Her Secret

[Hoho, it's time, Sunny. Time for some gardening.] 

Earning a curious question from sunny i entered my soul sea without answering his question, looking up i saw my soul core, and it's glow was dimmer than ever.

I sighed, glancing upwards at the stars representing my abilities. They sparkled against the inky black sky of my soul sea. Smiling, I began my preparations.

Unlike our fight with the Centurion, I wasn't going to underestimate my next opponent.

Ability Name:Load Amplifier 

Description:The user can increase, decrease, and amplify the damage the target takes.

Ability Name:Eye of Battle 

Description: The user can interpret and predict enemy attacks, reacting to them even from dead angles.

Ability Name:Point of Interest 

Description:The user can sense the weaknesses of anything, including people, objects, and even insubstantial targets like relationships, societies, or laws of nature.

Ability Name:Uncontrollable

Description:The user is immune to any kind of mental manipulation and cannot fall under the control of anyone, no matter how powerful

As I reviewed my abilities, a thought crept in. 

"Maybe I should give myself an actually *OP* ability. Couldn't hurt, right?"

The question lingered in my mind. Something invincible? Overpowered to the point of absurdity? A couple of ideas flashed through my head—abilities from various series I had enjoyed.

Reinhard's Divine Protections, Rimuru's Ultimate Skills, or maybe something like Godstep. But before I could decide, I sighed, losing motivation.

"Creating an OP ability… ha, what a joke, what kind of fool would wa…" I muttered. But then, the revelation hit me like that damn bus.

Without hesitation, I crafted a new ability.

Ability Name:Grafting 

Description:The user can reassemble physical objects and abstract concepts into entirely new forms or functions, creating unbelievable effects. This ability allows for the alteration of definitions, logic, orientation, and rules, making it one of the most versatile and potent abilities. 

"Hmm… Well, I did say OP, so this should be fine." With a grin, I confirmed the creation of the ability.

Four new stars ignited in the sky of my soul sea, and a blinding light washed over everything. Blinking away the brightness, I hesitantly opened my eyes.

In the sky, a brilliant orange star outshone all the others. It was so radiant that it resembled a miniature sun.

The soul sea around me shimmered more beautifully than ever before.

I laughed—a bit menacingly, perhaps—but I couldn't help myself. Now I was ready. Sovereigns, Womp Womp, whatever was out there… nothing seemed daunting anymore.

Be it the sword fanatic, the Stabbed Queen surrounded by her daughters, or the guy just vibing in space—I was ready.

*********

I grimaced, letting out a sigh as I looked on at the scene of the kneeling centurion leaving.

The Carapace Demon eventually picked up the gleaming crystal and retreated beneath the giant tree's branches, leaving me with a sense of relief.

"Sunny, what's happening?" 

Cassie's voice broke through my thoughts. Hesitantly, I responded. 

"It seems Pleiades was right. There's a demon in our way."

[Don't let curiosity get the best of you. Tell your shadow to retreat] Pleiades warned.

I sighed, annoyed but also glad I hadn't sent my shadow into that demons lair. 

(Why shouldn't I have gone inside?)

[Well, you wouldn't have learned much… except that it's a vegetarian.]

'Vegetarian? What kind of vegetable could satisfy an Awakened Demon?' My suspicions about the tree and the demon grew even deeper.

"What's Pleiades saying?" Nephis asked, her voice pulling me back to reality.

"How do you know I'm talking to him?" I asked, surprised. She met me with her usual expressionless face. 

"You're making an unusual face."

[Damn, talk about a poker face. But hey, it's nice to know that I bring so much joy just by speaking to you.] His voice was sickeningly sweet, dripping with mock affection.

(Joy? You think your cryptic, sinister words bring me joy?)

I turned to Nephis. "He says the demon is a vegetarian and mentioned something about my poker face." 

Nephis seemed thoughtful for a moment, then frowned.

[I don't mean to make you uncomfortable, but you might want to move. You're pressed together like beans.] Pleiades' teasing tone annoyed me, but when I looked, I realized he was right. Nephis, Cassie and I were sitting rather close.

Trying not to blush, I told the others it was safe to come out. We left our hiding spot, all of us stretching our limbs after the cramped space.

I turned away from the others to avoid the awkwardness of it.

[Get some rest. Head back to Bone Ridge. Tomorrow's hunting day, and I have something to prepare] Pleiades instructed.

(Why fight it at all? It's not directly in our way like the Centurion. We could just go around it.)

[We need to go west, so that thing is in our way, and there's something important you need to get, and getting it is gonna be a much more difficult with that thing present] he replied cryptically.

We made our way back to Bone Ridge, sitting around the fire as I explained what I had seen.

[Alright, enough chit-chat. It's my turn.] Pleiades' excitement was unusual, making me uneasy.

I gave him control of my body, feeling that strange sensation of detachment once more. The warmth that washed over me was more just like always, strangely comforting.

Stretching, Pleiades yawned and settled down. Nephis immediately noticed the change, her expression sharpening.

"So, what's the plan?" she asked calmly.

"What else? We kill it," Pleiades replied nonchalantly. His carefree attitude contrasted starkly with Nephis' seriousness.

Nephis rolled her eyes, clearly baffled by his demeanor. Even Cassie, though blind, seemed to sense the shift in tone.

"And how do you plan to kill it?" Nephis asked, her voice stern as ever. 

Pleiades locked eyes with her, his smile unfazed. 

"Well, actually, I worded that wrong. WE won't be doing much killing. But I'll let you in on the plan."

He opened his storage Memory and retrieved three packs of rations, tossing one to Nephis and handing another to Cassie. Nephis eyed her ration suspiciously, which didn't escape Pleiades' notice.

"Oh, come on. I'm not your assassin, Nephis. Neither is Sunny. We've got better things to do than betray you along the way." He took a bite of his ration, chewing in silence.

Nephis dropped her ration, looking genuinely shocked. Her expression was far too unnatural for her. Cassie, equally confused, turned her head toward Pleiades. 

"What do you mean by 'assassin'?" she asked hesitantly.

Pleiades smiled, taking another deliberate bite of his food.

"Well," he said, after dragging it out long enough. "Neph was a child loved by her family and their friends and the whole of the immortal flame clan. But one day, her father and his friends went to challenge a Fourth Seed of Nightmare. They succeeded, but before her father could reach supremacy, he was jumped and murdered by her two uncles and aunt.

The clan fell apart after his death and eventually disbanded, and she survived multiple assassination attempts. After completing her first Nightmare in which she killed herself and an Awakened Terror after that, she gained that [Divine Aspect] of hers with the completion of the nightmare.

Then, she joined the Academy, convinced the Sovereigns would send someone to kill her. And then Sunny and I appeared. Naturally, she was suspicious."

He paused, taking another bite. Then, as if remembering, he added casually: 

"Oh, and somewhere along the way, she started listening to Nightingale."

The revelation hung in the air as Pleiades finished his food, leaving us in stunned silence.

Looking unsatisfied, he looked around and dismissed the storage memory. Then he summoned his water memory and drank some of it. 

Dismissing the memory, he looked at both of them. 

[And that's how you set up a perfect and foolproof plan, Sunny,] his voice was confident and self-assuring. 

(And what exactly was your plan?) He smirked like he had expected my question. 

[Well, firstly I made sure to take the rations from my memory. I'm sure you're wondering why I didn't just use the other method of relying on my supreme memory? Well, the plan was that Nephis would obviously be suspicious of me giving her the food from a storage memory unlike how i usually gave them food. And while I tossed it, I slashed the top a bit to make it look tampered with.] 

Right as he stopped, I came to a realization, and if I had a body, my eyes would have widened. 

'He used her suspicious look to justify him saying that she we weren't the assassins.' 

[I'm guessing you realize what I did.] he continued [The second part was Cassie questioning me about it. It wasn't guaranteed, but I made sure to always answer her questions. Throughout this whole journey, do you remember me ever not answering any of her questions?]

(No, you always answered them.) 

[Exactly. With this, I became something like a consultant for her. She now thinks of me as someone who knows the answer to any of her questions. I also made sure to make her completely comfortable with asking me anything, even while Nephis was around.] 

My mind was racing. To think that someone could plan months ahead just to make a good point in a single conversation—just the thought of it was simply terrifying. 

(Are you a demon?) The question was definitely stupid, but the sheer scale of what he had done was far too vast for a normal human to even attempt, and he even said it wasn't guaranteed, what sane person would do so much work with such odds. 

[Of course not! ] and continued with a hint of thought [I'm a beast. I'd need like three thousand soul shards to become a demon.]