Infinity in the Void – Freedom in the Abyss

Charlotte opened her eyes. She looked around, this place was pitch black, no gravity, no up or down... a void.

"Well well well! Look who it is!", Reverie spoke in a joyful tone from behind Charlotte.

"Hello, Reverie.", Charlotte turned back to look at herself.

Reverie still looks like Charlotte wearing a black dress and the eight-pointed stars in its eyes.

Charlotte noticed there were three other people behind Reverie. 

One looks like the male version of Charlotte, wearing a blue hoodie with an eight-pointed star in front like some sort of brand. It does not do anything other than observe Charlotte.

Then there is another Charlotte but mature, maybe in her late twenties, wearing an elegant purple dress, and the stars are tattooed on her hands. It has a wine glass in its hand, twirling the dark maroon liquid inside but not actually drinking it.

And then there is one more Charlotte, but as a child, a brat to be precise, all bandaged up like a mummy. It grunted every now and then, looking away with annoyance when Charlotte met with its eyes.

"There are more of you today.", Charlotte commented.

"Yep! The gang is all here and well~! Well for the most part anyway.", Reverie shrugged, "I'm here to give some advice~ basically, you sucked."

"What?", Charlotte questioned, not understanding what Reverie said.

"Like I said, you sucked at using me, ME! The Curiosity and Imagination of Humanity! Like with Survive over there!", Reverie pointed at Survive, who waved at them, "Survive's Anima Pactum powers allow you to develop countermeasures instantly, basically the upgraded form of their ability to improvise, adapt, overcome, and survive!"

Reverie chuckled. There seemed to be a joke here from the way Survive shook its head, that joke flew over Charlotte's head.

"For me, your dearest Reverie, my dearest, my Anima Pactum is not just creation, I am all the paths, all the future of humanity, I know what humans will build and make true from their imagination.", Reverie looked up, Charlotte followed but there was nothing there, "My power is realizing imaginations, even if it doesn't make sense, there is a future where it made sense."

Then it poked Charlotte's nose, smiling, "My power is the strongest out of all the Akashics, the power to realize dreams."

The power to realize dreams... There are endless possibilities with this power, just like the future of humanity.

Reverie looked around, "Since there is still time, you can meet and greet the others!", Reverie pointed at child Charlotte, "Not them, though, they are a surprise for later~"

Charlotte did exactly what Reverie said, she went to Survive. Their heights are about the same, with Survive being a few centimeters taller.

Now with a closer look, Survive has short hair, unlike Charlotte, in a bob cut that looks fairly girlish. Their faces are almost identical, with Survive having a sharper jawline, unlike Charlotte's soft look.

"Thank you...", Charlotte shyly said, going in for a hug. She closed her eyes as she felt 'warmth' coming from Survive.

Survive is very warm, which comforts Charlotte. It stared at her with unemotional eyes, but it still replied with a hug of its own.

"Thank you... for keeping me... alive..."

Out of all of the Akashics, Charlotte felt the most attached to Survive. It was the one helping her from breaking down, Charlotte hated pain, and the brief period without Survive was scary, even with The Pendant, not seeing the whole world around her was stressful, especially with Silla around. 

The ability to calculate the world, see everything around, and respond instantly. Though a bit reckless, still helped Charlotte live to this day.

Then Charlotte thought back to Project Darwin, something that disgusted her every time she thought about it. The main core of that project is to find where the mind forgot when the body remembered, maybe all that trauma Charlotte received in her previous mindwipe was etched into her mind, giving her a fear of pain.

"Survive... do you have the power to remove... my pain?", Charlotte weakly asked.

Survive nodded, it spoke with a tiny bit of empathy, "I am capable. But I will not."

"...Why?"

"Because that fear of pain is something you gained yourself. You adapted to it...", Survive briefly looked over to child Charlotte, which Charlotte caught, "Pain will be a trigger for something catastrophic. Not physical, but emotional."

That was... cryptic? Is it the right word?

Charlotte saw her mature self nod, confirming her right use of words. Charlotte smiled at the thought of being praised, even if it was her own adult self.

Survive let go of Charlotte, saying the period of hugging has ended. The girl went to her mature self, Euphoria.

Euphoria took the form of Charlotte as a voluptuous woman, with an aura of intimidation, capable of dominating all sexes. The elegant dress has a lot of details, mostly of eight-petal flowers weaved with some sort of pink crystal silk. Its face was kind, but had a crafty underline to it, something that allured Charlotte. She now has another goal.

"Fufu, it is nice to meet you in this manner, my dear.", Euphoria spoke with serenity and love, as if to comfort the girl, "I always want to be be able to properly see you, not through your eyes."

"Euphoria... what can I learn from you?", Charlotte asked, looking at Euphoria's body. That gaze did not escape the embodiment of Joy and Bliss.

"Hmm, we Akashics take forms of your desires, subconscious ones. This is the form you think will bring you happiness, and satisfy something inside you, my dear. So as long as you do not sway from your current path, you are sure to obtain this form.", Euphoria pat Charlotte's head with a gentle touch, like a mother to a child.

"A mother...", Charlotte muttered.

Euphoria's eyes widened a bit, and then they stared at Charlotte with kindness and love, her thin smile widened just a bit, "I am no mother, look at me more... as a guide. Though the correct word would be manager, I am not managing anything."

Charlotte switched her question to the glass of wine, "What is that?", she pointed at the glass.

"Nothing much, really, just every psychoactive drug ever found and created by mankind.", Euphoria shrugged, "Not for consumption, it just looks beautiful."

Then it leaned closer to Charlotte, "If you fully unlock me, the Anima Pactum is capable of producing this thing."

With those words, Charlotte's curiosity grew. Ideas went through and out of her mind, like what could she do with it? How can she apply it to her life? 

"Charlotte, my dear, you are smart but without flexibility. Though you may not like it, the best way to improve your flexibility is to hang around Silla Arco.", Euphoria let out another soft laugh, "Fufu, you would grow used to her, the most annoying person is always the most memorable."

Charlotte frowned, "Do I have to?"

Euphoria merely shrugged, "It is up to you, ultimately. You are still a child, my dear, you are like a sponge, absorbing everything you learn to heart. Silla has... an interesting history, let her explain it to you when she opens herself up."

"Is there... something?", Charlotte asked.

"There is a folk song about Silla, though her name was erased from history, only she herself is aware of her own history, the organization and the U.S. government hold merely a piece of her long history. It goes like this."

Then Euphoria sang.

 

"Crows and ravens, what do you see?
Sinner, evil, and chaos
What do you see, O' feathers of omen?
Witchcraft, monster,
Demon

Why? Why? Why?

Humans born with a curse
Sealed treachery in her broken heart
Deal, Contract, Shook hands with the Devil

How? How? How?

The wheel of fate turns
Giving the world a curse
One reborn in fire, destructive where she goes

Crows and ravens, what do you see?
One with too much curse
A child born under the moonless night
A box full of evil and chaos

O' feathers of omen, how can I hide?

The witch walks silently,
No gate nor boundary shall stop her,
The witch hunts the faithful ones

How can I remain unseen, O' souls of omen
No gate nor boundary, no divinity nor faith
None shall stop her
For the witch shall hunt and hunt,
Those who have faith are her prey,

Do not pray, do not sense God

The curse of the land, monster bound by none,
For kin of faith, the witch is their anathema
Abaddon faith and she will leave you,
Pray to yourself, comfort yourself in darkness,
The witch will ignore you."

 

A witch who was cursed by the world, a hunter who hunts the faithful, reborn in fire, and unleashed chaos and evil into the world. Charlotte could see how that fit Silla, but there are things Charlotte finds not fitting Silla. Silla certainly did not push about Enna's feather, knowing the woman, she would notice instantly.

"Go into her comfort zone.", Euphoria advised, "Get into her personal space, make her feel like she is being invaded. Do what she did to you, 'an eye for an eye'."

Idiom...

"Now, sadly to say this, but our time is almost up. But this is it, for now, my dear.", Euphoria gave Charlotte a kiss on the forehead, and also gave her a gentle hug.

The hug was comfortable, it reminded Charlotte of her books, the things she used to indulge herself, to forget about the world she knew but barely had experience of. It was... homey.

The final Akashic sat cross-legged on the ground, furrowing its brows and staring at Charlotte. It wants to approach Charlotte, but cannot due to the leader - Reverie.

But Charlotte did it anyway, walking toward her childhood self. Charlotte looked at Reverie, who was just smiling as if expected Charlotte to do this.

Charlotte turned to the Akashic, "Hello, what is your name?"

It responded by rolling its eyes as if it was stating the obvious. Charlotte nodded, "I see... I will... do with those clues."

A child, one seemingly to throw a tantrum, grounded by their mother. Charlotte needs some more time to think. This Akashic is essentially a brat, something Charlotte is quite familiar with, but she does not know why.

"The time is up~!", Reverie announced cheerfully, "Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us, Charlotte~ but... what about little old me? The Curiosity and Imagination of Humanity?"

Charlotte answered instantly, "Insane."

That only got a laugh out of Reverie, "Hehehahahaha! Well, insanity creates progress~! I take that as a compliment!", it clapped its hands.

The void became distorted as one by one, the Akashics turned into particles of light, each having their color. Red for child Charlotte, purple for Euphoria, blue for Survive, and strangely, gray for Reverie.

The world returns to darkness again. But not that it mattered much, Charlotte had always seen this darkness, the void of her mind, a place where she could see nothing but the abyss. Charlotte could not see her body, only observe this void.

Charlotte never dreams, not even once, she simply cannot dream at all.

=0=0=

Charlotte opened her eyes, she was in some sort of medical bed. To her right was a blood bag, with the letter B.

She heard Silla's voice, talking to a man behind the curtains, "So, how is her condition?"

The doctor replied, "It has stabilized from the critical zone, but she will need a bit of rest. Still, her recovery rate is abnormal, even for a Gem Holder. She's special, very special from what I have seen."

"Oh?", Silla seemed to notice Charlotte's consciousness, "She woke up, thanks, Robert!"

Robert laughed, "Haha! It's a doctor's duty!"

Silla went through the curtains, smiling like normal. Though Charlotte senses something different, her worries are genuine.