Chapter: 68. Special Existence (4k)(29/46)
“Where is this… why am I… here…”
She quickly organized her thoughts in her mind.
A low murmur escaped her lips, her voice tinged with a hint of weakness and confusion.
Of course, this was not all an act; there was also a part of genuine uncertainty.
The last impression she had in her memory was resisting the “elemental fusion” that descended from the sky until her magic ran out, and the figure of Shūen Nagi finally arriving at the critical moment.
As for what happened afterward, she remembered nothing.
Nagi no longer knew if her true identity had been exposed.
So she adjusted her expression and tone as much as possible to align her reactions with the persona of “Kaminari Amane.”
At the same time, she tentatively spoke, feigning unease while looking for opportunities to gather information from the conversation.
However, just as she planned to play the role of “Kaminari Amane,” she sensed a feeling that was entirely different from her past.
A faint silvery starlight suddenly emerged in her eyes.
That was the residue of “Star Authority” conducting “soul resonance” — a “starlight state” uniquely developed by Nagi.
But this power, for some reason, suddenly activated on its own.
Clearly, after Nagi’s soul shattered, she had never used this ability again. Logically, this ability should have become ineffective, as a shattered soul cannot resonate with other souls, let alone enter the “starlight state” during a “resonance interruption.”
Shūen’s previous explanation to her confirmed this, stating that “Star Authority” could only be used temporarily to “recover fragments,” and could not resonate with other people’s souls like before.
Yet at this moment, Nagi felt herself entering the “starlight state.”
Moreover, what resonated with this “Star Authority” was — surprisingly, “Kaminari Amane.”
“Kaminari Amane” was a fabricated identity of her own.
This person did not exist in the world at all, and naturally, there wouldn’t be a corresponding “soul.”
But the reality exceeded Nagi’s understanding.
She had “resonated” with a non-existent soul.
— What on earth… happened…?
Something had changed.
Nagi was still unclear about what that was.
However, at this moment, Nagi had no time to figure it out.
Another unexpected key for Nagi was —
The S-rank esper — Nigo was now standing right in front of her.
At this distance, he should notice even the slightest fluctuation in magic.
Even at his level, he might directly perceive that this was the power coming from “Star Authority.”
But Nigo did not show any reaction.
As if completely unaware that she had used “Star Authority,” he wore a friendly and approachable smile on his face.
It seemed that Nagi entering the “starlight state” was for him — “completely normal.”
Thinking of this, Nagi vaguely inferred what was going on — her past life’s ability, “Light Forging Truth,” was now in effect.
According to Shūen, after she “died” in her past life, this ability temporarily disappeared along with the scattered “soul fragments,” even though she had unconsciously used it under the name “Angel’s Domain” for some time.
But she had no memory of this, let alone control over it.
At this very moment, this power seemed to have returned.
Even if it was not the full potential of “Light Forging Truth,” and would still be uncontrollable by herself.
It indeed exerted the effect of “Light Forging Truth,” with the target being someone like “Nigo,” who should have known about “Light Forging Truth.”
Nagi could not immediately understand what had caused this situation.
…
…
“Please remain calm, this is the medical department of Star Academy.”
Nigo smiled gently, his tone soothing and comforting, as if accustomed to facing the confusion and questions of those recently awakened.
His words interrupted Nagi’s thoughts.
Only then did she refocus her attention on the man before her.
It was a strange feeling.
Like gazing at another self in a mirror.
“You have been unconscious for a long time; your brain has been sleeping for too long, so brief memory confusion is a common reaction,” Nigo explained. “The doctor said these symptoms will gradually recover over time, so there is no need to worry.”
Whether it was because of the magical quality in his words or not, Nagi genuinely felt her mind beginning to “calm.”
— Light Forging Truth…?
This thought flashed through her mind.
Nagi suspected that he had also activated “Light Forging Truth.” Since he was a “copy” of her from her past life and possessed her “memories,” it was reasonable for him to have the same ability.
Although this point surpassed Nagi’s understanding of the “Star Drawing” series of games.
But the settings mentioned in the original were not immutable truths.
By comparison, she believed more in the reality of this world — “existence is reasoning.”
Nagi — no, Kaminari Amane lowered her head slowly after hearing those words.
After a fleeting glimmer of faint silvery starlight in her eyes.
She seemed to recall something and suddenly lifted her head, her originally pure and dignified beauty now stained with a hint of panic and unease, as if she had finally remembered everything that had happened before she lost consciousness.
“Erika, where is she!? Is she… alright?”
Her voice was laced with obvious urgency and wavering.
Faced with this sudden query, Nigo paused for a moment in silence, then retracted the gentle smile that had been on his face, revealing a heavy expression instead.
“… Regarding Student Erika…”
Nigo intentionally left it unsaid.
But his hesitant demeanor was like a silent answer.
Kaminari Amane saw his expression, her body involuntarily trembling slightly.
Her eyelashes fluttered, as if struggling to suppress some emotion, and she lowered her head murmuring:
“… Could it be that Erika… has already…?”
Her delicate shoulders trembled slightly, her voice like a faint whisper in the wind.
“… It’s all my fault… If I hadn’t accepted that request… Erika wouldn’t have gotten involved… and wouldn’t have —”
Regret and self-blame surfaced on her face, as if she could not forgive her own weakness and choices.
Nigo silently watched the girl before him, enveloped in sorrow.
He did not interrupt, nor did he show any urgent comfort.
He merely observed calmly—
Whether it was her tone, demeanor, or the subtle twitches and pauses on her face.
His intuition told him that this was not pretense.
In front of him, Kaminari Amane seemed genuinely in pain over the loss of her close friend.
And her self-reproaching words aligned perfectly with the information Nigo possessed.
According to the reports following the “Star Academy Invasion Incident,” Kaminari Amane and Erika were invited to join the special mission to rescue Amakusa Shōkō after returning to the dormitory, all while being kept in the dark by Sō and others.
At that time, Kaminari Amane, as a student assistant of Professor Amakusa, happened to meet the conditions for using the ability “Mirror Resonance” and was selected as its triggering subject.
This meant that — she was initially the one invited to participate.
Erika, on the other hand, witnessed the entire process and, as Kaminari Amane’s friend, seemed to have decided to join the operation out of concern for her safety.
This was also recorded in the investigation report regarding the “End Special Team.”
After confirming that everything was consistent with the report and there were no inconsistencies, Nigo finally spoke up, interrupting the girl still mired in self-reproach.
“No, this is not your fault, and… Erika is not dead — she is just temporarily missing.”
“… R-really!?”
Hearing this, Kaminari Amane suddenly raised her head, her voice filled with disbelief and hope.
“Yes, we are doing our utmost to search for her… and for Professor Amakusa Shōkō.”
As Nigo spoke, he discreetly observed her reaction, his tone steady: “If you have any clues about their whereabouts, even a slight impression, please do assist us.”
He gazed intently at the girl’s expression, taking note of every subtle fluctuation.
Even the slightest hesitation or a fleeting glance might be a clue leading to the truth.
After all —
This girl named Kaminari Amane was now one of the few remaining leads he had.
After the battle on “Starfell Archipelago,” the status of the Alpha system was not optimistic.
That level of power, comparable to “divine,” had been restricted by some means.
Only one person could achieve this.
The esper named “Erika” who existed in his memory.
And it was precisely this dear friend who Kaminari Amane was worried about.
Nigo had to admit that this time, he had been thoroughly outplayed.
That Erika, who possessed “special abilities,” was not dead.
Someone had forged her death records, and he had even allowed her to enroll in Star Academy right under his nose.
On Starfell Archipelago, traces of her activating her abilities remained.
Nigo believed that it was her abilities that had restricted most of the functions of the Alpha system.
Resulting in his “total failure.”
Not only was Erika missing, but even Amakusa Shōkō, who should have been dealt with, was rescued by “Seikō Renji,” who held crucial evidence regarding his plan.
Now that most of the Alpha system’s capabilities were restricted, Nigo could not find the whereabouts of either the concealed Erika or Amakusa Shōkō.
Thus, Nigo hoped to find clues from Kaminari Amane and quickly locate them.
However, Kaminari Amane’s response left Nigo somewhat disappointed.
“… I… don’t know…”
She lowered her head, defeated.
Although this outcome was unsatisfactory for Nigo, it was also within his expectations.
He took a deep breath and quickly collected his emotions.
After offering some words of comfort to the girl before him.
Nigo began to shift the topic to another purpose he had —
For the task he would undertake next.
She was the best candidate.
So he needed to win her over, using her inner worries and guilt regarding Erika —
“Kaminari Amane, would you be willing to join the X-Class team?”
“… Huh…? Me…?”
“Perhaps this news is not good for you—” Nigo said, picking up a report placed beside him.
“After you lost consciousness, it seems you unfortunately contracted ‘Fragments of the End.'”
“Your soul has become a mess due to the power of the End—”
“You might even be controlled by the End because of this, so I hope you can join us, join the X-Class espers. We will teach you how to control the curse of the End within you and turn it into your own power.”
Nigo’s words finally made Nagi realize why her abilities had changed —
Fragments of the End.
On Starfell Archipelago.
She had killed the seven X-Class espers present.
The remnants of their souls had been recovered by her.
That’s how she managed to regain part of the “Light Forging Truth” ability, and even re-enter the “starlight” state —
Although Nagi knew this still did not explain why the starlight could resonate with the non-existent “Kaminari Amane” soul.
But at least this provided a direction.
Within the fragments of the End, there existed powers that she did not even know about.
From Nigo’s words, it could be inferred.
During her time unconscious, she had been thoroughly examined by Star Academy inside and out.
Even her shattered soul had been noticed by them.
Fortunately — this all seemed to be blamed on the End.
She had become a student of Star Academy who had survived the “Starfall incident,” and was “unlucky” enough to be possessed by the remnants of the End left at the scene.
But —
Why?
Would Nigo invite her to become an X-Class esper simply because she possessed the fragments of the End?
Of course, Nagi hoped to seize this opportunity to join the ranks of Star Academy’s X-Class espers — or rather, to join Nigo’s roster so that she could get help from the underlying Beta system to find out about “Amakusa Shōkō.”
Since Nigo had just inquired about Amakusa Shōkō.
It indicated that they had not succeeded in killing him.
She still had a chance to reclaim her “soul fragments” from Amakusa Shōkō.
However, before that.
Nagi was very curious why Nigo chose her.
After all, the persona of “Kaminari Amane” was just a student who had not yet awakened her abilities.
“Because you… have potential that even surprises me.”
After pondering for a moment.
Nigo pulled a chair over and sat down in front of the bed.
He revealed a sincere expression and candidly said:
“Kaminari Amane, perhaps you still do not know, but the changes happening to you go beyond just your soul being infected by the power of the End.”
“… What do you mean?”
“Considering that you might not understand what I am about to say, let’s start with the basics,” Nigo appeared very patient. “Do you know what authority is?”
Nagi certainly knew.
But her current persona as “Kaminari Amane” was just a freshman who had been enrolled for less than a week.
She hadn’t learned related knowledge yet.
So she shook her head.
“Authority, also known as domain, is a topic you will learn about in class, so I will provide a brief introduction here.”
“You can understand it as a kind of power that is stronger than esper abilities, often granted by some external object, like a ring, a pendant, etc. As long as you possess this item, you can obtain its powerful strength by injecting magic into it.”
“And your situation is somewhat special—”
“?”
Nagi’s current confusion was not feigned.
She could not fathom why Nigo would suddenly mention these things.
“Kaminari Amane, based on our examination report, your soul — exceptionally, houses three authorities, which no longer exist in the form of external objects but have fused directly with your soul.”
“These are — the authorities of Dusk, Mist, and Azure Thunder.”
