"What do you guys want to do?" Philip asked Yuze and Lyre beside him
"I'll go wherever you want." Yuze answered first
"I would like to at least get a Spirit Stone for myself." Lyre answered honestly. "How about you?"
"I don't know... I guess I'll come with you." Philip answered as he is holding himself back at wanting to get a Spirit Stone for himself
"Okay!" Lyre said with a bright smile. She then started to walk towards the entrance of the cave
Philip followed, as well as Yuze, they're still holding hands after all this time. Because of this, Philip's anger is constantly alleviating
As the three of them approached the entrance of the cave, the faint blue stones on the ground started to glow
It glowed like a wave as stones after stones regained its color. Philip's eyes widened and he acted like he was a child who just broke a vase
Yuze and Lyre was also surprised, they didn't know what happened for these depleted Spirit Stones to glow but they subconsciously turned to look at Philip
After seeing Philip's demeanor, they immediately concluded that this is Philip's doing. They were amazed but also confused as to how Philip is doing this
The other students also saw and noticed the event and they have no clue as what was happening. They just concluded that it was a normal occurence. However, the smart and sinister students wanted to know what caused this
Since Chihaya said that these stonrs were depleted, it was sucked dry by something. That's beside the point, the point is, who or what is making the depleted Spirit Stones to regain its Mana?
Yozu, who was standing afar with his arms crossed and observing the students, had his attention caught at the glowing Spirit Stones
He approached the glowing Spirit Stones without getting near towards Philip's group to avoid other's attention falling into them
He picked up one irregularly shaped Spirit Stone and inspected it. He then held it inside his hand and tried to absorb the Mana inside and concentrate it in his Mana Spots in his joints. He decided to follow the procedure that Philip said back when he just transferred
Yozu's eyes widened after he felt a powerful and pure energy flowing inside of him, albeit the amount is only miniscule due to the size and shape of the stone
He then looked at Philip as he tries to measure the energy or Mana that is surrounding him. Unfortunately, he could not feel or see anything of the sorts that is surrounding him
"Let's go." Philip said, not minding the stares of Yuze and Lyre
As they walked past the Spirit Stones on the ground, the stone on the very back started to get depleted once more. When they entered the cave, all of the Spirit Stones on the ground lost its color and became depleted once more
The students that saw the spectacle became confused as to what happened. Meanwhile, a few students, including Cedric, noticed the passing by of Philip's group. They now know that the occurence has something to do with Philip
Yozu then turned around and decided to see the Mana flow in the air. He could see the Pure Mana in the Spirit Stones on the ground flowing to the yellow star inside the giant tree in the far distance
"Well, I guess that's an additional energy and Mana for the academy..."
~~~
Meanwhile, the rushing Night of the Waning Gibbous felt the sudden concentration of Mana inside the academy. They immediately tried to absorb the Mana to empower themselves for later
Tanzanite and Sunstone felt the Pure Mana, they were confused at first at how this type of Mana was present in the academy. They decided to absorb the Pure Mana
It was the same for Aoyuki, who is doing paperwork inside the Student Council Room, and the Guardians, who are roaming and guarding the Core Academy
It was also the same for Von and Chloe, who are rushing through the streets of the Mystical Academy towards the Core Academy. Chloe had her eyes glued on the Core Academy
The Comfy Cartel was preparing their force as they are anticipating a conflict. They also felt the Pure Mana and Don Scar was surprised as his eyes went wide, 'Is this a sign?'
~~~
"Hmmm... Where should we mine for Spirit Stones?" Philip grumbled to himself
"Maybe we should go deeper?" Lyre suggested. It was because it is quite crowded at the first section of the cave. She also seemed to be fidgeting for some reason
"Hm... Yeah, maybe there are more untouched Spirit Stones." Philip said as they started walking again
He looked at Yuze to his side to assess her. She doesn't seem want to do anything else and just wanted to be beside him. In all honesty, Philip wanted for his left hand to be free, but he'll keep granting Yuze's wish and just let her be
They went through a random branch in the cave, particularly the second one from the left. The cave had 17 branching paths and Philip chose this one out of reflex and pure coincidence
As they are walking through the tunnel, Philip and Lyre were looking around. Lyre seemed to be searching for Spirit Stones inside the walls by some means, while Philip is also doing the same through Future Vision if he could spot them. Yuze, however, is just walking along them with a smile on her face and looking straight. Seems like she was disinterested in Spirit Stones for a moment
"Looks like we're alone..."
"Yeah..."
Philip was alarmed by the sudden words
He immediately pulled Lyre, who was in front of him, after he saw a path to the left in the tunnel. He immediately knew that the voices came from there. Lyre was surprised as she was forcefully pulled
They then put their backs on the wall next to the left entrance path as Philip pulled Lyre closer to him with his right arm across Lyre's back and clutching her right shoulder
Yuze intentionally went closer to Philip
"..."
"..."
There was dead silence
Lyre and Yuze were confused as to what was happening, yet they were blushing so hard that they think this situation is not bad
Meanwhile, Philip's mind was racing, 'Did I hear wrong? I'm pretty sure I heard something that lead to a development!'
Then, the voices started speaking once again
"I think I have an answer to your confession from several years ago"
"Finally!" The person cleared their throat, "I'm ready"
Both Philip, Yuze, and Lyre's face was filled with shock as they heard the conversion. Their eyes are wide, jaws dropped, and a slight blush on their cheeks
They recognize these voices and they wouldn't miss it because their voices are unique
It was Nana and Alex
"After all those years, I have been thinking... We have been practically together and we basically know each other." Nana said with a blush on her face
"We were childhood friends, of course we basically know each other." Alex said nervously
"Oh? Then do you remember the times when we were alone together as kids?" Nana teased Alex as she grinned. Her personality changed from her usual serious and deliquent personality
"What?! I don't remember at all!" Alex blushed this time
"That's too bad... Then, you don't remember our promise at all?" Nana teasingly said
"Of course I remember! Also, stop teasing me!" Alex shouted as he can't handle being teased anymore. His personality also changed from her usual serious and not caring for anything personality
"Really?" Nana's face beamed, "Then, can you tell me what the promise is?"
Alex hesitated at first due to embarrassment, eventually, he had the courage to say it, "If one of us answered the other's confession, if the answer is yes, we have to kiss, if the answer is no, we have to not talk to each other anymore"
Nana smiled at Alex's courage with a blush, Alex looked at Nana with shyness. Both of their hearts are racing
The eavesdroppers' blush intensified after hearing the innocent promise that was made when the childhood friends was still kids
The three of them decided to peek at the corner of the wall. At this point, Philip and Yuze unintentionally released their hands due to the distraction and the development
As soon as they peeked at the corner of the wall, they could see Nana and Alex at the distance. Their eyes widened and their faces turned red
Nana and Alex locked lips. Alex's arms are around Nana's waist and Nana's arms are around Alex's head
It seems that the answer was obvious from this scene
The three of their heads released steam as they saw the scene. Are they french kissing?
Philip tip toed past the branching path as to not distract the lover birds. Yuze and Lyre followed
After a few minutes of walking, the three of them were alone once again
Then, Philip screamed from excitement after seeing the scene like a girl. Lyre also did the same, while Yuze was smiling wide. They then laughed after they screamed
"Oh man! I never thought that the two had that kind of relationship!" Philip exclaimed
"Me too! Although I had an idea, but to this extent?" Lyre said excitedly
"I knew all along." Yuze quietly said
"Really?" Philip asked
"Yes." Yuze nodded, "I have been observing them in the Genesis Class since both of them are in front of me. They both exude a comfortable aura when they are together."
"Ooohhh!" Philip and Lyre both exclaimed
"Well, I'm happy for both of them!" Philip said proudly
"Me too." Lyre exclaimed
"Mhm!" Yuze nodded
There was a sudden awkward silence as the three of them stared at each other. Then, the scene of them kissing came up in their minds and both Yuze and Lyre blushed once more, except for Philip
Philip's heart did not exist yet the kissing scene came up in his mind but as he stared at Yuze and Lyre, there was no heart that can race. It would be nice if he can kiss one of them, but he wanted to do it truthfully and wholeheartedly
The awkwardness intesified as both of the girls seemed want to do it with him. Philip could only wish for someone to save him. He promised to himself that he would reciprocate their feeling in the future
Then, as if his wish came true, a certain someone's voice came booming in celebration from one of the braches of the cave they're currently in
~~~
"I finally found some!!!" Chihaya ran from a tunnel deeper in the cave. She hold a bunch of Spirit Stones in her hand
As she was running, she met Philip, Yuze, and Lyre standing in a circle in the middle of a cave. The cave had faint crystals that looked like it lost its color and floating blue particles that is emanating from the ground
The tips of the faint crystals were glowing bright blue, because of a certain someone, but it's not bright enough to catch anyone's attention unless it was closely inspected
Chihaya approached the group excitedly
"Look look! I got some rare Spirit Stones!" Chihaya extended her hands filled with irregularly shaped Spirit Stones
Philip, Yuze, and Lyre put their heads together and looked at the Spirit Stones. They were glad that Chihaya coincidentally came to get rid of the awkward atmosphere
Lyre's eyes shone upon seeing the Spirit Stones and Yuze's eyes were amazed
However, Philip wasn't impressed at all
"What is this?" Philip asked bravely as he was questioning the credibility of this being Spirit Stones
"Huh? Isn't it obvious? It's Spirit Stones, of course." Chihaya's right eyebrow was raised from Philip's question. She was a little bit irritated when the answer is obvious. She also worked hard to gather these Spirit Stones
"Those are not Spirit Stones... Although they are filled with Mana, the amount is just like a drop of water. They are also prone to being depleted in just a second." Philip explained as if he knew all along
Yuze, Lyre, and Chihaya stared at him incredulously. Yuze figured that Philip knew something but Lyre and Chihaya were surprised that he knew something despite him just transferring recently
"What do you know?" Chihaya was getting irritated. It was becoming apparent that her obsession with Spirit Stones is leaking
"I know a lot... Come! I'll show you!" Philip led the group and walked towards the left branching tunnel, opposite from where Chihaya came from. He just chose a path randomly
Yuze and Lyre followed him while Chihaya just glared at him with confusion and irritation. In the end, she decided to follow him as she remembered that there was something special within this person
~~~
After a few more minutes of walking and exploring through the cave system, the group arrived in a large cave filled with faint glowing crystals. These crystals are not Spirit Stones though and are only normal unresearched crystals that only formed in Spirit Mines or in Mana Hotspots
"The Spirit Stones in your hand are impure and you can consider them as ordinary stones that glows blue." Philip said as he stood at the middle of the cave. Chihaya, Yuze, and Lyre watched Philip from the sides
"So, how can we get pure Spirit Stones?" Chihaya said in a ridiculous manner as if she doesn't believe Philip
"First, you must learn the shape and size of the Spirit Stones. All Spirit Stones are of the same shape and size, not just those irregularly shape ones on your hands." Philip said as he pointed at the blue stones in Chihaya's hands
"Spirit Stones are only the size of a pebble." Philip said as he figured that there was a reason that Spirit Stones are called stone
"There are a lot in this cave." Philip said as if he knows that there is an abundance of Spirit Stones inside the walls
He doesn't know that there is an abundance of Spirit Stones inside the walls. He only guessed it and wanted to try to use Fate Control and see what happens
An audible sound reverberated throughout the caverns as Philip snapped his left fingers
[There it is!!!]
Sonar shouted inside of Lyre's mind
'What?' Lyre asked Sonar
[That's what he does when something out of the ordinary happens! That what he also did to overpower me when I took over you body in the Mystical Test!]
Sonar said in a flustered voice
Lyre could only observe what will happen next as she doesn't really notice anything unordinary happened throughout the time she was with Philip. This time, she was willing to more about Philip
As Philip snapped, he wanted for the Pure Spirit Stones to exist inside the walls and just gather them as they get to the wall
"Let's go!" Philip urged the others to come and gather the Spirit Stones inside the wall to prove his point only to be stopped as the cave started to glow with a blue hue
'Oops...' Philip could only regret what he has done and did not hold back on using Fate Control. He was stunned in place as he observed the spectacle
Chihaya, Yuze, and Lyre could only look at the walls and the ceiling in awe as everything around them brightens
At the walls and ceiling of the cave, a shine of light appeared on the surface. At first, there was one twinkle, then there was two and then three. Eventually, there were hundreds and thousands of twinkling lights that covered the walls and the ceilings
Upon closer look, the walls are releasing bright blue stones and spewing them out till it fell on the ground. When the stones hit the ground, they did not break nor shatter, there was only a satisfying sound of glass tapping together
These are the Pure Spirit Stones. They are bright in color and are the same size. What differs between these Pure Spirit Stones from ordinary Spirit Stones are their shape. Ordinary Spirit Stones are irregular in shape while Pure Spirit Stones are oval and ellipse in shape
It was uncanny how these Pure Spirit Stones are exactly the same as each other. It's as if they were mass produced in a clone machine
Chihaya, Yuze, and Lyre's eyes were sparkling. They also had their jaw dropped. They don't know what to do after thousands of Pure Spirit Stones, that formed mountains, appeared right before their eyes. Chihaya dropped the ordianry Spirit Stones on the ground
Their daze was broken after Philip spoke once more
"This is the True Spirit Stones." Philip picked two Spirit Stones and showed it to the three
"They are the same color, same size, and same shape. They hold better quality of Mana and can hold a lot of it. Here, test the capacity and energy of it." Philip tossed the stones to Yuze and Lyre
Yuze held the Spirit Stone in her hand and channeled the stored Mana in her body. She followed the procedure and instructions from Philip way back in the Headmaster's Office
As Yuze absorbed the Mana, Yuze unconsciously transformed. Her transformation was not partial, like the time during the Mystical Test, but a full transformation
Her dark blue hair turned completely yellow and the cat ears hair has completely propped up. Solid yellow lightning crown was hovering around her forehead and the glint in her eyes turned red. He arms and legs has completely turned into yellow as yellow lightning surged from within it. Finally, yellow fur that is made out of yellow lightning has formed on her tail bone, showing a large fluffy looking tail that resembles a fox
Meanwhile, Lyre also held the Spirit Stone in her hand and absorbed the Mana inside
[Ugh! This quality of Mana... It's too great!]
Lyre also unconsciously transformed after absorbing the Spirit Stone. Just like Yuze, her transformation was complete
Her pink hair glowed ethereal and it began to defy gravity as her hair began to wave in the air without any wind. Her one piece white dress changed into a more tight and skimpy clothing that accentuated her body shape. White opera gloves formed on her hands and arms, white thigh-high socks also formed on her legs. The pink lily on her hair also glowed and started to release pink mist and music note particles. The gold G-clef clip on her hair also glowed
A white painter's hat formed on her head as a gold halo with spikes pritruding from 8 directions manifested above the hat. The same halo also formed around her left wrist and became a ring. The choker necklace around her neck formed a two long ethereal ribbons that reached to her back and to the ground. The end of the ribbons looked like paint brushes. Finally, a being manifested behind Lyre that held her shoulders as the being floated above her
The being abruptly opened her eyes as she was surprised that she was manifested in the material world. She hid behind Lyre as she was scared of Philip. Her appearance is almost like Lyre but without the color pink and her hair is short
Chihaya was shocked and surprised from the sudden transformation of the two. She then looked at Philip as if she is demanding for an explanation
"Oh my god! You guys absorbed an absurd amount of Mana! You guys unconsciously transformed because of that!" Philip exclaimed. He was also surprised from the amount and capacity of the Spirit Stones
"How do we turn back?" Lyre asked with panic as she kept feeling large amounts of energy flowing inside her from the Spirit Stone
"Just control and release the absorption of the Mana in the Spirit Stone and let go of it." Philip carefully instructed
Yuze and Lyre followed as they dropped the Spirit Stones. The Spirit Stones did not change in color despite getting its Mana absorbed in large amounts that made the two transform
Well, Yuze and Lyre did not return back to their origianl form. They need to release the absorbed Mana and that will turn them back to normal, or they can wait it out and let the Mana inside of them get released naturally through breathing and perspiration
Chihaya didn't know what to do. She has an obsession about Spirit Stones, but seeing the effectivity of the Pure Spirit Stones on an ability user, it might become dangerous. She didn't immediately dove in the mountains of Spirit Stones and grabbed as many as she can, she only stood in place and contemplated at what to do
Meanwhile, Philip grabbed a handful of Spirit Stones and raised his hand above his head in the air. He absorbed the Mana in the Spirit Stones and started to use his abilities
'I want the heaviest rain to ever exist. Torrential rain, lightning storm, thunderstorm, hailstorm, windstorm, blizzard, cyclone, tornado, zero visibility, rolling thunder, crackling lightning'
Philip used Weather Manipulation and Fate Control as he was trying to set up the playing field for the conflict that will be happening later, according to the Future Vision last night
His eyes then widened after he absorbed a gigantic amount of Mana. His mind was sucked inside the plane of Future Vision
The thousands of white branches disappeared and the thick golden line was emphasized. The white lines that were branching towards it also became golden
This means that the absolute future has been set and nothing can change it except for Fate itself
Although, Philip can't see the end of the absolute future because it was covered by fog for some reason. He tried to peek past it but to no avail
His mind was then pulled out of the plane and returned to the cave. The Pure Spirit Stones started to flicker from being dried by Philip. He immediately tossed it away so the others won't see it
The others saw it
They were confused at first when Philip was posing with his right arm stretchef above his head while holding the Spirit Stones. They concluded that he was using an ability but they don't know what kind of ability
They noticed that the Spirit Stones were flickering but they did not know what indicated it. After they saw Philip tossing it away, they guessed that maybe it was a dud or depleted
In the end, they speculated Philip's ability and contemplated what kind of ability he has to deplete the Pure Spirit Stones when they themselves can't deplete it
Although, Yuze and Lyre respects Philip's privacy and understood why he wanted to keep it a secret but they wanted to know it. Chihaya also wants to know it but she is holding herself back
In the end, they decided to ignore it
~~~
Meanwhile, back in the Core Academy
The professors and the staff are having a commotion after a heavy rain struck the entire country. The Guardians are also getting flustered after the barrier of the Mystical Academy seemed to be being under stress
The members of the Night of the Waning Gibbous are having a hard time taversing the road towards the Core Academy and up to the walls
"What is this? The forecast said that it will be sunny! How did it become like this?!" Sunstone shouted through the torrential rain, his voice is almost bring muffled by the impact of the heavy rain
"It's the work of the person stronger than the Headmaster!" Tanzanite shouted as he saw a large light that expanded and shrunk under the Core Academy. No one heard her
Von and Chloe had no choice but to slow down and be near each other since the area is having zero visibility
"The students! No! They're going to suffer from this disaster! What do you see, Chloe?" Von shouted at Chloe
"The person with the largest star used his fate ability once again!" Chloe also shouted
"So, this is his doing! We must eliminate him since the academy has already made him under their control!" Von had a misunderstanding
The Comfy Cartel are also bustling as they were alarmed by the sudden strong and heavy rain. Fear and worry filled most of the members, but it immediately disappeared after Tom reassured them
Luck was on their side
Meanwhile, Aoyuki was still doing paperwork inside the Student Council Room despite hearing the loud impact of the heavy rain in the roof and on the ground that even reached to the highest point of the academy
He enjoyed the sound of the rain and the constant rolling of the thunder and crackling of lightning. He was oblivious to what currently is happening because he always wanted to finish his work first before anything
~~~
During all of this, Yozu felt something going on inside the Core Academy. He wanted to return for a short amount of time but he needs to watch over the Genesis Class
Eventually, he decided to take a look and opened a portal back to the Core Academy, in front of the Door of Recognition
He immediately became wet as he exited the portal