Chapter 1171 - Arnea's Goal
After hearing what Shiro had told her about her sister, Arnea collapsed on the ground and sat with an empty look in her eyes.
"So big sis is frozen right now and the moment you unfreeze her, she'll be corrupted and lose her mind?" Arnea asked as Shiro nodded.
Closing her eyes, Arnea bit her lip.
"How is that any different from death?" She asked as her voice quivered slightly.
"If it was death it would be easier for me to save her." Shiro sighed.
"With death, it's just a matter of me grabbing her soul and giving it a new body. However, what's happening to her right now is so much worse. But it's not all doom and gloom. There's a way for me to save her but I can't do it just yet due to my limited power.."
Hearing this, Arnea opened her eyes in surprise and looked at Shiro.
"Really?" Arnea asked as Shiro nodded her head.
To be honest, if Shiro wanted to she could do it now. However, it required her to lift the seal off her divinity and once that's done, there was no turning back.
"How long will it take?" Arnea asked as Shiro thought about it for a moment.
"It'll take quite a while. I can't put a number on it since I'm unsure of it myself but it will happen. That I can promise you." Shiro said as Arnea nodded her head.
"Alright. Is it possible for me to see my big sister right now?"
Without saying anything else, Shiro waved her hand and opened a portal. Within the portal was an icy tundra and in the centre was a single block of ice.
Encased in the ice, Niphim stood with a small smile on her face.
Seeing her sister for the first time after so long, Arnea dashed into the portal while Shiro, Iris and Nine waited by the entrance.
Running up to the statue, Arnea placed her hand on the surface and stood silently.
Closing her eyes, she pressed her head against the ice and muttered to herself for a moment before closing her mouth.
Waiting by the portal for around a minute, Shiro watched as Arnea stepped out.
Raising an eyebrow, Shiro could see a new light in her eyes.
"Since you hold the key to my sister's survival, I'll do anything for you to help her. My powers are limited, I'm not as determined or combat ready as the 'me' that the Raven created but I will try my best. My sister has already done everything in her power to get revenge and free me so I can't hide behind her anymore. It's my time to help her and I hope you can give me that chance. There are no free meals in this world so whatever you require from me I will do it." Arnea said as Shiro chuckled.
"You know if you said that to anyone else, they might have strange ideas about you. But~ I'm not 'that' mean. I don't need much from you except to sign a contract to give up your chance at the new age and become my ally. That way I wouldn't need to kill you. You don't even have to fight or do anything, you can wait while I free your sister then the two of you can live together. Though seeing the fire in your eyes, something tells me that you won't let yourself do nothing while the word chances. So I have one request for you, be my bodyguard for now and use this chance to temper yourself. Make yourself strong enough so that you can stand against the gods just in case a second Raven appears and try to destroy your family again." Shiro smiled as Arnea nodded her head.
"While I may be a simple breeze to the Gods right now, I will transform into a hurricane in due time and sweep away those that will threaten my sister. She has protected me long enough." Arnea kneeled down as Shiro prepared the contract ritual.
Going through the process of the contract, Shiro accepted Arnea as an ally and stretched her body.
"Let's see, it's still around midday so you three can probably go hunt a few monsters that are around the place. Don't go for anything too ambitious since Arnea needs to get used to her power. I'd say it'll take her around a week or so to sync up to her real strength. Though we'll need to take a break in two days since quite a few gods will be descending. When that happens, it'll be similar to the start of the new age all over again but much much worse. So prepare yourself for that day. As for me, I got something to deal with so I'll be experimenting a little." Shiro shrugged as Iris nodded her head.
"In that case then we'll rest for today as well. I'll do some final checks on Arnea's body to make sure that there are no lingering side effects."
With the plans laid out, they made their way back to the castle as Shiro closed the door to her room.
Slamming her hand down, she pulled out a lantern and let out a soul.
Looking at the young man in front of her that no longer resembled that of a monstrosity, Shiro was rather surprised since it was quite the change.
"Young man, did you ever get laid in your life? If you didn't then it's quite a waste for the young ladies in your world." Shiro joked as he clicked his tongue.
"I was too busy absorbing the corruption to bother with the pleasures of flesh. But enough about that, let's proceed with what we agreed upon."
"Well aren't you eager? Though I suppose you do prefer to be in a sword than a lantern. Who knows, when you cultivate a body you might be able to exercise the sword between your legs." Shiro grinned before flicking her wrist and summoned Silvanis.
"Usually I would prefer to do this with Helion by my side or Error but with my memories as Anima, it should be relatively easy to combine a soul with a sword. The only concern I have is the power of your soul and the grade of this sword. There's a chance that you could just get obliterated by the fragment of sentience within this sword but it'll be fine~" Shiro said as the Ancient Terror froze up for a moment.
"The f*ck did you just say?" He asked but Shiro gave him no response except for a smile.
*BOOM!!!!
Igniting several magic circles around her, a ritualistic pattern emerged from her feet and covered the entire floor of the room, basking it in a purple glow while chains shot out and grabbed onto Ancient Terror's body.
"The hell!?" He shouted out in a panic realising that he couldn't move.
"Apparently it usually hurts less if you surprise them. Also if you want to back out now tell me and I'll stop." Shiro smiled.
Staying silent for a bit, he stared at her and sighed.
"Tsk, keep going."
"Good because if you said no I wouldn't have been able to stop anyways." Shiro shrugged.
"£%%!"%^!!!!!!"
Clasping her hands together, the chains transformed into blades that shredded his soul into pieces.
The fragments morphed into wisps of energy that wrapped around the blade of Silvanis, causing the sword to hum with an annoyed ring. A silver glow erupted from the sword in an attempt to cast away the fragmented souls but the glow was suppressed by the ritual.
"Let me just take this away." Shiro chuckled as she reached out with her hand and ripped a source of the silver energy from the blade.
Tearing out the slither of sentience, Shiro opened her mouth and threw it in before licking her lips.
"Hm, a little spicy I suppose. Sharp sting but quite tasty."
With the fragment of the sentience now out of the sword, the Ancient Terror was allowed to enter.
His entry immediately dyed the sword black as he was not completely free of the corruption yet but Shiro didn't mind. After all, she was the source of all destruction, a little bit of corruption doesn't bother her.
The main thing that she needed to remember was to retain the main properties of her blade while enhancing it with what the Ancient Terror could provide.
Searching through her memories, Shiro smiled after finding what she wanted.
Gathering energy into her fingers, she carved out black and red runes onto the blade and inserted some of her energy. While it may not be as potent as her divine energy, it was still enough to ignite the runes. She could finish it off in the future but for now, she'll allow the sword to finish its transformation.
*RUMBLE!!!!!
Feeling the ground shake, Shiro could hear the sound of notifications ringing in her ear but ignored it for now since she was focused on the sword.
"Now!"
Stopping the ritual, she activated her Soul Maiden form and sealed the soul within the sword, finishing the fusion.
A burst of energy erupted out from the blade as she quickly activated a barrier to prevent herself from being thrown out the room. Within the explosion of energy, she could see the blade hovering in the air and the final notification told her everything she needed to know.
[Congratulations, you have discovered a new grade of equipment.]