On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

One Hundred And Six

“I guess this is the beauty of staying in a very expensive Suite room. Twenty-four hour room service.” I poured my sister another glass of champagne from the fresh bottle that I had brought to us. “Still, you definitely pay for convenience.”

“I don’t find that convincing coming from someone who has two bags stuffed full of money just lying about their room.” My sister retorted, taking a sip. “So why’d you fetch it from outside? The poor guy looked put out until you tipped him.”

“Oh come on.” I snorted. “You think I can let him come in? This place smells like a damn brothel.”

“And just how do you know what a brothel smells like, eh big bro? You haven’t been keeping secrets from us, have you?”

“It was a figure of speech, all right? You know I’m not interested in that sort of thing.” I responded, protesting my innocence, only to be met by a vicious grin from my sis.

“I know, I’m just messing with you. I think you owe me that much after tonight, right bro? If I was to tell our dad just what you got up to here…” she winked at me slyly.

“I get it, I do. This wasn’t the time or the place for… for Eri and I. I said I’m sorry, didn’t I?”

“Yeah well, I’ll have you both make it up to me. Shaeula too. I thought I was safe out here, and then…” she flushed, covering her embarrassment by taking a long sip of the champagne. “Hey, this is really good. Did you get an expensive one?”

I had to smile at her reaction. But yes, It was expensive. “Only the best for my very forgiving sister. So anyway, you wanted to ask me some questions, right? I suppose I can answer them while Shaeula works on Eri. I had dressed myself in casual clothing, and Shaeula had helped the exhausted Eri put on pyjamas, and they were now using the small bed I slept on in the other bedroom, Shaeula working intensely on stabilising the wildly overloaded chakra network Eri had awakened through our love-making and Kin Bond.

“Wow, oh where to begin? I have so many questions, they’ve been running through my mind non-stop all week. It’s good school hadn’t restarted yet, or I’d have flunked my entrance exams, and it would have been your fault that everyone would have said I was a dumbass. Anyway, first I guess…” her gaze went to the closed door, behind which Eri and Shaeula were working. “… just how the hell does this chakra stuff even work? I mean, if it was as easy as just the visualisation exercises Shaeula makes us do, then magical girls and wizards would be everywhere, right? Come on, explain it to me bro, you should know.”

I sure wish it was that simple. Wow, this champagne is really good… Taking a drink I nodded. “Oh, there is more to it I’m sure. I guess I’ll have to start from what I’ve been told by Shaeula, and also priests and kami from the shrines.”

“Hold on, back up. You’ve spoken to kami? Like, actual, honest-to-goodness real gods? Wow, that’s… I can’t even deal.”

“I don’t see why you are so shocked. I think Shaeula is close enough to what we would call a kami, isn’t she? I’ve not met a major god from myth or anything like that… but we are getting off topic. Basically, and get ready, for I struggled to process this one myself… our ideas of history seem to have some major flaws.”

“Not just history, science too, I’d say. Hey, you think if I wrote a paper on all this I could win a Nobel prize or something? The first Nobel prize-winner in magic… sounds cool, huh?”

“I think you might be drunk.” I reached out and put my hand on her forehead, trickling in aether. As she shivered as warmth permeated her, I carried on talking. “Anyway, it seems that up until around fifteen hundred years ago, give or take, there was a lot more spiritual presence to the world. I don’t want to make it too complicated, but there is at least one more reality that is connected to our own, called the Astral, as opposed to where we live, the Material. And it used to be overlapping far more than it does now, so a lot of tales of faeries, yokai, kami and sorcerers… they had some basis in truth.”

“I see. So something changed, right?” she asked, leaning into my hand.

“Yeah. I’m not sure what, but it seems that humans started persecuting those that had powers or were spiritual beings. There were wars and horrible genocides on both sides… but in the end it seems humanity won out. Whether that caused the Astral to recede from the Material, or it was this recession that weakened the mystical and emboldened us humans… well, unless we find someone or something old enough and wise enough to ask, we can’t know for certain.”

“It’s just like a manga.” My sister sighed. “It still doesn’t answer my question about how it all works though.”

“Well, spiritual power seems to be connected to the Astral… well, the Boundary, we call it now, the point where the edge of the Astral and our Material worlds meet. As it has declined, so has the abilities of those born with special powers. It may shock you, but magic did exist still, even before this, even if Kana-chan does say it’s pathetic, it’s only use to get you captured and dissected as a guinea pig in some underground laboratory.”

“Okay, that’s cool and all, but who is Kana-chan? Is this another one of your girls, big bro? You’ve committed to Eri now, best get rid of any temptations hanging around!” my sister pouted.

“It’s nothing like that. She’s a shrine maiden at the shrine near my house in Tokyo, and she’s from a long bloodline of mystics. Her gift is the ability to see spiritual strangeness, so she spotted us one day and from there I was introduced to the shrine.”

“Got a thing for shrine maidens, haven’t you bro, you big perv. That one at our shrine too. Though I bet Eri would look gorgeous in a shrine maiden cosplay. You’d like to see that, wouldn’t you bro? I bet you’d have her in bed in… ugh, oh god, now I’m thinking of that again! My poor brain!”

Actually, yes I certainly would. Shrine maiden attire looks best on traditionally beautiful Japanese girls, and Eri fits the bill perfectly. But that’s for another time… “Cheer up sis, I said I’d make it up to you. Tomorrow you can go wild when we go shopping.”

“I’ll hold you to that bro. anyway, you were just telling me about your insatiable lust for shrine maidens…”

“No, I don’t think I was. But anyway… it turns out that the shrines have been keeping the bloodlines of those who can use mystic abilities from disappearing. They have almost no power, but it does tie in to what you’ve asked me, I think. Anyway, the shrines that do have old blood, going back to fifteen hundred years ago when everything changed, they keep in contact with each other, and so that’s why I’m now heavily involved with them. Not to hit on girls, okay?”

“I guess I’ll believe you. for now, anyway. So, sum it up for me bro, I’ve heard a lot of interesting history, but not much about how magic works?”

“Well, I think that those who have mystical abilities have a rudimentary chakra network already. I think we all have the potential within us, but without a functioning root chakra we can’t draw in any energy to stimulate it. So Shaeula uses her own aether, which is what we call the form of the energy we use, to kickstart your root. From there on you do the exercises to draw in aether from the surroundings, gradually activating the rest of your chakras. After all, the Astral, from where aether flows down into the Boundary and then a trickle comes to the Material, seems to be a realm of the mind. Your strength of mind, insight and mental image are what gives aether form and compels it to act.”

“I see. That… kind of does make sense. It’s a little similar to the stages of kyudo, I thought that before. Although I’m only at the second stage, and even then only sometimes. When I am in that zone, where the arrow truly pierces the target, the Kanteki, it feels a bit like when I am drawing in this aether, like Shaeula taught us.”

“Maybe kyudo is a technique inheriting some spiritual knowledge? I daresay you’ll only get better as you train. Anyway, with Shaeula’s eyes able to detect problems as they arise, I think it’s very likely you’ll be able to use aether eventually. I remember when Shaeula looked at the work Exposition-san had done activating my network, she was disgusted at how poor a job it was. Apparently if you draw in too much and your network isn’t properly constructed, it can cause you great damage. Strange really.” I mused. “Exposition-san said that they could have given me more power to start with, but that would limit my growth. You’d think they’d have done a better job of it, then… or maybe Shaeula is just really particular about what makes a functioning chakra network… I don’t know…”

“That’s all very well bro.” my sister leaned in, having emptied her champagne. “And I think I get it now, but you also said you were almost killed tonight earlier, so how about we talk about that, huh? You’ve been trying to keep us safe, but haven’t followed your own advice, eh? Well, why don’t you tell your very loving little sister all about it?”

Oh yeah, I did mention that. Oh well… still, you’d be more convincing if the front of your pyjamas weren’t covered in stains…

********

“I believe-believe we have succeeded.” Shaeula led Eri out into the lounge area. “For now the network has been stabilised, the chakras in harmony, if rather strangely formed. Still-still…” she continued, looking over Eri with her glowing eyes once more. “If she does not regularly draw in aether to strengthen herself, and continually adjust her chakras until they normalise, I fear-fear she may damage her subtle body.”

“Thanks a lot, Shaeula.” Eri thanked her, bowing to her and then wincing, her legs twitching. She then walked over to me stiffly, her gait strange and bow-legged. Sitting down beside me she leaned against me, her hair now down and tickling me. “Sorry to worry you Akio. I’ll be fine now.”

Pulling her into a hug I kissed her gently, this time just a brief peck on her lips. “It’s my job to worry about you, isn’t it? Anyway… you were walking a bit stiffly. Does it still hurt?”

She nodded. “A bit. It still…” she looked down shyly then, reddening once more. “… it still feels like something is inside me.”

“I’ll help.” I let my aether flow into her, repairing the damage our first time had caused. She moaned, feeling an itching inside as her body repaired itself with the aether. Her body heat was transmitted through the thin cloth we were wearing, and I found myself thinking back to our lovemaking, getting aroused again. Eri shifted, flustered, but Aiko and Shaeula were quick to shoot me down.

“No! bad bro, bad! Eri needs rest, and I need time to recover from the trauma!” my sis protested.

“You can not-not be reckless with her now.” Shaeula also stopped me. “Should you pour more energy into her through your Bonds, my efforts will be wasted and her safety may be imperilled.”

The thought of hurting her immediately dampened my ardour and I nodded. “Sorry Eri.”

“Don’t be sorry, I’m just happy you want me.” She answered, smiling sweetly despite her discomfort. Hell, she’s such an angel. Now I’ve moved beyond seeing her as a little sister, a young girl, to seeing her as a woman, her charms are blasting my resolve non-stop!

“I would ask that-that you use your Kin Examination skill upon Eri.” Shaeula said. “My eyes can see much, but a different perspective might also prove helpful.”

“All right.” I nodded. “This might feel a little strange, but it isn’t harmful, okay?” I held her hand.

“You can see anything of mine you want to.” Eri agreed, coyly. “After all, you’ve seen everything on the bed.”

All right then. I concentrated, and as aether left me silvery letters formed, spelling out Eri’s status for me. I’m shocked it worked, I guess this proves she has entered the battle for the future of Earth. I’m worried for her, but also happy she can stand at my side and I don’t have to keep secrets anymore…

I was surprised by several things when I checked her stats, trying to concentrate, ignoring the pleased sounds Eri was making in my arms. “It’s like… he is peering into my very soul…” she was muttering.

Firstly, her Material stats were… well… I always knew she was smart, she has a better Intellect than I started with, I’m feeling a little inadequate… but as expected, her physical stats were poor. What surprised me though was her rather high Alacrity. I wouldn’t have expected Eri to have talent in that area…

She also seemed to have some Intangible stats already, which seemed odd. But they weren’t that high so I guessed it didn’t matter. But the most puzzling of all.

She has a level cap of 3? How? And this skill, Lovers’ Link… On inspecting it I had my answer.

Lovers’ Link- This ability links the subtle bodies and hearts of the Bonded together, allowing them to share in the strength each possesses. If nearby the possessor and their Bonded one can freely share a small portion of their strengths with each other. It also strengthens the potential of the Bonded pair, allowing their maximum level to increase by a portion of the other’s current levels. It also ??????? ??????? ???????? ???????? and as it strengthens ?????? ??????? ??????.

Damn, question marks again… still… that skill, it’s really great, but also somehow really embarrassing. As I felt the conflicting emotions, Shaeula was looking at me expectantly.

“Well-well, speak of what you have learned.” She arched a blond eyebrow sardonically at me.

“I’m curious too, you don’t mind, do you Eri?” my sis asked, and she shook her head.

“Of course not. We are all the best of friends here… and besides.” She smiled shyly. “I think I’ve shared something way more embarrassing with you both tonight.”

As I read out what I could see, my sis snorted. “This is just like a video game. How does that even work?”

“No idea.” I confessed. “I think it is the skill I got from Exposition-san, that it turns everything into a system I find easy to understand, which helps me grow stronger. He did say that if he gave me too much strength it would hamper my growth, so that’s my surmise. Plus it comes with Appraisal, which is a standard cheat skill in these tales, right? Although mine is determined to hide any useful information under a whole bunch of damn question marks…” I coughed to cover my embarrassment as I ranted on a sore subject for me. “Anyway…” I continued. “Without knowing what powers other Astral Emperor-candidates have, I can’t be sure. Maybe they all have a system like this and I got cheated? I’ve only met the one so far, and I don’t know his powers, although…” I smiled maliciously. “After he tried to kill me, I really want to go and bust up his Territory to teach him a lesson. Getting away with the money wasn’t enough, I won that despite his massive amount of cheating!”

“Yes, I believe we should teach him a lesson indeed, as a warning to him-him.” Shaeula nodded, then her gaze turned on me, amber eyes looking predatory, more like a lion’s than a weasel’s. “That skill, Lovers’ Link. I have been stuck at level five-five for quite some time. I believe if I was to acquire this skill, the extra…”

“Oh no you don’t.” my sis rapped her on the head with her knuckles, stopping her tirade. “I know where you are going with this, but you are not having sex with my bro too.”

“I do not see-see the problem. Eri would forgive me for this, would you not? It is for our growth.”

“Shaeula… dear…” Eri said, her voice bright yet brittle. “I don’t think it would be appropriate. Akio is my boyfriend, not yours, and if you do sex purely for gain, it is nothing but prostitution. A princess shouldn’t be a whore now, should she?”

Uhh… that’s so… I can’t believe Eri said that…

“Wow, oh my god, sick burn Eri. But… even I think… that’s kind of harsh…” my sister agreed with me.

Shaeula tilted her head, puzzled. “It would not be purely for gain though would it-it? I would not offer myself to any other purely for this. I find Akio rather splendid after all-all…”

“The answer is still no!” Eri snapped, grasping me tight. “We’ve only just given each other our virginities, so now is not the time for this, all right?”

“Very well-well, you are rather fraught right now, I concede.” Shaeula shrugged. “Another time perhaps.”

Eri’s face says ‘no’, but at least we are off this topic…

“I believe that when we punish the fool who attacked you, master, we should take Eri along with us-us. It should be of little difficulty for her to gain those levels while under our protection, and the strengthening would make her network more-more stable, I have little doubt.” Shaeula offered a suggestion, and Eri jumped in.

“You’ll protect me, won’t you Akio? I’ll be safe with you, and if I can see the world that you see… I’d do anything for that. We’ve promised each other our everything, remember, and this strange world is also a part of your life now.”

If it is just gaining a few levels… “Not on the Territory assault, you’ll have to return before that but… getting you to level three should be fine.”

“I love you Akio!” she kissed me again, this time deeply, and I reflexively started groping her, leading to hot sighs leaking from her lips.

“Hey, stop that, you can’t right now, remember! Besides, you forgot I exist again!” Aiko was annoyed and rather drunk, finishing off another glass of champagne. “I’m left out again. I’m starting to feel really upset, you know.” And with that her eyes filled with moisture. “Now even Eri gets to go with you, while I’m stuck all alone… it isn’t fair. I want to be with you too, big bro, Eri, Shaeula…” she sniffled, a few small tears leaking out.

Disentangling myself from Eri, who nodded reassuringly at me, I walked over to my sis and patted her head in consolation. “Oh come on sis, we aren’t excluding you. I’d take you in a heartbeat if I was able to, you know that, right?” Is there another way to accelerate her growth? Hmm, there is one, but…

“I’ve an idea, it isn’t going to be easy but…”

Before I could finish Aiko gasped drunkenly. “Wait, big bro, you can’t mean…? No, no, NO!” she flushed crimson and scuttled back out of my grasp. “We are brother and sister, we can’t do that. Wow, that’s just … ewww. I’m flattered you’d go that far for me, and if you weren’t my big bro moonstone I’d totally think about it, but… and what about Eri? It’d be cheating on her! We can’t have sex bro, no way, lecher, pervert, cheater!”

We all watched her dumbfounded as she rattled on, before she paused, realising she had completely misunderstood. With a groan she hid her face, lying face down on the sofa, kicking her legs like a toddler. “Just kill me okay? Please? I don’t know what came over me…”

“I do, you are absolutely hammered.” I sighed. “Me, do something so base with my beloved little sis sapphire?” I stole and reversed her usual putdown, inflection and tone perfect. “No way. Seriously, keep up with your training, and when my Territory upgrades… I think I can find a way to help.”

“Fine. I’ll hold you to that bro. and sorry again. I know you aren’t a cheater. Just a lecher and a pervert.”

As we laughed at my sis and her attempts to lighten the mood after her implosion, I shared the last bottle of champagne with Eri and Shaeula, and we talked and joked until tiredness inevitably dragged them down, my sis passed out on my bed in a drunken stupor, Eri sleeping quietly in my arms. As I carried her gently to bed and tucked her in, Shaeula watched me with a solemn expression.

“I find myself very pleased to be here, master. With you, Eri and Aiko. I would not-not want you to forget that, nor mistake my motives. I do not deny I perhaps was rather too greedy at the thought of being able to strengthen myself, but-but…” she paused, and her eyes met mine, her gaze serious and pure. “… I am no harlot, offering my body to gain favour or rewards. I say it now-now, and I mean it, I swear upon my Oaths and the Throne of the Seelie itself, you are the only male I desire.”

It was impossible to look away, or somehow pretend I didn’t understand. Still… I have Eri now, and…

My unproductive words were cut off by the feel of her soft lips on mine, as she stood on tiptoes to reach my face. I blinked for a moment, shocked, and she pulled away, running her fingers over her now wet lips. “Mmm, that was indeed quite something, I can see why Eri likes it so-so.”

Before I could protest, Shaeula grinned at me. “Small compensation for my aid in repairing the damage to Eri. I shall content myself with this for now-now, and surely Eri cannot begrudge me this small favour.”

I think she can… but, I guess I can’t pretend I don’t understand Shaeula’s flirtations any more. The dense protagonist route is too hard, when the girl kisses you and says you are the only man she wants, it’s impossible to twist it to anything but love, isn’t it? For now… for now though, the best thing is to stay as we are. I am not going to hurt Eri, I promised. So… Lost in thought I gestured to my side. “It’s a couple of hours until dawn. We don’t need much sleep with our stats, so did you want to watch the sunrise with me?”

Shaeula nodded, coming over and taking my hand in hers. “I would like that, Akio. I would like that very much-much.”