On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Three Hundred And Eighty-Four

Wait, isn’t that…? My thoughts were turned inwards, to where the Divine Favour of Laverna, anchored to me by my modest stocks of adherence, was pulsing like a flame, resonating with the Grasping Hand Of Heaven. My Eye blazed, and looking at the Favour, I could see that it was also spatially aspected.

I have no idea why you are so surprised. Space is certainly a conceptual matter, but it is also unquestionably something real. Can something exist without somewhere for it to exist in? This Boundary clearly exists. Arisu lectured me, though I could sense her curiosity. You saw the gap within my Room, the dimensions that lie within other dimensions, perhaps. It makes me wonder. Is String Theory actually correct? Are dimensions so tiny as to be almost unnoticeable hidden within the larger dimensions?

That hurts my head. I’ll stick to three dimensions, thank you. Haru-san cracked a joke, trying to lighten the mood. The twins echoed her, and surprisingly, Arisu-san directed kind thoughts at them.

You are both still young. There is time for learning later. Find something you enjoy, and it is fun. Do not end up lacking learning, such as Oshiro-san here.

That hurts my feelings! I just haven’t specialised in this field. I defended myself as a distraction from the boiling pain throughout my body, the pressure of the spatial element that was slowly dismantling me from both within and without. Arisu-san isn’t wrong though, girls. You should take advantage of your enhanced stats to learn all you can. So… huh, it’s not just the Favour…

I was distracted by the pain, so hadn’t noticed that a certain amount of the spatial energy was disappearing, when it reached the Foehn that was nestled in my lunar chakra. The flames were greedily consuming some, which was slightly lessening the pressure. That makes me wonder…

Focusing on Foehn, I let it blaze, spreading through my body as if it was a part of me. Spatial element burned away, reducing the tide that was flowing into me, lessening the pressure. All right, I’ve bought myself some time. Hyacinth, are you all right?

I will be fine. I am nooot drawing in the nasty element, unlike you, Akio. My body is crumbling, but with yooour Healing, I can endure. Her smile was bright, though her eyes were pained.

No, that’s no good, give me a second… Foehn blazed, and I had to handle it very carefully, so as not to consume Hyacinth, but it formed a sort of thinly transparent citrine dome, reducing the density of spatial element around her too. She shuddered in relief, and I let out a relieved sigh. That buys us more time. We could always retreat and try again later, but… we haven’t achieved anything concrete yet…

I can open the Room at any time. There is no need for haste. White is worried for you. Arisu-san’s thoughts came to me, mirroring my own.

Don’t listen to her Aki, I have every faith in you! Although Arisu is right! We’re not in any rush, we can take it slow. There’s no need for you and Hyacinth to risk yourselves. Shiro denied her words, but her actual thoughts were similar.

True. Though I get the feeling haste is important. Not Foresight. I reassured everyone. Just… we have a lot of big threats to face. Time is precious. Besides, we’re nowhere near our limits, are we Hyacinth?

Nooo. Compared to the struggles learning to use the spooores, this is nooothing! She squeezed me tightly, the veil of thin yellow flames around her shimmering violet as it consumed the sparkling motes of spatial element created by the contorted, twisted space.

You know, it’s eerily beautiful. Looking at the rippling flames, I was momentarily entranced. It’s a shame that we can’t record this for the others…

I can share it with them later. But is now the time for idle thoughts? If you make a mistake, you’ll regret it. You don’t want to end up like me… Haru-san’s thoughts filled me. There might not even be a spirit left of you to make a ghost if you get burned by those flames. I remember them… she shuddered, and for a moment her control slipped, and I saw an image of the burning Kiku, who I had long put out of my head.

You are right. Sorry. When this is done, we’ll take a day off, go out for some relaxation. A company excursion maybe? Now… the flow was diminished, and my Ether Healing could easily handle the damage. Now all that remained was forcing my crown chakra to absorb and start replicating the energy. Though that is far easier said than done.

Your methods of empowerment are quite novel. Rather than relying on strengthening your gift, the power you were bestowed, you have expanded to gaining these elements and skills. The first rule of science is that something has to be measurable to be considered proven. We had no way of measuring such, so did not believe such existed, is that not right, White? Arisu-san advised.

Tan had an idea, but she was more focussed just on finding suitable people to eat. Damn, now I say that, we sound truly evil. Well, it’s not like they weren’t bad people. Except… uh… now I feel sorry for Daizen… Shiro was apologetic.

He would have betrayed us in the end. I know his sort. Arisu-san had no sympathy, as cold as usual. But you are missing the point. I am praising the research I have seen here. After all, I see nowhere else that ordinary people can learn abilities that could potentially rival our gifted ones in the end.

That’s not true, unfortunately. There are Cultivators, such as Daiyu, and who knows just what Mary Stuart’s group was doing, but they had plenty of ordinary people in the Boundary. Or is calling them ordinary right? Never mind… my point is, it isn’t just us. I think humanity as a whole is going to grow and advance. Sure, we have the advantage of a head start and a little extra gift or two, but…

Perhaps. But my point is… you have already succeeded. Not just you, but these others. I… intend to strengthen myself as well, in due time. Now, take what you have already learned. Go through from first principles. Repetition is the second principle of science. It must be measurable, then repeatable. And then third… it must be predictable.

I see. I get it. Thanks Arisu-san, you’re right. I got thrown off by how much more damaging spatial element is compared to the others. Only my first time with wind, when I had no idea what I was doing, and my network was shit, even compares… with that said, I had a path to follow. You know, you really are something. A famous actress, and a brainy science girl. Did you ever talk about that before? I’m sure you’d be very popular with a certain subset of guys…

There was a shocked stillness to her thoughts, before amusement from Shiro came though. All right, enough of that. Aki, you’ve embarrassed her, she’s actually surprised! But… I don’t think the guys you are talking about are the sort Arisu is interested in. Who the hell wants to be stalked by a host of Yasu’s? Wait, are you hinting that smart girls are your thing? That makes sense, after all, you love me and I’m a whiz with computers and programming, but…

Enough, White. Stop your idiot ramblings. Be more composed, like Red. Arisu-san cut though Shiro’s babbling. Now… I shall lecture you. So pay attention. Suzuki Haru and the twins here have shared their own experiences in learning additional elements. So has Ixitt. I believe I understand how it all works. Firstly, what is space?

There’s a lot of different definitions. We can probably scrap the computing one, even if it’s the one I’m most familiar with. Mathematically, it’s a bound where the contents can be arrayed, following a set of principles. Again, not terribly useful, but… In terms of spatial element, we’re clearly talking about real, discrete space, no?

That is correct. I would say space is a three-dimensional continuum containing all material objects and energies, and in which everything that exists occurs. I am not convinced on this definition any longer, having seen the Klein Bottle and the dimensions within. But it will do as a starting point.

That I understood, and it was how I comprehended it, from my lessons at school. After all, space wasn’t so much a thing, as a place where everything existed and happened. But then if that was true… That doesn’t fit spatial element though. It’s more what is manipulated by the element, allowing distortion of dimensions, movement that is not contiguous, and more…

My Split Thoughts were continuing to try and tame the rampaging violet energies while shielding Hyacinth, while the rest of my mind was racing. But then… huh. Looking at Foehn and its actions, I considered flame as an element. But then, fire isn’t a thing either, it’s a process. Though the process is usually created by matter, elemental flame burns without fuel…

I shall give that a seventy. Arisu-san marked me harshly. Consider this. Fire element is both the process of burning, the flame, but also the concept of fire. One thing is a phenomenon, the other, it is not real, but it has an effect, nonetheless. Can other elements be paired in such a way?

Light is like that! Light is the same! The twins exclaimed, and I was shared the endearing image of the taciturn, stern former actress patting their heads.

Exactly. Light is the elemental particle, the photon, as well as the concept. I believe that the greater the understanding of both the tangible and the conceptual, the greater the power is. Mastering only the real or the intangible will lead to failure.

It was like a lightning bolt passing through my brain. That’s it! You’re right, I think! Shaeula, when she first tried to teach me wind, all she understood was the conceptual. She didn’t consider it was a movement of the atmosphere, or the gases that made up the air. In fact, wind and air were separate ideas to her. I combined her knowledge with our science, and quickly learned it. In fact…

Your ability with darkness and wood elements are rather crude, no? Probably because they are the most conceptual, right? Haru-san interjected.

Yes, it makes perfect sense. But that you learned them proves you do not need a full understanding, no? Ixitt’s laughter filled our minds. Otherwise, how could these skills continue to grow, to Rank up, as you say?

I will provide the physical understanding. You… you must grasp for the conceptual, the spiritual. You have all the tools at your disposal, I believe. Arisu-san opened her mind, Haru-san routing a surge of easy-to-understand data to me.

All the tools, huh? My lips curled into a wry smile, which made Hyacinth giggle softly. Arisu-san has a way of talking to me like I’m an idiot. Sure, I may not know as much about it as her, but that’s because it’s her hobby and she’s read up on it a lot. I like to think I’m quite smart… oh well, even with the big numbers, we don’t know what we don’t know.

Space, it is either a continuous fabric composed of multiple dimensions, or it is discrete. If it is discrete, it is likely to be so tiny, comprised of one Planck volume, that even trying to imagine it is ludicrous. It is like comparing the size of a person to the scale of intergalactic space between galaxies. The mind cannot comprehend it. Her lecture was clear and understandable, perhaps because as an accomplished actress she was used to ordering her thoughts and expressing herself clearly to her audience. There was a melancholy in her mind, which left me feeling a little sad. I always used to take solace in that. Despite the bitter sorrows the world forced on me, I was merely a speck of dust in a cold, uncaring universe. So my pain mattered nothing in the grand scheme of things…

That’s bullshit, right Aki? Shiro protested, furious. Just because something can be endured, or doesn’t affect others, doesn’t mean it is meaningless. Isn’t that the lesson we tried to teach Hyacinth?

She’s right. Your sorrows are our sorrows, and not just important to you. Shiro cares. I care.

Me too. I’ve known such sorrow, such grief… but now I have daddy back, and friends who would weep for me. In fact… I was a bit hesitant to say… Haru-san broke in. Now that the existence of us Chosen is revealed, you especially… I’ve been able to contact my old co-workers and friends. They… they didn’t exactly believe me, they went to my funeral, after all, but… they’ll give me a chance. So… don’t you give up either, Arisu-san. Anyone who you want back in your life, it’s not too late.

Hardly. Your friends mourned you. Mine betrayed me. I have no need of them. I have White, and Suzanne-san, Bunta-san, and … even you, Oshiro-san. And perhaps you as well, Suzuki-san.

Call me Haru, please. And yes, I think we are similar. But for now… sorry for interrupting.

The banter relaxed me. The overall pressure of spatial element within the warped space was building, so I expanded Foehn, burning it over a wider area. As I did, I noticed the walls starting to warp and smoulder. Walls? Huh… how can… wait. Arisu-san, please keep explaining. I’ll delve into the deeper aspects…

I have the Divine favour of Laverna with me. It deals with spatial energies. And it can move items between the Material and the Boundary. The Boundary also affects the Material and the opposite is also true. Therefore they have to be connected. And for something to be connected it needs to exist in some space.

… for space to be warped, we have already seen it is possible. Through great masses in small areas, space can be deformed, twisted and moved. Gravity is merely the curvature of space, and thus…

It doesn’t have to be connected though. Void Motion can move me instantly. Is it teleportation? No… deep in thought, Hyacinth hugging me, brilliant yellow and violet flames raging around us, I started gathering spatial element, the glittering purple sparks forming a small ring around my crown chakra.

… deform space enough and potentially wormholes can form, connecting two distant points. Though they would collapse under their own gravity, without some exotic matter which likely does not exist. But spatial element, if it had a spiritual aspect, could…

I remember watching Star Trek with mom when I was younger. I wasn’t that big a fan, but I remember thinking there’s no way you’d get me in a teleporter, as it basically disintegrated you and rebuilt you. Would the original die, and would the newly arrived person be the same? Why stop at one copy? Ugh… wormholes are so much more appealing…

One could argue that the smallest unit of space would be an elementary particle, or that the graviton could almost be considered an elementary particle of space. I disagree, as while matter warps space, so does energy as well. You might as well call a photon the particle of space. Arisu-san was in full lecture mode now.

We already have the photon allocated. Light element. But then… huh. Wait. Arisu-san, are you a genius? A flash of inspiration struck me. Spatial element interacts with light element, and increases, as though energy is given to it. Darkness decreases it… almost as if… huh. And spiritually… how many magic systems in fiction have darkness magic as affecting gravity? Quite a few. Wait, what is space as a concept?

Space is where the relationships between things exist. Position is one such, so hence Void Motion. Orientation, hence contorting the dimensions is just changing the orientations…

I wonder. Dark matter, dark energy… unseen forces. So if we consider space to be… Arisu-san was deep in thought now as well. Wait, is it that… I feel such a fool. It is simple, when one thinks about it. I see… White, I see why you put your trust in him. I accepted this power, but I am no puppet. I took it for me. I do not care about the world, it could burn to ashes for all I care. Or I did not care… perhaps now I have reason to not see the world end. After all, who will look after foolish children such as you and Suzanne-san, White? As for the power, power is simply that. Power. How it is used is not up to the giver, but to us, the user. It is not fixed, but…

Whoa, Arisu, you’re… glowing!

Haru-san conveyed the image and Shiro’s surprise to me, and I could see that Arisu-san was now shining fiercely, converting her spatial element into light. Of course, from the way she used her Room in Kyoto, I could tell she was a genius, uniquely suited to wielding her Favour. Must be nice. But then, hard work beats talent right? That was the message from our jump-suited ninja, wasn’t it, although I can’t help but feel the message ended up backwards by the end of that manga… someone talented can also work hard. But if I can’t do it alone, then I’ll do it like now, by borrowing the powers of all my allies, and I can also give back. Those are the bonds we share… bonds. That’s it. I understand!

Hyacinth doooes too. Connection. Her arms tightened around me greedily, despite the blood soiling us giving us a bleak appearance.

Yes, connection. Position, Orientation, Connection. Those three. Shaeula would probably end up calling them the Three Great Powers of Space or something similarly grand. The Silver Cord… that’s a connection. The Boundary… in a way, it’s just a larger silver cord, connecting Earth to the lower Astral, though I doubt it’s that simple. Kin Bonding, Lovers’ Link… they are Connections, their own twisted fragment of space, ignoring distance. No… distance isn’t necessarily a concept for them. Just like Arisu-san and Ixitt managed to create Orientations that should be impossible, why can’t Lovers’ Link, Kin Bonding, Pledged One… why do they have to obey physical limitations of distance?

As the Foehn blazed, Arisu-san sharing her new insights with me, I looked at Foehn, burning around me, and dismissed it. It’s like when we struck the Golden-Eyed Devourer. It was using spatial energies, and could exist separately from itself, a clone, while still being itself. A dark mirror to our bonds. Likewise, Laverna’s ability to move items between the Boundary and the Material implies that the relationship between then can be re-orientated to allow that…

Drawing in the spatial element, I let darkness and light energy glow from my lower chakras and lunar chakra, almost herding the element, pruning it where it was causing damage, expanding it where it was being slowly absorbed into my crown chakra. As it pulsed threads were leaking back down towards the lunar chakra, and my Eye shone as I guided the flows.

Wind was ever-changing, hard to grasp. ethereal. Fire was damaging and destructive. Earth, deep, cold and unyielding. Water was mercurial yet predictable. Combining multiple elements unbalances the others, yet they are in fact designed to work in harmony. Four elements. Two. Then one at the top. Putting aside the composites… there must be underlying principles…

Fascinating. This was not a waste after all. I do so abhor explaining to people who do not understand. Despite her hard words, I felt a little affection from Arisu-san’s thoughts. I think you are correct. After all, my Room is indeed made up of the three aspects, the most important of which is Connection. It is how I created the token which allows me to hear the ripples of space and come to the bearer. However… I believe this would be more effective…

If I may… maybe more like this? Ixitt interjected, and he and Arisu-san entered into a heated exchange of images. Haru-san groaned, trying to ferry them all over with perfect clarity, and the twins were starting to flag. I’ll definitely take them out for a treat after this…

My Spatial Perception skill chimed in, and I made a few small adjustments. The density of spatial element within the Room was diminishing, I was drinking it in deeply, relieving the pressure on Hyacinth. No, it wasn’t just me. Hyacinth had squeezed shut her eyes, and was replicating my techniques. She also had access to darkness and light elements, and was better with darkness than I was. With Haru-san allowing her to see what I could see within me with my Eye, she was replicating it, a touch hesitantly, but her crown was swirling with shining purple stars as well, bending into a series of Möbius strips that were twisted in on each other, like connected infinity symbols.

Those symbols are just like us, our bonds tied together, unbreakable. Which is why we need the strength to keep it that way… like a brilliant flare of a violet supernova, my crown chakra kindled, as did the lunar chakra, now shining with seven brilliant energies, all of which formed a balanced array, like a miniature solar system…

You have gained a skill, Crown Chakra Of Space Rank 3. Your Crown Chakra will generate spatial energy and your ability to absorb and utilise it has increased.

You have gained a skill, Space Manipulation Rank 3. Your ability to…

Your Skill, Lunar Chakra Of Four Elements, Light And Darkness Rank 3 has become Lunar Chakra Of Seven Primal Elements Rank 4. It now generates significant additional elemental energy, and… [Class: Imperious] [Type: Artifice]

Your Skill, False Void Motion Rank 1 has become Void Motion Rank 2. You can now utilise spatial element to relocate yourself within the surrounding area, only being blocked by other spatial distortions and wards.

As the messages scrolled through my vision, I felt a surge of hot power within me. My silver cord was burning, my chakra network also blazing. I’m feeling so much stronger…

Your Skill, Eight Moons Chakra Network has advanced from Rank 5 to Rank 6, passing the first bottleneck. Your generation and ability to use aether and adherence has significantly increased, and your spirit is able to exert greater force. [Class: Imperious] [Type: Rule]

Your Skill, Silver Cord has advanced from Rank 5 to… to… %^%$* *^%% my vision was filled with gibberish nonsense as pain spiked through me. I looked down, only to gasp in horror as my silver cord seemed to disintegrate, turning into motes of sparkling energy in a prismatic rainbow of colours, before being drawn into me. Wait, I’m not dead? For a horrifying moment I wondered if the fact that I could supposedly survive without a Material body was responsible, only to feel a surge of strength flow into me, and the letters rearrange themselves, burning orange, yet now with a slight tinge of rainbow colours flickering at the edges.

Your Skill, Silver Cord Rank 5 has become Silver Connection Rank 5. You no longer have a distinction between physical and spiritual, your body is both and neither, you exist singularly, and can freely enter the Material and Astral worlds. You can create a purely Material or Astral body, connecting it to your main form with a Silver Cord, and if such is destroyed it will injure your true form, though the effect is muted. All abilities involving connections you possess are strengthened. [Class: Imperious] [Type: Rule]

Your form possesses both inherent spiritual and physical properties. You have advanced to a new species, High Human. Since you are possessed of a lunar chakra of sufficient strength and strong Fae attributes, your species, High Human, has become Noble Faeduine, and your ability to manipulate aether and elemental energies has increased.

Your Skill, Body Enhancement has advanced from Rank 4 to Rank 5. You can further…

Your Skill, Split Thoughts has advanced from Rank 4 to Rank 5. Your Split Thoughts work faster, and you are more capable of abstract thought and visualisation. You can run an additional instance of Split Thoughts without taxing yourself.

Your Skill, Spiritually Pure Physique has advanced from Rank 1 to Rank 2. Your resistance to curses, misfortune, poisons and impurities increases significantly. You are also able to resist the slight weakness to cold iron you have inherited due to your greater Fae nature, as combined with your human ancestry you are less afflicted by this. Your ability to generate Spirit Water has strengthened.

You have gained in strength. Your level has increased from one hundred and thirty to one hundred and thirty-four. Your…

Your Material statistics have all significantly increased. Your Charm, Majesty, Fortune have increased by four. Your League has increased by three. Foresight and Fate have increased by two.

You have gained a class, Wielder Of Elements, Primal Seven.

You have gained a class, True Faeduine.

As the cascade of messages died down, I gasped in shock. I had never gained such a tremendous amount of power in one go. I shut out the surprised, clamouring thoughts of the others, only looking at Hyacinth, who despite being covered in blood, her face a mess, was smiling brightly, her eyes rippling with violet energies.

I see it! Her thoughts echoed loudly, and I realised I could feel her far more deeply, the bonds connecting us crisp and clear. Not just her too. Eri, Shaeula, Shiro… all the others… and not just them. The sleeping Tsukiko-san, and Ginneka and even the barely formed Kinneka, they were a weighty presence at the back of my mind.

That is why it did nooot work. Foolish mushrooms! Akio, we must goo back. I have work to do. She kissed me then, tongue savagely working mine, and even as the others complained in their thoughts, the Room collapsing, spilling us out into the Boundary once more, we didn’t stop, the passions of our efforts running through our minds. Leave it to Hyacinth, she will make all yooour desires come true! She paused for a moment then. Akio, you seem so much more alluring than befooore. Hyacinth does want to fix the mushrooms, but I wooonder, we have time for looove, right?

Before I could answer Shiro hauled her off me, muscles straining, and I let out a dry laugh, relieved and embarrassed. Looking up at Arisu-san, I thanked her. “Without your Room and all your guidance, I’d never have managed that. I owe you. Just ask me if you ever need anything.”

“I will.” Arisu-san said, a little troubled. “But before that… what happened? You look… a little different…”

With a surge of aether I imagined a mirror, and it sparked into existence. It was wasteful, and would vanish when I stopped concentrating, but… Oh, she’s right. Wow…