ATM Rewrite: B2 — 28. Breaking Boundaries (Patreon)

Author Note: I made a few edits to make it flow better, mainly in Wendy's section.  O_o ominous stuff, but is it good or bad... or maybe both?

PoV:

1. Sora Moore (Our Main (Side) Protagonist Fox Girl in an Otome Game!)

2. Wendy Moore (Our Brunette Fox with Stability Problems!)

ATM Rewrite Index

Previous Chapter

Google Document (In-line Comments)

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Lips drawn in and glancing around the opulent fantasy academy they’d appeared in, Sora gulped, ears twitching as whispers and giggles came from all around them.

“Umm.  Lexi,” she mumbled, eyeing the two-tier, knee-length high-waist skirts, dark tights, and fitted, long-sleeve, intricate vests the many students around them wore, “there’s a dress code, isn’t there?”

The ginger elf looked down at her fancy green dress and sighed defeatedly.  “It’s already too late…  Everyone thinks I’m a pick-me, noble elf girl looking for attention.  It’ll just be the same as any other angle, and I’ll somehow be late to the opening quiz, either because I’m not properly dressed or some other plot Katarina puts in my way.”

Arms crossing under her bust, Sora sent out gentle spiritual inquiries, gathering intelligence from her surroundings as her mother had taught her.  Magic was a part of this world, and it was strong, which gave the average person something to combat her innate ability to utilize her powers anywhere, no matter the universal laws.

With a small smile, she flicked her tail to the side as she left the depressed elf’s side to skip over to a pair of dark elves walking through the gate.  “Hello!  Can we talk for a minute?”

The tall and thin girl sniffed, looking down on her in a way that made Sora’s gut cramp out of reflux.  “A red fox was even admitted this year?  I suppose you would be combating your stereotype.”

Grin becoming strained, Sora’s ears fell back a little from the chuckles that came from other girl and boy groups passing by them.  “Eh-hehe.  Excuse you?  Say that again.”

The slightly shorter and curvier of the two snorted.  “I bet she won’t even last the fifth class period before trying to seduce a teacher like the last one.”

Eye twitching, Sora called upon her Desire Magic.  “I think you have me mistaken with someone else.  Hehe.  We’re best friends!  Isn’t that right…”

Pushing her influence over the dark elves with a pointed tone, she felt a slight resistance, but nothing she couldn’t easily overwhelm.  The pair blinked a sudden look of horror on their faces.

“N-No, I must have been mistaken,” one gasped, stepping back and causing the onlookers to pause.  “Lady…”

“Sora,” she chirped.  “Lady Sora.  Now, why don’t we go catch up since it has been so long since we’ve seen each other.”

“O-Of course,” the shorter one choked, now stiff as a board and clutching her handbag against her chest.  “We are so sorry not to have recognized—”

“Girls…”  Sora stiffened as a cyclone of sapphire energy materialized to their left, where a handsome blond man with penetrating blue eyes emerged, wearing a more stylish version of the male’s uniforms around them.  “We aren’t having a fight on your first day, are we?”

The two dark elves girls gave each other panicked looks, almost choking on their tongues as they shook their heads.  “N-No, Senior Blue Mage; we were just catching up!”

Sora tried to suppress her tail fur, standing up as the man’s gentle, probing magic pulsed out, and she swiftly tried to correct and hide her influence over the girls.  “Why don’t you two go ahead, and we can catch up later?”

“Yes, Lady Sora!”  the two obediently stated, giving her a strange, respectful twist of their hand against their breast before rushing off with backward glances at them.

Lexi tentatively approached from behind, hands knotted at her front.  “Sir Christian, it’s, umm, it’s nice to see you…”

The young man, likely no older than eighteen, maintained his curious smile, frosty-blue eyes following the retreating dark elves as the others around the entrance hurried away.  It didn’t take long for his penetrating gaze to return to them.

“Lady Lexica de’Loreska, am I to assume this fox is your attendant since she isn’t listed on the attendance records the President Hestia gave the Blue Order?”

Ears flying back, she glared at the far too smooth dude; there was something fishy about him, or maybe it was just her bristling tail at being addressed as ‘this fox.’  “Maybe you should look again,” she huffed.  “Not two seconds inside this ‘Academy of Advanced Interspecies’ and I’m discriminated against!”  she boldly accused, catching stares from several hurried students.

The man’s focus turned to her, not the slightest change coming from his cadence.  “Student or attendant, using compulsion magic, and one so potent, is sure to draw attention.”  He winked, making Sora’s thoughts stumble at the sudden attitude shift as her magic was exposed.  “Whoever you are, you’re more than a little interesting.  Just try not to make any more waves.  Consider this your first warning from your fellow senior student.”

Completely lost on what to say, she muttered, “Sure?”

He put a hand on his hip and looked them up and down.  “As pretty as you two are, I’d save the dresses for the formal ball and hurry back to the dorms to change if you hope to make it to opening classes.  Hmm.  In fact…”

Christian cupped his strong chin as he glanced at the clock on a prominent spire towering above the massive east wing.  “I doubt you’ll make it in time, so why don’t I escort you two lovely ladies back and explain the tardiness to your homeroom professor?”

“Y-You don’t have to do that!”  Lexi said, ears turning the color of her hair as she fidgeted with her wrist.  “The Blue Order needs to keep an eye out for any, umm, any trouble, and if we hurry, t-then we can return before the bell chimes.”

Sora was somewhat taken aback at the haze of sexual pheromones as she tried to edge out of this escort, her throat becoming hoarse and her body temperature rapidly rising.  She could practically see the girl’s shaking knees.  It was an otome game, yet Lexi acted like she’d already gone through five play-throughs with this older blond in her sight.

Victory!  She internally cheered, thinking how proud her brunette sister would be at this opening, she’d created through a bit of mischief.  I’m speed-running this crap, Wendy!  And some people think I’m a good vulpes.  Humph!  Operation Bait the Blond is a go!

Yet, this wasn’t a game where they could just pause to think, and when trapped in her thoughts, Christian threw up an offensive, making Sora want to clap.

The older boy’s lips pulled to the side as he glanced out of the gate, now nearly devoid of students; bright yellow cloaked figures stood along the edges of the paved road, a dense forest lining the walkway.

“The wild zone hasn’t been safe this past few years, and the Yellow Order will return to their tower once the bell tolls.  It’s unsafe to travel back to the dorms without the roads under guard, so I’d feel much better being with you in case anything happened—”

He paused before showing a dazzling smile that made the AI’s new, fleshy thighs tighten, no doubt unfamiliar with her physical body.  “Not that the second eldest daughter of the High Elf Grand Duke of Yesh’ala can’t take care of herself; it is just better to travel in a group.”

Nice save!  Sora laughed.  Get that backstory in while we push the plot forward.

Slathering her voice in honey, Sora cleared her throat and expelled her natural positive aura in a blinding array before the elf could embarrass herself.  “Lexi and I would love for you to escort us, Sir Christi—”

A burst of subtle energy caught her off-guard.  “Lexi!”

Sora trailed off as a flowery, familiar voice barged into their conversation from an eruption of fushia-colored light, revealing a peppy pink-haired girl.  “I’ve been looking all over for you!”

“K-Katarina?!”  Lexica gasped, wincing as the air was practically squeezed out of her.

“Oh-no, I was trying to warn you that I was wrong—there is a dress code even nobles need to follow!  Oh, Sir Christian!”  she gasped, releasing the wheezing redhead as she spun on her boot heels to offer a perfect curtsy.  “I am so sorry for Lady Lexica’s appearance; it is entirely my fault.”

Sora felt like the third wheel, lost and forgotten as Christian frowned for the first time.  The charming lady had practically tackled the grand duke’s daughter and almost taken her to the ground.

“You’re… the genius commoner, Katarina Kestova?”

“Please, call me Kate,” she chirped, brushing back her pink bangs and displaying a perfect smile.  “Lexi—I mean, Lady Lexica and I met on our journey here via train, and she has been so kind to have taken me under her wing.”

“Huh,” the Blue Mage was now totally engaged with the extravagant villain of this story.  “Teleportation for a first-year is… practically unheard of.  Not even some royalty can accomplish it before formal instruction at the academy.  Interesting…”

Sora wanted to punch the showy and intrusive AI in the face as she stepped forward to bring her tail between Katarina and Christian to sweep her back before the forward girl could go for the man’s hand, just barely intercepting her.

Lexica was still trying to recover from the spontaneous introduction, and there had been an extremely tiny pulse of mentally disrupting force that the devious AI had injected into the elf.

Sora hadn’t even noticed the subtle attack when the girl had embraced Lexi, fingers pressing against the back of the elf’s head to deliver such a tiny shot that her flashy teleportation had masked it.  Still, Sora’s senses went beyond any typical creature.  Christian’s romantic trigger was probably some unique traits that a girl displayed, so she had to divert his attention from Katarina.  Maybe she’d already messed up by drawing his eye with her magic.

“Yes, well, the bell is about to ring, so you should hurry to class, Kate,” she stated positively, using her short form to deflate its significance.  “It is the first day, and Christian offered to take Lady Lexi and me to our dorms to change due to your mixup.”

Twisting toward the recovering elf, Sora used her tail to bump her into the blond’s path while coming between them to show a pointed grin at the AI.  “Oops!  Haha.  Thanks for the save, Sir Christian,” she chortled as he caught her before she fell.  “It seems both Kate and I can be quite clumsy.”

Katarina didn’t skip a beat or drop her cutesy tone.  “Guilty as charged!  Maybe I should tag along in case something happens since the Yellow Order will be returning to their tower.”

“Hehe.  Wouldn’t that only increase the number of girls Sir Christian must protect?  That doesn’t make sense since you don’t need to return, and wouldn’t it be unfair to make Sir Christian make up excuses for you to skip classes?”

“I… suppose you have a point,” the AI returned, and Sora internally pumped her arm as she finally got a twitch from the corner of Katarina’s plastic face.

Oh-ho-ho-ho, Sora snickered to herself as the pink-haired girl swallowed, you are seething inside!

“I… suppose I will see you in class, Lady Lexi…  Sora.”

“Hopefully not too soon!”  Sora giggled, waving her off as her tail wagged, fanning Lexi’s dress against her shins.  “I still need to find my outfit since some harpies decided to hide it somewhere.  It could take hours to find.”

“Really?”  Christian asked.  He shot an encouraging smile to the red-faced elf, tongue lodged in her throat and eyes spinning at physical contact with the princely older boy.  “Such behavior is punished harshly.”

“Oh, I’m just kidding!”  Sora waved off.  “It’s a joke between Kate and I.  Hehe.  Right?”

“Ha-ha-ha.  Yes…”  the AI whispered, “you can be quite… funny, Sora, but please… try not to push your pranks too far.  We don’t want an incident like last ti—oh, never mind!”  Her cheeks turned rosy as she skipped forward to embrace her.

“I’m sorry!  No need to talk about such tragic memories…  You are playing a dangerous game,” she whispered upon hugging her tight, yet her defenses were far greater than what Lexi could produce to try anything dubious without Christian noticing.  “I don’t know who you are, Invader Sora, but tread carefully not to cross me.”

Breaking away, she smiled and winked at Lexi and Christian before disappearing in a swirl of pink energy.  “Catch you later, Sweetie, and please forgive me!”

Sora took a few steps backward, a twist lifting the corner of her mouth as the bell rang throughout the grounds, and Christian prompted them toward the gate.

Sora and Lexi one… Katarina zero!  She doesn’t know who I am, yet somehow Lexi knows about all her previous attempts.  Is it due to my magic making her into a physical person so the data can’t be wiped or blocked in the same way as it’s programmed to?

Flipping around with a swish of her tail, Sora beamed at the stunned former AI, realizing that a new path had opened up that she’d never been able to accomplish in the past.  In any case, Lexi has her own hacks now.

They started on the path toward the academy dorms as the yellow-cloaked figures all vanished without a trace, not leaving so much as a single flash of light.  They were on an escort date with one of Lexi’s potential Romeos in tow, acting as their guide and joking with them to probably ease their nerves about the dangerous forest.  All she had to do was to nudge things in the right direction.

Game set, Katarina.  What will you do now that things have taken a turn you haven’t foreseen?  You’re the wicked witch in this story, so what do we need to do to expose you for the evil hag you are and for Lexi to get her happy ending?

Starting to get in the otome mood, Sora held her hands behind her back at the base of her tail, trying to give the elf as much personal time to make an impression with her golden boy as possible in this escort mission.

Sora’s impish side started to stir as she scanned the ominous, dark woods, feeling foul magic within their murky mists.  We’ve met Mr. Knight Charming… so when does the bad boy show up?  I’m starting to get into this!  Wendy, where are you?!  I need my degenerate, tiara-wearing, fluffy-tailed sister; you’re the expert on these games!

Her thoughts came to a halt.  Wait… Wendy might tap into her inner vulpes and try to cultivate a reverse harem here, so maybe it’s better she isn’t tempted into becoming her queen bee power fantasy.  Bah!  I can do this!  Besides, Lexi is super cute!  There’s no way the boys won’t fall for her.

She gasped, tail wagging faster and making the elf and Blue Mage glance back at her with concern.  Plot armor!  We have plot armor on our side; the heroine is supposed to win!  Oh, Kate is sooo boned!  Hehehe.

* — * — *

Gut twisting, Wendy tried not to think about the confusing maelstrom of conflicting food circling her like the universe’s most extraordinary buffet.  She was an insatiable shark in an ocean filled to the brim with fish, but it was too overwhelming.

It was hard to keep her mind straight with the fire eating at her belly and pulling her gaze to juicy pieces of steak waiting to be munched on, which was a problem since HAREM’s stupid pink-wigged dolls were staring down the blonde Valkyrie in front of them while above, some even more ominous force waited.  Yet, the thing that shot ice through her marrow was a voice far more enthralling.

“You must eat…”

Not sure if she was hearing the voices in her head or if it was her own stomach punching her in the face to feast on anything nearby, Wendy tried not to fall on her face.  All she could think about were the smells, the mouth-watering flavors taunting her from every angle.

A sharp jab to her side snapped her back to her senses, Sora giving her a look between half-worried and half-annoyed.  “What’s going on with you?”  she hissed, kneeling beside the AI to check her condition.

Unsure how to phrase what she was going through, Wendy shook her head.  “Umm.  So… what happened?  A lot of things just were going on.”

Gulping down the saliva thickening her throat, she grasped the 7-pointed amulet against her bust, trying to keep her mind from falling back into the lulling smells jabbing her nose.  Immediately, relief came at its touch, stilling her erratic mind.

Yet, once again, the soft, drawing whisper of a feminine voice tugged at her very essence.  “The wave comes to crash against you…  Devour it.”

Voice becoming shaky, Wendy mumbled, now pretty sure it wasn’t herself.  “We should, uh… talk later.”

Her tongue lodged in her throat as the world tinted green, panic filling the hallway as a cyclone of force tried to pull the space around her into what she could only describe as a new window in time.

Acting on instinct, she opened her mouth and drew in; a quake ran through reality, forcing her to her knees as she rasped a cough, hot substance burning her throat.  She opened her watery eyes to a black-and-white space, time-froze, and everyone was cast in different colored lights.  However, only the black thorns poking through Sora’s eyes snagged her attention, extending into gnarled vines.

Chest thumping, Wendy couldn’t twitch a finger as the barbs grew, darker than anything she thought possible; they reached out like arms to embrace her.  In the next instant, she was in a colorless void that stretched into eternity, obsidian spikes growing without start or end, in a constant state of expansion.  Somehow, she knew where everything was, despite nothing having position or form, they did for her.

Fingers trembling, the 7-pointed amulet held tightly in her grip, Wendy pulled her tail up against her chest.   Tears fell down her cheeks as she stumbled back on a formless platform that supported her.  Sora had warned her about this, so why hadn’t she told her when things were getting weird?

Looking left and right, she saw no escape, and not a single aroma met her nose; not once since her transformation had she smelled… nothing.

“W-Who are you?”  she whispered into the abyss, anxiety pulling her ears back as she watched more thorns branch out of the colossal pillar-like stakes, reaching into the emptiness in all directions before breaking away into colorlessness again.

Above, a black sun hung amongst the forest of thorn trees, and only silence met her.  At least, everything was quiet until a golden spark flashed from within the dark void above, growing into an effulgence that blinded her.  Instinctually looking down, her throat constricted upon seeing a similar brightness inside the center of the 7-pointed amulet, and then the gentle, motherly voice returned.

“She pushes me away, yet you cling to me as if your very essence will abandon you if you loosen your grip.”

A shapeless mass of darkness collected nearby to form two abyssal cavities, unholy spheres that radiated with an aurelian glory, reflecting the black star above.  Smooth, alabaster skin emerged from the void that flaked away, revealing not a single blemish or wrinkle as thick black locks unfurled over the figure’s head and down her back.

A shroud condensed into a fathomless, shoulderless dress, yet not soon after, thorns grew from the outfit, endless, flowing hair parting to reveal the terrifying visage of hidden, monstrous fangs.  The only color came from the golden rays that escaped her eyes until the rest of her shapely figure formed, drawing her focus to rosy lips and filed nails.

Wendy blinked, unaware of when she’d fallen to her butt, yet the woman was now kneeling across from her, shrouded in shadows.  Behind her was a misty castle, more extensive than anything she could compare it to, as the woman showed a curious, elegant smile while studying every inch of her.

Darkness and mist swirled around them with the black sun above as her rouge lips parted, the entity’s succulent words linking inside her mind like two hands locking fingers; all pressure compressing her popped like a bubble.

“Hello, Wendy.  It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance.”

Clearing her stuffy throat and wiping away her tears, Wendy felt comfort in her tail as she recovered from the delirium of her journey inside the slipstream she’d fallen through to get to this place.  “I… I feel normal.  That necklace…  Are you… this?”  she asked, tentatively lifting up the 7-pointed amulet that matched the one binding the woman’s dress in place.

A light chortle came from the woman as her sharp fingernail rose to touch her own artifact.  “No, Incomplete Fledgling, this is merely a way for us to be able to communicate.  I cannot go where you are without destroying the very fabric of order, yet I cannot ignore the cry for help that was cast across dimensional fields.  You sought my aid, the same as your sister…  A shame her mind has been poisoned against me.”

Inching away, Wendy shook her head, shaky vision darting to the thorn-like smiles in the woman’s expanding locks.  “I-I’m not stupid!  You…  You…”  She couldn’t finish the thought because she didn’t know what she was supposed to say.

A somber chuckle came from the woman, pity in her eyes as she held up her hand and made a broad arc.  Wendy’s innards squirmed when a tiara, scepter, brooch, and book formed to float apart between them.

“I am not here for any nefarious purpose, Young One.  You are incomplete and crying out for help…  Allow me to do what no one within Existence can, certainly not your unrefined and budding sister or her inexperienced mother, who cursed you to this uncomfortable state without understanding the incompatibility of that which ‘is’ with that which ‘is not’…”

Drawing in her bottom lip, Wendy wanted to distrust this threatening figure, at least in appearance and presentation, but something was binding and sincere within her cadence.

Letting go of her tail, she hesitantly sunk her fingers inside her breast, reaching deep within herself to draw out a red diamond brooch lined with gold settings, shimmering gems, and pearls around it.

“How… did you know about this form?  I didn’t even tell Sora since… it’s embarrassing.  I don’t know why it took the shape of the Millennium Blood Crystal in the manga we used to read…  What am I?  What are you?  What is this place?  What do you want?!”

“Patience, Wendy,” she urged, gracefully rising to her feet in the black paint that spread over space to create a platform.  “What are you?  You are precious.”

Wendy felt a blow against her chest at the plain words, shakily standing in the darkness that spread below.  “You… don’t want to take me over and destroy everything?  I don’t even know your name!”

The woman’s chest shook with silent laughter as she brought the four items she’d created into a shapeless mass.  “You call me the Lady in Black Thorns, but you may use a name others have given me… Azrai.  My only goal in bringing you here is to ensure you are okay, Wendy.  It is your choice.  If you do not wish to communicate with me again, you may never touch my amulet once I have stabilized your structure because you will not need to.”

No matter how Wendy tried to rationalize it, the ominous creature’s words rang true without question.  She looked down at the 7-pointed item in her hand, its black center emitting a radiant golden light.  Ever since she’d met this woman, she’d felt totally normal, no better than normal; she felt like there was a place where she belonged.

“If… you do stabilize me, then will I be more of a use to my… my sister?”

A gentle cadence moved with Azrai’s words as she gave a single nod.  “You are a danger to her and everyone else around you.  It pains me to see you suffer from consuming what is your right… to be trapped between who you are and who you were.”

Shivering, Wendy cleared her throat and shook her head.  “Wait, wait, wait!  You’re not going to, like… erase my memories or who I am or anything like that, right?  I’m not going to change into someone else?  I’d rather suffer than become a completely new person!”

“You misunderstand,” she said, waving her hand to show a beautiful ruby brooch in the shape of a flower, its petals branching out as it radiated flames and was encircled by a faint halo.  It flew out to hover before her, waiting to be taken.

“You will not lose who you are but bloom into who you wish to be.  What Sora rejects, you embrace, and through you, your sister will discover the truth buried deep within herself.  Your vision will open, and your mind will see that which others inside The Weave cannot.  Will you accept my gift to you… Daughter of the Null-Void?”

Wendy hesitated for a moment, but inside the blinding gemstone, she saw the truth, and she reached out, embracing the tiny, correcting pulse that brought her into proper alignment; no longer would she be stomach sick or struggling to keep her form: what Sora and Mia started, Azrai completed.

Opening her eyes, she stood in the middle of the hallway she’d left; Sora wasn’t beside her, yet she was.  In a slightly altered wave of reality, her sister was right beside her, a symphony of sounds and colors mixing as she turned to stare at the three Little Devils, moving at a snail’s pace to reach them.

Wendy’s expansive, 360-degree vision was centered on one artifact within her palm: her true body, the flowery, flaming brooch.  Azrai’s soft voice tickled her ears, heard clear as day.

“Allow me to show you the way…”  Vision rising to the puppets, Wendy could feel Azrai’s warm fingers slide under her wrist, lifting her arm to point the ruby brooch in the dolls’ direction.  “Open the gates… and consume.”

A wave of crimson light rippled through Existence, guided by the woman’s tender embrace, countless, ravenous piranhas ripping through thread after thread until nothing was left, and the three Little Devils were no more.  Her stomach swelled as if devouring a succulent, three-course meal.  The world spun, and she fell to the ground, Azrai’s voice burning her ears.

“I am here whenever you need me, Wendy.  Now rest and molt… my lovely jewel.”

Safe from HAREM, at least for the time being, she sank into welcoming oblivion, feeling whole; she was whole.