Chapter 126

(Kodori)

I had seen so much.

While I'd been connected to the great Sakura tree, I'd seen yet another 'secret' of this strange world. I'd only ever read about it in science fiction, but what I saw made me think of an 'infinity circuit'. A repository for souls, where they could be stored safely, protected from the outside from predators, and in some cases, taken out for use.

Souls were energy. Much like heat, or electricity, or kinetic force. But, like any energy, it had to 'go' someplace. But unlike the usual stuff that is all 'physics' based, it doesn't just fall to entropy without very specific conditions.

Like being eaten, converted to 'material' power, digested and turned into 'physical mass'. But creatures like that were very rare. For example, the 'soul eater'. It was the only monster so far that I'd seen in this world that could consume souls. Except... not quite. Since the Shield (and the other Weapons, so long as they'd unlocked the power up method) could also 'eat' souls.

But, barring a physical being eating them and changing it to physical energy, souls just didn't 'go away'. They were reborn. The River Styx. Reincarnation. The Karmic Wheel. What ever you called it, there was a system for that kind of thing.

Sustained by the Gods.

Except... There were no gods here. This system was artificial.

And it was leaking.

There were other problems too. Souls were not the same density. Human souls weighed differently to say, animal ones. Back on Earth, I'd seen first hand how the Hades dealt with souls, and Thanatos himself even told me a couple of things. Ajuka with the Evil Pieces. Micheal with the 'Brave Saints'. Ways to deal with and change the 'weight' of a soul.

And dragon souls were simply incompatible to the system here. To big, to heavy for whatever magical wires were being used. Except... That was also a problem. The dragon cores... I suspected now that they were the first 'attempt' to contain the problem. Have the dragon 'grow' its own soul container, and when it died, it could attempt to 'override' the next generation.

Ddraig was my teacher here. With each death of his host, his 'soul' started over, but his mind remained intact. He could 'influence' his host, but was generally weaker than the soul of his owner. Sometimes, his host was weak, or lost control of his emotions and broke down mentally, allowing the Dragon of Domination to take over. But most often? He could only watch, and give council.

Here? A powerful dragon soul, almost as powerful as the moment it died, could just subsume and override a younger dragon. Gaelion even said so, that because Tetsu was already self aware and able to make her own choices, he could only be a passenger and guide.

But what happened to a soul, dragon or not, when it remained fully aware yet unable to do anything? The same thing that happens to most people when they are locked in sensory deprivation.

They go insane. Or they shut down. I'd seen more of one, but only one instance of the other. The nice Aotatsu Elder had enshrined a 'shut down' dragon core. Likely passing of old age, and without regret to fuel its anger (like Gaelion when Ren had killed him and left him to rot outside), the soul on the Elder's altar was quiet. 'Dead'.

Of course, Adventurers killed dragons. And generations of Waves meant generations of dead dragons who would of course be resentful of the silly people killing them. But, what did you do with powerful magic soul crystals that were angry all the time and tried to take over when you touched them?

You either locked them away in a cage of contained souls, like Q'ten Lo. Or you made something of them. But...

But these measures were made without whomever created the System. Emergency, desperate, incomplete measures to contain the cursed energy from souls too powerful to 'work' with what was in place.

However, it was a step in the right direction. Those powerful souls were slowly being consumed for the barrier around Q'ten Lo... When I got back to the Hearth, SITA and I would have one more thing to try...

Another thing I'd noticed, was that the Kitsune I'd met in Siltvelt was here. We'd walked by her 'tomb' near the port town, and Raphtalia's ancestor had mentioned her too. By name! Tulina...

And I had a hunch... And it just so happened I had a child to save too. Leaders, even puppets, didn't tend to survive a revolution... And there was no way I was going to risk a child to an angry mob when Raphtalia's army rolled up. Except it would be her 'will' against the 'people' and unless she wanted to start her 'rule' with a seed of resentment, she would have to do 'something' with the false emperor.

Besides... I was going to have a word with this Makina person...

(Raphtalia)

Raluva was right. All she had to do was stand on the platform.

Those watching saw very little. The glowing pink veins on the sakura trees glowed just a little brighter, Raphtalia's form (in her nice combat miko robes) became hazy for a moment, and the air itself seemed to thicken.

To those more sensitive to the 'energy' of the world, the platform itself was a nexus of energy. Like a curved mirror, it focused the island's energy to a point just below it, and the resulting 'vapour' was suffusing Raphtalia with its energy. This connected her to the island, and the power of the Sakura Lumina.

And to the spirits of her ancestors watching from the shadows? They saw a worthy soul willingly accept the burden of her bloodline, returning to pick up the duty her father tried to spare her from.

But to Raphtalia...

Sometimes, when Kodori described what motivated her, what made her try so hard, to focus to the point she would skip sleep and food to accomplish something... She would get this far off look, smile, and speak of her Goddess. How all Hestia needed to do to motivate her, was smile, and put a hand on her back. The smallest of pushes to encourage you forward. That silent promise that when you returned, your home would be there, waiting for you, and be just as warm as when you left, while the world outside your home was just a little better for you leaving it for just a little while.

As the energy of Q'ten Lo floated around her, Raphtalia understood why Kodori put such high value on the smile Hestia would have when any of her Familia returned home.

"Bring the three heroes here." Raphtalia said, revelling in that warm nebulous feeling that someone important to her was happy she was here, even as she took a single step off of the platform, that hand on her back proud she would leave that warmth to make the world around her just a little better.

"Right away!" Someone said, running back the way they had come.

Raluva stepped forward, just a single step, "Has the blessing worked, Heavenly Empress?"

"It has." Raphtalia said, taking a deep breath to settle her resolve, her Status telling her things she could already feel. "Find and bring all the sakura stones the enemy soldiers had here. I can use them to counter the sealing effects of our enemy, or empower our own soldiers if need be."

Raluva's son snapped to attention, bowed, and ran off to do this thing.

"Look at you, just like your father..." Sadeena smiled, "Oh, thinking about it..."

"Hm?" Raphtalia walked towards her friend and sister, "Just because I'm some kind of Empress, doesn't mean you can't speak up around me." And just because she was in that kind of mood, she booped Sadeena's nose.

Raluva and the assembled leaders tried to hide their shock at seeing such a thing, but Shildina giggled at her sister going cross eyed to look at Raphtalia's prodding digit. "Eh, well, around the hourglass over there, were some stone tablets." Sadeena wiggled her nose, but didn't move away.

Raphtalia turned to look into the darkness at the edge of the grove, "Maybe... something like Cal Mira?" She looked to the assembled town leaders.

"Ah, those have been here since the founding of your bloodline, Empress." One said, bowing, "But I know nothing more." The others added nothing further.

"You called?" Motoyasu, Ren and Itsuki arrived at a jog, "Oh? Problem?" Motoyasu looked around the clearing, his eyes also catching the little details of a fight.

"No, that happened beforehand. Kodori has moved on ahead to deal with 'politics and a problem from Siltvelt'." Raphtalia waved the bit of paper, then stuffed it back into the pocket she had put it in. "Lemme make this official..." She ahemed imperiously, making the town leaders stiffen, but everyone else smile. "Motoyasu, Itsuki, Ren, step forward."

They did, smiling, but letting themselves get taken in by the honest attempt at gravitas.

"Extend your hand." Raphtalia said, taking hold of each of their hands in turn. "This will render most, or even all, of the Sakura Stone sealing effects useless upon you."

Each of their Weapons glowed with the same gentle pink as the trees for just a moment, "Oh, it levelled up the seal resistance..." Ren mumbled. "Thank you."

"It's the best I can do." Raphtalia admitted, "I'm not sure why, but so long as I'm nearby, I can increase the effect."

"What... what about Kodori?" Itsuki asked.

"She'll be fine." Motoyasu said with a shrug. "If she was already here, then she's probably figured it all out and we can just go..." He paused and squinted over Raphtalia's shoulder, "Hey, is that an hourglass?"

"Ah. Yes. Apparently there's one just over there. It has something similar to the Cal Mira stone as well." Raphtalia said, repeating what she'd been told (but she was Empress, so she was already trying to fill the role... stupid politics...)

"We should look... right?" Itsuki asked, "I mean... I think I can read it now. I'd kind of like to try actually."

The other two heroes smiled at the reverse in attitude of their fellow hero, and they walked around the grove's edge, then about five steps into the gloom past the platform. And yes, it was an hourglass. Though, this one was a little... different.

Oh, it was still on the same weirdly ancient stone platform. It was still the same great working of brass and glass. But the trees and moss had grown over it, locking all the spinning bits and clockwork in place. It was as if they had just admitted they couldn't get rid of it, so they ignored it and used it when they needed it.

"Yup. It's an Hourglass." Motoyasu nodded. "Yeah, those look almost exactly like the Cal Mira stone. Oh, wasn't there more of these in the hydra tomb?"

"Stupid word squiggles." Tetsu blinked at the vine wrapped stones, then turned away to rub her eyes. On her head, Kotetsu was also rubbing at her eyes with the back of her little clawed hand.

"Confirms that bit." Ren said, "Itsuki? You want to try first then?"

"Power up methods, Bow Hero... oh backwards..." He started slowly, "Bow Hero power up methods, number one. Increase the capabilities and rarity of the weapon itself, and find powerful rare weapons. But we knew that... The next one..." He shuffled over a step, "Ore enhancement... But wasn't that..." He looked to Motoyasu.

"Yeah. But seeing it in writing like this..." Motoyasu grinned, "When I read this..." He moved to the first stone, then nodded, "Yeah, it tells me about ore enhancement first, then..." Shuffle shuffle, "Then... oh, Mastery? That was yours, right Ren?"

The non-heroes of the group watched as the three of them shuffled around, mumbled about various power up methods, and basically confirmed what Kodori had already figured out before they'd collectively pulled their heads out of their power trips.

They just had to believe, and it would work.

Then, after a bit of intense 'staring into the middle distance of the Status screen', they all asked, "I wonder what it said for her?"

(Kodori)

The new capital was... pretty nice actually. Surprisingly so, honestly. No... suspiciously nice. Living in Orario, I was familiar with 'super powered construction'. When you had someone with the strength of a backhoe but the dexterity of a person, you could accomplish some amazing things.

That's what this 'new capital' made me think. It was far too big, to clean, to perfect. But that wasn't what bothered me. Looking at it from the highest place I could (Q'ten Lo had all kinds of small cliffs and mountains that were very pretty, but useless for anything else but monster nests), it was clear this was a pet project for the Emperor's Puppet Master, and all her friends.

The new capital was split into clear districts, each with a nice mini-castle in the middle, a nice little area around it, then a... less nice area around that. And where those two 'less nice' areas met? Slums.

Oh, sure, the city had nice main lanes. Where the nobility could travel and never have to look at the 'less nice' areas. But from where I was sitting, it was like those mini-castles were just nice looking weeds. Sucking the vitality out from around them to rise over the rest.

Of course, the nicest castle was in the middle, and that would be my target...

But alone, I would have to do some planning. I had invested so much into everyone but myself, those tablets I'd read by the hourglass were... Well, not useless, but I couldn't actually do much with that information without some serious item hunting. To be fair, most of my collection of monster drops and the like had gone into the Hearth and powering up Kotetsu. And I wouldn't do anything differently for her.

And some of it, I'd already been using. Like force-upgrading the Book Shield by throwing more mana at a spell than it called for until the Book started to adapt... And yes, I could 'gamble' refined metals to upgrade the Shield forms... But that was stupid and wasteful. I would much rather make a new Shield, custom to my needs... Like the Shield of Marius. Yes, fine, you are a good Shield... Then there was using the Vassal Weapon upgrade methods... Except, we didn't have any from this world to use...

Then there was 'Trust'. Those I trusted, and those who trusted me...

I didn't have 'visual confirmation' yet. But I knew this world was fake. Far too much evidence was pointing in that direction. But this? I mean... Power of Friendship? Seriously?

"Well." I said to the Shield, "I trust them to do what needs to be done. And I trust you to get between me and stuff that wants to hurt the people I care about." I turned the little Hagane Red kite shield around so I was 'talking' to the green eye-like gem. "But, putting a number on how much a person trusts another, and only within sight, or in a party, or something like that, is wrong."

Of course, the Shield didn't answer.

"If a person only trusts another, when they can be seen, then you are treating them like children who cry when a parent leaves the room." I smiled, thinking of my own children, and how I almost missed this stage of their life. When 'out of sight' meant 'out of reality'.

"Some of my friends here may have started as children. But they are not. I have done my best to teach them to act without me. To discern the best actions with, or without my presence. They only need to trust that I have taught them what they need for when I am absent, or I will provide what I can when I am present." I gave the edge of the gem a light brush with my fingertip, "Understand?"

(Raphtalia)

"What's so funny?" Kuro asked Tetsu as the dragon-newt started giggling (quietly).

"It felt like I was getting a headpat for being a clever girl."

Raphtalia, who was in the middle of trying to organize the squad leaders to push for the capital smiled, since she had felt it too. Of course, no one would dare give (sarcastic) her Heavenly Tanuki Ears a headpat out in the open like this...

But she had felt something. And it made her smile.

Thus smiling, she looked to those around her, "Take everyone who isn't staying to keep the walls here, and get to the nearby settlements. I will join the troops thrusting towards the new capital, while you all protect the people behind us."

(Kodori)

"I'm glad we have an understanding. At least, I hope we do. Even if you won't let me do things my usual way. Now, let's sort out what I have and see about removing some corruption..."

(Raphtalia)

"You know." Sadeena started as she got on a (professionally ignoring Tetsu) filolial, "You did turn the barrier off, right?"

"Yes." Raphtalia replied, pausing her check of Tetsu's saddle, letting the dragon do it herself, "What of it?" She asked, looking over her 'team'.

Shildina (who's filolial seemed to have a bit of an issue, its eyes crossed, little bird tongue hanging out of the side of its beak) was trying to figure out where the keys went to her filolial. Fohl was helping her (because they did not need keys Miss Shildina!). Atla was talking with Kuro. Motoyasu and the other two heroes were pulling and replacing items from their inventories with each other.

"Why not take a day to return home and check in? The hourglass will let you do that, right?" Sadeena gave her filolial a pat, "The other half of our army is going to take a little while to get to the new capital-"

Raphtalia shot the idea down, maybe a little too forcefully, "No!" She took a breath, "No. We spent almost no effort here, while the other half of our army is marching to catch up. We are so far ahead of them we can double back and help."

"Come on, you've been going almost non-stop since-"

"No." Raphtalia repeated, but at a more civil volume. "You have no idea how much I hate the position I'm in." She lowered her voice, "The last time it happened, something bigger came by and took away everything I loved. I will not just take a vacation when people are marching and dying for me. Not when I can help, unlike last time."

"You sound just like her now." Sadeena smiled, a little sadly.

"Good. We might not be at the same level, or even see eye to eye on a lot of things. But inaction will get people killed, willing or not." She put a hand on Sadeena's arm, "After though, I plan on going to a hot spring."

"I'll remind you that you said that." Sadeena leaned down and gave Raphtalia a headpat, just like she used to before the first Wave took everything. "I'm not ready to retire my own big sister title just yet."

"Good." She allowed the (most scandalous!) headpat to persist just a moment longer, stepped away, and looked around, "Boys?"

"We're mostly done? I think?" Ren scratched his head, eyes in the middle distance, "I feel really bad, now that I know how this world's economy works..."

"We should apologize to the Queen later." Itsuki said, "Me especially..."

Rishia gave his shoulder a pat, while Solitaire (in humanoid form still) frowned, "I can't bite something I can't see... even if it's upsetting you."

"Fohl, Atla?"

"This one is just a little special, that's all." Atla said, poking the somewhat confused looking filolial in the beak, getting no reaction at all.

"All set. Though I haven't seen S'yne and SITA recently..." Fohl sighed, "Are you sure you want this one, Miss Shildina?"

"I think so yes." She smiled, almost as vacant looking as the bird she was on, but holding her new spear with perfect form.

"They're more... Look, I know she's done a great job." Sadeena started, but stopped when Raphtalia looked at her, locking eyes as she got on Tetsu's back.

"She'll save the world, because if she doesn't, she can't get home. I can trust her to do that. Even I can tell she's getting impatient... and she can't... she can't accomplish her goals if she's getting caught up in everything..."

Sadeena kept silent, falling in behind Raphtalia as Tetsu stomped towards the gate.

"We're going to support the other side of the army, and then hit the new capital with full power." Raphtalia declared, getting a cheer from the few soldiers she was bringing, and the civilians who were watching.

(S'yne and SITA a bit later)

"Huh." SITA said, giving one of the tablets near the hourglass a head tilt, "This is quite interesting."

The white haired Vassal of the Sewing kit didn't pause her own examination of the hourglass itself, "Can you read it?"

"Not exactly." SITA smiled, "It's... like a secret message that needs a 'key' to translate. A cipher. Except, the 'keys' are the four Weapons of this world. Each of them will translate this a different way."

"So...?"

"My 'key' is translating this to gibberish. Given a little time, I could probably crack it. But it's a little low on the priority chart unless orders get changed. Just gonna save it for now." SITA made a pair of 'L' with her hands and framed the tablets in order. "How about you?"

"This hourglass... I think the people who made this island a prison broke it just enough to protect this area from the Waves." S'yne poked the Hourglass with a fingertip, dragging it downwards over the brassy metal and cleaning a little line of dust off the surface. "Now if that's the case..."

"Hmm." The two said together, looking at the neglected hourglass the same way, heads tilted, one hand to their chin, frowning.

"I will record and report. But if we stop the Waves in the wrong way, it may diverge from the known path to get Kodori home." SITA said.

Then from behind them, "Ah, so her minions arrive to tamper further?"

S'yne's hand went to the little pin-pillow at her side, but fell away when SITA waved her off. "Hello spirit." She greeted with her usual cheer. "I am part of the Legendary Toolbox, SITA. This is S'yne, Hero of the Sewing Kit, and Vassal Weapon holder of my world." The words were a slight variation of 'polite formal greeting number three'.

"You are both intruders, not unlike the holder of the Spirit Shield." The ghost said, his faceless head turning slightly to 'look' down at the cheerful fairy AI. "What wickedness do you intend then?"

It was clear to S'yne the ghost was ready to fight, but there was more disappointment in his voice than aggression. SITA either ignored it, or didn't pick up on it, and replied with a cheerful, "Nothing wicked at all! Think of it like... turning a mirror just enough to get the sun through a window."

Faceless or not, the Ghost shifted backwards slightly in confusion. "This place has... nothing to do with mirrors... what do you speak of?"

"Oh I get to explain science stuff!" SITA did a little jump in place, clapping her hands, "Okay... Kodori wants to return home. But to do that she needs to get a message through..."

It took a little while, but even a curmudgeonly old Ghost Guardian like this one couldn't stand against SITA's enthusiasm and super simple teaching methods.

"So... To call home, she is building a signal fire. And to make its fire bright enough, she has created or built atop of nine different points?"

"Yes." SITA did another little happy jump/clap/smile/sparkle. "Now, I know her methods are a little... rough. But she's just a worried mother."

"That does not ex-"

"No no. I don't want you to forgive her if you don't wanna. Just understand. And, if you cooperate with me, you might even be able to wander around more! I need to connect this place to the others, but since you're part of this little system here, you should be able to move around it too!"

S'yne wondered how SITA learned to be a used carriage saleswoman.

"I will admit, my duty here has been... monotonous. I am not complaining or shirking my duty! But..."

"And." SITA got ready to deliver the 'big sell', knowingly or not. "One of the trees is right next to where Raphtalia has built a town all her own! She had a rough start, sure, but with a bit of help, great friends, and lots of hard work, she's done a lot!"

The Ghost of Raphtalia's ancestor didn't stand a chance against SITA's sale's pitch. "If you can promise the prisons of those entombed here will not be disturbed, I will assist you."

"Wonderful! Now... Take my hand. It might tingle a little, but I'll be the perfect Guest here."

(Just S'yne now)

S'yne watched SITA and the Ghost shake hands, then vanish as if sucked away from reality. Around her, the glowing pink trees (she was honestly getting a little tired of pink) brightened slightly, faded to almost nothing, brightened again...

Then... it was as if nothing had happened.

A moment later though, her Status screen gave her a little message. Connection restored. World Travel possible.

And a moment after that, a little icon started blinking gently at the corner of her screen (out of the way, just in case she was in combat or otherwise busy, a very considerate icon indeed). With a little 'blink click', S'yne poked the icon, and a little chat window popped up.

Well done! (heart emote)! I am getting what I need now from all points. (smile emote). Need a little time to make it work. Go forth my Vassal Weapon Hero! Make sure the boss comes back? (Firework emote)!

S'yne smiled to herself, then went through the painstaking effort of slowly blink-clicking letters on a tiny pop-up keyboard.

ofcrs. bck sn. (Of course. Back soon.)

No, she didn't bother with spelling mistakes... And certainly couldn't use one eye to hold down the little up arrow while she blinked the other eye to select a letter. But SITA was a smart cookie. Now, she had to find her boss...

So, she took out a pin from her Weapon, admired the little black nub on top, and put it back into the pin-pillow.

(Kodori)

Without knowing exactly why, my hand reached out to catch something. The reflex was closer to 'arrow parry' than 'sword defence' and my hand closed around something heavy and soft.

"S'yne. You are just in time." I said as S'yne appeared next to me, my hand holding her up but the back of her collar... since her arrival left her dangling in mid-air next to the little spur of rock I was on. Unable to help myself, I pulled my arm in carefully and hugged her close, "There there."

S'yne let out a little sigh of relief and said flatly, "My hero." But then smiled, "It's done. Just need to... 'make it work'. We don't need to test the emergency transports now either. The barrier between here and the Hearth is down." She looked around, then just settled into my lap, "You're very comfortable."

"So I've been told." I smiled, shifting over a little, then getting her off my lap, but letting my tails wrap around her back since there was about fifty meters of air under where she'd arrived and only enough space for one and a half butts on the rock I was on. "I have an idea, and you can help make it work."

NOTES!

Have I mentioned Kodori was a Canadian?

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