Chapter 100: Will and Resolve

[How do I do this?] Estelle wasn't all that familiar with the ways.

The True Creation Magic didn't land on her palms immediately, so Estelle guessed that it laid behind one of the seals. Or perhaps both of them. Either way, the process the being talked about must be one that nears the ending.

She was still at the start of the fight. How can she open the seals?

Estelle was once again caught in an array of questions.

She began to arrange the possibilities. Since the being did not directly instruct her, it must be something she could figure out on herself. She began to stack up on the ideas she could muster up.

What did she know?

Estelle began racking up her brain. She didn't have much time, so she had to rush things.

Though, she felt that her soul count was not decreasing as quickly as before. She suspected that it had something to do with her soul's defensive mechanism. Below 20 digits was a dangerous stunt to pull off, so naturally her soul had to have some sort of protective measures.

If not, it wouldn't be a Goddess' soul.

Despite her dislike over the forced turn of events, Estelle was someone who was weak to facts.

Since all the facts were laid in front of her, that she was a Goddess who had shattered her soul in the past, then she would externally accept the fact.

Internally, however, she still wasn't planning on welcoming the new personality without any prior discussion.

Estelle desired change, but she was also scared of change.

She recognized the existence that may lay within herself.

What Estelle didn't know was that she was by no means weak. Both literally and figuratively, she was a strong person.

Possessing a strong power, albeit some hidden behind seals. To add to it, she had a strong mind and willpower. If it was just any random person that went through Estelle's ordeals, surely they wouldn't have come this far.

The amount of pain and hectic situations she had been thrown into was astronomical. To bear all that and still continue forth without any changes would be impossible. Naturally, Estelle's mind was slowly being revised each day.

[If anything.. something I know and is in relation to the seals.. It would be..?] Estelle had an idea, but she wasn't sure.

It was a magic possessed by one of her colleagues.

Yulia Eire, the Witch of Arcana.

[Yulia's Arcana Magic.] Estelle thought.

The power invested in her was immense. She felt like she was an all powerful being with nothing to fear. She began to fantasize. If she did wield this magic, could she actually perform the Arcana Magic?

Arcana Magic was obtained through the action of Spirit Borrowing.

Estelle wondered if she would be able to attract the spirits the same way Yulia did. She had desired to try and wield this power from years ago, when she failed to successfully obtain the magic's inner workings.

However, Estelle felt as if the current her would be able to do it. She had a feeling, and she wanted to try and trust this feeling of hers. Because her prominent feeling told her that this was the answer and that she had to follow it.

Estelle stood in the middle of the space, closing her eyes as she began to utilize the magic inside her. The only magic she was able to use was the being's borrowed magic.

It was a foreign element to her, but thankfully her body seemed to assimilate with her body properly and in a fast rate.

She was at least decent in wielding the element now.

It was silky smooth inside her circuits, and not once did it encounter any blockage nor cause a backlash to happen.

Estelle took a deep breath in, and out.

She had asked Yulia about how she was able to use the otherworldly spirits' power one day. Yulia herself did not know the specifics, but she had described the process as wishing to be granted power. That she would then connect with her destined spirit, and the spirit would in turn help her.

Estelle thought of the spirit she would connect with.

What would it be like? The otherworldly spirits' world, how was it?

Was it similar to Estelle's world? Or was it more aligned with the likes of Eterna, where it'd be empty?

Sylvania was pretty, and the spirits that resided there were also beautiful. Would they be the same?

Estelle wanted to meet the spirit badly.

"O' spirit.. If you can hear me and has the power the assist me through my troubles.. Please lend me a hand," Estelle said, wishing with all the energy she had.

For a minute, nothing happened. Estelle began to be discouraged.

The main motivator she had was that she was someone loved by the world, which granted her an outstanding affinity with Sylvania's spirits.

Estelle assumed that she would have a set amount of affinity with these otherworldly spirits as well, but it seemed like that wasn't the case.

Seemed. It only seemed that way.

Soon, things began to materialize around Estelle. Oddly-shaped clusters of light that swirled around and bound together to form a bigger particle, which then bound once again to form a bigger cluster.

They took turns circling her, sometimes dimming down and other times brightening up.

Estelle felt like a little girl who was inside a fantasy story tale. With the beautiful sparkling particles floating around her, she felt euphoric in a strange way.

The spirits' light accumulated around her head and merged into one large ball. It was then absorbed through her forehead, from which she began to feel pain coursing throughout her entire body.

Feeling her soul's continuous burning elapse nonstop, she was forced to scrape away all of her remaining energy to cultivate the power that has been bestowed upon her. Her ultimate goal was to free herself off of the seals.

Estelle instantly regretted her decision. She felt like she was going to go crazy any moment now. Batshit insane.

The pain instantly escalated as she struggled to survive. Her head was practically being split open by the sheer amount of pressure generated by the spirits' magic.

Estelle knew something, however. She needed to focus. Yulia was always focused when she performed her Arcana Magic. It wasn't just the spirits' work.

Estelle also had to work.

One thing was for sure. The magic was working. Because she felt her seals start to corrode. As if the starting piece has been put down, and the only thing needed now is to progress the seals until they fully dissolve.

Estelle endured the ringing pain inside her head. She scrambled to get up, banging her palm against her head multiple times in an attempt to numb the pain.

Although it didn't decrease, Estelle could finally breathe in and out without suffocating.

Her head felt like there were being hammered, like large nails were shoved deep inside her dainty head every time she took in a deep breath.

Regulating her focus, Estelle began to try and control the spirits' aid. She had to take charge of the crazy happenings.

(A/N: I feel like I'm hurting Estelle too much T^T)

She put all of her attention on her burning head, locating the seal and directing the spirits' aid to the site of action.

Estelle began turning in the necessary wheels to unlock the seals. Aided with the being's borrowed magic, she began pursuing the seal's intricate security.

There was one thing Estelle noticed. The power she wielded was near omnipotent. Estelle could unlock the seals with just simple and forceful shimmies into the barricades.

She broke through the joints that held the seal together. The magic she cast made her able to speedrun through the unlocking process.

She repeatedly banged on her knees to bear the pain. Every time a joint was dislocated from the seal, she would experience a stinging pain that tortured her to no end.

After a long struggle, her pain finally resided for a short minute.

Estelle felt a switch inside her head flip. The seal, which had been restricting her own magic's highest variant for all these years snapped.

Like a chain which broke off and set free a huge wave of high pressure magic in form of large, tsunami like currents.

Estelle was able to take a short breather. Just as she received the new magic, Estelle was relieved of all the pain. And yet, that obviously wouldn't be the end.

Right after, a different set of pain elapsed.

If the pain just now was burning, the the pain right now was scorching. She felt like lava attacked her whole body.

But it was especially aimed towards her soul. The unleashed True Creation Magic embarked throughout her entire body and pulsated everywhere.

This time, Estelle was pushed to almost be knocked out. She hung on to keep a sane mind, as she knew that the process wouldn't work without her controlling the entire thing.

Estelle ruffled her hair, gasping in large scales because of the scorching feeling combined with the turbulence that happened within her soul. She felt like she was going to break any moment now, and the only thing holding back that from happening was a strand of willpower that was slowly being thinned out as well.

The True Creation Magic's new addition made her pain worsen. It knocked at her soul like thorns piercing her flesh. Sharp pains at different levels of severity.

Estelle held on. She was going to overcome this, no matter what.

Once she got back to her body, she would definitely land a solid punch onto those bastards that put her in this situation.

Hatred was the fuel that served to move Estelle no matter how much she suffered. Because she was filled with injustice and wouldn't let go without returning the favor.

After all, she was the Villainess, wasn't she?