A blade reforged once again.

~"Good morning. How are we feeling today?"~I spoke after entering Dystopia's room.

-"It's all right. I'm almost used to the feelings of Déjà vu."-Dystopia answered with a slight smile.

~"Take everything step by step. I heard that you remembered something yesterday."

-"Yes, but there are still many things I'm missing."

-"Take your time..."

It was already the third week since the start of the memory Zone, so the somewhat ruinous morning conversation was not strange. Dystopia and I became familiar with each other, but despite that, she kept her distance from me as if subconsciously feeling that I shouldn't be a part of what she was seeing.

Her condition was progressing according to my predictions. Dystopia's spirit was growing stronger day by day, so after consulting with everyone, we decided to start slowly unsealing the traumatic memories.

After finishing the morning checkup, I left Dystopia to do what she wanted and made my way to the training grounds I had prepared for Acheron. On the way there, Kevin and Su stopped me.

-"Yue."-Kevin spoke in his usual monotonous voice.

~"Morning, what can I do for you?"

-"I want to do it today."

~"If you are ready, then go ahead. I'll bring Dr. Mei to help me with something before dinner. Will that give you enough time, Su?"

-"Yes. An hour or so will be more than enough."

~"Then I'll inform her after a few minutes. Do you need me to do anything else?"

-"No."

A few sentences later, Kevin and Su went their way as I continued walking towards the training grounds.

In the middle of an empty room, Acheron sat on her knees, surrounded by a power of Nihility. From time to time, some of her hair would turn white as red flowers bloomed over her body, only to wither seconds later, allowing her to return to normal.

~"Don't lose your concentration."

-"I know."

I looked at the Acheron, who was in deep meditation, trying to separate herself from Aeon XI. Luckily, XI will never act on THEIR own, meaning that even though Acheron's actions are akin to Emanator betraying their Aeon while stealing the power, there will be no consequences for her.

~"Don't try to contain Nihility. You are too weak even to attempt to restrain Path that can ensure all others it comes in contact with."

-"But then..."

~"Of course, you can't just let it consume you. Nihility is apathy, meaninglessness, and emptiness. However, aside from the danger such characteristics pose to the wills it comes in contact with, this also means that it is passive. If you want to control Nihility, you must assimilate into it without losing yourself in the process."

-"How can you know it?"

~"Did you forget? I can utilize all Paths at the power similar to an Emanator. While I'm far from heeding its ideals, if not for the blessing of Finality, I might have fallen into Nihility as a Self-Annihilator, same as you."

-"..."

~"From my experience, I can tell you that the only thing that can let you leave the influence of Nihility is a purpose. For me, it was to not let my Fate be dictated by Permanance and Abundance that created me. After receiving a push from Terminus, despite being touched by the Nihility, I emerged from that state."

-"Purpose..."

~"As my example might not be best for you, I suggest looking at Jingliu. You two have many similarities, but you fall into two different extremes. She was consumed by hatred, while you were by apathy. In the end, she cut the Mara that brought her all the suffering. Now, it's your turn."

I threw a simple-looking katana to still kneeling Acheron. She caught it and looked at her reflection in the blade.

~"I know you can't find your purpose now. If it were so easy that few words can help you, you would emerged from this state long ago. But before being Acheron, you are a warrior, a swordswoman, to be exact. What is the greatest Taboo for a swordsman?"

-"To hesitate."

~"Lucky, it seems that not all of your will was shattered with the 'Naught'. The rest is up to you."

Taking a few steps back, I observed changes in Acheron. At first, she just sat there without as much as blinking. This stillness lasted for a few minutes until she slowly stood up and grabbed the katana with both hands. She raised the blade over her head and slashed forward.

But nothing happened.

She stood there without moving as if expecting some change, but no such thing happened.

Finally, she returned to a casual stance and once again looked at the blade and her reflection in it. She stared into her own eyes, seemingly looking for some answer, yet her dull eyes held nothing aside from her own lost gaze.

She repeated slashing and looked into the blade for some time, but there was no change, which was expected. As I said before, it's impossible to make someone find their purpose in life with a few simple words. I could only advise her but never guide her.

She and I were different, so my actions could bring her more harm than benefit. Moreover, paving a way for her will jeopardize every prospect of Aeonhood. Though, it's not like my advice could only be in the form of words.

After she swung the katana for the hundredth time, a minuscule change occurred with its blade, one she didn't notice despite her careful stare. After finding it, I nodded, satisfied that my approach finally showed some progress.

~"Keep the katana with you. I hope it'll help you."

Acheron nodded without looking at me.

I smiled under my Veil and left her alone in the training room. Now, she needed some time for her and the katana to establish a connection. Only then could it help her. While she was ignorant of what the katana in her hands was, I was well aware of what its origin was.

After all, I was the one who forged that blade, using the shattered 'Naught' in the process. But that was not what was most important in that katana. What mattered was what it should be called. Despite being only an Asauchi at the moment, the slight change that I observed meant that it started its transformation into a full-fledged Zanpakuto.

That blade will be formed by her Soul and spirit, nurturing them back in exchange, and hopefully, it will be enough so that one of her swings can cut what she wants to cut.

After returning to the Fire Moth, I found Dr. Mei and took her to the workshop I set up in the Memory Zone to get her opinions on something while keeping my words to Kevin.

~"What do you think?"

-"Magic is not my area of expertise, but the idea of forming a unified magic system of Hold is interesting."

~"Right now, almost all our training focuses on Pathfinders and Cultivation, supplemented by technologies when needed. This leaves an obvious gap in the Mystical avenue of power. Sadly, the magic of Orario is too weak, of Runetera is too fragmented, of Yotsuba's Earth is too rigid, and of my Spirit Empire is unfit for humans and other majority races of Hold in its current form."

-"Isn't Cultivation part of Mystic arts?"

~"It is, but only partly. It's a martial art, for the most part, pursuing intent or Dao, not wisdom and will like magic."

-"Then what is your idea?"

~"Three-pronged approach. First, I want to use talents in Hold's Academy under you who are knowledgeable in the mentioned magical systems to try and integrate those together, breaking the barriers between them."

-"Why don't you do this? Wouldn't it be much quicker and easier?"

~"It would, but I can't do everything for Hold by myself. This project is not time-sensitive, and it can build acclaim for Hold's Academy in the process. I won't keep out of this project, of course, but I'll busy myself with the second approach."

-"Let me guess, you will find some world and steal the system from them."

~"Yes, though I would rather call it exchange, not stealing. Da Vinci identified some interesting worlds where magic is basic to everyday life, replacing technology's place."

-"What about the third?"

~"Magic Association form Nobu's world. Artoria is leading negotiations with them along with Durandal, Kallen, and Otto from our side, but those are at a dead point due to the stubbornness of the Association's 'nobles'. Arotria plans to wake them up from their delusions in the near future, so we can add some more demanding requirements for future negotiations."

-"The Queen of Knights, huh?"

~"King, to be exact. King is a position, a monarch, while in many cultures, a queen means only a royal consort, so calling her king is more correct."

-"Now that you mention her, how come she is so devoted to you? I hear that she visits you for tea almost every week, and even Astraea and Ninguang refer to her as a sister."

~"Sigh. To be honest, I don't know, but I have some theories. I believe she might be akin to reincarnation, having memories of other Fate in which we met. The appearance of Hold must have changed everything, but that raises some questions as well as a certain theory."

-"Color me intrigued."

~"My theory that Hold was not something born from the [Myriad of Worlds]. The [Roundtable Hold] evidently has influence from Arotoria's knights, while Principles have similarities to Daos from Cultivation world, most likely connected to Long Ji as she also seemed familiar with me like Artoria did."

-"You imply that someone made Hold and sent into the past for you?"

~"Not exactly. I believe that I created it myself. I feel a total of five distinct powers from the [Hearth of Hold] that I absorbed. One is almost exact to Finality, and it is also the core of the whole thing."

-"What about the rest?"

~"One is Authority, but not Divinity, evidently connected to Artoria. Second is the Taoism of a Cultivator, most likely from Long Ji. I'm still unable to fully grasp the remaining two fully, but one is connected to the stars, while the other is advanced technology different from all other techs I have seen to this day."

-"Can you prove that?"

~"No. All that is only an inference from some traces and my intuition. I can't consider it anything aside from theory because of the big issue at the center of it. How could I send something like Hold to past and change my Fate that already took place?"

-"The Taboos."

~"Yes. If I were to attempt something like that, let alone me, the backlash would have enough power to annihilate the whole part of Chaos we 'mapped' until now and still not lose one-third of its power. It is outrageous to even imagine doing something like that."

-"Well, that sounds like some cliche premise for a novel."

~"Right. Returning to the subject. I'll give you all the materials to you, so you can look through them later. Please tell me your ideas on how to add that to the curriculum of the Academy after familiarising yourself with them."

-"Sure."

~"As we are done, how about getting something to eat?"

-"I'm all for it."

Two of us left my workshop, but rather than leading her to the cafeteria, I took Dr. Mei to the place I agreed with Kevin before, using illusions to keep her unaware of our destination.

-"Mei."

-"Kevin? What's going on?"

~"I'll go alone first."

Before I could even leave the vicinity, I heard Kevin's next words.

-"Mei, will you marry me?"

I almost stumbled after his words ended. I took Dr. Mei for him to prepare, and he went directly to the confession in the second sentence. What was he preparing in the past hour? Well, I guess it's a Kevin-like thing to do.

-"I will."-Mei looked at the Kneeling childhood friend of hers and, after supporting her forehead in slight exasperation, she agreed as decisively as Kevin confessed.

Reminding myself that I was not a person fit to tutor others on how to manage their own feeling, even more so how to show them, I left the two in their own world, teleporting all observes hidden around with me so that they didn't ruin the atmosphere.

When everyone comprehended that I brought them to the cafeteria, Elysia began laughing, while Su and a few others responded with sighs and expressions of complete disbelief.

~"Don't laugh, Elysia. It's not like our marriage started better than theirs."

-"But... Haha... Su tried so much to help that guy, even though we explained some things to him, but... Pfff... He just..."

~"It worked. That's all that counts."

After a few minutes, Elysia calmed down but still had a big smile.

-"Good that you are not like that popsicle, Yue."

-"Right, you showed off your ring more times than I could count but never explained how Yue gave it to you."-Felis asked with her eyes drawn to the silver ring with pink lines that entwined into a delicate flower wreath.

-"Hehe. That is our little secret."-Elysia's smile changed into a more doting one as she looked at me.

In the background, Sakura looked at her glove-covered hand as she touched her ring finger with her thumb. Her small action went mostly unnoticed, only Fu Hua catching a glimpse, her eyes quickly returning to me, though her gaze hid some slight jealousy now.

Sakura's ring appeared simpler, having the shape of a simple wedding band so that it wasn't in the way of her wearing gloves, but its appearance didn't lose the Pink Fairy's one. The ring was made out of ice-like crystal that held a small branch with sakura flowers 'frozen' inside. It matched well with Sakura's quiet and gentle character, not ostentatious but holding beauty not lesser than my more vibrant creations.

~"Ok, let's give the two some space. I'll make some food for everyone so that we can celebrate their success."

-"Yes! I want some Xianzhou dishes!"-Elysia immediately jumped on the idea of holding a party.

~"What about you?"~I asked the rest of the Flame-chasers.

Everyone spoke their preferences, and soon, I had a list of twenty or so dishes.

~"Then I'll make those as additions to the main dish."

-"What is the main dish?"-Dystopia asked as she was unaware of the holy tradition of the Flame-chasers.

We all looked at each other before Felis took a plastic cup from her personal space storage and put it on the table.

-"This is..?"-Dystopia asked, unsure.

-"Instant ramen."-Kosma answered her question.

-"Instant ramen... Like for real?"

-"Yes."

As I was entering a kitchen under speechless Dystopia's eyes, I made a small pyramid made of instant ramen appear on the table, together with an electric kettle next to it. Leaving this dish to the more trained Flame-chasers, I focused on my part of the party preparations.