Lesson One. Training Location: The Mirror Dimension of Kagura Shrine.
The Kagura sisters, as inheritors of one of the Three Sacred Treasures and masters of Kagura-style ancient martial arts, were already at the pinnacle of human ability. The Yata Mirror they controlled possessed formidable powers of creating illusions and sealing energy.
But Cloud believed this was far from enough.
"Your problem is that your power is too 'proper.'"
Inside the mirror dimension, Cloud sat facing the Kagura sisters. Countless mirrors surrounded them, reflecting infinite versions of themselves.
"The Yata Mirror's power is fundamentally about reflection and truth. Using it directly for sealing and defense makes you like a shield-bearer, forever passively responding." Cloud hit the nail on the head. "But what if the shield itself could become the sharpest spear?"
The sisters fell into contemplation.
"Otoma=Raga is a higher-dimensional existence. Conventional physical and energy attacks will have limited effect on her. We must counter her at the level of fundamental laws." Cloud guided them patiently. "And the Yata Mirror happens to have the potential to interfere with laws."
As he spoke, Cloud extended his hand. A sphere of golden energy containing Orochi's sacred majesty slowly materialized in his palm. This was the purest "Power of Existence Definition" he had refined from Orochi's essence.
"Orochi's power is fundamentally 'nothingness'—returning all things to the void. The Yata Mirror represents 'truth'—reflecting the reality of all things. One positive, one negative; one void, one substance. If you could combine them..."
Chizuru's eyes instantly lit up: "Like combining light and shadow?"
"Good metaphor, but not quite accurate." Cloud smiled. "It's more like... installing a delete button on your mirrors."
Under Cloud's guidance, the sisters began attempting to fuse their sacred miko power with that refined Orochi essence.
The process was extraordinarily difficult. Two completely opposite forces clashed and repelled each other inside them, like water fighting fire.
"Don't be afraid. I'm here."
At every critical moment, Cloud reached out, using his vast Dimensional Power to forcibly press the two powers together, acting as an overbearing priest performing a "shotgun wedding."
Under this dual physical and spiritual teaching method, their progress advanced by leaps and bounds.
Seven days later.
The Kagura sisters remained as elegant and refined as ever, but deep in their eyes now gleamed a divine spark capable of seeing through illusion and defining all things.
Maki Kagura slowly extended her right hand. A crystalline Yata Mirror floated in her palm.
But this mirror's edges now crackled with golden threads of void-force, like electric arcs.
"Cloud, watch this."
She spoke softly, aiming the mirror at a massive boulder Cloud had casually created—one infused with a trace of divine power.
"Kagura Style Final Ultimate—Mirror Realm Divine Domain!"
The mirror flashed. The boulder wasn't attacked, wasn't reflected—it simply vanished.
Not shattered. Not teleported. Completely erased from the level of "existence" itself! As if it had never been there.
"We did it!" Chizuru's face broke into a delighted smile.
"More than just erasure." Cloud's eyes showed a glint of appreciation. "Mirror Realm Divine Domain can now define reality within a limited area. In this domain, you can turn existence into nothing—and naturally, nothing into existence."
He pointed at where the boulder had disappeared.
Maki focused her will. The mirror flashed again, and that erased boulder reappeared in its original spot, perfectly intact!
Offense and defense as one. Creation and destruction unified.
The once-guardian shrine maidens had now evolved into Mirror Goddesses wielding "Truth" and "Void"!
"From now on, I won't dare argue with you two." Cloud joked. "If you get mad and delete my game console from the level of existence, who would I cry to?"
The sisters blushed at his words. These newly-minted "Mirror Goddesses" fell into his embrace, beginning their "after-class adult tutoring."
...
Lesson Two. Training Location: NESTS Antarctic Secret Base (renovated by Cloud into a luxury ice castle).
For Kula's enhancement, Cloud took an entirely different approach—the technological route.
"Kula, do you like who you are now?" Cloud sat in the warm control room, watching Kula play with penguins in the frozen wilderness on screen.
"I like it!" Kula answered through the communicator, her voice full of joy. "I have Cloud, I have everyone, and there's endless ice cream!"
"Good." Cloud smiled. "Then if I could make you stronger—strong enough to turn the entire Sahara Desert into ice cream in one breath—would you want that power?"
"Yes!" Kula's answer came without hesitation, her eyes sparkling with longing for "Sahara Desert flavored" ice cream.
What Cloud intended to do was remove the final "limiters" from Kula's body.
As NESTS's most powerful modified human, Kula's body was itself a miracle.
Her freezing ability stemmed from absolute control over water molecule movement. But NESTS had installed multiple failsafes to prevent her from losing control, limiting her power's upper ceiling.
What Cloud would do was use superior NESTS Technology (the complete version plundered from Igniz) to give Kula a thorough system upgrade.
He brought Kula to the base's core laboratory, having her lie in a life-support pod filled with blue nutrient fluid.
"Don't be scared. Just take a nap. When you wake up, there'll be endless ice cream." Cloud spoke gently to Kula.
"Okay!" Kula nodded obediently and closed her eyes.
What followed was Cloud's personal showcase.
He connected his Dimensional Power to the base's supercomputer. Countless data streams cascaded through his divine vision like waterfalls.
[Beginning genetic sequence recombination for test subject Kula Diamond...]
[Removing ability restriction locks 1 through 12... Removal successful.]
[Implanting Anti-K Factor neutralization program, eliminating side effects from ability usage... Implantation successful.]
[Beginning energy core upgrade... Plan selected: Dual-core drive.]
Cloud's design philosophy was simple—since Kula's ability was controlling molecular movement, why could she only make molecules "slow down" into ice? Why not "speed them up" into fire?
What he would grant Kula was absolute mastery over "temperature" itself!
...
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