Jessa's Perspective
I stood beside Anna and held her hand in mine.
"So, ladies," Kirin Edo began, his voice calm yet commanding, echoing through the chamber. "Is it truly worth giving up your first seat as leader?"
"Yes," I declared, my voice unwavering. "He may be a moron, but he's the only guy I could ever consider for- you know."
Anna nodded as her violet hair shimmered down her back like a waterfall.
She echoed my sentiment, a bit more heavily than me, but she actually had that kind of relationship with him so that wasn't surprising. "There can be no other path for me than with the man I love. I want to be with him forever. He died for us hundreds of times for us. I know we did the same, but a confirmation that your love will do that for you- it makes me- nevermind. Even hiding the fact we were a part of the time loop from the very start, it felt horrible and deceiving him- it made me sick but I would do it again. Okay, I'll stop rambling."
Kirin Edo studied us for a moment, his golden eyes piercing, before nodding approvingly. "Very well then. Your first test is now." He raised his hand and a different kind of tear in the fabric of reality appeared before us.
"Step through that portal, and you will be sent back to the cities assigned to each of you the first time. Your goal is to get further into the military and get stronger," Kirin Edo explained "You will start over again, from the age of thirteen just like last time. Once you reach eighteen, I will bring you back. You will do this until you are strong enough to wield Ki and not explode." He chuckled.
Why did he have to be so menacing?
That was my job!
I was menacing!
Jessa is the menacing young princess of the orphanage, thank you very much!
He ignored my pout and gestured towards the vast armory that lined the walls of the chamber. "Choose whatever weapon calls out to you. I gave you each a sub-par katana last time. But this will give you something to protect."
My eyes narrowed. my gaze swept past the countless weapons on display.
Swords.
Countless swords of every type.
It was an arsenal fit for an army of warriors with more intricate weapons behind closed gates.
But my attention was drawn to a pair of blades. They were resting on a velvet cushion for each of them.
One next to the other.
I felt them call to me.
A wakizashi and a tanto.
They called to me even louder as I approached them.
Without hesitation, I moved towards the wakizashi and tanto.
I hadn't even noticed I had moved before I was drawn to them as if by an invisible thread of fate.
My hand reached out as my fingers closed around their hilts.
The wakizashi was shorter than normal katana.
It was a curved blade.
I never held one before, but this one felt like an extension of my arm. Its weight is comforting and familiar.
The tanto was a straight, double-edged dagger with a curved tip in a Shin Empire design. It looked unassuming but its blade was unnaturally sharp. It tried to wash over my senses as if it wasn't there, but I couldn't ignore it.
It was less than half the length of the wakizashi.
But it nestled perfectly in my other hand, its sharp edge and point was a promise of swift and decisive action from something light and easily concealed.
"Those," Kirin Edo's voice echoed through the chamber, his tone laced with a hint of curiosity. "Why those two? The tanto and the prototype?"
I met his gaze with my unwavering lightly purple. "They feel right," I stated simply, my voice carrying a quiet conviction that brooked no argument. "Like they were made for my hands. Also, a prototype? This is a Wakizashi. The empire started making them over seven hundred years ago!"
A ghost of a smile played on Kirin Edo's lips. "Indeed?" he gave it as a question that sounded like a rumbling murmur of happiness as his gaze shifted between me and the blades I held.
He shook his head. "Had we less time, I would have guided you towards them myself. But your instincts are sound. They speak of a warrior who understands her strengths and embraces her path."
Beside me, Anna hummed thoughtfully.
Her silver eyes shimmered with curiosity.
My amethyst eyes are fine!
I don't need Darren to call me the 'beauty with the eyes so silver the moon is jealous of me.'
No.
I do not.
Not at all!
My eyes are amethyst.
Very pretty.
Maybe they shine with…
I shook my head vigorously.
The waterfall of bright violet bordering pink that fell behind her back swayed as she moved with a grace towards the large and curved swords.
Her silver eyes scanned the armory and halted to linger on a rack of gleaming scimitars.
Two pairs in particular seemed to have caught her attention.
The first pair was a matched set forged of an interesting metal that shimmered in a silver light.
Their blades told a story.
Literally.
Looking at them made you feel that you knew them. Boastful and powerful
They were forged from a single piece of silver-hued steel-dragon bone that spoke of the many battles dragons encountered before they were rendered extinct.
Their hilts wrapped in midnight blue leather of a paradox panther.
They were elegant and deadly and their curves were whispering of swift and silent death.
Except Anna was frowning.
She didn't boast.
She did what she needed to do and didn't brag.
They weren't for her, I already knew.
The second pair was more striking, their blades a mismatched duo. One was forged from a dark, almost black steel-like ore that I had no idea how to identify.
Its hilt wrapped in crimson leather and yellow dragons of some kind of unknown green hued gold metal was etched down the center from the hilt inward into the blade.
The other was a brilliant gold of the same metal, its hilt adorned with intricate carvings of a phoenix taking flight.
A black phoenix.
Two halves of the same coin.
Death and life.
Savior and destroyer.
Killer and heroine.
Anna reached out, her fingers tracing the curves of the visually mismatched blades. "These are beautiful," she whispered with a small smile that brightened the room.
She gently moved her hand across the curved scabbard. Her voice was soft and filled with an intensity that would terrify lesser men. "But are they practical enough to cut my enemies? I hope so."
She glanced at me with a playful glint in her eyes. "What do you think, Jessa? Should I go for the classic elegance that won't shut up about itself or embrace a bit of flair?"
I shrugged, my gaze returning to the wakizashi and tanto in my hands. "Choose what feels right," I said.
Kirin Edo's words rang out from his mouth. "The girl with the good taste in japanese daggers is right. Weapons that resonate with your spirit will serve you best."
Anna nodded, her gaze lingering on the mismatched scimitars. "You're right," she said, a smile curving her lips. "A bit of flair never hurt anyone. Besides, who says a warrior can't be stylish?"
With a decisive movement she grasped the hilts of the mismatched scimitars.
Kirin Edo nodded approvingly. "Good," he said. His voice and facial expression were full of satisfaction. "Now, your training journeys begin anew."
He raised his hands, and the single portal he had summoned split into two.
They moved so fast it's as if they materialized before us.
"Step through," Kirin Edo instructed as his voice resonated with an ancient power that seemed to shake the very foundations of his prison realm. "Embrace the path that awaits you."
We had made our choice and accepted our destiny.
With a shared breath, we stepped forward.
Each of us disappeared into a separate portal.
I felt a momentary disorientation as a sense of being unmoored from reality washed over me, and then...