Erika sighed, looking at her friend, the same boy she knew, who was always carefree even in the most absurd situation. If she were in his shoes, she would be losing her mind right now. Once again, she realised how strong he was; unlike her, she leaned back in her chair, her eyes narrowing slightly at Akira. "Seriously, it's been seven years since we met… and you never changed."
Akira grinned, rubbing the back of his neck. "Hey, I've changed a lot, too. But… I guess one thing will never change, my love for anime is eternal."
"Yeah, of course," Erika sighed, though a faint smile tugged at her lips, thinking he was always like this.
Akira then turned toward Selena, his eyes gleaming with curiosity. "So, sister, you said we're created by the Imaginary Tree, right? Do we have some kind of special powers to fight the oblivions?"
Selena set her teacup down, her expression turning just a little more serious, though the playful spark in her eyes never faded. "Of course, we do, brother. Almost all of us have the Mystic Eyes of Reason, eyes that can perceive every type of energy, and our bodies are naturally attuned to those energies, making us far more compatible with any type of energy than any others."
"Really, so how compactable are we talking about?" Akira asked in interest.
"If I had to give you an example, remember how you have been using mana circulation to mutate your body since you were a baby. If you are a normal human, you would have been dead or turned into a monster already", she said with a knowing smile.
"Cough", Akira, who was calmly drinking tea, almost did a spit take at the revelation. He never thought he was in that much danger.
"WAIT WHAT?", Erika asked in shock too. "What do you mean by mutation? What do you mean by turning into a monster, Akira? What did you do?"
"Cough, haha… It's nothing, just some small experiments. Really, little ones," Akira said quickly, trying to downplay it.
Erika stood and leaned closer to him, smiling sweetly, a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Tell me. Exactly. What. You. Did?"
"It's not that bad, hahahaha…" Akira tried to laugh it off, not knowing how to explain this situation without getting her mad. Erika rarely got angry at him, no matter how much of a stupid situation he dragged her into, she would, however, get really angry when he did something dangerous, like now.
He looked at his sister for help, asking with his eyes to save him from this situation.
Selena looked at him with a smile, saying she would take care of everything, and turned to Erika and said, "Don't worry, Erika chan, I will tell you everything he did."
"Sister, how could you…", Akira looked at his sister as if she had betrayed him.
"I am sorry, brother, even I was really worried, you know, I can't tell you to stop, and can't talk to our parents about it without revealing your secret, you know, it's a tough situation for me back then," Selena said with an accusing smile.
"Sigh, sorry about that", Akira apologized honestly, since he did put his sister in a tough spot.
"Forget about that, Selena, tell me everything?" Erika asked, completely ignoring the emotional moment going on here.
Selena clasped her hands behind her back, speaking with a mischievous smile. "Well, first, he circulated mana throughout his body and permanently infused it into all his organs. Because of that, his body changed completely. For example, when he infused his eyes, it did strengthened his Mystic Eyes, but now he always has migraines. Then he modified his stomach so he could eat more, but now almost everything he eats gets converted into mana. Which means he has to eat about ten times more than a normal person just to survive. Oh, and let's not forget the time he linked a spell directly to his brain and almost fried it." She tilted her head. "And that's just a few of the things he's done."
"Akira." Erika's voice was quiet, but her eyes gleamed dangerously.
Akira swallowed. "…What is it?"
"We are going to have a long talk later," she said, sitting back down with a too-sweet smile.
"Right, moving on!" Akira turned back to Selena, eager to change the subject. "So, sister, do we have any other special powers?"
"Oh, of course, our most special power gifted to us by the imaginary tree, is Stellar Radiance. It's what allows us to fight the Oblivions." She said with a mysterious smile.
Akira blinked. "Wait… that's what it's for? I always thought it was meant for fighting dark creatures."
Selena giggled. "That's just a secondary effect. Its true purpose is to defeat the Oblivions."
Erika, who had been quietly listening, frowned. "Hold on. What's Stellar Radiance?" She tilted her head, a flicker of memory tugging at her. "I feel like I've heard the name before…"
Akira pointed at himself. "You have. Remember the werewolf leader, Hoolay? That purple aurora-like power I used to defeat him, that was Stellar Radiance."
Erika's eyes widened slightly as she recalled that terrifying night. The memory of the battle was still frightening, but she remembered the warmth of that purple light. "…So that was it."
Then another memory clicked. Her gaze sharpened as she looked at Selena. "That voice I heard back then… the one that told me to drink Akira's blood to save him. That was you, wasn't it?"
Selena covered her mouth and giggled. "Wow, it took you this long to figure it out? Yes, that was me."
Akira's eyes widened too, realization dawning. "Wait, then the girl I met in the void, the one made of light who gave me Stellar Radiance… that was also you?"
Selena nodded with a small, triumphant smile. "Mm-hm. It was me, brother, I was the one who did it. Honestly, that day took a lot of effort. I had to save both of you, and the interference nearly drained me completely. I even fell into a deep sleep afterward. And what do I get in return? Neither of you even recognized me." She puffed her cheeks in mock annoyance.
"Sorry about that, Selena. I was just a little overwhelmed", Erika said with an apologetic expression.
"Me too, Sorry about that, I was too distracted", Akira also apologized.
Selena burst into laughter, waving her hand. "I'm only teasing. I didn't mind at all."
Akira's expression softened as another thought struck him. "Wait… then those dreams I've been having lately, was that you, too?"
Selena's smile turned mischievous. "Yes. I wanted you to find me quickly, so I gave you those dreams."
Akira remembered the cryptic words from one of them. "…Then what about what you said, 'Your end, my origin'? What does that mean?"
Selena blinked once, then grinned. "Oh, that? I just said it because it sounded cool."
Akira nearly fell out of his chair. "Cool? That's it?!"
Selena nodded firmly. "Of course! It made me sound mysterious, didn't it? You thought I was some deep, enigmatic girl of destiny, right?"
Akira blinked… then gave her a big thumbs-up. "Not gonna lie, you nailed it. It was super cool."
Selena clapped her hands together triumphantly. "Ha! I knew it!"
Akira and Selena leaned across the table, grinning ear to ear, and slapped their hands together in a victorious high-five.
Erika pressed her palm against her forehead, shaking her head. "Great. Now there are two of them."