I feel like a kid right now… Sitting on the back of a car, eager to get ho and play a new ga I just bought. I rember looking at every detail on the cover over and over again…
Except this ti, it’s not a ga but a cool sword that I’m holding instead. Carol and I were sitting at the back while Katja drove us back to the house. We left the lab shortly after Reia got my sword ready. It was getting dark, but there was still enough light outside to examine the small treasure in my hands.
My sword had a compact form just like Katja’s, so I couldn’t see the whole thing very well. Taking a closer look, I think its length is around half my keyboard in this form. It doesn’t really look like anything when it’s like this. It’s easy to grip and a bit thicker than the handle when it’s in sword form, but otherwise, it just looks like a stick made out of tal. The whole thing was black, and even though it was made out of sothing tallic, it didn’t shine much. Except for parts of the blade visible through so gaps, that is.
“Hey, Katja. Is it fine if I extend the sword here? It’s not going to match with
just because of that, right?” At this ti of the year, we had to drive with the windows open not to lt. I raised my voice so Katja could hear
over the sound of the wind.
“It’s safe to extend, so you can do it. Just make sure you don’t damage the car. Don’t point it at anyone!”
“Got it!” Hehehe… I got the go-ahead. I aid the front of the sword at a weird diagonal towards the side of the car. Worst-case scenario, the interior gets ruined, and I get a scolding for misjudging its length. It should be fine, though. *Click.* “Woah!”
Just like I thought… It’s beautiful. The sword is almost completely black. The edge of the blade had a slightly lighter color, and the grip had a red light glowing out from a few gaps. It’s a bit basic, but for a sword, I really like it.
The blade feels incredible to the touch. It’s all tal, but felt pleasantly smooth. Why would this one feel better than my old one? Maybe this it’s psychological… As I ran my hand through the blade, I searched for any gaps in the tal. There’s no way the sword is one single segnt. The length of the compact version is smaller than the blade itself. If my guess is correct, the point where they connect is going to be a weak point. I’d rather find it now than during a fight.
“There’s nothing…” Sohow, there were no gaps. I really couldn’t find anything. A thing like this with so many chanical moving parts should be weaker than a normal sword. But it’s not.
I applied pressure at different points, and every ti I did, this thing got more and more impressive. When it’s unfolded, this is just like a normal sword. No… It's better than a normal sword. If I didn’t know any better, I’d call this magic. Reia might have been telling the truth. This is at a point where the science is so advanced that it’s practically magic! I think I’d be able to cut through steel using one of my skills with this sword. God, I’m gonna be gushing over this thing for so long…
“Are you happy with it? You seem really excited right now.” Carol had been staring the whole ti while resting her chin on her hand.
“Ah!” I froze up. “Sorry, didn’t an to show off in front of you…”
“What are you acting considerate for?” Carol looked upset for a second. “It’s fine. I don’t care that I wasn’t able to get a Matching Weapon. Whether or not I have one doesn’t matter. I’m gonna continue training, and I’ll get stronger in my own way. Is that what you said?”
“Right…” I almost forgot… Carol doesn’t like it when people fuss over her. Especially with sothing like this. I returned the sword to compact mode, not because I was trying to be considerate, but because I had seen what I wanted to see for now. “Yeah, you’re right. We both gotta get stronger. Let’s keep training together.”
Carol nodded. “We’re in this together.”
“Ahem!” The mood was almost getting to a good point when Katja interrupted us. “It’s good that you’re both motivated to train, but this ti, make sure you leave a warning before disappearing. I let you off easy this ti, but I can’t promise I’ll do the sa next ti.”
“Hahahaha… Of course, Katja. We’ll do things properly next ti…”
…
It was already late when we arrived, so I spent the night at the House. Next morning, Katja and I ate breakfast and headed straight for the dojo. It’s ti to match with my new sword. There wasn’t much of a reason to delay it, so we went for it right away.
“How are you feeling, Iroha? Are there any problems? If you’re not in peak condition, we shouldn’t do this right now.”
“I’m feeling great. I wanna get this done as soon as possible.” So much so that we skipped school to wrap this up. Carol skipped too, but that’s apparently because there’s no point in her going if I’m not there. Quite a nice thing to hear early in the morning.
But enough gushing about her. “Are you sure? Did you sleep well? Was Hecate’s breakfast enough for you? She never gets the portions wrong, but I want to make sure.”
“It’s alright… If there was anything wrong, I promise I’d tell you. Trust
on this one. I know how dangerous this can get, and I want this to succeed as much as you do.” Especially since I’m destined to fail… At least according to Miyuki… Her predictions haven’t been wrong so far, but I’ve managed to avoid so of the bad things she has predicted. I hope this one won’t be any different if I manage to keep my guard up.
“I understand. If you feel anything wrong, tell
right away.” Katja’s face softened up. In the end, no matter how dangerous things get, I have to do this. For Ririna, Carol, and Hecate. The only way for us all to live happily ever after is to get to the bottom of what is causing the portals to appear. For that, I’ll need to get a lot stronger.
But that’s too far away… For now, I need to get my hands on whatever it takes to keep what I have safe. I’m gonna ta this sword, no matter what it takes… Ta the crazy silver flower… “So, what’s the process? Why are we in the dojo?”
“Our location doesn’t matter that much, but I brought you here because the dojo is a good place to do this. You need to do sothing similar to ditation to match with your weapon. Dojos have always been good places for ditation, so here we are.” Katja explained with a serious yet casual tone. She went to the corner of the room to grab a cushion.
“Makes sense… Plenty of sunlight and quieter than anywhere else in the House. I understand why you’d choose this place.”
“Right?” Katja bent over and gently placed the cushion on the floor between the two of us. “I’m gonna stay with you the whole ti to support and guide you. No need to worry about things going wrong. I’ll imdiately snap you out of it before the worst can happen. Go ahead.” With the shape of the cushion and her gestures, I understood what I was supposed to do.
I calmly knelt on the cushion with my back turned towards her. “Is this fine?”
“Extend your sword and rest it on your lap. Yes, just like that.” Katja placed her hands on my shoulders and gave
a gentle massage. “Are you anxious?”
Since my life is on the line, there’s no way I’m not at least a bit anxious. “Not at all… There’s nothing to worry with you looking over , is there?” Katja was a bit taken aback.
“Wow… Thanks for the vote of confidence. I’ll do everything in my power to make sure you succeed.” Katja continued her massage. I didn’t expect this level of service. “Relax… Let yourself feel comfortable…”
I let the tension escape my shoulders and enjoyed her touch. “Mhmm… What’s next?” Katja stopped her hands with one last tap.
“Close your eyes whenever you’re ready. You’re gonna want to focus on your sword as much as possible. Pay attention to the way it feels when it touches your hands and thighs. Try to visualize it… What’s important is that you relax while focusing on it.” Katja spoke with a particularly soothing voice. “At first your head will be flooded with other thoughts, but don’t worry about it. They’ll be gone after a few minutes. Good luck, Iroha.”
I closed my eyes and did as she told . Resting it on my lap is making
very aware of its weight. I can still see the beautiful black tal of the blade glowing in my mind. What exactly is supposed to happen? I should have asked her. Is it the kind of thing I’ll know when I see it?
Maybe that’s it… Maybe I’ll be able to tell the matching is done when it’s done. Where exactly is the danger in this? Is the sword going to start moving and attack ? There’s no way that’s it, is there? If anything’s gonna happen, it will probably be inside of my mind…
Ah! I’m getting sidetracked… Gotta focus on the sword… How it feels… Visualize it… Even these thoughts are just distractions, aren’t they? Can I shut them up for a while?
…
The feelings and the image. No comnts…
Words again…
…
……
The darkness turned to light… Blinding light… Damn it… I got distracted again, didn’t I? No… Wait…
I thought I was once again putting things to words, but this ti was different. The light I saw felt different. I slowly opened my eyes and… “Flowers…?” When did I stand up? The floor before my feet was now completely colored silver… Silver Flowers… As far as the eye could see. Just like the one used for my sword. If I’m not mistaken…
“This place…” It’s the Endless Silver… From the ga… From the other world. “When did I get here?” It was a never-ending expanse of silver flowers, letting off a hazy glow by reflecting the light of the moon. The flowers stretched to a small hill ahead of
with a weird structure on top. A thin tower that stretched endlessly into the sky, splitting the moon in two with its silhouette. It’s an incredible view… I had no idea a place like this existed…
The next mont, the flowers ahead started rustling. A gust of wind cut through the silence, causing nurous glowing petals to dance in the sky.
“?!” A presence? After the gust of wind hit , sothing appeared in front of that tower. Sothing that seems more than human, but different from the monsters I know… Either way…
I’m not alone anymore.
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