B4 - Chapter 13 - Cosmos

When Lily left her room and walked into the reception room, she immediately received a tiny bit of the stink eye from Beatrice, who was sitting at the desk, reading another one of her rather raunchy books. However, the displeasure in her eyes soon faded as she sighed and shook her head.

"Yes, yes, I hear you got permission to go out at night. I really hope you aren't planning on doing anything silly; you've been a model student till now."

"No ma'am," Lily quickly replied, even sticking her back up straight.

The old woman nodded, then gestured as if to say "go ahead" toward the door before thumbing to the next page of her book. Lily nodded happily and quickly left, before anyone else decided to hold her up.

Walking through the empty corridors of Regarth alone at night really gave a different vibe from the usually warm and bustling school, and Lily found herself occasionally flinching at strange noises or shadows as she made her way to the nearest courtyard. Even though she'd done this at the orphanage, the sheer scale of Regarth really changed how she felt, and when she entered the courtyard and was welcomed by the crisp night air, she almost let out a sigh of relief.

The first thing Lily did was gaze upward and was delighted at the sight of a beautiful waxing moon and plenty of stars, with only the occasional obstruction from a wandering cloud. From what she had read in the texts, this was probably more than enough to begin her journey of feeling the stars and eventually guiding them.

The courtyard had benches and tables, but Lily instead opted for a patch of grass so she could sit cross-legged for her meditation. To avoid sitting on the cold and probably damp ground, though, she conjured up a rather large version of her Nebula Veil and spread it out from under her. She could have just used an old blanket or something, but personally she thought this might help her connect to the stars, not to mention that it simply made her feel safer and more relaxed.

With her preparations complete, she took a deep breath and silently chanted the mantra, which was very reminiscent of the time she attuned herself to the moon. As her heart and breath began to still, rather than reaching out to the moon, she vaguely felt as if the cosmos were embracing her. It was a magical feeling, and her Mana Core slowly began to resonate as well.

She sat there in silence while embracing the feeling for as long as she could, although soon she began to doubt if she was making much progress. When she opened her eyes and gazed up, although she could still feel the cosmos's ephemeral embrace, she couldn't say she was more connected to it. To put it in more casual terms, it was as if this were their first meeting, and while Lily had been welcomed favorably, she wasn't a trusted acquaintance just yet.

Lily glanced down at her Nebula Veil and was almost startled to find that the cloak had begun to reflect the heavens above, as if mirroring them beneath her. She hadn't done it consciously and wondered whether including her Nebula Veil was a better idea than she realized, providing a tie to the stars from above and below.

Effectively, from this point she had done what she had set out to do, and she needed to repeat this process for several nights to form a closer bond; however, she didn't want to end it just there. There were plenty of texts and phrases going through her mind from the notes Arakil had provided, although a lot of them were laden with metaphors and symbolism rather than concrete instructions.

Arakil had tried his best to provide a sort of translation where he could, but even then, much of it was up to the user's personal interpretation. Effectively, while he could offer some help, it was up to Lily to realize how it would apply to her specifically for it to be effective. This was why, even though the grimoire was in her pocket, Arakil was remaining silent unless Lily specifically asked for guidance or his interference was deemed necessary.

Since I can't reach the stars above, maybe I can try reaching the ones below?

Lily gingerly began running a finger along the cloak beneath her, trying to visualize her linking the stars together like a pen to dots. Sadly, no matter how many times she ran her fingers along, there was no reaction or sudden revelation from the activity.

Sighing to herself, she fell backward, lying on the ground so she was basking in the full majesty of the night sky. Despite lying on the ground, it was quite comfortable owing to the magical "fabric" that constituted her Nebula Veil; she probably could have fallen asleep here if she really wished.

Although that would be a terrible idea, Lily thought to herself as she raised a hand to the cosmos as if trying to touch it. As she continued to savor the majesty of the stars above, she found her hand making grasping gestures. However, that unconscious effort had no effect on her current situation despite her wishing it true.

Lily continued lying on the ground, reaching for the stars both physically and mentally until Arakil finally warned her that her time was running out. She sighed to herself and, as she finally stood up, felt the cosmic embrace slowly recede while her cloak began to dissipate.

For a first step, she thought things had gone well, but part of her had really hoped to make some unexpected groundbreaking discovery. It was highly wishful thinking, but she wanted to make Arakil proud by proving his theories correct. Not to mention that any substantial connections she made with stars and glyphs would only benefit her in the long run as she slowly made everyone believe it was part of her "bloodline."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

As Lily returned to her room, she spoke telepathically with Arakil about the experience. He'd been silently watching things on the magical level, and confirmed that he'd sensed the fluctuations in her Mana Core as well as her Nebula Veil. Meanwhile, Lily relayed what she had genuinely felt during the activity as well as the occasional glimpses or suspicions she had received.

The latter was a bit of a long shot, but Arakil had advised her to follow her gut when it came to these things. She was the one with the Astral attunement, not him, and the records he had only went so far. In a sort of roundabout way, it was genuinely like she was experiencing her own bloodline intuition in this regard, as he attempted to explain how lost magic often tried to make its comeback.

[You could say that once a form of magic has been officially established, it becomes part of the greater universe. It may fade with time and disuse, but it once existed, and the universe remembers it. Others have even argued that this is due to it already having proven itself, so it doesn't need to be proven again, only requiring a spark to rekindle its flame.]

Although Arakil had said this, he was also a little unsure as he'd been absent for far too long. What was once an established fact might not have stood the test of time, and maybe, after too long, even the universe would forget it ever existed.

However, what still gave him some conviction that the universe could recall the forgotten magics was actually the Demis and their bloodlines. As Arakil put it, what better way to naturally bring back already proven magic than through the people themselves?

Rather oddly, as much as Lily believed in magic and everything Arakil usually said, she found this a bit hard to believe and comprehend. From her perspective, the bloodlines had always existed, and she struggled to imagine how the universe itself could cause such a change to even happen.

Arakil had tried to explain that it was likely a gradual process, taking decades, centuries, or millennia, while subtly changing things. He also tried to clarify it through subjects like evolution, but such high-level topics quickly flew over Lily's head, and she ultimately chose to believe what he said without the accompanying theories and hypotheses to back it up.

To sum it up, Arakil believed that Astral magic was probably waiting to make its comeback. Since an Astral bloodline did not exist owing to the fact that nobody knew anything about Lily's spells, she was a potential opportunity. Thus, with no better option, there was a slim possibility that the universe might offer Lily some guidance to help reestablish the long-forgotten magic.

While Lily had liked the sound of that, the fact that it would be offered just as subtly and slowly had dampened her spirits. An errant thought, a gut feeling, or even a dream were all things Arakil had suggested, and each sounded as unbelievable as his earlier hypothesis.

Although… Why did I feel like using my Nebula Veil would help? Was that me just being childish, or was the universe somehow influencing me?

Lily actually shuddered at that thought, not liking the idea of somehow being influenced without her knowledge. Arakil had reassured her that it wouldn't be so blatant, and she ultimately retained all of her free will, but it still irked her. He actually mentioned that if it was anything, it could just be the sense of overwhelming comfort the cloak provided her.

But I felt that way right from the first time I conjured my cloak… Is the universe really that sneaky?

Lily wanted to throw out the word "fate" because it was the only thing in her mind that described it, despite Arakil's vehement protests. But what else could it be? Was it not fate that made her somehow pick Astral magic, and fall in love with her Nebula Veil? Was it not fate that her beloved cloak of stars was now apparently a way to help her connect to the cosmos? Not to mention how she met Arakil in the first place…

Feeling a headache brewing, she shook her head as if trying to dismiss the intrusive thoughts. This was actually one of the reasons Arakil was so dismissive of the word "fate": he claimed that with enough effort, you could attempt to connect anything to everything, and once you began, you started seeing "connections" all over the place.

When Lily reached her bed and settled down for some well-deserved sleep, she had one final thought on the matter.

Well, universe, if you're trying to help, then hurry up and do it faster. The sooner I can guide the stars, the sooner I can start drawing glyphs!

Her "request" was entirely unreasonable, and Lily couldn't help but giggle at herself at the silly idea as she slowly succumbed to sleep. Lily didn't receive any dreams or visions during her slumber, but she didn't let that get her down; instead, she used it to strengthen her resolve. If the so-called subtle universe wasn't going to help her, then she needed to work extra hard to do it herself.

Classes throughout the week went on as usual, as did Lily's training and practice. At night, however, she constantly left her room to sit and meditate, before eventually lying on her back in the courtyard, staring up at the sky.

While she was still feeling that vague embrace under the starlight and moonlight, she had yet to experience anything else. Lily had even attempted to attune herself more by casting Lunar Radiance on herself or by surrounding herself in a ring of Starlight spells. Yet all that accomplished was a bit of a light show and some questioning from Headmaster Fabrelis, as apparently one of the professors had seen it.

She wasn't in trouble or anything, as she had permission to do this and wasn't disturbing anyone. If anything, it proved she was being serious about it, and the headmaster even tried to offer some helpful advice.

"Don't try to force it. It'll come when it comes, and you're ready to receive your bloodline's teachings."

Lily knew the headmaster meant well, but she couldn't help but feel a little frustrated at the advice. She didn't even have a bloodline; she was trying to recreate a poorly documented ancient ritual by Astral mages from eons ago, and the universe was giving her no tips on how to do so.

And so, Lily continued her evening activities. Honestly, she was thankful that there had been no weather mishaps to prevent her from acting, and the only mishap was one time when she nearly dozed off during a particularly pleasant evening. After that mistake, she asked Arakil to make sure she didn't accidentally fall asleep, not wanting to catch a cold or worse, be seen sleeping outside by the other students in the morning!