On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Three Hundred

“Well, at least this training shouldn’t be painful.” I grinned. “Although I do want to continue pushing your Ether Healing later too.”

Eri bit her lip at that, remembering the agony, but she nodded, resolute. Getting up from my lap, she brushed herself off. “Something to look forward too.” she joked.

“I’m tired Aki. You know I’ve not got much stamina.” Shiro sighed. “But… I guess you know what you’re doing, and are thinking of us. Fine. I’m out of aether though, so I don’t think I can manage much.” Shiro got off my lap as well, a touch regretfully, I thought. “You know, that was nice. Though it’s usually the guy lying in the lap of the girl in manga, right?”

“Do not-not worry about what others do, only what we wish to do.” Shaeula smirked. “Now, I am curious. What-what shall we train next? I am eager, as I had little-little to do while you worked.”

“As for aether, don’t worry.” I pointed to the sea. We were a bit outside our Territory along the coast, able to see the orange geysers of elemental energy in the distance. “While the tide of aquatic enemies has slackened off for now, I’m sure we can always draw out some more. Sagami bay is likely full of prey.” My smile was savage. “Of course, if we run into some aquatic Yokai who can communicate, we’ll try for an alliance, bringing in some more troops can’t hurt.” Besides, the more Fae, Yokai and other intelligent beings I meet, the less appetite I have for fighting them. Unless they need to be destroyed of course. Some of the Night Parade surely qualified for that, of course, such as the Kijo, but others could be reasoned with, accommodations reached.

“So you want us to fill up and keep training? Monster, brute, pervert!” Shiro complained.

“Hey, that last one is unfair!” I joked, to the laughter of everyone. “But you’re not wrong. We have an advantage, that I can appraise our skills, and Shaeula and I can also see the flow of aether and your chakra networks, as well as adjust them with Chirurgery. We need to leverage this.” When we get a Ring Gate set up in Kyoto, we can start working with Yasaka-san as well. He has a different sort of informative ability, but I suspect it can find out things I can’t. Saionji-san should be interested in strengthening Yasaka-san as well, considering he’s an ally… “There’s also one more source of information we have access to that nobody else does.”

“Me?” Shiro asked, seeing my gaze, before realising. “No, Tan, right?”

Yeah, Ortlinde, even in her brief few hours with me, imparted a lot of wisdom that at least pointed me in the right direction, even if it was rather scant on details. So having Taṇhā, a being from a higher plane, one who might even be classed as a God, to some extent, here to advise us is surely a great boon.

“I do not wish to destroy your hopes...” Tan declared seriously, fully taking over Shiro, eyes and hair burning with iridescent flame. “…but there is much wisdom I cannot impart to you. Many secrets of the higher Astral must remain just that. Secrets.”

“I am curious as to why-why that is.” Shaeula inquired, her eyes sparkling with interest. “Surely your lot has been thrown in with us now, has it not-not? Your actions, to effectively take the Divine Favour meant for Shiro here and usurp her body are surely breaches of whatever agreement you did-did have with the other pantheons, am I not-not correct?”

“I did not usurp the princess.” Tan protested huffily. “We came to an agreement. Perhaps the agreement was… rather more of benefit to me, but I did and always intended to honour my promises. Despite my lineage, and father having a… wicked… reputation, I do not believe I am evil, merely eager to secure what I wish. No, if you want to see true evil…” she clammed up then. “Well, I cannot speak of that, for it touches on the higher Astral and the mysteries.”

“See, I don’t get it.” I shrugged. “I get that all you pantheons have some kind of agreement, Ortlinde said so herself, but really, as Shaeula said, you’ve already breached it. Who is going to know if you tell us a few things?”

“It is far from that simple.” Tan protested. “There are always those that know. Oracles and seekers of truth, those that dig secrets free from the darkness where they are buried. The pantheons used to contend savagely with each other, many worlds destroyed, Territories annihilated. Now… now we have a truce, though skirmishes, covert wars and sabotage is not uncommon. Amongst pantheons and between them. Shadow wars.” Tan shook Shiro’s head sadly, frowning as if to mock the stupidity of it all. “Though most of the spoils of the agreement goes to the One True Throne, the majority of worlds that survive, in themselves a minority, that does not mean the alternative is any better. So yes, like the Valkyrie from the World Tree, who smuggled such a delectable fruit down to you…” she was drooling again, and I imagined Shiro was writhing with embarrassment inside her. “… I made a choice. Originally I was to pass on the Divine Favour and return, but seeing the princess, her… fascinating and vanishingly rare circumstances, I decided to take a risk. To gain a world for my father, one that I control… well, I would be benefitting, as would my whole pantheon. Father and my sisters… we are not well liked within our sphere.”

“I see. Well, your father does have an evil reputation.” I agreed.

“Good and evil are relative concepts. What is beneficial for one is good, harmful is evil. But I am not here to debate philosophy. The risk was worth it, but now… I have lost my guarantee of this world becoming mine, have I not?” she glared at me, single remaining eye narrowed, crimson light leaking from within. “I still believe that your world has a greater chance of survival within my grasp. Though I dare say the princess will not fight you for it.”

“No, I most certainly won’t.” Shiro managed to protest. “Aki and I, when it comes down to it, we’ll work something out. But it should be one of us, right? Oh wait, your sister has a Divine Favour too now, right? Maybe you’d concede to her, since you are such a siscon!”

More laughter, and Eri shrugged. “He might, but Aiko wouldn’t take it. She’s a bigger brocon than Akio is a siscon. She’s content to be his strength, I think.”

“Whoa, is that even possible?” Shiro goggled. “My mind is blown!” Tan then regained control, speaking sourly.

“Enough. These are important matters, I find this humour inappropriate. I shall impart some small wisdom. Territories of the third, fourth and fifth ranks are common. Many powerful beings control such, drawing on their strength. I myself possess a Fifth Rank Territory within the Pantheon, one that puts your trifling land to shame. I suspect that the Territory you call the Seelie Court is one such Fifth Rank Territory. The gap from Fifth to Sixth, where the higher Astral resides, is far. Few existing Territories go from Fifth to Sixth. Gathering the resources, the ether, defending it for long, bitter years as it lies helpless… no, the safest way to a Sixth Rank Territory is to grow a world from the shallows, commanding it as an Astral Emperor. But even that is largely doomed to failure, or another world joins the One True Throne. I believed I could take advantage…”

Okay, the gap from Third to Fourth Rank is massive, I know that. Even assuming for Fifth Rank it goes back to a tenfold jump, which I doubt… then Fifth to Sixth being another bottleneck, possibly even worse than Third to Fourth… my head hurts just thinking about it. If it wasn’t for me becoming more Fae-like, would I even live long enough to make this possible?

Seeing my expression, Tan laughed. “You now see why few worlds survive? There are some pantheons that stand aloof, and prey harshly on worlds they find, sucking them dry to fuel the slow growth of their own Territories, though these are usually the weaker ones. There are also creatures who have carved out their own Territories, Astral Emperors of their own domains. They also hunger for strength, for growth. They are no match for the pantheons, of course, lying low when stronger beings cross their paths, but for ripe, fresh worlds, it is as easy as stamping on a bug when they are discovered.”

“For someone who wasn’t going to say much, you said a lot, not that I’m complaining.” I observed, and Tan shook Shiro’s head again.

“Such secrets I can divulge. They are merely fragments of knowledge any world that connects to the higher Astral, or has visitors from the tides above, will discover. No, I cannot speak of specifics, of strength. That is what the Favours are for. If we wished to claim a world discovered, as happened in the past, well, if I exerted my true might, it would be trivial. But the Boundary would sunder and burn away under my radiance, and it would be a beacon to others, to predators and other pantheons. They too would hurry to claim the resources and beings here. Battles would break out, and the world would likely be reduced to ashes in the crossfire. While nigh-numberless worlds dwell here in the shallows, and the pantheons encompass near-infinite Territories, the loss of so many could not be borne, not since the… well, this I cannot speak of.” Tan shuddered, looking frightened. “… do you think warring pantheons, with endless history of war, hatred and destruction, would just agree to a set of such restrictive rules?”

“It seems this One True Throne might.” Eri observed. “It seems like they almost always win, so it benefits them.”

“Of course it does, after all, they are the only Ninth Heaven.” Tan spat. “No other single pantheon is anywhere near their match. Though with allies…” she paused, before gathering her thoughts. “It was the One True Throne who pushed most for restrictions on knowledge. The Six Paths, your World Tree, others… they had no wish to hoard knowledge so deeply. But to reach accord…” she shook her head. “My father agreed. After all, the One True Throne hates competition, but certain Gods, it hates with a furious passion. My father amongst them.” She sighed. “I will say one last thing, skirting the bounds of what I may reveal. Should this world crown an Astral Emperor, such a being will be of use in the battles above. Perhaps a few of the strongest other humans and spiritual beings will also find favour, but the majority will be nothing more than numbers. Though even numbers have their place. So do not grow arrogant. Even a powerful world is but a single world. Never forget that.”

“Here. All that talking is thirsty wooork!” Hyacinth handed us some drinks, fruit juice and honey mead. I looked at her, only to see silvery bodies of fish-creatures vanishing, turning to ether, behind us. Seeing my gaze, Hyacinth giggled. “The mistresses were engrossed in the talk, Akio, and sooo were you. I did nooot want you to be disturbed, so I dealt with them.”

“I see. Great job!” I praised her, rubbing her head, and she purred happily. “So, I get it. I think. A fresh world reaching the higher Astral is merely a small chick, easily destroyed, but still has some value to the larger pantheons. I suppose if we look at it like this, all resources are better than not having them. It’s like adding an extra Ether Spire. I’d take it in a heartbeat if I could. Well, Tan, thanks for that. I don’t want to get you in trouble, not when that might get Shiro dragged into it as well, but… I’m sure my course is a correct one now.” It can’t just be me being strong all alone. Yes, I need strength, strength to protect the Earth, and it looks like being Astral Emperor, while the first goal, isn’t the end goal, merely the start of a longer journey. No, if we are to survive, and not merely as a vassal, or even a slave, of the established, higher powers, we need to show both value and enough strength to make us less of an easy target. To that end…

“Tan, now I’m sure. Your whole competition is twisted in favour of the One True Throne, as you call them. There’s probably some trick to it, that gives them the advantage, that you all agreed to. But forget that. I want my world to have a chance of something better. First, I need to stop it being destroyed. And then… I don’t want it to be just the leader of the world who has value, whoever that ends up being. I want humanity to be powerhouses, to matter. So to that end, I have some questions. Simple ones, that I hope you can answer without breaking your agreement further.” I looked at Tan with earnest hopes, and she sighed, defeated.

“Very well. Your pleas have reached me, man. I cannot divulge higher techniques or abilities, but a few scraps from the table, such as this Valkyrie provided, that I can do. So, ask.”

“We were talking about growth, and how I believe the reason why Ortlinde only gave me the seeds and as little actual power as possible was to not twist my foundations, allowing my growth to be as pure and strong as possible. This is accurate, right?”

“I believe so.” Tan agreed. “Everything is built upon foundations. If the foundation is rushed, unstable, or not comprehended, future growth will suffer. Even if it is strong to start, eventually the unstable growth will lead to failure, a tangle that halts progress.”

Just as I thought. Well, knowing that… “So, from what I have gathered so far, the root of strength is the body, right? Material and Astral, the Silver Cord connecting them as well? And the fundamental abilities to control aether, and possibly adherence? Elemental abilities are flexible and powerful, but they seem oddly derivative.”

Everyone was looking at me with interest now, and Tan licked her lips, a hungry expression in her eye. “You are rather perceptive. Or is that the Eye you have?” she looked into my grey orb flecked with amber stars. “I believe I can share this, yes. Material laws are the first foundation. There are many worlds that have technology far exceeding that which this planet can muster. Some has spread through the pantheons, though many disdain such things. Because Material yields to Astral.” Tan observed. “Though without the Material, the Astral holds no meaning. Then above that… I cannot speak of this.” She sighed. “Adherence… the concentrated power of belief… it is indeed more powerful than ether, yet also more finite. Your path is a hard one, but to build a tower that reaches the realms above, a weak foundation will simply not do.”

“I wish to know more-more about elements. After all, Fae are creatures of the elements.” Shaeula insisted. Tan merely shrugged.

“Answer me this. Earth, Fire, Air, Water. Earth, Fire, Water, Metal, Wood. Light and Darkness. Lightning, Ice, Wood and Metal. Why do these exist? Why are they grouped so? When you know the answer, you will surely understand.”

Yes, I have wondered about that. Just taking the first group, Earth is a mixture of various periodic elements and compounds, fire is a chemical process, water is a compound, and air is a mixture. Then we have metal, which is a series of periodic elements. Ice is just water in a solid state… light is, well, light, but darkness isn’t even really a thing, just an absence of light. It doesn’t make sense, unless… ether and adherence, they follow one rule. I think I’m on the edge of an answer…

“I see-see.” Shaeula was close, too. “When Akio first mastered the wind, I did-did wonder how he managed it so easily, but then his knowledge did indeed-indeed help me to grow my own mastery. Strange. Material laws, then yielding to the Astral. I think…” she too struggled with the concepts.

“Right. Well, we’ve come a long way around my idea, but here goes. We need to strengthen our cores. Levelling is a finite resource for you all right now. But stronger skills, that we can work on. So, I intend to have us work on aether manipulation, our silver cords and our chakra networks. I know it’s difficult, but all our other abilities seem to flow from these.” I looked at Shiro then. “We’ll be working on adherence manipulation as well, but not today. I’m very low on adherence, most of mine was used to give my sis Yamato’s Divine favour.” Tsukiko-san did the same for me, giving me hers, as I didn’t have enough left to accept Tsukuyomi’s gift on my own.

“That’s going to be tough. My chakra network is ruined, right?” Eri sighed.

“As for us Fae, we struggle to manipulate aether, do we not-not?” Shaeula agreed with Eri about the difficulty. “It is instinctive for us, like breathing.”

“Yes, but you’ve already learned how to do it to a decent extent, right?” I consoled her. “And Eri, yeah, it’ll be hard, but it might also help us put you back together, I think. As for Shiro, it’ll make you stronger and healthier. Besides, we have a lot of advantages others don’t.” I used some of my own aether, which was plentiful, since I was just about to cross the five-thousand mark in terms of my Aether stat. “Here. Here’s what Eri looked like before she got tangled up with Ginneka.” I created a shining hologram of her network. “And here’s now.” Another one appeared, this one messed up and shifting. “Shaeula before, and Shaeula now she is a Kamaitachi as well as a Fae.” Her seven primary chakras were now surrounded by dark halos, orbiting them, only the lunar chakra free from this new addition. “And here’s Shiro’s, and mine.” Holding all the images was giving my Split Thoughts a workout, and returning my headache to me, which seemed to come when I was overstressing my mind. Still, no pain, no gain, right?

“They all have a lot of similarities, but they look different.” Eri observed, and Shiro agreed.

“Yes, mine seems to be connected to another, here. Is this Tan’s?” she asked, pointing to various strange offshoots.

“I think so. My Eye doesn’t seem to be strong enough to fully unveil Tan yet, so I only see some of the overlapping and connecting parts.”

“I should think not.” Tan said suddenly. “I would be greatly ashamed for a mere mortal to spy my secrets. After all, I am Divine!”

“Akio, why is mine nooot here?” Hyacinth said, a touch enviously, and I once more rubbed her head, before adding it to the collection of holograms, further contributing to my aching head.

“There you go. Now…” I looked at the sandy beach around us, out of reach of the tides of Sagami bay. Channelling some earth element, I created a wall, isolating an area. “…how about we get creative, and sketch these out in the sand?” The beach here is far nicer than the coast back in the Material. Maybe we should open a beach-side café as well as the Treetop one?

********

“This is so hard!” Eri complained. “And it’s really uncomfortable. Like bugs squirming under my skin!” she protested, as she channelled aether, freshly provided by slain sea-creatures gathered by me. I had come up with some exercises to test strength and precision, and Tan, surprisingly, had let slip a few small ideas.

“I know.” My Eye glittered amber, and I could see that her control was being hampered by the flow of aether spilling from her twisted network. Even as I watched, the balls of water and sand Eri was moving started crumbling, and Shaeula yelped as seawater splashed her. As Eri apologised, I looked at Shiro, who was pale and sweating, her scars burning painfully in reaction to the aether she was channelling. Even so, she was living up to her boasts of being a genius, as her Aether Manipulation had already reached Rank 2. She was also drawing aether into her Astral body, constantly trying to nourish it, as the parts without Tan’s interference, and her silver cord, were feeble, merely Rank 1.

“Damn, Aki, I agree with Eri. This is very difficult!” she pouted. “If I wasn’t such a wreck I’d get it, I just know it.”

“I know, it’s not fair, right?” Eri joined in with her complaints, sharing a sympathetic smile.

“You just wait until you need-need to reach Rank 6.” Shaeula joined in their complaints. “Climbing over the first wall is most-most trying.”

“Hyacinth is sooorry, I am bad at this.” She was juggling balls of sand, watching them fall apart regularly. “When I dooo not think about it I can do it.” She demonstrated, and suddenly aether was flowing, gathering numerous balls of sand. “But when I try tooo do it consciously, it goes awry!” she looked downcast that she couldn’t meet my expectations.

“No, that’s the point. Shaeula went through the stage of learning how to use aether consciously, and you have to as well. When you can, you can achieve far more than merely doing it by instinct.” I continued to chivvy them up. “I already promised rewards for success with Ether Healing, right? I’m sure I can upgrade the rewards, based on the number of Ranks you go up.”

“That is far-far from fair.” Shaeula sniffed. “I am trying to shatter walls and breach bottlenecks, my task is much-much harder.”

“True, but then, you are Shaeula, Duchess of the Spring of Clear Reflections, princess of the Seelie Court, right? This should be nothing for you!”

“Hmm.” She snorted, a little happy at my praise. As she agreed, getting back to her work, Shiro smiled.

“Now that’s harem management.” She praised me. “Ugh, I think I can’t get the aether to flow through me here.” she pointed to the area below her heart. “I can feel it getting stuck. Help me out, Aki!”

“All right.” my Eye flaring, I inserted my own ether, making her shiver. I could have forcibly moved the flow for her, but instead I was gentle, guiding her, allowing her to feel the way it should be done. She shivered as I worked, though she never stopped her exercises.

“You know, this is kind of perverted.” Shiro said, surprising me. “You are pouring your white stuff inside me.”

“I’d say it’s more silver.” I sighed, gently flicking her forehead. “Now that’s the sort of line Yasu-san might say. Although I suppose Aimi-chan might have said something similar reading her favourite BL stuff.”

“Yeah, I never did get the appeal of that.” Shiro strained, the flow reaching her heart and slowly moving upwards. “Well, I think I’m good for now. Eri looks like she needs help too.”

Indeed, Eri was watching our conversation enviously, so, supressing a grin, I headed over to assist her, all the while balls of sand and water circling me, my Split Thoughts constantly expending aether to manipulate them. After all, powering up the girls is important, but I can’t neglect my own training…