"I see… That is truly fascinating."
"Yeah. Kaleidoscope is an incredibly powerful magic. It allows you to travel across your specific branch of the multiverse. You can visit worlds within the Type-Moon multiverse, choose the exact timeline you want, and even travel into its past if needed. Let's not talk about the other benefits. We will talk about that later."
I gesture lightly as I continue.
"Anyway, Planeswalker power is broader, but far less controlled. I can access the greater Multiverse, but cannot control where, at least not for another decade or so. At the beginner level, you can't choose your destination. I jump blindly, guided by instinct. That said… because I travel with you often, and thanks to my mastery over magic and other esoteric systems, I can influence the destination to some extent."
"I understand," Zelretch says, nodding. "It reminds me of one of my counterparts. He severed all inherited knowledge from the Second Magic. He forced himself to relearn everything from scratch."
He taps his cane thoughtfully.
"He died on his first jump. His death is rather horrific. The void devours all of his being, destroying me in that timeline and locking that timeline from my reach."
I wince slightly.
"We later discovered that each of us unconsciously generates a protective barrier around our body and soul while traversing the Void. The Second Magic grants us that knowledge, and our souls, bodies, and even essence make sure we cast that unconsciously when we perform a jump. Without that knowledge… survival becomes unlikely. At least not without learning said knowledge from the ground up."
"That's very different from my case," I reply. "My Spark fundamentally altered me. It lets me survive in the Blind Eternities. In theory, I can stay there for as long as I want. It will be a perfect fortress to hide from someone."
I pause.
"Can I exist there? Yes. Can I survive the horror of the Blind Eternity? Absolutely not."
"Fascinating," Zelretch murmurs again. "Truly fascinating."
He glances down, scribbling notes rapidly. I can see all kinds of notes that look like someone who's mad writing them. However, I know that Zelretch can read the note and make sense of it.
After a few seconds, he looks back up.
"And what about that enormous amount of mana inside your soul? I can see five distinct colors within your soul. Each radiates a different concept."
"Ah, those." I nod. "They're called Colored Mana. Each represents a fundamental aspect of reality."
I raise a finger for each.
"White is light and orderly. Blue is control and knowledge. Black is death and ambition. Red is destruction and passion. Green is growth and nature."
I shrug slightly.
"There's more depth to each of them, but we can get into that later."
"Fair enough," he says immediately. "We should travel together again. This time, you will be the one taking me to another world. I want to experience the Blind Eternities firsthand."
"…Please don't jump into that place or act recklessly, Zelretch."
He snorts.
"Who do you take me for? A novice? Relax, Ryan. I may enjoy a bit of trolling, but I am still a proper researcher."
He gives me a wide grin.
"I will proceed with extreme caution. You have my word as a Wizard Marshall and Magician of Second Magic."
"That's reassuring," I reply dryly. "But later. Right now, I intend to enjoy my day off. Yesterday, I immediately fell asleep after arriving here."
"By all means," he says, already turning back to his work. "I'll be busy experimenting with these."
I chuckle as I leave him with the rings I gave him. Each contains a different type of mana. According to him, they'll keep him occupied for at least a month.
That is good, I guess, as long as he's happy.
With a quiet hum, I leave the basement and teleport to Yasaka's palace. When I arrive, I can see the people walking around.
The courtyard is bustling. Servants move back and forth, carrying baskets filled with bright orange fruit. Right. Today is harvest day.
What are they harvesting? Oranges. Yasaka loves oranges, and Kunou inherited that love wholeheartedly. Because of that reason, Yasaka created a small orchard behind her palace. This orchard is filled with orange trees, and the fruits will be stored for her enjoyment.
The orchard behind the palace isn't ordinary. The fruit grown there has been selectively cultivated, enhanced with concentrated natural energy to improve both flavors. However, that is not the only thing that is enchanted.
The trees are injected with a massive amount of pure, natural energy, and the result is a fruit that can heal the consumer. It cannot be used as a healing item like Phoenix Tears, but it is great for ensuring youkai toddlers grow healthy and strong.
The effect of the orange is not much on supernatural races or humans with supernatural powers, but it is different when a mundane human consumes them. The healing effect is amplified significantly.
It can cure cancer if consumed daily for a certain amount of time.
Funny, really. Conspiracy theories often claim that governments suppress hidden cures for cancer.
They're not entirely wrong.
Just wrong about why. It's not about profit. It's about the rule agreed by all supernatural factions.
The cure exists within the supernatural world, and the supernatural world does not want its world to be combined with the mundane one. Because of this, they put a strict rule on which items can be sold to the mundane world.
The one in the know cannot do anything about it. What? You want to demand a cure from God? Go ahead.
What happens when you demand something from a being who could erase your country from existence? You don't.
At the end of the day, the rules are simple. The strong rule, and the weak follow. We like to pretend otherwise, but that's just the way this world works.
No matter how wealthy or politically savvy you are… if your opponent holds true power, you are insignificant. You cannot do anything when they come to your home, kill you and your family.
That is why I try to be responsible with my power. The strong are there to rule, but a ruler needs to think of the weak. Protect them and nurture them. However, that doesn't mean you can be a pushover. When the weak think they can order you around, you show them why you are the one who rules.
You give a lot of carrots, but make sure to have a giant stick ready to hit if the others start thinking they can do whatever they want.
"What's with that look, Ryan? You look like someone who wants to beat some unfortunate souls."
I blink, pulled from my thoughts.
Yasaka approaches, casually peeling an orange as she walks. She tosses one to me. I catch it easily. As I peel it, I say.
"Just thinking about how we could use these to cure cancer."
She sighs.
"You can't. These oranges contain too much natural energy. They exceed what can safely exist in the mundane market."
"Really? That's a shame." I pop a slice into my mouth. "A mundane cure would do wonders. Help people, build trust, boost our company's reputation… Entering the medical business is a good path to choose."
"And generate profit," she adds with a smirk. "Even at low prices, the volume would make it worthwhile."
"Yup, such a shame that we do not have any."
"We already have a cure for cancer, sir."
We both turn to see White, Asia, and Kunou approach us, covered in dirt and leaves. Kunou happily munches on oranges, and White is carrying a bunch of oranges for her.
So they were "helping." Judging by their faces… They were mostly eating.
"What do you mean?"
Yasaka asks, eyes sharpening slightly. I release a sigh at her expression. There she goes, entering her business mode.
"The Old Humanity developed multiple treatments during the White Chlorination Syndrome crisis," White explains calmly. "Among them was a cancer cure. The logic was that the syndrome behaved similarly to malignant cell growth."
She continues without pause.
"The treatment eliminates cancer cells and reinforces the body to prevent recurrence. It requires invasive surgery beforehand, but the success rate is effectively 100%. The surgery itself still carries risk, sadly."
"Can YorHa units perform it? Will it reduce the risk?" I ask.
"With the proper medical data uploaded, yes."
"Good."
I nod once.
"Then we return to your world. We'll recruit healer-type units willing to assist."
White's gaze sharpens. Her old gaze returned to her.
"No android will refuse the opportunity to aid humanity, sir. We would give our lives without hesitation."
Right. They still retain their absolute devotion to humanity. They are not as zealous as before, but they are still zealots. They are more than willing to kill themselves if that is to save a single human.
"Understood."
I glance at Yasaka, who is currently wiping dirt off Kunou's face.
"What do you think? Want to take a trip? The others should be done seeding their worlds by now. Do you want to see the progress?"
She smiles lightly.
"I don't mind. A little vacation sounds nice."
"Vacation! Vacation!" Kunou cheers.
I chuckle.
"Alright. Let's prepare what we need. I'll store everything in my pocket dimension."
"Give me a few hours," Yasaka says. "I need a bath."
I raise a brow.
"You're already beautiful."
She laughs softly.
"Flattery won't help. I'm sweaty and smell like citrus."
"I don't mind."
"I do."
A playful glance.
"We leave in three hours."
"Very well," I sigh. "I'll go drag Zelretch out of my basement in the meantime."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you for reading! If you'd like to help, please visit my Ko-fi page (ko-fi.com/ryusenka). For every 10$, I will post 1 chapter, and if we reach the goal, I will post every day for two months.
Or if you want to read more and support me, you can go to my P@treon: [email protected]/ryusenka