A year passed, and during this time, Erich had maintained the fragile alliances that he had built. Whether it was with the Federation, the Dominion, the Cabal, or the Theocracy. Erich did his best to ensure that everyone was properly prepared for the war that was to come.

In the mean time Erich would often consult with the sages, exploring the depths of his abilities, and working hard to unlock hidden secrets that had long since been a mystery to those who had similar capabilities.

Mirage spent every day preparing the manned mission for Andromeda, one which was designed to deal a substantial blow to the Naraku Hivemind, and hopefully buy them some much needed time.

But something strange was happening to Ayumi, something that Erich did not initially notice. She had begun entering trance like states, completely becoming devoid of thought for moments at a time, only to come back into reality not being the slightest bit aware that she had blacked out.

Naturally, Erich had Ayumi’s health investigated, yet there was not the slightest problem with her body or her brain. Whatever was happening to her was psychological. Or so Erich thought. But things just continued to get worse, and finally Erich had no choice but to call Yumi. Who was busy doing her best to fulfil her obligations as a vassal of the Germanic Star-Empire.

Yumi was exhausted, spending the last year expanding her military capabilities, and using her fleets to act as gendarmerie forces within Germanic Space. The Armed Forces of the Great Oni Empire were essentially deputized by the Germanic Star-Empire to enforce the peace on Erich’s behalf.

After all, with the sudden changes in the galactic order, and the collapse of the galactic economy, many of the civilizations which became subordinate to the Germanic Star-Empire were hostile to the idea of serving a civilization renowned for its fanatical xenophobia.

It was for this reason that Erich decided to deal with these minor uprisings not by sending in his own forces, who were already seen as ruthless and hate filled murderers. But to send in the Oni forces who had long since acted as peacekeepers for their former masters. Thus having a much larger level of respect for these aggrieved civilizations.

When Yumi saw that Erich was calling her, she assumed it was for another order to help peacefully put an end to an uprising.

“Erich, I’m already very busy right now. Can’t you let the Dvrakians handle this one?”

Erich, however, seemed a bit panicked as he made a comment that would seem completely and totally absurd to anyone but Yumi.

“It’s about Ayumi… I don’t know how to explain this but she has fallen into a coma, and her body is now surrounded by some form of crystalline cacoon! My doctors have no idea how to treat her!”

Yumi’s eyes bulged open when she heard this, and immediately screamed at Erich for his failure to inform her of this, or the preceding changes in Ayumi’s behavior, forgetting entirely who she was talking to as she did so.

“You little **! When the hell did this happen? Has Ayumi been blanking out recently? Why didn’t you tell me this was happening? I swear to the Gods, if I had known you would be so careless with my great niece’s life, I would have never given to her! Tell me everything now!”

Erich was stunned by Yumi’s anger towards him, but immediately understood that she knew what was happening and did not hesitate to tell her everything. In the end, Yumi sighed in relief before giving Erich the good news.

“Thank the gods… It’s not too late. Listen here Erich, if you truly love my niece, and the daughter that the two of you have, you will bring Ayumi to my palace immediately! Do not even ask anymore questions! Time is of the essence!”

Erich, of course, had so many more questions, but Yumi did not entertain them, and instead hung up on Erich immediately. As busy as they both were, Erich did not hesitate to push off his responsibilities onto Tia, and instead took Ayumi’s crystal cacoon into the fastest starship he had, and flew her to the homeworld of the Great Oni Empire.

Naturally, Yumi had men help escort Ayumi’s unconscious body inside, where Erich was surprised to find the woman dragging it into the sacred pool of water where in his past life he had been murdered by Ayumi’s father.

Yumi did not hesitate to strip, and order Erich to do the same as she climbed into the pool with Ayumi’s body.

“Get undressed and get in! Quickly now!”

Though Erich still had questions, he did not ask them and instead did as he was told. The moment he was in the pool with Yumi and Ayumi, the older of the two began to speak.

“Have you ever wondered why Ayumi’s hair and eyes are so different from every other Oni you have met? I mean, other than your daughter, that is?”

Erich shook his head, mistaking the unique hair and eye color to simply be a rare phenotype. Yumi then sighed and plunged Ayumi’s body beneath the water’s surface where the crystalline cacoon began to melt away, and instead the melted substance imbued itself within Ayumi’s flesh, making it not only more pale, but glossy as well, almost as if it were covered in a thin layer of oil.

While this was happening, Yumi explained the transformation that was taking place.

“Ayumi was born with an ancient bloodline, one which has been dormant among my family for millennia. Her brother has as well, as has your daughter. We should have known this was a sign of things to come when they were born, but we didn’t believe the old tales.

Our civilization is based upon the wisdom of the so-called ancient gods. Gods who my family claims descent from. These gods were allegedly very powerful in the primeval era. But have not been seen since.

In all honesty, there is never in recorded history an incident of one of my family awakening their powers. There is only an ancient talisman left behind which describes what will happen.

This sacred pool has existed within our household since we were just primitive tribesmen eons ago. And it is said then when a member of our family undergoes a transformation that they must be brought here.

What you are about to witness, Erich, is the birth of a new God… Or should I say a new goddess?”

Erich wanted to scoff when he heard this, but instead tried to rationalize with Yumi about her statement.

“The Gods don’t really exist… They’re supernatural stories told by primitive cultures with no understanding of the universe to explain natural phenomena….”

Yumi, of course, rolled her eyes before flicking Erich’s ear. Albeit she had to jump to do it.

“Ye of little faith… Yes, technically you’re correct, but our gods are not actually supernatural entities, rather cosmic beings of pure energy that long sense went extinct eons ago. The power they were capable of wielding might as well have made them gods… Don’t believe me! Look up to the sky!”

Just as Yumi said this, Ayumi’s body began to rise in the air. She was shining so brightly, Erich believed she was actually made from the star itself. He was forced to shield his eyes, as was every other living thing within the immediate vicinity.

Soon enough Ayumi’s star floated up into space, approaching the star, where the most remarkable thing happened. As if a vampire, or a parasite of some kind, Ayumi’s body began to take in the energy of the star, causing it to grow dimmer with each moment.

After which Ayumi’s body shot back down to the world below. Where she stood in front of Erich, her entire figure was engulfed in an amber energy, the same color that her eyes used to be, and then Ayumi collapsed back into the pool, her clothing seemingly burnt away.

What revealed itself was Ayumi’s naked body, which was more pale and lustrous than it had ever been. Even her physical beauty had increased. And when Erich stared down at his lover, about to question if she was alright, her eyes opened.

Ayumi gazed around at her surprisingly, seemingly having no recollection of what had happened before. Only to find Erich standing there with a dumbfounded expression on her face, and her aunt kowtowing on the ground in front of her.

Two thoughts escaped Ayumi’s luscious lips who had absolutely no idea about the physical transformation she had just undergone.

“Where am I? What happened?”

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