“A fine idea if it can be made to work,” Nel says, running her hand through my hair. It’s remarkably soothing.

“I need to go hunt some beasts,” I say. “Then gobble up the mana, then tell everyone that we’re going to piss off and abandon the Unified States for good.”

“Are you satisfied with that?”

“No.”

“Can you think of a solution?”

“Aside from taking over all of reality in a couple of weeks? Maybe we can gather enough power and talent to run a rescue operation for the people that we leave here in the academy, pulling off collars and giving them a new place to call home.

“Would that be worth it, though?” I ask, rubbing at the skin on the back of my hands. The marks still appear sometimes. It’s been some time since I’ve looked for them, but the moment I think of them they return. The threads of annihilation tore me asunder, my own power uncontrolled and unchecked nearly destroyed me.

“There are countless people out there who I could be saving instead. Why do these people, in particular, deserve to be rescued while I ignore, or even condemn, others?”

“That’s something only you can decide for yourself,” Nel says, leaning in closer and continuing in a whisper. “I wouldn’t mind if it was just us and our family. We could go out into the far reaches of the universe, and spend years raising our children, generation by generation.”

“Just us and our kids?” I ask. “How would I ever expand this haram of ours then?”

“So, what do you want?” She asks, patting me on the should and sitting close by my side.

“I want to give people a chance. I want to save those who are abandoned and thrown aside and let them prove that they can become something great. I want a society where everyone has a chance to shine, where we’re all nice and polite and not eating each other’s faces.”

“Then, what do we do to build it?” She asks.

“Grow strong enough, find the land and resources to allow my people a chance to thrive, then go rescue those who are having it rough. Give them a chance at building a new life.”

“There isn’t enough land for everyone, not enough food for everyone, some will need to die,” she declares.

“Or be kept from ever being born,” I nod. “I think Adler’s ideas have some potential, we can reduce the resource impact of sustaining a life. We can limit reproduction rights too, though I really hate the idea of it.”

“What do we do today?”

“Today? I go find Eshya and take her on a hunt,” I say. “We can make it a date, and go kill some things.”

“She’ll be delighted, I’m sure,” Nel says, standing and stretching. “No reason to leave her waiting. I’ll be here, and I’ll be watching.”

We should bring her back something… then again, I’m not sure she’d like beast guts or an arrangement made of bones. A pretty rock from the volcanic cavern, maybe?

“Eshya, would you like to go on a date to a volcano, a water world, or a glittering world of gemstones?”

“Volcano,” she replies instantly, turning in her step to come rushing to me. Her smile seems a little sadistic for some reason, and I’m not sure if I should be worried or excited, so I settle on both.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Stats and Skills

~Mana Form:

Current mana density: 44,394 / 60,892 units

Current mana volume: 22,069 / 30,271 shards

Mana volume at crystallisation density (Max. mana volume):

Kyra: 30,271 shards

Kyra’s armour: 20,777 shards

Kyra’s throne: 1,109,298 shards

~Forms

Mana Canon

-Annihilation Heart (Adapted)

-Blood Fuel (Adapted)

-Bone Magic Storage (Adapted)

-Nail Shifters (50,000 mana shards)

Dancer

-Flash Nerves (Adapted)

-Quick Perception Mind (Adapted)

-Burst Reflex Muscles (35,000 mana shards)

-Layered space Muscles (80,000 mana shards)

Turtle

-Rebinding Tissue (Adapted)

-Catalyst Sweat Glands (140,000 mana shards)

-Repulsive Skin (Adapted)

-Prehensile hair (Adapted)

-Fatty Tissue Blood Storage (100,000 mana shards)

Investigator

-Wide eyes (Adapted)

-Wide ears (Adapted)

-Sharp nose (Adapted)

Misc.

-Clean bowels (Adapted)

-Mana Drive (Adapted)

~Favourited Skills:

Magic:

-Annihilation Magic (Customised)

-Fire Magic (Functional)

-Space magic (Broken)

-Force magic (Functional)

-Ice magic (Broken)

-Wind magic (Broken)

Movement:

-Hand-to-hand casting (Functional)

-Mana surge movement (Functional)

-Stealth (Functional)

Senses:

-Eyes of an Empire (Customised)

-Combat Awareness (Functional)

-Watchmen (Functional)

-Hidden bug (Mastered)

-De-tagging (Mastered)

-Anti-stealth sight (Mastered)

Special:

-Spirit Transformation (Broken)

-Conformity (Broken)

-Training mana form (Functional)