Back in her room, Aurelia wasted no time. She disappeared, eager to visit the space. She didn't give enough time to explore yesterday. Knowing she had to get up early, she left without truly looking around.
Now that she has the time, she wants to see everything it has to offer.
Appearing in the space, she took her time. Everything seemed the same but also different. She could feel a hum in her veins. She wasn't sure what it was. She wondered if it was because of her awakening.
Her awakening. She couldn't help but laugh as she thought about it. In the book, she was an E-rank nobody. It didn't even say she had a bloodline in the book. Now, she has all of a sudden become an S-rank with a bloodline.
Just how many things in the book aren't as they seem? Was anything about it true? Or is it that her presence causes some sort of change to the plot? Did book people become real people?
Her mind was running a mile a minute, trying to figure out what to do. She had so many theories she could fill a book. But she could only stay with her questions and hope for the best. Anything she is unaware of now will come to light. She hoped it would happen sooner rather than later.
The sudden spiral made her lose the thought of exploring the space, at least for now. Instead, she strolled into the shed as if she didn't have a care in the world.
She would explore the things inside she hadn't been fully able to see.
She walked down the hall again. The book and the white stone were still there. The instructions about the space didn't give an inkling about this stone. She would have to figure out what it does on her own.
Before looking at the stone, she took up the book. Just as the page turned into light and entered her forehead, the same happened with the book.
This time, it took a while to accept the information. Her head ached. She had to hold the edge of the table to stop herself from falling. She gritted her teeth as the information flooded her brain.
By the end of it, she was sprawled on the floor, breathing heavily, her eyes wide.
She laughed maniacally. She rolled on the floor, not caring whether she got dirty or not. She couldn't believe her luck. She didn't expect it to be something like this.
She, Aurelia Starlight, would become a cultivator.
Well, if that's what you want to call it. It was the closest comparison she had. The levels were named differently, but that is what it looked like to her. A book of cultivation.
And according to that book, there were levels above SSS-rank.
Aurelia decided not to dwell on why it even mentioned the ranks. It was one of the many questions she would have to figure out.
Ranks F to SSS are only the lower part of the rung. People who were currently seen as powerful were like ants to those with true power. A part of the information was sealed, but the overview is clear. If she were able to practice this, she would reach the level of godhood.
The book stopped with the male lead at SSS and the female lead at SS. Could she surpass them?
Enter a world completely unknown to either of them.
The thought made her extremely happy. The excitement bubbled inside her until the only way she could let it out was by doing what she was doing now, laughing.
"Damn, that felt good! It's been a while since I've been able to really let loose like that."
Aurelia got off the floor, dusting herself off.
Now, it was time to get to the third piece of the puzzle.
Honestly, she wasn't sure if she should do this now. But there wasn't any more time. Seh starts school tomorrow. She had to be as prepared as she possibly could.
Taking a deep breath, she touched it.
Expecting something akin to pain, Aurelia was surprised to find she didn't feel anything. She kept her hand on the stone, waiting for something to happen, but nothing did.
Standing there pouting, Aurelia couldn't help feeling disappointed.
Staring at the stone didn't help, so she could do nothing but walk away.
Her disappointment, however, was quickly washed away when she entered the first door.
Just in front of the table, the doors were placed on her left, right and centre. The door she entered moments ago was the door on the right.
Inside, there were walls of books, so many books she couldn't help but wonder how they came to be here, who wrote them and who collected all of them.
In the centre of the room, there was a bamboo sofa and a mirror.
Wondering what a mirror was doing here, Aurelia walked towards the sofa and the mirror. The sofa gave the same feeling she got when she entered the space. It made her feel refreshed.
Unable to help herself, she sat down. Immediately, her body relaxed. She felt as though she was wrapped in a warm embrace. As though she had found some long-lost comfort, she didn't realise was gone.
With her eyes closed, her body unconsciously took the lotus position. Her breathing slowed, becoming more rhythmic and even. Where she wasn't able to see, the energy of the space flowed into her body.
Time passed. Aurelia, engrossed in her meditation, did not even realise. It wasn't until there was a knock at her door that she opened her eyes.
Panicking, she quickly left the space and went to open the door. Unaware of the embarrassment that was about to befall her.
"Lia, honey..." Seeing the black thing in front of her, Whitney Starlight couldn't help but be shocked. Especially when the smell assaulted her nostrils.
Her first thought was to run away, but knowing it was her daughter, she instead covered her nose. Willing her eyes not to burn, she quickly ushered Aurelia into the bathroom.
She didn't touch her but instead shooed her into the bathroom because she was afraid the scent would stick to her hand forever.
As soon as she closed the door, she yelled, "Take a bath, Lia. I'll be back soon."
As soon as she finished speaking, she gagged. The smell went down her throat and up her nostrils. She quickly ran out of the room.
Aurelia, just realising what happened, was also gagging at the smell on her body. She didn't even bother to take off her clothes; she leapt into the shower as if her life depended on it, and it did. Because she felt as if her nose hairs (that everybody has) were about to be burnt to a crisp.
She scrubbed as much as she could. When she could, she took her clothes off, threw them in the small bin in the bathroom, hoping to throw them out later, or burn them. She didn't care which.
She washed more than ten times before she came out of the bathroom.
Luckily, her mother had opened the windows, allowing the place to air out.
As she stepped out, she saw her mother on the bed.
She smiled sheepishly. She had no excuse for what happened.
"Mom..."
"You don't need to say anything. Whatever it is, you're entitled to your secrets."
Aurelia was truly grateful to her mother. If she was being honest, she wasn't sure how to explain what happened. All she could offer was a hug, which she did.
She hugged the woman whom she would now consider her mother.
That sentence has cemented her in Aurelia's heart. She hopes to continue to have such an understanding mother.
"Lia, I mostly came to have a mother-daughter talk. You've only just arrived, and you already have to leave. I'm not even sure what I was going to talk to you about. Talking about the bird and the bees now seems redundant. I'm sure you already know all about that."
She listened to her mother's wistful musing, "We can't go shopping or go to the spa together. We can't watch shows and roast the actors. We won't be able to do anything I should have done with you growing up."
She looked at the daughter she never got the chance to raise, "I wish we had more time together."
"I'm not going anywhere. Not really. Don't we still have holidays? You can call me on the communicator. I can tell you how school's going. We can have late-night talks, and I can tell you which boy I have a crush on."
"Crush?"
"I'm 18, I'm allowed to have a crush."
Her mother laughed, "I'm not saying you can't have one. I'm surprised you already have one."
"Tall, dark and broody. I'll be able to see him when I go to school. And just so you don't think I'm the only one, Eve has a crush too."
"Eve too? How do you know?"
"I have eyes," Aurelia said as she rolled them.
"Looks like mother-daughter talk was a success." She soothed Aurelia's hair and stood up.
"Although I didn't get much time to talk because of earlier," she wrinkled her nose," I still liked it."
Walking out of the room, she turned back to Aurelia, "I'll see you in the morning, sweetheart."
As soon as the door shut, Mrs Starlight couldn't help but unleash the anger she had held. She had to leave the room before she got even more upset.
Hearing her talk about Eve liking a boy, she knew who it was. That disgusting boy who led their family to doom.
She walked to her room in a huff, unaware that Eve and seen her anger after leaving Aurelia's room.