Chapter 157: Chapter 156 : Yuki

The world was cold; Yuki had no doubt about this. Her very first memory was from within an orphanage. A territory dispute had lefts hundreds of children without parents. She was one such child.

The fact that she could land in an orphanage made her one of the more lucky ones, but this was only by comparison. Unlike Sigurd’s orphanage chain, the orphanage Yuki found herself in was far from caring and compassionate. It was here that her young self first came in contact with the world’s frigidness.

The world was cold; a caretaker often used to mutter this phrase under her breath. The words held true and soon enough, Yuki began reciting them in her head as though they were gospel.

The world is cold? Sure enough, your words ring true, however, Yuki, remember this…it’s only in this cold world that we can truly appreciate the warmth.

These words belonged to Yuri, Yuki’s elder ‘sister’. Yuri, like Yuki, was an orphan as well. She had entered the orphanage one year after Yuki had. The pair found something in each other and quickly became close. Somewhere down the line, the two regarded their relationship to be one of sisters. They became inseparable, supporting each other as they endured hardship after hardship.

The hardships let up when Yuri turned thirteen. As if being compelled by her desire to carve out a better life for her sister, the Great Aether granted Yuri psionic powers. She turned out to be a rare genius, not only starting out as a Rank 5 Telekinetic but also one of extremely high Psi talent. Her feat made waves.

Yuri didn’t care to make waves, still, she was delighted at her psionic awakening. In this world, psionic powers were practically everything. She was young but with her powers, there was much she could do. She worked to master her power, and luckily, she proved to be skilled in that too. At the same time, she took the opportunities that came rushing her way.

It wasn’t long after that she and Yuki could officially leave the orphanage. They rented a place through a connection. The small apartment became their sanctuary. Life still wasn’t easy but the pair were happy. All they needed was each other. Money was rolling in, but Yuri wasn’t satisfied. She wanted her sister and her to have a much better life, an extravagant one, fit for royalty, believing that they deserved that much.

It was around this time that the offer came. At age fifteen, the Bai clan approached intending to adopt Yuri into their ranks.

Xin.

The ‘nation’ was interchangeable with the term ‘Southern Eastern Region’. It wasn’t truly a nation; there was no shared governance and thanks to one state’s snowflake-like nature, Xin didn’t even have a universal currency. Rather, it was thirteen states which refused to call themselves countries, living on the memory of a glorious bygone era.

Each of these thirteen states had a clan ruling them. Xin’s Baixin state, one of the largest central states, was ruled by, you guessed it, the Bai clan.

The Bai clan, like several other clans, had a certain practice. Inheritance wasn’t limited to blood family. The clan would scout out and adopt powerful individuals into their ranks. The days when rulers could be weak were long gone. To maintain one’s position at the top, one needed to be strong.

The thirteen clans knew this. Strict adherence to blood could lead to their downfall, and so they took these measures. Yuri was a perfect candidate in their eyes. At the time of the offer, she was already a Rank 7 Telekinetic, seemingly racing towards Ascendancy.

They wanted her badly.

Yuri accepted….on the condition that Yuki was adopted with her. They weren’t too happy with a tagalong but the Bai clan accepted. Yuri was just too valuable. And with that, the two entered the Bai clan.

Their quality of life rocketed up with their new status. It was here that the pair were given education and re-education, to properly represent the illustrious family they now belonged to.

It was a pain, especially the latter, but the pair bore it. Life was great, the best it had ever been.

But as always, a chilly breeze once again swept past them, reminding them that the world they lived in was, in fact, a cold one.

The succession battle.

Including Yuki and Yuri, there were forty-four candidates in the running to be the next Bai clan Head. This group was split nearly evenly between blood relatives and outsiders. Regardless, everyone had a shot.

There were no fixed criteria for succession - or rather, there was no explicit criterion to follow. The next Head was chosen based on the current Head and a select committee’s discretion. Still, it wasn’t random. Personal abilities and accomplishments were known to weigh heavily into the decision. Because of this, the candidates did their best to illustrate their worthiness. To further their chances, they established private factions and attempted to bring the clan’s senior members to their side.

Yuri and Yuki didn’t care to compete in this battle. They were content with their luxurious lifestyle and didn’t care to be rulers. They stated this intention several times. Even so, they were roped into the conflict.

And a conflict, it was. With the title of Bai clan’s Head on the line, many candidates resorted to underhanded and nefarious means to eliminate their competition from the running.

Every succession battle followed in this manner. One couldn’t commit any obvious wrong, but as long as one kept it to the shadows, the Bai clan wouldn’t interfere. They wanted the strongest to survive, for only they would be capable of leading the Bai clan into a prosperous future…at least, this was the thought process.

At first, Yuri and Yuki weren’t paid any attention. But as time passed, this changed. After achieving another rank up and becoming an official powerhouse, the other candidates’ venomous gazes quickly pointed Yuri’s way. At the same, senior members of the Bai clan did as well, though, their eyes swirled with a different light.

A faction formed behind Yuri. She didn’t oppose it. Still, she also didn’t just let anyone in her circle either. Choosing carefully, she slowly but surely gathered people to her side. She did this more for protection than anything; the other candidates didn’t see it that way though.

Still, even with a notable faction behind her, most didn’t take her as a serious threat. She was individually powerful sure, but a Rank 8 Telekinetic wasn’t anything rare, at least not among the leading candidates’ factions. There were several Rank 8s and even Rank 9s amidst their ranks. Yuri and her faction didn’t stand out…at least, until a year ago.

The seventeen-year-old Yuki awakened psionic powers and became an ice Mimic.

Mimics were super rare, only second to Uniques. In history, not even a hundred had come into existence, so every Mimic was newsworthy, not just to a Xinian state, but to Inis at large. They were a fearsome class that held some of history’s most influential and powerful psionics. Importantly, pretty much every Mimic had become an elite powerhouse.

Yuki and Yuri were thrilled at the awakening. Similarly thrilled was the Bai clan’s upper echelon. Their previously held bitter feelings about Yuki’s tagalong status were washed away. They had struck gold. Having a Mimic in their ranks pretty much cemented their status for the foreseeable future.

The other candidates didn’t share these feelings of excitement. For the first time, they regarded the pair of sisters as a threat. Yuki being a Mimic was bad enough, but her Psi talent being what it was, was even more concerning. It was absurd, even higher than her sister’s. In fact, people pegged her Psi talent to be even above Elsa Iventain the Ice Queen.

The idea that she could grow up to be a Raven-level existence caused the leading candidates to jolt into action. The attacks they had been sending toward the sisters quickly upped their potency from ‘light’ to ‘mild’ to…

And a year later, all kid gloves were taken off.

***

A light snowfall fell on the Jinwei region.

On the now snow-covered grass surrounding Lake Aya, a young Xinian female could be found. She was a beauty of note. Seated cross-legged amidst the falling snow, her poised expression, void-like black eyes, silky black hair which flowed down her face and cherry coloured lips combined perfectly to form a most enchanting sight.

Fwoosh!

A chilly breeze accompanied the snowfall but the beauty wasn’t perturbed. Her Psi barrier kept the cold at bay, though, even without it, she would be comfortable. She was long used to the world’s coldness.

She sat in a trance, head cupped in her dainty palms, watching the lake ahead. Observing as the water shifted phases to become ice had always filled her with wonder. Even after seeing it as many times as she did, she could never quite shake this fascination.

Oftentimes, she would visit a body of water to witness the mystifying phenomenon in action. Of course, not every season was winter, though, for Yuki the Winter’s Touch, this wasn’t a problem. Even now, she was aiding the process. She could freeze the lake in a flash but chose to do it slowly, bit by bit, to relish every crystallising crackle.

*Tssss*

Finally, there was nothing left to freeze. Yuki’s interest faulted as she stared at the fully-frozen lake. Blinking slowly, she exited her daze. ‘It always ends too quickly,’ she sighed. ‘That’s all the lakes in the area, guess I’ll have to satisfy myself with ice sculptures for a while.’

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At the thought, her eyes shifted from the lake to her surroundings. Dozens of ‘sculptures’ were scattered around the area. Focusing on the closest one, Yuki’s eyes narrowed.

The middle-aged man encased in the block of ice wore a despair-ladened expression. It had come from realising that his death was only moments away. Such sights were abundant. The group of psionics had quickly come to regret their decision upon witnessing Yuki’s prowess. But this did them no good. After their blood froze, everything else unnaturally followed.

Rank 5s, 6s and 7s; the young Mimic had trounced the group without suffering a single scratch, and then went back to enjoying her hobby without paying their corpses any mind. To her, they were just that insignificant. Though, it helped that this wasn’t her first such encounter.

‘What trash, did they really think they could kill me? Ha, ridiculous,’ she thought, her gaze overflowing with disdain. Her eyes moved over the other frozen corpses. Doing so alleviated her mood somewhat. ‘When wrapped in ice, everything becomes beautiful. Trash as you are, when in the form of sculptures, even your ugly selves appear worth looking at. I expect a thank you when I get to the Great Aether.’

Nodding to herself, Yuki then turned her attention to her lone attendant/bodyguard, who had been standing silently to her rear.

“Uncle Lu, think we’ll get lucky this time?”

“Unlikely,” Uncle Lu said as he glanced at the group. “Wicked as they are, those bastards are cunning. They always put a thousand layers of separation between themselves and these grunts. A memory scan would have shown us nothing, and even if we press them on the matter, they’ll come up with all sorts of excuses - those bastards have an unlimited number of them,” the attendant’s face darkened at his last words.

“Yeah,” Yuki agreed, her hands clenched up in anger.

The waves of assassins were annoying but what really stroked her anger was the fakery the other candidates presented when they met. Remembering the smirks and smug smiles they wore caused the air around her to drop by a dozen degrees. She was sick of this farce. She had half a mind to just fire a freeze ray at them to end it all.

But she always held back. Doing so - or rather, attempting to do so - would be foolish. Her snapping was exactly what they wanted. The ragtag crews they sent to kill her and her sister were sent for this purpose. If the pair attacked first, the other candidates could claim self-defence when they fought back.

The faction behind the sisters, while notable was far from the strongest. In a direct battle, the sisters would lose handily against the leading candidates’ factions. They - Yuki knew this, and it caused endless frustration and anger to bloom in her.

Uncle Lu noted his mistress’ emotions and shook his head. “It might not be this time or the next, but eventually, justice will be served, that I can promise you, Lady Yuki.”

“Eventually huh,” she squinted, “I don’t know if I can wait for eventually to arrive. And just…ice, unless I serve it myself, I won’t be satisfied. Turning them all into ice statues is on the bucket list.”

Uncle Lu’s lips curled up. “Excellent, I look forward to the sight. With your power, that day will no doubt come sooner rather than later. And if not you, Lady Yuri will be the one to do it. I’d say it’s a competition really.”

Yuki nodded then got up. She patted her white and black garments more out of habit than anything before turning around. “Okay, let’s head back. I have some anime I’ve been meaning to get to.”

“Of course of course.”

The pair took flight and headed home.

To Yuki, today was just like any other day of the week. She took the assassination attempt in stride, not placing any special importance on the event. It had happened several times already and she got used to it. By now, it didn’t bother her too much, especially when she viewed all her would-be-killers as so far beneath her.

Still, while she held this carefree attitude, Yuri didn’t. The news of the latest assassination attempt was the ‘straw’ that broke the camel’s back.

Three days later…

“The Hunter Academy?” Yuki repeated in disbelief as she stared at her older sister.

“Yes, you’ll be enrolling there,” Yuri said, expression stern and uncompromising.

“You want…to send me away?”

“Don’t say it like that,” Yuri responded with a scowl, dissatisfied by her sister’s framing of her words.

“I’m not going,” Yuki said in protest, anger stirring in her voice.

“You are,” Yuri didn’t budge.

The pair of sisters fell into silence as they both stared each other down. Eventually, a winner was decided - the one who always won such encounters, Yuri.

Yuki’s expression faltered and she shifted her gaze to her spotless plate. “I’m not going, I won’t leave your side…no matter what. We promised each other didn’t we, we’d stick together, always.”

Yuri’s face turned troubled at the words. “Yuki….”

“I’m not going,” Yuki said, her voice louder than before. She shifted her gaze upwards at the declaration.

Yuri sighed and shut her eyes, not in defeat though. “You’re destined for greatness, to reach heights very few have ever reached, if at all. Once you reach your full potential, you’ll be unstoppable. They’ve ramped up their actions because they’re scared of this possibility. You’re relatively weak right now, so they’re not too worried and are content with sending riff-raff in hopes that they’ll get lucky. But what about in a week’s time, or two weeks’ time…’ Yuri’s face tensed up and her interlocked hands tightened. “...it may not be in two weeks’ time, but eventually, they’ll go all out to avoid their feared possibility. And if they do…and news of your…” The Telekinetic didn’t finish her words as her teeth dug into her lip.

“Sister,” Yuki cried out in concern as she saw blood trickle down.

Yuri's jaw slackened at her sister’s voice. After taking a calming breath, she continued in a low voice. “...I’d be devastated. For a while now, such thoughts have been swirling through my head. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you, Yuki.”

Yuki was silent in the face of these words, emotions stirring as her eyes moistened with tears. While her sister said she wouldn’t know what to do, Yuki knew full well what actions her sister would take should she perish. Imagining Yuri’s direct attack that would ultimately end in failure, she too couldn’t help but bite her lip.

The silence continued for several seconds before Yuri sighed a long-suffering sigh. She opened her eyes and refocused them on Yuki, whose expression was trembling.

“Sister, I’m ashamed to say this but I’m not strong enough to protect you, “ a bitter expression coloured Yuri’s face and words as she said. “The Hunter Academy can though. Three years. It’ll be hard on both of our hearts, but it can be endured. With the Pillar network, we can keep in regular contact. Our bond will never fade, never,” she repeated with a forceful tone as a fierce look adorned her face.

Yuki was affected by the declaration as a similarly fierce look surfaced on her face.

Yuri nodded, showing a slight smile. “Three years. I believe that’s more than enough time for you to be strong enough to roam wherever you please. We’ll never have to be apart again, never.” She got up and headed to a nearby cabinet where she retrieved a form and pen. Both in hand, she moved to her little sister’s side and placed them on the table before stepping back.

“I’ve said all I wanted to say. I won’t force the issue nor can I. It’s all up to you in the end.” Yuri patted her sister’s head gently for a few seconds before pulling away. “I’ll be off to warm the bed. Join me once you’ve made your decision, I’ll wrap you up regardless.”

Saying this with a warm smile, Yuri made her exit.

Now alone, Yuki was left to ponder. She stared at the document in silence, frozen in place as thoughts and emotions paralysed her being. Only after a minute did she manage to thaw herself out. Releasing a long sigh, she took hold of the pen and filled out the document. Negative emotions ravaged her but she kept her pen moving until finally the deed was done.

‘To the Hunter Academy, we go,’ she thought with none of the excitement and anticipation that usually accompanied the words.

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