The Akari Interlude

Akari left Rowan on the rooftop but she had never gone too far in case something happened while he was in the cocoon but he also saw Em fight the zodiac gang and was ready to interfere but at the same time Rowan finally woke up and handled the situation as she had been ready to step in and handle the situation before it got out of hand for the young girl she had never seen before but seemed to accompany her best friend, the man she had loved for years. She finally left after being amazed at the battle between Feng and Rowan.

She had wanted to fade into the night, but it was at the exact moment that she was about to that Genma who had located her and was giving Feng time to say his goodbye to Rowan appeared before her. "You know, young miss, while you may not still be a zombie, the chances of you joining their forces and becoming an issue of immense level. I may not be a fighter, but young lady, I need a very good reason to not kill you where you stand." A blade had formed purely from sand and was hovering right in front of her neck.

"Is there anything that I can truly say that would convince you to not attempt to kill me? Your mind was made up before you even showed up. Is there any point in me begging? I can not tell you what the future holds for me. I hardly even want to have a future." Genma faltered for a moment. "Swear an oath here and now on your soul that you won't harm humanity, but also I need to know whether you have access to the system." Genma's words had just finished when a heavy pressure descended on the entire area and they both heard the same voice. [Your presence is not required here: Genma of the hourglass. She has earned great merit for humanity already. Also, the system shall not keep your secret. A day will come and Rowan Raid will look for her and I will not keep your secret. Be gone from here because while I may not interfere you already know that anyone can pay the price for information if they choose.]

The blade began to vanish just as quickly as it appeared as Genma twisted his hand in the air and a door appeared that he began to walk through. "One of these days I will find you the Empyrean system. I will be watching you, young girl. Be sure to remember that youve still got ties to the human race." Genma walked through the door and it closed behind him and space became stable again as Akari released a heavy sigh. "Why protect me?" She was greeted by nothing but silence and, for a moment, she thought the system was not going to respond. [Akari Abe, you are a complete anomaly, but at the same time that is not your fault.]

Akari was about to speak when the same sagely voice spoke from the system. [As you heard me tell Genma, information requires a price. Are you willing to pay the price of your strength?] Akari never even hesitated, as her eyes looked at her level, which read thirty but seemed to drip blood. She had gotten these levels through consuming the people that she cared for. What use was there in the strength that was gained that way? Could she even live a life worth living built on the backs she had consumed while she was less than herself?

"How many questions do I get if I give you all of it?" The silence didn't last long this time. [For all thirty levels, the system will manifest a figure and answer any questions that you have for thirty minutes.] Akari nodded her head. She had questions that she would need answered. "I accept." The moment she spoke, she could feel the energy start to drain from her body. Her mana space shrunk and she could no longer use internal sight to see it nor could she see the representation of her soul any longer. A wave of exhaustion slammed into her as she leaned against the wall.

The vermillion mana that poured out of her coalesced into a figure. She could not see much of the facial figures, but she could see the reptilian eyes that seemed to stare through her and her figure shook in fear. The figure made of mana waved his hand and a force wrapped around her body as he walked up the side of the building no differently than he would the ground.

He sat her down and then waved his hand, causing the surrounding area to dissipate the dirt and become clean. He waved his hand again and chairs and a table appeared, as well as a tea set. "Why are you treating me so differently than the man before? Actually, for that matter, no one I've seen has mentioned the system acting like this, other than Rowan, really. Is that it? Is it because I was close to Rowan?"

The figure never responded. He just held a finger up to where his lips would have been, but other than his eyes that were revealed, the rest of his face was a mask. She got it, though, and waited. The figure slowly poured them both a cup of a steaming liquid that she assumed was tea based on the pot. The figure then sat down across from her and slowly slid her cup closer to her and motioned for her to drink. She did and felt warmth flood into her and she regained a little of her strength, or more so, adapted to her new weakness. [I was waiting to speak because in honor of fairness, the moment I do, your timer will begin, but you have indeed guessed correctly but only partially. You helped me guide Rowan Raid down a path that will make him more formidable than he would have been if you did not exist; it has earned you a certain grace from the Empyrean system, enough so that the system asked me to manifest here to speak with you. I am its creator and moderator.]

Akari let that sink in for a moment, but she knew the clock was now running and she had other things she needed to learn. "Why Rowan?" [Rowan is a tier zero and while that is a rare soul he also got a unique attunement and a soul affliction that has now mutated into something never before seen thanks to the part of you that I took to aid his evolution, you instead lost the opportunity for yourself while gained one of your own that will show itself in time if you choose to pursue power. Rowan Raid has a destiny beyond what most beings here could fathom, and all he must do is constantly grow stronger. He must risk his life in battles that will shake the very foundation of worlds. He is destined for greatness and all he must do is survive.]

Akari nodded her head. Of course, the man she's loved for so long is literally the chosen one. She only shook her head and smiled. "Oh, please never say that to him. It's the last thing that his ego needs." Much to her surprise, the system chuckled along with her. [Yes, I know a man that is very similar in that regard. Their Egos do not know equals. I look forward to their meeting.]

Finally, Akari let her brows furrow as she looked up at the system. "So then why me, how did I become something instead of being stuck a zombie like all these other people? Why are you still treating me like I am special?" The image across from her seemed to be weighing whether he should answer and in the end he folded his hands across his lap and chose to.[Truthfully, Akari Abe, you were born completely average. Before the system descended,there was no special quality about you. To be completely blunt, your soul was hardly even a tier five. So what happened when the parasite infected you is that it began to shatter your soul piece by piece after it assumed full control of your body it was gonna assimilate all of you turning you into its strength, it is how they are able to awaken such unique abilities. You, on the other hand, had something hidden in your soul. Something that truthfully should not have been possible. A powerful being used a technique that grew stronger from the blood of his enemies, while the technique itself would give birth to a butterfly that marked the death of his enemies.]

[The technique usually consumes itself by the time it's done, but in this case somehow, someway, it was instead residing in your soul. The supreme being that used the technique has melded his soul into his body as a unique form of cultivation. So because of that, the butterfly formed the basis of your soul reforming as a tier zero before the whole thing could be snuffed out entirely.]

Akari let all of that information sink in as she thought about everything she had experienced up until this point and her current level that showed itself as 1 but it did not seem to drip blood in her vision any longer, it looked like it was the design on the back of a magnificent butterfly. [You have my attention because that supreme being is my most important person just like Rowan is yours, You can be considered almost a descendant of him because of the technique while at the same time the butterfly released the blood of countless beings into your body and caused the mutation. I feel partly responsible for you because you can be considered an heir to him.] Akari stared up at the sky. She had long forgotten what it felt like having a parent and she did not realize how much she craved it all of these years.

There was now this person who may not have contributed to the birth of her physical body but to the birth of her soul. Thanks to the system's words, she could almost feel the connection from afar. She looked at the system and she swore he was smiling at her. [Ask the question that you would like to ask. You have the time for one last question.] "How can I meet him? What can I do to have him accept me?" It was a fear that had been birthed in her the same moment the system told her the truth of her situation.

[You misunderstand child, if he knew about you he would whisk you away from here and to his side in an instant but in that same moment you would not get to see Rowan Raid for a long time if ever, but if you choose to climb to the same heights with your own ability not only will you make him immensely proud, you will be able to aid Rowan as you see fit in the coming years and climb with him, so that when you stand in front of this supreme for the first time it is with the pride of knowing that you deserve to be there because you earned it with your own strength.]

The system slowly stood up and walked towards her as tears had at some point fallen from her eyes. "I have no teacher, how am I supposed to do that?" [Silly girl of course you don't have a teacher, you have the system and it can be all you need, now dry your eyes, princess of the night we have work to do.]