Sadeen watched the Silver Tiger out of the corner of her eye and paid for the distraction in blood. The minor manifestation of Katharos managed to wrest its limb from her Lightning Cage and clawed at her. Only her Jade Skin, and her defensive artefacts saved her from a fatal mauling.

She only gave her full attention to the behemoth once her wayward daughter entered the Chaos ship. That had been surprising, honestly. She hadn’t expected baby Yuri to be able to resist her command like that. Inheriting the Mishala Mien wasn’t a form of protection in itself but actually made one more susceptible to a stronger user. Sadeen already had the strongest Mien, next to the Progenitor of course, and she would have had the Prima’s seat if she fulfilled a few more requirements.

Her Animus continued to form runescript circles that formed hundreds of lightning chains. The Luminous Circle Spell would have held down the Great Old One even if it had appeared in its true body but probably for only a blink of an eye. Since this was only a minor manifestation, the working was sufficient to hold it down for several minutes at a time. It was enough to keep cycling the spell, too; Sadeen would have been able to keep it up indefinitely if she had been on the surface level of the Primordial Chaos Sea.

But she was in Katharos’ Pure Lands and her own Dominion was locked into a stalemate. Otherwise all it would take was a thought from the manifestation to snuff her life and that of everyone she cared about. As it were, the ambient Chaos barely followed the workings, and it took far more Will on her part to keep it in line.

She had only a few minutes before the strain brought an end to their equilibrium and she had better be ready to leave. She let herself fall as a bolt of pure malice careened from the manifestation’s eye. All the while, curses, imprecations, threats, and even enticements, whispered in the back of her mind.

Surrender.

You will grow stronger beneath Katharos’ Will.

Surrender.

Your foolish resistance will come to an end.

All of what your foul Empress has wrought will be brought low.

Everything will return to the Nothing!

Surrender.

Surrender!

No thanks.

The Silver Tiger flew over the separating stone rampart and hovered above the wreckage of an Imperial merchant vessel. Well, it was still salvageable, actually, but it was clear that right now, or even in the next few minutes, it wouldn’t be able to take off and leave the plane. Which meant it was effectively a wreck.

Precious minutes were spent while Captain Larisse Sommer convinced the ship’s officers and crew to board. Sadeen could just imagine the plucky captain threatening to leave them behind if they didn’t drop everything else and just obey.

Precious minutes that Sadeen spent fending off the manifestation’s attacks that came that much closer to killing her. Finally, after the tenth close call, the Silver Tiger lifted off and sped up towards the sky.

Sadeen grinned and moved her Animus tendrils into a different pattern while she flew higher.

YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE!

“Well, what are you going to do to stop me?” she snarked back, but regretted it almost immediately when the creature thrashed hard enough to have the Lightning Cage sever its limbs.

But that left the head, torso, and the majority of its serpentine bottom able to move. The lightning chains still bound it, it could wriggle and coil. It’s coils turned into a giant spring and the next moment, propelled itself up. Not towards her but towards the Tiger!

“NO!” she yelled as she forced her Battlewings to propel her after it. But it had been a trick, of course. The manifestation curled around itself and met her with a gaping maw, revealing a cavernous cavity that inhaled and sucked in everything, from air to ambient Chaos, to her Animus strands.

“SHUT YOUR MOUTH!” she yelled, bending the entirety of her Will and her Mien into the command. At her waist, a small trinket, a spiral of gold the size of her thumb, glowed with stored Animus.

Boom!

The manifestation’s mouth snapped shut with a powerful gust of displaced air, and for a moment, its expression was that of unbelieving surprise. Sadeen was several dozen paces away, well out of reach, and somehow, her Mien forced past its domain and affected its very being.

The creature’s face twisted in towering rage and it roared. The air rippled and the fabric of the Pure Lands tore. Primordial Chaos flooded in, drowning the stable surface with corrosive energy.

Sadeen’s final working clicked into place and a brilliant flash of Radiant Light burned the space in front of her, spreading out as it flew farther from her. It ate the ambient Chaos and even the Primordial Chaos that came spilling inside, creating more and more Radiant Light. The manifestation roared in pain as even the fabric of its being was devoured and burned to create more and more Radiance.

The Working burned through its runescript lines in a couple of seconds but that was enough for Sadeen to escape. The silver wings on her back propelled her towards the Silver Tiger, where a hatch opened near the rear. She slipped into the hold just when the light faded away and Katharos’ minor manifestation reappeared. It’s flesh was scorched down to the sinews and its limbs were nothing more than lumps. The face was melted, revealing blackened bone underneath. But the eyes were still there and they riveted towards hers. She gave it an insouciant smirk, and how the thing seethed in impotent fury. She gave one last cheeky wave before the ramp closed up, and the Chaos ship burst through the Veil. Then they were free and clear.

And she finally had her daughter back.

________

“I can’t believe you grew this much in the last year!” Kiyo nattered while she adjusted the instruments around the examination bed. Yuriko lay on her back, wearing a thin white robe that had both sides open.

Her clothes, including her forceweave breast band, were in a hamper at a corner. There were two hampers, actually, one with her underwear and the other with the clothes from Bella plane.

How did Kiyo manage to get her clothing off her?

Well, her hands were like tentacles, and somehow, she knew where Yuriko’s ticklish spots were. In short order, she was on the floor giggling while Kiyo’s hands stripped her of everything. Only when she was completely naked did Kiyo stop. Then she grabbed the examination robe from a hidden compartment and asked her to lie on the bed.

“You have to remember that you’ve been exposed to a highly corrosive and dangerous ambient Chaos. We need to make sure that nothing has affected your body and mind. And your Anima. The instruments here will scour you for any contaminants.” Kiyo hummed. “I still could barely believe that you survived going through the Chaos Sea with nothing but your body. Oh! I thought you had died and I was about ready to kill myself for negligence,” Kiyo sighed.

“Uh, Kiyo?”

“Yes, my dear?”

“Why didn’t you tell me we were related?” Yuriko tried to make her voice as sharp as she could, but she was beyond exhausted.

The tension of the past day, when she had first entered the Pure Lands, the strain of fighting a losing battle, and the worries of keeping her companions safe wore away at her. She’d lost two people already and even though they were technically Reinhardt’s bodyguards, it was still a failure on her part. Every loss to those under her protection struck a blow on her mind. Nevermind that there wasn’t anything formal about it. She saved their lives, Chaos burn it!

“I was forbidden to,” Kiyo said simply.

“By whom?”

“Cousin Sadeen, for one, but even if she didn’t, Academy policy is rather strict. If you knew I was your aunt, I would have to pass on being your homeroom teacher.” She had most of her focus on the crystal screen and was only answering with half a mind. “Well, as long as the student doesn’t know, the rules are a bit more lax, and as long as I didn’t show blatant favouritism, it would be fine.”

“But you gave me several skill cubes.”

“That’s not favouritism. I gave others in the elite class skill cubes, too.”

A warm light shone down on Yuriko, which didn’t help with her lethargy at all. The light even came from beneath the bed and warmed her back. The light intensified and somehow became much more intrusive, as if it wanted to enter her Anima and lay all of her secrets bare. Well, she couldn’t have that happening, even if Kiyo professed to be her aunt.

The edges of her Anima hardened against intrusion and the light’s intensity returned to merely being warm. Yuriko sighed in contentment.

“Eh?” Kiyo muttered. Her brow furrowed as she started tapping on the crystal screen, then at the instruments. The source of the light, a lamp that emerged from an opening in the ceiling, flickered as Kiyo adjusted the dials. “That’s strange.”

“What is?” Yuriko asked innocently. Or maybe suspiciously, since Kiyo frowned at her.

“The scanner stopped working properly. That can’t be right, these were freshly calibrated!” She devolved into sour mutters.

“Is this going to take long?” Yuriko asked after a moment, “I’d like to see my cousins and aunt. Er, other aunt, that is.”

“Huh? Aside from me?”

“I didn’t even know we were related until a while ago,” Yuriko said sourly.

“Ah, right, right. Who do you mean then?”

“Layla, Aidan, and Riley Davar. Aidan and Riley came with me, and Aunt Layla should have been in the Ebon Horizon.”

“Ah, we picked up the crew of the ship that found you just a few minutes ago,” Kiyo said absently, glancing at another crystal screen. “They’re in another decontamination room.”

“The Ebon Horizon?” Yuriko gasped. Her things were still in that ship! Her Ambrosia!

“It had to be left behind. It wasn’t Sea-worthy.” Kiyo sniffed, “Cheap things, merchant vessels. Take the Silver Tiger,” she patted the bed frame, “this is a proper Chaos ship. Strong enough to weather even the fiercest of Chaos Storms, and powerful enough to reach the Depths.” Kiyo grunted. “Well, the readings on this say you’re fine. Higher than usual Chaos in your Anima, but not to the point of trouble. Ah! When did you reach Third Order Journeyman! Ancestors, Yuriko! You were barely an Apprentice the last time we saw each other. Ah! Your reserves are already at the threshold!”

Kiyo did a strange little skip and hop around the bed.

“Oh my! You’re quite close to becoming a Knight! Oh wow!” She grabbed Yuriko’s shoulders and started kneading with her thumbs.

“Ahn!” Yuriko squealed when Kiyo found knotted muscles and pressed down on them. The sensation felt ticklish, painful, and pleasurable all at the same time.

“My dear, you’ll be one of the youngest Knights in the Empire! Hie hie!” Kiyo continued massaging her shoulders, then her arms, before running her fingers all over Yuriko’s limbs. “You’ve got some abrasions, minor cuts, and rough spots around here,” she muttered while rubbing Yuriko’s upper arms and elbow. “But you’ve got really soft hands. You are a swordswoman, right? No calluses.”

Ah. That was probably since she’s been fighting mostly with her sunblade. The Animus construct didn’t abrade her palms and fingers. Even using Fri’Avgi felt less like using a weapon and more an extension of herself.

Then, Kiyo’s fingers lingered on Yuriko’s knuckles. Her flat stare made Yuriko squirm.

“Well, the examination is finished and you’ve got a clean bill of health. Amazingly. I suppose it’s because of your artefact that you survived?”

“Uh, yes.”

“Good to know, but you shouldn’t abuse it!” Kiyo snorted. “Ah, well, I shouldn’t lecture you. Are you ready to advance to Knight? Oh, but you must do it in Imperial territory, alright! No, wait, in an Imperial plane, not just any territory!”

“Uhm, I’m not at Sollus yet.”

Kiyo blinked at her in confusion. “You aren’t? But you’ve got a hundred and fifty lumens as your cap. According to this thing anyway.” She knocked on the overhead light. “Well, lucky you. It looks like you can expand your reserves a little bit more. Hmmm, hmmm!”

“Can I get dressed now?”

“Huh, oh! Yes, sure. Er, but let me get you something instead of those rags.” A wall panel opened and Kiyo stuck her head and upper body inside.

While she rummaged through it, Yuriko got off the bed, despite her body demanding her to sleep. She’d do that once she found out if everyone was safe. Kiyo, it was still strange to call Master Alfein by her first name even in her head, came bearing a pile of clothing.

A pair of light blue hipster panties, a breast band, and a v-neck snowy white dress that would fall just above Yuriko’s knees. The underwear was made of forceweave, but the dress was regular cloth. Cotton or linen, Yuriko wasn’t really sure. The dress left her arms bare, and showed off her clavicles, but modestly kept her bosom hidden.

“Here.” Kiyo handed her a pair of slip-on shoes, brown.

“Socks?”

“Stockings,” Kiyo said firmly and handed her a pair.

“I’ve never worn anything like this before,” Yuriko muttered.

“Just be careful putting them on. They tear easily.” Seven pairs of ruined stockings later, “Ankle socks,” Kiyo declared with a sigh.

“It’s not my fault!” Yuriko protested.

“Once or twice might be an accident, but not seven times.”

“Sorry.”

The socks with the shoes didn’t give the best traction, but Yuriko could make do. Then, happy with finally not being naked in front of her Academy instructor, Yuriko headed to the door opposite the one she came in from. But before she could touch the panel, it slid open by itself.

Behind it, Sadeen Mishala stood, still in her battle clothes. As soon as Mum laid eyes on her, she grinned, then enfolded Yuriko in a back breaking hug.