[TWS] Chapter 260 – Exhibit on Display (Patreon)

“It looks like the construction is moving fairly quickly, Supervisor Sidr.” Bryn smiled gently while making a respectful nod.

“It’s alright. You can freely skip that long title.” Sidr reciprocated the smile. “Yes. Everyone is just so eager to have any input in making the Spire and the city ours again. Not all valkyrjas are seasoned warriors so many of our people are looking for ways to contribute in their own field of expertise. If it wasn’t for the volunteers, the progress wouldn’t be this incredible.”

“And more people are arriving every day from what I have seen,” Asterios commented. “Though, it’s not much of a surprise. The news should have spread to at least the nearby ARKs. Odin will be crowded for a while.”

“That’s why we sent our own messengers to visit all the ARKs and ask their respective Councils to inform their residents that we will be welcoming those who want to help first and foremost. If the goal of someone’s visit is just to confirm the news with their own eyes or take a look at the reclaimed Spire, we might not let them inside due to the limited living space,” Sidr replied.

“It sounds rough but I’m sure you don’t have any leeway there. Especially after taking in the lost colony. An entire district has been allocated to those poor survivors.” Bryn sighed lightly.

“You are right.” Sidr nodded. “There will be time for everyone to bask in the glory of the city and Spire but it’s not yet. After we finish renovating everything, this place will become unimaginably busy for a long time. It’s going to be so different now that we have access to a safe piece of land in this dying realm.”

“The walls you are constructing around the borders of the city are a smart idea. Are you going to rebuild the damaged buildings and structures the way they were initially designed?” Silvia asked curiously.

“This is not something we can decide on that fast. We are going to debate our options soon. There’s no doubt that we will aim to make the best use of the space inside the barrier. Depending on what we come up with, some segments of the city might be turned into completely different arrangements. There’s a lot to consider regarding these matters so I can’t give you a complete answer,” the Supervisor answered.

“That’s only natural. We need to pick the most efficient way to make use of this godsent opportunity. It could change so much depending on what we choose to do, like demolishing half of the city to construct more farms on this almost untainted soil. Without the Scourge stepping onto this ground, we might be able to cleanse it once and for good,” Atra joined in, fixing her glasses.

“Now I can’t stop imagining just the temple being left behind while everything else is replaced with massive arrangements of flower fields.” Miria giggled adorably. “That would look so amazing from the sky.”

Asterios chuckled softly and scratched behind her fluffy ear, evoking quiet purring from the panthergirl. “I bet it would. But, that would be a huge waste of land, unfortunately. In any way, we should leave these matters up to the people in charge.”

“Right. Let’s return our focus to the matters that actually involve you.” Sidr cleared her throat. “We are fairly sure that every part of the Spire has been explored as of now. There should be no more danger lurking around in the dark corners. Our scholars, artificers, and engineers were able to properly reboot all the systems controlling this place since they don’t differ that much from the ARKs. Here. Take this.”

She pulled something out of her pocket and extended her hand toward them. Bryn received the item and brought it up to show everyone. It was a coin-sized badge with the depiction of a pair of wings carved on both flat sides.

“What’s this?” Grea squinted her eyes.

“I don’t know if it has any specific name, but this is a token that will allow you to access every single room in the Descending Spire. From the first to the last floor, no chamber will remain locked in front of you. That includes the restricted zones like the Heart, of course,” the Supervisor explained. “I promised you that freedom earlier and I’m just keeping my word. You are all our honorary guests now.”

“Even the restricted areas? Are you sure that’s okay?” Asterios glanced at Sidr as Bryn passed him the coin.

“It’s the least we can do for you. Besides, you’ve seen a lot already so it’s not like we can make you unsee all the secrets of the Spire. Your goal is to search for useful information and this token will allow you to freely do so whenever you wish to. In the near future, there will be a lot of guards stationed around, especially near crucial facilities like this one or the reactor,” Sidr replied.

Asterios flipped the token in his fingers a few times and hid it in his ring. “Thank you. We appreciate the trust.”

“You’ve earned it.” She smiled beautifully. “And, it would be silly not to trust the candidate for the next Sky Queen.”

Bryn’s eyes widened slightly and a fair blush tinged her cheeks as Atra grinned at her friend proudly.

“About that…” The golden-haired Valkyrie fidgeted a little. “I’m not so sure about my candidature…”

“The signs are there, are they not?” Sidr raised a brow at her. “Your halo resembles that of the first Sky Queen, doesn’t it?”

“Allow me to present the results of my research on this topic, Supervisor,” Atra stepped forward and garnered everyone’s attention. “I was able to visit Brage’s archives thanks to Asterios and tried to find anything about it in the ancient records. There wasn’t much, but I did find a thing or two about these unusual patterns.”

The scholarly Valkyrie pulled a document folder out of the leather bag she was keeping on a strap going over her shoulder and opened it up. Plenty of sketches and handwritten notes were revealed to everyone looking at her. Atra clearly had put lots of effort into digging through information for the sake of her best friend.

“It’s not that this more complex halo is associated with the title of the Sky Queen, but the Sky Queen was one of the valkyrjas who also happened to be part of the group that had them. They were called elite valkyrjas and they were existences a step above normal valkyrjas. The patterns were unique to the person and were an easy way to recognize the owner’s rank and identity,” she began her explanation.

“Elite valkyrjas? That’s the first time I hear about anything like that.” Sidr rubbed her chin ponderingly. “Are they like our ancestors or can someone turn into one?”

“The information on that is scarce but it seems to be the latter. It’s not as complex as to consider it evolution, but it seems like we can achieve a higher level that we weren’t aware of. It manifests through the change in the halo,” Atra continued. “From what I gathered, elite valkyrjas were exceptionally strong in their respective areas, being greatly respected and idolized. As their name suggests, they were unparalleled elites. Not many could become one and their numbers were low, but there is one common aspect that most of them shared.”

“Which is?” Bryn couldn’t hold back her desire to know more.

“Successfully clearing the final floor of the Descending Spire,” Atra revealed, waving her finger for added effect.

“That does make sense. This place was supposed to be a training facility where your people could grow stronger and overcome increasingly more difficult challenges.” Selene nodded to herself.

“Does that mean our attempt caused Bryn to become an elite?” Tina wondered out loud. “We kind of skipped a lot of floors.”

“No.” Bryn shook her head with a confident expression. “As you said, I definitely didn’t earn the right to become one by proving myself here. The actual reason is obvious, though.”

“Is it?” Atra glanced at her curiously while all of Ast’s girls exchanged smiles.

“Yes. It’s all thanks to Master.” Bryn nodded proudly, turning to look at Asterios with pure respect in her golden eyes. “I have grown a lot stronger after I became Master’s mate. There’s no doubt that my strength increased even more when he regained the lost half of his power. Everyone else experienced that change too.”

“She is right. For some of us, it was very noticeable, while for others, there was barely any difference from the outside. I guess Bryn is somewhere in the middle of that,” Tina agreed.

“That’s right! We grow stronger alongside Master and Master grows stronger alongside us!” Miria jumped happily with a wide, sunny smile.

“I guess that’s an option too. Too bad that the conditions are quite unique and difficult to fulfill.” Atra smirked at her taller and better-developed friend, forcing Bryn to avert her gaze as the crimson shade on her cheeks deepened quickly. “But, now we have the option to challenge the Spire again so we will definitely see sometime in the future if it’s still possible to become an elite valkyrja that way. If we publicize that information, the motivated people will be swarming this place worse than the Scourge had.”

“That’s why the existence of the Sky Queen would be so big of a help…” Sidr massaged her forehead. “But, I understand your decision and can’t force you into doing anything, Bryn. The journey to convince everyone certainly wouldn’t be easy.”

“Thank you. One day, I might actually undertake it. Until that day comes, I’ll be in everyone’s care.” Bryn made a polite bow but Sidr quickly brought her back up. “On another note, I think we should conduct an investigation in regard to this revelation. It’s possible that I’m not the only elite in existence. People with different halos could have perceived them as some kind of defect and continued living like nothing happened or hid away. I believe that it would be beneficial to discover them and learn what their strengths are.”

“You are making me regret my decision not to insist so much.” The Supervisor chuckled. “That’s a great idea and I’ll bring it up during the next meeting. I can see this happening somewhere as even we weren’t aware of that possibility until today.”

“That would be very sad, living while convincing yourself that you are flawed or damaged,” Silvia added with a slightly melancholic tone.

“Yes, yes it would.” A wry smile appeared on Selene’s lips.

Everyone realized how similar such a situation could be to the one their vulpine friend had been in not so long ago and Asterios placed a hand on the fox lady’s shoulder alongside all the other girls. They all looked at Selene with kind, affectionate expressions, especially Asterios and Miria. They had been the ones to witness her miserable state back in the past.

“Why do you look at me like that, Master, when your circumstances are pretty much the same.” She let out a ladylike chuckle as her wry smile turned into a loving one.

“I guess that’s right.” He smirked at her.

“You can’t say that it’s not true. I remember clearly how much you struggled and suffered in the academy.” Tina ran her slender fingers through his white hair, grazing the back of his head.

“Shortie is right. In that aspect, you and Selene are like two peas in the same pod. You also thought that you were cursed for a little while, didn't you?” Grea grinned impishly and jabbed Asterios in the side with her elbow.

Asterios squinted at her and shook his head. “How could I not? We failed to explain my pitiable results in any logical way. It really felt as if something was preventing me from being successful, which turned out to be true, after all.”

“In any way, you still haven’t succeeded in fully unlocking your memories, right?” Atra asked.

He nodded at her. “Correct. I gained some extremely varied insight into a few things related to True Dragons and my past but the seal is still there. We are thinking of trying out a few of the methods that failed in the past now that I am supposedly whole. We don’t really have that many options after the Spire failed to deliver. Though, it certainly was of immense help.”

“Well, then you should definitely try the miraculous device again. The Spire is fully back to its operable state and I’ve been studying this artifact with Bryn and others a lot in recent days. The few notebooks in the draconic script we found in this place were extremely useful. We had lots of practice too. Worst case scenario, you will get rejuvenated for a week or so,” Atra suggested.

Bryn took Ast’s hand into hers and brought it up to squeeze it affectionately. “She is right, Master. We’ve practiced its control together since the day the operation successfully finished. The last time we tried using it, we were aiming to heal you, which wasn’t possible due to the circumstances which we learned a moment later. Today might be different.”

He squeezed her hand back and smiled warmly. “I truly appreciate it. From both of you. I will naturally be willing to accept your help and see what we can do. No matter the result, please, don’t be discouraged. What we have gained and learned is already a lot.”

“Now you are jinxing it.” Grea snorted. “Get your ass on the table. Maybe try going naked this time. Your clothes might have interfered with the device, who knows?”

“Professor…” Tina rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Honestly, we can’t be sure if she isn’t actually right.” Asterios furrowed his brows.

“You can’t be seriously thinking about it…” She looked at him with wide eyes.

Regardless of her shock, the faint trace of rosiness on Tina’s cheeks betrayed what she was thinking about.

“It is a little bit embarrassing, but it’s technically a good opportunity for our friends to have a brief look at my body.” Asterios shrugged. “I guess I became somewhat used to it after… spending so much time with all of you.”

“Oh, yes, it’s the perfect opportunity.” Grea’s bright red eyes shone with raised intensity, which was her personal equivalent of them sparkling with excitement.

“I won’t do it if it makes any of you uncomfortable, though.” He met each girl’s gaze.

They exchanged quick glances between themselves and shook their heads in perfect sync.

“Well. I’ll be in your care, then. Try not to conduct any improper experiments on me in the meantime, alright?” Asterios smirked Atra’s way slightly, causing her to chuckle quietly.

She knew that it was partially his way of rewarding her for all the help and assistance she’d given to them since the moment they had met. Atra had questioned Bryn about countless details related to Asterios, especially his body. It was of no surprise that he knew since the two had become an item with pretty much no secrets on each side.

Trying to act as unbothered as he could, Asterios walked up to the operation table in the middle of the chamber while the women followed him. He shoved his Spellslinger and other gear into his spatial storage and began dematerializing his spiritual attire. Some of the valkyrjas working on the sides noticed the unusual scene and warily gathered around the girls out of pure curiosity.

After he removed the last piece, whispers broke out amongst the gathered valkyrjas. He smiled wryly as his keen ears picked up bits of their conversations, which revolved mostly around Valkyrs, Valkyries, and his similarity to the Scourge, minus that bit between his legs.

As Asterios glanced at his mates, he was met with a plethora of different reactions.

Miria tried to hide her red face behind her furry hands but she was clearly looking at his waist through the gaps between her fingers. After realizing that he was staring back at her, she shivered and hastily closed them. But, it didn’t take long before she was unable to hold herself back from taking another, tiny peek.

Tina’s face was quite crimson too, though she held herself much better than the timid panthergirl. She smiled at Asterios softly when their eyes met, dropping her gaze to his privates only for a moment.

Selene and Silvia seemed to be the calmest members of the groups. The fox lady displayed her iconic, ladylike smile while the fiery princess kept her lips only faintly curled up.

Grea was obviously drilling holes in every part of his handsome charms, boldly displaying her delight. Asterios felt like she would chew her bottom lip off if he moved too much, causing his body to follow the motion accordingly.

He glanced at Bryn and Atra. His angelic mate tried to be composed and smiled at him a little wryly. Looking at the other Valkyrie, he understood the reason quickly. Atra’s eyes were hard-locked on his treasure, which was already in a quite impressive state due to all their attention.

Without prolonging it unnecessarily, Asterios set himself on the metal slab and gestured at the duo to begin on their side. Bryn had to shake Atra back into the world of the living and they moved to the control panels. Meanwhile, the girls and Sidr gathered around Asterios, partially intending to shield him from too many gazes. But, it wasn’t like they weren’t able to enjoy the view up close.

“I didn’t really pay much attention after Master’s advancement, but is it just me, or are some parts of Master’s body… more well-defined?” Miria asked shyly.

“Asterios always was fit and healthy thanks to his regular exercises, but now that you mention it…” Tina blushed deeply as her eyes roamed over his entire front.

“Might be another boon from regaining his lost source. The last time he absorbed draconic essence, he became able to partially transform, no? Maybe retrieving the second Dragon’s Heart and turning whole again boosted his physique a little bit,” Silvia presented her own theory to everyone.

“It still feels like I’m cheating my way into becoming stronger.” He chuckled wryly.

“It’s not called cheating, it’s having unique opportunities that others don’t.” Grea grinned at him from above. “Like now you have the opportunity for this sexy lady to help you relax before your opera—”

Asterios bonked Grea on the head. “Get away. You are interrupting Bryn’s and Atra’s efforts.”

She clicked her tongue but backed off obediently, making the other girls chuckle a tiny bit. The winged duo started making use of the multiple formations woven into the miraculous array of almost unlimited capabilities. They played with the controls to use various spells and approaches with the goal of at least weakening the seal. In the meanwhile, the valkyrjas present in the chamber observed the spectacle in awe as they hadn’t seen the device be used in such a complex way yet.

Spell after spell, technique after technique, colorful magic affected Ast’s body. But, as he observed his mind during the treatment, nothing was affecting the seal in the slightest. Their efforts were valiant and dedicated, but it just wasn’t possible. It wasn’t a negative ailment, a wound, or a curse. In its core, the seal placed in Ast’s mind was technically a protective shield, so taking it off was even harder.

In the end, the girls gave up after about half an hour. They were running out of ideas and didn’t want to keep their beloved mate exposed. Noticing that the formations receded higher to the ceiling, Asterios sat up on the edge of the bed and sighed lightly.

“Thanks for the effort but it looks like we are unlucky. I do feel much better now, though, so there’s that.” He smiled joyfully at his mates.

“Cover yourself already instead of still displaying… this…” Tina tried to scold him but wavered near the end when her gaze dropped to the part that hung right in front of her.

Asterios jumped off the block and resummoned his attire, causing Grea to boo him. He ignored the teasing demon lady and approached Bryn, grazing her cheek with his palm.

“Thank you,” he said and she responded with a dazzling smile.

“We failed with the artifact, but there’s one more place that might be of help,” she suggested.

“The Heart!” Miria gasped in excitement. “You felt a connection with it, no, Master? It should be easier to use it!”

“Well, it’s not a bad theory. It is made from out of the heart of a Dragon in the end,” Selene agreed.

“If Supervisor Sidr has nothing against it, let’s move there right now.” Silvia glanced at the winged leader.

“Of course not. If you don’t mind, I’ll accompany you.” Sidr nodded respectfully.

“Let’s go, then. We are perfectly gathered too. One jump to the core, please!” Grea pointed to the ceiling, making the nearby valkyrjas look at her weirdly.

A deep shadow crept up from the floor and swallowed them all. A moment later, they resurfaced inside the big, spherical chamber with the familiar, giant orb. Asterios supported the shocked Sidr while Bryn took care of slightly flustered Atra. They weren’t expecting to suddenly teleport into the Spire’s depths in a blink.

“What now?” Miria tilted her head adorably.

“Well, I don’t think you can assist me with this one,” Asterios pondered out loud. “I’ll try to meditate and approach the seal while also sensing the core. Wish me luck.”

He fluffed Miria’s hair as he passed her and got an idea. They watched his body become enveloped with dark crimson mist and the panthergirl cheered happily. His figure soon grew noticeably larger and a proud True Dragon walked under the Heart instead of a human.

Asterios looked up at the mesmerizing crystal and then down, moving in circles to find a good position to lie down. He did so after a short while and curled himself like the Dragon he was at the moment. Closing his eyes, he focused on exploring his mind.

It didn’t take that many minutes before he was floating in front of the complex wall of patterns and symbols. Something was clearly different about it and he noted that parts of the ever-going wall were clearly less vibrant or completely shut off.

It was weakening. They weren’t that far from finally cracking it.

So, he put all his focus into finding any gap through which he could fish out some memories. The inconceivable array of no end in sight didn’t look so out of the world to him this time. He could understand much more of the ancient language used in its creation. Thanks to all the research Grea and Radir had made, and his recent upgrades, it might be achievable.

While trying to look for a hole to sneak in, Asterios noticed the unusual trace of spiritual energy coming to him like a warm wind. There was some weird connection trying to be made between his sources and something outside of his body. It wasn’t hard to guess what that thing was.

Catching onto that feeling the best he could, Asterios tried to use the connection coming from the core to influence the seal but it was proving difficult to find the matching segment. But, after what felt like an hour, he sensed a weird ripple going through his entire body. Something swirled and his consciousness was sucked into something.

※ ※ ※

When Asterios regained consciousness, he was once more in his infant body. The location wasn’t too clear to him since they were currently inside a quite normal room. He couldn’t spot any important things that could identify the mysterious building. It was possible that it was one of their hideouts.

He was lying on his back on a bed while Kaguya was sitting right next to him. She seemed to be playing with him by giving the young Asterios her fingers to squeeze and tug on, though the fox lady didn’t look too enthusiastic and joyful to be doing so.

“Ah!” She suddenly gasped in surprise and hastily withdrew her fingers. “I can’t believe he can hurt me already. What a monster.”

Red came into Ast’s vision and harrumphed to himself. “He is partially transforming too.”

Asterios returned his focus to his arms and noticed it too. It was covered with black and red scales, almost halfway up from the hand. It looked like he could cause them to show up very early in his age. The seal must have blocked all of that.

Then, baby Asterios made some grunts and noises and waved that arm quickly. Crimson sparks followed the movement of his sharp fingers, which cut the literal air into four red streaks. He could tell that his younger self was extremely confused, but he wasn’t the only one.

Red hastily shifted his arm too and grabbed the small, crimson lines hanging in the air in the middle of nowhere. He squeezed his fist and bright energy leaked through the gaps in his fingers but nothing major happened after that.

“That was close. It’s getting increasingly more dangerous. He is developing surprisingly fast, most likely due to his dual Dragon’s Heart. He can’t control his powers at this stage. The longer we wait, the higher chance that he will accidentally send a stronger pulse out, and someone notices. We can only hope that this crack didn’t appear somewhere important.”

“There’s no other choice then, right?” Kaguya glanced at Red and asked.

“There isn’t. We have to get to Heven. It’s the best place to extract one of his Hearts. I secured friendly relations with the locals there a bit ago so it won’t be a problem to use their healing artifact. There’s also a place where we can store the Heart without any issues. If we really are going to keep him alive instead of just getting rid of him, we have to risk it and move there quickly. This is the moment for the final decision.”

They stared at each other for a moment and turned their gazes to Asterios.

“It would be a shame to kill someone so unique. But, extracting one of his Dragon’s Hearts and completely sealing the other one won’t be that much better. He will be worse than the weakest, most ungifted races. It’s going to be like he is almost completely manaless. Isn’t that basically a death sentence already?” Kaguya returned to playing with Ast’s tiny hands.

“We will have to find a good place to hide him. The choice is yours,” Red replied.

After a moment of pondering, she nodded. “If you are sure that they won’t be able to track you that way, then let’s do it. He is way too special. Who knows? Maybe he will one day unite Crimson and Onyx Dragons thanks to his dual bloodlines?”

“Unite? Maybe in death.” Red sneered. “Let’s stop wasting time and get going. Heven isn’t any close to us. We can’t keep jumping like crazy.”

They stood up and the memory began fading away.