A Villainess Should Be Strong

"How.. do I begin?" Estelle was lost. In her hands was the element she had produced, but she couldn't comprehend what the Ruler meant by healing her soul power.

In theory, it would work. Applying it in reality was a different matter, though. She still had to be led by an instruction if she wanted to rush things up.

The Ruler didn't answer her immediately. It pondered for a moment before coming back to deliver a message one more time.

"Have you used healing magic? Wait, that's not right. You can use all magic except that counterpart of yours, correct?" The Ruler clarified.

"Yes, I can," Estelle was well aware of this convenient ability of hers. She nodded, confirming the claim.

"Well then, that feeling when you apply healing magic onto a target, do you know how that connects? As the receiver?" The Ruler asked.

Estelle began imagining when was the last time she practiced the healing magic or used it upon others.

"As the receiver, it's like a warm feeling.. a heaping, soothing energy bursts from you and, well.." Estelle tried to recall the exact feeling, but she hadn't gotten hurt a lot and rarely used the magic.

She had used healing magic on others more than on herself.

Most of the time, her excellent physique covered for her mistakes and made her heal fast enough that she didn't need the magic.

"Well, the process you're going to go through is similar to that feeling. You can just emulate the feeling of being 'healed'. Treat your soul power like a patient, and heal it using your combination magic.

"Where is this place that I'm going to heal?" Estelle tilted her head as she asked.

"Everything. Your limbs, your head, heal every place that is losing soul power. Once your condition is restored back to full, then you will be ejected from Eterna,"

"One more thing. This is a future matter, but will I be able to use this combination magic outside the Eterna?"

"If the requirements were met, then yes. If there is nothingness for you to utilize, you can create the same energy. The increase in your internal strength is permanent, though. Like that improvement with your Creation Magic?"

Estelle nodded, feeling elated that she would keep her benefits. She hasn't found much use to the combination magic yet, but she expected that it would come to be of use some day in the future. Her instincts told her that, and she was always sharp in terms of natural judgements.

But there was still one thing that Estelle wanted to ask. An off topic question.

"You seem to know a lot. How?" Estelle launched the question out of pure curiosity.

"Hm? In regards to what? This matter?"

"This.. and everything else. Is it obvious to you? All my worries, and the situation I'm in,"

Every time Estelle asked a question, the Ruler would have an answer. It was so strange, to the point that she wondered if the Ruler already had an answer key filled with the questions she asked. The being answered her so fast, like it was experienced with said question well.

"Well- some of it, yes. The others.. for example, this matter is a bit familiar to me," The Ruler answered.

"Familiar?" Estelle recalled that in the first day she stepped inside Eterna, the Ruler did mention that she was familiar. Her heart began to race as she waited for the Ruler's follow up.

"Hmm, you can't say that no one that wasn't a Value 0 has ever stepped into the lands of Eterna. You're not the first one with this case,"

The Ruler's big reveal made Estelle frown.

"What?! There were other cases?" Shocked, Estelle raised her voice. How could that be? She thought that she was caught in this stressful matter because of her inlaid fate, was that not the case?

"Your soul is special, and that was what caused you to be dragged here. That's the premise behind it. Once.. there was another individual who was just as peculiar as you," The Ruler reminisced. "With a strong soul, he was someone who underwent a lot of trials before he came into Eterna. After doing his necessary duties, he freed himself from the Eterna and began to embark on further journeys,"

With Estelle's strong emotional sensor, she was able to catch on to the melancholic tone in its voice. Like a sentiment towards a dear old friend.

Every now and then, the Ruler would shift into different tones, making Estelle chuckle at how bad it was in hiding the emotions it had.

"Who was that man?"

"The first Constellation leader.. I believe you guys call him the Sage? He wasn't a Sage at all, though!" The Ruler laughed.

"The Sage.. That Sage? He went here, too?" Estelle became even more shocked with the revelation.

"Yes. In fact, I think you share a lot of similarities with him,"

"...How so?" Estelle first heard of that same claim being directed at her by Heine, who said that she was like the Sage.

"When I look at you, your story really reminds me of the Sage's path. It's different in a parallel way. Like two problems that aren't directly related, yet share the same points. For example, he too had problems with being a Constellation leader. He didn't even notice his status until he was near his demise. Luckily, I caught it in time,"

"..Huh?" Estelle began to sense something amiss. "Constellation leader? 'Too'?"

By the word 'too', didn't the Ruler imply that Estelle was also a Constellation leader?

"..Are you not a Constellation?" This time, the Ruler's voice was the one who became shocked.

Estelle ruffled her hair, knowing that a misunderstanding must've occurred. The Ruler was all knowing, how did he mistake her for a leader when she hadn't initiated anything?

"I don't even know what this whole Constellation thing was-," Estelle stopped her words from coming out. That wasn't right. She knew what Constellations were, and her colleagues seem to view her as the leader position, but she hadn't actually understood about the concept.

Correcting herself, she coughed and continued her words. "Someone did explain a bit to me, so I know what a Constellation is, but me? A leader? I haven't done anything,"

"You don't have to do anything. In order to become a Constellation leader, you have to fulfill the requirements. That's it, really. After that, the members' selection will occur," The Ruler said. "You are already a Constellation leader, you know?"

"Wait, wait, what? No way," Estelle denied, waving her hands as she debunked the Ruler's theory. "Besides, if that's the case, then when did I fulfill the requirements? And won't somebody who knows these easily become the next leader? Why me?"

Estelle was confused, understandably. She questioned the Ruler with rows of questions.

"Well- of course not anybody can become a Constellation leader of member! The requirements are hellish, and unless you are born with the talents, it won't be achievable. The members are appointed by the leader through a consensual contract, but the leader.. is appointed by the world itself,"

"..What are these requirements?" Estelle asked.

"To be acknowledged by the world, one must possess all the races' blessings and be able to use all the elements inside said world. That's the world's highest form of favorability towards you,"

"No, you are clearly favored by the entire vast lands. Even the monsters and new race are fond of you, no?" The Ruler spoke as if Estelle was the one spouting nonsense.

In its eyes, everything was clear. Estelle's identity, the world's situations, everything.

"I didn't know about all this.. Wait, could it be..?" Estelle recalled a certain part of hers that she has been putting aside for a while.

The seals on her status. The seals that she never touched or tried to unlock, the ones she never paid attention to ever since she learned that she wasn't able to open them by herself.

"I was told that I have seals covering parts of my status. Could that be it?" Estelle brought the matter up.

"Let me check, then," The Ruler hummed as it performed something in relation to Estelle's status. After a few seconds of checking, the Ruler continued its speech. "..You really do have the seals. Well, I will unlock those seals for you,"

"You can do it? Wait, not that, you're allowed to do it?" Estelle had thought that beings like the Ruler would certainly not be allowed to help or involve themselves with a mortal, especially one of a different realm's matters.

The Ruler took in her concern. It considered her points, and came up with a suitable answer.

"The seal's opening is within my realm of expertise, and the world's karma will treat this as a lucky encounter falling onto you. You have suffered much more, so this luck will be considered a justifiable balance factor. This is also the Eterna, where my authority matters the most in terms of direct matters. The world's karma still applies here, but since you are the Surface's dweller... Well, just trust me. It'll be fine." The Ruler announced in one long paragraph.

As she heard the words, Estelle found it hard to keep up with the Ruler's explanation.

"Wait. Stop. World's karma? I don't understand. Tell me everything there is to the Surface, the Underworld, and the Eterna. Hell, you don't even have to say it personally, but please document it in a neat manner..?" Estelle asked gently, rubbing the side of her head as she tried to process all the barrage of information.

She was experiencing an information overload, which hurt her mind as it was crowding her thoughts heavily.

"..I shall do that before you return to the Surface," The Ruler relented, agreeing to the girl's solution.

There were much more that it knew about.