Elizabeth stared at the enchantment description, her eyes wide with surprise. How could she see the enchantments description? This had never happened before.
'So there is more to the effects of the memory after all.'
She instantly came to that conclusion. After all, she was not a memory smith, people who possessed the ability to read enchantments, nor did she have an aspect related to divination that would allow her to perceive them.
Being able to see a memory's description was an incredible ability. Normally, they had to rely on trial and error to guess what a memory did, but now she could skip that process entirely and use it the moment she obtained it.
She did not hesitate and checked the other memory enchantments as well.
Memory Enchantments: [Float]
Enchantment Description: [You can mentally command the dagger to float and control its movement from a distance.]
'Neat.'
She then turned to the next one.
Memory Enchantments: [Sharp Presence]
Enchantment Description: [The blade is surrounded by a sharp aura. Nothing can approach it without being cut.]
'That's pretty much what I thought it did.'
She wanted to go through all her memories and check her enchantments, but before she could, she heard a knock.
"Hey, Liz, I got you your clothes…"
She turned toward the door and sighed as she dismissed the runes. Picking up a towel, she dried her hair before wrapping it around herself and walking out. Standing on her tiptoes, she barely reached the bathroom handle and opened the door.
Tessie stood there, waiting with a shopping bag in hand. Noticing the way Elizabeth had opened the door, she let out a chuckle, much to Elizabeth's dismay.
"It's really not that funny."
Tessie smiled and nodded. "Yes, it's not… but it's still cute."
She handed her the shopping bag. Elizabeth grabbed it, rolled her eyes, and inspected the clothes.
"…Tessie, what is this?" she asked, pulling out a bright pink Victorian-style dress.
Tessie burst out laughing. "It's the only thing they had in the store. Also, I thought it would look cute on you. Especially since you never wear anything other than a tracksuit or training gear."
'Lies, also tracksuits are great!'
Elizabeth sighed as she walked back into the bathroom to change. "What a great friend you are, taking advantage of my flaw like that…"
Tessie suddenly stopped laughing. "Oh really? When you found out about my flaw, weren't you trying especially hard to annoy me? I'm just returning the favor, you hypocrite."
"Well, you were a saint back then, and I was an immature kid. Right now, you're just some grown woman bullying a kid. What would people say if they heard the oh so glorious saint Tessie acted like this?"
At that moment, Elizabeth unlocked the door again and walked out wearing the dress. Tessie smiled as she looked her up and down.
"You look cute."
Elizabeth slammed the door behind her a bit too strongly, causing a crack to appear on the window.
"I know."
A few hours later, they left the stronghold where Elizabeth had been kept. Tessie had already taken care of most of the paperwork while Elizabeth was still in her nightmare, so it did not take long to finish the rest. Elizabeth felt relieved, knowing Tessie had been that confident in her survival and prepared in advance.
When she took her first step outside, the cold winds of Antarctica hit her face. Unlike before, she did not feel as cold as her old self always had. Not only that, but the moment she stepped outside, she felt energized, she felt every part of her body radiating strength. It was a strange sensation to describe. Almost like she had been a fish out of water for far too long and was back in the sea.
'So the passive power boost only works when I'm outside and not inside a building. Is it because the roof was blocking the sky? Wow, my aspect is really going to force me outside more often.'
Tessie walked out as well, stretching her arms around. "Okay, want to grab a bite?" Tessie asked, spinning the keys of her PTV. Elizabeth's eyes remained glued on the doorway for a second.
"What about Jennifer?" Elizabeth asked.
"…She's gone," Tessie replied, rolling her eyes. "At least she showed up. Mael didn't even bother to respond to the calls."
Elizabeth stared at the sky for a moment before walking toward the parking area. "You coming or what? My whole body spent a week without eating. I'm starving."
Tessie stayed silent for a moment, watching Elizabeth's back, before smiling. "Sure. My treat. But my PTV isn't really equipped with a car seat for your size..."
Elizabeth sighed and rolled her eyes. "Would you let that rest already?"
Tessie chuckled. "Not anytime soon."
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Hours later, Tessie was driving back to their house.
"Are you sure you don't want to talk about your nightmare?" Tessie asked. "I know how traumatic the experience can be, and talking to someone would definitely help."
"I'm certain," she responded.
"...Okay, but do you really want to go to NQSC to attend their academy? You only have two months left before the winter solstice, and half of it is going to be wasted traveling there. I would recommend just entering the one here," Tessie said while tapping her finger on the wheel as she glanced at her.
Elizabeth shook her head. "I would not have minded going to one here if I was out of time, but NQSC has the best of the best professors, and a month of waiting to get there is definitely worth it. Plus, they have programs that have yet to be fully implemented here."
"Such as?" Tessie frowned.
"Sorcery..."
Tessie sighed and focused back on the road. "…What about your appraisal? What grade was it, and what rank is your aspect?"
Elizabeth stayed quiet for a moment, looking out the window as the scenery shifted. Then she responded, "I got an excellent appraisal, and a Transcendent rank aspect."
She lied.
Elizabeth felt a pang of guilt for lying to Tessie about her appraisal and aspect. It was not that she did not trust her, but everything was still unknown and new to her, so she definitely did not want that kind of attention while she herself was trying to figure out how her aspect worked. More importantly, she wanted to keep it secret. If she revealed that she was a holder of a divine aspect, she had no idea who Tessie might tell it to or what consequences would come from being exposed as the world's first divine aspect holder.
Even if Tessie kept it secret, there were many aspects out there that dealt with the mind. She did not know who would be brave enough to try such a thing on a saint, but the risk was there. She herself was still weak. If someone had an aspect like that, she would not be able to stop them either, but unlike Tessie, she did not interact with many people above the Awakening rank or Masters. By the time she was strong enough to meet them regularly, she doubted she would care too much if someone managed to extract some information about her aspect. But hopefully, by then, she would have found a way to counter such attacks.
Rethen had shown her that people could be killed before they ever had the chance to lift their swords, mind attacks were just that terrifying, she definitely had to find a way to deal with it.
"Gods… Liz, that's amazing!" Tessie exclaimed, giving her a beaming smile. "You genuinely have insane potential. I only know a few people with Transcendent rank aspects, and they're all incredibly powerful. Cain had one too. It must run in the family."
Elizabeth chuckled softly.
"With you having a Transcendent rank aspect, I don't think the House of Night will have any excuse to reject sponsoring you this time."
Elizabeth blinked and turned to Tessie. "Sponsorship?"
Tessie nodded. "Yeah. It's nothing too crazy. Every legacy clan does it. They scout out people with high potential and sponsor them. I was sponsored too, back when I was a Sleeper."
Elizabeth was quiet for a moment. "What benefits are there?"
"Oh, a lot," Tessie replied. "You receive a steady supply of soul shards every month and get around a fifteen percent discount on memories. That's the basic deal. Someone as talented as you would also receive one awakened memory of your choosing. And instead of fifteen percent, the discount would be twenty-two percent."
Elizabeth thought for a few seconds. "Is there a catch? What do they want in return?"
Tessie fell silent for a moment. "…Yeah, there is. It's not a big deal, but if you accept and manage to become an Awakened, they want you to bind yourself to their citadel. They'll also be the primary buyer of any memories or shards you want to sell, so you won't be able to sell them elsewhere for the first few months. After that, you're free to choose whether to join the Nightwalkers or go back to doing your own thing. Most people end up joining anyway because of the extra benefits they get."
Elizabeth nodded. "It doesn't sound that bad."
"It's not," Tessie said. "It's actually the best deal compared to the other two legacy clans."
Elizabeth considered it. As a Sleeper, her most important resources were shards and memories. While she already possessed some memories others could only dream of, she still needed more, especially an armor type. That way, she would not have to worry about clothes when the Nightmare Spell took her again during the winter solstice.
The catch as well was manageable, all she had to do was sell memories she did not need for a while.
"Sure. I wouldn't mind getting sponsored."
Tessie beamed. "Great! I'll definitely convince them—"
"But," Elizabeth interrupted, "I want to change the terms a bit. Instead of twenty-two percent, make it thirty percent off all their memories. And I want to pick at least one dormant memory as well."
Tessie frowned. "Hey, I know how talented you are, but I don't think they'll accept changes like that just because of it. You're not the only—"
"I'm sure they'll consider it if you tell them that not only do I have a Transcendent rank aspect, but I have a true name as well while still being a Sleeper."
Tessie's eyes widened in surprise. She turned the wheel sharply, parked the PTV on the side of the road, and went silent.
"You… you have a true name?"
Elizabeth nodded and smiled.
"I do. I am Siren of the Last Haven."
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Side note: One chapter today too. Sorry exams are really that stress full.