After the whole debacle, the mood calmed down. Elizabeth took an extra shower (Alone) while Rossie and Rena waited for breakfast to be served. Elizabeth was aware of how both girls were waiting for her at the table, neither too interested in the food…or each other for that matter.

No one was speaking either, all the girls and women in the living room merely stood in silence, or sat in silence, besides Aura anyway.

That was one interesting bit of information for Elizabeth, she was aware that Rena and Rossie were…close.

She was aware of how much close they were, unlike what they liked to project in public. She knew that Jenna was here mostly because of her and that she didn't particularly like Rossie or Rena.

She knew that Lily was only here because of a favor to Jenna and because the platinum-haired girl was somewhat interested in Elizabeth's talent as a sorceress.

And, of course, Elizabeth knew that Aura only stayed around because she enjoyed messing with Elizabeth. So the fact that not a single one of the girls in the living room spoke with each other…was something that Elizabeth should have known from before, but the fact that she was seeing it live right now was something else.

The fact that her awareness was spreading that far without anyone noticing was an important bit of data, too; how was she even able to do that?

"Time, Mistress, time helps us learn and master many things." The voice of Aura spoke within Elizabeth's mind.

Time?

"You got a new gem, did you not?" Aura said with what felt was a hidden smirk, "Have you not checked that one yet?"

Elizabeth, of course, knew of that but wasn't that focused on finding out about it. But [Time]? Was…was Elizabeth experiencing Time differently from the rest?

"Something like that," Aura answered the unspoken question, "What you are sensing is the most mundane form of Time manipulation. You aren't perceiving the now, but the before, the future, and the now. You are sensing how they were, how they will be and in turn, finding out how they are. You are sensing the now, interpreting the before and the future."

"That sounds like a way too complicated way to sense what is happening in the other room," Elizabeth said, sighing as she walked out of the shower, "Wouldn't it be easier to just peek into the living room with the shadows?"

"That's the thing Mistress, doing so would mean they will find out." Aura pointed out as a new pair of clean clothes teleported onto the table in front of Elizabeth, "Instead, doing it like this will mean that they will not know about it, and in turn, you can see them as they are."

"But you found out," Elizabeth said pointing out as she started dressing up, "You noticed."

"I am The Maiden of Space; time is a close neighbor to me." Aura said with a shrug, "Now focus Mistress, for time, unlike space. Cares not for how you feel."

….Elizabeth didn't think Space cared for how she felt either, but whatever.

"Fine….what am I supposed to do with this." Elizabeth said sighing, "I can see the present by peeking at the past and future, but what of it."

"If you focus on the past….you can see your mistakes." Aura's voice said guiding Elizabeth's mana, a twist and a pull, a prod and a nudge, and soon enough she was able to see a version of the past…A version of herself crying against the bed…

A version of herself pulling out a dagger….A version of herself who-

"Wait a second, that didn't happen," Elizabeth said, pulling herself from the vision, "Why…"

"Time is not linear Mistress," Aura stated, "Time is a ball of yarn, you may think of it as a line, but it's closer to a puddle. Just because you think in two planes, doesn't mean time thinks in two planes."

"So…" Elizabeth said trying to pull at the same vision again, only this time she froze the image with Time, "This…?"

"Is a version of you who didn't quite pull herself that well, I nudged that version towards yourself, usually you wouldn't see such divergence this early though." Aura said as the purple maid teleported into the bedroom. Elizabeth had finished dressing up by that point. "This version…. didn't have a Rena around, only kept a Rossie. It's a version that was filled with guilt after sacrificing a young girl…and one who broke after she had to kill Michael. Rossaline is…not the best one to soothe the wounds of those that kill for the first time, she never had to do so. Unlike Watanabe Rena."

"How are you here and there?" Elizabeth pointed out, feeling two Auras, "Aren't you [The Maiden of Space]? This feels like a [Maiden of Time] thing."

"Space is relative," Aura said with a shrug, "I am not messing with Time, but space can be folded, as can the mind if you are smart enough."

….Elizabeth got the impression that she was being lied to.

"So, whatever." Elizabeth decided to not argue with the purple maid for now, "What do I need to control this thing then? I don't want to wander into an alternated time where everything is worse…I have it bad as it is."

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Elizabeth was tired, very tired.

"You need a fundamental force to tie you down, either you fuse [Time] with a sin, or…" Aura said with a knowing smile.

"Or I fuse [Space]," Elizabeth understood.

"So…what does match me, Mistress?" Aura asked turning to Elizabeth, the small purple-haired maid suddenly turned bigger, as if from a prankster, and the girl's presence shifted to a monster, "Lust? Envy? Sloth? Divinity? Time?"

Those were some options, alright.

But Elizabeth didn't let herself be pulled out of control, no. She knew Aura was something more than she allowed herself to be, be it because of her powers or because of who she was. They never quite searched what did it meant to be a [Maiden of Space], but Elizabeth knew that the girl was more powerful than she allowed herself be noticed.

Should she be worried? Perhaps, perhaps Elizabeth should have been worried about that. But even after knowing of that, she couldn't find herself worrying about Aura, because above all, Elizabeth knew how the purple-haired maid was.

"I have long decided what your Sin is Aura Di Starbright," Elizabeth said smiling at the purple haired maid.

The eyes of the girl who claimed the Epithet of The Maiden of Space shone with purple light as a pair of eight-pointed stars formed in her eyes.

"And what would it be Elizabeth Starbright?" The Maiden of Space questioned, "What is the Sin that I match the best? Will it be my insatiable Lust? My jealousy for happiness? Will you remove one of those you already made to match it with me? My Wrath for the fate that I ended up suffering? What is my Sin?"

"Sloth," Elizabeth smiled as she answered, "You match Sloth, you who can be everywhere and wish to be nowhere."

Elizabeth was not stupid, she may be slow, she may be dumb. But she was not stupid, she knew that Aura could be anywhere she wanted, and even so, she had remained with them, with her.

"Sloth?" Aura asked as she deflated, and her pressence bursted out as if it had been a stupid joke, "Are you sure you aren't projecting something here Princess?"

"No," Elizabeth said shaking her head, "You didn't need to stay with us, you could have gone anywhere you wanted, the first day perhaps there was a reason for you to stay with us. But after? When you recovered the full might of what your Name entails….you could have gone anywhere."

Elizabeth knew, how tempting it was, even to her who could only teleport to places her shadows had been, the temptation of running away and not looking back…of throwing everything away…

But she hadn't been able to do it.

Was Aura the same as Elizabeth? No, Aura had been outspoken about why she had stayed and what she wanted, she had wanted to make sure that there was no feeling towards Elizabeth, to achieve that she had allowed herself to be assaulted by her Elizabeth in Dragon Bitch mode.

Had Aura left after confirming there was no chemistry there? No.

Then why had she remained?

Guilt? As if.

Loyalty? Not really.

Enjoyment? Perhaps.

But no, what Elizabeth thought was the real reason was…Sloth.

Aura didn't want to think about what to do; when you have the whole world at the tip of your fingers….you don't really want to move anywhere anymore, and so. Sloth was what matched Aura the most.

"....You have not said a single thing to explain why Sloth Mistress," Aura said as the space around them normalized once more. "You only stared at me while smirking."

"I don't need to say it out loud, do I?" Elizabeth said, shrugging, "You already know I am right."

"....I really didn't want that one," Aura said, sighing, "I thought it may be the one I end up with…all things considered….But I didn't want it."

Elizabeth was unsure why that was, "Why not?" So she asked.

"....Because that is what you wanted," Aura said shrugging, "You wanted to embodiment Sloth… So I didn't want to be what you wanted to achieve, Rossaline and Rena already are wary of me, what will they think when they find out that I am what you desire Mistress?"

That….was actually fair.

"Yeah…Rossie may kill you," Elizabeth said nodding, "Rena…should understand…I think."

"Dream on," Aura shook her head, "So…when will you fuse them? You don't need to do it now, of course, but I assume you will do it soon?"

"As soon as my soul can handle it," Elizabeth said nodding, "I didn't want to fuse one of the new ones since they are still settling up, but Space has been with me the longest."

And wasn't that the truth? An important aspect of Elizabeth's powers had always been space, be it liminal or not, Elizabeth had always been playing with it one way or another. If she was to be honest, she would have felt so much better if she could have fused gems with other elements.

Space and Shadows…

Lightning and Fire….

Divinity and Soul…

But alas, beggars can't be choosers.

"Right…well, speak it with your girlfriends, they can't actually kill me…But I would rather not wake up with a sword in my chest…" Aura said shuddering, "They may not be able to kill me, but god do they scare the everliving shit of me…"

Elizabeth would need to check on that, but who would she ask for videos of that when her dealer was the one being attacked? Perhaps she could ask Rossie to film it next time? That was an option.

"... I'll stop selling you videos," Aura said seriously at Elizabeth.

"Fine….but I want at least one video of it," Elizabeth grumbled as she took The Gem of Space and The Gem of Sloth, they were orbiting near one another, complementing and stabilizing the fusion.

The fusion would move forward soon enough, but first Elizabeth needed to think about what she wanted from it, she had gotten the Spectral Owls from the last fusion, but from this…

What did she want to achieve, what did she want to get, what aspect did she want to promote this time?

What type of minion or summon would she look forward to? She needed to think about it. She would settle with having stabilized her powers for now of course, at least she was no longer seeing failed time lines and alternated worlds, that was interesting in itself, and perhaps it could help her understand Jenna's power more. But right now?

Right now Elizabeth wanted to see her girlfriends and enjoy breakfast.

—---------------------------------

Turns out that time is relative…more so when you are being affected by the Gem of Time. While Elizabeth had felt that she had been discussing and speaking with Aura….Barely a few minutes had been spent in the living room, Elizabeth knew it had been more for her, but couldn't for the love of Rossie understand how that had happened. Or how to parse it.

"Go on, Mistress, the food will get cold," Aura said, pointing at Elizabeth's spot at the table.

At the head of the table, to her right Rossie and to her left Rena.

"....right," Elizabeth said sitting down, both Rossie and Rena nodded at each other and then turned to Elizabeth.

"I'm sorry Elizabeth," Rossie spoke first, "I… don't understand it, not really. I feel no regret or sadness about Michael's death, but I know you feel bad about it."

Elizabeth had not seen that one coming.

"I…will do my best to understand why it is sad, so please. Don't suffer alone." And in that tone, Rossie bowed to Elizabeth.

"Eli…I also don't feel bad about that MALE's death," Rena followed after Rossie, "But I understand why you may feel sad about it, so I'll try to feel bad too. But please…speak to us, one should not encapsulate their feelings in these situations, my Instincts tell me as much."

".... It's okay," Elizabeth said to both girls, "It was mostly hypocritical of me to say-"

"No!" Rossie screamed, "You are good, you were right. Even if we don't understand it, you are right…. So please, don't…. Don't be sad."

That was very unfair.

"Okay… We just need to also honor Michael then, that inquisitive Sage…" Elizabeth didn't know much about him, besides the fact that he seemed to be a good mage and someone who studied diligently, Elizabeth hadn't paid much attention to him. Something that she regretted now.

"So… we need to talk," Elizabeth said, sighing, "I know we are here to find Amelia and what not….:

"But we need to power your soul first," Jenna said before Elizabeth could, "What Sin do you need? Or do you need a complement? I could probably get anything you need. Just say the element."

Elizabeth felt the mana ooze from Jenna, dense, strong, righteous.

Whatever Elizabeth asked would be at her beck and call.

"I have everything I need," And while.it was tempting, Elizabeth would not abuse of her friends like that, "What I need is time, I need to fuse the gems and internalize them. I have been fusing them as I need, but right now I need to take a step forward consciously."

Elizabeth summoned the pair she was about to fuse.

"I have very few combinations left, but for now, I need to do this one, the one that will helps us more." Elizabeth raised the pair of gems, space and Sloth. "So I need patience from you…. And understanding about how this ends."

Elizabeth wasn't sure how she would look after this was over, or if she would still be human. If the walked this path… she would be finishing the biggest project of Alexanders.

She would be making a fully functional seven-series dragon heart. And god knows how that would change Elizabeth.

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