On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

“Sorry that you had to keep the Arm in your ring, I know it’s creepy.” I apologised to Daiyu, as she removed it from her birthday present, the Spatial Ring. I took it from her, determined to make it into something useful, as it was an opportunity I had very nearly died for. She had already taken out a lot of the gifts inside, the majority of Formation Plates and other fragments of useful knowledge in her room, though she had piled a lot of the broken fragments of the Sessho-seki I had obtained for her to one side here.

“It is no matter. What is mine is yours.” Daiyu softly kissed the ring. “It is magnificent. With so many treasures, such as the Spatial Expansion and Control Spatial Plate which has left it spacious. It is a great shame that the Saint of Swallowing Sorrows perished so foolishly and we could only save a little when the Sessho-seki failed and the interior was exposed to the volcanic fury of the Boundary. But I am well satisfied. There are many treasures which will aid my Cultivation, and enable to me to prepare teaching materials for my new disciples.”

Daiyu was in a fantastic mood, glowing with vitality and good cheer, despite the fact we had barely snatched an hour of sleep in the love hotel. Now we were back in the Boundary at Nishimorioka, although my Material body was back at the estate, as I had a lot to do over the next couple of days and little time to do it. I would shortly be catching a ride to Kyoto, as I wanted to speak to Yasaka-san in person.

We were not the only ones gathered here though, around Asha’s Tree. Asha was here, of course, as was Bjarki and his cadre of eager smiths and engineers, as well as Shiro, who also had little sleep due to her night out. Shaeula too was with us, and she was inspecting the weak and ragged Shinkume-no-Hana and her grandmother, the legendary Tamamo-no-Mae, her eyes glowing amber as she frowned, working basic Chirurgery and Ether Healing. In addition, Hyacinth was waiting patiently, ready with refreshments and kind words, though she also had another purpose.

Speaking of Shaeula… Letting my Eye shine momentarily, I checked her status again, sadly expecting that despite Shaeula’s solid growth, she would be unable to repair the two ruined Kitsune. Though of course, any stabilisation and repairs she can provide are most welcome. Economy of effort is key, we have so much to do, and I doubt I’m going to be able to preserve much of my strength with what I’m doing next…

Shaeula Tu Shae Dannan

Royal Fae

Kamaitachi

Four Element, Lightning and Light Aspects

[Material Statistics]

[Intangible Statistics]

Might

954 1120 +30

Fortune

30 32+1

Fortitude

966 1130 +30

Majesty

24 26+1

Intellect

1011 1171 +30

Charm

30 34 +1

Resilience

947 1133 +30

League

21 23 +1

Alacrity

1000 1185 +30

Determination

16 20 +1

Precision

974 1134 +30

Foresight

12 15+1

Aether

4045 4630 +30

Fate

10 15+1

[Material Skills]

Rank

Class

Type

[Aetheric Skills]

Silver Cord

Rank 6

 Noble (5)

Foundation (4)

Eight Night Moons Chakra Network

Rank 6

Imperious (6)

Rule (5)

Aether Manipulation

Rank 5

Powerful (4)

Foundation (4)

Aether Combat Technique

Rank 4

Powerful (4)

Foundation (4)

Aetheric Chirurgery

Rank 7

Noble (5)

Rule (5)

Ether Healing

Rank 6 Rank 8

Noble (5) Imperious (6)

Rule (5)

Enhanced Spiritual Form

Rank 1 Rank 2

Noble (5)

Principle (7)

[Elemental Skills]

Third Eye Chakra Of Light

Rank 2

Powerful (4)

Foundation (4)

Light Manipulation

Rank 3

Powerful (4)

Foundation (4)

Heart And Solar Plexus Chakras Of Lightning

Rank 2

Powerful (4)

Foundation (4)

Lightning Manipulation

Rank 3

Powerful (4)

Foundation (4)

Heart Chakra Of Wind

Rank 8 Rank 9

Noble (5) Imperious (6)

Rule (5)

Wind Manipulation

Rank 7

Noble (5)

Foundation (4)

Solar Plexus Chakra Of Flame

Rank 4

Powerful (4)

Foundation (4)

Flame Manipulation

Rank 4

Powerful (4)

Foundation (4)

Sacral Chakra Of High Moonlight Spirit Water

Rank 2 Rank 4

Noble (5)

Foundation (4)

Water Manipulation

Rank 4 Rank 5

Powerful (4)

Foundation (4)

Root Chakra Of Earth

Rank 2 Rank 3

Powerful (4)

Foundation (4)

Earth Manipulation

Rank 3 Rank 4

Powerful (4)

Foundation (4)

Lunar Chakra Of Four Elements, Lightning And Light

Rank 3 Rank 4

Imperious (6)

Rule (5)

[Physical Combat Skills]

 Spatial Perception

Rank 5

Powerful (4)

Rule (5)

Kamaitachi Dagger Technique

Rank 2 Rank 3

Sufficient (3)

Foundation (4)

Combat Technique

Rank 3 Rank 4

Cantrip (1)

Simple (1)

[Intangible Skills]

[Unique Skills]

 Mystic Eyes Of Perception

Rank 6 Rank 7

Imperious (6)

Principle (7)

Kin Bonding And Restoration

Rank 5 Rank 7

Imperious (6) Legendary (7)

Principle (7)

Blessing Of Fortunate Winds

Rank 5 Rank 6

Imperious (6)

Rule (5) Principle (7)

Blessing Of Befuddling Winds

Winds And Waters Of Devotion And Worship

Rank 5

Rank 6

Imperious (6)

Rule (5)

Principle (7)

Foehn, Wind-Eating Breath

Rank 5 Rank 7

Imperious (6)

Rule (5) Principle (7)

Lovers’ Link

Rank 8 Rank 9

Imperious (6)

Artifice (6)

[Level]

72/115 85/165

[Class]

True Four Elements, Lightning And Light Fae 8/30 16/30

Demon Of The Hyakki Yagyō – Seventy-First 6/30

Wielder Of A Mutated Element 2/10 5/10

Wielder Of Elements, Classic Western 3/10 8/10

[Mastered Class]

Wind Fae 10/10

Pledged One 10/10

Great Wind And Flame Fae 20/20

Of course, Shaeula had become far stronger, most notably seeing growth in her Unique Skills, such as the evolution of Befuddling Winds with the part of Morana’s Favour I gifted her. That had raised her Level too, but honestly, if Shaeula wasn’t so busy dealing with the Seelie Court and had time to do more than the occasional bout of grinding on our enemies, she would likely have reached Level One Hundred. Even without that though, Shaeula was a beast. Her Kin Bonding seems to have kept up with mine too…

Seeing me looking, Shaeula smirked. “I know-know I am attractive, and you wish to play with me, but we each have our own roles today, do we not-not? And I have aided you all I can.” With a wink she turned back to the foxes, leaving me to shrug helplessly.

“That’s Shaeula for you.” Shiro snorted. “Oh well, you ready, Aki? This is going to suck, but then, I guess you don’t mind some suffering now for later gains. That’s the gamer grindset we know and love.”

“Yeah, I’m not looking forward to it at all.” Bjarki passed me the mysterious Klein Bottle, so now both my hands were full, one with my erstwhile severed arm, blue and disgusting, the other with the oddly shaped object radiating a faint purple mist of spatial element. “But we need to make the most of what time I have. So buff me up. I can’t afford to make mistakes in my crafting, either.”

“I know.” Shiro groaned theatrically. “Shit, Aki, I get it. But handing out so many buffs is tiring. Though it might help grind me to higher Skill Ranks.” She had already buffed Shaeula’s Chirurgery, as well as given her the general buff. Bjarki was also so buffed, only on his Dvergr Techniques, while Asha and her Tree of course had the usual, only waiting for the Berserk Blessing, which I was going to have to mitigate via Resonance and the Soothing Waters. Speaking of…

“Asha, you’re not suffering any discomfort, are you? Or your Tree? We do need the extra ether Berserk Blessing provides, but… it’s not just yourself that you are risking now.”

Asha smiled at me warmly, her yellow-gold eyes tender. One hand stroked the smooth, glittering bark of her great Tree, whilst the other tenderly touched her belly. “I would not risk my daughters, our daughters, do not worry. I treasure the thought of new life, of leaving the world a better, more harmonious land of nature than I found it. But I also wish to contribute. When you leave, Shiro and I shall merely use her ordinary strengthening. But while you are here, no harm will befall us, will it?”

Her trust was both heartwarming and a heavy weight on me, but I was more than willing to carry both. “That’s right, so… might as well get started.” I said, my Eye checking her and her Tree both for any issues. This time I was being Berserked too, for maximum gain, so soon I was in double the pain, my own and also Asha’s Tree, the sensation of hot torment within me subtly different. It is because the Tree has sap for blood? If so… I daresay that the contrast might help me…

Asha

Noble Fae

Great Dryad

Earth, Water And Wood Aspect

[Material Statistics]

[Intangible Statistics]

Might

106 284 +30

Fortune

2 3 +1

Fortitude

145 331 +30

Majesty

14 17 +1

Intellect

103 286 +30

Charm

10 12+1

Resilience

299 504 +30

League

18 21 +0

Alacrity

101 281 +30

Determination

28 30 +1

Precision

103 285 +30

Foresight

2 +1

Aether

3032 4551 +30

Fate

10 12 +1

[Material Skills]

Rank

Class

Type

[Aetheric Skills]

Eight Moons Chakra Network

Rank 6

Imperious (6)

Rule (5)

Silver Cord

Rank 3

Powerful (4)

Foundation (4)

Aether Manipulation

Rank 2 Rank 4

Powerful (4)

Foundation (4)

Adherence Manipulation

Rank 3

Rank 5

Noble (5)

Law (8)

[Elemental Skills]

 Wood Manipulation

Rank 4 Rank 5

Powerful (4)

Foundation (4)

Root And Sacral Chakras Of Wood

Rank 2 Rank 5

Powerful (4)

Foundation (4)

Water Manipulation

Rank 4

Powerful (4)

Foundation (4)

Sacral Chakra Of Water

Rank 2 Rank 4

Powerful (4)

Foundation (4)

Earth Manipulation

Rank 6

Noble (5)

Foundation (4)

Root Chakra Of Earth

Rank 6 Rank 7

Noble (5)

Foundation (4)

Lunar Chakra Of Wood, Water And Earth

Rank 4 Rank 5

Noble (5) Imperious (6)

Rule (5)

[Intangible Skills]

[Unique Skills]

 Lovers’ Link

Rank 4 Rank 7

Noble (5)

Artifice (6)

Inspire Growth

Rank 6

Noble (5)

Rule (5)

Mistress Of Fertility

Rank 4 Rank 7

Powerful (4) Noble (5)

Foundation (4)

The Given Kiss Of A Dryad

Rank 4 Rank 6

Powerful (4) Noble (5)

Rule (5)

Tree Bound

Rank 6

Noble (5)

Principle (7)

Two Worlds Flowering Wood

Rank 2

Noble (5)

Principle (7)

[Level]

0/56 18/136

[Class]

True Earth, Water and Wood Fae 2/30 11/30 Nature’s Chosen 3/20 5/20 Maiden Of Prayer 1/10 6/10

[Mastered Classes]

Earth Fae 10/10 Great Earth Fae 20/20 Purified One 10/10

Asha’s Great Rhyming Tree Of Wood, Water And Earth

Noble Fae Plant

Earth, Water And Wood Aspect

[Material Statistics]

[Intangible Statistics]

Might

Fortune

Fortitude

2308 2603 +30

Majesty

Intellect

Charm

Resilience

League

18 21 +1

Alacrity

Determination

28 30 +1

Precision

Foresight

Aether

11087 14475 +30

Fate

10 12 +1

[Material Skills]

Rank

Class

Type

[Aetheric Skills]

Drawing Wood Chakra Network

Rank 6

Imperious (6)

Rule (5)

Silver Cord

Rank 3

Powerful (4)

Foundation (4)

Roots Drinking Earth, Water and Wood, Branches Drinking and Growing The Moon

Rank 6

Imperious (6)

Artifice (6)

[Elemental Skills]

 Trunk And Roots Chakra Of Wood

Rank 6 Rank 7

Noble (5)

Foundation (4)

Trunk Chakra Of Water

Rank 2 Rank 5

Powerful (4)

Foundation (4)

Roots Chakra Of Earth

Rank 2

Rank 5

Powerful (4)

Foundation (4)

Lunar Chakra Of Wood, Water And Earth

Rank 4 Rank 5

Noble (5) Imperious

Rule (5)

[Intangible Skills]

[Unique Skills]

 Lovers’ Link

Rank 4 Rank 7

Noble (5)

Artifice (6)

Branches That Spread Nature Under The Moon

Rank 1 Rank 3

Noble (5)

Artifice (6)

Dryad Bound

Rank 6

Noble (5)

Principle (7)

Two Worlds Sapling

Rank 3

Noble (5)

Principle (7)

[Level]

0/56 18/136

[Class]

Great Rhyming Tree Of Wood, Water and Earth 14/20

True Rhyming Tree Of Wood, Water and Earth 2/30

[Mastered Classes]

Rhyming Tree Of Earth 10/10

Great Rhyming Tree Of Wood, Water and Earth 20/20

Asha’s and her Tree’s Aether are off the charts. I suppose it makes sense, as they share a function with an Ether Spire, constantly absorbing and strengthening it. Huh, I wonder… aether strengthens living creatures, so it also strengthens the land, right? Maybe that’s the function of Dryads and their Trees… an area to speculate on… Setting aside those thoughts, I still could hardly believe I had Lovers’ Link with a tree!

Now that Asha was under a Throne, she had received the benefits, and those were shared with her Tree too, it seemed, without needing a specific slot, which was a bonus. Asha’s and her Tree’s abilities to handle and generate elemental energies and adherence had dramatically improved, even putting my rate of Skill growth to shame, which made sense, now I thought about it. They were running such abilities constantly, and usually in a highly buffed state. Asha and her Tree had also Levelled up a little through Asha’s efforts, but Asha was far too valuable to risk in battle. So she only did an occasional small, safe grind with the weaselkin or nowadays with Adamant members, hunting stragglers who came in from Sagami bay.

At least her stats are now enough that I don’t have to worry about her so much on the Material. If it’s not a Chosen attacking she should be fine, but she’s still too weak for taking into danger, even setting aside the pregnancy.

“I am quite well, I assure you. There is no need to look at me so intently.” Asha flushed a little, and I nodded.

“Yeah, I know. But tell me when you aren’t, and Shiro will end the Berserk Blessing. Now, let me see…” I checked our stock of ether, though most of it was stored in Haru’s Territory. Even with the million or so we ferried out to Aiko’s new Territory, we had still accumulated a phenomenal amount. Just under thirty-two million ether. An incredible bounty. Unfortunately… As we needed more than a hundred and seventy million to immediately clear the build queues and Rank up the Territory to four, it would still take us a month.

My lips curled into a smile as I considered that. A month and change. Considering how new to Earth all this is, we’re making excellent progress. Tan says so too. If I just wanted to queue the upgrade, I could do it right now, for ten million and whatever it takes to sweep the queues clean. But being undefended for so long… no thanks. We’ll wait and advance firmly. I do learn my lessons eventually…

The build queues themselves were as follows. Ether Density Anchor Spire and Ether Spire Anchor Spires were both at sixteen Astral days to Rank 2. Then we had the long-running project of the Rank 4 Ether Spire at one hundred and twenty-four days remaining. Considering we had rush-built three Spires to Rank 4 while this one was ticking down… ironically, it’ll be just about done when we want to upgrade the Territory. Good timing, maybe? Lastly there was the Rank 4 Boundary to Material Connection at the factory site, with six hundred and twenty-one days left. That would obviously require an expedited build to complete when we were ready for the all-important Territory upgrade.

“All right then…” Turning to the matter at hand, as Hyacinth moved to Asha’s Tree, prepared to offer it her nature element to ease any suffering it felt, “It’s time for this…”

Daiyu sat beside me, eyeing the Right Arm eagerly. “It contains the trapped power of a Tribulation. Do you intend to make that power yours?”

I heard a snort from Shiro, though it certainly came from Tan. Mindful of her advice, I shook my head. “Not yet. I wouldn’t be so bold. And as for containing a Tribulation, not exactly. But it certainly contains some interesting mutated elements. But they don’t like being contained…”

“Of course, how could the punishment and trials of the Heavens ever be contained by our hands?” Tan said scornfully. “Be very careful. You saw what befell the false Saint in his hubris and sneaking cowardice.”

“I sure did.” I agreed. “But I also saw that he nearly succeeded, to an extent. Well… basically, what I want is to somehow combine the Klein Bottle as the outer shell, while we use the Right Arm as the inner, the… engine, for want of a better word. And… we have these.” I gestured to a nice pile of glittering Etherites, mostly blue and green. I thought back to Hinata, before she had ventured off to school this morning, making up for the time she missed while in Korea, she had proudly offered me the spoils when I mentioned I needed them. At first I had imagined she had obtained them through trade, but…

“How is it? I’ve been gathering them for a while.” Hinata had puffed out her chest proudly, looking rather cute in the Hanafubuki uniform. Beside her, Kazumi-san rolled her eyes and shared a brief smile with me, our relationship more casual after she had studied under Daiyu yesterday. “You know the treasure I got from the Tower of London?”

I had nodded, remembering she had taken the Pot of Faerie Gold. I had set that aside, as Hinata wasn’t a combatant, but it seemed that Hinata had been using it daily.

“Most of the time nothing of value pops out, though once Shaeula did tell me I’d found a lost item belonging to the badgerkin. I gave that to Ulfuric. He… was silent for a while, lost in thought, but he did thank me in the end. It was a rusty dagger, with a faded inscription. No, that doesn’t matter…” Hinata had said cheerily. “At every other day I just get pyrite or junk. I guess I’m too greedy, but it can’t be helped, I’m an avaricious girl. But quite often I get Etherites. I’ve been giving them to Ixitt for a project, but… I keep half of the best ones. I knew you’d need a sudden infusion one day, and when it comes to wealth, I should be the fiancée you come to!”

Hinata had been exuding the need to be praised, so I had gently patted her head, given her a kiss and a hug, though Kazumi-san had rolled her eyes and straightened out Hinata’s uniform afterwards. Anyway, that had led to this enviable situation, where I had supplies on hand. I’ll need to use every ounce of talent at my disposal…

“Going all out then, Aki?” Shiro asked, Shaeula was clearly interested as well, especially as the Kobolds had brought a significant amount of bluesteel from their mines, and the materials for Adherent Quicksilversteel were gathered too.

“Yeah. Basically adherence is our bottleneck. I’m already struggling with carrying retrieved Favours, the Ether Spires can only do so much. And these mutated elements are muddy with adherence. So not only can we maybe find a way to create these mutated elements for us to master, longer term… if I can get a ready source of disposable adherence as well…”

With that said, it was time to begin. I was nervous, but with my recently improved crafting Skills buffed up by Shiro, and help from Bjarki, I was sure I could achieve something, though a complete failure would ruin everything.

“So, ye want me tae make t’batteries t’anchor the barriers?” Bjarki said, and I nodded.

“Though the specification is a bit different. I need…” I sketched out images for him, and also created holographic-style images from light element. After a brief explanation, answering a few questions, I finished up. “…so I’ll make the Adherent materials, and then we’ll combine them, hopefully into the frame… speaking of… that should come first.”

With a grimace I checked the Klein Bottle once more.

Klein Bottle [Item Class: Noble] [Item Type: Principle]

A container crafted from wood fed with Spatial Elements, crafted by a genius Mortal Engineer going beyond the limits of Fae understanding. It appears to have no entrance or exit when viewed without Spatial Element, but such Elements are attracted within and magnified. Coils of specially prepared bluesteel wires form a series of loops that further increase and magnify the Spatial Element within. How the Lantern was placed inside such a bottle is a mystery.

“So, this needs to be transformed into a shell, integrating the batteries and the Arm, they allow transmission without having an entrance or exit. It makes my head hurt.” I complained. “Fortunately…” My Material body was on the way to Kyoto now, and I was studying non-Euclidean shapes and four dimensional objects in three dimensions. My high Intellect still couldn’t enable me to understand something completely beyond me, just as it didn’t help me with my emotional intelligence much, more’s the pity, but when I vaguely grasped something, like the movement of a multi-dimensional shape through a lesser-dimensional space, I found that I could visualise it reasonably clearly.

“Here we go…” I said, and Daiyu and Shiro both patted my shoulders reassuringly before backing off, while the other girls looked as if they wished to. Though Shaeula’s done all she can. I glanced down at one finger, where the Anulus Fortunae lay, glittering coldly, and I could feel the fortunate winds swirling around me. So I’m as prepared as I can be…

Spatial element surged from me in a violet tide. I used my Eye to home in on the unseen, spatial fluctuations, using the purple sparks almost like iron filings revealing a magnetic field. My head immediately started aching fiercely, so I reallocated various Split Thoughts to best maintain my perception. The dwarves were busy working, and soon piles of batteries were ready, just waiting for the next stages.

I wish I was ready though… but I think I’m starting to understand…

Your Skill, Spatial Perception, has increased from Rank 3 to Rank 4…

Your Skill, Spatial Perception, has increased from Rank 4 to Rank 5. Your ability to understand spatial coordinates in multiple dimensions and independent spaces has increased. Your calculation abilities, especially in vector space, have noticeably strengthened, and your ability to perceive and utilise Spatial Element and its derivatives and composites has significantly increased.

The load on my Split Thoughts dropped significantly. Sighing in relief, I put down the Klien Bottle. “Okay, I don’t want to be premature. Let me think about it.” Turning to the finished batteries, I simulated what I wanted in my mind, sketching it for the Dwarves, leaving them to work. Soon I had crafted enough Adherent Quicksilversteel to finish the roughly two score batteries the size of soda cans. I then scraped out my supplies of remaining adherence, only leaving enough to transfer the Favour to Miss Aditi later and a little extra to carry Taranis’ Favour until my stocks slowly recharged.

“It is marvellous to watch. Seeing someone working with their hands and skills… I find it praiseworthy.” Daiyu whispered so as not to distract me as I crafted pieces of Adherent metal.

“Yeah, it’s hot. Don’t you agree, girls?” Shiro muttered, and Hyacinth snickered.

“While I dooo not feel that Akio should be labouring like these Dwarfs, I dooo derive pleasure out of seeing him enjoy himself…”

“Yes, he looks very intense and satisfied.” Asha agreed.

Really? I’m enjoying myself? Satisfied? I was so wracked with nerves my back was dripping with silver sweat. Despite that, I did enjoy seeing finished articles, such as Daiyu’s Spatial Ring or Shaeula’s Pinwheels. Yeah, being well-geared is one way we can leverage our strengths. Every advantage, every advantage…

An hour later the parts were done. Now the risky part was here. “Bjarki, you’ve taken a look at the Right Arm. Can you prepare it?”

He frowned, stroking his long, bushy beard. He then raised a hand flat, waving it a little. “I nay be sure, ye ken? If’n y’want certainty, then ye be needing Ivaldi, t’greatest of Dvergr. But where’n he now dwells, nay can tell. But… I be up for t’challenge.” She slapped his hands together, looking down at the arm, which was slowly leaking the internal energies.

That’s the problem. I’ll have to finish the Arm when I’m integrating it, that’s for certain, but I also need to prepare the Bottle. The whole point of the bottle is that it has to be sealed, so I can’t just leave it open, or it’ll break, my calculations say… and it I try to do either the Arm or the Bottle first, I’m almost certain that will be a disastrous failure. We need to narrow the window as much as possible…

“In that case… make a start.” I advised him, and Bjarki nodded. His portable forge was brought out, his assistants fuelling it with the finest of processed coal from their mines, as well as using several Etherites and fire elemental energies from our Elemental Silos. As the forge heated up, Bjarki swallowed, then placed the blue Arm on the forge. His fellow smiths were ready with a number of engraved plates, setting up what looked almost like a runic circle, green Etherites at all the cardinal points. Yeah, even this crafting is costing us a fortune…

I myself was preparing the Etherites Hinata had gifted me, and as I began to work, my spatial element wielded like scalpels and thin needles, carefully unpicking parts of the warped geometry the lantern at the heart of the Klein Bottle was generating, I could feel the slowly rising pain of my own Berserk Blood buff, as well as the Tree’s. The pain was bearable though, compared to what I had endured under the edges of Tribulation and then Tamamo-no-Mae’s fury it was merely discomforting.

The key to this working was in my Shapercraft. After all, the Lantern of the Violet Void at the heart of the Bottle stated that The Will-o’-the-wisp is bound by some dark enchantment to continue to produce Spatial Element despite being a mere empty shell so the Will-o’-the-wisp should be a valid target for Shapercraft. Perhaps it was even made that way. I glanced at Hyacinth, sparing her a moment of my attention. I wonder if the Unseelie use such abilities for torture and crafting? If so, her suffering must have been dreadful. No, no time for that now, focus!

It was like unlocking an incredibly complicated tumbler lock. I had spoken to Ixitt and Arisu-san, and so had a grasp on its intricacies, but despite that, the calculations were utterly brutal. Yet, one by one I shifted the four dimensional flows, and inserted the strangely shaped pieces of Adherent metal, though not into our space. Precious blue and green Etherites shattered, allowing me to focus, and the craft I had put into the Spatial Ring, as well as what I had seen of the Sessho-seki, stood me in good stead.

Click. Turn. Click. Click. Snap. Weld. Click. The puzzle unfolded, and the spatial elements finally unravelled, revealing the transparent wooden bottle melting away, yet the wood was still there, just phase shifted. I reached out, my spatial element distorting the ragged field of warped space that made the Lantern so dangerous, not breaking it, but smoothing it, and the core, the dead Will-o’-the-wisp that wasn’t actually dead, was within my grasp. Aether and adherence flowed, and I began the next stage of the craft.

“Allow me, Akiooo!” Hyacinth was there, mopping my brow and back, soothing me, careful not to interfere. I gave her a grateful smile, and delved deep into the poor, spiritless husk of the Fae creature. Now I had simply to replicate some aspects of the Spatial Ring, using it as a material and the focus, the core.

“Remarkable…” I heard Tan mutter, but I had no further attention to spare. Each moment of Shapercraft was more precise than the last, made ever more difficult by the spatial waves and eddies around it. My Resilience and Determination were occasionally rising, as was my Precision. It seemed like I was there for hours, working away, and on my trip to Kyoto I shut out as much stimulus as possible, reducing my divided attention to the bare minimum. Everything but what I was working on was merely a muted buzz, and I wielded my energies with swift yet delicate caution, each stitch of spatial element completed, moving onto the next.

“Ach, it’n be gettin’ away from us. More flame, ye damn laggards! By Ivaldi’s great bristling beard, t’ice is out of hand!”

Forced to spare some attention, I saw that while my Crude Right Arm of Tribulation had been melted, flowing almost like a metal or molten stone, it was now leaking a freezing mist of ice element, and worse, I could see a breeze picking up, sparks forming.

“If that Purifying Lightning goes wild here, there’s going to be casualties, right?” Shiro was asking Tan, and then she nodded, one eye flaming red.

“Indeed, even weakened, I dare say these weaklings will not survive it.” Tan acknowledged. “I shall do what I can to buy time.” Brilliant flames surged, intensifying the heat of the forge. It began to blacken, metal and brick warping, but the icy torrent ceased for a moment.

“Me toooooo. Hyacinth can help!” She raised a hand, and a spray of spores infused with purple light surged out, forming a momentary seal. Daiyu, thinking fast, removed the Spatial Expansion Plate from her ring, and thrust it into the hands of a dwarf, who then raced into the surging tide of violet.

“I have no need of it. The Ring itself is large enough and gift enough. Besides, I have remembered the design. One day I shall craft it anew.”

Shaeula was frustrated, but she was at a delicate part of her Chirurgery and Healing, and also had little way to help. Asha was the same, but a scattering of leaves fell from her Tree, as if supporting us, and I felt stirrings of adherence within me, just a trickle, but every little could be the difference between failure and triumph. Rapidly working on the final shaping, I called on Prominence Dusk, the penumbra behind me glowing brilliantly.

“I’ll take it in!” I cried, and Bjarki, desperate, set to work, even as the spatial energies around him containing the flow began to twist and crack space, his mobile forge splitting with an audible crack, throwing shards everywhere, drawing blood.

“Aye, but we nay be done yet, if’n we quit now, it’n all be for naught. And this… this’n be a craft even Ivaldi would be proud of, I can feel it, deep in m’bones, ye ken?” He screwed up his lips, blood sheeting down his torn brow and cheeks, his hands burned by ice and fire as he hammered away, scattering wind, ice and lightning. “But if’n ye can do something…”

Tan’s fires ate away at the ice and wind, but the lightning only grew in intensity. Desperately, I rushed forwards, still working, the last finishing touches being employed, the dull grey Will-o’-the-wisp now turned into a small, shiny violet sphere, shimmering with rainbow energies. The assistant Dwarves and weaselkin desperately maintained their circle of protection, though most Etherites had crumbled, but I waved them aside. I was using Boiling Blood to accelerate my thoughts and actions, and now with three sets of painful blood-related self-harms running all at once, I was starting to think that the Tribulation wasn’t so bad. Tamamo-no-Mae’s test was worse though…

“Kindle, you bastard, spark!” I prayed, perhaps to Tyr, or Tsukuyomi, or some nameless, hopefully benevolent being. Reaching the forge, the spatial barrier that Daiyu and Hyacinth had forged shattered, drawn into Prominence Dusk. The ring blazed, darkness deepening, the matching fringe of light growing brilliant, the Tree behind us casting a long shadow, out over my Territory. Not even able to care what the combination of such mixed elements would be, I ejected it high into the sky, while kicking the Plate back to Daiyu, who caught it, surprised.

“It’s still a present to you… I don’t want it… broken…” I said, as I seized the molten mess that was my former arm. Bjarki had done his best, but my Eye could see it was imperfect, and about ready to explode. But I’m not done… yet… Light is warped by gravity, lensing… I can use that…

Mangetsu surged, illuminating me, casting shadows equal to the Prominence Dusk, no, deeper. But around the small purple jewel I was holding, light bent and twisted, revealing a shape that shouldn’t have existed. It was like a dodecahedron, only with heptagons as faces, which shouldn’t have fit in our geometry. But in four dimensional space… it can. “Get the batteries in!” I cried, my Split Thoughts, Boiling Blood, all Shiro’s buffs, my Eye, spatial element and everything else working in tandem.

Bjarki, not to be outdone, was still trying to purify the Right Arm in its tar-like state. He gestured, and his assistants, many of them sporting layers of painful frost, or jagged cuts from the shrapnel, seized the batteries and raced for the corners, all forty-two of them. As the first were shoved into the spatial gaps illuminated by my Mangetsu, I rapidly closed the space. Some unfortunate Dwarves lost fingers as they couldn’t withdraw in time, but I’d fix them after this. Blood and flesh vaporised, but the impossible array stabilised.

“T’stuff… it…” Bjarki’s hammer disintegrated, a precious tool lost, and I knew we would have to improve our whole setup if we were to craft such wonders in the future. Amber letters blazed across my vision, and by the look in Bjarki’s eyes, he was in the throes of enlightened panic as he refused to give up. Wind scattered from the melting mass, howling, and with a roar, Bjarki grabbed a chisel and thrust it into his own ear, then repeated it on the other side.

“That’n be better, damn whispers. I need… quiet. By Ivaldi’s stinking feet, I ken why he hid himself away t’craft wonders!” Seeing my expression, he grinned madly. “Be fast, I cannae hear ye, so if’n we need t’change the plan, ye’ll have to compensate for me…”

The batteries were in place, and the space around us was humming, vertices of vivid violet flame forming around Bjarki and me. I poured my spatial element into the once-Fae, and the batteries responded, absorbing it, and drawing in surrounding ether. The frame holds and self-reinforces. However… Space was cracking, and we only had a few minutes at best, moments at worst, as the new Klein Bottle, no, the Klein Stone was meant to be a closed system in three dimensions…

“Fine then! I beat near certain death, I’m not going to lose to a damn piece of myself, no matter if it contains Heavenly fury.” As I spoke I was already working, and my Shapercraft began to draw it into a thin, twine-like line. No, too gloopy still, it needs to be perfectly consistent, otherwise any added energy from outside will gradually build up and … that would be bad. Very, very bad.. In that case… I didn’t want to risk this, but…

“Foehn!” Even as I unleashed the roaring, hungry flames, the fortunate winds died down, somehow consumed by Foehn, and the rampaging, hungry tide calmed. The flames melted into the remains of the Right Arm, liquifying it perfectly, before being absorbed into the Lightning within, the remnants frozen and dropping to the ground.

“It’n be ready. But… ye need t’balance it!” Bjarki shouted, unable to hear himself to moderate his tone, or perhaps from excitement at this Fortune-based turn of events. Wearing this ring and having the winds, my Fortune must have been well over a hundred, maybe pushing a hundred and fifty… that’s enough to turn a one percent chance into four percent, ten percent into forty… and when the winds blow themselves out… look at Las Vegas and Shaeula’s win on the slot machines… even wildly improbable results occur…

Bjarki, now using his hands to work the materials, heedless of his dissolving flesh, bones visible, gave me a frenzied grin, and I could do no less. With Fortune on my side and a great craftsman… damn it… we go for it! Blood splattered as I cut my wrist open with a thread of air, as a medium for the craft. I poured out Spirit Water and wind element too, and just like the frozen Sessho-seki, they swirled together forming a brilliant shimmering ice. The lightning and wind trying to escape was momentarily halted, and as I spun the thread, it began to take shape around the core of the Klein Stone. Lightning tried to break out, to purify the fools imprisoning it, but the ice controlled it, sealed it, and the thread froze momentarily.

“It’n be now or never!”

Hearing Bjarki’s cry, my Eye flared, and I realised the Chaotic Wind was now seeping free, threatening to unravel the thread, trying to break apart the ice and steal the water from it. I first considered consuming it with flame element, but that could have destroyed the ice as well, allowing the Purifying Lightning to cascade. The Sessho-seki was only built to evade the Lightning, I think…no, I have considered this. I’ll just have to… Earth element surged, coating the thread, and I used pieces of the Sessho-seki that we had salvaged from the wreckage, that Daiyu had removed from her Spatial Ring, to lightly coat the thread, trusting that the artifice of that cruel old monk was strong enough, since it seemed to hold for many centuries.

There, it’s working. Damn, steady hands, steady hands. With a final effort, the majority of the strange stone, which wasn’t naturally occurring, had absorbed a huge amount of my earth element, as well as water and wind, also strengthening the ice. “Stay in, damn you! It took me great pains to trap you!”

As the final strands wrapped in place, the batteries sparked to life, and with a grunt of desperate willpower, I poured out my remaining spatial element, twisting the few remaining pieces of Adherent Quicksilversteel into place, vanishing them from view. With a final surge of violet aurorae, the shockwave of which tossed the madly cackling Bjarki away, and sent more leaves falling from Asha’s Tree as the gust swept across the hillside, the strange polyhedron collapsed, becoming a small, multi-faceted jewel the size of a fist, the shape constantly shifting and changing, impossible to tell how many faces it had, or what shape each face was. In fact, I think it’s changing moment to moment…

As it fell into my palm, it rested there, cool to the touch, as if faintly covered in frost, and indeed, moisture was forming due to the heat of my skin. Lifting it up, bone-weary, my thoughts scattering, I peered at it, and what I saw both surprised and elated me…

Tengoku-seki [Item Class: Legendary] [Item Type: Law] …