Chapter 16: Elea's Problems, P5
~16.5~
*****
"So that's why." Danielle had been questioning Adele and Michelle about Kye ever since she disappeared. They finally explained to her, Elizabeth, and Michael after they returned from the trip through the Void.
"What is she hoping to accomplish? That realm is cut off aside from the path through the… Void?" Elizabeth was skeptical about the whole situation. Anyone would be, but she already did not trust easily. "She can go back and forth, but she's staying over there for now?"
Adele smirked and couldn't help teasing his sister. "You sound worried about her."
"Worried about her? Please."
"It feels like yesterday that we had our first day of class in year one… and you picked a fight with her. And look now! You're concerned about her!"
Elizabeth gave her a look that could not be mistaken for anything except "I'll kill you."
"Got her butt kicked, too," Michael whispered to Michelle, who promptly elbowed him in the gut.
Elizabeth's threat didn't stop Adele from pushing her luck. "My cute, adorable little sister, hair as gold as light and temper as fierce as lightning, showing concern for none other than her older sister's wife who all but humiliated her on their first day of school."
She smiled at Adele in a way that brought fear to the others in the room. "It seems Drachenheim will need a new heir soon. Perhaps my second oldest sister would be willing to take the role. We all know one with my temperament can't be trusted with the throne, after all, yet the current heir dares to tempt it!"
"May she rest in peace," Danielle said with a clearly fake solemn prayer. "I will take care of our people."
Adele sighed, "Alright, alright, I'm sorry. Enough joking."
"Are you going to try to convince her?" Danielle asked.
She shook her head. "No. She won't change her mind no matter how much we try. No, the one I need to convince is Rei."
Michelle nodded. "That's right. All considered, Rei is probably the only one that can sucker her into coming home."
*****
"She did what?"
In a purple and black mansion overlooking a purple sea, much like the one Aliana created, Shiro and his subordinates were meeting.
"We do not know how, but she has appeared in Realm 7," Elliot said. "I haven't heard any more information."
Shiro turned his gaze to Amelia, looking for more information. "I am not privy to this topic, My Lord."
"I see." He glanced at the empty chair. "Gustav is still gone?"
Amelia replied, "Yes, My Lord. His target is very well guarded."
Shiro returned his eyes to the vast expanse of purple ocean. "Elliot, see if you can find out more information about that woman."
"Yes, My Lord."
"Amelia, see if you can't figure out a way to help Gustav."
"Yes, My Lord."
*****
In the Farlands, Alethea was standing atop a small hill, looking out at the vast ocean. There were only two continents on Alcanus, one named Avalon, which housed the entire population and shared a name with Kye's palace in Arslade, and one smaller continent called the Farlands with no population or living organism. It was nothing more than a wasteland.
A white-haired girl appeared next to her, but elicited no reaction. Alethea was waiting for her.
"Hello, Alfia."
"Hello, Maya. What did you call me out here for?"
Alethea's eyes didn't stray from the ocean. "I wanted to… talk to you."
Alfia raised an eyebrow. "What about? Is something wrong? Is it about Eli?"
Alethea shook her head, but only briefly. "No… but yes."
"What do you mean?"
Alethea sighed and finally met Alfia's eyes. Alfia gasped when she saw a faint star-esque diagram in each of her irises. "You know what my power is. Adele and Adara specialize in Telekinetic Force, Astraia specializes in Light, Astarte in Life, Atalante in Runes, Allison in War."
"Yours is the same as Eli's. You have Zen and specialize in restoration using it. That's why your soul color isn't silver, but pink."
"Yes. Zen. Specialization aside, it's the same as Eli. And the same as you."
Alfia raised an eyebrow, but remained silent.
"I know what you are."
Alfia continued staying silent.
"When Shi-chan transmigrated to Realm 7, I started meditating. I can use silver mana at will now, the same as her. I haven't told anyone, and very few know about my power. And only you know that I can control it again."
She paused and looked back at the ocean.
"Back in our honeymoon, you showed us another worldline to warn us what could happen. But that's not the entire truth." She smiled. "You didn't show us what could happen, you showed us what did happen. That worldline already happened."
"What did you do?"
"I gazed into my soul. I'm probably the only one that could find what I found. One would need Zen, and knowledge only Shi-chan and I have. With Shi-chan, the memories required to discover this information are sealed. That's not the case with me."
"What do you think you know?"
Alethea turned back to Alfia. "I know why your nickname is Alpha."
The white-haired girl's eyes widened as Alethea reached her hands out. She removed the hairband from Alfia's hair. "H-how?"
The pink-haired girl smiled. "You truly have a habit of putting too much on yourself. I know what happened in the Alpha Worldline. I know that this is the Omega Worldline. And I know that there are twenty-two worldlines between them. You have lived through all of them."
"You aren't guessing at anything. You know these things for fact. You really did enter the core of your soul. So then you know all twenty-four worldlines now?"
She nodded. "I do."
"Then you truly do know what I am."
"Yes."
"What do you mean to do with this information?"
Alethea shook her head and pulled Alfia into an embrace. "I wanted you to know that I know. And I wanted you to know that you don't have to bottle it up. We can talk now. You can decompress."
A single tear managed to escape one of Alfia's eyes. "I'm not-"
"Yes, you are. You can use a different name, but it doesn't change who you are, love."
Alfia was hesitant, but returned the embrace. She pulled Alethea tight, one hand on her back and one on the back of her head. More tears began to flow. "Maya…"
"I'm here for you."
*****
Revision: 2024-5-29