2 2

Ch 2 :Soul, Shine.

I stumbled confusedly through the corridors of my family mansion on my little six-year-old legs. Unfortunately, my 'unique circumstances' had robbed me of much more than I initially thought. This included my sense of direction. Even in my first life, my sense of direction wasn't anything to be proud of, but it would seem that my little jaunt through reality had smashed that to smithereens. '

To be fair,' I thought to myself, 'in there, directions are more feeling than seeing. Explaining them to a mortal would be like saying, 'Oh, just turn purple past the next whatsit, stay there until the maybe-not turns orange, and keep on 'til afternoon.' That place is where sanity goes to die.' I looked to my surroundings, hoping to glean some semblance of location from them. 'Lavish painting… another lavish painting… lavish rug… marble sculpture… another lavish rug… Spiky purple potted plant…'

Nope, still nothing. I gave the plant a wide berth, however. I had already made the mistake of wandering too close to the shrubbery once, and I had woken to Mom fussing over me six hours later. "Millicas-sama!" a voice called, "There you are, Millicas-sama. Honestly, this is the third time today. You really must stop getting lost."

I turned to see a maid leaning down to pick me up. The maids knew I could walk myself, but they had a soft spot for me from when I was a doe-eyed four-year-old who asked, in an adorable accent no less, to be read to. Plus, all of the maids knew that I could get lost walking in a straight line, so she decided to take precautions. I allowed her to pick me up, smiling shamelessly as I subtly appreciated her… assets.

What? Even if I was six, I still had the mind of a thirty-year-old. Not even my new, twisted perspective would change that.

My smile died a slow death as I considered the thought. 'What did TYPE-MOON call it again? Ah, yes, Distortion.'

Distortion, also known as the alien common sense of demons. In the universe of Shirou Emiya, to even possess a tenth of the level of Distortion I have would immediately brand them a sealing designation. After all, while Distortion itself isn't dangerous, what it allows is the closest to Sorcery a mortal can get. Emiya's Distortion allowed him to ))Sympathize the experience of growth(( and ))Reproduce accumulated experience(( in even the Phantasmal Blades of legend.

In return, however, he became a 'sword' in every sense of the word. His Ideal of 'Hero' consumed his entire being, to the point where it would almost physically pain him not to save someone. He only saw himself as a tool to be used, always secondary to the lives he saved. Because of this, his life became a hill of swords, an infinite field of weapons, the Unlimited Blade Works.

My Distortion was odd to be sure, probably because of my dance with death. I didn't just understand the how and why. I also understood the what, or the means behind them. I completely comprehended the Balance between Void and Creation, yet the simple details of life eluded me. As previously mentioned, I was in a perpetual state of 'lost', because I never needed direction when I was and wasn't everything at once. If that sounded confusing to you, it was supposed to. I still don't know all the details of my Distortion, much like how Emiya couldn't understand why everyone else thought he was batshit crazy.

And nice as it sounds to have flawlessly mastered the First Sorcery, I don't have the knowledge or motivation to use it. Just because you know how to make paper, doesn't mean you know how to make a paper crane with it, God-ah, dammit- forbid something of unholy complexity. While it was possible, it was ill-advised, as most of my attempts had to be Voided in order to avoid blowing Hell clear through Heaven. 'Then again, maybe it wasn't the best idea to use Avalon as my test piece.'

Nursing a growing migraine that came from naming the Almighty, I glanced at the surrounding decorations for a landmark. 'Painting… tapestry… oh, hey, a suit of armor!' I filed away the location in my mental map (which looked more like a ball of yarn than a map) and decided I still had no clue where I was. A quick look assured me that the blonde maid, uh… 'Tina? No. Tanya? No… Oh, right, Trisha.' Trisha certainly seemed to know where she was headed. I do remember her saying something about Mother needing to talk to me. I really hadn't been paying attention to much she said, instead filing it away for later use. 'Thank you, Atlas. Gotta love Memory Partition and Thought Acceleration.'

However… despite my Distortion being heavily prevalent, even if I didn't know how exactly, I still had yet to manifest a complete Reality Marble. My acting theory was that I would gain access to it when I was taught magic. While I had managed to increase my control to the point I could easily reverse-engineer many nasty surprises from my first life, I had deliberately avoided the hell out of Power of Destruction.

Even if I could just Void the magic if things went south, the I'd feel safer not playing with something that could dismantle me at the subatomic level. While in theory I could just use Denial of Nothingness to fix what went missing, I had no way of knowing how to repair Devil physiology. I would need to access the library, get some medical textbooks, and use them to make a general blueprint…

Wait…

Blueprint…

I stretched out my hand to brush my fingers along the wall, and sent out a subtle pulse of magic.

'))Structural Grasp.(('

̪̣̺̣̗͙̦̔̎ͯ͗͒̋̑͜ͅ

A̵̛̪͇͇̜̪̎ͦ̓ͩͧͬ͒f̴͙̟̉ͦv͉̟̺̬̞͖̱͑̈̆͠g̔̌҉̼̩̳̀Ǵ̶̡̪͈̯ͧ̑ͧ̃́̚H̨̺̭̼͉̹͂ͪ̑͑̆ͧ͌Ȳ̨̡͇̻͎̪͍ͨ͐ͭ̑͆ͫͅf̨̛̹̅̉ͯ́f̴̳͇̮ͬͬͦ͋̋ͩ̃d̞̦̭̠̫̫͑ͭ̇̔ͨ̉̆ͪŝ̛̯̫̙̦͚ͣ̂͒ͩ̂̀͠A̶̟͔͆̓̾͗A̢̔͛ͣ̉̉ͮ͜͏͉̫̲͖F̶͇͍̙̹̩̟̂̏͒͂̈́͟ŕ̡͚̇̽ͤͮ̄g̿̐̇̐̚҉̩h̷̨͒ͤ̒͏͉̠b̵̢̞̝̜̳̩̔̏ͦ̉̀̇g͚̳͎̞̜̃͒y̶̠̬͎̳̰͆͢j̵̞͇͓̱͔̝͖̤̙̈́ͭ͌̋̈́ͥ̉̉͘̕j̢͍̗̤͇̟͎̪͙ͨ͂̑ͦ͟ṫ͙͉̩̽̍͌̏ͮ̏̂́y̻͔̖̠͎̬̹͍̓̀͟

̪̣̺̣̗͙̦̔̎ͯ͗͒̋̑͜ͅ

Ow. Fucking hell that hurt. On one hand, that worked. I didn't just see the wall, or the building, but the compositions of every material and spell within. I'm not quite to the level of reading its' history, but at least it worked. On the other hand, if I weren't as Distorted as I am, that probably would've destroyed my mind. How the hell had Emiya done it with jury-rigged Nerve Circuits and minimal training?

…Come to think of it, hadn't Emiya mainly used it on chairs and broken appliances?

…I feel stupid now…

Well, at least I would never get lost inside a building, right? Right?

'Oh, crap. I still don't know where I am in the blueprint.' I growled quietly to myself. 'And there's no way I can keep track the whole time, I would lose my spot at the slightest distraction. Back to square one, I guess.'

I blinked out of my thoughts when we began approaching an ornate door. Father's study. I tapped the maid on the head, an unspoken request to be set down. She set me down, bowed, and left. I reached up and turned the handle, pushing open the heavy door. As I entered the room, I braced myself for the inevitable. "Mi-Chan!"

A ballistic, red-haired missile vaulted over his desk to pick me up and hug me tightly. A cloud of papers scattered in his wake. I sighed, my face muffled in his shoulder. "Hi, Dad."

That's right, Sirzechs Lucifer is treating me a lot like he treated his little sister. I'm not sure if this has changed from canon, but I'll assume that it has. You'll notice that I said 'canon', yes? Well, that's because my existence has changed the plot slightly. Near as I can tell, I was born six years earlier than canon Millicas, making me about six months younger then Rias. Most likely, my mother was already three months pregnant before Dad even saw Rias, so his obsession was misdirected.

'If nothing else,' I mused, 'it means I don't have to see my spoilt aunt as often as I would've. Rias was seventeen when the series started, so that means I'll be sixteen by then. That also means that I only have ten years, a head full of 'the Balance of the universe', and a partially-formed Reality Marble to defend me and my bratty aunt against the likes of The Star of God. Fucking great.' I sighed, before remembering my earlier experiment involving blueprints. I shut my eyes and buried my fingers in my Father's hair. 'Well, it's something at least. This is going to hurt.'

))Structural Grasp.((

l

d̄̑̿͆͊ͭͥ͏̻̜̦̖ͅe̻̲̫̥̹͚ͨͧͦ̌̚͜s̱͓̄̅͘͢t͆ͣ̋ͭ̒ͭ҉҉̭͈ͅr̶̠̟͙͙̪ͩ̆̓̓ͮ̉͜͡ŏ̸̳͈̩̻̳̝͕͗͢ẙ̴̱͍̼͚͎̪ͅͅD̜͍̠̠̙̲̆ͦ̚͟ͅe̻̼̝͖̰ͦͣ̇͠s̺̦͖̗̞̥̯̥ͫ́̃́͘͟Ṫ̷̶̙̭̭͙ͭ̋ͩ̋r̀̆͏̕҉̯͎͚̹̦̦͇̪o̞͕̙ͯͮ͒ͨ̉ͨ͛̕y̗͕̞͎͗ͮ͌̔͑͛͐ͅD̶̼̣̰̜̺̭̜͆͊ͧͤ͛̓͢ͅE̢̝̱̟̹̙̲̜͂̿͗ͧ̇͛̔̂̚͜s̗̣ͩ̇͂͌͗͂̽̚͜t̏̾͞҉̖̯̱r̸͎̣̽ͩ͆ͩ͊ͫ͋O̢̪̼͎͕̼͔͕̘ͩyͧ̈́̏͏̢͙̹̰͍̻̗̠ͅD̸̨̙̔̓ͥ̽ͤ̉̀ę̨̗͍͋̑͟S̰̼̎͛̌̏̚̕͡t̞͙ͧ͒̊r͎̻̲̠͇̔ͧͧ̂̈͛͊͠ö̶̷̥̖̠ͣͫ̄̆̍̅ͭ͐Ẏ̢̧͍̠̳͕̣ͥ͆D̬̞̳̪̣̺̣̗͙̦͋̓͂ͯ̔̎ͯ͗͒̋̑͜ͅê̳̙͍͈̭̼̗̭̻ͬ̓͆͐͘S̷̼̮̘̮͈̯͔̻͌ͨŤ̷̘̥̟̫̱͈̗̳̐ͥ͘͝r̸͈͙̦̩̟͖̘͆ͦ̍͜ǫ̻̭̩̗ͩ̆͑̅̌͗̿̈ỷ̷̶̟̤͉̽́ͧ͛̕D̶̳͈̰͚͕͎̰̘̐ͬ̅̐E̖͈̭͚̩̖͇̾ͪ̋̎̀͒̂s̓ͦ͒͒͛ͩͤͬ҉̼̪̹T̵̺̳͖͎͓̺̰̯̂ͮͦ̎͌R̟̭̞̞̤̤͔ͮo̪͇̦̜̱͖͙ͣ̌̔̊͌̕͝y̸̗̪̠̍͋ͬ̎ͪ͂ͭ͜͝D͋͗̇̂͘҉̞͓̱͓̺͝E̿ͮͬ͛̎̊҉̲̥̜̜̰̭͙̜̳S̢̡̛̬̣͉͐ͩT̹̝̣̜̤͚͔̬ͤ̓̌̌̚͘͞ͅR̵̬͆ͧ̏̾͝͝O̶̡̲̲͍̙͓̐ͮy͕̥̗̆͞D̤̩̹̬̩̩̘̥̖ͫ͐̑͌̿͆̍̓̓͜É̸̙̭͈̰̖̆̓̊̂ͬ̏ͥS͍̺̫̺̲͉̣͗͌̒̽ͭ͡Ṭ͓̋̓̋ͭ̾̾̂R̫̔͗͆̄͆̌́̚O̵̾̾ͤ͌̓̽͐͂ͬ͏̬͍̘̜̹̘̺͞Y̷ͣͤͥͯ̓̒̿҉̭̙͔̣͕͎̬

̷͓̒̔̾ͪͧ

̪͕̀ͯ͂̓͋ͣO̷̷͖̳̰̥̮̦̭̙ͩ̏̎ͥ̏̀̿ͮB̷̷̷̘̱̝̐̾ͨ̎̏L̷͖̬͑ͣ̏ͪ͢İ̍ͅT̮̟̏̾ͧ̒ͫ͌Ĕ̜͔̇̔͑Ȓ̶̬̟̰͉̳̘̠̄̿̎͛̕͢A͎̾̌͂ͮ̚͝T̢̳͎͐̔͢Ę̨̪̗ͤ͒ͅ

̱̟̬͎̼͇̫̺ͨͫ͌́͆ͨ̎̐

̳͚̙͇̻̆ͫ̽̉̍

͍͙̺̺̓̐̀K̡͇͐̎̉̑̓͋ͥ̃́̀͜Į̷̲ͦͬ̃ͮL̵̹͇͖̗̦̖̹̍̅ͣ́Ļ̬̭̉̋͛̐̒̈͌̋̎͘

̨̛̝͎̗̼͗ͩ

̼̜̔́ͨ͒͋̿̌̔K͂̏ͯͤͭͥ́͏͖̝͎Iͣ̚͏͓͈͍͓̗͈̙ͅL͇̩͉͇̫̝̪̀̅͛̓̌̊ͧ̀ͪ́L͔̯̝̮͚̟̘̊̃ͮ̚͝

̩͔̜͍̪̫ͬ̐ͧ̐ͨ̊͛̚͘͢Ķ̴̬̟ͭ̚ͅĪ̂͏̟̬̤͘Ḷ̢̛̥̘̼̳̮̂́̀͝L̇́̈́̉͐ͦ͑͛҉̤̘̠͈̘

'Ohfuckmesidewaysthathurt. Ow. Ow. Ow. So much hurt.' I grimaced and grit my teeth, my expression hidden by my father's shoulder. That time, rather than just using my magic, I tapped into my fledgling Marble and used my Distortion to push the spell further than should have been possible.

'Well, now I not only know how to make a ritzy mansion I can't navigate, but I also understand Power of Destruction than the Crimson Maou.' I sighed. 'Except I still only have the reserves of a six-year-old, even if I have triple the pool someone else my age has. Well, I always have wondered what a skill-type or a Control Freak could do with an Absolute-type magic like this.'

Especially after seeing Sirzechs create hundreds of independently controlled spheres of destruction with absolute precision, I always wondered what an assassin-mage build could do with his powers. Specifically, one with the mindset of a Control Freak. A Control Freak is a caster-type that deals with a small mana pool by using the exact amount of magic he absolutely needed to perform a task, nothing more, nothing less. A good example of this would be a med-nin from Naruto. An assassin-Control Freak build, utilizing something that destroyed even other magic, was guaranteed to be epic. Even through my crushing headache, I could feel six-year-old me squee-ing in delight. Whether or not I joined in is my own business, thank you very much.

I checked the Partition I kept locked at normal time in order to see how much time had passed. And then I checked again, just to be sure. 'Five seconds?' I mentally grinned. 'That is sooo~ broken. Oh, Thought Acceleration, how I love thee so.'

I finally released my arms from my father's neck, prompting him to set me down. I was somewhat glad that I did, especially when I saw Mom's death glare. I glanced down at the fallen paperwork, then back up to dad. 'Oh, you poor bastard.'

In order to break the tension, I turned to Mom and politely asked, "You called me?"

She relaxed at this, her gaze softening as it fell upon me. "Yes, dear. I did. Now if someone could be serious for a few seconds, you would learn why."

Ouch. I felt that one from way over here. Poor Dad slunk over to his wife, looking for all the world like a kicked puppy. Fortunately, he became serious when he turned to face me. "Millicas, I need you to listen to me for a moment, okay?"

I nodded slowly, confused. He continued, "I need you to stay in your room tonight. I know that you like to stay up reading in the library. You're responsible enough to keep within your limits, which is why I've allowed it thus far, but tonight there's actual danger. Do you know what Nekoshou are?"

"Oh, crap, I forgot about this.' I nodded, not letting my inner turmoil show. Father smiled. "Good. Well, a nearby Noble has just been killed by his Nekoshou servant, and the people are trying to end their race out of fear. I will try to resolve the situation as best as I can, but I need you to stay safe. Desperate people do desperate things, and I don't want you getting hurt by a cornered Hellcat. Do you understand?"

Oh, I understood alright. I understood that a scared, abandoned little girl 'desperately' needed my help. In canon, Shirone was rescued by my father, which means she was taken from those who intended to kill her. Even if it was to be put on a farce of a trial, father still managed to wrest Shirone from her oppressors.

My presence had ruined that. After all, in canon, father hadn't stopped to talk to me before rushing to the rescue. The ten minutes that this conversation took may be ten minutes too late.

Fortunately, my father himself was desperate, and so he made a mistake. "Good, go to your room now. I'll send my )Knight( to guard your room when I leave."

I bowed, then left. As soon as the door shut behind me, I let my grin show.

He told me to go to my room. Without an escort. He sent his son, who can get lost walking in a straight line, without an escort. As my grin grew to shit-eating proportions, I began to think in earnest.

))Maximum partition—six trains of thought.((

))Maximum Acceleration—one second per thousand.((

My mental image formed.

The King questioned the boy, "How many seconds of time are there in eternity?" Then said the shepherd boy, "In Lower Pomerania is the Diamond Mountain, which is two miles and a half high, two miles and a half wide, and two miles and a half in depth; every hundred years a little bird comes and sharpens its beak on it, and when the whole mountain is worn away by this, then the first second of eternity will be over."(Excerpt from "the Shepherd Boy", by the Brothers Grimm))

Every hundred years, a bird flies up to a monolith of diamond, sharpening its beak once more. It may be small, it may be weak, but it still makes the journey. It seeks to better itself, to keep itself alive, to sharpen its beak on an impossible task.

I admire that bird, admire all that it stands for.

So I craft a bird of my hopes and dreams, and set it against the mountain of my problems.

The bird draws back its' head to strike the mountain…

'Soul, Shine.'

The spark that ensued shone through the entire mountain of diamond, setting it aglow in the night.