Ch15: The Sword Saint, P5

Chapter 15: The Sword Saint, P5

~15.5~

*****

"Welcome to the Void."

Liliana raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you getting a little carried away?"

Aliana shook her head. "Not at all. This space is dense in void-attributed space mana." She twirled and danced around, creating various objects out of the abundant mana.

"Wow..." Michelle mumbled as they watched Aliana create a courtyard in front of the mansion.

"No kidding..." Adele said.

"I'm impressed, Aliana," Alethea said.

"Auntie is very talented," came a young voice from behind them. Kaede and Joey were standing behind them.

"Hey, what are you kids doing here?"

Joey pointed at the out-of-place door that Aliana had brought them through.

"Rei couldn't come through the door," Kaede said. "But we could."

"Huh? She couldn't?" Alethea turned to Aliana.

She shrugged. "I don't know."

"Huh. So then... what's the common denominator between all of us..." Alethea glanced around.

"Radiance," Joey said.

"Hmm... yeah, we all have Radiance, but Rei doesn't."

"Perhaps we can envelop her in Radiance to allow her to cross?" Adele asked.

"Maybe, but I'd wait until we fine Eli to try anything like that," Michelle said. She went back through the door and told Rei to go to Layla for a while. The dark-haired girl nodded and went into the palace.

Michelle returned quickly, and Aliana had created more scenery. "And a fake tree, and a fence, and a walkway, and a-"

Michelle smiled at the sight as she rejoined the others. "If the requirement to enter this... Void is to possess Radiance, can we not simply grant Radiance to Rei? Or anyone else we might want to bring here?"

"I can't grant Radiance," Alethea said. "You two can, but how many can you bless?"

"Three each," Adele answered.

"Shi-chan could grant it to Rei once she remembers how to do that, but that's a locked memory."

"Hmm..." Michelle sighed and looked at Adele.

"The sealed memories are quite a roadblock." She glanced over at Aliana. "First things first, though, we have to get to her. Aliana?"

"I can feel Princess from here. I can't feel anyone else, but I think that's because this is a construct of her creation." She held up her hand and began gathering mana.

"That makes sense. This space is part of Elysium, which was created by her power. The mana here must be hers as well... but it's so much. This place is unbelievably vast, yet the mana is so densely packed. It's mind boggling."

Aliana finished gathering mana and created a door. She reached for the knob and said, "Here."

She turned the knob and found Kye meeting with three others. All four turned and gasped.

Kye stood up and ran to the door. "Aliana?"

"Princess!" Aliana jumped into Kye's arms. "I missed you, Princess!"

"Princess?" said Luma, Aisha, and Carys all at once.

"Shouldn't it be 'Your Highness'?" Luma asked.

Kye shook her head after peeling Aliana off of her. "Yes, but not to another royal. She calls me Princess as a pet name."

"She's a royal, too?" Luma asked.

Kye nodded.

"I see..."

Aliana moved out of the way and the others filed in after her.

"Everyone's here? But how?" Kye asked, taken aback when Joey and Kaede stepped through. "What are you two-?"

Joey jumped into her arms, happy to see her mother again. "Mom..." Kaede smiled and stayed next to Alethea. Joey refused to let go of Kye, forcing her to return to her seat with the girl in her lap.

"So..."

"Uh... so, Aliana discovered the Void, and she's apparently a god in there with her void powers." Michelle shrugged. "She can condense the mana in there into real objects. She made a whole mansion."

"The Void?"

"Yeah!" Alethea said. "Rei couldn't come through, though. So far, our conclusion is that only Radiance can cross those doors."

"You are using 'Radiance'..." Luma said. "Who are you?"

"Who are you?" Alethea shot back.

Kye faked a cough to get their attention. She first pointed at Alethea. "Maya." She then pointed at Luma. "Luma."

"Holy shit!" Luma jumped up. "Maya!"

"Luma! How have you been?"

"Good! This world is fantastic!"

"Oh, get this... those two are-"

Michelle cleared her throat loudly to cut her off. "Adara." She pointed at the other redhead. "Adele." Michelle narrowed her eyes at Kye. "Zen Mana. So that's what happened."

"About that..." Luma said. "Her suppressed memories were just mentioned, and she started glowing out of nowhere."

Kye nodded. "It seems I can control it at will now. It feels second nature already."

"Oh?" Michelle blinked and glanced at Alethea. "So then..."

"Maybe," the pink-haired girl replied.

"Maybe what?" Kye asked. Liliana smiled and played the memory of the previous conversation for her telepathically. "I see. We'll have to experiment. If I could only remember..."

"Don't force it. Remember what Alfia said."

"Alfia is around, too?" Luma asked.

"She's back home in the Atlantis Empire," Kye answered.

"So even she transmigrates now."

Kye shook her head. "No. She's here normally."

Luma's eyes widened. "What? How?"

"What do you mean?"

"No immortal can enter Atlantis normally yet. Except you. You didn't finish..." She glanced at Michelle, who shook her head. "I see."

"Auntie Alfia can enter because she's Mom's biological sister," Joey said.

Luma exchanged glances with Michelle. Neither of them believed that, but left it at that.

 "I... I want to remember. Why did I seal my memories in the first place? Did I tell any of you why?"

Luma shook her head. "You didn't tell me anything other than 'I need to do this.'"

Kye glanced between Alethea, Michelle, and Doran, each shaking their heads in succession.

Joey looked up at her. "Do you want to remember?"

"Joey, sweetie..." Kye hugged the young girl and stroked her hair gently. "I want to remember. Did I tell you anything?"

She nodded. "You didn't have to. We were soul-bound since the beginning. I know everything about you."

"Do you know how I can remember?"

She nodded. "I can restore your memories, and that's the only way." She stopped short, not wanting to give Kye bad news. "But..."

"It's okay, sweetie. Whatever it takes, please tell me."

Joey looked into Kye's eyes. "I can restore your memories, but..." She averted her eyes, not wanting to finish her sentence.

Kye smiled. "It's okay, sweetie. I know the consequence of forcing it myself. What happens if you do it?"

Joey shook her head. "If you force it, or it happens by accident before you're ready, your mortal body will be overwhelmed. At this point, you would probably survive, but you know that much. Even if you are ready and your body can survive, there's still a cost. You will lose something important."

"What will I lose?"

Joey shook her head. "You have to ask Alfia. I'm not permitted to tell you what you lose."

Kye smiled and patted the girl's head. "Okay. I'll talk to Alfia." She looked back between Aisha and Carys. "So... uh. These are friends. Would everyone like to introduce themselves?"

Carys stood up to go first. "Greetings, everyone. I am Carys Laevateinn, Archbishop of the Church of Elysium."

"Church of Elysium?" Michelle said, looking at Kye.

"We can have that explanation soon."

Michelle nodded and went next. "I am Michelle Maya of Drachenheim, "

"I am Adele Maya of Drachenheim."

"I am Liliana Venturi of Nippon Sekai, attendant of Lady Kye Akari."

"I am Aliana Venturi of Nippon Sekai, attendant of Lady Kye Akari."

"I am Alethea Atlantis of Terra."

"I am Kaede Akari of Nippon Sekai."

"I am Joey Maya of..." She paused and looked at Kye.

"Perhaps I should give you a Japanese name so you would be more comfortable naming your home planet."

"Hell, why don't we all think up names for each other's planets?" Michelle suggested.

"Heh, yeah. Anyway." She turned back to Carys to explain. "Alethea, Doran, Michelle, and I are in a polygamous marriage. We and our children are royals of Terra, Alcanus, Drachenheim, and Nippon Sekai."

"I see. Polygamy is not allowed under the Church of Elysium, but if our patron deity is in a polygamous marriage, then perhaps that needs to be addressed."

"There are a great many things with the church that I would like to address." Kye shrugged and turned to Aisha.

She smiled and gave her introduction. "I am Aisha Akaishi of the Akaishi Clan. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance."

Michelle walked up to Aisha and began examining her. "Something's different about you. Your mana isn't quite... hmm..."

"Uh... well..." She turned to Kye for help, who only nodded and smiled. "I am a vampire." She stood up and apologized. "I am very sorry! It's because of me that Lady Kye has appeared here! She saved my life the other night."

Alethea giggled. "That's our Shi-chan for you!"

Kye sighed. "Anyway, now that everyone is introduced... wait, Luma!"

"I was wondering if I was gonna get a chance to." She stood up and curtsied. "I am Luma Caliburn the Sword Saint."

"Sword Saint?" Adele's interest was piqued. "What's this about?"

"It's the highest military rank in the Church of Elysium," Carys explained. "Lady Luma has been with us for a long time and has held her position since her early days with us."

Kye raised an eyebrow. "How long?"

"This mortal body is just over one hundred and seventy thousand years old. When the previous Sword Saint died, I was in my twenties. I was the strongest candidate and have held the position ever since."

"Oh, wow..." Aisha said. "I knew you were old, but that's incredible!"

Luma smiled apologetically. "Well, it's only a small spec to my immortal lifespan. Any of my..." she glanced around, "colleagues could say the same."

"Colleagues, you say," Adele said with his thinking face. "Funny way to put it."

Luma gestured at Kye. "Hey, I'm just trying to be considerate. She doesn't remember, and I don't want to stress her out!"

"Uh huh, you really think you're gonna stress her out?" Michelle said with a smirk. "Our virtually invincible princess here ain't that weak."

Kye smiled as the group began carrying on. I wish I could remember now. She looked back down at her glowing hand.

*****

Revision: 2024-5-17