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    <03/22/1965 - 15:45 | Section 8, Eldora City, Junon, Sprawn Valley>


    (Seven Years ago...)


    Embracing the warm rush of wind amidst the cloudy sky of beauty, the young and excited mage grinned for her appreciation of the world, facing off against another young challenger. "Rise your spirits to our adoring fans! Let nothing ever go to waste!"


    "Uh, yeah, sure. Just let me know when you are ready." Zack rubbed the back of his hair in disillusion, having not expected such energy from the maiden. Though it wasn''t too atypical from most wielders, this character seemed a bit out of place. Yuel was her name?


    After finishing her quick setup of recording equipment, Yuel ensured a safe distance from the machines as to not have them caught up in the future Siriean dome. With at least three different video-capture cameras set up on advanced tri-pods, she would be able to record the entire battle to be, accumulating more of a following and fan base. "I, Yuel Biion will raise the steaks and raise you thirty-three thousand credits! What say you?"


    "Hmph!" Should have known! All he did was find the most suitable-looking wielder on the streets of Eldora to battle near the west section of the royal square, but there were too many signs that Yuel was more to look at than mere appearance. Her outfit was incredible, combining the theme of a noblewoman and an elite guard, and her strange weaponry left questions as well. She is no pushover; that much should have been clear from the start. "I will match this request," Zack agreed. Even if she has skill, Zack had training, and the certificate of the elite school to back him up.


    After a minute of setup, Yuel and Zack prepared themselves for standard magical combat, taking most care of her unique staff. "Let''s get this match underway and make it as fun as possible."


    "If I may ask before we begin, what kind of staff is that you are holding?" Zack had good reason to ask. He studied many unique weapons and staffs during his classes, and this one in particular has too much of a resemblance to something only spoken of in legends and drawings; the Rapunzel staff. The edge of the staff splinters off in six different directional arcs, each acting as a glowing claw of circuitry pathways, rounded off with additional crystal shards, though hers appears slightly different. The edges glow, but without any direct crystal to prove its magical charge. While the staff has the same basic shape as the Rapunzel Staff, the claw element seems a bit smaller and more modern. It can only be some kind of imitation attempt of a replica, seeing as there is only one Rapunzel staff in the world, which in itself is just a rumor.


    "You mean this thing?" Yuel pointed to her own staff, agreeing to show off her shiny toy. "This is my greatest asset, Nyar''s Blaze. It was merely an imitation of the Rapunzel staff at first, but I''ve since modified it and endowed its essence with the love and blazing passion of my husband. We got as far as we did together, and I''m going to show you all it has to offer."


    In other words, it''s just a cheap imitation. Nothing to worry about then. Zack knew enough about the Rapunzel staff to be intrigued by its beauty. Even though the item is considered lost and legendary, the story behind it is anything but bland. The weapon once belonged to a maiden who fought countless times to protect humanity and our greatest values, but had also seen enough death and devastation to be broken by the time the Avion Wars was over. The staff, and its wielder, Rapunzel, were both buried in a sacred shrine under lock and key, and the staff itself kept its alluring reputation for its unique ability to generate various elements of magic through a single circuit via splitting. If Yuel knows even this much, she is no joke.


    "I''m ready to proceed then." As soon as Zack spoke those words, the Siriean dome formed around him and his contestant, initiating the official battle.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Yana ~ Dracovallis</a>


    <center><iframe title="Dracovallis - Yana" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ME6DIgiAkPs?loop=1&fs=0&playlist=ME6DIgiAkPs" width="240" height="120" frameborder="0"></iframe></center>


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    Wasting no time, Yuel bounced her left foot behind her twice, alternating to her right, generating her own silent rhythm of metronome, beginning the mental concert inside her mind. With MP already charging to the edge of the staff, lighting up all of the edges of the claws and the central crystal, Yuel unleashed a potent attack her opponent was not expecting. "Electric Bane!"


    Even though he heard the chant of spells, Zack was powerless to do anything about the swift action of Yuel, as she aimed her Nyar''s Blaze staff in his direction. Electric Bane is supposed to be a defensive spell only, blasting various arcs of lightning in a circular spiral to blast down incoming projectiles. However, Yuel used it offensively instead, aiming down at Zack and sending several electrical surges of elemental energy through Zack''s body, inflicting painful damage to him.


    Yuel spun herself around in a most exhilarating and excited twirl, spinning her staff with one hand at the same time. Not only did she deliver Zack a devastating attack spell, she ensured her movements were elegant and inspiring. She was on camera after all, and four people have already shown up outside the dome shield to watch. "Everyone gather around for Yuel''s famous concert! Music and magic must always coexist together!"


    What is she talking about? Zack didn''t hear any music, nor were there any bands playing nearby. Whatever. There isn''t time to focus on anything else. Her elemental resistances are still unknown, so it''s best to hold back on area-spells, just enough to not be wasted. "Plume!" After releasing his stored magic into the ground forward, the ground shifted and quaked, blasting up chunks of rock and steaming spits of hot air generated by the simulated magic, all nearby Yuel.


    Yuel jumped backwards, dodging one of many spurts of the Plume, but was throughout singed by the heat of an additional Plume burst, the activation areas randomized to make total evasion harder.


    Despite the painful burns to her skin through her protective outfit, the damage overall was not too bad for her to handle. After all, things were only starting, the music getting louder, getting faster and more refined! "Flame Beam!"


    Though it took longer to invoke this skill, Yuel managed to trigger the spell in time, generating a blazing vortex of Fire Balls and heat all traveling towards Zack. At the same time, thanks to the passive effect of her rod, Yuel knew her MP energy usage was partially conversed.


    The massive fiery vortex of wind and magic was soon upon Zack, threatening to deal devastating heat damage and reduce his ability to continue. How easy does she think this is? After releasing a white aura of speed into his body, Zack made sure to prove his lessons worthy. "Rush Assault!" Spiriting on his feet, Zack dashed to the side, narrowly evading the pathway of the vortex, and shifting direction to charge head-first to his opponent. Without the use of any weapons, Zack knew he could score some serious damage in close combat, not merely with the assistance of Rush Assault, but with the additional certainty of magical damage, through "Power Attack!"


    In an instant, Yuel found herself preoccupied with brutal punches and kicks from the glowing aura around Zack''s body, and she had to use her staff to deflect as many of the impacts as possible. Unfortunately for Yuel, she was nowhere near a match for the speedy reaction of Zack''s relentless assault. She was soon consumed by dozens of punches, kicks, and facial blows from Zack''s Power Attack combination, proving the benefit of unarmed combat.


    Before Zack could land his final blow, Yuel swooshed her hand to the side just in front of her, sending Zack flying away with the support of an easy Push Wave. The kinetic blast separated the two of them at last, giving Yuel the chance to catch her breath, though Zack seemed equally satisfied with his ability to gain the first advantage of combat. Too bad his confidence is mistaken.


    "You looked like an elite maiden when I approached you earlier. It''s too bad you don''t have the skills of a Tower Guard."


    "Hahaha! You misclassify me, Zack. As soon as you hear my music, you won''t last much longer."


    "What music are you speaking of? Are you really crazy?" On the off chance that she was a lunatic, Zack didn''t want to risk offending her too swiftly.


    In their short conversation, Yuel had been charging lots of magical energy through her staff, now glowing with adornment and promise before the two of them. "Allow me to turn up the volume for all to hear the glory of our two hearts! Phoenix Rellicaton!" Making use of a customized variant of a lost spell, Yuel released magic into the air around her, creating various strings of swirling lights expanding and flattening into gasses of glowing mist.


    While Zack stood stone still, uncertain what to expect from this unusual magic, he was further shocked while watching the transformation of those whirling lights. Before long, Yuel elevated herself and stood proudly on top of a three-meter tall stage, the generated structure materialized entirely out of transparent lights and shapes of magical energy, glowing with beautiful colors of artificial simulated LED lights. Without understanding how, Zack was forced to witness a large stage construct itself and maintain its luminescence and transparency, as Yuel stood on the pseudo-solid material, facing him down with confidence.


    Having successfully used her spell to craft this artificial stage, Yuel knew the spell had an additional hidden purpose, which was now powering up her unique staff, modified with the hidden crystal shards on the inside of the rode uniquely designed to resonate this noise! The once dimmed LED lights at the end base of the rod section of the staff were now lit up with different warm-coded colors, and Yuel laid her fingers onto them with specific patterns, bobbing her head and body up and down while activating the hidden keys.


    Sharing her secrets with the growing crowd around her, Yuel''s actions generated amazing music from the end of her rod, the sound waves amplified and sent out in powerful bass-heavy ripples. The music she was generated matched the sound profile for that of an electric guitar plugged into an electric amplifier with Reverb, even though the generation of such filter was entirely left up to the staff''s interior design. Without interruption, Yuel''s key shifting played an impressive guitar-made song of epic symphonic metal. Even though none of this generated any attack spells, Zack was in just enough awe to stand there in wonder and amazement.


    Sudden whistles and cheers rang out from the crowd outside the dome, the numbers attracted by the sudden solo concert. "That''s her! That''s Yuel Biion! I told you she plays her concerts around here!" Having already caught onto some growing popularity for the mysterious musician, the watcher became evermore restless while waiting for an epic showdown of magical combat merged with music of the ages!


    Yuel kept playing her music, becoming louder with the noise and more in tune with her inner voice and heart. She worried not about the possibility of attacks coming from Zack, which were expected to happen sooner or later. The music alone was impressive, and its energy only maximized the heart-pounding excitement of action.


    "That is impressive," Zack admitted. "Still, we are in a battle after all, not a musical concert." The cheering crowd outside the dome was of mild distraction. Zack assumed Yuel must be a growing celebrity by pulling this stunt with such praise and accuracy. Honorable as it were, there are too many credits on the line to risk losing this fight. "I unleash upon thee! Meteor Strike!" The sky above them opened up with a dark red radiance, glowing rocks of light and stone shooting down from above angled towards Yuel''s makeshift stage.


    "Take my hands ~ you''ll never control me!"


    "Take my feet, but ~ I''ll never fall!"


    "Blind my eyes, and ~ yet I will still see!"


    "I will never ~ crawl!"


    Yuel''s vocal chants to the music didn''t reach anyone but herself, but as she twirled with the glowing staff on stage, playing its guitar and releasing magic at the same time, she generated multiple auras of energy into herself and around herself. The first spell generated a Dampen Field aura around her body, while the rest of the spell created three massive glyphrings of energy above her tilted 23 degrees towards the falling meteor shower, the spell known as Sacred Absorption, another lost spell.


    Zack watched in confusion as Yuel made short work of half his entire attack spell, the large unidentified glyphring absorbing some of the falling meteors while shrinking or reducing the power of the other rocks. Some of the meteors still managed to pillage and pierce through the tough defenses Yuel created, landing on top of her and the ghost-like stage she created. The rocks didn''t affect the superstructure, instead phasing through its entire existence. Despite all of this, Yuel did suffer from some damage, though it was limited in effect by her Dampen Field.


    Despite the heavy damage dealt to her, Yuel didn''t cease her intense playing of music, the resonance of epic metal whipping the audience into a near-frenzy of support. Zack found it quite inspiring, despite the fact that it was leaving her vulnerable to all attacks. Still, just who does she think she is?


    "Let''s keep it going! Show us your music valiant mage!" Yuel cheered Zack on as best as she could, growing bored of his lack of potency and challenge.


    "Oh I''ll give you a challenge. Charging Quantum Beam..." Trying not to let her hear the name of his spell, Zack successfully generated the aura needed to launch another distant attack, one that would save him some MP should it fail.


    However, Yuel didn''t seem the least bit disturbed by the glowing warning of light around her opponent. The appearance of another magic attack was her cue to kick things into the next stage of overdrive. "Dual Harmony!" After lifting her staff up high and releasing more energy, two spells activated at once, the first creating a strange thin aura around Yuel which took the mental music from her mind and projected its noise out and around the entire battlefield. The musical guitar notes she had been playing before were now on an epic and smooth loop, despite her no longer touching the keys of her staff to manually generate the noise. Using the power of mental recording and aura-projection of noise, Yuel now made it possible to hear her own music while taking more direct action to the battlefield.


    The second spell which activated unbeknownst to Zack, populated the entire floor of the grassy field below them with various horizontal laser beams each neon-green in color. These beams while thin and harmless crossed at 180^o angles each about a meter apart, and it delivered numeric sequences into Yuel''s mind, sequences she could sense and feel through the translation. Dual Harmony, while heavily modified from an existing lost spell, enabled her the ability to populate the battlefield with tactical grids of data, and subsequently use them as shortcut points to warp via matter transference.


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Just before the Quantum Beam could slam into Yuel from the side, she warped away from its path, reappearing on top of a green laser adjacent to Zack''s position. However, Zack knew this might happen, and prepared a swift magical counterattack for such an occasion, despite not understanding the nature of the green gridlines below them both. "Mega Bolt!" Wasting no time, Zack launched a bolt of Light-elemental magic in Yuel''s direction, but the maiden easily warped away just as she did before, with an additional twist.


    After reappearing from the warp space a second time, Yuel left eight shadow copies of herself on different equidistant gridlines, annoying and confusing Zack who now had to deal with the tactical advantage Yuel made for herself. Before delivering her own counterattack, Yuel put her hands back on the keys of her staff, singing and creating an additional guitar solo merging in with the background music from the noise-aura.


    "Steal my strength ~ but I keep on fighting!"


    "Break my will ~ but I won''t obey!"


    "Tear me down, but I''ll keep on rising!"


    "I will find my way!"


    Without another word, Yuel sent all of the musical energy from her guitar solo to the edge of the staff''s core, and aimed her unique guitar directly towards Zack. "Amp 4 Blast!" With the settings merged to release Light-elemental magic of her own, Yuel blasted a narrow beam of pure energy into Zack''s body, sending him back and off his feet, the impact clearly painful as it was successful and elegant. With her guitar solo, only the background ambience of the previous guitar strumming was evident again, but Zack had his work cut out for him, clearly underestimating the situation. Yuel''s shadow copies all faded shortly after, though she waited patiently for her next trick, best used to counter an existing attack.


    Zack knew he still had the stat advantage over Yuel, but this musical concert was getting ridiculous. Who the heck plays with music while fighting? Who is this mage? "Such strange tactics. I must meet them head on! Octoslash!" Having already generated two temporary short blades in his hands, Zack charged forward with the intention to best Yuel in close combat once more, keeping in mind she isn''t so good at physical fighting.


    Before Zack could reach her, Yuel launched her second best skill, synchronizing her rhythm with the music and the pulsations of magical energy all around her. "Concert Hyperion!" Before she released her energy, Yuel warped away from danger yet again, making easy work of evasion through matter transference, and she reappeared back on the stage she generated before. Poor Zack doesn''t realize that the grid field on the ground speeds up her matter transference while conserving energy used on it at the same time, a webbed nexus of endpoints. Now he must face the harmony of her concert brought to full life, for all magic is also in the simulation of the senses.


    After unleashing a surge of magic in his direction, Yuel generated three separate Shadow Waves coming from the same general direction on approach of convergence, a separate area attack spell of Meteor Strike aimed at Zack''s current position, and a large Rotation attack from the alternate direction; three attacks all at once.


    Of course Zack froze up on the appearance of his imminent doom. It''s beyond rare for any mage to generate three amazing attack spells all simultaneously. In fact, it shouldn''t even be possible without some kind of Blitz aura. Yet the evidence to the contrary was coming to swallow him whole, and Zack could stand there doing nothing.


    Before waiting for the impact, Yuel stroke the keys again, generating another short yet amazing solo, shifting her fingers expertly through various keys from all the practice she had before. When the staff''s core began glowing again with an orange hue, she released the skill again. "Amp 3 Blast!"


    Before Zack could face the blinding passionate power of Yuel''s music-fueled beam attack, he witnessed all of the other attack spells suddenly transform into swirls of magical light and fog, fading away in power. Those weren''t attack spells at all; they were just simulated light shows! Yuel managed to create smoke and mirrors complete with artificial sound for each spell, all to conserve her own MP while tricking him!


    It was too late to do anything about it, for Yuel blasted him with another beam attack, Amp 3 Blast. It is the same exact formation as Amp 4 Blast, through the elemental properties shift to potent fire-elemental magic instead of light-elemental magic. The results of damage were good enough, since Zack took the beam to the face by surprise, his HP dropping yet again amidst the pain of first-degree burns.


    Relenting not to the pity of time-based combat, Yuel lit up a glowing artificial ring on the front of her rod, a holographic nob acting as a noise amplifier, and turned up the volume ever further. With another solo in progress, Yuel''s sudden playback began creating powerful rumbles and ripples of loud quaking bass through the air and through the ground. The musical strums were potent enough to beat on Zack''s chest like a soft drum, though the ripples entering the ground shook the earth more powerfully than any ordinary Quake spell ever could, disrupting the balance of everybody in the vicinity, except for the musician who expected all of this and more.


    The crowd of hundreds outside started cheering even louder, immersing themselves in the powerful blasts of sonic emotion! With each pulsation of ripples through the air, the ground shook strongly inside the Siriean dome, causing Zack to stumble and fall. Even though no direct damage was delivered, it was clear who the popular candidate of battle was. Even if Zack managed to defeat Yuel now, the crowd outside might transform into an angry mob for robbing them of their new idol.


    "Not my problem," Zack whispered alone. "I''m not going to lose this battle! Try Litmus!" Unleashing a powerful disorientation field attack onto his foe, Zack succeeded in creating powerful blue hues of wind, slamming into Yuel, who for the moment seemed unaffected and undeterred in her musical solo. It doesn''t matter if she loves her music; no mage can easily make sense of the battle when under hallucination from Litmus. Within seconds, Zack was certain his tactic was successful.


    As expected, Yuel was suddenly unable to distinguish various elements on the battlefield. In addition, the glowing green laser grid on the battlefield became most dimmed down and diminished without fading entirely. Zack also vanished from all view, a side-effect from the Litmus hallucination. If he thinks it will be that easy, I''ve already won. "Blind my eyes ~ and, yet I will still see!" Music is her magic! It compasses everything. "Eyes of Lysander. Show me what cannot be seen! Reveal to us your mirrors of light!"


    After chanting the familiar words of the Lost Mirror spell, Yuel sacrificed more of her MP to the cause, generating 36 separate floating mirrors of magic randomly placed and angled all across the battlefield. Each mirror was held in a holographic frame 26 by 52 inch glass screen with an auric glow of light around the edges, and through each angle, gave Yuel the ability to see various spots of the field and the sky from her single position and the forward mirror. She even generated an extra one near the recording camera setup, ensuring it may capture additional valor of the match.


    Within two seconds, Zack''s careful-walking body was visible to Yuel through the mirrors. Regardless of how Litmus works, the lost spell of Lysander''s mirrors negate general tricks such as this. These mirrors cannot lie nor hallucinate, so Zack has already lost the one edge he had. If that weren''t enough, each mirrors also perfectly reflects non-elemental magic. With all angles accounted for, Yuel quickly clicked more keys for another glowing musical solo, reacting the rod''s core with radiant light, its brilliance blinding and freezing Zack in his tracks.


    "Amp 6 Blast!" Upon dispersion of the rod''s directed energy, the glowing white beam of special non-elemental magic beamed directly into the mirror Yuel was using, which then reflected the beam to the next mirror, and so on. The brilliant white line of light zipped around the air reflecting on all of the mirrors, its show holding Zack still with defensive anticipation. After hitting the nineteenth mirror, the beam made impact with the ground just in front of Zack, igniting the magical explosion, the intended payload of Amp 6 Blast. Despite unleashing as a beam, any impact made with the ground, walls, or persons generates this potent explosion, and Zack was helplessly consumed by its damage.


    Taking the time given to herself with another successful blow to the foe, Yuel shifted her fingers once more to the keys, going berserk on the notes with an amazingly fast concert of guitar-powered music. While she was using another hidden skill with her music, this one would take a bit more time and one hell of a solo, requiring utmost concentration. The music coming out was beyond powerful, the softened ripples of bass filling the space around everyone.


    Just as Zack got back to his feet in recovery, the end-result of the spell began to manifest itself. The sky high above them both quickly began to swirl with dark clouds as black as death, thunderbolts surging through and through with the coming storm. Additionally, the dimmed green laser grid on the battlefield suddenly surged with its brightness all restored. Though its function would be slightly impaired compared to before, Yuel relied on another neat trick to maximize the potential of this amazing laser grid. As soon as the Storm Build comes into full effect, she will have a combination of magic just as effective as the lost skill of Trace.


    Showing no signs of submission, Zack tried once more to interrupt this performance with another close combat attack. Even now, Litmus was in full effect. Those magical floating mirrors might help her see in this blue mist, but not if he''s too fast to track! "Power Attack!" Zack generated powerful metal gauntlets on both arms before infusing each steel fist with magical damaging auras. As soon as he was ready, he charged directly for Yuel, preparing to jump right on top of that glowing podium and show her up.


    With one more move from her staff, Yuel pulled down as many static electrons from the sky to the ground as she could. Zack couldn''t see these harmless electrons, but within nanoseconds, the entire battlefield became coated with the invisible static, stimulating the laser grid below and resonating with Yuel''s aura. At the same time, each laser reacted to Zack''s feet as he trotted through them without realizing the significance. With the artificial Trace set up, Yuel warped to an area just in front of Zack, wishing to take this desired combat to an area off the stage. "Keep the fighting down here please."


    "How the hell do you keep finding me?" Is she immune to Litmus? The spell definitely worked!


    Yuel started swinging her staff around like the weapon it was, cornering Zack into using those gauntlets to deflect and attack at the same time. "Show me your own concert! Play the music of your resolve now! It''s your turn!"


    "You asked for it!" Zack made use of his gauntlets, smashing the end metal into Yuel''s left shoulder, though his next hit was deflected by Yuel''s strange moves of the staff. Despite all the banter, Zack soon proved his method more successful, draining Yuel of her stamina and her HP. Despite taking some blunt hits himself from the staff, and a few low-powered Electro-Balls from Yuel''s swift aim, Zack managed to wear the maiden down, just before both gauntlets faded away back into the yellow generation glyphring pair.


    Zack backstepped at an angle, charging energy into his hands while ensuring he was safe to fire from this short distance. "This contest ends now! Power Drain!" Zack sent the potent blue sphere forward as planned, and the dispersion was so quick that Yuel had no chance to dodge the attack. Forsooth, the energy sphere drilled through her body like phasic fire, ripping through her magical circuits and draining every last hint of energy.


    "I don''t need MP to finish this anymore, for music is our magic!"


    What is she on? She can''t fight with music alone! "I won''t be intimidated by your jests!"


    Without another word, Yuel slammed on the keys again, playing another powerful solo through the air. Zack began to move, but stopped himself upon noticing the glowing staff''s core. Zack may have drained Yuel of all remaining MP, but prior to doing so, Nyar''s Blaze still had some charged magic inside of the core already, merely lying dormant in wait for the final act! "Behold the finale of all rock and roll!"


    Now backing away in fear, Zack failed to comprehend how this was possible. She must have charged energy into the staff as a conduit before having her energy drained, but it can''t be much. What can she possibly do with that small amount of magic?


    On cue, Yuel lifted her glowing staff up high, summoning the barrage of thunderous lightning bolts down from above. Instead of coming down directly onto her staff, she targeted the various mirrors of magic around the battlefield, causing most of the lightning arcs to reflect and drill into the core of her staff. Since the mirrors are not immune to elemental damage, many of them began to shatter after the twentieth bolt reached Yuel''s rod.


    After having enough of an electro-static charge prepared, Yuel twirled around with her glowing staff, stunning everyone with her elegant dance while unleashed all of this energy in a forward blast. Zack''s entire vicinity was bombarded with incredible surges of electrical energy, which further became amplified by the surrounding electro-static field merging with the electrical energy. Yuel didn''t relent her concentration of this special attack even after hearing Zack''s manly yell of pain and screams. Within seconds, it was finally over.


    The discharge of all remaining energy on the field eliminated the tactical laser grid, removed the electro-static particles, and disrupted the Litmus air all at the same time, ending any potential hallucination. With Yuel''s energy fully drained, it was all she could do for her final attack, though she was satisfied with the end results. Since the resonance aura attached to her also shutdown at the end of battle, this also ceased all noise of music from her mind, though the timing was obviously perfect.


    Just as the Siriean dome collapsed as expected, an unplanned surge of electric magic from the storm above struck another mirror, reflecting back to a random location upwards, shattering the last few mirrors. Despite being a small unexpected scare, the battle and chaos was finally over, though the storm above would remain for a while longer, since Yuel used indirect amplification to bring it into existence.


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    Chapter Theme Shift: MoppySound ~ Nagi (凪) {Alt Version}</a>


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    Before Yuel could wind herself down and recover with a healing orb, the crowd of fans abroad rushed inward like invading ants, many holding empty pages with pens in their chipper attitude of meeting a celebrity. Most of them wanted autographs, and others merely wished to congratulate her in person for combining such an amazing show with a victorious battle.


    "Give her some space!" "Guess she has no agent?" "You have any big performances coming up?"


    There were just enough polite bodies holding separation between Yuel and the fans, and Yuel used what little time she could to ease her nerves stressed with combat. The calm aftermath of battle laid all around her, with an unconscious Zack and the earth lacking any evidence of destruction. There was also inner silence, an exhaustion to all thought trailed with the euphoria of epic enjoyment.


    While holding the flashing light of a healing orb, Yuel decided to give the people here at most two minutes for speech. "You are all too kind. I will need to take time to train and improve. After all, Zack was not a pushover in combat. He nearly bested me. It deserves some praise."


    "How were you using all of those amazing abilities? I''ve never seen any wielder combine music with magic before, let alone those light shows."


    Yuel knew people would eventually become suspicious. Funnily enough, Leray magic gives rise to hundreds of registered skills and spells, while it turns out that unregistered magic such as lost spells and personal manifestations of emotional energy are also free to be shaped by the wielder. All of these light shows are never to be taken lightly; they are bits of reflections of her own life and memory, something Yuel knew, though felt squeamish to speak on. "Then let my display be proof that all forms of magic are possible... If you will all excuse me, I must collect my belongings and recover." Though some resisted Yuel''s request, more forced the crowd to obey.


    Without even trying to, Yuel became something of an idol to the region, using magic to display inspiration rather than raw power, and for some reason, the people loved every second of it. All of her studying of the past and ancient scriptures left behind were clearly paying off. It''s not as if Yuel was world famous or on the level of a real celebrity, but it could happen before long at this pace.


    Yuel could care less about such fames. The only thoughts swirling in her mind were that of the same source of inspiration; Nyar. After packing up her recording equipment and waiting for the storm to die down, Yuel made a phone call to her husband''s residence abroad, revealing her true self to one she could entrust forever.


    "You should have seen what I was able to do Nyar! The lost spells worked better than I would have ever expected them to. I don''t know why it went so well this time, but combining that music with magic just made everything flow so easily. I really felt like I was in control of every moment."


    "Haha! Some things never change. I am happy that you''re mastering this magic thing so well."


    "Well duh. I have to keep growing stronger and more elegant."


    "I don''t think tossing around poor mages with spells is the thing most noblewomen do there, but what do I know? As long as you are having fun."


    Yuel twirled the curled wire around her fingers, eager to feel his presence again. "Hey Nyar? Do—" Yuel cut herself off, suffocating under the weight of this question''s possible answers. "When do you think you will be able to move here?"


    "Don''t fret my love. It won''t be long now. I''d say in about four months, I''ll be ready."


    With an excited gasp, Yuel celebrated the news instantly. "You mean it? I can''t wait! All this time I''ve been wondering when I''d get a straight answer."


    "Sorry about that." Nyar knew he had become too comfortable in New York with his career and status. Living a life there is easy for him, but without Yuel there, it just isn''t worth it anymore. "I know it has taken longer than we''ve wanted it to, but soon, I can finally make it happen."


    "It won''t be that hard living here."


    "You know as well as I that I''m no fighter. Making an income there would be a different level of difficult."


    "I already told you Nyar. Your skills as a lawyer oddly come in handy here under the job scope of a nobleman. They act as a go-between for council members and other domestic politicians."


    "It''s not as though there would be any lawsuits there though, of the personal variety anyway. Sprawn Valley isn''t the kind of place where bad things like that would happen, even after that stark announcement three years ago."


    "Yeah, you''re probably right. But hey, they still have growing businesses here and in Gross City. Plenty of corporate competition if being a nobleman doesn''t work out for you."


    "Of course."


    "Anyway, I''m beat after all that hard work I did today. Is it okay if I contact you tomorrow? I have a lot of footage to go over as well."


    "Sure. Just remember to do it just after eight P.M. my time. That''s when I won''t have any work to do here."


    "Alright. I will see you then... I love you."


    "I love you too Yuel."


    "See you later okay?"


    "Right."


    After hanging up the phone, Yuel made way to her private room of the dorms, and unpacked the three separate cameras from her personal belongings. Expensive as these cameras were, the output would not be as impressive post-conversion to VCR film playback. Even so, they serve as precious memories, and hopefully a shortcut to future stardom. Thankfully, the software managed to catch her every movement and every spell, visually revealing all that she had done. The music unfortunately did not make it all through, since the resonance aura is not detected by electronic devices; only her guitar solos were captured.


    Watching the battle unfold on such the small display, Yuel spent the next twenty minutes reviewing it all, using the other two cameras for different potential viewing angles. It was right as the battle was wrapping up that she noticed something most peculiar.


    <hr>


    Chapter Theme Shift: Mirror of the Night ~ Adrian Von Ziegler</a>


    <hr>


    "Huh?" Trying to rewind the footage to see once more, Yuel noticed the sudden anomaly, even though it was too hard to study on such a small screen. The very last bolt of lightning appeared to generate some sort of distortion or artifact in the distance, though Yuel couldn''t be too sure, not until hooking up the main monitor.


    It was a bit much to edit anything tonight, but in studying the curiosity for which part of the footage would need editing or repair, she traced the moment back after having a much larger screen resolution to work with. The feedback shouldn''t be too grainy, since the loaded format is still RAW video.


    Before long, Yuel noticed it, something that only created more questions than answers. Because of the location and angle from which she battled, most of the upper-segment of Eldora Tower was set in the background of the frame. Right as the battle ended, there were only a few remaining mirrors of light, mirrors generated by the lost mirror spell of Lysander. Even from here, because of the angle, one mirror gave a very close view of the very top of Eldora Tower, through reflection of two other mirrors.


    The top of the tower glows with a few more LED system than normal, though nothing appeared out of the ordinary, until that final lightning bolt struck. Yuel remembered it too well, a bolt zipping through such randomness, striking the mirrors and landing against something. Yuel never would have figured that the bolt would be reflected through the mirror only to strike the very top of the tower. The glitch she noticed was so fast, she had to rewind and pause several times to get it right, since the bolt also shattered all of the remaining mirrors about one second afterwards post-impact.


    This is what caught her eye. What she assumed was a digital artifact appeared much bigger up close. When the bolt of lightning struck the top of the tower, it was naturally deflected by the protective metal material of the tower''s armor, but it also altered the entire appearance of the top of the dome, revealing a glitchy bubbly mess. Clear, transparent hexagons of energy, made visible by the disturbance revealed something most strange through its view; some sort of massive machinery combined with glowing pillars of magical light...


    Could this be just an artifact or a video glitch? Yuel was certain that she was pushing herself into artificial paranoia. After all, it''s no secret that Eldora Tower is an intricate vessel, kept secret for security and everything else. They probably don''t want the masses to know which mages are responsible for refreshing the Leray veil every other day.


    Still, it was no good. The blip moment of unusual machinery she saw took hold of her thirsty mind. One moment, the tower''s top dome appeared as ordinary and uninteresting as the rest of the armor, and then suddenly it becomes partially see-through? It normally isn''t possible to get such an angle in this direction of the tower, but the mirrors of light can be turned and used this way...


    Eldora Tower... What secret are you hiding up there? Maybe none of this is real. It might be best to simply get some rest and check out the theory later... Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.