Chapter 09: Shattered Veil

Grey strands of moonlight just about managed to light up the streets, guiding Violet and I to the correct destination - or so I assumed. Truth be told, I had absolutely no clue where we were headed - all I knew was that it was apparently Violet's home. For all I knew, she could've been taking me somewhere to attempt to kill me. But the fact is, I was just too intrigued by her to simply let all of it go. I had so many questions. How was she so intelligent? Did she know the true power of the Sword-Spell crest? Could it be... that she's also a reincarnation?

Well, no matter the answer to those questions, there was one thing I knew for sure - she could definitely be an extremely valuable ally in the future. She has all the potential to become the only person in history not from the Infinite Party to have an Infinite Star mana pool. Considering that at some point in the future I'd probably have to oppose every single noble and royal to get them to stop spreading the rumor, it'd be helpful to have powerful allies who I can put my trust in - even better if they are a Sword-Spell crest as well, like Violet is.

Suddenly, we stopped. We were in a back alley of some kind, blocked from progressing by a fence. Violet turned to our left and climbed into a house through a shattered window. The house didn't appear to be hers, but at the same time, it also didn't seem that anybody else was living there currently. Plus, even if they were, I wouldn't particularly care. I climbed in after her.

The house was quite similar to mine in the fact that it was comprised of only one room. The only difference was the furniture - she had a proper bed, a closet I could only assume filled with clothes, and a table. Other than the table, which was the exact same as mine, everything in this house was much fancier than my furniture.

"Woah, nice place." I complimented, looking around.

"It's not much, so sometimes I forget that this is top of the line for the Blacklight District." She replied, walking over to her closet and pulling out clothes for me to change into. "Okay, here take this. Now, it's time for you to hold up your end of the deal."

I took the clothes out of her hand and mulled over how to go about the situation. I could tell her the truth... No. I can't. I'm determined to keep this life and my past life completely separate. This is a new beginning - a new start. I can't waste that. If I can't tell her the truth, then I'll have to think of some other reason that keeps her intrigued, but is still believable. What could that be? Oh! I've got it!

"Fine. I'll tell you. But I want you to tell me your reason, after I tell you mine."

"Wh- That wasn't part of the deal!"

"I know. But I don't care. I'm just too intrigued to give a fuck about adhering to the terms of deals. Plus, this is the Blacklight District - deals get betrayed a bunch, most for a lot worse reasons."

She thought it over, before sighing. "Fine. I'll tell you, but you must tell me yours first."

"Alright! I will. But you better tell me, or else I won't leave you alone, until you do."

"Okay, okay! I understand."

I sat down on the wooden planks comprising the floor, while Violet sat down on her mattress. "So... Where to begin? Ah! Okay, so it all started after I formed my first mana pool at a month old-"

"A MONTH OLD?!... Wait, why does that surprise me? I guess it's the only logical way that you could be a 6 Star mage, but still..."

"I know it seems crazy, but it's the truth. Anyway, after I awakened that, I learnt what my [Power] is. Or rather, [Powers]."

She stared down at me from the small elevation the mattress provided her skeptically. "Are you implying you have multiple [Powers]?"

"Yes. I have two to be exact."

A light seemed to form in her eyes. "Really? Do you really?"

I wasn't expecting this, but okay. "Yep. I have two [Powers]."

She took a second to consider telling me something, before going for it. "I- I do too! So, it's cool to see someone else with two."

A slight look of shock spread across my face. She didn't realize it, but telling me that just confirmed something for me. She was also a reincarnation. That's the only way a person can have two [Powers]. [Powers] are attached to a person's body and conscience, which is why when a person dies, they'd logically keep their [Power], due to their conscience. But a person could theoretically have two [Powers], if they reincarnated, kept their original [Power], and their new body had it's own [Power]. That's the only way. So, she must've been a reincarnation.

My shock turned to a smirk. "Cool! Anyway, so things changed when I awoke my [Powers]. That's because of the effect of one of them."

I couldn't really tell anyone that one of my [Powers] was [Mana Master], as it was most likely quite well documented what the [Powers] of the Infinite Party were. So, for the time being at least, I'd have to make up something that I can do that could be considered a [Power].

"One of my [Powers] is called [Perspective Shift]." I lied. "It lets me see any event from the past from the perspective of Ato Aywrath. That's why I'm so smart and so strong - I have all of Ato Aywrath's knowledge in my head. That's also why I know the truth about the Sword-Spell crest."

Violet appeared to be in slight shock, but managed to pull herself together. "Wow... That's a really strong ability."

Judging from the fact that she didn't ask, she definitely already knew what the truth about the Sword-Spell crest was. "Alright, I've told you my reason, now tell me yours."

She considered it, before saying. "I promise I will, but you've intrigued me now. What's your second [Power]?"

Telling her was harmless, so I might as well have. "It's called [Crest Control]. It let's me change and delete people's crests, including myself."

"Man, you just got all of the overpowered [Powers], huh?"

"Yeah, kind of."

She laughed a little. I could tell she was getting more comfortable around me. "Alright, so I have to tell you mine now, huh?"

"Yep."

She sighed. "Well, the reason I'm so smart and strong is extremely similar to yours, actually. It's because of one of my [Powers]."

Lie, but okay.

"One of my [Powers] is called [Sin's Conscience]. It's nearly exactly the same as [Perspective Shift], but instead of Ato Aywrath or anyone from the Infinite Party, I can see the perspective of... um... of one of the Seven Cardinal Kings of Sin. You know them, right? You know it's not just a single Demon King, right?"

"Of course."

So, that's who she is. A reincarnated Cardinal King of Sin, huh? To be honest, this is actually probably one of the best outcomes. She doesn't appear to be too aggressive, so it's safe to assume that she wasn't one of the more intense Cardinal Kings. If I had to guess, she's either the Cardinal King of Pride, Helena, the Cardinal King of Lust, Velika, or the... Cardinal King of Envy... Iris. Ignore that. I definitely don't have any history with Iris. Anyway, if she is one of those three, that's actually really good, because it means she already knows how to get strong fast, meaning I won't have to help her much.

"I know you probably don't wanna be around me now..."

"Hm? Why would that be?"

"Because I have the perspective of one of the Cardinal Kings of Sin in my head! Nobody wants to be around a demon."

"I think you're forgetting that I have the perspective of Ato Aywrath in my head. Depending on which Cardinal King you have up there, you must realize that Ato Aywrath was actually surprisingly accepting of all demons. He only killed those who opposed his quest for power, or hurt those he held dear. I don't care about you having the perspective of a demon, even if it is a Cardinal King of Sin."

"R- Really?"

"Of course."

She took a second to think, before looking me straight in the eyes. "Thanks."

"N- No problem." I accidentally stuttered.

Silence fell over the two of us for a moment, before I decided something. I was gonna wait to do this, but considering that she's actually a Cardinal King of Sin, I'm guessing that she can guess how much allying with me would aid her.

"Hey, Violet. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Shoot."

"How would you feel about restoring the Sword-Spell crest to it's place at the top?"

"Well... I guess that I'd like it. We wouldn't be treated so badly, no other Sword-Spell crest would get discouraged from trying to reach their true potential, and I would like to smack whoever started the whole ordeal."

"Good. Because that's exactly what I'm gonna do."

"What? You do realize that the only people who logically could've spread the rumor would be nobles and royals, right?"

"Yep."

"So you mean you're thinking of opposing every noble and royal in the world?"

"Well, of course. I'm quite similar to Ato Aywrath in the way that I want to achieve true power. And right now, these royals and nobles spreading this false information are in my way. So, I need to get rid of them."

"I mean, I see where you're coming from. But we're not strong enough to go against a planet, yet. How would we even beat them?"

Good. She's instinctively including herself in that, meaning she truly does want to help me.

"We would just have to grow in power during the fight. Plus, we don't know if it truly is every royal and noble in every kingdom in the world. It could just be some kind of underground organization. If so, then it'd become a lot easier to fight."

"True... but it's still risky."

"If we want to make a difference, then we'll have to take risks. We'll probably be viewed as the 'bad guys' by the general public for a while. It'll be tough. But I know that we can do it, and if we can do something, why not do it?"

"..."

"Listen, I'm not gonna force you to join me or anything. It's just that if you did, it'd be a lot easier for me, is all."

"No, I want to join. I want to restore the Sword-Spell crest, and I want to help people."

A genuine smile formed on my features. Phew. I really thought she wouldn't for a second. Good to know that she seems quite selfless, like she's trying to make up for all she did as a Cardinal King of Sin.

"Alright, then. I welcome you to... uh... now that I think about it, I don't have a name for our little group."

"Group?"

"Ah, yeah. I plan on getting more people to join my cause. After all, if we can establish a line of connections that extends to the royals and nobles themselves, it'd make beating them just that bit easier."

"Hm, good idea. So, do you want me to help you get more people?"

"Sure! That'd be quite helpful. Now, what do we call our organization?... Ah! I've got it! We'll be revealing the truth to the public little by little, so how about this? Violet, I welcome you to Shattered Veil."

She smirked a little. "Yeah. I kind of like it."

Alright. It doesn't matter if we have to face an underground organization, nobles, royals, Gods, even all of the above - Shattered Veil will come out on top. We won't lose. Not in a million fucking years.