Old Scars

Inari sat in Akuro's throne room, fuming. She went from being shocked and depressed to being infuriated. Her face was red and she was grinding her teeth in anger, mumbling profanities and about how much of a jerk Akuro was.

Onoma watched her with wide eyes. 'This chick is just as crazy as the other one...' he thought.

"Are you in love with him or something?" Onoma asked.

"W-what? No! Of course not!" Inari responded, but when Onoma saw her face turn even more red hand her ears turn pink, he furrowed his brow.

"Sure.."

"He just makes me so mad!" She growled.

"Mhm. I can see that he has quite the effect of you."

"He does, and I don't know why! It's frustrating!"

"Yeah... maybe it is because you love him."

"No! I do not! Shut up!" Inari said, glancing up at the throne. "It's not like that."

"Oh? It seems like it to me."

"It can never happen."

"Why's that?"

"Did you not hear him before? Did you not watch him kill a god? He's out of my league. He is too far gone for me to pull him back."

Onoma folded his arms. "I don't think trying to pull him back is what you should be doing."

"Then what?" Inari asked. "What am I supposed to do?"

"How about trying to catch up to him. Make him notice you."

Inari sighed. "It'll never happen. So just drop it."

"Fine."

Inari leaned down next to Makane.

"Are you two done gossiping over Akuro?" The fox spirit asked.

"Shut up." Inari retorted. "Release Emma."

"Here?" Makane questioned. "Are you certain that's a good idea?"

"Just do it, she's been in there long enough. Have you removed her curse mark?"

"Yes, I have."

"Okay, then release her."

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Emma was curled up into a ball, her legs tucked to her chest as she drifted endlessly through her own mental scape, an endless void of black.

'Am I asleep...?' She wondered. 'Why can't I wake up? It feels like I've been here for a long time...'

She felt warm and comfortable, as if she were tucked into soft blankets that swallowed her up. She also felt something running through her body, like a tingling feeling that energized her. She felt anxiety rise up inside her, she felt like she needed to move. It's like when you are forced to sit around but you feel an extreme need to get up and move, yet you can't and so you feel anxious and uncomfortable.

Why was it, she wondered, that she felt this way? It was strange, she couldn't pinpoint a cause for why she felt the way she did. As she slumbered, she also couldn't help but wonder what was going on around her at that moment. All she remembered was meeting a strange, white haired woman and Akuro coming home with some friends she had never seen... now that she thought of it, her memories became confused and hazy, like she had double the memories of the same events, just with changes made to the events. On one hand, she led a normal, usual life, on the other hand it was the same life except with Akuro in it. What was going on? She was so confused, she couldn't tell what was real and what was fake anymore.

And then she felt a change in her mind, as if there was a presence other than herself. She attempted to open her eyes, but, again, all she could see was darkness, as if her eyes were sealed shut.

"Well, this is a surprise. I can't say I ever expected this." Came a voice.

Emma wanted to call out and ask who was there, but her body wouldn't respond to her.

"We are in your mind, unless you have enough mental strength, it's impossible for you to communicate with me. The only way to get enough is to possess a larger than average amount of aura. I'm astonished you can even notice my presence, seeing as you have practically no aura to begin with."

Who was there? She was so confused, she didn't recognize the voice that spoke to her. It was a calming, relaxed and slightly playful tone that she couldn't help but find soothing.

"Well, even if you can't communicate with me I can feel your thoughts, so whatever crosses your mind I'll know. My name is Nathan, and somehow, you've been given the blessing of my aura. I'm guessing it's because you were being contained in Inari's little fox spirit, and when I gave her my power a fraction of it went to you. You may be wondering why you can't speak to me if you have my aura inside you, I mean I just said that if you have enough you could talk to me, but it's simply because you haven't learned how to use it, not just that but your body has yet to adjust to it. When it does you will have much more power than you could ever imagine. It's interesting, how, by accident, a weak nobody could become a powerful warrior."

Many questions ran through Emma's head, if only she could ask them. This person, Nathan, was somehow communicating with her telepathically, and talking about strange things she didn't even understand. What even was aura? Who was Inari? A fox spirit? His aura inside her? A nobody, changed to a warrior? What did any of it mean?

"Alright, look, I don't really feel like explaining shit to you, so, let me just do this. I will share my knowledge with you through a memory pact, meaning you will see my memories and through them you will learn of the things I am talking about. But, be aware, my life was not... as kind as yours."