NOVEL NEXT Ch12: Radiance, P12
Chapter 12: Radiance, P12
~12.12~
*****
Loading System Operator controls... complete.”
The screen changed significantly. Kye quickly navigated the panel and found the settings for the spell and skill archives. Spell Archive was listed as enabled, but Skill Archive was disabled.
“The skill archive is disabled? I thought it was enabled.”
Alfia stood up and looked over Kye’s shoulder. Her eyes widened when she read the screen. “What? It is supposed to be on. How did it get turned off?”
“Hmm... I’ll use this with system assistance...” Kye formed a katana out of her aethersteel bracelet. “<<Seiken>>.” Her blade glowed with light aether. “No change to the blade itself.”
“But when you’ve used that before, the blade glowed and had runes all over it.”
“On that note,” Adele said. “Eli, do you even use the system?”
Without a hint of hesitation, she answered, “No. I don’t. I do everything manually, which is why the blade glowed and had runes every other time you’ve seen me use Seiken. I used it manually.”
“But just now was with the system?”
She flipped the switch for the Skill Archive and the system voice spoke, “Enable Skill Archive? This requires three Operators to revert once completed. Yes or No.” Kye confirmed it. “Command accepted. Enabling Skill Archive... complete. Examining Spell Archive entries for skill placeholders... complete. Moving skills from Spell Archive to Skill Archive... complete.”
Kye used Seiken again. The blade itself began glowing a bright gold with runes across either side. “That’s one problem fixed.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Zen said. “...this is revolutionary.”
“Indeed,” Astarte said. “This will change the world.”
“There are a few other things that we can change, but considering the general populace, I’ll hold off. It is likely better to integrate one thing at a time.”
“I agree. Skills alone will upend things quite a bit.”
“Yes. You should be able to browse the Skill Archive properly now. Take a look sometime.”
Astarte nodded.
“We’ll discuss this in the next council meeting,” Zen said.
Kye closed the system screen and began typing on her NeuraPhone. She sent a message to Layla, James, and Allison about what she’d done. “Speaking of the council, what of the instructor topic?”
“You will not become an instructor this year.”
“The reason?”
“Your pregnancy. No other reason.”
“I see. That would have no impact, however. I disagree.”
“Then we’ll discuss that in the next meeting.”
*****
A few weeks earlier, after Kye’s battle on Atlas, Shiro met with his subordinates in the purple and black mansion overlooking the sea of purple.
“HOW DID SHE SURVIVE?!” Shiro was angry. Not only did the target survive, but an S+ Class beast was killed. He took a deep breath and let it out. “It seems I have to approach this another way. That she was able to survive is ridiculous enough, but she single-handedly killed it?! How was she able to wield that much power in an eighteen-year-old body? It’s unthinkable! Elliot, have you reviewed the fight?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“What did she do?”
“Before the fight began, she activated Aether Drive and uttered the word ‘Awaken’. Her power increased dramatically with the Awaken spell. During the fight, she casted the ultimate-tier spells Detonation and Kami Ikazuchi, the epic-tier spell Seiken, as well as an unknown spell called Light Nova.”
The blood drained from Shiro’s face as he remembered the very spell that killed him in his past life. “L-L-Light N-Nova?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“W-what the...? How? She was able to reproduce that ungodly technique here? That woman is beyond dangerous. We must redouble our efforts. Triple even. Elliot, wake my pet. Have it strengthen the existing S and A beasts. I want an army of S’s.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“She has a weapon now. Awaken is the command to activate the awakened state when wielding a soul weapon. This allows the wielder to properly wield the weapon’s power as their own. If that weapon is an elder royal, then we have a lot of work ahead of us. The skill and experience of that woman combined with the power of an elder royal is no joke. I believe it would be best to keep a low profile. In the meantime, I will continue my research. Abandon all projects involving that woman. Do not get involved with her any further for now.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Shiro turned away and headed for the door. “I must find a way to the remaining universes.”
*****
“So, you turned on the Skill Archive?” Allison met up with Kye for tea in Arslade a few days before the academy was due to start its next term. Since they were married, Kye and her spouses could not return to the student dorms. They were set to use Kye’s private residence in the main palace, Camelot. But, when they got there, Edward gave her Avalon Palace, much like how King Zen assigned Amaterasu Palace to her on Nippon Sekai.
“Yeah. Was that what you wanted to talk about?”
“No. I…” Allison wasn’t sure how to say what she wanted to say. She had never been one to talk much, always preferring to let her actions speak for her. Her trouble this time was for another reason entirely. She kneeled before Kye. “I apologize.”
“What do you mean?”
“I promised to be your guardian here, yet you have had to fight the battles yourself at such a young age. I have failed you.”
Kye reached down and pulled on her arm. “Come on, stand up.” Allison hesitantly got back on her feet. “You have not failed me. I dove into those battles headfirst. I know very well you could have taken them on in my place, with varying degrees of collateral damage, but…” She sighed. “I’ve always been like this. If there’s a problem-”
““I handle it myself.”” Kye’s eyes widened.
Allison smiled and chuckled. “It seems I surprised you.”
“I wasn’t expecting you to finish my sentence word-for-word, after all.”
“I’ve heard you say that enough times to guess.”
They shared a laugh, then Kye’s expression changed. It was no longer an amused expression, but a combination of curiosity and confusion. “Is that something I said a lot when you knew me before?”
Allison hesitated to answer. She met the blonde’s eyes and saw a familiar piercing glare looking back at her. “Yes. I hesitate to tell you very much about yourself, due to the danger of your seal weakening.”
“You were my teacher in that life, too?” Allison nodded, so Kye continued. “I see. I wish I could remember.”
“Perhaps one day when you do, we can reminisce.”
Kye nodded, but then her expression changed back to confused. “Why are you different from us?”
“I can’t be specific, largely because I don’t know. While I do remember Seris’s life, it’s something akin to an adult remembering their early childhood. One with a good memory will remember most of it, but some things fade. I don’t know if I’m one of the ninety-nine. I don’t know if I’m more akin to Liliana and Aliana, who were there the whole time, but were not blessed until now. I don’t know if I was pseudo immortal then like I am now.” She held her right hand up in front of her face and looked at her palm. “If I die, this life is gone. I’ll reincarnate somewhere else, like any mortal, and start over from scratch. Yet, I remember being Seris.”
Kye crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. “I asked Alethea about you, but she wouldn’t say anything other than that you were our teacher.”
“I’m sorry, Kye. This is the best answer I can give you.” She took a sip of tea and looked out of the window. “Sometimes I remember more things. I said I remember none of my lives between Seris and now, but there have been bits and pieces. Not enough to figure out anything about those lives, so I don’t consider that as remembering.” She looked back at the blonde and saw a look in her eyes that she hadn’t seen since her time as Seris. It was a combination of concern and confidence. “Kye?”
“If I said I could help you remember your past lives, would you want to?”
*****
Revision: 2024-3-1