Mari:

  Finally dressed and cleaned up, Anise joined Mari and Kris for their outing.

  Sort of.

  “Shopping trip! Shopping! Trip! Girls’ day out on the town!” Anise was all smiles, with zero signs of the prior pressure Mari had seen.

  “Is it still shopping if everything is free and you just find what you like in a display screen and order it?”

  “That is where you’re wrong, dearest Mari! Shopping is when you go out with friends and find something new to overfill your limited closet space with!”

  She isn’t inaccurate, I guess. Mari carefully let the cheer remain and didn’t say a word to risk the wild child’s mood.

  “So! Clothing, maybe some furniture, and you have got to do something with all that empty wall space. Landscape paintings or something? Some bookshelves might help.” Anise just kept bubbling with enthusiasm as they marched down the street towards the western neighborhood of the artisan district, where the Emerald was.

  Kris simply followed along, eyes scrutinizing something in her HUD while Mari steered her around obstacles. “No books in Mari’s vicinity, sorry. Trauma. Too many books at a young age.”

  Mari just kept her mouth shut, since that was largely true.

  “Well. I like books.” Anise kicked her feet as she spun in midair, then hovered a hair off the sidewalk as she crossed her arms to glare at them both. “I’d like bookshelves in my room.”

  “I am honestly amazed we didn’t even get to move into our new house before ending up with a roommate.” Mari muttered just loud enough for Kris to overhear. She made sure to ignore that Anise hadn’t even taken a room. She spent all her time in the greenhouse on the top floor.

  “There’s no way we as just the two of us were going to get to stay in that house and use up all that space for ourselves. I’m already amazed they had a spare place above ground for us in the first place.” And that was true. Surface homes were a precious commodity. How there’d been an empty one was beyond any of their knowledge.

  “Don’t ignore me!” Anise piped back in, finally touching down on solid ground as they passed through an archway under one of the walls. “What kinds of clothes can we find?”

  “Kilthien clothing is usually long and flowing, though form-fitting around the torso. Anvien clothing lines cater to their stocky builds, and usually have built-in cooling systems to prevent overheating. Ravien are closest to Mari’s tastes. Flexible, durable, and lightweight with a fair bit of color if you want it.” Kris absently recounted the cultural styles of each core group of the population while still focusing her vision elsewhere.

  “What are you even doing?” Mari finally asked.

  “I’m logging things we still need for the house. There’s a basement with room for my own workshop. Once I have the list, Alynne will sort it all out for me.” Kris blinked rapidly, then her vision settled on the real world again, eyes going crossed for a moment as she reacclimated.

  “Please don’t do that while walking places.” Mari chided.

  “I think it would be funny if you bumped into something.” Anise was grinning ear to ear as she bounced around on the balls of her feet.

  “Thank you, peanut gallery.” She rather felt the girl’s antics were a tad excessive. An act.

  “Was that a short joke?”

  “And yet you get all the other references just fine.” Mari said, shaking her head ruefully.

  “I get them when I feel like getting them.”

  And, ignoring that annoying retort, they arrived.

  The closest thing to a mall in the city. The Elitheen Emporium rose three floors from the surface and held two floors below. People hung out there, watched sports that were broadcast from anywhere within signal range, ate food out with their friends, or just browsed for their next taste in interior design.

  People sometimes called it the Emerald after the shining green illuminated lines along the whole interior and exterior. Mari’s change in perspective made her feel they looked like circuits set into the walls. More likely, the coloration thinly distracted from how it was just a recreation center within the prison that had been the lives of the people inside.

  Most residents didn’t have access to personal tablets or long-distance communication options. They’d been working on figuring the technology out, but everything Alynne’s engineers worked on had to be developed and produced themselves. The Emporium was an exception.

  All of the amenities that Sylphariens enjoyed meant they could sit in their very nice homes and order whatever they wanted. Their servant class, though? They were monitored, but they spent all their leisure time and did all their purchasing at the Emporium. Every city had one, and it was the only place for a slave to actually get things for themselves.

  It took years of effort before the settings were changed and restrictions were lifted on a lot of goods that could be purchased. That was when the place became a proper shopping center at long last.

  Anise took it in with a look of wonder on her face, but Mari didn’t share the feeling.

  It was more like enemy territory for her.

  The sensation tried to force her to submit. To be paralyzed by the memories of how she’d been attacked verbally and physically as someone who didn’t belong. The Emerald was a sanctuary of their culture, and as a human, she was not meant to be inside.

  Her thoughts weighed heavily, and her head began to press in like a vice had gripped her mind. It became hard to breathe.

  I thought I was over this. Stronger. That I’d put it behind me.

  She closed her eyes, and was met with Krystal pouring a drink over her head. Scowling at her and having her friends drag her back to the doors.

  It was painful to feel like, after everything she had gone through and how badass she’d been when killing monsters, she was still weaker than the social pressures of her childhood.

  The world lost its color. Fresh air seemed more stale. She wanted to cling to the few things that made her happy, but they didn’t exist beyond the doors in front of her.

  Warm arms wrapped around Mari, holding her in an embrace that added a little color back to the world. “Sorry,” she murmured, “I didn’t think I’d feel like this again.”

  Kris squeezed tighter. “Don’t apologize. I feel like I should’ve done more for you. Focus on me now. I’m not going anywhere. You don’t have to be perfect suddenly. Just make a tiny bit of progress towards your goals every day.”

  Mari wanted to laugh. Her whole run, she’d thought about a dozen bigger problems in her life, only to be bogged down by some social stress. To be thrust back into the depression of weakness and self-loathing right after feeling more happy and satisfied with her future than she’d ever been? It really hit home how much that emotional distress had sapped the entire world around her.

  “Thanks, Kris. I’ll do my best.” And she steadied herself. It was time to take a step towards overcoming her trauma.

  I’m glad Marielle is still asleep. I need to do this for myself, without her help.

  Kris:

  There was so much to say, but it was hard to find the right words. The way to phrase things best so Mari could find her way forward without being pressured into rushing things. She had a rough idea of how deeply ingrained the depression was. Some part of her had just forgotten how bad it used to be.

  Mari’s dramatic shift in confidence and posture had almost made Kris think things would only get better. Instead, it had been something else. A brief distraction from her old life and what she’d been through, maybe. The trauma was still there, it just hadn’t been brought to the forefront.

  Suddenly, it was back in full force. Mari’s eyes dimmed, her shoulders had slumped, and the confidence had left without a trace.

  All the while, Anise was looking at them curiously, seeing the gravity of things written in their long silence.

  “Mari hasn’t… been treated well. None of it was her fault, and it’s been awful. People see her and think of their oppressors. It’s terrible. Been that way for all her life.” Kris offered the sad explanation in a low tone.

  “Thank you.” Anise replied. At Kris’ questioning glance, she continued, “I’ve heard about many forms of bullying. So thank you for being her friend. For not being like the others.”

  Kris blinked in surprise. It was easy to forget that Anise was much older than she looked.

  “It wasn’t just about being her friend. I’ve seen enough stories of retribution to know where the road leads. I wanted for people to eventually understand what would happen and hopefully stop the endless cycle of violence.”

  “Your heart is in the right place, but I don’t know if that’s possible. There’s a whole lot of tales back on Earth. Stories about how every community needs to have a target. A villain to direct their anger against. Someone to vent their frustrations at. That society doesn’t work without the black sheep. It’ll just find the next one to target.”

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  Kris had read similar stories. As Mari shivered slightly in her grip, she felt the urge to shed a tear.

  Instead, Mari spoke up, sounding like she’d gathered herself. “It’s fine. I don’t have to cower anymore. One foot in front of the other.”

  With that, Mari left Kris’ embrace and ushered them towards the entrance to the Emerald.

  The inside was just how she remembered. Vast open avenues lined with stylized digital displays, some based on themes, others organized into simpler departments. Some showed holographic displays of clothing or everyday household items. A few showed a virtual walkthrough of a particular style of interior home appearance.

  Kris was somewhat interested in the interiors, though she didn’t mind the idea of getting artwork for the walls instead. Then she shook her head and tugged Mari in the direction of some clothing displays.

  Anise took her time studying everything. Food, personal care items, various large sitting areas where sports competitions were playing. Kris took special note of one display that was playing the half-finished match she’d been in the evening before.

  I owe Cleo a rematch. If I’m not mistaken, Mari’s abilities were affecting me, too. It wasn’t a fair competition.

  Shaking her head, Kris released Mari’s hand and scooted in closer, putting her arm around the raven-haired woman and resting her hand on the hip that was perfectly within reach. In return, Mari’s arm slid beneath her own, then around her to settle into the inner curve of her waist.

  She shook at the chill when cold fingers found the slit in her dress and rested on bare flesh. “Hey now! You’re cold.” The chiding tone died in her throat as she saw Mari’s blush barely hidden by her free hand, which pressed firmly over her mouth to stifle a very obvious laugh.

  “I’m sorry. I forgot about what you’re wearing. But you’re so warm.”

  Kris huffed, but when the fingers tried to leave, she held them in place with her own free hand. “You’re not normally so cold, either. I don’t mind warming you up.”

  Stars, she’s so adorable.

  “I’m getting cavities from how sweet you two are. How long did you say you’ve been together?” Anise chuckled in an annoying way that only snooty youths should be able to.

  “Long enough! Now, don’t make a scene!” Kris complained embarrassedly.

  Mari pinched her gently, and Kris spotted the smirk on her lips too late. “She’s got the benefits of an immortal mind. No surprise she recalls everything Sylvia told her, Anise has a flawless memory. So when she asks a question you’ve already answered, she’s pulling your leg.”

  Kris reddened at the information. “Let’s go look at clothes already.” She just hoped she wasn’t pouting too badly.

  Shopping continued.

  Anise ended up looking at children’s sizes of the more elaborate styles for Kilthien. They most closely resembled her ‘Chinese’ stylistic tastes. Everything she put together resembled something out of what Mari called a ‘Xianxia story,’ and Kris had to admit to some surprise at how fashionable some of the patterns ended up looking. She secretly took pictures with her HUD and resolved to come up with her own variations later.

  Mari drew some baleful glances, and Kris bit back the urge to shout at those people. She’d never been rash before, but love had done more than a few things to her rationality. It took some effort to restrain herself properly into a stoic expression.

  When Mari found her way into a Ravien themed display area and started to leaf through several designs, Kris had to put her foot down about the amount of black items that seemed to end up on her outfits. Black pants were fine. Black tops and accessories went too far.

  In the end, Kris picked out some tame options with simpler patterns and a perfectly normal range of colors. Undergarments had Mari blushing, but Kris also managed to sneak a dozen sets with appropriate amounts of lace for a woman with an excellent romantic partner.

  Delighted with a job well done, they finally settled in for a meal in a quiet corner.

  “Anise, how did you feel about things today?” Kris asked in a neutral tone.

  “Liberating. I’ve been stuck without freedom for so long that this is a dream come true. Thank you both for indulging in my request.” Anise was all smiles, but they were far more genuine than before. “I apologize if I dragged things down last night. Thinking about things, I should’ve expected to be in a unique situation when I got out.”

  “You mentioned being older than every person in the city combined. How could you tell?” Mari inquired, keeping her tone level.

  Anise smiled wanly. “I could reach out into the world around me with a brief pulse into the ambient mana. That way, I sensed the motes of life all over the surrounding area, and I could feel the age in each. Their lives compared to mine are like sparks next to an inferno.”

  “By comparison, how old do you think that makes you? If you had to theorize?” Kris was genuinely curious, even if the girl had balked at the question before. “It could help us to identify how long Marielle and her ship had been on our planet.”

  Anise took on a thoughtful expression, closing her eyes as she twirled her spoon in her hand. She’d gone for a light soup for lunch.

  “For reference, Kris and I are both nineteen.” Mari supplied helpfully.

  “In that case, it really is hard to tell. I’ve no idea how old the eldest person in the city is, but there isn’t much difference between them and yourselves by comparison.”

  Kris considered it, then offered her own input. “There might be another confounding factor. If you’re using mana to measure, and most people here don’t have much exposure in a lifetime, then maybe you’re just so over-exposed that it looks like a wider gulf than it really is.”

  “Hm. That actually sounds accurate. I never had an easy method to count the time before, so I’ve had no idea beyond the insane runtime of all the movies and anime I watched. I’ve literally burnt ten years just tracking the full length of one certain series. By the end, I’d nearly purged the premise of the story from my mind by force.”

  Kris nearly choked on her bite of casserole. It was an insane claim. She didn’t know who could come up with a story so lengthy it could devour so much time. She couldn’t fathom any person having the time to watch it all without being immortal.

  “The pirate one?” Mari asked with a shiver.

  “No way!” Anise looked amazed. “You’ve seen anime?”

  “Marielle was half Japanese. Which I guess makes me half Japanese, too. I’ve seen some flickers of media in her memories. Nothing concrete.”

  Anise deflated at the news.

  “Back on topic. You’re welcome, Anise. Glad you are enjoying some freedom.” Kris grinned as both her companions sheepishly realized they’d cut her out of the conversation. “I wanted to ask if you might teach me and Mari some cultivation. I want to study it, of course, but I also want to pursue my own longevity, if only to be with Mari longer.”

  Kris took her lover’s hand gently as the nod of agreement reinforced her request.

  Anise looked up vacantly at the ceiling for several long seconds. “The mana here isn’t enough to make good progress. Constant effort might allow the first realm breakthrough within a year. That’s without sleeping or doing anything else. Plus, it would be in a single dao, too. If you wanted to remain together, I’d suggest the body route. If you tried any other path, you’d have to find one another somehow.”

  Kris mulled that over. She was already fit. Top ranks in sports. If she immortalized her body, there’d be no competition anymore. She would beat out every other person with ease. There was no point in delaying, though. Only Mari mattered to her. She needed to get started as soon as she could. There was no way she would let herself grow old before stopping the clock.

  “I’ll do it. We start this afternoon.” Kris firmly stated her position, then finished her meal in a few quick bites. She did not do things by halves.

  Anise:

  These lesbians. She smiled despite herself. I saw this coming a mile away.

  The thing about the early stages of cultivation was how hard it was for mortals to grasp the mental imagery needed to even begin. Normally, a mortal in such scant mana could try as hard as they wanted and never get an outcome. Maybe they’d fixate on their wish to live longer and only succeed in giving themselves cancer.

  That was why Anise was such a boon for them.

  In the greenhouse garden, the three of them sat comfortably on spare pillows. Each had their eyes closed and were focused singularly on their own tasks.

  Mari was smoothing out the healing in her meridians. Kris was trying to grasp the energy in the air without much success. Anise, though…

  It was obvious.

  The whole garden around them was bursting with life. The tomato-like plants had produced a dozen perfect fruits in the hours they’d been meditating already. The trees bloomed out of season.

  All of the growth was Anise’s work. Her nature affinity sucked in the mana from the majority of the city and held it in place within the greenhouse, and an effort of her will prevented the artificial density from corrupting everything. Yet she refused to use the mana for herself. It meant nothing to her, after all. It was enough to just make it available for the lesbians to use.

  “I’m getting nowhere.” Kris calmly assessed.

  And she was right.

  Your mindset is rather abysmal for it. You’re spending so much time trying to perfectly understand things that the full image isn’t clarifying for you. I’ve never seen someone overanalyze as much as you do. Anise spoke directly into Kris’ mind, making the girl jump.

  What is happening?

  I am refraining from interrupting Mari’s focus. Her work is delicate and her control is poor. Anise didn’t mean to be so disappointed, but she didn’t have any of their problems. The System had done all the work for her while she tweaked things in a settings menu. All she had to do was drink blood and purify it to gain levels.

  Thinking of that, she had a whole city of new blood to try. Blood with almost no mana to empower level growth, though.

  She sighed inaudibly.

  [Mana density has met requirements for full system operation.]

  Anise stared at her notification. It had appeared after the first thirty minutes of condensing the energy in the air around them.

  She sighed again.

  And then she got to work. Mentally giving orders to the menus of the Core and stripping out the more dependent aspects of the process.

  After a few minutes, she was ready, and sent the package to Kris.

  It was just enough System fuckery to get the alien woman started. A basic framework for qi usage. No levels, no skills, no arts. Just a basic meridian pathway and an automatic mental access that would link meditation to growing herself with dedicated effort.

  Now, get started. Anise turned her focus to Mari. Her mother’s clone. It had become weird, thinking of her two moms and not having a different way to refer to each. Sylvia was just ‘mom’ and nothing more. She set the issue aside.

  Mari was taking painstaking care to heal the rest of her meridians, and was wisely using the opportunity to practice fine control. The issue was the threads that stretched from the human into the people she knew. The tether to Kris was beautiful. A dual link that flowered endlessly along golden threads.

  Another few links stretched off into the distance and connected her to them. The older woman Anise had realized was Kris’ mother was bonded by a thread that looked like a stream of white light. Another tied to the big man, and that resembled a steel cable. And there were more.

  One tie linked to a familiar person Anise had seen in the Eternity Labs. Given that she wasn’t supposed to leave, Anise resolved to avoid them.

  Mari’s bonds held a synergistic kind of harmony that thrummed with life and power. She could use those tethers to heal herself instantly but chose not to, despite the bonds strengthening by relying on them. Then again, Mari was only a sixth tier mind cultivator in the first realm.

  She sighed once again, then did her best to coax Mari along. Urging her in the right direction with subtle nudges of qi that would cut the time requirement in half. Three days of intermittent meditation to fully mend.

  Then she used [Fourfold Veins] to replay a movie she liked in her head while maintaining all her other efforts.

  Wagons East was a great comedy, really.

  Square the wagons. Pffft.

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