Chapter 90: The Invitation to Elyndor

The following morning was considerably quieter.

The training area had been partially restored after the destruction caused by Reinhard and Emily’s spar.

Yuna was already using the Fighter Mannequin, repeatedly testing different Mana reinforcement techniques while the construct adjusted to her movements.

Nearby, Maki was studying the Combat Enlightenment Scroll, occasionally stopping to compare what she was learning with her own experience.

Lily had somehow convinced herself that eating the Body Tempering Fruit before breakfast would make it work faster. At the same time, Emily sat beneath the shade of a tree with Aeon resting across her lap.

Reinhard watched the family for a moment before looking toward Emily.

She had been unusually quiet.

Not unhappy, but thoughtful.

Emily ran her fingers along Aeon’s restored blade before looking at him. "How long do you think it will take before I can fully use my Gnosis?"

Reinhard considered the question. "I don’t know."

Emily blinked as that answer seemed to surprise her more than anything else. "You don’t know?"

Reinhard shook his head. "Your Gnosis has changed into something none of us completely understand. We know it can manipulate space and time, and we know combining the two puts a huge strain on you. Beyond that, we’re still figuring it out."

Emily looked down at her hand. "So we need to experiment."

"Or have you grown stronger to see if it grants you better control?"

He leaned back in his chair and smiled. "If you want to find out what you’re capable of, eventually you’ll need somewhere equipped to test it properly."

Before Emily could say anything, the phone on the table began ringing.

Everyone looked toward it.

Lily immediately stopped arguing with Maki. "Who’s calling this early?"

Then he got a new notification that made him pause.

[Fame Increased!]

[3,623 —> 10,560]

[Current Fame: 10,560 / 1,000,000]

[Description: Your name is enough to get tons of people reminiscing about you and even getting curious about your actions.]

Reinhard blinked before glancing at his phone and picking it up, and then his expression changed slightly.

"This is official."

Maki looked over.

"From who?"

Reinhard activated the communication.

A formal seal appeared above the device, followed by a message.

He read it silently for a few seconds before displaying it for everyone.

[To Emily Ashcroft.]

[The Elyndor Awakener Authority formally requests your presence for recognition of your return and evaluation of your current combat classification.]

[Your evaluation will determine your official classification and eligibility for participation in Elyndor’s professional Awakener system.]

The yard became quiet.

Emily stared at the message. "Elyndor?"

Lily’s eyes widened. "The Elyndor? The Megacity?"

Maki looked at her. "There is only one."

Reinhard glanced between them. "What exactly is so special about it? Lucien only gave me a brief summary."

Yuna leaned back. "It’s where most of the professional Awakener world gathers." She counted the major parts on her fingers. "Rankings are maintained there. Professional organizations recruit there. Major tournaments are held there. Ranking trials, combat teams, relic companies, equipment manufacturers, and sponsorships all have a major presence."

Lily’s eyes grew wider with every word. "So it’s basically the place where all the strong people go?"

"More or less."

Maki looked toward Emily. "So Elyndor is where an Awakener stops being merely strong and becomes famous."

Emily remained silent.

She looked at the invitation again. It wasn’t a request for medical information. They weren’t asking about her treatment. They weren’t asking to examine whether her Gnosis had truly returned.

They were asking her to come back into the Awakener world.

Maki noticed the expression on her face. "Do you want to go?"

Emily didn’t answer immediately. Her fingers tightened slightly around Aeon’s hilt. She remembered what Elyndor used to mean to her. Battles, rankings, crowds, sponsors, rivals, and applause.

She had once belonged there.

Then her Gnosis shattered, and all of it disappeared, and now they were asking her to return.

Emily slowly nodded. "Yes. I want to go."

Reinhard smiled. "Then we’ll go."

Lily suddenly leaned closer to the phone. "Wait. What’s her current classification?"

Reinhard glanced at the attached information and his expression became amused. "Oh."

Emily looked toward him. "What?"

Reinhard turned the display toward her.

Her current classification was written clearly beneath her name.

[Emily Ashcroft — D-Rank Awakener.]

Everyone stared at it.

Lily was the first to speak. "D-Rank?"

Emily gave an awkward smile. "Yeah."

Lily stared at the screen for another second before bursting into laughter. "That’s ridiculous!"

Emily laughed as well, although her eyes remained on the classification.

D-Rank.

She had once spent years climbing through the rankings until her name was known throughout Elyndor.

She had fought opponents far above what her official rank should have allowed, and there had been a time when people had gathered simply to watch her fight.

Now the same name carried the lowest classification she had ever held.

For a brief moment, the difference felt strange.

Then Emily smiled. "I suppose I’ll have to change that."

Maki shook her head. "The records haven’t caught up with what happened to you yet."

"They probably don’t know what to classify me as," Emily said. "But this ranking isn’t wrong. I am not back to my original strength."

"That’s true." Lily crossed her arms.

Reinhard looked at the invitation again. "There is actually a note about that." He scrolled down. "Due to Emily Ashcroft’s previous classification and historical achievements, the evaluation will be conducted under special recognition."

Maki’s eyebrows rose. "They’re already treating you differently."

Emily looked at the message. "Even though I’m D-Rank?"

Reinhard smiled. "Because they know who you were."

Emily looked down at Aeon, and her fingers slowly closed around its hilt. "Then let’s do it."

Reinhard’s smile widened. "That sounds like you."

Yuna suddenly pointed toward the phone. "There’s another message."

Reinhard looked to see it was a news feed. He opened it and saw a headline appear across the screen.

[FORMER HIGH-RANK AWAKENER EMILY ASHCROFT RETURNS TO ELYNDOR]

Another headline appeared beneath it.

[EMILY ASHCROFT TO UNDERGO OFFICIAL RE-EVALUATION]

Lily leaned over Reinhard’s shoulder. "Already?"

Reinhard nodded. "Looks like the news traveled quickly."

The family began reading through the reactions. Some people remembered Emily’s old battles. Others questioned whether someone whose Gnosis had once shattered could truly return.

A few were more dismissive.

A D-Rank is still a D-Rank.

Her old achievements don’t change her current classification.

If her Gnosis really recovered, we’ll see it in the evaluation.

Emily quietly read the comments, but she didn’t look angry. If anything, she seemed strangely calm.

Then another comment caught Lily’s attention. "Wait." She pointed at the screen. "This person recognized Aeon."

The comment was simple.

Is that the same Awakener who used Aeon?

More replies quickly appeared beneath it.

There’s no way.

Aeon was destroyed years ago.

I remember that sword.

If she really has it again, then this might actually be her.

Lily looked toward Emily with a grin. "They remember."

Emily glanced down at Aeon before a small smile appeared on her face. "They do."

The sword wasn’t just a weapon anymore. It was part of the memory people had of Emily Ashcroft. Her battles, her victories, her disappearance, and everything she had once represented.

Now Aeon was returning with her.

Reinhard closed the news feed. "Looks like Elyndor is already waiting."

Emily nodded.

Then another notification appeared, and this one was different. There was no public headline and no official seal. Just a private message that Reinhard opened. The message was extremely short.

We would like to speak with Emily Ashcroft privately.

Reinhard’s expression changed.

Emily noticed immediately. "What?"

He didn’t answer, but his eyes narrowed slightly. "It seems like another group that wants to speak to you."

Emily asked, "Who sent it?"

Reinhard looked at the sender’s name. "Eternal Dawn."

Emily’s expression changed the moment she saw it.

Reinhard noticed. "You know them?"

Emily nodded. "Of course I do." She looked at the message for a moment before leaning back. "Back when I used to participate in a lot of the trials in Elyndor, Eternal Dawn was one of my sponsors."

Maki nodded slowly. "I remember them. They used to send gifts to the penthouse we lived in."

Lily scoffed. "They stopped pretty quickly once things went south."

The room became quieter.

Emily sighed. "Well, that’s to be expected."

She didn’t sound angry. If anything, she sounded almost resigned.

Reinhard looked at her. "You’re not upset?"

Emily shook her head. "Not really. Sponsorships are businesses. When I could no longer compete, there wasn’t much reason for them to keep investing in me." She looked at the message again. "Besides, there’s something I want to know."

Everyone looked toward her.

"What?" Yuna asked.

Emily’s expression became slightly more serious. "I want to know if they’re still keeping their promise."

Reinhard raised an eyebrow. "What promise?"

Emily looked at him. "As part of our deal, a portion of their sponsorship funds would go toward supporting new Awakeners."

Maki nodded slowly. "I remember that."

Yuna looked at the message. "And what if they aren’t?"

Emily hummed softly. For a moment, she seemed to consider the question. Then a small smile appeared on her face. "Then it seems there will be a very long talk and maybe a threat."

Reinhard laughed, and the others couldn’t help smiling as well.

"I guess the decision is obvious, then," Reinhard said.

Emily looked toward the official Elyndor invitation, then back at the message from Eternal Dawn.

"Let’s go." She gently rested a hand on Aeon’s hilt. "There’s no point in hiding anymore. If people want to know whether Emily Ashcroft has really returned, then it’s probably best to give them what they want."

Her smile widened slightly. "And show them that I have."

Reinhard looked at her for a moment before smiling. "Then let’s go back to Elyndor."

Emily Ashcroft was choosing to return herself. And somewhere in Elyndor, the world was already waiting to see what kind of Awakener had returned.