Chapter 443 - Cleanse
Chapter 443 - Cleanse
Eva looked at Roma with a scrunched-up face. She could not believe that the lovely woman who was usually playful and supportive could do something so outrageous!
Creating a soul that could be written upon! This was beyond blasphemy, as this was directly telling the creator to piss off, as you could do its job better than they could.
However, Roma did nothing wrong. This was an ability stemming from the Mystic Arts that she had developed naturally. Nevertheless, on its own, this ability was pretty useless.
She mostly used it in conjunction with either Necromancy, Concoctions, or dangerous brews. Just like Hikari's ability to create small lives that lacked spirits and souls was not too heaven-shaking, while Eva's ability to create almost perfect spirits was shocking due to the effect, but heavily limited.
With the combination of these three abilities, they could bring a new life into the world… artificially.
It was like having bleach or ammonia. Separately, these two items were harmless and actually quite common, the latter even being present in urine. However, when mixed together, the end product would be a gas that had been used in chemical warfare and got banned in many states for its devastating effect.
Zaine spoke up here, before they would attempt something that would breach the heaviest taboo and force either the system or its 'mods' to act. "No need to talk about this more. Hikari can only create tiny lives at the moment and Eva still doesn't understand the limits of her Mind Control. As for Roma, you still have much more to research on souls, so such a thing might not be possible at all anyway."
Eva agreed immediately. "You're right. This event occurred totally by accident and I don't think I can replicate it. Roma, can you even infuse the souls you summon into living things?"
Roma shook her head. "I've never tried it. It should frankly almost be impossible in the first place, since souls with blank slates are supposed to come into existence with the lifeform. They cannot be put in separately like parts of a device."
Hikari sighed and let go of the kitten she had created. It mewed in confusion and pattered away, following the basest of instincts that came with its creation. It was not enough to grant it full awareness, but sufficient to fool an onlooker at first glance.
Eva turned to Hikari. "You know what to do."
The White Dragoness nodded. She transformed into her full Dragon form, something she hadn't done in months, so she cried out in joy. With a wide smile, Hikari unfurled her wings and took to the sky.
Roma and Zaine looked on in wonderment while Eva had a sympathetic expression. She lamented that Hikari had to hide her true form due to concerns from the massacre and desire for Dragons, but they were not within the scope of the known True Gods.
On Shinoka, Eva had the full confidence to handle anything that could try to harm Hikari, even the deities. Not exactly due to her power, but her bloodline and affiliation.
Shinoka was just the best place for Eva to be in the entire universe, even considering earth's universe too. Here, she was untouchable and inviolable in many ways, so she couldn't allow too much harm to come to it in case she ever needed to return.
Hikari reached the cloud and trilled elegantly, a tone of excitement and valor in her cry. Worldly Energy in volumes so mind-numbing were pulled around by her with ease, as manipulating it in her true form yielded 50 times the result compared to her reduced human form.
It was actually a real waste to keep Hikari in human form, but it had been necessary in the mapped zones. Here though, not so much. It was just that Hikari would not be able to follow Luxia's speed in her true form, so she had to remain human often in case they needed to move.
Since she was in the sky, the tornado that the movement of energy caused did not affect the ladies on the ground much, but they still felt the aftershocks. That alone told them that what Hikari was doing was extremely grand, but dangerous to any living thing around her.
Soon, the energy pulled subsided as Hikari spat out a white beam that covered the entire capital of the Storm Empire. This light broke into pieces and entered the bodies of all the dead and mentally infirm, coating their bodies in a white glow.
White Light Resurrection!
White Light Healing!
The resurrection was used on those who had died, while the healing was used on those whose minds had been destroyed. Both parties found life and awareness return to them as their mangled/splayed bodies rose to its feet.
They looked around with confusion. Many of those who had become mentally infirm found themselves with great chunks of their memories missing, especially after the compulsion had evolved into a hivemind.
Those who had died only had memories up to that point too, and most only remembered up until they got killed. Yet, they were now alive and hale like nothing had ever happened?
Had it been a dream?
The citizens were sure it wasn't. For one, there was the stench of blood and the remains of sprayed flesh everywhere. Buildings were ruined and the capital city was a giant mess.
Their bodies were back in perfect condition, yet many had been reconstructed from scratch with what had been left behind as a template. Not everyone had died with whole corpses, many torn into flecks of meat that still existed by the roads. However, nobody would complain, especially those who had lost a limb or had suffered from ailments for many years prior to the event.
The running pools of blood made many puke, but they were still curious about their current situation more than the apocalyptic environment they saw. Many traced the source of the wondrous energy still lingering in their bodies to a huge entity in the sky.
It was a beautiful white dragon that reflected the sun's light marvelously with her cream-colored scales. She was majestic and a wonder to look at, many feeling their soul cleaned just by the sight of her.
Hikari was too in the zone to notice this. Casting such a huge resurrection spell didn't take a toll on her in the traditional manner. She wasn't tired or weakened by this act, but was really just very high.
"Hehehe… Shooo guuudddd…Hic!" She mumbled in a silly manner as her eyes curled into crescents. Even though she was floating in mid-air, Hikari still managed to stagger like a drunk.
Eva smiled and manifested her Wings of Light as she slowly flew up to Hikari's position. Zaine's lips twitched as she held Loki gently and used her Ultra Transvection to lift herself into the sky after Eva.
Roma tickled Rosella's nose and also manifested a green aura around her body as she also floated after Zaine and Eva. This was done using not a skill or spell from her class but a Mystic Arts ability that she could cast.
When they all came to stand beside Hikari, looking down on the many lives of the Storm Empire. The citizens in turn raised their heads high to gaze at the one who had brought them back to life, and were shocked to see that it was Amaterasu and her allies.
Those in the square saw the tied-up personnel nearby and quickly brought them under heel. Now that Amaterasu was here, they could hand them over and be done with it… hopefully!
Eva assumed her Goddess Form again and cast the Supreme Projection. Her avatar spoke in a resounding voice that was heard all over the capital city.
"You have followed my decree, and a bit too zealously I must admit. I came to find your empire so ruined and running with blood, so I had my beloved sister raise you up once again."
Amaterasu stretched her hand out and the bodies of those tied up floated into the air amidst their screams and struggles. "As for the offenders, they shall be duly dealt with. From henceforth, the Storm Empire shall never take part in the conflict between the Sun and Moon Empire's without just cause. Is that clear?"
The citizens immediately fell to their knees and cried out: "We understand, Goddess!"
Eva's projection nodded with satisfaction and turned to leave with her allies. Once she disappeared, the citizens of the Storm Empire rose to their feet slowly as they looked at the ruined city around them.
Many scratched their heads, but still, everyone slowly began rebuilding and cleaning up the area as best as they could. It was tiring work, but coming back from the dead definitely gave a person a different view of life, where even fatigue seemed like a tangy fruit.
As for Eva and her crew, they went around to the other cities, towns, and homesteads to see similar carnage. Not everywhere had been affected, but many had been.
Hikari had to do a lot of resurrecting and Eva couldn't be bothered to manifest an avatar each time, so she just said the bare minimum and flew off with her crew.
It took them 3 days to get this done, and they were slightly tired by the end of it. As such, Eva took them back to the Shogun's Palace to rest and recuperate. There, they had the most skilled Shrine Maidens tend to them.
Eva toyed with them a little, marveling at how easily she could influence their power. She could empower them or weaken them with ease, though it cost her bloodline energy to do so.
However, if she took power away, even the base power bestowed by Amaterasu, she could regain bloodline energy! Of course, Eva had no interest in angering her other self in this world who was still likely locked in combat by weakening her priestesses.
After resting for a while longer, Eva decided that it was about time to wrap up her little excursion to this land by doing what she should have done when she first landed and heard that another version of herself existed.
She had to visit Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi's battle in the heavens!
This was easier said than done though, as no one knew where they were fighting. Obviously, the two deities would choose another place in order to prevent the mortals from suffering from the fallout, something the idiots in the mapped zones 'forgot' to do during the old era war.
However, Eva wouldn't face a problem here. It wasn't that she knew where the divine battleground was, but rather that ever since she began using her Goddess Form more, she felt a line connecting her to something or someone far away.
This was the main reason why she had activated it so frequently ever since the first time. Now, that connection was quite steady and Eva guessed that on the other end was her counterpart, who should also be aware of this strange bond.
Eva gathered the ladies and sat on the back of Luxia. She closed her eyes and relayed her thoughts to the Light Phoenix, allowing the majestic beast to feel what Eva felt.
Using that feeling, Luxia honed in on the location of the battle. The Light Phoenix traveled in a strange manner, sometimes she went up, sometimes down, sometimes in a silly zigzag or childlike spiral.
Yet, the ladies on her back could only gasp as they found the scenery in front of them change suddenly as they were exposed to a large field that was pockmarked with scars and craters all over.
In the center of this field were two beings, one male and one female. They were staring at each other intensely and darkly, before they simultaneously turned to view the newcomers to their secluded fight.
Their expressions displayed different emotions, with Tsukuyomi wearing one of annoyance while Amaterasu wore one of relief. Both of them could sense Eva's aura, not to mention that she looked exactly the same as Amaterasu, but with short green hair.
Eva folded her arms and greeted her counterpart with a smile.
"Yo. You need some help?"