The Extra's Rise
Chapter 628 - 628: Akasha’s Eyes (3)

"What are you?" I asked first, needing to establish basic understanding before diving into more complex questions.

"Oh, an easy question to start with," Isolde said with obvious amusement, settling more comfortably into her chair. "I am the Queen of the Creighton family, though I suppose our previous meetings were rather... limited in scope. I had to be cryptic back then—you were far too weak for these truths. Your light was nothing more than a dim torch in a tornado."

She paused, her sapphire eyes studying me with calculating intensity. "My Gift is called Akasha's Eyes. It connects me directly to the Akashic Records managed by Akasha herself, granting me glimpses of past, present, and future."

My eyes widened in shock. 'That's completely different from what the novel described,' I thought with growing unease. 'And infinitely more powerful than I ever imagined possible.'

'If she can see across time itself, then she's been manipulating events based on knowledge of future outcomes. Which means...'

"What am I?" I asked next, the question feeling more urgent now that I understood the scope of her abilities.

"Can't answer that one," Isolde shook her head with what looked like genuine regret. "The reason being that your identity is still forming, still evolving. I cannot guide you toward a future I've seen, because in all the futures where I provide that guidance, you don't become what we need you to become."

I felt a chill run down my spine as I processed her words. 'Basically, anything she tells me about my true nature would lock me into a predetermined path—a path that leads to failure according to her visions.'

'So I'm like a puppet,' I realized with growing horror. 'But a self-evolving puppet that has to discover its own purpose without guidance.'

The implications were staggering. Every choice I made, every path I pursued, was being observed and evaluated by forces that could see the outcomes before I even began. Yet they couldn't directly influence my development without compromising the very results they were trying to achieve.

"There is an important question you should ask though," Isolde said, her expression shifting to something more serious. "What is Luna?"

Luna trembled violently against my chest at those words, her small hands gripping my shirt with desperate intensity. I could feel terror radiating from her in waves that spoke to secrets far darker than anything I had imagined.

'She's terrified of me learning the truth about her,' I realized. 'Whatever she really is, it's something she believes I'll reject or be horrified by.'

"Luna will tell me herself," I said firmly, protective instincts overriding my curiosity. "When she's ready."

Isolde tilted her head with the expression of someone dealing with a particularly stubborn child, then snapped her fingers with casual authority.

Luna vanished from my arms.

"Okay, so that question is important enough that you actually need to know it now," Isolde said with infuriating calm. "And don't fall for the emotional manipulation. Her current state is partially artificial—being forced into child form messes with her mental processes considerably. She's much more mature and calculating than she's currently acting."

I scowled at her, anger flaring at the casual way she'd dismissed Luna's obvious distress. "Bring her back."

"After I explain what she really is," Isolde said implacably. "Trust me, Arthur—this truth is necessary for your survival and development."

'She's not going to give me a choice in this,' I realized grimly.

"Luna is artificial," Isolde said, her words hitting me like physical blows. "She was created by combining essential elements from a dragon, a phoenix, and a basilisk, then fusing them into a singular entity."

"What?" The word escaped as barely more than a whisper as the magnitude of her revelation sank in.

"Qilins aren't a natural race," Isolde continued with clinical precision. "They're artificial constructs, created beings designed for specific purposes. Luna is the only qilin in existence, by the way—a unique entity that has never been replicated."

'Everything I thought I knew about Luna, about qilins, about the fundamental structure of magical taxonomy... it's all wrong.'

"That's why she possessed both Purelight and Deepdark affinities," I said slowly, pieces clicking into place with horrible clarity. "Because she was built from creatures that naturally possess those affinities."

"Exactly. Dragon neutrality, phoenix Purelight, basilisk Deepdark—all combined into a single entity capable of granting access to opposing forces that shouldn't coexist." Isolde's expression grew more serious. "Her memories of childhood, of living with other qilins, of ancient qilin traditions—all carefully fabricated backstory to give her a sense of identity and purpose."

'Her memories of her past are fake,' I realized with a mixture of relief and concern. 'But that doesn't mean...'

"However," Isolde continued, apparently reading my thoughts, "her emotions, her loyalty, her care for you—those are entirely real. Luna is a genuine sentient being, Arthur. Artificial origin doesn't make her feelings any less authentic. She's not a puppet or a programmed tool—she's a living mythical creature who happens to have been created rather than born."

The relief that flooded through me was overwhelming. 'Luna's love for me is real. Her distress, her loyalty, her companionship—all of it is genuine.'

But none of this was ever mentioned in the novel.

"Stop thinking about the novel," Isolde said, apparently reading my expression as my mind tried to process these revelations. "Its relevance is basically dead now anyway, except for the one thing you have planned. The novel was just a medium—a framework designed to help you adapt to this world when you were brought here from your original reality."

'So my world is real,' I thought, grasping at the one piece of validation in a sea of revelations. 'My memories, my previous life—that wasn't fabricated.'

"Of course your world is real," Isolde confirmed with a nod. "Even your Emma came here, didn't she? Though she arrived in the form of a very dangerous woman."

The mention of Emma—of Alyssara—hit me like a dagger to the heart.

I pushed down the emotions threatening to overwhelm me. Right now, I needed to understand the scope of what I was dealing with.

"Why was Luna created?" I asked, though part of me was already dreading the answer.

"To guide you, to grant you capabilities you wouldn't naturally possess, and to ensure you develop along paths that serve larger purposes," Isolde replied. "But more than that—she was created because you needed a companion who could understand and share the burden of your true nature."

'My true nature.' The phrase hung in the air like a weight I wasn't ready to carry.

"I can see the questions multiplying in your mind," Isolde observed with something that might have been amusement. "And we have time for many of them. But understand this, Arthur—learning these truths is painful but necessary. The cosmic game you've been drawn into operates on scales that dwarf individual concerns."

'Cosmic game.' The phrase suggested conflicts and machinations that spanned dimensions and involved entities beyond human comprehension.

I took a deep breath, steeling myself for what might be the most important question I could ask.

"Who created Luna?" I asked quietly. "Who has the power to artificially create mythical creatures by combining dragons, phoenixes, and basilisks?"

Isolde opened her mouth to speak, then paused. Her expression shifted, and for a moment she looked almost... uncertain.

"I can't answer that," she said slowly, though her tone suggested reluctance rather than inability.

'She can't... or won't?'

But then something changed in her expression. A smile spread across her features—not the cold, calculating expression she'd worn throughout our conversation, but something warmer and infinitely more disturbing.

She raised her hand and pointed directly at me.

"You. You created Luna."