On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Four Hundred And Forty-Three

“It’s not like I expect to be able to transfer abilities…” I said as I peered deep into Shaeula’s Chakra network, the night moon chakras circling around her ordinary ones, the one orbiting her lunar chakra seeming subtly different, forcing me to pour aether into my Eye to sharpen the image. Even with the significant processing power of my brain nowadays it was a challenge to comprehend it. “…if it was that easy, then why would the Pantheons need us? But… certain things must be possible, right? Otherwise they wouldn’t be able to implant Divine Favours in us, and I wouldn’t have been able to remove them with Chirurgery.”

“That’s true.” My sis agreed. “I wouldn’t have my powers if you couldn’t. So what’s your point?”

“My point, dear sister…” I adopted a teasing tone, knowing she was trying to hide her eagerness. “…is that unlike other abilities, eye powers seem to be concentrated in the eyes themselves. It’s very much like that anime with the ninjas we watched as a kid. There’s likely more to it, but… I think it’s an avenue for experimentation. After all, I know I can regenerate an eye, as I did it for Shiro.”

“Speaking of Shiro…” Shaeula mused, preening proudly as I looked at her intently. “I believe we should-should call her here. If we are going to do delicate, potentially dangerous work, then her buffs to Chirurgery would be most-most necessary.”

“True.” I conceded. “Though I did want to keep other people’s involvement to the minimum while experimenting, it makes sense. Perhaps Tan might be able to offer some advice. She was delivering a Favour to Shiro, so she must have some knowledge.”

“But will she tell us?” Shaeula shrugged. “I do not-not think she will disclose too much, although…” she tilted her head, smiling. “…she has been rather casual in some of the things she has said recently, so perhaps I will-will be pleasantly surprised.”

“Are you going to call Eri over too?” my sis asked, and I shook my head.

“No, right now she’s sitting through a lecture from Daiyu on the very basics of Qi Refining. It’s interesting, I’m learning a lot myself.”

As soon as I had agreed to summon Shiro, Hyacinth had disappeared, likely to fetch her, though I probably could have done it with my Material body. My sis laughed, imagining what was going on. “Yeah, I can’t quite get over the fact you can be in two places at once, bro. I like it though, it means you can spend more time with us! So, is it a lewd lecture?”

“Nope, we aren’t discussing Dual Cultivation at all. Daiyu says I’m in no way qualified to teach anyone, she takes Cultivation very seriously. It’s cute.”

“I know she is. She looks like a doll. Then so does Shaeula. But you’re more a Western doll.” My sis grinned at her. “That’s cool then. If it’s safe, I want to learn as well.”

“Everyone will. Daiyu misses the concept of a Sect too. So our participation will be a comfort to her.” I agreed. “For a genius though, she’s actually very good at explaining it, and I can use my Eye to further see what’s going on, breaking it down into understandable stages. Though using my Eye in both realms at once really is too much for me.” Fortunately I can follow the lecture without it, since it’s just theory at the moment.

“Information Cheats really are the best.” Shiro agreed, appearing with Hyacinth in tow. I was surprised at how she arrived so quickly, and on seeing that, Shiro sighed theatrically. “I was here to buff Asha’s Tree anyway, so it isn’t like Hyacinth had to come and fetch me from our new home. She’s filled me in briefly. Shit, you’re crazy as ever, Aki! I never thought you’d end up going so far. But… it’s not wrong.” She tapped her eye, smiling. “It works perfectly, so worst case, nobody is going blind, unlike said ninjas.”

“You heard all that, huh?” my sis said, embarrassed.

“Hyacinth mentioned it.” Shiro chuckled. “For a sporty girl, Aiko, you have some otaku interests. I guess that’s inevitable with Aki here looking after you in your formative years. But I think we’re lucky. Who else would think about doing this? The noble girls are at school, Daiyu and Eri are training, so that leaves Asha and Tsukiko.” Shiro finished. “Are we bringing them in? They both came with me to Shirohebizumi this morning.”

“I am already here.” Tsukiko slipped out of the shadows. “I saw myself reflected in the waters. I was in great pain, but everyone was gathered around me, cheering me on, supporting me, and my tears were happy ones as they fell into the rippling lake below. It was a vision that should have been frightening, but it was comforting, having my face, myself, bare to the world, feeling the warmth of others.”

“Damn, that’s somehow both sad and uplifting.” my sis sniffled, touched. “Don’t worry about anything, Tsukiko-chan!” she paused, suddenly uncomfortable. “…is what I’d like to say. You shouldn’t worry… but yeah, I remember my own training in Ether Healing. It was agonising, and…”

“Yeah.” I sighed. “Rank six is doable. We’ve already got experience in pushing through the first bottleneck. But it’s probably the worst pain I’ve ever felt, for hours and hours, even days…”

“It will nooot be so bad.” Hyacinth promised, surprising us all. “I have been practising by myself. I knooow eventually you wish for all to be able to share this strength sooo…” she giggled, her expression gentle. “I have listened and studied. The mortal wooorld holds many secrets.” She reached out, and with a smile I extended my hand, knowing what she would do wouldn’t harm me. A surge of spores billowed, covering my arm, and I felt a strange, numb sensation spreading. My body tried to resist it but I concentrated, preventing my body from acclimatising to it, and soon the whole area felt cool and tingly.

“Dooo forgive me.” Hyacinth said apologetically, before her nature energy surged and a razor-sharp vine grew from the ground, piercing into the area covered in the fungal growths. For a moment my body resisted, before the blade dug deep, and blood scattered, silver and red.

“Yeah, it still hurts…” I said, a slight smile on my face. “But it’s definitely less than it should do. Does the fungus secrete anaesthetics, or act on the pain receptors?”

“I dooo not know. But it works…” she seemed surprised as I pulled her into a hug. My body quickly healed the bleeding cut and absorbed the fungus, while I stroked her head gently.

“Good job. You’re always thinking of us. In fact…” I looked around happily. “That goes for everyone. It’s the little things like this, the small thoughts of ways to help us grow stronger, that have got us to where we are today.”

It was then that Shiro’s hair turned a brilliant red, flames flickering, and her suddenly ruby eyes glimmered with strange emotion. “Yes, it has been fascinating, watching for such a short time and seeing what has been achieved.” Tan said. “Your goals are laudable, though you surely cannot believe you are the only ones to think of such methods?”

“Of course not.” I finished praising Hyacinth, releasing her, ignoring the sloppy grin on her face. “In fact, it’d make no sense to assume that beings such as you and the endless number of people that dwell in your Pantheon wouldn’t have come up with such training methods. In fact, I was hoping to get some advice, if it didn’t overstep what you can say…”

“Advice?” Tan snorted sourly. “You are correct, many paths to power are pursued amongst the myriad worlds of the many Pantheons. Cultivation is one such path to power, one well-honed and optimised over many long millennia. Martial training, crafting, pursuing the secrets of Laws… growing stronger by constant battle. All of these and more are noble pursuits. But do you think all strive for this? The worlds of the Pantheons are innumerable, and on many worlds the ordinary exist, not too dissimilar to this planet you call Earth. Yes, there are those you would call Chirurgeons, who can repair damage to the spirit, the immaterial, much as you do. But few would risk such practises. But then… Eyes to see with are hardly commonplace. While those of a certain level of power would have no need of them, having other senses… the powerful are often the jealous, hardly eager to share the secrets of their strength.”

“What she’s trying to say, Aki…” Shiro took over, one eye darkening. “…is that she doesn’t exactly know if it’ll work. It’s not impossible, but rather… impulsive.”

“Yes.” Tan agreed. “You should not measure yourself as a standard. While we are sent here to give gifts so that some can grow to be useful, strong enough to control a world, your rate of growth is rather unprecedented. It would normally be the work of a decade or two to claim a Territory of the fourth Rank, yet your pace towards it shocks me. And you are not alone. There will be others too. This world has many surprises.” She looked at Shaeula and Hyacinth. “The strength of the dwellers amongst the lower reaches of the Astral here also impresses.”

As Hyacinth giggled, Shaeula nodded regally. “Yes, I am pleased that you do-do recognise this, Tan. There surely seem to be anomalies. Yourself included, no-no?”

“Yes. Though I am far from the only one.” She looked at Tsukiko, frowning using Shiro’s face. “Your gift from Tsukuyomi seems to predate the agreement by some years. And there are other complications.” She paused then, shaking her head, flaming hair swaying. “But enough of that. You wish my thoughts on whether you could transplant an Eye? Perhaps. But whether your Eye would return to its state when regenerated is the question. It all depends on what drives it. For now, I would suggest great caution. If it was so easy, would not the armies of the Pantheons be full of such?”

“Yeah, as I thought.” I nodded. “Shiro, can you buff up my Eye first?”

“You sure you can handle it?” she said, taking over from Tan again. “I remember last time.”

“Yeah, I think so. I’m not going to faint if I focus all my willpower. Hold on a second, I’m just going to tell Eri and Daiyu I’m out for a bit…” With that done, I dismissed my Material body so I could concentrate everything on the task at hand.

“Are you sure, Tsukiko?” I asked her consent. “There’s no need for you to give more than you already have.”

“I am Matsumuro Tsukiko now. But I also take pride in being the Diviner. I have lost strength. I gave it to you freely, as I hope to…” her voice started to shrink, as she remembered our actions in the hot springs. “… offer more and receive in return. But...” her determination came back, and I couldn’t deny her. “I am still the Diviner, and I respect and worship Tsukuyomi. My role was ended, but now…” She looked up at the sky, where dark aurorae rippled, as if seeking a moon beyond. “…I am an image not reflected in the waters. My Fate is what I make of it.”

What can I say to that? With a smile I held out my hand, and then after some brief discussion of who would be attending to who, the pain began…

********

“Bro, you’re such a damn sadist.” My sis was pale-faced and whimpering, though her blue eyes were resolute, showing no desire to quit. Her whole arm was covered in two types of fungal growths, one to numb the pain, and the other… “Shit, I can see bone. Should my bone be that colour? I don’t think it’s supposed to be black. Hey, why do we even have bones here?”

As she babbled, I soothed the pain with my own Ether Healing as much as I could, while not repairing the damage. Instead, my Eye was shining brilliantly, able to look into my sister’s body with far greater clarity than previously. There’s still a lot of unused networks, even if we consider all the stuff Daiyu uses for Cultivation. It’s almost fractal, branches and sub-chakras propagating on an ever-smaller scale. Perfectly adapted, my ass. The Eight Moons network might be a perfect one, in some regards, in that it’s a closed system with high efficiency, but it’s clearly not the best that ever could exist. Shaeula and Daiyu prove that…

“He sure is, Aiko.” Shiro also said between gritted teeth, her breath coming fast. “I thought I was used to pain, considering my injuries before, but this really is hideous. Tan, why don’t you come out and take a turn?”

“If I do that, you will gain no benefit.” One eye turned red as she answered lazily, but I thought I heard a trace of amusement in her voice as she usurped a moment of control from Shiro. “Besides, my body is hardly fragile enough to be harmed by such. And the beautiful should not suffer injury needlessly.”

“So what am I? Some ugly crone?” Shiro groaned, the teasing at least focussing her mind. As I reached out, I touched my sister and Shiro in various places, tracing the lines they should flow aether through, tickling their networks with whisper-light pulses of my own energies, stimulating their performance.

“This would be so embarrassing if I wasn’t dying…” my sis exclaimed.

“You were the one who asked for my help.” I reminded her. “Shaeula could have looked after you, instead of Hyacinth and Tsukiko.”

“It is nooot fair, but I will never give up!” Hyacinth promised. The best method, using the brutality of her modified Myconid Death Spores, simply wouldn’t work on Hyacinth, so Shaeula was using wind, flame and even light and lightning to inflict careful injuries on her. Beside her, Tsukiko was looking down at her own arm, which was a mess of black boils, growths and bloody scabs. Even though she must have been in agony, she met my eyes, giving me a reassuring smile, and my sis made an indelicate noise of frustration, swearing loudly.

“Shit bro, seeing her looking so calm and content, it makes me sound like a whining brat. Ugh…” she looked down at her own arm, concentrating, and my Eye could trace the flow of aether within her.

“You need to push it into your Silver Cord as well, the flow’s just a trickle. Unless you balance that, you won’t advance it further.” I warned.

“I know, I know! Damn, your eyes are cheaty as hell…” she cried out. “Maybe I will steal yours!”

“You should know-know that Akio managed to reach Rank four without those eyes.” Shaeula scolded her. “Though it took him far-far longer and much-much more effort. You have the advantage of being stronger and better prepared than we ever were.” She then turned to Hyacinth, her eyes shining. “No-no, the flow there is wrong…” Light flashed, tracing several lines over the bleeding and burned skin. “I know we Fae do struggle to manipulate aether, it comes instinctively to us, but we must-must master it. It is… foundational.”

“At least you’ve got to Rank three.” I praised her. “And really, Rank four isn’t too far away. Get your flow balance steady and I think you’ll crack it. And when you get to Rank six, I’ll feel safe…”

“Yeah, I get it. I have to watch out for bad people at university, so being able to purify alcohol and drugs is a good thing. Really, you’re way too overprotective bro.” she sighed, eyes scrunched up as she groaned again. “But I’m glad you care. Even if you are killing us here…”

“I’m already at Rank four.” Shiro crowed, and my sis stuck out her tongue at her.

“Sure, but you started at three.” She protested sourly.

“Hyacinth knooows your pain.” She consoled my sis despite her own injuries. “I have nooot been able to improoove the Rank of my Ether Healing. I am Rank three, just as you are. But Akio is suffering wooorse than we are, I promise you.”

“I’m not.” I shook my head. “It’s true I hate to see this, but pain now is safety later. If there was another way I’d take it in a heartbeat though. It’s hard to watch.”

“It’s hard to endure, never mind watch!” My sis was sticking her tongue out at me now, but her momentary loss of motivation was pushed aside. “How are you doing, Tsukiko-chan?”

“It is not the most pleasant of experiences I have had since my return.” she admitted, her humour surprising us. “But even pain is something I never thought I would feel again…”

“Shit, Aki, if Tsukiko turns into a masochist, you’re going to have one hell of a time in the bedroom!” Shiro laughed. “But I know what you mean. When I wasn’t strong enough to enjoy life, or do pretty much of anything without collapsing, even a fresh new bad experience was worth having.” Seeing my raised eyebrow, she snorted, though her breathing was ragged. “No, you pervert, I’m not talking about that sort of bad experience. You know you were my first and only. I have my pride. But… you’ll never get it unless you’ve hit rock bottom, I guess?”

“Since everyone is talking so much, maybe we should up the intensity?” I teased, and Shiro and my sis hurriedly disagreed, throwing themselves back into their training. It’d be easier with the twins and Haru helping share the pain, but even with Hyacinth’s numbing fungus, we are going far harder than when we were in Kyoto, so it’s not fair to ask them…

As I watched and made adjustments, my Eye continued to observe. I was most curious about the connections between the Divine Favours and the wider networks, as well as how Tan was a part of Shiro, and also the brilliant silver seeds that were around my wrist and a part of me, which supposedly housed Tyr’s Divine Favour too. There’s also Shaeula’s eyes. Now I can see more clearly, there are innumerable tiny branches, capillaries and even nearly unnoticeable chakras within her eyes, so I don’t think just yanking them out would be enough. On the other hand…

“I am not-not afraid.” Shaeula met my gaze. “I would-would have given you my Eye when you awakened your own. I am prepared to take the risk. Besides, I know, even if I lose one eye, you will not-not stop until it is perfectly restored, just as you did-did for Eri, Shiro and Tsukiko and their losses. If our eyes could be shared then we truly can become a force none-none can gainsay.”

“True. I’d never forgive myself until you were perfect again. But more than that, your family would kill me.” I recalled my promise to Shaetanao. “Hurting you wouldn’t be easy for me, I gave Oaths.”

As we discussed the meaning of that, my sis finally let out a cry of triumph. Her flow had split perfectly, and using my Eye I could see her Material body as a hazy shadow, and it too was healing nicely. “Good job sis, Rank four at last!”

“The best thing is the pain has dropped. Still hurts like hell though!” she complained. “But… knowing that when this is done, I’ll have the reward of a permanent powerup… no way I’ll give up.” Her fists clenched, all her muscles and tendons screaming from the pain. “Rank six for the win, no surrender until that bottleneck breaks!”

“That’s the spirit!” I encouraged her, before turning my attention to the others. I watched for a number more hours, offering my aether to replenish their stores as they weakened, until Azuki, the little Zashiki-Warashi, appeared with a sulky expression on her face.

“There you are.” She said, before seeing the watching Hyacinth and smoothing out her tone. More politely she bowed to me. “I was looking for you but were not to be found. You have had a phone call, one of some urgency. So I was tasked to find you.”

“Who called?” I asked, and apparently it was Hinata’s grandfather. “All right, I’ll make a Material body again and give him a call…”

As a body formed for me, I hurriedly returned to the office at Shirohebizumi shrine and borrowed a phone off Karen-chan. Dialling up Fukumoto Kenji, he answered quickly.

“Ah, Akio-kun, so glad you got back to me. I am sorry to disturb you, I know you’re very busy. But I’ve had contact from someone seeking to meet you, and I think it would be to everyone’s advantage if you did. Apparently they watched the broadcast too, which finally persuaded them you were a person they needed to talk to.”

“I see. And just who might that person be?” I asked. Meanwhile, Shiro and my sis were being extremely competitive with each other, while Tsukiko and Hyacinth quietly continued their efforts.

“The chairman of the famous corporation of the Doosan group… no, I suppose they call them Chaebols in Korea… Park Do-yun. They specialise in heavy equipment manufacturing, as well as some side businesses. They are a rival to Ichijou house, and not on that much smaller a scale, despite South Korea being a small country.”

“I see.” I mused. “I doubt they’ve heard about our industrial plans, unless they are very skilled at industrial espionage. So just what do they want?”

“Since Park Do-yun called me himself, I of course asked. From what I gathered, it’s related to your abilities as a Chosen. He wouldn’t say more, though when pressed, he did concede that he hoped you would accept his unreasonable but heartfelt request, as he put it. It sounds rather problematic, but in such situations lie opportunity.”

“True.” I agreed. “I’ll hear him out anyway, that doesn’t cost me anything.”

“Just as I expect from Hinata’s husband. Bold.” His tone changed and was sly. “So, how was she? To your satisfaction?” I flushed at his indecent question.

“A gentleman never tells.” I demurred. “But I loved her before, and I certainly don’t love her any less now.”

“I am sure she’ll be delighted to hear that. Now, when can I pencil in a meeting?”

“Not tonight, I’ve already made promises with Kana. Tomorrow should be fine. Oh… wait, I’ll probably be meeting another businessman tomorrow.”

“I see. Curious.” Kenji-san pushed for more details, and after a while he agreed it might be interesting to have them both present, using them to impress each other. Though Buck is a businessman of a far smaller scale, he still owns one of the biggest chains of Irish bars and pubs in America, which is no small company.

“I’ll let you make the arrangements.” I said, and with that done, I checked the time. We’ve been at it longer than I thought. They’ve been brave. My Material body headed back towards my new home, to prepare for a date with Kana, while the rest of my overstretched attention was on the training.

“What did-did they want?” Shaeula asked, and as I explained, Shiro looked troubled.

“It’s going to be something annoying, I can just tell, Aki.” She warned me.

“Yes, it probably is.” I conceded. “But there’s no harm in hearing them out. Now, enough of that.” My Eye was glowing as I continued to observe everyone. “Keep pushing, those Rank ups will come!”

“Slavedriver!” Shiro laughed, and my sis let out a rallying cry, hyping herself up through the pain that was making her nauseous. I have to step up my game as well. But… I don’t really want them to see what I’m going to do next…

“Just do it, bro.” My sis said, reading my expression. “It’s going to be something crazy and reckless, just like we’re doing now, so… oh shit!” She let out a shocked gasp as I exploded my eyeball. It wasn’t the one that held the Mystic Eye, but there was still a spike of pain. Moments later though, my eye regenerated in a surge of aether.

“That’s Rank nine for you. I barely need to do anything.” I laughed to distract myself from the shock. “it’s not even the pain, it’s the psychological impact. Oh well…” I blinked, quickly establishing everything was working properly. “Now for the truly fun part…” Aether surged, and with incredibly delicate motions, Shaeula frowning and offering me advice, I managed to remove my eyeball wholesale, holding it in my hand. Yeah, this is truly unpleasant. But… releasing my hold on Ether Healing, I allowed it to recreate my eyeball, and just like I had ended up with an extra little finger spare, now I had an eyeball sitting on my palm.

“I see-see.” Shaeula laughed. “Oh, that is quite the amusing thing for me to say. Now…” Suddenly she reached up and with a flash of wind, blood scattered, and soon my sis was vomiting nosily, a silver mess scattering onto the ground, as Shaeula flourished her own amber eyeball at me. “…I understand your aims, but surely it makes more-more sense for us to do it this way. And if I remove it myself, you have not-not hurt me, so my father and siblings can not-not complain!”

Yeah, this is why I wanted to do this quietly alone, but… she’s right in a way. It would be easier. As she used water element to wipe the red and silver gore from her face, her eye started to regenerate in its socket, a fairly ghastly sight. “All right. If you’re sure… then let’s do this. At least…” I managed a smile for my sis, Shiro, Hyacinth and Tsukiko. “…we’re all suffering together now!” Even if it doesn’t work as I hope, the experience should allow us a better understanding of our bodies and the interaction with Chakra networks. Any knowledge is valuable, and maybe I can even push Chirurgery to Rank ten. I wasn’t sure if Rank ten was the end of it, I had a feeling it wasn’t as I had previously been alerted by my Eye that Lovers’ Link could go higher than ten. It also seemed strange for someone to have the maximum possible level of proficiency, there were always greater heights to scale.

“How about a wager?” Shaeula laughed, and I remembered the last wager and what it cost me. In the end, everyone is happier for it, but…

“All right. You’re on!” my sis jumped on the suggestion, and soon Shaeula was outlining her terms. Okay, the challenge seems equal on both sides, but the prize for the winners, the losers granting one wish… nope, I’m going to have to win this one! Though it seems everyone feels the same way… Everyone’s motivation was spiking, and the looks in their eyes were no longer ones of pain, but of anticipation and resolution. Peering at the eyeball in my palm once more, I held in a sigh.

“Right then. You asked for it. I won’t lose this time!” I promised. “Shaeula, can I take a look at that eyeball?”