Lester Yong & Rosa Fontelera-Yong

CoESC Book 6-8.2: Passage to Ulmira

“Have any of you tried travelling through the Chaos Sea by yourself?” Yuriko asked while she stretched and twisted to warm up for her training.

The Lonely Bastion’s gymnasium came with individual training rooms but they cost coins to rent for even an hour. The main gymnasium was more than roomy enough and had a variety of the necessary equipment. She was actually looking forward to going through their obstacle course as the higher tiered setting was made to accommodate Knights. 2022-03-28 13:16:00 +0000 UTC View Post

CoESC Book 6-8.1: Passage to Ulmira

Riley Siofra Davar stumbled down the stairs, barely keeping his balance before he caught himself on the balustrade. He wasn’t the only one stumbling around in a drunken stupor, or more accurately, with a hungover head. He made his way into a booth near the front windows and plopped his head down on the table.

Recovery was one of the most revolutionary techniques the Empire ever came up with, even if the effects weren’t great at the first level of mastery. But its potential, even if ...

CoESC Book 6-7.3: Aftermath

Yuriko opened her eyes and blinked in confusion as the morning sun shone through the windows of her bedroom. She was in her bed, of course, clad in a sheer nightgown and tangled in her sweat-soaked blankets.

What in Chaos?

She distinctly remembered leaving last night to go to the Palace with her cousin. She was sure she left the mansion. They had a chauffeur bring them to the Palace Quarter on a landcrafter, and she remembered using the lanes to speed their travel across the giant...

CoESC Book 6-7.2: Aftermath

“Good afternoon! Welcome to the Rapid Traveller’s Emporium! How may I help you today, young lady?” The attendant’s spiel had been normal until he actually looked at Yuriko, afterwards, his demeanour changed from professional to ingratiating.

“Hello!” Yuriko said after a moment of silence.

She stopped herself from smiling since he would probably take that as an invitation. A brief look of disappointment flashed across the shop attendant’s face, but it was quickly mask...

CoESC Book 6-7.1: Aftermath

“Young mistress, it’s time to wake up.”

A gentle hand shook Yuriko’s shoulders and her eyes popped open. Her Anima flared just enough to encompass Ryoko, who started at the golden light but preened when she felt the weight of Yuriko’s perception.

That, and the perception of the entirety of Ryoko’s body brought to Yuriko’s mind what her future incarnations’ relationship with her attendant was. She felt heat suffuse her cheeks and she wriggled under her blanket as sh...

CoESC Book 6-6.3: Choices

The memories of the third incarnation blurred and faded quickly, thankfully. Yuriko’s face was still red from what that future version of her did every evening. The memories faded, but the sensations…

Oh Ancestors! The sensations remained. It didn’t surface all the time but merely thinking about it made it return with a vengeance. Was it really that good?

Yes.

And now Damien was back. He hadn’t spoken at all during the entire ordeal and she was sure he was a...

CoESC Book 6-6.2: Choices

Yuriko shuddered as the second version of her floated back. Behind those eyes were hunger and greed. The fact that those were her own blue eyes made it even more disconcerting. Why did that version of her do that?

Memories already began to fade and nothing more than the outline of her life remained, and a few emotions. Or lack of. She...

Yuriko swallowed, her throat dry and parched. How long has she been in the dreamscape? In the visions, she felt all of those years pass and if no...

CoESC Book 6-6.1: Choices

The head rolled as it flew to the skies, the skin along the neck was charred black, cauterised to such an extent that blood didn’t exit through the cut. It seeped out of the nose and mouth, and as bloody tears though, a morbid yet fascinating scene.

For Yuriko, the sight wasn’t uncommon. It was all too common with her current role as Assaulter of the Legion Incursis.

She stepped back and let the body fall, using her Anima to prod it aside so it wouldn’t splash mud on her boo...

CoESC Book 6-5.3: Descent

By the time she and her entourage left the planes of the Empire, Yuriko had terminated her marriage contract. Well, it was more an extended Offspring Contract than a true marriage, but since she didn’t want to give him more than one child, the terms technically weren’t fulfilled.

But rebels were rebels and many of their affairs were frozen and subsequently overturned in the courts. The civil war turned out to be nothing more than a civil hiccup, but she had nothing more to do with i...

CoESC Book 6-5.2: Descent

The three figures hovering in front of her looked like her but were different, even from each other. For one thing, the duplicate Yurikos looked a bit more mature, though not by much. Probably what she’d look like in a couple of years?

The first one had a warm smile and was clad in flowing robes that concealed much of her body. The second one had eyes tinged with red, was clad in form-fitting clothes and showed off a well-toned physique. The third one…

Yuriko felt her cheeks r...

CoESC Book 6-5.1: Descent

“Mum!”

Yuriko protested as soon as she processed what Sadeen said. Chills ran down her spine and she clenched her fists in anger. She almost shot to her feet but Mum’s hands on her shoulders pressed her down to remain seated.

“Shhh,” Mum whispered as she kissed the top of Yuriko’s head. “Let me finish.”

Yuriko felt a wave of peace and serenity coming from Mum’s voice. It washed over her Anima, wriggling inside and affecting her. At least until she pushed ba...

CoESC Book 6-4.3: Presentation

Mum’s attire, for the Presentation to the court, was nearly identical to the battle dress she used when she rescued Yuriko from the Pure Lands. She wasn’t sure if those were the real clothes or ornamental copies though as Sadeen’s control over her Animus, and her immediate surroundings, blocked off Chaos Sight.

When Yuriko activated the technique, she only saw meek Chaos flows around Mum, which oddly reminded her of the nighttime streams.

It was just an hour past noon, when ...

CoESC Book 6-4.2: Presentation

The poke of the needle against Yuriko’s side was barely felt. It would have taken far more strength than what the seamstress had to even make a puncture, even if Yuriko’s Anima wasn’t carefully condensed to protect her. Radiant Refinement made her much tougher even compared to what Strengthen Physique did.

Her gown for the Presentation was nearly finished, but a growth spurt had seen her growing a couple more inches taller, and while she wasn’t putting on much weight, her chest ...

CoESC Book 6-4.1: Presentation

A waft of smoke rose from Matsumi’s hands as she fled the scene.

‘What was that?!’ she couldn’t help but complain in her mind.

She was a Knight and she had been matched so easily against a Journeyman. A Mishala heir, to be sure, but a Journeyman still. The light that flooded out of Yuriko’s body had a kinetic aspect and it pushed her away. If not for her Ennoia, she wouldn’t have been able to easily escape.

As it were, she could feel someone following her. Her ey...

CoESC Book 6-3.3: Danger is the Spice of Life

Yuriko didn’t expect to enjoy the dance, but she did. It was mostly thanks to the food, if she were being honest with herself. And the way Finan grinned at her while she gorged herself on those baked salmon with cream cheese puffs, he knew it as well as she. The dancing was nice, too, even if she had some misgivings about the freestyle dancing.

No, it was when those girls crowded around Finan, hence leaving her alone to fend off a different group of suitors, that she grew uncomfortabl...

CoESC Book 6-3.2: Danger is the Spice of Life

Matsumi Segawa kept a soft, professional smile on her face. A tray with finger food was precariously balanced over her hand and she glided across the floor, offering her bounty to the students wandering Fontex Dome’s First Dance Hall.

All of the attendants wore the same uniform, a long-sleeved black coat, a white vest underneath, and tight, but stretchy pants. It allowed her ease of movement, which was essential for the evening’s plans.

The Hall was a large circle, with the do...

CoESC Book 6-3.1: Danger is the Spice of Life

Almost all at once, Yuriko dismissed the odd thought. Draw in ambient Chaos directly into her Anima? That was a shortcut to getting Chaos poisoning. The edges of the Anima were thick and prevented such things from happening in the first place. Well, she felt differently when she flared her Anima beyond her body, but she was the one who chose which to include inside and which to push away. It just so happened that ambient Chaos was something her Anima excluded naturally.

So if she drew i...

CoESC Book 6-2.3: Lingering at the Cusp

The glowing figure hung suspended in the middle of the hull and had copper wires wrapped around its extremities which then led to the metal framing. Yuriko wasn’t sure if the framing was made of steel or some other grey alloy. It could be a composite of iron and black jade for all she knew, since the metal didn’t conduct denatured Animus easily. Or perhaps that was the point?

She activated Chaos Sight and gaped at the thick ropes of Chaos coating the wires and the runescript lines a...

CoESC Book 6-2.2: Lingering at the Cusp

“Supplicants don’t necessarily have the symptoms of Aspirants,” Miya said during their tutoring session that evening.

Yuriko frowned as she considered her teacup. The Blue Valleys leaf was quite bitter, but a dash of cream and a dollop of honey enhanced its flavour quite well. It also left a crimson hue to the tea.

“Symptoms are quite well documented,” Miya continued primly. “Aspirants turn to Supplicants, but afterwards they change to Attendants or Thralls. A Supplica...

CoESC Book 6-2.1: Lingering at the Cusp

“Your accuracy and precision with the forms have reached an acceptable state.” Swordmaster Demina Kinohara said as Yuriko performed the fifty-two forms across the Phases, in order from first to thirteenth, Flowing Water, Jade Mountain, Roaring Volcano, and Sweeping Gale.

The two of them were in the Mishala clan’s city estate, in a training room that had tall windows, and a wall that was covered in floor to ceiling mirrors.

“Thank you,” Yuriko said quietly.

It had b...

CoESC Book 6-1.3: Cold Insights

Even kneeling down, the Koinos was still taller than Yuriko by about a dozen inches. It was slouched forward and from behind, she could see a couple of handholds to climb on the back. Centurion Garderon didn’t even bother using them and leapt up, catching hold of a latch.

The hatch pulled open and before he slipped inside, he told Yuriko, “Follow.” Then he disappeared. Runescript lines along the Koinos’ frame lit up, and a low pitched hum came from the torso.

After a momen...

CoESC Book 6-1.2: Cold Insights

The first light of the dawn shone through stained glass windows, turning the warm light into cool blues and reds. The light danced against Yuriko’s hair which absorbed the Radiant energy readily and gave off a soft golden glow.

Droplets of sweat flew from her brow as she vigorously spun and danced, flowing from sword form to sword form. Each phase of the Four Phases of the Sword had thirteen distinct forms, which could be performed in reverse. Each form could chain to the next one in ...

CoESC Book 6-1.1: Cold Insights

Intermittent snowfall came down on the plateau despite the fact that it was already nearing the middle of the Season of Earth. Gwendith Devi Sharine glanced at the dark clouds overhead, then huffed and returned her stare to the ground. The tundra was covered in hard-packed snow that had almost transitioned to ice. The addition of lighter and fluffier snow didn’t help in her task and she despaired that she would be out in the cold for days this time instead of hours.

Then again, consid...

CoESC Book 5-23.3: The Horns of War, Sound

At the Frostwind Gate, the northern Chaos Channel leading into Realmheart, a veritable army assembled. The Legion Incursis was at full strength, with ten thousand warriors, at least at Third Order Journeyman, a thousand Knights and Knight Captains, and of course, the Legate Lars Devi Cheval, a Knight Dominus.

The troops were in formation at the moment, waiting at parade rest for the inspection. Legate Cheval walked with his Tribunus, and a special guest, the Imperial Court Mage, Sadeen ...

CoESC Book 5-23.2: The Horns of War, Sound

“You’ve got black,” Finan said, revealing the legionnaire piece concealed in his fist. He stopped shuffling the pieces right in front of Yuriko. Instead, once he realised that she could easily follow his shuffling, did it behind his back. Yuriko had called out the colour before tapping the correct hand a dozen times in a row, much to his consternation.

Yuriko arranged her pieces on the board. Part of the initial strategy was in the placement of the pieces. The Empress was restrict...

CoESC Book 5-23.1: The Horns of War, Sound

“My apologies, I didn’t know it was your birthday celebration a couple of days ago,” Reinhardt held a hand over his heart and bowed his head. “I have been rude.”

“No, not at all,” Yuriko said, startled. It was early in the morning and she had just gotten out of the bath after her morning exercise. She barely threw on a robe before Ryoko answered the door. “I didn’t even know they were planning something.”

“Regardless, let me present my gift to you.” He hand...

CoESC Book 5-22.3: Silence

“Happy Birthday, young mistress!”

The festive lights, the music, and the sudden acclaim nearly made Yuriko form her sunblade, and it took a rather long moment before the words registered in her tired mind. It was the Sixthday, the last day before Restday, and she had just come from a rather gruelling study session. And the weekend trip back to Aerule Garden had not been easy on her either. Miya had insisted on taking a flying shuttle on the way back instead of sensibly taking the Sk...

CoESC Book 5-22.2: Silence

The mistress was unexpectedly, and charmingly, naive Ryoko decided. After several days and nights of service, she and her cousin Saki were both quite amused with the clan’s youngest heiress.

The two of them were also Mishalas, though of a rather obscure branch line. The clan had existed as long as the Empire had, though of course, not in its current form. Blood called to blood, and there were established Animus techniques that allowed bloodlines to resonate against each other, though ...

CoESC Book 5-22.1: Silence

Time, like a river, flew inevitably towards the sea. For Yuriko, the days leading up to her Mum’s promised ball seemed to race. But at the same time, so many things happened in the intervening days that it seemed a year or more since she first came to Realmheart.

That evening, after she walked in on Miya and Jon Abrigo…er, kissing, Yuriko managed to get herself into the Mishala landcrafter and had the pilot bring her to the city estate. Unlike the ones in Aerule Garden, the Imperial...

CoESC Book 5-21.3: Flow

Zeyn Orchil Strider yawned into his hand, though he made sure to keep his eyes open and his back against the wall. A student, an instructor, or an actual legionnaire could pass by, notice that he wasn’t paying attention during his watch and report him for the breach.

Bellton Hold was Rumiga City’s wall against the Chaos Channel, protecting it from assault and keeping their path to the rest of Imperial Territory secure. It was also the dead of night, though Zeyn couldn’t really tel...