*Beatrix’s Perspective*

What is this place? It’s warm and familiar… A golden prison.

“No, Child… This is a parting gift.”

It was tight at first, like a blanket that was wrapped around my entire body. Now however, it seems as if I’m floating in the center of an enormous golden egg.

“I don’t have much time, so I’ll make this explanation as short as possible… My name is Sariel. Hmmm, or perhaps you know me by the name Inari Okami?”

I remember very little from my last life, but you left a strong impression. You failed, like the rest of us. In the end, Arcana won.

“Hohohoh~, perhaps… But that had nothing to do with me. You likely met one of Sariel’s other avatars. Anyway, I need to explain some things to you before I run out of time, so please refrain from asking unnecessary questions.”

Very well… I’m waiting.

“This world is called Elysium. Do you understand the passphrases?”

Who is like God? Rapture… It has something to do with bringing out information about our past lives, correct?

“Yes, but there are many more that you might not have realized. Every name has a purpose and a myriad of meanings. It’s a technique that the Original Seven Souls programmed into the Karma System… As a safeguard, in case Karma ever turned against them.”

I assume that it didn’t work out so well.

“Beatrix, the traveler or voyager. Your primary purpose is to explore and traverse whatever world you happen to be born into. Ares, an Eternal Deity of War and an incarnation of Michael. Your secondary purpose is to conquer. Day, there are many relations to time and light. Your tertiary name signifies that you are meant to forge this era, alongside the Lightbringer…”

And this Lightbringer is who exactly?

“Helel, though her other names are Luxia, Lux, Lucifer, Luke-”

Luke Lucas! Is Luke on this planet?!

“There are many fragments of the Morning Star scattered throughout this world… Look for those with the surname Lucas. Not all of them will be the person you’re looking for, but there might be a few who remember who you were. They might respond to your middle name, Ares, assuming that they do not know Beatrix.”

Good, then regardless of how disgusting this primitive planet is, Luke and I should be able to ‘fix’ it together. That woman, you called her Linda… Is she my sister?

“Perhaps… You would need to determine that on your own. If her personality is the same, then it is likely that the two of you were drawn together by Fate… Or Karma.”

I don’t like the way that sounds. Especially if our destiny is to follow in the footsteps of our past incarnations, over and over again.

“You’re still so young… When you’re older, you’ll understand. However, none of that matters right now.”

Hmmm, it feels like my body is being filled with mana?

“I’m giving you the power within my soul… So that you can grow quickly. There isn’t much time left… You weren’t the only spirit to invade Elysium. There are so many others. They cannot be allowed to interfere with the training program.”

What training program?

“Azrael and Uriel are on this planet. The two of them are very precious to me… But even more importantly than that, they will be a crucial factor in the next Eternal War.”

Yuri is here too? I vaguely remember Azrael, but I was actually friends with Uriel in my last life. What do I need to do?

“Good, I was concerned that you might decline assisting them… You need to eliminate the variables. Your primary mission is to find Azrael and Uriel, then work with them to conquer this world. It will likely be a long time before you meet. Until then, protect Linda and eliminate any dangerous aberrations you encounter. There are innumerable souls like yourself, who reincarnated across Elysium. Not all of them are necessarily your enemies. In fact, it is likely that most of your woes will comes from the residents of this barbaric world.”

Acknowledged… Eradicate the hostiles and protect my sister while searching for the targets. Anything else?

“Yes, there is something that I need to clarify… The ambient mana on Elysium is negligible and practically nonexistent, so you won’t be able to use magic in the conventional sense. But, there are a few ‘tricks’… You possess some Legacies within your Soul Realm. I only have the power to remove three of them, so choose wisely.”

Will they be able to function without mana?

“Of course not! However, like I said before, there are a few tricks to get around that little problem… Obviously the first would be to sacrifice the mana within your own soul, but I wouldn’t recommend that. The alternative is to capture other souls and drain their mana instead.”

And how would I go about doing that?

“Your Legacies are pretty low-end… So I can tamper with them a bit. Some of the functions will be disabled, but at the very least, you’ll be able to have a slight advantage over the people of this world.”

Okay, is there some way to see my Legacies? I can only remember a little bit about them right now.

“One moment…”

Ah, that’s convenient.

“You have a few minutes to choose from the items on the screen, but don’t take too long. I won’t be able to last for more than an hour and I still need to modify them after you pick.”

Very well, thank you for this.

“Hohoho~, it’s what I need to do in order to protect my daughter.”

[Cloak of Shadows: A generic black hooded robe that can adjust to fit most human sizes. Can create a minor stealth field around the wearer, making them and their nearby allies invisible. It works the best at night, but can also be used in the shade or indoors. The material is durable enough to block weak projectiles. It will repair itself automatically in direct sunlight. Requires 1 Soul for 1 hour of use.]

Did I really have such amazing equipment?

“Apparently so, though these are descriptions that I’m creating on the spot. They were originally meant to be used in one of Arcana’s worlds, so there are many silly numbers and System information that would be meaningless on Elysium.”

[Cataclysmic Survival Knife: A foot long carbon-steel single-bladed heavy knife. It’s enchanted to be extremely sharp and durable, but has no other special effects. No matter how damaged it becomes, you can repair it instantly with a single Soul.]

That seems rather lackluster compared to the first item…

“I’m only showing you the Legacies that you own. I didn’t create them, so don’t blame me if they aren’t up to your standards.”

[Thunderous Siege Rifle: A twenty-millimeter bolt-action sniper rifle, which fires enormous explosive rounds. It has an extremely long-range scope and the external magazine can hold a total of three rounds. Although it is extraordinarily powerful, it creates a massive amount of noise and the recoil is tremendous. The magazine can fabricate new ammunition, but each round will cost you a Soul to create.]

It reminds me of a Barret 82A3 to a certain extent… Odd that I remember so much about weapons, but can’t even recall what my parents looked like.

“That is rather normal, since physical appearances are ephemeral. They constantly change over the course of your life… Anyway, that Siege Rifle is incredibly overpowered. With a weapon like that, you would be able to wreak havok upon a primitive world like Elysium.”

Would I need that much firepower?

“Perhaps not, but this next weapon is even more outrageous.”

[Nuclear RPG: An extremely durable tube that can launch rocket propelled grenades, which happen to be small nuclear warheads. This tactical nuclear warhead has an adjustable yield of 10 to 100 tons of TNT. The rocket can be guided to a certain degree and there is a scope on the side of the launcher. Each warhead costs 10 Souls to create.]

Are there dragons or giant monsters of any sort?

“Well, there are no ‘dragons’, but quite a few large lizards do exist. There aren’t many Giants left and most of the biggest land animals were hunted to extinction by the Humans and Dwarves.”

So my main enemies are humans and ‘normal’ animals. Then I probably won’t need tactical nuclear rocket propelled grenades in the near future.

[Umbra’s Cross: A pitch-black crossbow, which has an internal magazine of twenty poisoned bolts. It produces almost no sound and there is a mechanism to automatically pull back the string each time you fire the weapon. It costs 1 Soul to refill the internal magazine.]

It probably wouldn’t stand out too much, at least compared to conventional firearms.

“You would also be able to fill the internal magazine with ordinary crossbow bolts that you found, purchased or created.”

True, it’s definitely one of the most convenient items so far.

[Ares Tactical Assault Rifle: Also known as the ATAR or simply Ares. It was designed to function in many different situations and has a wide variety of features. The magazine holds twenty 5.56x45mm rounds. Both the barrel and stock can be adjusted to become longer or shorter to a certain extent. It can be set to semi-automatic, full-auto and three-round burst fire. It comes with a detachable suppressor, muzzle brake and a compensator. The front rails can be equipped with a small flashlight, a red laser and a small carbon-steel bayonet. There’s a mid-range night vision scope, an extra-long range sniper scope, a short-range thermal scope, a tactical reflex sight and an elemental mana-detector scope. It also has a foregrip, bipod and adjustable sling. It costs 1 Soul to reload the magazine.]

It will probably be a pain in the ass to carry around all of those extra parts, but this is something that I definitely need to pick no matter what else you show me.

“I knew that you would say that, heh-heh-heh~…”

[General Beatrix’s Combat Armor: It was originally many individual pieces of equipment, but they were fused together into a single suit. Black military fatigues that can fit most human sizes and shapes. A black battle helmet, combined with a magical rebreather, and goggles that can become clear or tinted depending on the level of light they’re exposed to. There is a tactical watch, which also doubles as a rather advanced computer and can project its screen onto the goggles. Within the helmet are various types of communication devices, along with ear protectors.

There are many pockets, holsters, belts, a harness and even a large backpack. The thin and flexible shoulder, knee and elbow pads are made out of an extraordinarily durable material. The chest armor is made from a nonreflective black metallic substance that is practically indestructible against Mortal weaponry. The combat boots are able to absorb a massive amount of shock and can allow the wearer to jump significantly higher than normal, it can also allow the wearer to fall from great heights without suffering too much damage.

The gloves and wrist guards have a mechanism built in, which allows the wearer to increase their grip-strength dramatically. The entire suit can regenerate and repair itself, but the price will depend on how much damage has been done.]

This one also has my name on it…

“It is rather auspicious.”

How many more items are there to choose from?

“Just one more… But it’s a little excessive in my opinion.”

[Judgment Day: A 7m long, 4m wide and 3m tall light tank. The cockpit is only large enough for a gunner and driver. This vehicle runs on mana and is extremely quiet. It has an optical cloaking device, which can make it nearly impossible to see from a distance. Under normal circumstances, it is jet-black, but it can change colors in order to blend into its surroundings. The armor is designed to defend against many types of radiation, ballistic weaponry, heat, cold temperatures, shock and even mana. The vehicle has extremely durable treads that can drive across most types of terrain. It can even function underwater up to a depth of 2000 meters. There is an auto repair mechanism, but the cost will be dependent on the damage.

General operating costs will require roughly 1 Soul per week to maintain life support, power various appliances and generate water for consumption or recreational use. In order to drive, it will require 1 Soul per day on average. It can drive up to 70 miles per hour on flat land.

The main cannon is a 120mm turret, with an autoloader that can fire 6 rounds per minute. The ammunition of the main cannon are tactical nuclear artillery shells, which have adjustable yields. It can hold a reserve of 45 rounds, but each one will cost 1 to 10 Souls to fabricate.

The secondary armament is a .50 caliber triple-barreled gatling machine gun turret, which can be operated from within the cockpit. It has an internal box magazine which can hold 1000 rounds of ammunition and costs 50 Souls to restock.

The tertiary weapon is a 40mm automatic grenade launcher turret, which can be operated from the cockpit. It has an internal box magazine which can hold 100 rounds of ammunition and costs 50 Souls to restock.]

“There were lots of other systems as well, but I don’t have time to finish the description.”

I have a tank inside of my soul?

“Yes, you have a tank inside of your Soul Realm.”

How is that even on the same level as any of the other items?

“It really isn’t… The mana-cost is pretty extravagant though. You would need to kill at least one person per day in order to simply drive around in it. Not to mention the price of ammunition. Once I take this out of your Soul Realm, you won’t be able to put it back.”

True, but couldn’t I just use horses or oxen? If I have enough of them, they should be able to pull the tank. Although, it would be much easier to simply do as you said and kill a few people each day. Will it be possible to pull other things out of my Soul Realm later on?

“Certainly, but it isn’t something that I’ll be able to help you with. If you can find Azrael and Uriel, your future will be limitless… If you die before then, you’ll be screwed.”

I don’t plan on dying, ever again.

“Hohoho~, then you better find them fast, because I estimate that you’ve only got around ninety years left to live!”

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