Update – 30 October 2024

Hi!

I’s about that time for the regularly scheduled Update Post! Arc 4 of CA is the longest by far, although it wasn’t originally intended to be that way. I’d meant for it to “bridge” the gap, so to speak, between the main content I wanted to include in Arc 5—basically, just to connect Plot Point A to Plot Point B.

But yeah, that didn’t happen at all, haha. What happened in Arc 4 actually turned out to be super important and vital to how the story plays out overall. As usual, though, some major changes came up along the way. Some things I initially planned didn’t make the cut, while certain elements I thought were insignificant turned out to hold much more weight.

Some character relationships also evolved between planning and the final product. One character in particular required a drastic rewrite of her scenes at the eleventh hour, but honestly, I think it was for the best. I believe this change adds far more depth and complexity to her character, preventing her from stumbling into a common pitfall.

*****

---

*****

[Conferment]?!?!?!?

So…the biggest driving force of the story so far—and the key to breaking Sekh’s curse—wasn’t originally part of the plan. Seriously, it wasn’t. The original idea was for Aetos to use some form of “soul-splitting/essence-merging” magic to send Mila, Tris, and Surtr (and later Tilde) into Sekh’s soul, where they would help her fight off the curse. Essentially, they’d have beaten it into submission and forced it to retreat.

But as I thought more about that approach, it just didn’t feel right. I was stuck on this point for a few days without knowing how to proceed—until I heard that Slime Isekai was releasing a movie: .

I love that series, and you can see its influence in my story. Tris, for instance, shares traits with the Great Sage and its evolutions, while Tilde has elements inspired by Ramiris.

Then came [Conferment]…

I always admired Slime Isekai’s system of giving names to characters, and for a while, I’d been wanting to implement something similar, though I didn’t want to directly copy it. But as I watched the movie, I remembered how giving a name in that world requires Magicules from the person doing the naming. That sparked an idea! I adapted this, making it draw on life force and altered its functionality so that it would inscribe a rule onto the world that must be followed.

And thus, [Conferment] was born! It can still be used to give things names—like when Mila named the lions—but introducing [Conferment] so late in the story meant I had to do a significant rewrite to integrate it smoothly. So, every time Mila uses [Conferment]? None of that was intended in the first, second, or even third draft.

Which brings me to a character who wouldn’t be who she is without [Conferment].

*****

---

*****

Tilde?!?!?!?!?

Originally, Tilde was set to be absent for almost the entire arc. During her absence, Surtr (who didn’t yet have a name) would have assumed her role as advisor, though his personality has stayed consistent since his creation.

The plan was for Tilde to return near the arc’s end to help confront the embodiment of Sekh’s curse deep within her soul or essence. At that point, she’d evolve, but she wouldn’t be her own person with a Status Menu or the ability to level up.

But then I realized that keeping her out of the story for 130,000 words was just too long. It didn’t quite fit, and I wanted to give Tilde more space for real, meaningful development. Thanks to [Conferment], I could reintroduce her sooner, allowing for that growth I had in mind for her character.

As for her personality, I do think I pushed it too far in Arcs 2 and 3. She was intended to be a witty, sarcastic wise-ass with a quip for everything and everyone, but I may have leaned too heavily in the wrong direction. Arc 4 has been my opportunity to rebalance that side of her—a new evolution, a fresh start—though hints of the old Tilde are still very much present.

Like, she's still super horny and lewd when alone with Mila and Tris (and now Sekh). It's that she's overall more 'pleasant' in public.  She said this in the Girl Talk intermission at the end of Arc 3. 

(it's kind of long, so it's in spoiler box)

Tilde said that, but it was really me, the author, speaking through her about her personality.

Oh, and about her weapon and outfit...

That same intermission had this.

(It's in the spoiler)

So, that was unintentional foreshadowing, kind of. Tilde ends up being Mila's Head Maid, and she has a gun. 

Pawsome Fables, the group she started with Erin, Chax, and Ginnie? Yeah, another last minute addition. Which brings me to...

*****

---

*****

Erin?!?!?!?!? (Chax and Ginnie, too)?!!!!?!??!!?

I won't lie. I had no idea where to take her story. When looking at the facts, Erin is the result of her mother getting her father drunk and raping him, then being used to break up his family because her mother was too obsessed with him. 

Now with her mother being dead... Where does she go from there?

I was lost for the longest time.

Did I want her to fight?

Did I want her to have a "brat" arc?

Did I want her to become super depressed/suicidal about her new situation?

It wasn’t until I came up with [Conferment] and giving the lions to Ichiha and the others that it hit me.

Erin needs to be confident. She needs to find it, so what better place to find it than using a lion born from Sekh’s overwhelming and excessive mana? I think it’s safe to say that Erin loves Longtooth. Longtooth provides Erin with the courage she never knew she had, and that originates from Sekh because the lions wouldn’t exist without her.

So, I had a plan, but it wasn’t set in stone. I needed more. So, that’s why I brought in Chax and Ginnie. I like them a lot. They’ve also experienced a lot of hardships, so I thought they would have a positive influence on Erin.

However, with Tilde now being back earlier than I intended, I needed something for her to do. So, that led me to create Pawsome Fables! Erin gets to spend time with Longtooth, she learns how to fight in a group, and Tilde’s ageless wisdom is there to help put her on the right path.

That’s not all, however. The more time Erin spends with Longtooth, the more time she misses Sekh. Those two hadn’t interacted that much, but Erin is super grateful to Sekh for the lions. Now that Sekh is back, Erin and Sekh spending time together and having a super awesome day isn’t out of the question, which could lead to some fantastic development for the both of them.

Overall, I liked how Erin grew in this arc. She’s more confident. She’s proud. And she has her oni horns, too. She’s accepted her past, and she’s looking toward the future with her family.

I wonder how much further development she’ll have in the next Arc? It seems like Team Mila is heading to confront Gloria. If they go to Dirge’s capital city, I wonder how likely it is that they’ll run into the Barclays? You know, the noble family that Erin’s mother comes from?

For better or worse, Erin is a Barclay...

*****

---

*****

Niva and Primrose?!?!?!?!!?

Niva's character probably changed the second most, if not the most, for one specific reason.

Remember the boat ride from Plymoise to Aetos Village near the Arc's end?

That was supposed to be when Niva and Primrose admitted their love for Mila and had sex with her. 

Yep. Their relationship was supposed to turn sexual. Niva and Primrose would've been added to the polycule, although they wouldn't have had sex with Tris or Tilde. Niva and Prim would've been exclusive with each other and Mila, and while that would've worked, maybe, it felt messy. The more I thought about it, the more I didn't want to go that route, although it wasn't until I read a comment that said something like 'not every relationship Mila has needs to turn sexual' that gave me the push to turn their love into something platonic.

Really, I think it fits them so much more. Niva means so much to Mila. And Primrose? Prim's development has been amazing. She was a spy for Aetos and fought against her pre-installed bias to discover her own truth. She even (for a moment, at least) disowned Aetos and screamed in anguish how much she hated him. Well, until the truth came out. Her, Aetos, and Niva are now on good terms, but the fact that Prim was willing to go against her father for Mila's and Niva's sake is something else. 

Niva will get a lot of development in Arc 5. From how it ended, it seems like we're going to Dirge's capital city to confront Gloria? You know, the same Gloria that gave Niva to Noelia in the beginning? The Mesalitos family is there...

Maybe the other people who hurt Niva are there, too. So, maybe it's time for her to get her revenge?

Just something to think about...

Oh, Niva also got an upgrade in this arc with her prosthetics. Yeah, like most things, and you can guess this... That wasn't planned. It's directly related to what we'll discuss next. 

*****

---

*****

Team Quella?!?!?!?!?!!?

Oh boy, where do I begin?

So, the whole thing with Melusine's kingdom, Mary capturing Melusine to free her from the dungeon, and so on...

That was actually planned from the beginning. Things didn't change that much outside of a few small details here and there, but what changed drastically, you might ask?

The fact they showed up in Aetos Village at all.

Yeah.

That's another super last-minute addition because their confrontation was originally scheduled to occur way later on, like in Arc 6 or 7 / whenever Mila confronted Meruria. 

But then I thought that I didn't want to wait that long for Team Q and Team Mila to meet up, so I rewrote a few things. And that caused a cascading waterfall of changes that beget changes that beget changes.

It's the very definition of the Butterfly Effect. Here are a few examples, but it's not a complete list. 

1. I needed a reason for Meruria to send Team Q across the world to Dirge, so I decided to lean into Mila being a Vredi.
2. I wanted another Vredi to show up, so I had to find a way to spread some rumors.
3. To spread those rumors, I figured Mila would have to leak her name somehow, leading her to admit the truth to Gretchen Plymoise and her advisors.
4. Furthermore, the whole High Elf of Liberation identity was created to make Sera attend the Heptarchis with Lord Enele JUST to investigate the rumors of them being a Vredi.
   1. To have the High Elf of Liberation be a thing, something would have to be liberated. So, the whole Atrix Plotline was created.
      1. The Atrix Plotline itself was expanded from being hand-waved off-screen to involving about 30-40k words.
5. Since Sera showed up, I had to do something with her, which caused a few minor rewrites to create the 'Transplanting Aetos" plot line. (Yep. Even that was a late addition built upon the Team Q change.) Now, Team Mila was always returning to Aetos since Tris and Surtr (still nameless lion by this point) would've suggested asking his advice on how to cure Sekh. 
6. The rumors would've reached Meruria, so since she wants influence over the Vredi (as we see when she tried to do the same with King Vredi that ended in his death, something else that was added to support this) Meruria would not have let this chance pass her by. So, she sent Team Q and Remy to look into it. 

So, as you can see, having Team Q and Team Mila meet required reorganizing the entire story.

What does this mean?

Well, Remy, if I had kept things the way they were, would not have died. We wouldn't have the satisfaction of watching her being tormented. No Remy means no Imposter Remy who's totally under Mila's control. No Remy also means that Tris probably wouldn't have evolved, which also means no Void Replication to recreate Remy's warping. 

But that's not even scratching the surface...because Team Q's fate was undecided. I must've rewritten Chapters 94 - 97 a dozen times. 

In the final version, we see Mila struggle with what to do with Team Q. She wants to make them suffer. She wants to torture them even after knowing the truth.

And an earlier version had that come true.

No. I'm serious. That 'timeline' ended with Quella hanging herself after Tris uses her waypoints to make Quella's nightmares 'come to life.' Since Tris can alter who can see the waypoints, she would've made them visible to only Quella. Her mind would deteriorate, leading to her suicide. After assimilating her corpse, Mila would've used the power gained to easily kill the other members, thereby penning their exit from the story. 

That was version 1. 

Version 2 leaned more into Quella's suicidal nature. In that one, Mila would've been the 'good cop'. Tris would've been the 'bad cop' and forbid. I'm talking about verbal abuse at every corner that made Arc 2-3 Tilde look like a saint whenever Tris was alone with Quella. For example, she would taunt Quella with death and force her to play a version of Russian roulette with a revolver that would never, ever fire. The end goal of this version was to break Quella's mind by repeatedly denying her the 'comforting embrace of death.'

It only happened when they were alone. Tris, otherwise, was like a saint to Mary and the others. The idea was to focus / target Quella exclusively to push her closer and closer to the edge. Quella also would've had a 'mask' she'd wear when talking to Mila. She would keep everything Tris had done and said deep inside, which just made it build it up more and more until it exploded with her taking her own life in a fit of madness. 

Version 3 was like version 2 in that Mila plays the 'good cop' / foil to Tris's repulsive nature, but Quella would've emotionally latched onto Mila's niceness. That would've evolved into sexual desire. Quella would masturbate to the thought of being treated nicely by Mila. Tris would've taken advantage of that to blackmail Quella, thereby further breaking her mind. It would've ended with Quella willingly devoting herself to Mila much like how Remy devotes herself to Meruria, thereby drawing a parallel between the two.

Yeah, I didn't want to go down that route, so it was tossed aside. 

So, as you can see, the first few drafts for Team Q did not end well for them. The early versions all end with them suffering horribly.

The final version is much different. The one reason why I changed it?

Chapter 95 - Part Three.

That conversation with Quella and Mila when they're walking in the forest while waiting for the preparation for Niva's surgery to finish. The surgery didn't exist for a long while, actually. Originally, this conversation was just Mila being a 'good cop.' But it changed as I wrote it, and I soon found myself going down an entirely different path. 

I just loved their discussion. After thinking about it for a week or two, I decided to use it as the basis of how I wanted to handle this meeting between the two teams. 

Besides, what better way to showcase Quella's resolve than fighting against Remy? Quella and Mila come together to kill one of the most hated and despicable characters in this story? It's a turning point, I think. It showcases that Mila's revenge isn't impossible if she can kill someone like Remy. Yes, she had to have a lot of help. A Dark Lord, a 5-Star Soul Warrior, Mila herself, Aetos, and the Eagle Yew were required to end Remy's life.

But she's dead.

She's gone.

Her soul's suffering unspeakable horrors, and that punishment is going to last a long, long, long, long time.

*****

---

*****

Intermission Overload?!?!?!?!

So, one of the regrets I have with this arc is how many intermissions there were at the beginning. I wished I'd have written them earlier since some take place during the 60-ish days our MC was in the void, so they could've been placed anywhere. But by the time I thought of them, it was too late to put them anywhere else. 

*****

---

*****

Seraphina Vredi?!?!?!?!

Okay, so let's talk about Sera. She's somewhat of an odd case to handle. She's one of the only links to the past, not counting Tilde, Sekh, or Melusine, who knows what went on 1,000 years ago. It was hard to get into her mind, I guess. I mean, here she is, hearing rumors of a new Vredi-- someone she doesn't know-- someone who looks SO MUCH like her sister. I wanted her to be strong, but also vulnerable when in the presence of someone like Mila-- someone who she thinks really existed 1,000 years ago. (Which can be true or false based on how you define Mila and the memories of the five who make her up.)

You know, I actually came thiiiiis close to making a mistake with her. I almost don't want to talk about it since I regret I came close to making it in the first place, but let's say it involves Sera's voyeuristic nature, Mila, Tris, and a whole lot of R-18 lewdness that was out of character.

Things could've gone real bad real fast.

As you can probably guess, Sera plays a big role in Arc 5. 

*****

---

*****

Lord Enele?!?!?!?!?

Not too much to say about him. He was always intended to show up to save Team Q from that chimera in that intermission. But with rumors of a new Vredi coming about, and since Mila would need a reason to leave Plymoise, I needed something to help Ichiha find her mother. So, I brought in Lord Enele and had Sera work with him as an assistant / helper from time to time, thereby further linking Team Q to Team Mila through Lord Enele. 

Nothing that much has changed. He's always been the Dark Lord of Justice and super muscular.

*****

---

*****

Religious Cult Leader?!?!??!!?

So...

Yeah... This might be kind of an odd one.

An earlier version had Tilde come up with the idea to worship Mila. It would've happened on the boat ride to Aetos Village. From Tilde's PoV, she wonders if faith in Mila might been involved in unlocking [Conferment]. So, she and Tris work together to develop a religion about the Transcendent Dark Lord, and the first members were Tilde, Tris, Niva, and Primrose. They would actually worship Mila and say prayers to her.

Safe to say that didn't last that long. I have no idea what I was thinking, but I definitely wasn't cooking with that discarded plot point, haha. 

It's also out of character for Mila, too. 

*****

---

*****

Yew?!?!?!?!?

Yew didn't go through so many changes as she went through different 'stages' of existing. 

Let me explain.

So, I had plans for a friendly chimera to be born on screen for a while. The idea was for that to be the big finale for Arc 5. But, you know, with all of the changes I made above sprouting from wanting to have Team Q show up early, things kinda happened which pushed Yew's birth forward 170k words or so. 

I will say that Yew wasn't meant to be the Eagle Yew's reincarnation. Yew wouldn't have been related to the tree or Aetos in any way, actually. Actually, her name wasn't even supposed to be Yew. I can't reveal her name since it's a spoiler for something else, but I wonder if anyone can guess it? 

Here's a hint-- it's four letters long. 

*****

---

*****

Sekh?!?!?!?!?

So, Sekh was absent for most of the Arc. I wanted Mila to be vulnerable, I guess, because she didn't have her closest ally around. I'm not sure if I accomplished that because she had Surtr, Tris, and Tilde, not to mention her family with her, so Mila wasn't ever truly 'alone' in the sense that I desired. 

Her first person PoV discussion with the curse was something I always wanted to have, so it wasn't new. The problem was finding the right spot to slot it in. 

(In the original version, the fight between Sekh and the others vs the curse would've been from her PoV.)

But she's back, and Sekh's stronger than ever with incredible control over her abilities. However, she has a new issue, and that's Melusine and Sera. Sekh has to ensure she doesn't do anything to make Sera suspect Sekh's the DLoT. Likewise, Melusine has to be convinced the DLoT she knows is something / someone else, but it kinda feels like she instinctually knows Sekh's the DLoT. 

I want the situation to be tense. Mentally speaking, at least. Maybe something like a cat-and-mouse type of game?

*****

---

*****

Tris!??!??!?!

Ah, yes. Our Fragment of Wisdom has evolved into a Beacon of Wisdom. You kinda see the pattern, right? It all deals with wisdom. Tris, when looked at from a certain angle, is, by far, the most powerful character in the story. She's scary, too. There's very little she wouldn't do to help Mila achieve her dreams and revenge, as we can see in her torture of Remy.

Her ability to replicate void skills, however... That's on a whole different level. We can assume it's not just replicating. It's improving. It's making them better. It's doing things with them that the original user would have never thought possible. You may think Remy's void warping is just that-- warping-- teleporting to different places / making two people swap locations. 

But no.

There's an entire underside of this skill that hasn't seen the light of day. That's all I'm going to say about that, though.

*****

---

*****

The Truth?!?!?!?!

At the end of the Arc, Quella learned a lot. She knows Sekh is the DLoT, she knows Mila survived the void, and she knows Mila wants revenge against Meruria. 

That's not the type of stuff you can tell just about anyone, right? I mean, she assisted the greatest threat the world has ever seen. Knowingly, by the way. So, alongside Sekh keeping her identity hidden, Quella has to guard the greatest secrets the world has to offer, which just puts more on her already stacked plate. 

It does feel nice knowing someone else knows the truth. I'm sure Quella has a thousand and one questions to ask, so you can probably guess what one of the first chapters of Arc 5 will be about.

Oh, but speaking of the truth...

This Arc revealed something that's been in the works since the very beginning...

*****

---

*****

It All Makes Sense...

Mekka Academy?

The meritocracy?

The things that don't make sense?

The reality we see at the beginning of the story does not exist. There was no plane. There was no trip. 

What we saw were the fake memories Meruria implanted within her Soul Warriors to suit her narrative. It never made sense for someone like Shuuta to attend Mekka Academy, but it did because Meruria forced it to make sense, in context.

I mean, everything in the beginning was penned by Meruria. 

The rape? Her idea.

The 'pathetic' reaction / personality our MC had? Her idea.

The outburst of anger? Her idea.

Unable to feel angry before that outburst? Her idea.

Everything you probably hated about Shuuta was Meruria's idea. She always picks a toy during each summoning session. In this case, it happened to be Shuuta. 

The first few chapters happened exactly the way Meruria wanted them to happen. She was in total control the entire time. 

I'd go as far as to say the anger and hatred our MC experienced weren't genuine until after they were given the Wrath divine skill by that voice in the void. 

But back on topic.

It's confirmed, almost, that Meruria's Soul Warriors don't originate from the same world. So, how many worlds total were involved?

Who came from which one? Are Elly and Ami even cousins? What's the deal with Lori and Ann (the twins)? Whose backstories were fabricated? Whose were slightly altered?

Those are mysteries to be revealed in due time, my dear readers!

Mila knows, though. She knows the entire truth about the summoning session. 

*****

---

*****

Mila, Mila, Mila?!?!?!?!?

So, I want to talk about our MC because things are looking up. I mean, the situation is the brightest it's been in a long, long time.

1. Sekh is back.
2. Tris has evolved.
3. Tilde and Niva are going to make a full recovery from their injuries. It's just a matter of waiting for them to wake up.
4. Remy is dead / her corpse is being controlled by a personality created by Tris, which means it's linked directly to the smartest being in the whole world-- a being who is constantly growing with every passing second.
5. Team Q is all but assured to join the fight against Meruria
   1. The leader, Quella, a powerful 5-Star Soul Warrior, knows the truth, and if she wants to kill Meruria, then her best bet is to join with Mila.
6. Seraphina is available for help since Mila can twist the truth (not really) and get the power of a Vredi on her side.
7. The truth about Sajun, the Holy Lord of Cridia before Meruria, is known to Mila, and Sajun was kind of like Lord Enele's younger brother in a way.
8. Mila knows secrets about Meruria-- secrets that would absolutely destroy her if they were to get out... Secrets that Meruria would do anything to keep hidden. 

There are a few hiccups, though. For example, Ichiha needs to meet her mother and explain the whole Erin / Kokan situation. Niva has to confront her past in Gloria, Erin with the Barclays, etc. 

But if you compare the ending of the previous Arc to this Arc?

It's so much more upbeat. Yes, it's sad the Eagle Yew had to die, but it still lives on in Yew, you know. 

The main difference is that Mila knows full-well what she has to do. 

Gloria.

It's time for her to pay. 

And...

Uhh...

I would not want to be her right now...

*****

---

*****

Arc 5 ?!?!?!?!?!?

So, next up is Arc 5. I'm sorry to say, but it's nowhere close to being uploaded. As you can see, I often have ideas in the middle of writing that require a drastic rewrite. Even having a buffer of 3-4 chapters / parts isn't long enough. That's why I like to have an entire Arc written and edited before uploading-- because something is always bound to change, which causes other changes, and so on and so on. 

Arc 5, though, is almost split into three parts. Part One, Part Two, and a lengthy intermission from Irisa's PoV (you know, since she's with her mother, father, and Lord Enele, and they're trying to find her grandmother.) At least, that's the plan.

Part One is about 60-ish percent complete. The outline is totally done. Part Two's outline needs a lot of work.

I'm hoping to have everything done before 1 January 2025, but this time of the year is busy for me. I'm working hard, though. I'm at 47k words down, although nothing has been edited. 

*****

---

*****

Anything Else?!?!?!?!?!?

I'm happy with how the Arc turned out. Do I think it could've been better?

I do.

I think it's a little too long in some spots, and maybe with some better editing, I could've cut the word count. And if I had better planning abilities, I wouldn't have had to have that many drastic rewrites.

That's something I'm working on. Arc 5's outline is getting extra focus to reduce the amount of rewrites. That's also why progress has been slow-ish-- because I want to look at things from all angles before writing them down. 

Regardless, I do hope you're looking forward to Arc 5. The tone I'm going for is quite different than what I went for in Arc 4.

If Arc 4 was about reuniting, Arc 5 is about confidence / pride, I guess? 

Anyway, I think that's about all from me.

Thank you so much for reading!!!!!

RuggyRuggy