Elysia in Another World (Part 1)

Ch25: System Error P2

Chapter 25: System Error P2
~25.2~
*****

"What happened?" Allison asked. "Why did the system think you were an unauthorized user?"

Kye shook her head. "I don't know, aside that it was tampered with."

She looked at Sanae, who only shook her head. "I don't know, unless it was something Zalen or Zaldin planted before I put them in Eden. But for it to work at all..."

"The voice said 'shutting down'," Allison said.

Kye nodded and answered hesitantly, "Yes. I did the only thing I could think of that would stop that pain. I..." She shivered and looked at Alethea with tears in her eyes. "It hurt so much... I panicked." She looked at Sanae. "I've never felt pain like that."

Sanae shook her head. "You just don't remember it yet."

"What do you mean?"

"It's a large part of why we sealed your memories. So you could live without that memory. In the Alpha Worldline, when we were still one... the situation became very bad. We split our soul in two, with a purpose in mind for each half to fix the problem. The pain we just went through was the exact same as that. Our souls were being ripped out and attacked directly, but this time by our own creation. Elysium itself was trying to kill us."

"I..."

"And you need to understand, what we did in the Alpha Timeline was supposed to be permanent. But it wasn't enough. We both died, our souls died. Eve... took matters into her own hands, refusing to allow us to die."

"But..."

Sanae shook her head. "The pain we just experienced was our soul halves being forcibly removed from our bodies. That's why the pain was so extreme." She looked at Evelyn. "And that's why you were so afraid just now that you froze. You truly didn't know what to do. You were afraid it would kill our souls. And it probably would have." She looked back at Kye. "If you hadn't shut down the system..." She grimaced, tears on clear display in her eyes.

Kye grimaced, too, but didn't look away from Sanae. "I can't... do that again."

Alethea bent down and hugged her. "Love, it's okay."

Kye shook her head. "No. I... I never want to feel that again. I won't! I refuse!"

"Love?"

"I won't turn the system back on!"

"""What?"""

She grimaced and leaned into Alethea's chest. "Never again."

For the first time ever, they saw a genuine look of fear on her face. Nobody had ever known Kye to be afraid of something, at least afraid for her own sake. Sanae was hiding her face, but echoed Kye, "Never again."

"Kye... are you..." Allison couldn't finish.

"Wait," Atalante said. "The NeuraPhone functions off the system."

"That's not good," Edward said. "We've grown so accustomed to that-"

"I won't turn it back on!" Kye shouted. "I won't do it!" Her voice trembled with her refusal, and silence washed over the room. Nobody could say a word of argument against such a terrified voice.

"Shi-chan, your heart rate is really high," Alethea said after a few minutes. She grasped her lover's hand and gently helped her to her feet. "Come on. Let's go home. We can figure things out later. You need to rest."

Kye timidly nodded. "Okay."

She held another hand out to Sanae. "You, too. You went through the same thing. I want you both to rest. I'll walk you both to bed." Sanae took her hand and slowly raised to her feet.

Kye raised her head enough to look at her mother and grandmother. They knew what she wanted and nodded. Adele quickly ran over and scooped Kye off her feet. "Huh? Adele?" Her face was already flush, so nobody could tell the difference. She was embarrassed to be picked up like a princess.

"I don't know what kind of pain you just went through, but if even you are afraid of it..." she paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. "We'll support you. Whatever you need. For now, I'll carry you."

Kye closed her eyes and leaned into her chest. "Okay." Michelle and Alethea exchanged glances and nodded to each other.

Alethea looked at Sanae, but she shook her head. "No way."

They left the council chamber, with Layla and Hannah following behind them.

*****

Everyone else quietly returned to their seats and sat in silence for a while. Soon, Luma arrived and asked what had happened. Allison quickly explained everything and Luma gasped. "She was... afraid? For herself?"

Allison nodded. "Yes. It was... unusual to understate it. I didn't know she was even capable of being afraid for herself. And I couldn't break the barrier even at maximum output with void magic. I couldn't even scratch it."

The look of surprise in Luma's eyes told the council everything. "If you couldn't... I likely would not have fared any better. Probably only Sanae before she lost her body, as Alfia, could have damaged it." Even she had never seen Kye or Sanae afraid. "They're the oldest of us... and they've experienced the most... Sanae, especially. Yet Kye refused to turn the system back on in fear of that pain? And even Sanae was afraid and agreed?" She looked around and received a round of nodding heads. She grimaced, trying to imagine what kind of pain could have caused that. "If she is truly afraid of something, don't discount it."

"What do you mean?" Atalante asked. "I wouldn't ask her to go through such pain again if it's at all avoidable, but to prioritize one person over trillions... I need to understand."

Luma looked Atalante in the eyes. Her eyes had both determination and compassion in them. "I have known Elysia since time immemorial. Unlike Kye now and most of our immortal siblings, I have all of my memories all the way back to the Kingdom of Alexandria in the Living World. Never once has she ever shown fear aside when worrying about another. She has lived more mortal lives than any of us, but that part of her overall life is but a drop in the bucket. There's so much more to her than any of you could imagine. If she is afraid of experiencing that pain a second time... do not ask her to do so. Please remember, I am not only Luma Caliburn the Sword Saint of Elea. I am also the Sword Saint of Athas, and before even that, the Sword Saint of Alexandria. Above all else, Elysia is my friend and liege. I will do anything for her. The world can learn to adapt without the system. There are many more worlds that don't have the system enabled for much or at all that get on just fine." She paused and looked around the table again. "Do not ask her to go through that again, especially with what Sanae said. I was there for that. I witnessed Elysia split herself in two. I saw her lifeless body... I will do anything to protect her from that."

"...very well," Atalante replied. She swiped her hand in the air, but nothing happened. "It's really gone... Okay, the topic of this council is now how to proceed without the system. Our society is heavily reliant on the NeuraPhone and various other system assisted functions, including magic. We must recreate the NeuraPhone and learn to get on without the system's assistance."

*****

Revision: 2024-8-15