Chapter Text
I went through the painstaking motions of chewing my eggs. Soul-deep exhaustion wasn’t something you could ever really get used to. Despite all the times I’d trained myself to near collapse in recent memory, I still hated being this tired, but it was necessary if I ever wanted to amount to anything. Things weren’t handed to you in this world. Well, not if you weren’t a Pillar Devil.
I sat back in my chair and let my head roll back overtop of it, closing my eyes and breathing deep.
Things could have been a lot worse for me. I wasn’t a Bael with their absurdly overpowered Power of Destruction like ninety percent of DXD fanfictions I had read before my rebirth, but Hole was far from a weak power. As I’d come to discover, it was horribly underestimated. Not to mention I could have been born into this world without guaranteed housing. This Abbadon estate I lived on with my half-sister was neither grand nor spacious, but it was ours.
Being from the Extra Clans, we did not hold much of any power politically, but as our distant relative Bedeze Abbadon had shown, we could rise to great prominence if we proved our strength. Unfortunately for me, I was not granted a chess piece able to grant phenomenal cosmic power like Bedeze. Because I lacked the connections to items the greater Underworld believed to be myths, I had to go about accumulating strength the old fashioned way.
So I trained. I used Hole’s unknown properties to cheat and grow stronger as fast as I could. I would need to be able to stand on my own feet when the uncaring machine that was Devil politics finally deemed me worthy of its notice. The only way to survive such machinations was to be so strong that the Pillars would do whatever they had to to get you on their side, but not so strong that they deemed it would be safer just to kill you. Of course, there was a third option.
“Brother,” an exasperated voice greeted.
I opened my eyes, slowly sitting up in my chair to greet the person standing across from me. “Sister.”
Kuisha Abbadon, my half-sister, was a beautiful young woman with long blonde hair and eyes the color of a clear blue sky frowned as she looked at me, her eyebrows furrowed, judging. “Balthazar, it is past eight o’clock. Collect yourself.” Her tone was tired, disappointed.
The two of us never had the best relationship. That wasn’t to say we were openly hostile to each other or anything like that. If that were the case, I wouldn’t be here. We got along fine, we just didn’t mesh. We were different people with different goals, but we were still on good terms.
Due to our parents…unfortunate passing, Kuisha had been responsible for caring for me until I was old enough to take care of myself. In reality, she only cared for me for a few years until the memories from my previous life came to me. From there, I was able to care for myself and she busied herself with her own goals.
It was easy to determine why our relationship wasn’t a terribly close one. I was a bastard. I didn’t know the full story, but apparently some devil commoner caught my father’s eye one night. He didn’t think much of it until said commoner arrived on his doorstep a year or so later with me bundled up in a blanket. My father’s wife, Kuisha’s mother, did not take my appearance well. From there, the story gets foggy. Some Devil news outlets report that my father and Kuisha’s mother fought to their mutual death over me, my biological mother losing her life in the battle. Others say Kuisha’s mother committed suicide and my father followed her to the devil’s afterlife. Some more outlandish outlets even said an Old Satan Faction hit squad came after my father the day I was brought to the manor and killed everyone but me. I honestly didn’t know the true story, and Kuisha didn’t know either. She was older than me by a good bit. She was 16 when I was born, so she was studying abroad when the altercation happened and returned to find a partially destroyed manor with a crying baby in the kitchen sink. The three of them, both Kuisha and I’s parents, were gone. That was the important bit.
Whatever the story was, it didn’t change the fact that I was here now and that I needed to get stronger. If anything, the circumstances surrounding my birth made me more grateful to Kuisha than anything. She had many reasons to be rid of me one way or another, either sending me off to an orphanage or just outright killing me. Instead, she conferred the name Abbadon onto me.
We weren’t the most powerful house. As a matter of fact, we lacked standing of any kind. Even before our parent’s deaths, the Abbadon family’s political might rested solely in Bedeze’s hands, and that was only due to his standing in the Rating Games. Even that wasn’t anything substantial. Rating Games were good for showing off a Devil’s power both to the Underworld and the greater world, but they didn’t earn you political favors you could use to maneuver in the world at large. If you wanted that kind of power, you needed connections. Rating Games could open the door for you to make those connections, but only if you dominated in them the way Bedeze did. Kuisha and I’s parents were not nearly as strong as Bedeze, so they didn’t have any powerful friends before their untimely demise.
House Abbadon didn’t have many friends due to the fact the house was barely a house. We weren’t a Pillar family and there were now only three of us, one of whom was a bastard. Devils didn’t typically care about that sort of thing considering our low birth rates and sinful proclivities, but the enigmatic situation surrounding my appearance and my parent’s deaths had made it a hot topic of discussion at the time. I even had a fancy name the papers had used to describe me. ‘The Bastard of Abbadon’. Catchy, right?
Regardless, there were only three members of the Abbadon family, and only one of us mattered. Bedeze was strong, so he had connections, but we didn’t share those connections. I’d only met the man once when Kuisha brought me to formally grant me the Abbadon name. He hadn’t been overly pleasant to either myself or Kuisha, waxing on about some perceived slight our father had made against him. Then he left us to go play in the Rating Games. We hadn’t so much as received a letter since. Truthfully, I didn’t even know how we were related. Estranged uncle? Second Cousin twice removed?
Kuisha sat at the small table across from me, a plate of eggs already there waiting for her. She gave me a nod as she picked up her fork. “Thank you for cooking for me, Bal.”
I shifted in my seat to get more comfortable and closed my eyes again. “Don’t mention it, sis.” Fuck I was tired. Between my near-masochistic training regime and taking care of the house, I was beat. We weren’t wealthy enough to have servants, so I handled the cooking and cleaning while Kuisha handled all the more boring stuff, official inquiries and such. I hated paperwork.
“Bal,”
I opened one eye, seeing Kuisha glaring at me disapprovingly from across the table.
“You need to rest more.”
I sighed. “I get eight hours of sleep every night. I could rest once a week and still be fine.” Devil biology was kind of awesome like that.
“Then you need to cut back on your training.” Kuisha continued, setting down her fork to intensify her glare. “This is the fifth time this week you can’t even keep your eyes open at the breakfast table. What are you even putting yourself through for you to end up like this?”
“I need to work hard, sis.” I said, intentionally glossing over her question. “I can’t get peerage pieces until I’m a High-Class devil.” Oh, did I not mention that? Unlike how I had expected things to work in my first life, peerage pieces weren’t just handed out to every devil with a recognizable name. Pillar devils all received their sets when they reached a certain birthday regardless of their strength – 14 I think – sooner if you had the right friends, but I wasn’t a Pillar Devil, and my list of friends was vacant at the moment. As an Abbadon, it would be a lot easier for me to get a peerage set than if I was a commoner, but I’d still have to be recognized as a High-Class Devil first. That was one of the main reasons I was using such extreme methods to get stronger as fast as possible. The sooner I was High-Class, the sooner I could start trying out my theories about recruiting for my peerage.
I was fairly confident I could pass the test as I was right now, but I might draw attention to myself. I would rather wait a little longer to grow stronger than move too fast and put myself in a position where people are coming after me for various reasons and I have no time to grow stronger.
Kuisha sighed, rubbing her forehead. “There are other ways to become a member of a peerage than to be its King, Bal. I still don’t understand why you’re so hung up on this.”
Now it was my turn to sigh, sitting up in my chair. I really didn’t want to have this conversation again. “Ku, I don’t want to be a follower. I want to be the guy in charge. If, and that’s a big if, I was going to join a peerage, I’d settle for nothing less than the Queen piece. Call me arrogant if you want, but I know I’m worth more than a pawn.”
Memories from my first life had really soured my view of peerages. While a good chunk of the characters shown in the show had treated their peerages well, there were a not insignificant number of assholes that treated their peerages worse than dirt. Considering the characters shown in the show were the Underworld’s most ‘morale’ devils, I was willing to bet the exploitation and poor treatment was more common than not. Maybe not to the same degree as that Astaroth degenerate, but I wasn’t keen to be exploited at all.
The only scenario I could see myself willingly joining a peerage was extremely select. I would first need to receive the Queen piece for the immense power boost, something that wasn’t likely to happen as Queen pieces were saved for entities you’d only happen across once in a lifetime unless you were a lower ranked King. Second, the King would need to not be a low rank. I wouldn’t submit my future to someone whose position I was capable of surpassing on my own. Third, I would need to know the King well and trust them implicitly with my eternal future because that is what I would be giving them. Letting them put a peerage piece in me would mean that they would have sway over me for the rest of our respective lifespans, in essence, eternity. And finally, I would only join a peerage if I determined that I would be unable to accomplish the goals I set before myself on my own. My first life’s memories made me squeaky about the whole, ‘Give someone else dominion over your soul’ thing. I valued my freedom of choice too much for that. In other words, I was very likely never going to join a peerage.
Kuisha’s lips were pursed. She clearly wanted to press the issue, but we’d gone through this song and dance enough times for her to know I wasn’t going to budge on this. She picked up her fork and looked down at her plate, idly poking at her eggs. “I told you I’ve been meeting with Sairaorg Bae…with Sairaorg, right?”
I caught the slip on the now disgraced Bael’s name, but didn’t comment. My lethargy was gone. I was now razor-focused on every word that came out of my sister’s mouth. “You did.”
“He was given his Peerage Pieces before he lost the Bael heirship.” She looked up to meet my eyes. “He offered me his Queen piece.”
I smiled warmly. “That’s great, Kuisha. Did you accept?” I guess I didn’t butterfly that away after all.
I wasn’t one of Highschool DXD’s biggest fans, but I knew the main story beats. I knew Kuisha Abbadon was supposed to join Sairaorg Bael’s peerage sometime before the series started. While I couldn’t exactly stalk certain people without devil bodyguards smashing me, I had kept tabs on prominent figures from the anime like Rias, Sona and Riser through news reports and the Devil nets to keep myself apprised of where in the timeline I was and how long I had before things kicked off. I’d thought my existence in this world might have messed things up for Kuisha, but apparently not.
“I told him I needed some time to think, but I’ve made up my mind. I’ll be taking his offer.”
I smiled, wide and bright. I stood up and walked around the table. Kuisha stood as I walked up to her, momentarily surprised as I hugged her before slowly returning the hug.
The two of us didn’t do hugs too often. We were on good terms, but we weren’t as close as most siblings. I kind of blamed myself for that. Ever since my first life’s memories came back, I’d been absorbed in training, and Kuisha was sorting out feelings about the whole situation with me and our parents.
“Congratulations, Ku. I’m happy for you.”
“Thank you, Bal.” Kuisha said. I could hear the relief in her voice. Did she think I’d get pissed at her for joining a peerage because of my own feelings on joining one? She was her own person. I wasn’t going to tell her how to live her life. She seemed happy enough in the anime, so this was probably a good thing for her.
“So when is this happening?” I asked, pulling back.
“I’m going to meet with him this afternoon. I just need to pack a few more things.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You’re moving out?”
Kuisha fidgeted. “Sairaorg is living at his mother’s estate. It is large enough for his entire peerage. He doesn’t have all his pieces yet, but he shared his plan with me to have them all live under one roof.”
I nodded along. “Makes sense. What pieces does he have?” I was trying to keep my excitement at being the sole resident of the Abbadon manor to myself. Call me an asshole for seeing the opportunity presented by my sister moving out, but a private Devil manor complete with grounds around it… I might actually be able to start making moves now.
“His peerage is still small. He’s looking for knights, rooks and bishops.”
“No pawns?”
Kuisha shook her head. “He found someone that took seven of his pawns to reincarnate.”
That would mean he already had the Nemean Lion. From what I remembered, Sairaorg had his full peerage by the time the show started, so I likely still had a good chunk of time left to set myself up.
“You know…” Kuisha started hesitantly. “I was hoping you’d come with me to meet him today. It would be good for you to meet my future King and his peerage.”
I looked at her with a flat expression. “I know what you’re trying to do, Ku.” Sairaorg was still looking for pieces, Kuisha wanted me to meet her new peerage… It didn’t take a genius to figure out her angle here. She wasn’t even trying to be subtle about it. I supposed I appreciated that she wasn’t trying to trick me into anything, but it still wasn’t going to work. From what I knew of Sairaorg in this life and what I remembered from before, he was a good guy, but my sister was going to get his Queen piece. I wasn’t going to join his peerage unless I got that piece, and even then, I didn’t really want to join his peerage. It was a moot point though because I wasn’t enough of a bastard to steal my sister’s spot, so it wasn’t going to work out anyway.
She smiled connivingly. “What I’m trying to do is look out for you, little brother. You lose nothing by introducing yourself. Do it. Please? For me?”
I sighed, stretching my arms out over my head. “Fine. I’ll get ready. Do you need help packing anything else?”
Kuisha shook her head, a pleased smile on her face. “No. I will manage on my own. Meet me in front of the Manor at noon.”
I waved an acknowledgement over my shoulder as I left the dining room, leaving her to her breakfast.
It seemed I’d have to get dressed in something respectable today. Pity. I was looking forward to lounging around in sweatpants all day.
X
I stood on our home’s front porch, leaning against one of the support columns that held the balcony up. I’d abandoned my sweatpants and loose-fitting t-shirt in exchange for a rich blue suit and tie. I’d even run a comb through my blonde hair to make it nice and neat. There were dark bags under my eyes from the exhaustion I was forcing myself into, but I used some minor glamors to cover those up, making my blue eyes really shine.
If I was going to be meeting Sairaorg, I wanted to make a good first impression. While it was possible my presence and future actions in the world could butterfly away his reinstatement as the Bael heir, I wasn’t going to take that chance. Even if I did, he would still be a strong player all on his own. Being on his good side would only benefit me. Besides, he seemed like a nice guy and would be my sister’s King, so it would be pointless to be antagonistic towards him. I may be a devil, but I wasn’t a dick.
“Balthazar?”
“Out here, Ku.” I called back over my shoulder, gaze still fixed out over our meager lands. The manor wasn’t on the most valuable piece of Underworld property, but it could be a lot worse. We had a grassy plain that ended at a forest which spread to the end of the property. A stream flowed from a lake that sat at the back of the house all the way through the woods. We didn’t have a country’s worth of territory like the powerful families in Hell, but we were in a good position. Especially if this property would soon belong to only one of us.
I turned to greet my sister as I heard the door open behind me. Like me, she’d dressed up. She was wearing a dark blue, sleeveless dress. The dress lacked very much material to cover her chest, but this was a perverted anime world, so that was common, and it wasn’t like I was going to be getting any ideas. She was my sister for Satan’s sake. And unlike Satan, I wasn’t a siscon.
“Here,” I said, stepping forward to help her. She carried a large suitcase in each of her hands, hanging down by her sides. She let me take one of them, but shouldered me away with a grin when I went to take the other one.
“I’m not helpless, little brother.”
I chuckled back. “Forgive me for wanting to assist you, elder sister.”
“You are forgiven.” she said with a sharp nod, stepping past me and off the porch to try to hide her amused smile from me. I saw it anyway.
“You’re ready, then?” I asked, walking up next to her.
“I am. If there is anything I forgot, I will simply return to retrieve it.”
“Then let's be underway.”
“Yes, let’s.” A point of lightless nothing appeared as my sister raised a hand, rapidly expanding to envelop us both. The moment it passed over us it was gone, the light returning, our surroundings completely different. The grassy flatland of our estate was replaced by rolling hills, a massive mansion atop the hill in front of us.
Hole. Our Bloodline’s gift. While it was not as famed as the Bael Power of Destruction or feared in the same way as the Belial’s Worthless, Hole was a remarkably powerful ability. Those with rudimentary understanding of the power knew that it allowed us to create portals such as the one Kuisha had used to teleport us. Useful because it allowed you to teleport instantaneously, something not common in the supernatural world. It also allowed you to strike from multiple directions at once without moving by opening multiple portals around your foe. Hole could do all of this, but it could also do far more.
You see, Hole didn’t just make portals. From an outside perspective, that is what it appeared to do, but when you were the one using the ability, you were able to see the truth. Hole opened a ‘hole’ in reality, a pocket dimension if you will. By travelling into that hole, you could open another hole at a separate location and appear to have walked through a portal. Alternatively, you could merely open one connection to the hole in reality, placing an object inside and leaving it there, ready for you whenever you opened a hole to the same space. That was how I carried around all my weapons and snacks, I left them in my pocket dimensions, ready to grab should I ever need them.
Hole’s use did not end there, however. As I said previously, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Highschool DXD in my first life, but I did watch all of the fights because I enjoyed watching big magic battles. In Kuisha’s fight against Akeno, she was able to trap Akeno’s lightning in her power then send it back to her. I remembered this, and used it to experiment with my own power. Hole could store energy just as easily as it could matter. It could store light, lightning, fire…even pure Demonic Power.
There have been many studies over the centuries on the subject of how Devils grow in power. The majority of studies with the most accurate results all revolve around the Devil’s Demonic Power. By training and exerting yourself, your Demonic Power depletes, causing the overall capacity to grow. It was also discovered that younger Devils grew in power more rapidly than older Devils, the younger a Devil, the faster the growth. This was weaponized both during the Great War and the Underworld’s Civil War. Some parents would strap their children into magic circles that would artificially drain their power, causing their bodies to overcompensate and rapidly increase their Demonic Power. Many children subjected to such methods died, but those that didn’t were incredibly powerful before getting killed due to their lack of experience. Power is all well and good, but now knowing how to use it will get you killed.
But what does this have to do with Hole? How are the two related? Well, it has to do with my training. I knew that I would need to grow in power rapidly to survive this world, so I got to work the moment I realized what I could do with my unique power, being sure to do proper research and moderate myself so I didn’t accidentally kill myself.
For at least six hours a day, to a maximum of twelve to prevent overexertion, I created small Holes along my body – one on each of my arms and legs and one on my solar plexus. While these Holes were on my body, I forced my Demonic Power into them, keeping myself drained of power and fostering rapid growth. I was still young by Devil standards. By carefully keeping myself bereft of Demonic Power, I was multiplying my growth rate almost tenfold. This also gave me an extradimensional space full of demonic power that I could draw from should I ever need it. My own personal Devil battery. Or Devil nuke should I ever find myself in a situation where I needed to use all the power I’d stored up at once. It was unlikely, but the option was there.
The downside to all of this was I was always exhausted. That tended to happen when you shoved away all of your energy into an extradimensional space. When I first started out, I was irritable and snapped at Kuisha a couple times, but had since grown able to cope. I wasn’t used to the exhaustion, but I was able to function with it.
Speaking of my sister, she would probably slap me upside the head if she knew why I was always tired. She thought it was just the physical exercise and magic practice I did, which was certainly part of it, but she was not aware of the biggest reason.
As Kuisha and I got closer to the mansion, I was able to make out four figures on the front porch waiting for us. A burly man with black hair wearing a black tank waved as we approached, a wide smile on his face.
“It’s good to see you, Kuisha! Judging by the bags…”
“I have decided to accept your offer, Sairaorg.” Kuisha said, setting her bag down on the bottom step leading up the porch.
Sairaorg’s smile shined as he leapt down the stairs, holding his hand our to Kuisha. “You won’t regret this, Kuisha. Thank you for putting your faith in me.”
While the two of them shook hands, I looked around at the others, noticing they were also watching me. There were two men and a woman.
A shirtless, muscled man with brown hair and a goatee was leaned up against the wall. A blonde woman with red eyes stood at the top of the stairs, her hands clasped in front of her pink kimono. The third figure was sitting on the railing, his legs swinging back and forth, fiery orange hair spiked up away from his scalp. He tilted his head to the side as he inspected me.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Where are my manners?”
Suddenly, my view of the others was blocked as Sairaorg stepped in front of me, his broad shoulders encompassing me entire field of view. This man was large.
He stuck his hand out and said, “Sairaorg Bael. I’m assuming you’re Balthazar? Kuisha speaks highly of you.”
I sent an amused glance my sister's way as I took Sairaorg’s hand, her face was the picture of innocence. Why ever would I have assumed she’d tried to sweet talk Sairaorg into letting me into his peerage?
“All lies, I assure you.” I said, turning back to face Sairaorg.
He chuckled good-naturedly. “I suppose I’ll have to see for myself then. Let me introduce you to everyone.” He led me up the stairs, stopping to grab Kuisha’s other bag as we went. “That’s Ladora, Coriana and Regulus.” He pointed to the man with the goatee, the woman, and the smaller man in turn. Each nodding as they were named.
“It’s good to meet you all.” I said, nodding politely. “I am Balthazar Abbadon. With my sister joining your ranks, I expect we will be seeing more of each other soon.” Subtly, I looked around for others. I knew Sairaorg would have a full peerage by the time canon started, but I only saw himself, my sister and three others. It would seem he hadn’t found the rest yet.
“Your sister tells us you are skilled with magic.” the woman, Coriana, said.
I sent a half-lidded glare Kuisha’s way before responding. “I’m half-decent. I still have a long way to go though.”
“He is being modest.” Kuisha cut in, having walked up to my side. “I have seen him training.”
Seeing Sairaorg and the rest of his peerage’s attention on me, I did my best to deflect. “Yes, but you could still annihilate me, sister dear. That is why you are set to become a Queen.”
Kuisha frowned at me, noticing my subject change, but I just sent her a smug grin as my goal was accomplished and Sairaorg’s attention turned to her.
“I can think of no one better to stand by my side, Kuisha.” Sairaorg said with a dopey, genuine smile on his face. I had to hold back a snort as I saw my sister blushing. I had just acquired teasing material.
“I…I am honored you chose me, Sairaorg.” Kuisha said, attempting to compose herself. She saw the amused smile on my face and sent me a death glare. Thankfully for my continued existence, her attention was drawn soon after as Sairaorg held up a hand.
In a flash of fire, a glowing red Queen piece appeared in Sairaorg’s hand. Kuisha’s eyes locked onto it instantly.
Sairaorg scratched the back of his head, an anxious smile on his face. “SorryI can’t give you a big party with lots of fanfare. I’m…kinda broke right now. We can celebrate a little, but I don’t have the funds or the friends to hold a big reveal.”
The man looked legitimately ashamed of himself for that fact. Then again, he was among the Baels for years before being all but kicked out of the family. It was probably commonplace for Pillar Devils to have grand ceremonies for their Peerage members, both to welcome them and, more importantly, to show them off to the rest of the Underworld. Of course, Sairaorg seemed to only be thinking that Kuisha would be disappointed and think he didn’t value her. It looked like he really was a decent guy.
Kuisha looked away shyly. “I don’t mind, Sairaorg. I am just happy you chose me.” She stepped forward, parting the fabric of her dress where the giant boob window was.
I tactfully looked away, quietly chuckling to myself. So she wore the dress with a low cut front for practical reasons. Certainly not to show herself off to her new King. Oh yeah, all the teasing ammunition.
I was pulled from my thoughts as the fiery haired guy hopped off the railing and walked up to me. He looked to be in his mid-teens, but, thanks to my prior knowledge of this world, I knew that his appearance did not betray his true age.
“Regulus, right?” I asked, trying to drown out the sound of my sister gasping behind me. Sairaorg had just put the Queen piece in her chest.
“That’s me.”
I held out my hand. “Good to meet you.”
He made a humming sound as he shook my hand. “Are you going to join us as well?”
And like that, I had the attention of the other man and the woman. Sairaorg and my sister were still focused on the light show going on to turn her into his Queen. At least Regulus was direct.
“No.” I said honestly.
“Why not?”
“I want to make my own peerage. I’m working hard to earn my own Evil Pieces. Joining a peerage would set back my goals.”
Regulus pursed his lips, before nodding. “That’s a good reason. You’ll still hang out with us though, right?”
“My sister is your queen now. It’s inevitable we’ll cross paths frequently.”
Regulus nodded sharply. “Good. I want to fight you, but not now. Come back when you’re not tired. It wouldn’t be fun like this.” He walked around me to join Sairaorg where he was shaking Kuisha’s hand.
He could tell I was tired? I guess I wasn’t hiding it as well as I thought.
The gathering turned to Kuisha and Sairaorg, congratulating them both. Sairaorg took us all inside to where a table was set with a roast and some snacks. Everyone gathered around to dig in and celebrate their new Queen.
I hung back, conversing when prompted, but just letting them enjoy their moment. When the meal was over, Kuisha met me on the front porch.
She hesitated for a moment before pulling me into a hug. “Take care of yourself, little brother.”
“You too, big sis. And congrats again.”
She smiled, warm and genuine. “Thank you.”
I stepped back, hopping down the steps. I gave her a quick salute and said, “I’ll see you around.” Sairaorg had keyed me to the wards around this place. It wasn’t necessary, but it would allow me to maintain the illusion that it was. Since Hole didn’t transport you through the wards, but rather to a space that was offset from reality as a whole, it could bypass most wards like the simple array around Sairaorg’s new home or the ones on the Abbadon manor. I’d need to get around to improving those soon.
Taking a single step, I found myself back home. The house felt a little empty without Kuisha, but she was where she wanted to be, and I now had the ability to use it for what I wanted. I knew I could probably pass the High-Class test by now, but I wanted to train a little longer before taking it. Once I tested, I would be on the Underworld’s radar. I wanted to be as strong as I could be when that happened, letting me make my own decisions.
My sister was off on her own great adventure. Mine was just about to begin.