Chronicles of the Exalted Sun Child

There were expeditions every year, though the ones that actually deserved the name only occurred once a decade or so. Those 'Expeditions' tried to delve as deeply as they could, but really, the record for anyone reaching the ninth layer and delving beyond Shangria was mostly hidden or unreliable. Many records state that the last successful delve happened a century ago, while others said it was as recent as the past five years. Every layer deeper than the fifth was an exercise in survival, wits, and brute strength. There were only a few records of the foes that Shangria threw at challengers, and each one appeared far stronger than the Ice Elemental that she fought a week ago.

Yuriko shivered in excitement, stronger foes made her grow stronger in turn. It wasn't as if she was stagnant, but dwelling in the same place and having the exact same routine every day grew stifling after a while. It wasn't as if she always needed to move, but the Davar Wanderlust clawed from inside her skull whenever she stayed put too long. It was why she'd grown antsy while staying on that resource planet, and why she was so keen to cut the contract with Millennium State. She couldn't see herself enduring a boring guard duty for years instead of a rousing adventure or even a proxy war.

As for what was common amongst serious expeditions, it was the presence of vehicles and having thousands of members. Not that all of them delve to the end. After every layer, a good fraction of the members split off, taking with them supplies enough to carry them to the oasis biomes that were the only places where food and other supplies could be gathered. Water wasn't that much of an issue since it could be condensed from the atmosphere, either by a competent Water Magus or a runescript enchanted condenser canteen. The ones Yuriko and the others had worked just fine.

"Are you abandoning the martial tournament?" Heron asked Yuriko a few days ago when she brought up her plans.

"Possibly. It might be a waste of time. The tournament starts later this year, and could last for a whole year." Yuriko shrugged. "We'll probably be ready for our own expedition before then."

"Think we can join in anyway?" Heron asked. "Seems like a good way to waste some time. Unless you intend to work on it every hour of every day?"

"Well, we do need to gather funds, but a couple of minor expeditions to the third layer should provide enough." The cost of fragments got exponentially more expensive the deeper in Shangria it came from, and a single one from that layer could be a thousand or so credits. At least.

Still, hiring porters, leasing vehicles, and actually buying supplies for the team could run in the hundreds of thousands, probably millions. Actually, if they used a vehicle with enough storage space, they could probably subsist on the oasis biomes, though they only really appeared regularly beneath the first layer. Of even greater import was that there were no publicly available maps beneath the third layer, so they would be guessing. Carina's knowledge wasn't available beyond the third, so supplies in case they got lost were necessary, too.

Perhaps buying a truck outright would be cheaper in the long run, or rather, an all-terrain vehicle? Maybe one that could function underwater as well. There were some biomes that were water-related or water-adjacent, though the common solution to that kind of biome was simply to take a detour. Unfortunately, such detours could cost days of delay, and in the deeper layers, might be outright impossible.

A quick check over the local network put that kind of transport at over a million credits. It would be big enough to house them during rest periods, has enough storage space to hold over thirty days of rations for ten people, as well as a portable machine to dry and preserve oasis food.

While Yuriko hadn't gone back to the delve, Gwendith, Heron, and Devotee had all done day trips—just enough to earn a tidy profit for each day's efforts. Staying at a hotel for longer than a week cost too much, but Yuriko wondered if taking a long-term lease would be ideal, considering they'd likely be away for weeks at a time. Reaching the third layer would take at least twenty-two days of travel one way, and that was without counting how long it would take to gather enough shards to fund future expeditions. Supplies meant to last for half a Season would need adequate holdings, although the expansion bags would probably still work while they were at that layer.

While she meditated on their plans, her incarnation body in Astoria continued to ponder the information Brilliance gave her.

A hidden hand. A puppeteer? Do the strings entangle her limbs too?

She shook herself out of the doubt spiral and focused on Brilliance. "Well, thank you for telling me, but I believe it's time to part ways," Yuriko said diplomatically.

"Oh." Brilliance fidgeted. "Will you register with the Protectorate? Eventually?"

"Perhaps," Yuriko smiled. "Goodbye, Brilliance."

"Bye."

The glowing girl looked crestfallen, but she picked herself up, gave her a cheery wave, and dove towards the ground.

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Yuriko watched the girl leave, then flew back to the apartment. The flight was uneventful, and Yuriko landed on the balcony. She unlocked the door by opening the latch from the inside, her Anima more than capable of slipping under the gaps. Inside her room, she doffed her costume and trod straight into the bathroom. She didn't quite feel like soaking in the tub, but a long, hot shower sufficed.

Her perception spotted Scarlett seated in a meditation pose on her bed. Her Anima fluctuated and attenuated. It was about an inch off her skin now and was nearly the same colour as her hair. It still had a translucent quality that only tinted her visage rather than concealing it.

That had been another mess, and it was something Yuriko beat herself up over her carelessness. The other club members wound up in the same odd state. Captain Hays and Richards also had the same parasite, and so did about half a dozen survivors. The other survivors weren't afflicted, thankfully.

As for what she could do, she wasn't sure. She had enough Ambrosia to save them, probably, but it was also likely to awaken their Anima. Scarlett and the others weren't going to be Ancients by any means, as that required more than an awakened Anima, but they could be considered Mystics? She'd need a couple more weeks to have enough droplets to go around, but she vacillated over using the precious substance and just doing the brain surgery and hoping for the best…

Yeah, no, she couldn't stomach gambling with their lives like that. The Ambrosia she had access to came from Quintessence borne from worshippers. The majority of them lived in Astoria, and it would be the height of ingratitude to withhold it.

She had enough Ambrosia now to treat the two captains, and she'd probably have to teach them how to control and strengthen their awakened Anima afterwards. Well, she was already doing as much for Scarlett, in between tending to her friend and allowing her to come to terms with the lost weeks, and therapy.

She noticed Scarlett jolted out of her meditations. Yuriko finished her shower, put on a bathrobe and ambled towards her friend's bedroom, knowing full well what kind of effect her nearly unclothed state would have on the other girl. Sure enough, as soon as Yuriko walked into sight, Scarlett squeaked as her Anima flared out to its full reach—one and a half inches now—before it collapsed back into her body.

"Lily!" Scarlett yelled even as her face blushed in a shade fit for a sunset.

Yuriko grinned. "It's nothing you haven't seen before. Arguably, you've seen everything already."

"NO!" Scarlett squeaked. "It doesn't count if I don't remember!"

Yuriko's grin widened into a smirk even as heat suffused her body, "Then perhaps we should…refresh your memories?"

Scarlett's flush went all the way down to her breasts and Yuriko ended up giggling. In Scarlett's memories, the two of them hadn't crossed that line yet, but somehow, her body knew. And Yuriko wasn't going to push further than light teasing.

"How is your training?" Yuriko asked instead of further teasing. Scarlett huffed and pouted.

"A bit better. I'm getting the hang of Recovery. Why do you want me to focus on that when my Alteration already boosts my healing?"

"In case of emergencies, and when you want to heal faster than you could. Besides, Recovery will open up other techniques, too." Yuriko said. She sat next to Scarlett on her bed and reached out. "Show me."

"Alright."

While Recovery was a technique originally used with Animus, as Yuriko found out rather early in her career, it could be copied by Anima flowing in the same pattern. It took longer since there was nothing to fuel the technique other than the movement and focus itself, but that was an acceptable solution. Yuriko's Animus reserves were held tightly within her body at this point, carefully collected from Transforming Radiance.

Scarlett had the technique learned at an acceptable level, even if she was unlikely to be able to do it while moving. Or even with her eyes open. But that was fine. Getting the Anima to move in distinct patterns and fueled with a little bit of Will and Intent was the point anyway.

"You're ready to learn the next step," Yuriko agreed. "Well, you have a choice, actually. You can learn a physical boost, or you can learn to form an Anima armour." Yuriko hummed. "Both get stronger the more Anima reach you have, but at this stage of your Growth, you can only do one of those at a time."

Scarlett frowned and Yuriko waited patiently while her friend's expression changed from one moment to the next. She sighed and said, "Make me stronger."

"Boost, then?" At Scarlett's nod, Yuriko asked, "Care to share your rationale?"

"I can heal. I don't want to just be a punching bag." She glanced towards the television.

"You want to be a cape?"

"What? N-no, I mean…no. Not right now, anyway."

Yuriko hummed. "Yes, you are woefully unprepared. You want to help, right? You…"

"I don't want to be helpless again," Scarlett growled.

Yuriko nodded after a moment. "An acceptable reason. Reasons, rather. Well, let's start." She took Scarlett's hands in hers, prompting another blush that Yuriko ignored this time, and sent her Anima into the other girl. "Feel the movement, feel the pattern." This was how Yuriko taught Scarlett Recovery, and it was how she intended to teach the other Animus adjacent techniques.

They spent a couple of hours on the technique, and as she expected, Scarlett was able to make quick progress. Not as fast as she liked, but faster than before she learned Recovery.

The next day was her 'date' with Zachary Rusell, to head over to where Graham Lowe wanted to speak with them. In person, when Astoria had smartphones and the Network…Zach showed up with his car, and Yuriko rode shotgun.

It turned out that the small town Graham instructed Zach to go to was just step one. From there, they were directed onto a country road, which led to another small town, with even fewer residents than the first, and from there, they turned north towards a set of lakes that could have passed for seas if they weren't bounded by land.

After about half the day spent on the road, they wound up in a resort town. They were directed to the convention centre. The event was titled: Anatolia Costume Convention. Zach's phone directed them to one of the side entrances. The young actor showed his screen to the bouncer, and they were let inside and given a security tag.

It seemed they weren't the only ones invited to talk since as soon as they entered the convention hall, Yuriko realised it was filled with costumed people who were more than likely, capes.