Miracle.

It was a strong word. Dia, who had been diligently polishing herself for the past one month, knew that miracles never happened without reason. The answer was already there — she, the Salvation Star, had to stop the Omen and all the plans he had for the world. For that reason, she had been granted this ridiculous miracle, to go back in time and to ensure that she would be able to fully strengthen herself.

For her to indulge in memories of the past was to waste this miracle. For that reason…

“It’s okay.” Dia gulped down another lifestone, and then shivered. “Tell my father that I will join him tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

Dia nodded. To be more precise, the ‘Dia’ of this time would return. How would that work? Would she remember that she spent a month just gobbling down lifestones? Or would she, like Dia herself, fail to remember much save for the key points? Considering that tomorrow would be the day that she was blamed for Tot’s actions…

“Milady? You’ve been acting oddly.”

“Maybe. This is all just a dream to me, I suppose. Anyway, I’ll stop mentioning lifestones after today. And on no account are you to speak of them to me either,” Dia replied, before thinking a tiny bit harder. “There are going to be a few withdrawal symptoms, so don’t think too hard if I seem a tiny, tiny bit off, okay?”

“Uh, okay.” Lucy rubbed her nose doubtfully.

“Also, you should take the next day off. I keep troubling you with everything I’ve done so far…go and relax with your family for a bit,” Dia continued. “It’s nice to have family, so take a day off.”

“By your grace, milady, so I shall obey.”

“Don’t make it sound like I’m ordering you. You’re clearly happy about this.” Dia flicked her forehead and turned back to the space behind her. Other than the small break she took with her father for dinner, Dia had spent the following two weeks scoffing down more and more lifestones. The entire pillar had been whittled away entirely, and she had gained a total of 1138 years. It was decidedly enough for her to become a hexa-folder, although the process would take some time.

“Uwah.” Dia shivered. Nightfall was approaching. Soon, Tot would strike, and the mess that had led up to the Last Godsfall would soon begin. While she wasn’t particularly sure what caused the Last Godsfall and the descent of the divinities, every fibre of her being was telling her that tonight would be the night of destiny.

“I really want to visit it,” Dia muttered.

Unfortunately, the Istrel treasury was too far away. The only thing she had to do was to make sure that the arrangements for her escape, which was a rare skillstick, was on her body at all times. Money…was something she didn’t dare to change, however. One reason why the Moon Lords had been formed was due to a shortage of funds — that had to remain constant.

Artefacts wise, Dia decided to bring a few barrier artefacts along. While there were better choices sitting in the treasury right now, those choices were far fewer; some, like the Sword of Sea Slaughtering, were unique. If she took them, there was a good chance that history would chance.

“Visit what?” Lucy asked, and Dia jumped

“Nothing.” Dia hugged her once. “Thank you, by the way. Anyway, I should be returning to my room soon. Can I ask you to serve me one last time before you leave?”

“Of course, milady!”

Dia brought a few barrier artefacts with her, and then paused. “Uh, get me that Refresher there too. Yes, that one. Place it in this small bag here.”

“What’s that for?”

“Nothing much,” Dia replied. “But I can be quite lazy at times, so it’s useful then. Anyway, let’s go back.”

The two of then walked back to her room. Most of the curtains had been pulled up by now — Dia had ordered them to revert these changes explicitly, just so that Risti, who was probably observing them right now, would be delighted. Whatever that had happened would still continue, no matter what. The past could only be changed so far before it became unrecognisable, and Dia had no desire to wake up in a strange world.

After changing into a set of comfortable sleepwear, Dia located her small purse and stuffed the small little artefacts inside. Chasing Lucy out and exhorting her to leave by daybreak, she sat down on the bed and picked up some writing utensils.

Her head throbbed once at that instant, and the world lost all colour. Boxes of filled with a myriad of colours appeared in front of her, and the monochrome world began to fade away.

[The time of miracles has come to an end. Second Tutorial complete. Mana Circuit Superimposition has reached 4.00. Authority has increased.]

[Having met the requirements, your passive skill, Lifeforce Detection, has changed to Lifeforce Manipulation!]

[With the Blue Moon’s blessing, your Mana Control Proficiency has increased to Expert!]

[With the blessing of the world, all skill levels have increased by 1!]

[ has been completed. Your lifespan has been increased by 150 years.]

[The ripples in fate have been smoothed over. Alterations have been made. Lifespan gained in this miracle will be made temporarily invisible until the Salvation Star completes the Second Tutorial.]

[The future has not changed.]

The black and white world fell away entirely, and the softness of her actual bed turned into the springiness of the barriers below her. The room she was in, one made with multiple barriers, came into view a moment later, and Dia sat up slowly. The messages in her eyes burned brightly once more, and she took a deep breath.

“Status.”

Name: Dia Lyceria de Lustre

Lifespan: 663 years (+1138 years)

Active Skills: Sword Dance (8), Sword Sense (8), Sword Roar (6), Fated Sword (3), Sword Fall (3), Perfect Domain of Swords (2)

Passive Skills: Heightened Senses, Fighter’s Intuition, Foreseer’s Eye, Introspection, Projectile Evasion, Salvation Star (Prime), Lifeforce Manipulation

Mana Circuit Superimposition: 4.00

Mana Control Proficiency: Expert

Authority: 4

Comments: Your light burns ever stronger. Illuminate the shadows, and preserve this world.

Dia looked at her lifespan, which now had an addition to it. It hadn’t been therefore, and as she thought back to her past, Dia understood what exactly happened. Her actions in the Second Tutorial had been completely hidden from her — the lifeforce gained during her one-month binge had been hidden by her Status itself.

The notification said as much, after all. However, what was most surprising was the fact that her original memories and her current memories seemed to have no disjoint. Indeed, she hadn’t remembered much of the month leading up to her flight from Lustre, but that was already true even before she began the Second Tutorial.

“…Huh.” She took another deep breath. “Did…I just complete a loop?”

Did the Dia of the future take over her body back then? After all, it made sense to think that way — her original memories of the month before she had to flee was also equally blurry, and everything she had remembered before the Second Tutorial matched up with her new memories now. The artefacts she had retrieved from the treasury…it was likely that she had forgotten back then, just like how the Dia of her Second Tutorial forgot them too.

Or failed to notice them. There really wasn’t a functional difference.

“Hmm.” Dia scratched her head. The days when she could just slice everyone down to solve problems were easier…but those days were few to begin with. Nonetheless, she knew a few things. One, the world was literally granting her all sorts of freebies. Two, history hadn’t changed much, if any at all. Three, the weird stuff about the Salvation Star and the Omen…

They were almost certainly true.

Sighing once, Dia examined her Lifeforce Manipulation skill.

[Skill: Lifeforce Manipulation

Skill effects: You can increase your physical ability by using your lifeforce as payment. For every year you expend, your physical attributes are increased by 10% for an hour.]

It was a rather good skill with a rather painful price, but Dia couldn’t help but note that this was actually a passive skill. In other words, she could use it over and over again if push came to shove, and without limits too. However…

“The price is high.” Dia touched her chin. If she burned all her lifespan at once, the amount of strength she would gain could probably crack the Grandis continent or something. The mental image of her wielding the entire continent as a weapon was rather funny, but the price was really nothing to scoff at.

Shaking her head, Dia decided to do things properly first.

“I wonder how much time has passed,” Dia muttered. Her Second Tutorial had taken an entire month; it would be a major problem if she really just laid there for an entire month. While Second Tutorials generally took a day, her Second Tutorial was more of a miracle than anything else.

She wouldn’t be surprised if something changed.