Chapter 167: Cleansed Slate

They paused as the elevator came to a stop, allowing most of the occupants to exit; several gave them curious glances, but their journey upward soon continued unhindered.

"I’ll look into it," Barbara promised, referring to their previous topic as they neared the top floor. "Anyway, I’ll leave you with your family. Thanks for being friendly."

"Ditto." Exiting the elevator, the legend wheeled her forward and stopped outside her room; she caught sight of her brother on his tablet inside. Rachel lifted a fist for the legend to bump as her brother noticed her and jogged around her bed to take over. "Catch you later, Soldier Girl. Thanks for being my legs."

"Anytime."

Turning away from the dressy saint, Rachel almost felt cleansed, making her half wonder if Barbara had used some kind of stealthy purifying Feat on her.

" ’sup, Nam?"

"Hey, Sis. You okay?" He wheeled her to her bed before pushing down the brakes. "You don’t need any water or food, right—ehhh, moonlight?"

She let out a hearty laugh, a welcome change to the atmosphere she’d been in recently and to lighten up her mood. "Bro, I’m not dying. Chill."

She snickered at her big brother’s sudden attention as he helped her get into bed.

"Sorry," he sighed, showing a more casual expression upon shutting the door and taking a seat their mother usually occupied. "It’s hard to get used to seeing you like this. You know, Mom can’t stop talking about how cute it is when your ears twitch when you sleep."

"Embarrassing is on brand for her," Rachel laughed, settling in and pulling her thick braid atop her front. "Haaa. I have a bit of time to chat before I need to do some skill stuff."

"Oh? I’m game," he said, leaning back and crossing his legs. "I’m guessing you already know what Mom and Dad are doing. Alexa loves Scarlet, and I can tell Nia has piqued her interest. Hah. I’m still getting over living clothes—pretty, by the way," he added, nodding at her new outfit. "Fits your new elegant look."

Rachel gave her brother an impish smirk. "So I wasn’t elegant before, huh?"

"Pfft. Sis, you were a total meathead. Sure, you had moves, but grace wouldn’t be the word I used."

"Ouch! Bro, where’s the abuse? Lay off!" she teased. "Haha. No, seriously, hot take... Alexa isn’t that bad. You know, for a vegan shut-in with absolutely no redeemable qualities."

Nam leaned to the side, left eye narrowing as he held a fist up to his mouth. "Are you...high right now? You’re cool with Alexa?"

Rachel’s ears tilted to the left with her head. "I mean, cool is not the word I would use, but...tolerant and open to learning more is acceptable."

"No lie?" her brother mumbled, sitting straighter.

"No lie! Enlighten me about your wife, Nam," she said, showing a genuine smile. "I’ve been seeing all sorts of things in a new light recently. I hear she likes anime like Scarlet. Yuck! Haha. Get that Japanese crap outta here!"

Nam snorted. "Yeah, that’s you, bashing on the Jap culture."

"Humph. Korean culture is so much better," Rachel grumbled, looking off to the side. "Everyone always hypes up Japan, though. Screw off!"

Laughing with her brother, she rubbed the back of her neck and sat back. "No, I’m an asshole. I shouldn’t be hating on other cultures... I suck."

Giving her an appraising stare, Nam grunted.

"What?" she asked, ears tilting to the left at the weird look he gave her.

"No, it’s just... You’ve changed, Sis... In a good way," he added, as her left eye narrowed. "You’re calmer, yet somehow kept that fighting spirit. I like it."

"Thanks," Rachel whispered, vision tilting left as she heard Jeanne ambush Barbara outside the building, wanting to grab something to eat.

She still wasn’t sure what to make of the saints, France, or the UK Knights of the Round that were coming into the picture, but what she could enjoy was spending some one-on-one time with her brother.

It was the first time she’d actively wanted to learn more about the only blonde member of their family. As it turned out, Alexa had a ton of insecurities, and part of that was due to how active the family was; she felt like a loser, a moocher of a wife who couldn’t do anything right.

She took everyone’s active lifestyle, and the fact that they barely saw each other throughout much of the day, to mean she wasn’t liked. However, part of that may be due to Rachel making her thoughts on that matter absolutely clear from the start. No one, except Nam, appreciated any of her activities, and, ironically, Alexa didn’t even like to share some of them in the first place because they embarrassed her.

Scarlet seemed to be a breath of fresh air since it was the first time Alexa had someone beside Nam with whom she could connect. Self-isolated in Nam and her room, the blonde hadn’t known how to approach them, despite her brother’s coaching.

Smiling as she watched Nam talk about his wife, Rachel felt her worldview expanding. Perhaps it was the Feats Cerridwen provided, but she had been very self-absorbed before now. Alexa felt like a leeching homebody because that was the box she put her in, which was ironic since she hated being put into a box.

"You really love her, don’t you?" she whispered, catching her brother’s tongue halfway through his explanation about her attempts to do online schooling.

"Umm, of course, I do," Nam snorted. "Why would I ask her to marry me if I didn’t? Sure, she’s not the perfect girl in the traditional sense, but she takes all the stress from work and melts it away. It’s what drew me to her whenever we’d be at her dad’s place going over his tax records and finances."

Holding her arm over her eyes, Rachel sighed. "Honestly...my stupid brain jumped to the conclusion that it was arranged like Mom and Dad. I think I was just angry that I was supposed to care about someone else..."

Peeking out, Rachel saw the confused look on her big brother’s face, and her pride was a dagger digging into her side, yet she’d never been one not to say what was on her mind.

"I think I have some issues, Nam. I’m scared to let people in... I’m afraid I’ll get hurt again, but at the same time, recently, I’ve learned that I do need to rely on people, no matter how strong or driven I am. So...I’m sorry about the way I treated Alexa." She rubbed her eyes, feeling a weight falling off her chest. "If it’s okay with you, I’d like to see if we can find any common interests."

Her brother seemed too stunned to respond, so she quickly added, "Eh-heh, not that I’ve heard much we could connect on. You know animated stuff isn’t my thing, even movies, in general, since it feels like a waste of time—and cosplay is a no, her taste in music is trash, and she’s a lot more timid than I’d—wait..."

Nam laughed, giving her a slow shake of his head. "Are you sure you’re still my headstrong sister?"

Rachel gave a weak shrug before rubbing her face. "Who knows? Hah. I’m feeling kind of exhausted right now. I think I need to rest, which sucks since Mom, Scarlet, and everyone are coming back."

He nodded and got to his feet. "I’ll let them know you want to rest."

Pausing at the door, he turned and said, "You know, Alexa is far from timid, but judging everyone by your assertive nature isn’t fair. Alexa has expressed that she wants to start going to the gym; she’s too afraid of you to ask—hell, I can be intimidated by you sometimes—so if you want to mend bridges, just treat her like a person."

"Are vegans people?" she joked.

"Haha. I promise she won’t pester you about eating meat. Alex panicked and got defensive about you criticizing her, and it was the first thing that blurted out of her mouth. Later, she cried about it to me, saying, ’She never wanted to be that vegan.’ She hates whenever you bring it up and has been making an effort to be respectful."

Rachel held two fingers to her temple to acknowledge the statement as her brother smacked the door frame a few times before waving and leaving her with her thoughts.

Settling in, she felt a lot lighter despite the somewhat serious topic; she could tell her brother was a little hurt to hear she thought he’d marry a girl just for business. Rachel wanted to set her life straight, though. She had to confront her flaws because that was who she was.

If she were weak in an area, it wouldn’t be for long, because she was dedicated to self-improvement; that was how she’d constructed her life, only now she was seeing things from a new angle that forced her to realign her values.

All of her inner turmoil regarding Relica simmered down, allowing her a moment of peace. Now was the time to answer a goddess’ knock at the door while she was in a calm state of mind.

Closing her eyes, she entered her inner world, allowing her body to rest. Consciousness pulling in, she opened her eyes in a cute, girly bed that Little Nia had decorated. In the stillness of the shared space between Nia and her, Rachel tilted her head to get a better look at the white-haired personification still resting beside her.

She smiled when she saw an IV and medical device that wasn’t attached near the bed, the girl probably getting the idea from their stay at the hospital. Nia really was trying to be helpful. Forcing herself against the headboard, she studied the wall above the rabbit’s much smaller bed, littered with colorful crayon drawings that depicted their epic adventure in the Legend Quest.

"Hey, you there, Nia?" she whispered aloud. "How much time do you have left?"

"Less than ten minutes. Why? Do you need me to return?"

"Probably." Her status menu opened up, showing her level. "I’m going to accept the offer Chang’e made. I don’t know what will happen, and...the Bunny Gang Feat that you have is also a blessing from her. I must have been out of it if I didn’t see that detail."

"One moment. I’m saying goodbye to everyone."

"Take your time," Rachel snickered. "We have a whole ten minutes."

"Plenty."

Swapping to the resources they had, Rachel browsed her available Feats to choose from. When she went up to Level 10, she’d been given four equipable points to invest in her switchable Feats. Currently, all of them require only a single point, but in the future, it is obvious that some might take two slots.

Rachel wasn’t totally sure if she should be doing this yet; she had to be careful of what stress she put on her soul. Eostre’s comment about Conner inside the Black Moon made it obvious that the Seeds were not granting them these powers but were refining and supporting their spirits. Even if stripped out of them, the progress the Seeds made would remain.

Right now, she had five Equipable Feats:

- [Lunar Burst]

+ [Mental Acceleration]

+ [Strategic Mind]

+ [Lunar Spike]

+ [Lunar Amplification]

She’d taken off [Lunar Burst] in order to make room for [Lunar Amplification]. If she wanted to add the blessed Feat Chang’e was providing, then she would have to deactivate another. Her gaze drifted down to the ability.

[Blessed Lunar Grace I - Use 2% of [Lunar Pool] to create a lunar platform that will dissipate over five seconds. Current Charges: 5/5 Recharge Rate: 20 seconds. When used beneath any Positive or Neutral moon, it changes properties, halves cost, doubles charges, and reduces recharge rate by half. Passively increases all Dexterity Stats by one point.]

Rachel’s focus shifted to Nia as she materialized, wearing a black pleated suit dress with lapels. It fit nicely with its white theme and her pink-hued hair. "Fancy. I’m guessing this is the business outfit my mom had in mind for more formal attire?"

"It is," the rabbit absently responded, pulling up her own status menus. "On to the subject at hand, [Lunar Grace] could provide us with a lot of maneuverability options, as well as prove useful in everyday life. [Lunar Spike] I feel you need in case of an ’oh-shit’ moment, while [Strategic Mind] and [Mental Acceleration] are staples that can’t be removed, which leaves..."

"[Lunar Amplification]," Rachel sighed. "I don’t want to put it on the bench, but not only does [Lunar Grace] give three whole Stat Points, but under the moon, we can abuse it. Not to mention what Feat Extension we might get once I do take it."

Nia got up to lean against her bed, pointing at a section. "I’m interested in this ’changed properties’ bit that activates under various moons. I doubt it would be negative. Basically, it has an innate multiplier that can be activated under various moonlight. It really is a hard one to pass on."

"Unless..." Rachel rubbed her temple, a grimace coming on. "It may have good stuff under Positive and Neutral moons, but what about Negative? Maybe it could stop working completely if I activate the Hell Moon, or maybe it gives me a negative affix... Still, I don’t see why we shouldn’t take it. Everything else pales in comparison to the raw bonuses this gives."