My awareness slowly cos back to
after who knows how long. It feels like I've been out for days, but that's crazy right? I had only been awake for like, 2 hours tops by the ti... Oh god. mories begin to flood back to
in waves, crashing against my freshly awoken psyche. Of how I found and learned from the oddly expressive manuals that Ios had bought for , learning how to take the first steps into cultivation by gathering Qi. Combining those Qi gathering techniques into one, universal solution that resonated with my being. And also... the odd feeling of superiority that ca from it.
I've never acted like that in my life! I've never felt like the world owed
sothing, that I deserved so kind of... feudal respect from others. Hell, I barely had the courage to speak up half the ti back on Earth! But that doesn't change how right it all felt when I began the process of building my channels, soul, and body. It's like there were two Alia's, or at least a vastly different side of
that had been unlocked once I studied those scrolls.
And the mania after I started fighting the Heaven here! I couldn't even say that wasn't , because the terrifying part of it is that in the mont I loved it. The adrenaline, the action of fighting, of feeling strong enough to stand on my own and flip the bird to whoever pissed
off. Hell, I still feel that power coursing through , just without the accompanying warped personality at least for now. Thankfully, the one thing that seems to be consistent between myself and this new... royal alter ego... is that we're both not a big fan of pain. Sure, I took it on the chin when those couple of bolts slipped through, but I still hated feeling hurt. Honestly, I think it drove my manic mind even further down the rabbit hole...
As I'm about to continue self-diagnosing and processing the events from earlier, I hear Ios' high pitched voice chi into my head with a soft, concerned tone to it. 'Hey sweetie. I can see you're awake now going by your brain activity. Either that, or you are having the most lucid dream in all of recorded reality, hehe~! If you want to talk, Akiko and I are here in the room with you. She's studying so tos and scripts that I asked her to look into while you've been out. Oh, its only been about half a day or so since your little rumble with the Heavens so it's still nightti outside. I'll let you decide when you want to pop up, but eventually we all do need to talk. You're not in trouble, I promise, but needs must and all that.'
I feel Ios' presence recede from my mind, which is a new thing I can do now apparently. I guess I'll be able to interact on a deeper level with her as my soul grows stronger and maybe I'll be able to notice different things in general as I gain strength. I sigh ntally as I prepare myself to face the music and confront my stupid actions with the two people that have the unenviable task of watching out for my dumbass.
I open my eyes and take in ceiling above the bed that I had used at sunrise today. Still can't quite get over just how fucked my sleep cycle is right now... I can feel that I'm still dressed in my fancy getup with the super soft blankets covering , and that I've been cleaned from all the dried blood and I assu sweat that must have happened while I was fighting. Considering Akiko is the only one of the two ntors that has a physical body, I blush imdiately and deeply in true Aims fashion.
I turn my head on the comfy pillow to look at the rest of my new bedroom. The soft brown wood that isn't covered by various padded white mats or colorful fabric carpets adds a comforting feel to the space, while the pure white light of the crystals above illuminates the room. In the far back corner, I can see Akiko sitting on the wonderfully carved chair by the smallish work desk, several scrolls and books open as if she is constantly reading between them. Her serious, focused face makes
smile as it causes the cutest little wrinkle between her eyebrows that I'm sure she would get mad about if soone told her. Unfortunately, I can't seem to stop myself from causing trouble, maybe Ios' troll like nature is rubbing off on ?
"You look so cute when you focus so hard Akiko~ You get this adorable wrinkle riiiiight between your eyes, right here~" I say softly but with a smart-ass tone as I raise my hand and point directly to the space between my azure eyes. Instead of the playful feigned annoyance I thought she'd have, I watch Akiko startle slightly and then faster than I can see she is instantly in front of my still prone form with a hand on my forehead. Her body bends at the waist so that her ample chest is dangling right in front of , the line of deep cleavage exposed clearly by her kimono.
I blush even more furiously and swallow slightly, the heat of the blood rushing to my cheeks, as I finally tear my gaze upwards toward her face, which I notice now is staring directly at
with a smirk on her lips showing I had been caught red handed. Her voice hums out in a sultry but still gentle tone, "Ara~ Maybe all my worry was for naught, it seems you are very much still fully yourself my dear~ Levity aside, how are you Alia? Your tribulation was... unique does not begin to describe what happened. Spirit Ios and I have been researching various subjects while you recovered to ensure we had sufficient answers for you upon your awakening, but perhaps it would be best for you to tell us what you felt and what exactly happened during the trial."
Her first playful statent is also accompanied by a wink and a couple of soft tail tips playfully tickling my face, before her serious tone gives way to the pressing issue that we all need to address. Well, that I need to explain and then they need to tell
how much I fucked up. I know Ios said that I wasn't 'in trouble', so I assu they arn't mad at , but I'd be an idiot if I think I wasn't getting so kind of scolding after this. With a heavy heart, I nod once to Akiko and move to sit up so that I can receive my lashings properly.
Perhaps picking up on my beaten down look and mood, I feel Akiko gently move her hand from my forehead to my chest, just below my neckline. She gently pushes
back down from my attempts at proper speaking posture, and I look up to her with a confused arch to my eyebrows before she elaborates, "Stay resting for now my dear, at least until your spirit and I hear what transpired. I'm sure spirit Ios told you that the fault is likely not your own, or at least not entirely as it were, but we need to understand what happened to determine our, and your, next steps for cultivation."
I feel the slight bit of doubt seep into
at her words, which makes no sense when I think about it. Why would either Akiko or Ios lie to
about being in the doghouse, all they've ever tried to do is help . Sure, Ios went about things in a kind of fucky way a couple of tis, and Akiko apparently was getting lust bombed just as much as I was when we first t. But both of them have been stellar models to follow, and beyond helpful teachers so far. So... Why is this so hard? I look over my status page, thinking sothing might be amiss that I'm not thinking about. Everything looks sowhat the sa, with a lot of higher numbers now, but the thing that sticks out to
the most is the Active Status Effects.
Active Status Effects: ... [Sha (Overwhelming, Stagnate)] ...
Yeah, that tracks. Honestly, I really shouldn't have needed to look that one up. But to be fair to myself, Akiko and Ios are waiting on
to go over what happened, I don't exactly have a lot of ti to process my feels right now. As if to further cent that thought, I hear Ios' voice sound out into the room, "Everything good Aims? If you need to rest more Akiko can slip you a sleeping pill or sothing." Akiko nods a couple tis at Ios' statent, her tails gingerly laying on top of
for comfort and warmth, which she knows I love.
I smile slightly, kicking myself for even thinking that these two would ever be dishonest like I was imagining earlier, or judge
for sothing that even I found out of my control. I smile softly before petting one of the beyond fluffy white tails with one of my hands, my low voice finally entering the conversation, "No, I'm okay. Sorry, I was feeling a bit off still, but I figured out why I was in a funk. I guess I should start at the beginning? When Ios bought those three manuals?" I ask out to both won, with Akiko once again giving a soft nod of her head still with a gentle smile on her face as her hand moves back up to gently stroke my hair.
Ios seems to be in the mood for being dramatic, as she projects a fancy therapist chair and plops down in it. Her usual plain clothed form now has a very professional blouse and slacks, with dark black, pointed, flat heeled shoes. Her curly golden hair is done up in a very attractive high ponytail, as she uses one of her hands to push the now thin rimd glasses further up her cute button nose. Two of her hands hold open a binded notepad while the other taps a pen thoughtfully against it. I honestly can't tell if she is exploiting the fact that I had a crush on one of my therapists or if she is just being her usual cheeky, troll like self...
I decide to shelve that issue for now before telling them my side of the events that went down. "So, as soon as you put the talisman on
Akiko, I felt what Ios described I should feel. Three foreign signatures popped up inside of... well not inside of
per say, but like inside of my being. But the weirdest thing was, is that the closer I got to those manuals, the more familiar and at ho they felt inside of . I interacted with all of them individually, and they are basically people by the way. They understood emotions, thoughts, and intention, as well as so more esoteric things like respect and formalities.
Anyways, after I learned from each of their paths about how they gather Qi, I was about to start performing the techniques as quickly as I could before they stopped
and sort of... linked up? Thats the best way I can describe it. They unfurled their scrolls again, showing their techniques and placed them nearly on top of each other. When they did, I felt this kind of epiphany co over
and I instantly knew what they were trying to show .
I realized that the three techniques are actually pieces of a whole, and that they are all ant to be used together. Once I figured out the how of it all, the system rged the techniques for
into a one size fits all Qi gathering thod that fills my body, soul, and spiritual needs at the sa ti. Thats also when I started to feel sothing I've never felt before. All of the scrolls had a sense of... domination about them, or royalty in so cases, even their nas are monarchal! Once I started to understand and use the combined technique, I started to feel that way too, especially with my soul.
I kind of lost myself to the creation of my connection between the dantian and my soul, and the process of filling everything with Qi until that first lightning bolt hit . Speaking of! Why was [4 Leaf Clover] still active Ios?? I thought you were going to instantly buy the manual for the Sect Leader?" I say as I take a break from my rambling. I'm not trying to pull an Ios and spill out a whole ass lecture all in one go!
The being in question responds calmly, "Well, I would have if I wasn't a bit worried about what the Heaven was going to do. When Akiko and I noticed how intense the tribulation was going to be, I kind of... made the executive decision to hold onto the last activation of the skill. I didn't know how receiving the full amount of damage may have ssed with you in your trance like state, and I'm glad I did if you really were as deep in as you're saying you were."
She turns to Akiko before bowing slightly and continuing, "I am sorry for not following through with our deal Akiko, and for not discussing my actions prior to it happening. But it was all moving quite fast, and I had to make a split-second decision for Aims' safety. I hope you can understand, and I promise in a month we will spend just as many points as we did for Aims' manuals on the one for the Sect Leader. Hell Alia," She puts her focus back on
as she says, "I'd even suggest we buy a body manual too and make sure both Akiko and the Sect Leader can use them. It only makes sense since she's going to be yours and Sandra's teacher from here on out anyway."
I think about that for a second, but I do kind of agree. With how rapidly I am power scaling, there will likely be a point where Akiko will fall off and not be able to effectively help
anymore. Besides that, I want her to keep being the strongest, most blood thirsty yet gentle mommy dommy fox woman that I am growing to care for deeply~ God, I get horny as hell after fighting off lightning apparently... Follow current ??????????s on ??ovelFire
"I think that's a great idea Ios, I'm all for it!" I smile happily back at the projection before regarding Akiko once more, now noticing her stunned, flabbergasted face. Her eyes are wide as dinner plates with her eyebrows cartoonishly almost eting her hair line, as her mouth hangs open in a large O of surprise. I cant hold back my laughter as I reach up and smush her face a bit with both hands before saying, "Oh my gosh, you make the cutest expressions sotis Akiko~ Of course I want to help you and the Sect Leader, don't be so surprised!"
The sudden smushing seems to do the trick as Akiko shakes her head a few tis, also dislodging my hands, and responds to the room, "Truly? I cannot deny that the thought of gaining access to such knowledge is beyond tempting, but I know how much resources that would require from you Alia. You must still think of Sandra in all of this, she will likely co into the world as a mortal just as weak as you were originally. While myself and my girls will always strive to keep you safe, and the area around us secure, no one can definitively say what the situation will be in a months' ti. Well, no one but a fate cultivator, but almost all of them are certifiably insane. No one can keep sanity in control when gazing into the abyss of probability for long."
Well, that was fucking ominous. I'll just... table that discussion for a later ti... "I'm sure Akiko, but the amount of care and thoughtfulness you always show
is really lting my little no longer mortal heart~ We can go over more specifics of that later though, but I promise you that that is the plan going forward now. To get us back on track, after the first lightning bolt hit , I got pissed. Like, an anger I have never felt before. I think with this new... royalty complex that I was building from comprehending all the manuals and stuff was starting to really pop off after that.
I got angry and shouted at the Heavens and then started the slugging match of the century with them as they responded. After I failed to cleave the third bolt and got hit by the remnants of it, I figured out how to access and affect the system from my soul. I ventured that Ilya likely had built so connection point there, and going by how you and her are both tied to our souls Ios. Luckily, I assud correctly that the connection point was also floating around in that space.
Anyway, after I made the connection, I realized that I had basically blown through all of the Realms of the 1st Rank and racked up a shit load of Ability Points to spend. I split them between Strength and Dexterity, going with the old motto "a good offense is a good defense
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