The Rebirth of Evelyn Knox

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At first, Aurora hadn't felt the need to share such burdensome things with her student. After all, she was far too young, and still a little short of being strong enough to interfere in such matters.

But when she considered that the girl was the one at the center of it all, Aurora couldn't help but hesitate.

In the end, the platinum blonde could only sigh. "Since you want to know, come and sit."

Evelyn nodded as she followed Aurora to the bed. 

Her teacher gave her a complicated look from the corner of her eyes before looking away. "Um, before I start, first know that none of it was your fault. This is something that happens every few hundred years."

The pink haired girl tilted her head in confusion. "Something that happens every few hundred years?"

Aurora nodded. "Yes. The Terrans have always had the ambition to take over our academy. Even though they fail miserably every time, they continue trying every few centuries. But this time…"

Evelyn gulped. She had no idea that the Terrans had attacked the academy at all. In fact, none of the students or teachers seemed to have any idea.

She would have laughed, thinking that the Terran attack must have been pathetically weak, if not for her teacher's grim look.

The platinum blonde sighed. "I was so focused on getting the next pillar ready before a calamity strikes, that I completely overlooked who was taking over the principal position… This was my fault."

Evelyn reached out to hold her teacher's hand. "The new headmaster betrayed us? A-Are you hurt?"

Aurora shook her head quickly. "No… but Hyperion, the old headmaster… his situation is dire."

  "What happened?"

The platinum blonde sighed. "His mind was being manipulated by the new headmaster, and in the process of releasing that control, he suffered a grave injury to his mind and soul."

Evelyn's expression turned grim. As someone who already had a decent understanding of the searing soul, a grade nine cultivation technique, she had a clear understanding of how bad the situation must be for Aurora to be so helpless.

Although a soul injury could recover with time, that was only the case in usual situations. In the same way a torn cloth could be sewn back together, the situation changed greatly depending on whether or not there was missing material, and if so, how much.

Moreover, not all kinds of soul injury were the same. The easiest 'injury' was obviously when someone exhausted their soul power on their own, such as what she did regularly. Much like a resin being dried up, it could easily be undone once rehydrated.

A more severe soul injury would be like tearing a hole through a cloth. Even if it could be sewn back together, it would leave a certain 'imperfection'. Evelyn understood that such an injury would directly reduce the total soul value of a person, but it shouldn't be something that could trouble the top echelon of the academy.

After all, such an injury could still be recovered from with certain treasures, and even if that wasn't possible, it would never get worse by itself.

The pink haired girl bit her lip. "I-Is it… getting worse?"

Aurora shook her head with a rueful smile. Her little student really did exceed her expectations every time. "I'm surprised you could see it, but no. We… managed to stop that, but it can't be undone anymore."

The fabric of Hyperion's soul already had a huge hole burnt right through its center, and the edges of this hole were fragile and crumbling like threads that had turned to charcoal. Any attempt to sew the hole shut would only make the situation worse.

Evelyn frowned. "I… can I take a look?"

Recalling the dark-haired man constantly screaming for Harlan's blood, Aurora shook her head with a sigh. "No. Hyperion is more or less a lunatic now. He'll attack anyone aside from the three pillars on sight, and perhaps only when he kills Harlan will he be able to regain his mind. You… leave this matter to us."

The pink haired girl rubbed her cheek awkwardly. "That… um, teacher, I know you were really worried about the whole defensive array thing… what are we going to do now?"

Aurora looked down thoughtfully. "I don't know. Hyperion can probably sustain the array, but I'm not sure."

Evelyn tilted her head in confusion. "Isn't that… what you were worried about?"

The platinum blonde shook her head with a smile. "No. I'm worried because… Harlan managed to escape with the Terrans alive. I fear what he knew that was so important that he didn't care for his life."

Even if the new headmaster hadn't been born and raised in the academy like her, being a senior professor, he had still been here for hundreds of years. How could he not know the risks he was taking?

Had Hyperion not managed to interrupt her at that exact moment, or had she been just slightly more decisive, wouldn't he have lost his life?

She still felt frustrated when she recalled she had failed to kill him twice. Once, she was interrupted by Hyperion, and then one of the Terran generals shielded the traitor with his body.

Evelyn frowned. "Teacher, what kind of things are headmasters told that the senior professors don't know?"

Aurora blinked. Wasn't her little student acting like she was going to help her solve all the problems? How long had it been since someone talked to her like this? She couldn't recall it at all. Perhaps… this was a feeling she had never experienced before.

The platinum blonde swung her legs back and forth, a faint smile lighting up her face. "Many things, but since we were still dealing with integrating Hyperion into our defensive array first, that knowledge wasn't yet passed on to him."

Evelyn scratched the back of her head in confusion. "You mean that he only knew what he did since he was a senior professor? That makes no sense… couldn't he have just left earlier, then? It makes no sense to do it right in front of you like that, and risk getting killed?"

Aurora shook her head in denial. "No. Although I didn't tell him anything new after he became the headmaster, isn't there still Hyperion?"

Realization finally dawned on the pink haired girl. Given that he got caught by such a low level ploy, the old master certainly didn't have his guard up against this Harlan guy.

The platinum blonde gave her a gentle look. "I only worry that he knew about you. If it was anything else, we can still handle it. The academy's secrets aren't so hard to exploit, even if someone knows about them, after all."

Evelyn pointed at herself in confusion. "You mean… about me being a throne?"

Aurora nodded. "Mhm. Although there is no way to be sure, it's possible that he came to know of it. Unfortunately, Hyperion isn't quite in his right mind, or we would be able to make sure."

Evelyn had always known that one day, there was a definite possibility of her special physique to be known by others. After all, she had never told anyone about it, but people managed to discover it by themselves.

Ruru could still be excused, as she was the 'same', and had a direct link with herself. But hadn't Aurora managed to do the same? 

Evelyn had the feeling that, if not for her ability to view her own status, perhaps Aurora would be the one telling her about the 'Lotus Throne' before she even knew about it herself.

All that being said, she had always tried her best to grow as fast as possible, just so that by the time her enemies knew, she would be able to more or less defend herself from those threats. Right now, however… was she even close to being ready?

At best, she could kill a junior professor. Was that enough?

The pink haired girl couldn't help but gulp. "T-Then… assuming the Terrans come to know of it, w-what do I do?"

Aurora smiled as she put her hand on her student's head. "Don't you still have me here?"

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On the other side of the endless sea, Bonnie stared at her home continent vanishing over the horizon with some melancholy.

"Reluctant to depart?"

The blue haired girl straightened immediately. "No, Ancestor!"

Gwendolyn smiled. "Don't be so ashamed of it. It's only natural to miss what you have become used to. If you wish, I can still send you back."

Bonnie hurriedly shook her head. "I wish to follow you to the old world, ancestor!"

Gwendolyn just chuckled and turned away, once again staring out into the endless seas.

Seeing her ancestor no longer paying attention to her, the blue haired girl bit her lip tightly. 'Just what kind of thing can make her move? Everyone tells me she's been in the same place for tens of thousands of years… Could it be… that person?!'

Recalling the words of her ancestor on that night, years ago, Bonnie suddenly felt a chill run up her spine.

What kind of person was this 'Lotus Throne'?

Her ancestor told her it was her peer, a girl of about the same age. She even wanted her to make friends with this Lotus Throne, but Bonnie only felt strange whenever she thought about it.

Could a person with the same title as her ancestor really exist among her peers? No, even if such a person existed, would they even be able to get along? How could they ever possibly be friends?

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