Infinity: Rising of the Soul Weavers

"Please, Rave…" Kayla pleaded, her eyes watery and pitiful, "I need food, I need biscuits… don't do this to me… do you not like me? I'm your bestie *sniff* I always work hard...

"When did you stop loving me? Did I ever hurt you? Please give me the biscuits-nom!" She was barely able to finish the last word before stuffing the last biscuit in her mouth since she saw Raven eyeing it and instantly knew she was planning on snatching it away.

"Oi, stop it…" Raven said while narrowing her eyes. She knew Kayla was tired from always working behind the scenes, but at the same time, she has never had this attitude issue before.

Maybe it has something to do with the biscuits? Or the white energy she was exposed to recently? Oh… maybe the continuous avatar reconstruction during the duration of the new skill?

Seeing how she was drinking her tea while trying to swallow the last bit of biscuit in her mouth, Raven found her rather cute, but she knew something was not right and she got worried.

Finishing her drink fully, Kayla directed her attention towards the group and extended her hand innocently and muttered in the most adorable way: "more biscuits please?" 

"Kay?" Raven called out in worry. 

"Bestie?" Kayla called in return, her hand still extended, asking for more.

"Can you please hug me?" Raven asked. "I need a real hug with your normal size, please."

Hearing that, Kayla's little avatar instantly increased in size as she jumped from Raven's shoulder and into her lap, hugging her in the intent of making her feel better. 

But she did it so quickly that Raven knew she was working off of instincts. Biting her lower lip in guilt after performing a quick scan, she knew the reason Kayla was acting weird.

"You've been working nonstop recently, huh?" She asked in a low tone that was almost motherly. 

Her scan made it visible how much work was out into keeping the avatars functioning throughout the new skill.

"I am sorry, I should have paid more attention to you than other useless matters like the spar or the kids…" she said again in her caring and warm tone.

Hearing and seeing her like that made the two Deputy Generals flinch at how worried she was, and how cute they looked together. 

Thinking about the power they just displayed in the previous spar made their heads hurt.

Hugging Kayla tightly, Raven took a deep breath as she made her aura as calm as she possibly could. Releasing and engulfing the real Kayla in her mind with her aura, she urged her to sleep.

Unable to resist, especially under the pressure she was under from the continuous maintenance she had to perform, Kayla fell asleep instantly while entrusting everything to Raven.

Looking at the avatar of the little girl disappearing into light particles, the two Deputy Generals suddenly felt their heart sink as they thought something went awfully wrong and they obviously knew Raven wasn't a silent griefer… 

'She is going to destroy the city isn't she?' they both paled. But a chuckle from Raven made it clear that Kayla was okay.

"She just needs some sleep, don't worry about it," she said out loud while still hugging the real one in her mind and watching her peaceful expression.

She couldn't remember the last time she had watched Kayla sleep. From what she was aware of, she has always been awake for her, and she had only slept during her evolution.

'I should be more considerate…' she thought while supporting her avatar with her own mana.

*Sigh*

Shaking her head for a moment, she turned towards Scott. "Before I forget, you wanted to know the originals in the test hall no?

"Since I'm not sure what qualifies as one, I'd just tell you the Soul Weavers I found amongst them, but you have to know that others may be hiding their real race.

"Do you have a picture of the students?" She asked since that would make it easier than describing them. Normally, she would have asked Kayla to create a hologram of each, but now obviously wasn't a good timing.

Nodding, Scott quickly disappeared towards his office in order to grab the students' files.

…

"Erin Kim, Vlad Major, Shin Ivanov, Amira Khan, Albedo, and Haruki Takahashi." Scott read the names on the pictures Raven pointed out. "Hm, so all of these are originals?"

"Not originals, but rather Soul Weavers," Raven corrected. "Same as myself. But hear me out, keep it a secret for now. 

"There are some internal conflicts between Soul Weavers, so it's better not to mention their race right now. Plus, I bet that most of the names I listed don't even realize that they are not humans… speaking from experience." She looked down with a frown.

"Yes of course, we'll keep it a secret," Scott agreed. "Our only goal is to have them develop the most since we know that they have the most potential, that is all."

"Sweet, I don't think there is anything wrong with that," Raven said tiredly. "Well, anyhow, I'll leave the production of the devices for later. I guess I'll see you whenever I send an avatar back," she waved as she was about to dismiss the current avatar.

"Wait!" Ramira called out, "err, um, so what do you want for the prize? You know, I promised you anything from the Japanese EDA Division…" she said while looking down in embarrassment.

She hasn't expected to lose a fight in her life, not against an A- ranker at least. But a deal was a deal.

Smiling softly, Raven muttered a few words before disappearing into light particles.

"You owe me…" Ramira repeated in defeat. She could not help but swallow loudly. "The General will be quite upset about this…"

"Well then, you must be happy that he's not here at the moment," Scott joked since both of their supervisors would be upset about some of the choices they made.

"By the way," Scott asked. "Do you think the girl would win against one of the Generals, seeing how easy she defeated you?"

Thinking about it for a moment, Ramira burst out laughing. Scott couldn't help but chuckle too.

"Why do you think most Generals were deployed out to space?" Ramira asked a rhetorical question before proceeding to answer it herself. 

"While they're doing a good job by protecting other planets while working with the Supreme Galactic Alliance, the main reason they left Earth was because their presence was simply too much for us to bear.

"So for your obvious question, I give an obvious answer: no."

….

-Demon Realm-

"Master, I have done as ordered." A young girl in a fine blue dress said while kneeling down in front of Red. "Many portals are still being opened every second in the Human Plane and the armies are getting ready."

"Good," Red simply said, showing hints of boredom while sitting on his throne. "But remember, my fine servant, to make sure you don't make any moves soon. Am I making myself clear?"

"Ah- yes, master," the girl said, her soft blue hair fluttering with every moment. "But if I may be so rude to ask, why are the others making their moves-eigh!!" She suddenly screamed but held her breath as Red dashed towards her.

Holding her chin in his cold palm, he smiled. "You asked for permission, but then proceeded to speak without waiting for my confirmation? How arrogant of you, my dear Asmodeus…"

The girl's blue eyes sparkled with tears as she was so close to collapsing. She wanted to apologize, but then it would make Red even angrier. 'What do I do? Am I supposed to end up at the losing end every time?' she thought to herself.

"However, I will forgive you this time since you bring up some good news," Red said with a sadistic smile that sent a shiver down the girl's spine. "Tell me, who are the 'others' you speak of, the ones that have made their move without my permission?"

Swallowing loudly, Asmodeus clenched her fists to prevent them from shaking as she spoke. "Master, I- I think one of them is Violet…"

"Hm, I see," Red suddenly got serious. 'Truth be told, that Prideful brick is but a bother…' he thought to himself.

Looking down at the girl who was still kneeling, he muttered a few words as he gave her a new order then dismissed her quickly after.

"What a predicament, Lucifer is quite a troublesome opponent to deal with," Red thought to himself. "Even though he thinks I can still defeat him with ease, he still chose to go against my orders…"

Suddenly, a red magic circle materialised on the ground as a shadow made its way through it.

"Red," a voice called as the magic circle broke away to reveal a white and black haired demon in a royal garment, bowing in respect. "I believe it's better to ask our mistress to come along. After all, she was interested in visiting the Demon Plane and preventing the war."

Hearing that, Red could not stop himself from smiling passionately, feeling his mood suddenly improving at the mention of the 'Great One'.

"What a joyful point you bring up, Keith," Red said with a nod. "Lady Raven will hopefully be satisfied after hearing out plans.

"And maybe, just maybe, she would be able to finally give me a name…" he smiled in ecstasy as he hugged himself.

While he was in that state, his dark sinister aura engulfed the area around him without him even realising.