Infinity in the Void – Freedom in the Abyss

Charlotte found herself in an abyss of sorts, up and down, back and front, darkness everywhere. She looked at herself, wearing the cotton shirt and shorts, the eight-pointed stars still there on her shoulders, and her right arm still bandaged up. And more importantly, her hat is on her head

"Welcome, welcome!"

The voice of Akashic greeted Charlotte, yet the origin itself was nowhere to be seen.

"Akashic..."

"Aww, my full name is Akashic Reverie! I told you before! I don't want to be mistaken with the others!"

"There are others?"

"Correct! There are four, well, technically eight of us. All aspects of Akashic, 'cause really, the entire knowledge of humanity cannot be cram into one Devil alone."

"Then, why am I here?"

"Why? Because I can! And it's much, much easier to talk like this."

"How so?"

"Because you have yet to pay the full price!"

Charlotte remembered what Athen told her. There is always a price for merely having a Gem.

"What do I need to pay?"

"Your memory, or rather, your memories from before we popped out of your chest. Since the Project Darwin thingy kinda deletes your memory every year, it messed the whole system up!"

"And! Because the payment had an error, Akashic decided to do something to do things differently. Normally, you would be able to use every one of us willy-nilly, you can only unlock us overtime now, with special conditions to be met for our full power."

"I am a freebie, and the strongest out of all the Akashic."

Before Charlotte's eyes, from sparkling dust, a humanoid figure was formed. Me?

It, Akashic Reverie, took Charlotte's form. There are some minor differences like the tattoos were moved from the shoulders to its crimson-red eyes. And those eyes... they are bad news.

Wearing a Victorian gown completely different from Charlotte's simple attire. It skipped over to her with light steps.

"What will you do with the power of humanity itself? Answer me and I will give you something in return."

What will I do with my power? I...

"I don't know. I have yet to see everything..."

"I have no clue about what I can do..."

It nodded, taking in the answer of its host.

"Clueless indeed! You are at the center of the Compass Rose, you can go anywhere you want, and do anything you can! Lovely, absolutely lovely! So innocent, so easily tainted! Hehehehahahaha!"

Seeing her face warped into something unfamiliar, Charlotte took a cautious step back. Distancing herself was useless as Reverie instantly walked close to her.

"Now! For the juicy info! Hehe, you cannot remove the seals of the others unless you get out of your haven."

Reverie shattered into prisms of light before swallow up by the dark void. Charlotte was left alone with that information, she felt like she had to talk to someone about those words, someone to share her burden with.

Her body began to vanish, returning to the dark void that is her mind.

=0=0=

Then she woke up.

Charlotte was in her room, barren safe for a table and a chair, the two books she chose, and the rolls of bandage given to her. Her eyes wandered to a new object in her right hand.

A pendant of an eight-pointed star. The black star was hazy as if it could vanish at any moment, it was made out of Reverie, just like the feather decorated on her hat.

The girl sat up, carefully bringing the pendant to her chest with her restricted hand. But her hand stopped right at her neck, then trembled.

She felt something she should not have felt, the tearing of the cuts under the layers of bandages, the paralyzing feeling that halts humans. It was a warning her body sent to her brain, an evolutionary trait telling creatures "It is enough".

Pain.

It was the pain that Charlotte was feeling. She breathed heavily, trying to calm her body down from the pain left by her careless movements. Clenching her teeth, letting out low moans, everything to endure the agonizing sensation.

With all of her willpower, Charlotte threw the string of the pendant around her head. Only then, the pain eased little by little, until the feeling was gone.

Hehe, this is the price tag for the discount version! Your free trial of Akashic Survive ended last night~

Survive...

The embodiment of survival is mankind's will to live. 

If the pendant contains the power to Survive, then what does the feather have? 

Charlotte wanted to find out, so she got out of bed. Or so she tried. The girl fell off her bed, all her strength had left her.

In an instant, the door to her burst open. A panicked Athen, still in her sleeping gown, breathed heavily just like Charlotte did a few minutes ago.

"Charlotte! Are you alright?!", she hurriedly went to Charlotte's side, helping the girl sit on her bed.

Athen noticed the girl's clothes were wet from sweating, then her heavy breath.

"Tell me, what happened!"

Charlotte looked down, her face darkened.

"Hat..."

"What?"

"Get me my hat... please..."

Not questioning further, Athen quickly went and grabbed the girl's hat in the closet. When she got back, Charlotte took it and wore the fedora on her head.

Charlotte felt relieved, slowly but surely her strength was returning. The hat, or the feather to be specific, was the culprit for her endless stamina.

Seeing her regaining her breath, Athen looked Charlotte directly in the eyes.

"Charlotte, tell me what happened."

"Price... Akashic's price...", her voice was hoarse, as if on the verge of tearing up.

The girl told Athen about her dream, the Reverie constructs holding the powers of Akashic, and Reverie itself. Hearing the insane abilities given by Akashic, Athen once against realized how powerful the Records of Human is. The woman thinks about it for a moment, then she looks at Charlotte straight in the eyes.

"So to summarize, this pendant you spoke of dulled your pain to nothing, and the feather regenerates your stamina at an incredible rate. And these are just the discount versions?"

Charlotte nodded, acknowledging the statement.

"So, your powers are limited. Tell me, what did you lose?"

Looking around, Charlotte found the answer instantly. She cannot feel the airflows of everything around her anymore, the rumbles caused by the bugs are not there. Different things she felt were normal in now gone.

Her world was...

"It's small.", Charlotte hugged her knees, sinking her into her thighs, "My world... feels smaller."

Athen did not blink for a moment. The azure eyes similar to Charlotte's own had a deep, deep darkness behind them. She sighed.

"This is going to be a problem...", she clicked her tongue in annoyance, "Remove your pendant, now."

"No...", Charlotte clutched her pendant, even though Athen could not see it.

"This is for your good, Charlotte. Being too dependent on your Gem can be very harmful to you, I learned it the hard way.", she clicked her tongue, annoyed and also worried about the girl in front of her.

"No..."

Athen sighed again, "Ha... what if you broke your bone? What if you are sick? Does blocking away pain help you realize those? Come on, a bit of pain won't be too bad."

Charlotte tightened her grip on her knees, still denying.

"Then how about this, you will fight me, and if you win you can keep the thingy, but if you lose you will have to remove it."

"Can I... add another condition?"

"If I add one then fine."

"Tell me your Gem's name."

"Heh, that's a good one.", Athen let out a mocking chuckle, smiling pridefully, "Too bad you won't be able to know."

She snapped her finger, summoning a piece of parchment paper floating midair. For some reason, it was exuding heat.

"Alright then, for my condition, it's simple. You must follow my orders word for word and with no protest, for as long as you stay here."

Lines in Greek started appearing on the paper. Charlotte can read it but does not understand it, which she eludes to the power of Akashic.

"Place your palm on the paper."

Charlotte followed the instructions, touching the hot paper but did not feel the sensation when touched. Athen did the same, with a smile in contrast with Charlotte's cold and emotionless face.

"By the Authority of Styx, make our deal true and unbreakable.", as she spoke, the paper burned away with a crimson flame.

As if someone had put a collar on her neck, Charlotte felt it became more difficult to breathe. Not even the pendant can prevent the feeling of suffocation. Seeing the girl panicking, Athen spoke to her in a calm tone.

"The binding of Styx, the Goddess of Oaths, is unbreakable. The suffocation you are feeling is part of the process."

"If it makes you feel any better, I'll give you a handicap, limiting myself to only three out of my weaponry."

Those words did not reassure Charlotte at all, they just made Athen seem more intimidating and powerful.

"We will have our fight when you are all healed up.", she placed her hand on Charlotte's forehead, "Now Sleep."

Instantly, Charlotte felt sleepy, her strength giving out overpowering the effect of the feather. She fell front-facing, prompting Athen to catch her, removing her hat in the process.

"Not sure if you are hearing me, but I'll give you a piece of the future."

Laying Charlotte down on her bed, Athen smirked.

"You will lose."

Then she let out a tired yawn.

"Hmm, it's time for me to go to sleep again. See you in the morning."