KeroKeron

  Chapter 7 (Small edits):

  SpoilerAdded a few small li in the death of Emily’s parents sooner si will now be relevant for the feters:

  “AAHH,“ Emily lets out a scream in shock before quickly c her mouth, Herber’s fallen form overpping with the long-suppressed image of her parents bleeding out in front of her.

  Not again.

  Her heart drops, her breath catg ihroat as panic threatens to overwhelm her.

  “Tsk,” Diego clicks his tongue. ”Miguel, Jose, capture her for questioning.”

  No, the watch turn back time, it’s fine, Dad will be fine. I do something this time!

  [colpse]

  Chapter 8 (Small edits):

  SpoilerSame as the st, along with having her realise the danger Anna’s in and focus on it sooner:

  “I- I’m fine,” she sniffles. “I just fell asleep at my desk and had a nightmare about you dying. Whehunder woke me up, I thought I’d lost you too for a sed.”

  Herber flinches slightly at her choice of words, releasing a sad sigh as he strokes her hair and holds her tight.

  “Don’t worry Emi, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon,” he forts her.

  That’s right, I’m not letting them take you. I won’t lose another family.

  Emily’s sadness slowly fades into indignant anger. She separates from Herber after a few more seds and smiles at him.

  “Sorry about that, I’ll be fine now, it’s just a bad dream.”

  “No worries kid. Just call me if you need anything, okay? Even if it’s just an. Me and your sister will always be there for you, no matter what.”

  Emily flinches as a hought forms in her mind.

  Anna. I have to protect her too.

  “Haaa,” she sighs and sits down as Herber leaves the room. She pulls over a sheet of paper. “Right, how I actually fix this?”

  Amazing pn to save my family!

  [colpse]

  Chapter 9 - Futility (Title ge, rge edits):

  SpoilerMade some small ges to the start for corre on the power of spells and physical improvements because I didn’t have as solid an idea when I started writing:

  Her split sed of indecision costs her dearly, as Carlos spots her and dives towards Diego with surprising speed, throwing the knife from within his robes and yelling:

  While doing so she fails to notice the faint murmuring ing from Jose, only realising her mistake as a bolt of ice tears through her left thigh.

  Then added a bit more on her reas to Herber’s deaths reting to her parents deaths:

  Emily grits her teeth, overwhelmed by a feeling of revulsion as she is uo look away from the revolting dispy of power due to the pressure holding her ihe choking feeling of helplessness wrenches free the locked away memories of her parents’ demise, their mangled corpses fshing across Emily’s mind as she returns to the past once more.

  Tick! Tick! Tick!

  ***

  Emily chokes back a sob as time resets, repressed pain tearing strips from her heart as rauma settles on top. She hits the desk and stands up, using her ao force the unwanted images from her thoughts.

  Added small ges to show psychological aftereffects between loops:

  I ’t give them time to cast spells. Diego use some form of rock spikes, which will do some serious damage if I'm caught by one, if that icicle is anything to go by.

  She rubs her thigh, the pain still fresh on her mind as if it actually happened.

  Added 2.2k words to the end of the chapter for a few extra loops, the eory ges in order for the feters. Here’s a quick synopsis of what happens in this one, but I suggest its worth reading this yourself:

  After failing to beat the Mandrago mages and watg Miguel use sacrifice to heal Diego’s wounds, Emily resets and tries again. She decides to keep The Clo her pocket after all and to it to the surprise attack tet rid of them. She fails her first attempt after killing Carlos, theing caught off guard by Diego’s physical strength and the resilience of Jose and Miguel (survive a crossbow to the chest and a hand on shot to the gut).

  The attempt, she creates a makeshift single barrel gun as it up with her hand on to use both her avaible bullets with a siring-pull, utilising her advantage of knowily where the mages will move wheering the room tet their hearts. She kills Carlos and Miguel instantly, firing a crossbow bolt into Jose’s throat this time to disable him, then moves into a melee to kill Diego and finish off Jose.

  Herber es in to che the gunfire, finding Emily stood over four dead mages (two with their throats ripped out) and freaks out a little, questioning: “What have you done?”. Emily doesn’t get a ce to respond, as the city is swallowed by the Mandrago Patriarch’s spell and, almost instantly, his presence locks onto Emily. She get’s her hand to The Clht before a spell locks her in pd she’s dragged out of the shop to face the Patriarch. He questions who she works for before killing Herber wheries to cim Emily works for him. Emily mao slip out of his hold enough to activate The Clock, but realises she ’t beat him in a fight, and he’ll e if she kills the es.

  [colpse]

  Chapter 10 - Behind Enemy Liitle ge, rge edits):

  Spoilerged the start add a few new loops attempting to hide from the Mandrago mages:

  She tries destroying mana crystals nearby to create distras, hoping they’ll mask her awakening to no avail. Theries running from the shop with the crystals and waiting until after the Mandrago’s e looking for her. They sughter everyone oreet and she es back to find them before resetting.

  Deleted everything after 1k words ter and moved the first visit to the mandrago estate (short synopsis of eg bridge):

  Emily resets time and vinces Herber not to e into the shopfront so she speak with the mages alone.

  When talking to them, Emily argues that Herber and Anna aren’t actually her family since she’s adopted, so they don’t o: “take responsibility for the crimes of their family” like Diegued. Saying this hurts Emily, but it seems to work, since Diego agrees to let her e without toug Herber and Anna. Emily doubts it, but follows him back to the Mandrago estate. The chapter ends as the first brainwashing finishes.

  [colpse]

  Chapter 11 - Diminishiurns (Title ge, full rewrite):

  SpoilerThis entire chapter covers some ses extracted from other chapters, and a rge amount of new tent. Short synopsis:

  Emily once agais ordered to give Diego The Clock immediately after the brainwashing is finished. However, this time Emily has experiehe Patriarch’s strength and refuses to i with him without the safety b, so she resets.

  She repeats the attempt but doesn’t let them see her holding The Clock. They enter and face the Patriarch, Diego immediately introduces Emily as the daughter of a aker from the city who stole mana crystals from them. The Patriarch uses a spell to choke Emily while asking Diego about her family, and upon hearing they’re fine, asks for both Herber and Anna to be killed to send a message not to steal from them.

  Emily resets again, but starts looking for a way to save either of her family members, notices that if they execute Herber immediately, they don’t seem to feel the o attana as well. Tries another frontation with Diego, this time letting him kill Herber, and when asking to not burn his body, she specifically says: “His grave will leave a reminder for people not to make the same mistake as me” to try say Diego. He agrees, and when speaking to the Patriarch this time, he cims to have killed Herber but left Anna with the body to spread the word of what happens when people steal from them. The Patriarch is satisfied with the oute, asking for a servant to be sent to leave a mark (a scar) on Anna’s face as well so she’ll act as a living reminder of what happens when you mess with them.

  Emily resets again, now knowing a way to save Anna at least, and tells Herber about everything. After ving him magid time travel are real, she questions if it’s possible to get smuggled out as o hope, but Herber shuts it down saying the city will be alerted if they are missing from their home when the nobles e looking for them (and Emily knows the Patriarch will act himself if o locate them quickly). Emily accepts that Herber has to die as again for proper final goodbye. Chapter ends with Emily making sandwiches alone.

  [colpse]

  Chapter 12 - Resolution (Title ge, tent added from other chapters, mostly old words though):

  SpoilerA few things have been tweaked for tinuity with s, but this chapter just covers Emily’s final frontation with Diego’s group. Anna actually watches Herber’s death from the kit now, and Emily sees her g over his body as she leaves but doesn’t say anything out of guilt.

  The rest of the versation with the Patriarch after deg her family’s fate pys out, then Emily’s sent to the room she’ll be staying in.

  [colpse]

  Chapter 13 (Small edits but importas):

  SpoilerEdited to add memories of Herber dying to Mandrago Patriarch:

  “Dad… he… it’s okay, he didn’t end up like…. That!” She shivers and forces back the images of Herber mangled by spikes of rock, or spttered on the floor in a pile of gore, that intrude unwanted on her mind.

  Added small ges to show a little more Emily’s forceful emotional trol:

  “Haaa.” Letting out a deep breath, her eyes flit open with a glint of steel that fades as she gnces down at her still-naked form.

  Fleshed out Emily watg the time tick past Herber’s death and her emotional shutdown and habits of distra ing into full effect:

  Emily remains irance for ahree hours, dropping it the moment she feels a familiar emptiness at her core. Instantly, she switches to meditation, which she stays in for a while before opening her eyes and pulling out The Clock to check it: 8:15.

  Dad died at 8:16.

  She sits in silence, sadness swirling in her gaze as the seds tick down.

  Tick! Tick! Tick!

  8:16.

  Her chest tightens and her hand starts to shake as fshes of Herber dripping with blood, or drenched in it, fill her mind.

  Tick! Tick! Tick!

  She resists the urge to press the button. To see his faore time.

  Tick! Tick! Tick!

  8:17.

  A string in Emily’s heart snaps, as she is ed by panic.

  Should I have reset again? Could I have saved him? Was there something I didn’t think of? Something I didn’t try?

  Then she remembers the Patriard the overwhelming power he wields.

  Dad’s fate was already sealed the moment I stole those magic crystals. It was already too te by the time I made The Clock. The only choice I had was who else died too.

  Hoping that’s true, she feels a siear roll down her cheek as ice washes through her veins, the memories of Herber’s demise sinking into the depths of her mind. She sits perfectly still, staring at the tig pocket watch for three more minutes before she hears a knock at her door. She shuts her eyes and takes a slow breath, before turning to the door and calling for the maids to enter.

  This time they are carrying another set of pin clothes and a fresh towel, along with her dinner. Emily thanks them as they leave, dropping The Clock bato her pocket before f herself to chew her meal, barely aware of what she is eating. She turns her mind to magic to distract from the chilling void withiermio learn enough magic to exact her revenge.

  It looks like I won’t be able to learn enough ruo form a spell quickly.

  [colpse]

  Chapter 14 (Small but importas):

  SpoilerAdded Emily trying to get a message to Anna:

  She notices a mert she reises in the docks before they leave, as time to write a o pass to him to give to Anna:

  Dear Anna,

  I’m sorry I left like I did. I wish I could expin and apologise to you properly, but I don’t have the words to vey my message on paper.

  I know you’re hurting, but you’re strong. I know you’ll get back up again and keep going.

  I promise I’m not abandoning you. I’ll be back within three years, and I’ll expihing then.

  I love you so muever fet that.

  Love, Emi. Your sister forever and always.

  ed in a note for him:

  Hellory,

  We haven’t spoken before, but I’m Herber Coldstone’s daughter, Emily Coldstone. I ’t currently speak to you, but please could you deliver the enclosed letter to my sister, Anna. She should be at Herber’s shop.

  Hand this o her as well, and she’ll pay you three silvers. (Tell her to use my savings - she’ll know where they’re kept.)

  Please nod at me if you agree,

  Thanks, Emily

  He nods and she boards the ship like usual. (also made small ges to how Antos Jose, now more businesslike)

  [colpse]

  Chapter 15 (Small edits):

  SpoilerAdded a small o show Anton held caution towards Emily:

  “Yes, my father was a aker before the Mandragos cimed me, and I learned a bit from him,” she answers with a wistful smile, notig some of the tension in Anton’s shoulders slip away.

  [colpse]

  Chapter 16 (Small edits):

  SpoilerAdded a small o show Anton (airship captain) and Ahat Emily got along with were vocally against nobles:

  Ange and Anton the most, being friendly with the two due to their easy-going natures and poorly veiled distaste for nobility.

  Added note of other attacks to mention of sand stalker attacks:

  Emily shivers at the thought, remembering hiding from sand stalkers when she was seven and they ehe slums, and other assaults from worse beasts she’d rather not remember. She’ll never fet the feeling of helplessness as she listeo, and watched, children and adults alike being ripped apart after failing to escape their clutches.

  [colpse]

  Chapter 17 (Small edits):

  SpoilerAdded small o show that Emily was cautious towards Juliana:

  “o meet you, I’m Juliana Madonna and I’ve beeo wele you into The ant.”

  Emily quickly regains her wits, a cautious glint fshing in her eye unseen.

  Not a Mandrago? Does she work with them? Or is she ued and here a by The ant?

  Without pause, she returns the greeting with a bow of her own.

  “I’m Emily Coldstone of house Mandrago. What house are you from?”

  “Madonna!” Juliana says with a smile as she grabs Emily’s free hand and pulls her along. “Let’s go. If we hurry, we should be able to catch the rain!”

  Not a Mandrago then.

  She seems awfully proud of kidnapping and brainwashing people. No, actually I don’t know if all families do that, maybe I just met a particurly shitty one. She seems too io be bragging about that. Then again, there’s no guarantee she knows even if her family does braineople…

  “I see…” Emily sighs, pressing her doubts down and not letting them show on her face while asking with a sly smile: “Also, weren’t we meant to be rag to catch a train?”

  [colpse]

  Chapter 18 (Small edits):

  SpoilerAdded small o show that Emily was cautious towards Juliana:

  “Oh, take room B53! I’m in B51 so we’d be neighbours!” Juliana excims, sparking an internal debate for Emily.

  Why does she want to stay close? Is she really just very friendly, or have the Mandrago family sent someoo keep tabs on me? Hmm, I don’t think they’d feel the hey seemed very fident in their mental magic... Ah well, I’ll see where this goes for now. It’s not like I’ll show her anything I o hide from the Mandragos.

  “Sure, I’ll have room B53 then please.”

  [colpse]

  Chapter 19 (Small edits):

  SpoilerAdded to internal anger about Herber to include Patriarch:

  I guess I only really want to kill the Patriarch, that bastard Diego, and his goons. They’re the ohat actually killed Da-

  Emily is pulled out of her thoughts by a light squeeze on her hand, which had begun shaking without her realising.

  “Hey, are you okay? You look like you want to murder someone,” Juliana asks nervously, with clear written on her face.

  Emily takes a deep breath to calm herself, f the thoughts of Herber’s demise back down, then responds with a light smile.

  [colpse]

  Chapter 20 (Small edits):

  SpoilerShowing Emily losing caution towards Juliana:

  “No problem! I’m gd I picked up the mission. It's not every day you get to earn points and make a new friend. You wan diogether ter?”

  So she was here for a mission?

  A little more of Emily’s remaining caution slips away as she responds.

  [colpse]

  Chapter 26 (Small edits):

  SpoilerAdded o show the st of Emily’s caution for Juliana fading:

  After a couple of seds scribbling, Jenny hands back the notebook with a dozen noble families written down. Reading over the list, Emily lets out a small sigh of relief, the st of her caution towards Juliana washing away.

  No Madonna family!

  [colpse]

  Chapter 38: Tiny tinuity fixes.

  Not worth noting

  Chapter 51: Uo other ges, but fixed an error I noticed when rereading earlier chapters:

  SpoilerYeah, I asked a few weeks ago in enting,” Emily answers eagerly. “It’s a supermassive array uhe Dome that was set up when The ant was created. It fulfils three major funs, the first is one you already know, fusing unawakened people that try to get close to The Dome and turning them around. I assume it’s some form of illusion, like the training room ehe sed is ing the city, ara fun requested by the royal family to keep their capital looking nid shiny. The st is trag. The array detects all movement within the mist and especially fgs mana signatures to help spot any mages trying to infiltrate the city. It’s got to be an incredible array; I wish I could go see it.”

  [colpse][colpse]

  Emily closes her eyes again but pauses before diving bato the Spellweave.

  Sihis is only pushing mana to my cortex for experimenting on known spells, please tell me this works. Sub-cores, learn all first circle spells using the Spellweave.

  Instantly, three of her four cores buzz to life and mana and maa pour into her cortex before spreading throughout her entire system as her expanded mental processiarts tearing through her and. While her cores follow her instrus, Emily watches her mana level slowly decrease.

  It’s a drain, but it's only small.

  Splittihoughts in two dires pletely, in a mahat feels alie all too natural to her at the same time, she uses ohread in her primary core to watch her mana level and internal flow, and the other three to restart The Teancer’s Breath that stopped when she gave her cores a new and. The mana that rushes into her body from the surrounding array instantly overpowers the drain of her skill, filling her reserves and slowly expanding them.

  Woah! My meditation teique wasn’t upgraded, but it appears my assion naturally increases my mana intake and geion by a lot.

  She smiles happily at the ge, basking in the warm embraana. After twenty mihe activity in her cores fizzles out. To test the results, Emily raises a hand and thinks of the light spell. In a fra of a sed, a dazzling orb of white light spins ien her hand.

  “That was fast,” she mutters absentmindedly, feeling an odd sense of e with the spell as if she’s been casting it daily for years. “Strange. I almost feel as if I could just…”

  One of her sub-cores bubbles with mana for a few seds, before passing three ruo her primary sciousness. Emily bends the light spell’s magic circle, ref three of its existing runes into the new ones supplied, and with a quick switental image, the orb before her ges. The glowing white is quickly burned from the tre, being repced by a flickering orb of ethereal e fmes.

  Emily excitedly passes her other hand through the fmes and feels .

  I just ged the element of a utility light spell to a violent element without ging the effect! Does this mean I could heal with fire? Or create light with earth? What are the limits?

  As her excitement for the topic grows, one of her cores starts pying in the Spellweave t her answers. Emily moves on, leaving the question as a background task, and stands up to test her rength.

  “Let’s do this properly,” she says with glee, walking to the training room’s entrand leaving. She adjusts the settings before walking ba, finding a wide, empty space with ten mages standing in a line before her. Each mage has a b of white robes on, and all of them have a smooth, white, featureless mask in pce of a face.

  “Disperse!” Emily ands.

  The training dummies follow without question, spreading out evenly in the room.

  “Activate defensive spells!”

  Ten different magic circles appear around the dummies. A multitude of elements are used, from rocky armour to bubbles of fire. Emily starts by pointing at the closest dummy, ed in a protective sheen of water. She rapidly casts bolt, f the magic circle of the spell pletely within her own circles. The spell tears a lihrough space towards the dummy, ripping through the sed circle defensive spell with retive ease.

  Internal casting of sed circle spells, check.

  The training dummy disies into particles, surprising Emily a little.

  “It still had enough power to destroy one of these?” she mutters incredulously, lining up her hand with another dummy and sending a burning nce of fire into it.

  The fming nce bursts against the stone armour c the dummy, ripping the rock apart in the process and shredding the dummy with rocks and fire.

  I see. Increasing my mana purity ay even makes weaker spells drastically stronger.

  “Line up and stack barriers!” she orders the dummies, pnning for o magical test.

  Emily stands before the line of dummies, each providing some form e-scale cover to protect themselves from her. She closes her eyes for a moment, drawing on a carefully refined mental image: produced after hours of researto the bows still used with terrifyihality in the Lerus Isles.

  A massive circle is carved into the floor around her, burning its way into the world in an e-and-white glow, the white far more pronouhan with Emily’s normal fire spells. The circle quickly fills with runes, before they leap from the ground, drawing bzing arcs as a plicated matrix of movement s around her. A shining white bow of light forms in the air before Emily, densing till it appears as a milky-white crystal, with a blisteringly bright arrow e fire nocked and ready to shoot.

  Emily feels her mana draining, close to a thousand points flowing into the spell as the bow slowly draws bad the tre of the arrow forms a glistening white core of molteal and light.

  “Bzing Arrow of Light!” Emily announces proudly as the circle bursts with power and the tension iaut bow’s limbs is released.

  Even with her enhanced reas and eyesight, Emily struggles to follow the motion of the arrow as it flies out of the bow, releasing a crag sound as it tears through the air and impacts the first barrier within an instant. Meeting little resistahe arrow burns through the first barrier of fire, pung a hole through the torso of the dummy behind as it tis flight. The arrow draws a line of burning light, tearing a path through every barrier in its way and only dying out as it buries itself into the chest of the seventh dummy.

  “Seven barriers in one go!” Emily mutters happily.

  Though some of them were poor matches. Those fire barriers would have put up ance. Also, it took far too long to cast. I o learn some real third circle spells. It's a shame that I ’t cast a sed circle ritual spell with internal casting though. Why is that?

  She begins casting the spell again, watg the circle being carved into the floor around her once again as she siders.

  Ritual spells work by temporarily maing an array, turning the ground or air around you into a duit to hold a rge amount of mana, more than a normal mage at that level handle in one go.

  Emily’s mana flows quickly into the magic circle from the new, unstable circle around her heart.

  I see, since I’m using more mana in one go than sed circle spells would allow, I ’t hold the spell in two circles. They don’t have enough mana throughput to build up or discharge that rge an amount of mana at once, causing the spell to bee unstable.

  She cels her casting ahe spell fizzle out around her with a hint of disappoi in her eyes.

  That’s a shame. I’m probably going to have to get rid of burning arrow after spending so long on it... Maybe I remake a third circle version?

  Emily takes a deep breath, releasing it slowly to calm her rag thoughts, still slightly adjusting to her once again increased processing speed from the assion.

  Four threads on each core, and each thread is more powerful. I’m going to have to start sciously matg my processing speed properly to the world around me. Wait. Am I?

  She pauses for a moment, quickly building a pn in her mind and firming the validity based on her new instinctual uanding of her cortex. She shuts her eyes, drawing her focus inwards and picturing her cortex as four orbs of light f in her bnk mindscape, each orb representing one of her four cores. One of the orbs quivers before elongating into a shining humanoid form, and Emily’s perception joins to the form smoothly.

  She looks down at the form’s glowing hands, gazing closer and seeing a small work of neurons, all sparking with light.

  Good. This should make things easier. Though it uses two threads on my main core to maintain such a detailed rendering.

  She reaches out for the anaging Teancer’s Breath’s passive use, drawing it into primary focus in the spad splitting it apart into four separate s of light.

  First, we need ohread to maintain the energy circution. I don’t need one for maintaining the breathing anymore: my body seems to be doing that naturally now. Then one of these threads will be desigo mahe other cores’ workflow. , one of these threads will mahe primary sciousness’s perception: limiting the current thread use based on processing demand or danger. It should keep me running at normal human speeds unless I’m actively trying to work something out quickly, age full assistive processing with all cores if I’m in danger.

  The gaze of her virtual form falls on the final thread within this core.

  Let’s link this thread to that ohis st thread will stantly watch my magical senses for threats and oddities in my surroundings and alert me if his core will be desighe trol core and will remain oasks unless needed in bat.

  As she finalises her choices and releases the core to return to the view of all three, she sees the other two cores kig into motion, both w on different projects within the Spellweave.

  Good, now my cores should be getting utilised properly in downtime. For now, I’ll use them all as much as possible. But iure, if it's needed, I set the trol core to manage a rotating sleep schedule to keep me permaly awake.

  Emily opens her eyes, leaving her mindscape aurning to a view of the training room.

  Right, o test before I leave here.

  She pulls out The Clock, staring at the seds hand tig by.

  Full assistive processing.

  The seds hand stops. Emily watches it, ting seds in her own perception as she waits. Three seds ter, the hand moves.

  It has only increased by a little. I guess I’ll need a lot more cores to make it seem like time’s standing still. Return to desigasks.

  Time returns to normal, and Emily tucks The Clock bato her breast pocket. She turns towards the door and strides out of the training room.

  “Let’s go surprise Jules,” she mutters with a grin.

  ***

  Unfortunately, when Emily returns to the dorms, Juliana is absent. Shrugging off her disappoi, she enters her room and decides to take a shower while she waits for Juliana to return.

  She strips out of her equipment aers the bathroom, freezing as she sees herself in the mirror.

  Was my skin always that smooth?

  She leans into the mirror, looking closely at her face. Her skin is pale and smooth, without a single imperfe or visible blemish.

  My ae scars are gone. Wait, my scars!

  Eyes widening in a moment of panic, Emily’s gaze falls on her exposed torso. Instantly, she sees the scars trag her form. Running her eyes down from the small jagged line across her shoulder, a gift left by Jeremy and Kyle’s attack, to the particurly pronounced mark from her left hip to her belly button, a record of a particurly close enter with a knife-wielding adult in the slums, she lets out a sigh of relief.

  “Good,” she mutters, rubbing her fingers fondly over the cut.

  Taking a step back, Emily strips off pletely, taking in her current state with a critical eye. Her skin is pletely smooth and blemish free all over, the only signs of the life she’s lived being the scars and calluses that remain. Even the light hairs c her body have vanished, leaving her smooth to the touch. Her muscles are taut and well defined, and her fad proportions, while hard for her to judge, seem to have ged as well.

  Is my assion improving my body aesthetically as well? Is that iional or just a side effect? I’d lean towards iional, since my freckles are missing but my scars remain. If it was a side effect, I would have thought it would remove scars first. Instead, it’s like it got rid of the bits I didn’t like, but kept those I do. Either way, I’m certainly happy with the ges.

  With a small grin, Emily stops admiring herself and climbs into the shower. She takes her time, enjoying the warm water washing over her body. After climbing out and drying off, she hears a three-beat knock at the door. She throws on a shirt and underwear before opening the door for Juliana.

  Juliana pulls her into an immediate hug, but as she pulls away to look at Emily, a small frown creases her brow. Emily keeps a ral face, tilting her head in fusion as Juliana leans in to look closely at her.

  “What’s wrong? You don’t think I’m pretty anymore?” she asks in a teasing tone.

  “Ha,” Juliana scoffs, narrowing her eyes. “If anything you’re eveier. What did you do?”

  Emily’s lips part into a sly grin as she releases her mana, letting it flow freely from her body. Pressure crackles in the air around them, revealing the power hidden within Emily’s robust frame. Juliana’s eyes open wide in disbelief.

  “I reached third circle,” Emily says, snapping Juliana out of her shock.

  “gratutions!” she cheers with glee, pulling Emily into a kiss.

  Emily giggles after they separate, pulling Juliana further into her room and away from the door.

  “Wait, was that thundercp you then?” Juliana asks, dropping into Emily’s p on her bed.

  “Yes. My assioo cause a otiohey happen. Do you think there’ll be any trouble?”

  “Probably not. It was weird that a magical effect like that mao pee The Dome, but I would have shrugged it off if your assion didn’t happen to line up with it. Anyway, what’s your pn now then? You’ve been waiting for this for a while, right?” Juliana asks while rexing into her chest.

  “Yeah,” Emily nods, running her hand through Juliana’s hair. “I have a deal I made with Aghat I o follow through on first. Then, I’m gonna pn another expedition into The Gde.”

  Juliana’s grip tightens at her response. Emily sighs, reassuringly patting her girlfriend’s head. They sit in silence for a few minutes until Juliana speaks again.

  “I’m ing with you.”

  Emily starts slightly at the statement, surprised by the firm certainty in Juliana’s tone.

  “Are you sure?” Emily asks, leaning back slightly to look at her face.

  “Mm huh.” Juliana nods, looking up at Emily with tears in her eyes. “Yoing to be leaving afterwards, aren’t you?”

  “Ah,” Emily’s words cat her throat, the sadness and resolve in Juliana’s gaze driving a wedge into her heart.

  “Haaa,” Emily lets out a deep sigh, dropping her head to rest on her girlfriend’s shoulder. “You knew?”

  “Of course I did,” Juliana says, running her hand through Emily’s hair as tears roll down her cheeks.

  “I’m sorry,” Emily whispers, uo hold back her own tears.

  KeroKeron