Arpious of the Planes

I scan the room once again and realize that I'm in a massive 80 by 80 meter dome-shaped room. It was entirely gray and made from artificial-looking smooth stone.

There were 4 exits within it, one being a massive archway about 50 meters tall and the 3 others being about 30 meters tall.

The empty room was lit by the faint white light from the 50-meter tall archway that had a rushing river colliding into it that was made of clear liquid—the hallway's ceiling that came after the archway was missing, allowing bright sunlight to enter.

But back to the river… It was as if there was an invisible barrier blocking the clear liquid from coming into the room.

It looked as if I had awoken on a sacred altar. It looked as if I had awoken in the entrance to heaven… or maybe hell?

"There's no fucking way I died," I mutter to myself while slowly standing up.

"Mistress, where are we?" Anna says, slowly standing up with me while trying to support my limp body to the best of her abilities.

Wait… it's just Anna. Where are the other maids?

I immediately jolt off of Anna and spin in a 360-degree circle, trying to see if my other maids were present… which they weren't. It was just flat smooth stone and the same arches from before.

Each footstep or tiny little movement we did that collided with the room echoed around us. And just like before, everything was silent. I couldn't even hear the rushing river that pummeled the seemingly invisible barrier.

"Damn, have you seen the other girls?" I ask Anna, who was just as confused as I was.

"Regretfully, I have not, please forgive me,"

"You don't need to apologize for something you have no control over," I respond.

Anna bows deeply before following me as I walk towards the biggest arch within the room.

Tup Tup Tup Tup

The sounds of our heels echoed through the room, but that was still the only thing I could hear. Even the rushing clear liquid that was clearly not water couldn't be heard even when we stopped right in front of it.

"Allow me to check if it's safe," Anna says, stepping forward and reaching out her hand.

I had no problems with this, so I let her do what she wanted.

Anna had no hesitation within her movements, even as the palm of her slender white hand reached ever so closely to the rushing clear liquid.

Tap

It stopped. The palm of her hand was stopped by an invisible wall that reacted with her touch.

A gloss swiped over the invisible wall that separated the rushing clear liquid from the massive dome-like room we were currently in.

"It's safe," Anna says, gesturing for me to step forward.

"Well, there's nothing really to do… is my status still here?"

A system panel with the same status appeared in front of me, but there was something that made me frown.

[HP: 49/700  MP: 11/500  SP: 19/500]

How am I almost dead? I have no visible wounds, and I can't sense any internal wounds… so how did I take damage?

"Are you almost dead as well?" I ask Anna who was checking her status as well.

"Yes, though I don't know why," Anna ponders, rubbing her chin.

Well, let's try and recollect what happened before I passed out… The suffocating fog made it quote on quote, impossible to use skills which is the same for trying to fly out… it was impossible as it seemed all the energy from my body had been sucked out.

Once I lost too much oxygen, I fell to the floor, and clear-thick liquid started to rise from the smooth stone floor- wait, clear-thick liquid.

I raise my head and see the rushing river of the clear-thick liquid that was identical to what I had seen before passing out.

"This is what swept us up from when we passed out… and then I can only assume we were flung into this room," I say, stepping forward and touching the clear barrier.

"Then is it a one-way barrier?" Anna asks.

"Probably… let's see if it can take my full strength," I mutter while taking a sturdier stance.

Anna knew immediately what was about to happen, so she takes a few steps back, getting as far as possible away from me. It was smart as anything could happen.

Ssssss

My sharp breath almost ripped through the air, and after finishing my breath, I pulled back my reached-out arm and punched the barrier as hard as I could.

BOOM

Without any latency, I was launched back to the opposite side of the room, coughing up blood and barely hanging onto my conscious.

As I looked up from my blood-covered dress, I saw Anna running towards me while the barrier I had punched disappeared into its seemingly non-existent form… it wasn't even scratched in the slightest.

"Mistress! Please sit back down!" Anna shouts, trying to get me to rest before standing back up.

"*cough* *cough* *cough* *cough* I-I'm fine- urk… I guess I have to use my remaining mana on Ichimei," I say, looking back at my health.

[HP: 29/700  MP: 11/500  SP: 17/500]

I didn't take much damage due to my high defense, but any more risky moves will actually kill me.

[Ancient Fire Magic: Ichimei]

I had no idea where my injury was, so I coated my entire body with a thin layer of white flames, saving only 1 mana point left. If I drop to 0 mana points, I'll probably end up getting mana sickness again.

"Phew… make sure nothing comes near me… I might pass out," I tell Anna before slumping against the smooth stone wall, which had a brick-like pattern.

The wall was also a tad bit darker than the floor…

"Please rest if need be. You can safely place your life in my hands," Anna says, which was reassuring.

I checked my health one last time to see if Ichimei was doing its job before losing consciousness once again.

[HP: 61/700  MP: 1/500  SP: 48/500]

…

[Day 72]

It's dark. Where did all the light go?

As I slowly open my eyes, I see Anna standing beside me, stiffer and straighter than a wooden board.

"Where did all the light go?" I ask Anna as I slowly sit up.

"Oh, Mistress, it is currently nighttime. As you can see in the distance, there is a hint of moonlight, but it pales in comparison to the actual sun," Anna replies.

There were clear bags of exhaustion under her eyes which she tried to hide with her upbeat tone of voice.

"Get some sleep, and let me use Ichimei on you as well. I should have some mana recharged… yep, sit still," I say, turning away from my status and standing up.

[HP: 283/700  MP: 120/500  SP: 218/500]

I then gesture for Anna to take my spot before stretching a bit.

"Thank you very much, Mistress," Anna responds before immediately entering a deep sleep.

[Summon: Phoenix]

My phoenix, which was now half the size of my body, appeared right next to me. It awaited my orders as I continued to finish my warm-up and slight stretching.

"I don't want to waste much mana as of now, so use your white flames on Anna. It might take longer for her to regenerate, but it'll do the job for now," I order my phoenix, who patiently waited.

So… Is it early in the morning or early in the night… I hope it's early in the morning, so my sleep schedule doesn't get fucked up.

After stretching just a bit more, I activated my newly acquired soul equipment.

My massive 3 pronged scythes appeared in my right hand, slightly scaring my phoenix as it just started to use its white flames on Anna.

SHING SHING SHING

This scythe was not only physically massive, but the gap between the weight distribution was massive. The top part where the 3 blades are much heavier than the bottom part which consists of the handle and the 3 dangling daggers.

I'd say the ratio is about 7:3... Yeah, that seems about right with the top part being the 7.

"So weird," I mutter while trying to get used to the scythe's unique weight.

Despite my status displaying full mastery, I most definitely wasn't the best at the scythe. Even a normal scythe with my preferred weight distribution didn't make me the best scytheswoman around.

Hard work will eventually overcome talent, but if the talent puts in hard work, they'll eventually reach taller heights that most people couldn't dream of grasping.

"Wait, what am I doing… I should be trying to find a way out," I mutter, lowering my scythe while scanning the room once more.

But as I finished scanning the room, my eyes landed on the sleeping Anna. She was curled up into a ball and slightly drooling. Her light snores were very cute as well…

Maybe I should make her my pet- no, I can't make everybody my pet.

I know she will definitely agree to be my pet, but that's not what I want. I need a caretaker instead of somebody to provide entertainment for myself.