1222-11-15
Shin Utsuho:
In only five days after Keiko used her edict on Riku, she managed to learn not only how to use edicts herself but also how to counter them. Every time our edicts clashed, she was able to cancel mine as if it had never been activated.
Riku really is incredible.
She learned how to counter our kind of power in just five days. She truly has the strongest potential out of all of us.
I do not think you understand what that means. To cancel an edict from inside another should be impossible. An edict is the manifestation of your soul. When two edicts clash the person with a stronger will normally wins. When someone is trapped inside an active edict, they should not be able to use any abilities at all, let alone invoke their soul.
She refused to tell us how she did it. She would not explain her methods. In only a few days she surpassed all of us.
I watched as Riku and Keenan trained. I was lucky. Keenan is still unable to activate his edict.
Keenan fell to the ground. He landed face first with a pained groan.
Riku glanced over at me for a moment.
"Hey. Ut … su … ho."
"I am not clashing with you," I yelled.
"Come on, please," she begged. "I need practice."
"You already figured out how to use Rescind, or whatever you call it. Why do you need practice with me?"
"Riku's Edict Reversal ," she said proudly. "Or reversal for short. It still needs work."
"You still have not decided on the rest of the words."
"I am stuck on S," Riku admitted.
"Why not name it after yourself?"
"That is too prideful."
"Even for you?"
"Yes, Utsu."
"Well, what are the steps?"
"If it is based on my name," she said, thinking carefully, "then Rescind, Invalidate, Kill, and Unpack."
"That is actually pretty good. Will you teach me how to do it now?"
"Maybe. If I die young, I want my name written somewhere in history."
"Then the name is Riku," I said.
"Fantastic," she said.
I rolled my eyes. "I am still not practicing with you."
Riku dropped to her knees and bowed dramatically. "Please. I am begging you. I need more practice with RIKU."
"I thought you hated training."
"I do," she replied. "But if it means I can surpass her, then nothing else matters."
I sighed, letting out a tired breath. "Fine."
I walked across the yard. I gave her enough space.
"Tell me when you are ready," I called out.
"Any time. It doesn't count if it is not a surprise."
"I should do it in your sleep," I muttered.
"What did you say, Utsu?"
"Why is she so annoying," I whispered to myself.
I brought my hands together.
"EDICT: True Stray."
The edict expands in an instant. The world around me sharpens into clear color. Everything becomes transparent for a moment. It is beautiful, a quiet manifestation of my soul. The world settles back to normal, but I feel a wave of strength rise inside me. For a moment I feel like I can use my power at its fullest.
A strain builds in my core. A faint ache follows. The world tilts and spins. Riku is the only thing I can focus on. At the edge of my sight I see Keenan staring with a shocked expression.
Riku stays calm with a confident look.
I step forward slowly. I know what my edict can do almost by instinct. Out of everyone here, I should have the best chance.
Riku extends her hand.
"RIKU: True Stray," she says.
A pulse of energy bursts from her.
The barrier around me breaks apart into countless unseen fragments. My strength fades back to its normal level. My power returns to the state it was before.
"Are you happy now," I sigh.
"Actually yeah. I can finally show her."
"Why do you care so much," I say. "You are more than capable of defeating her."
" My goal is to leave. I would not want to leave you or Keenan."
The rest of the orphanage watches us from the center.
"Or the rest of you," she sighs. "And what is the worst that can even happen?"
"Riku, can you use it on me?"
"What?"
"Your edict. I think I understand how RIKU works."
"Alright," she sighs. "I will cancel it before you get hurt."
"That will not be necessary," I boast.
She places her hands together.
"EDICT: Seventh Dilation."
The world freezes. The sky turns grey. Everything stops. The trees. The birds. Every movement around us becomes still.
I try to move but cannot. For a moment I see Riku lifting her hand so slowly that it almost hurts to watch. Time stretches far beyond seven times slower. My body stays locked, but my mind rushes forward faster and faster.
Rescind.
Invalidate.
Kill.
Unpack.
I try to think about what she means, but before I can move she is next to me. She places a hand on my shoulder.
"If this were a fight you would be dead."
She cancels her edict. My vision returns to normal. The world becomes bright again, almost too bright.
Riku keeps practicing her ability, using her own edict with little success.
"It is a lot easier to cancel your own edict than to force it to stay active," T says.
T walks down the steps with a soft calm. I expect him to tell us to get up. He doesn't. Keiko stands next to him with a small smile on her face.
"Riku, Keenan, and Utsuho, follow me please."
T leads us to a small room on the second floor. I have never been here, though I have seen T and the other staff watching us from this spot before.
Four cups sit on the table, each filled with a strange liquid.
"This is the next part of your growth," T says. "Vera-Certis. By itself it is useless. But when mixed with water and a special mix the supreme leader created, it gives special effects. You can only drink it once."
"Will we die if we have it more than once?" Keenan asks.
"No. You only get one of the offered abilities. The abilities you get are random. I would not recommend drinking it more than once else you may get addicted."
"Have you drunk it?" I ask.
"Of course I have," T says with a sly grin.
Riku steps forward first. She drinks one of the cups. Her face twists like she tasted something sour.
I don't notice much of a change in her. l I look closer. A silver band wraps around both her irises. They flicker softly.
"That tastes …," Riku says.
"How do you feel?" I ask.
"Not much different. I can see each of your souls, but that would not be helpful in combat."
"It seems you unlocked stage two," T says as he studies her eyes.
Keenan walks up next. He drinks and makes the same bitter face.
I wait for a grand change or even a small one like Riku, but nothing happens.
"No need to worry, Keenan. Stage one is the most common," T says.
I walk up next. I drink the liquid and immediately understand why everyone made that face. It tastes awful. Like lemon mixed with something sour, but not a good sour. Just sour.
The tea is cold and uncomfortable. I can feel lumps from the fruit or whatever was added sitting at the bottom of the cup.
"Did anything change?" I ask.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Yes," Riku says with a confused look.
"Your eyes," Keenan says as he picks up a small mirror.
I look into my reflection. My dark irises now have a circle like Riku's, but instead of a smooth ring, four clean lines stretch out like a compass.
Keiko is next.
She drinks the liquid like anyone else.
She yells in pain..
She falls to the ground.
She covered her eyes.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Yes," Riku says with a confused look.
"Your eyes," Keenan says as he picks up a small mirror.
"Didn't you already say that?" I ask.
"Say what?" Riku frowns. "Are you taunting us ?"
Keiko is next. She drinks the liquid like anyone else.
Keiko screams. Keiko falls to the ground. She covered her eyes.
She wails so loud it hurts my ears.
Her heart beats so fast I can hear it.
"Are you ok?" I ask.
I look at her eyes. Like mine, they are surrounded by a silver circle, but instead of four lines she has sixteen.
"I understand it," she mutters. "I understand why."
"Why Julius is in this hell."
"Who is Julius?" Keenan asks.
Keiko struggles to her feet. She sways as if she has no balance.
T holds her steady, but her eyes keep shining. She closes them and they return to normal.
I grab the mirror. My eyes have returned to normal too, like the lines were never there. I checked Riku's. Hers are normal as well.
"Are you ok?" Riku asks. "Your aura is unstable. Your core is shaking."
"Shut up, Riku," Keiko commands.
"Rude. I was just…"
"Do not pretend. All day, all month, for the last fifteen years you have been trying to counter me."
"Only because you activate your edict when I have none."
"If you went against anyone else you would lose. Your Riku protocol or whatever you call it means nothing."
"Oh? Who would possibly beat it?"
"Do you even know who Tafari is? Who Amelia is ? The way the world works outside this place?"
"Of course I do not," Riku yells. "I have been here since I can remember!"
"Do not act superior to me. All your effort amounts to nothing. The ability to cancel edicts is insignificant."
"If it's so insignificant, then fight me and prove it."
Keiko glares with disgust. "That proves nothing. You could not beat Tafari. You could not beat Yukari. Not Neith. Not Ramses. You are weak."
"I refuse to bow to a king who does not even know me. Keiko, what makes you believe that I couldn't beat them?"
"One simple fact. Tafari has connections with almost every country. Lucius controls the weather. Yukari has the power of time itself. You are nothing."
"And what does that make you?" Riku asks. "If they are so great, who are you…"
"Silence," Keiko snaps. "You have no idea what is coming. Or who Tafari is training. It's not like you'll be there anyway. And more importantly…"
She breathes in.
"Whose body will be taken tomorrow."
:"You're losing it, Riku says. Why don't you get some rest?"