Chapter 81: Juliana Asher Aetheldawn
"Well..."
The gangster Juliana moved towards the second, and held her hand. In the physical world, she was a brash, unfiltered brawler, but here within the spiritual confines of their shared core, her touch was surprisingly gentle, anchoring her more fragile half in the infinite dark.
WHOOSH!
The second Juliana turned to the screen, which shattered into dark pieces, revealing a cage, and inside was a sleeping Juliana, sitting on her ground, hugging her legs, her head down. The cage wasn’t made of iron, but of condensed, traumatic memories and dense layers of suppressed energy, a self-imposed prison designed to keep their core from fully collapsing.
".....?!"
"That is the true Juliana, the combination of both of us." She explained. The sleeping figure possessed a quiet, balanced aura that neither the meek nor the gangster personalities fully grasped on their own.
"So she is caged because we got separated?"
"Correct, we are here because that husband of ours found the cure, so we will merge into one and free her." She added.
The Meek Juliana placed her hand on her chest: "I understand, but... I can still feel the pain. Why is that?" She asked.
"That’s because the cure isn’t complete, and because of it being half, it placed a time bomb in our souls... If he doesn’t complete the mission before the Timer runs out, one of us out of the three will explode. Without that part, we will never be whole again." She explained, shaking her head with a sigh. If Asher failed, the resulting spiritual detonation would erase them completely.
No matter how they look at it, everything was on Asher. She felt bad relying on him, but she just couldn’t say or do anything, and could only watch.
"I trust him."
She blinked, looking up at her meek self, seeing the determined expression on her face; then smiled softly:
"Out of the three, I will say you and her have already fallen for that husband of ours, right?" She teased.
"Huh? Don’t you?" The second asked in surprise.
"Slow down, he helped, and took care of us, and I am very grateful... I won’t say I don’t care about him, because I do, but love? I don’t think so." She said, shaking her head again, and added:
"Come on, let’s get this settled." She lightly clenched her second’s hand, who nodded her head. The fragmented pieces of their survival instinct were finally ready to step down and let the host take control.
"Alright then, our life is now in Asher’s hand... Tell me, if he succeeds, what will you give him?" The Second asked in a low voice.
"Give him? What do you mean?" The Gangster raised an eyebrow, as their body started glowing, and simultaneously, cracks started appearing on the cage.
"If he cured us, will you fully accept him as our husband?" The second asked again.
"What can I do? Both of you already accepted him... As for your question, if he does succeed, I might." She smiled, as their body shattered into lights, which flew towards the cage, and shattered it into green lights.
___
[Sitting Room.]
"ARGH!"
Juliana gasped, sitting upright. She held her head as a wave of headache struck her, and after some seconds, it cooled down. The sudden influx of integrated memories and re-linked neural pathways hit her physical brain like a concussive blast.
"Are you alright, Julia?" Asher asked in a low voice, sitting opposite her.
Juliana blinked a couple of times, taking in her surroundings again, then stared at her hands, after some seconds, she looked up at Asher. The frantic energy of the gangster and the crippling fear of the meek wife were gone, replaced by a profound, centered clarity.
"Thank you." She said.
Asher blinked, dumbfounded:
’Did it work?’ He asked himself in confusion, the next moment, he froze as Juliana opened her palm, and a green light appeared, before his stunned gaze, the light took the shape of a horse, then a bird, a knight, and later a pill. The sheer, terrifying micro-control required to shape raw spirit energy into distinct physical forms without reciting a spell was an absolute masterclass in elemental manipulation.
’This?! What is this?’ He thought in shock, staring at the energy above Juliana’s palm.
"Seems my powers declined..." Juliana said, clenching her fists, as the energy shattered:
"From SS-RANK, to F-Rank... What a huge drop." She said, and turned towards him, flashing him a small smile:
"Thank you, Asher... Even if it’s temporary, I am happy." She said with a smile. Losing her high-tier cultivation would break most Awakened, but to Juliana, it was the ultimate liberation. Hitting the absolute bottom at F-Rank wasn’t a defeat; it was a clean slate, a foundation from which she could finally begin rising again without the terrifying burdens of her past.
Asher was still stunned, and quickly brought up her profile with the system:
{Name: Juliana Asher Aetheldawn.}
{Race: Human.}
{Height: 163 Cm.}
{Rank: F-Rank.}
{Physique: Time Body - Divine-Tier: [LOCKED]: [To Unlock: 206/50,000 Evolution stones].}
{Note: All Evolution stones are calculated equally.}
{Talent: SSS-RANK.}
{Affection: 70%.}
{Loyalty: 80%.}
{Position: Third Wife.}
{Health State: Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).}
{Current emotion: Happy, Nervous, Worried.}
{Cure: Everlasting Mind Pill.}
{Note: Everlasting Mind Pill merges all Personalities into one, and also unlocks her cultivation speed to match her talent.}
{Note: Two Months to take the remaining two Pill Fragments.}
’Not much difference, but the requirements to unlock her Time body has reduced by a whole 50%, this is a good thing.’ He thought, and asked:
"Umm... Juliana, what happened, why did you lose all your powers?"
"I forcibly destroyed it."
".....?!"
Asher was stunned, the way she said it confused him even more, she wasn’t regretful, nor angry, it was like, that was the most logical thing to do. In a society where power was everything, intentionally crippling oneself was an unfathomable heresy.
Seeing his gaze, Juliana elaborated:
"When I was younger, I got attacked by the other families because of my powers, the only way to protect myself is to seal it, but..." She paused, and exhaled:
"Well, that’s how I lost all my powers."
Naturally, her unique SS-Rank abilities had made her a prime target for exploitation. Rather than become a battery for a rival family, she chose to shatter her own core, sacrificing her cultivation to ensure her freedom.
Asher stared at her, he could tell she wasn’t ready to fully open up and talk about the past, and he won’t push. So he stood up:
"Alright, you can check out the villa if you want... I will prepare the food, later I will explain the plan." He said, and with a nod, he walked towards the kitchen:
’Two months, I promised each of my wives to cure them in one month... Good, for now, Juliana is half cured.’ He thought, a smile forming on his face.
’Soon, I will cure all of you.’