Flashback to the evening before Habiki set off to find Naki
Listeria Magic Academy - Habiki's Room
Heavy winds blew as light rain splattered the windows, producing a melody that could either be soothing or distracting.
For Habiki - who stayed up deep into the night studying a grimoire - it was the latter.
She left her seat and walked up to the windows.
Looking outside, she surmised the rain wouldn't let up anytime soon
"Huhh, as much as I love the rain, I really can't afford to succumb to its alluring music right now. I have magic practicals tomorrow."
She shut the blinds and turned, walking back to her seat
But then, the blinds opened on their own once again
The shutter sound they made grabbed her attention as she quickly turned back around to find not her window where the blind was, but a dark, fizzing gate
"Huh? whe-where did that come from?" she panicked
Then her bell earring swayed and chimed loudly, followed by a voice in her head.
"[Habiki, let me]," the voice said
She stayed silent for a while and then nodded, "Okay".
As soon as she did, her whole demeanor changed, as her eyes glowed amber
The divine entity Keifa was partially taking over her body.
Shortly after, someone walked in from the dark fizzing gate.
It was Lucille, the same one that had appeared before Naki.
"Lucille" Habiki, now as Keifa said, her face twisted into a frown
"Keifa, that look does not suit you," Lucille said with a sly smile
"You have some nerve showing yourself before me, devil," she tried intimidation
It landed poorly on one who is a master of it
"Hm-hm-hm," the devil chuckled ironically
"And what is it you find so funny?" she asked, annoyed
"Ah, nothing much. Just... the concept of hope," he said
"Hope?"
"Yes. Hope is not peculiar only to mankind, but to the divine as well."
"For you see, because humanity has been given a free will, the divine must hope they act according to that which their own will expects of them."
Lucille said, walking towards Keifa gently.
"But unfortunately, humanity is prone to error. So, the divine attempts to offer guidance, but that is precisely what free will hates most, and thus - chaos ensues."
Then he stopped a few steps away from her and smiled cunningly
"It is in this chaos that we must thrive. Otherwise, there simply is no hope, is there?[1]" he said
Keifa stared bluntly at Lucille, clearly unappreciative of his riddles
"Spare me your riddles, Lucille, and tell me why you are here."
"Hm-hm-hm, I always seem to pick the impatient ones these days." Lucille smiled and pointed to the bell earring she wore
"I am here, Keifa, to give you back what you have lost," he said
"And what is that?"
The devil cut a satisfied smile and casually walked over to Habiki's table
"I see I've piqued your interest," he said, picking up the Grimoire she was studying.
"You'll be piquing more than that if you don't explain yourself, Lucille," Keifa commanded as her eyes glowed a fierce light.
The devil smiled and casually turned over the Grimoire's pages.
"They say knowledge is power, but it can also be...isolation." Lucille started explaining.
"You knew too much, Keifa, and was consequently deemed too dangerous. So you were stripped of your right as a divine and banished from the council."
Keifa frowned; it was not a pleasant memory for her
"You lost all that was dear to you and were forced to suffer this acursed fate of eternal reincarnation, a fate so cruel it is not so different from being comatose."
"Ultimately, you were rendered useless," he concluded with an evil grin
Keifa stared at the floor in dismay. The devil's words were no manipulation, it was fact
"But," Lucille said and forcefully closed the grimoire, the 'clap' sound getting Keifa's attention
"Being the generous person I am, I always offer a hand to those in need."
Keifa scoffs, "And what exactly can you offer me that I am unable to claim for myself, Lucille?"
"Hope and release"
Keifa frowns
"I have, ironically, more knowledge for you. If you help my sigil bearer feed the vessel within him, I shall reveal this knowledge to you."
"..." Keifa remained silent.
"And thus, you can hope for a future without the curse of eternal reincarnation."
Lucille smiled and walked over to Keifa, taking with him the grimoire
"As for release, well, fulfill your end of the bargain, and that shall be yours as well."
He offered her the grimoire
"Do we have a deal?" Lucille said
Keifa contemplated it for a short while and then hesitantly accepted the grimoire as it lit up in crimson.
She accepted the terms
Back to Naki's home
Habiki was explaining to him these events and why she appeared
"That is how we learned about you, Naki," she said
"(Going by what she's said, there's no doubt that was Lucille)"
Naki thought for a while
"So, if I get this straight. Your mistress Keifa, is formerly of the divine council"
"But because she found some dark secret about the realms of the divine, she was cursed and banished to suffer an endless cycle of reincarnation," said Naki
Habiki nodded, "Yes; I am currently mistress Keifa's 80th vessel in this cycle."
"Heh, that would explain why she was so eager to accept Lucille's deal."
Naki said and sat on the ground.
"I understand how you knew about me now. But what of this talk about saving the world? Something no one else knows?" he asked.
Habiki's bell chimes for a brief moment.
"[Go on Habiki, you can tell him. He might be able to help us as Lucille's vessel, after all.]" Keifa spoke to her
"[Understood, mistress]" she replied
Then, she removed a relic from her cloak and showed it to Naki.
His devil sigil instantly lit up with an itching sensation
Naki quickly held his hand and looked up to the relic
"What is that thing?" he asked, warily.
"This is called a will stone. It is one of only 4 in existence."
"Will stone?" Naki asked again
"My mistress discovered these stones are directly tied to the will of humanity."
"It is responsible for free will, the will to become one's self, what makes us who we are"
"Such a small stone harbors that much power?" Naki murmured, staring at it carefully
"Yes. You could say he who possesses them all, holds in his hands the fate of humanity."
"And with it, he can decide the direction humanity takes, whether to live, to die, or do his bidding. Ultimately, there will be no more free will."
"Not for you, not for me, and most certainly not for the entities that currently borrow our souls as their vessel," Habiki said bluntly.
"(Not good, if that comes to pass I won't live my reincarnated life as planned; and even the devil will be the least of my problems)," Naki thought as Habiki returned the stone to her keeping.
"My mistress was banished because she learned some of the members in the divine council were planning to use these stones to eliminate free will across all worlds."
"But before her fate was sealed, she managed to swipe this off their keeping."
"So what exactly is their endgame here?" Naki asked.
"A world without free will. They claim that without free will, there isn't chaos, and without chaos, humanity lives according to their will. A will free of vices, and free of everything evil."
"A paradise, they say," Habiki replied
Naki pondered for a moment all that Habiki had just revealed to him and then spoke his piece.
"What nonsense. It's ironic that even the 'gods' are blind to the fact that it is our will that makes us who we are; taking that away from us makes us no different from sheep."
Habiki smiled as Naki stood up, seemingly reinvigorated
"Some, gods. My mistress is not one of them. And it seems Lucille chose wisely too," she remarked
"Maybe, but I lost a life already to the whims of fate. I will not let some shortsighted gods toil with my 2nd chance of living the best life I can."
Naki then turns to Habiki and offered his right hand
"And if I must master the devil's power to prevent that outcome, then so be it." he let out a subtle smile
"I don't yet know the full story, but I will help your mistress fulfill her side of the bargain."
"In return, teach me how to control my magic, Habiki."
Habiki nodded with a satisfied smile
"Certainly, Naki."
She accepted his hand as both the bell and the sigil glowed faint lights in resonance.
"Together, let us free ourselves from fate and live the best life we can." she concluded
They had found their resolve, and thus, the first real lesson on magic control for Naki was about to begin.
[1] I'd rather not explain the devil's words to my readers but just this once -
What he means is that guidance must be offered to the ensuing chaos, not against it, because chaos will always happen regardless of what form divine intervention takes
Now, try to figure out why he's telling Keifa this in the chapter. :)