Something sweet invaded Yuzuriha's nostrils. It was faint at first, but it lingered just long enough to stir up her senses.

  It was warm, fruity and thick with sugar, like summer berries soaked in syrup. It almost smelled like the delicious dessert she tasted yesterday.

  "...Jam"

  The word slipped from her lips as her mind clung to that gentle fruity aroma. Frankly it was pulling her up from whatever state of being she was in right now.

  It was hard to say, but her body felt like it was somewhere between sleep and wakefulness.

  For some reason her limbs felt heavy, her breathing was slow and there was a dull ache that echoed at the base of her skull. Everything just felt…slowed.

  However, that wasn't a long-lasting effect, they felt duller the more she gained consciousness.

  That said, she hadn't opened her eyes yet. Not that would have made a difference. After all, the darkness around her remained, but it was…different somehow.

  It was thick and deeper, not like the usual formless void she constantly saw.

  "Yor!"

  And there were also voices beside her that were getting clearer by the second. The one that called out her name pierced through her consciousness like a trumpet.

  "Wake up, dummy!"

  "Willow, enough already. Would you not yell at her? It's clearly not working. You'll end up damaging her ear if you keep shouting at it like that"

  "Someone has to do something. If big sis comes back and sees this, she is going to be mad. Your horrible smelly jam didn't work, so I'm handling this now!"

  "I don't understand, she enjoyed it yesterday. And it's not horrible! You wouldn't know the taste of good food even if it hit you in the face!"

  Even in her dazed state, Yuzuriha could tell that Willow and Leo were arguing over something. Their words flicked back and forth like tiny birds pecking at each other.

  Meanwhile, her mind no longer lingered in the dark. Her body wasn't numb anymore, she could feel her legs, her fingers and the dull throb in her head was fading fast.

  She felt air against her skin and the slight tremble of the floor beneath her was a lot clearer compared to yesterday. Or even earlier today…wait.

  'How long have I been passed out?'

  That question caused her to open her eyes and sit up slowly, one hand planted behind her to support herself and the other wiping off the daze in her eyes.

  And then, that was when she realized something.

  "Huh, what is…?"

  She blinked. Once. Twice. Trice.

  "...What…?"

  Her eyes were open. Like literally they were open. The world wasn't pitch black anymore.

  She could actually see!

  But this wasn't how she remembered sight working.

  The room was…glowing.

  It was hard to explain but what she saw was a shifting landscape of light and color, flowing like water currents. She didn't see objects in a traditional sense, they were different. Way different.

  She saw outlines made from energy. Auras surrounding people, pulsing threads moving through the air, flowing from walls and floor.

  It was an incredible sight. Mystical even. This was exactly what she saw the last time she did training with Marcille, however it was a bit different.

  She looked left and saw the form of Leo. It didn't look like a boy per say, but a figure of polished mahogany wrapped in threads of burnt orange and quiet bronze.

  His structure was warm, controlled, and deliberate, with flickers of anxiety darting like moths beneath his chest. At his hands something glowed faintly, he was holding a circle shape, probably a plate.

  Next to Leo was the little girl Willow.

  She also didn't have a clear form. What Yuzuriha could see was a much smaller shape, bubbling with energy. She saw her like a fluttering spirit, violet and fuchsia and sharp at the edges.

  They were both so beautiful, Yuzuriha was at a loss for words.

  Suddenly, a pair of arms pulled her into an embrace.

  "Oh, Bless the Stars! I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for any of this. My dear, my dear Yor…!"

  That voice came from Grace. Her form appeared before Yuzuriha as well.

  She in a way was a tall figure of pale amber glass. Cracked in places but inside still burned a sapphire flame. Her scent was like rosemary soaked in tea and ink. An oddly calming fragrance.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  Yuzuriha's arms found their way around her too, accepting the embrace as the memories of what happened before she passed out surfaced.

  "Oh, she's awake! Look big brother! She's awake!"

  Fortunately, Willow's squeal pulled her out of that dreadful memory before fully surfacing.

  "I told you the jam would work"

  Yuzuriha turned her eyes back on them and their textures seemed to change. Leo's colors were smoothed into softer bronze and Willow's flares flickered faster, but with less panic and more excitement.

  Both of them immediately ran up to her and joined in the embrace. Tears practically flowed out from Willow as she begged her not to do that again.

  Honestly, this was the second time Yuzuriha had woken up to something like this. She didn't hate it but wished the conditions for it were a bit different.

  'Sawatari…'

  This didn't seem like a good time to be calling out to her assistant, but she was too eager to know what that was all about. And what exactly happened to her.

  In touching that Sacrament, she knew for a fact that something had changed. That much was evident in the way she was perceiving her surroundings right now.

  ?? The operation was a success ??

  After a few seconds, Sawatar's voice rang through all the cries and sobs.

  'Operation? What happened to me?'

  ?? You have entered an adaptive symbiotic state with Azure Ooze. Its core essence now has become a part of you. Combining it with the Spirit Arts [Astris Perception], your visual cortex has been rerouted via an astris conduction. ??

  ?? In layman's terms, your blindness has been overridden ??

  'Blindness has been overridden?'

  Yuzuriha took a moment to process what that meant and when she did, her eyes widened.

  "...Whaaaat!"

  ***

  "Yor, are you telling me that you are no longer blind?"

  Grace's voice came from Yuzuriha's left. There wasn't necessarily a need for her to designate people or stuff with sound anymore, but it felt more comforting than what she was looking at now.

  Currently, they are in a different room than before. The kitchen to be specific, a warmer part of the home with scents of spice, firewood, and something sweet cooking.

  However, before arriving here, Yuzuriha remembered shouting 'what' in the bedroom which startled everyone. She attempted to explain but didn't really know how to phrase her words into something easier to understand.

  Luckily, Grace was there for the assist. Mostly because Yuzuriha was leaning toward telling the two kids what happened in her workshop.

  That must be the reason why she decided to send them away to prepare dinner.

  'I would have understood that, but why are we here staring at them if what you wanted is some privacy?'

  That was a question she didn't have a plausible answer to.

  'Trying to understand the mind of this woman is draining'

  She and Grace both leaned on a wall. The woman had asked her a question Yuzuriha wasn't entirely sure how she would answer.

  She turned toward the two kids, trying to put her new sight to good use.

  Next to the stove was Leo focusing on finishing dinner. She couldn't make out the contents of what he was preparing but the smell of something rich and broth based made her stomach grumble.

  The room was filled with the scent of caramelized onions, savory herbs, and maybe some duck or turkey, she didn't remember which was which.

  This reminded her of instructions Marcille told her earlier to relay onto Leo.

  'I was passed out for who knows how long. And besides, he seems to be cooking for dinner right now anyways'

  But more importantly, she could see the way his body glowed with intensity. Leo's form shimmered in delicate threads of bronze and warm brown, like brush strokes layered over his silhouette.

  The movement of his hand as he stirred the pot was odd in a sense. It was like seeing two separate hands stirring the pot and achieving the same exact result.

  It was strange, but before she could investigate how it was happening, the form of Willow came into view.

  The little girl was setting up the plates at the dinner table, not just that but also stacking them into a pyramid first for some reason.

  By the looks of it, she was trying to balance five porcelain dishes at once for reasons only she understood. Yuzuriha certainly didn't understand them.

  The form of her astris seemed to flicker like violet lightning, energetic and disobedient as she danced around the table barefoot.

  The table wasn't wooden per se, but to Yuzuriha's eyes, it looked like a dense knot of roots swirling into place.

  It wasn't just the table that was like that. Every object in this room carried a sort of visual weight that was strange, overwhelming and also…beautiful.

  As cool and different this was, it wasn't the same as having normal sight.

  She finally looked toward Grace, who had a radiant outline, calm, like honeyed glass catching sunlight from a strained window.

  Yuzuriha couldn't help but frown at this description. But still, Grace's question still needed an answer.

  "Well…it's complicated. A bit hard to explain really"

  She began fiddling her fingers together and letting her eyes wonder again.

  "I wouldn't say I'm… not blind anymore. Not in the way you're thinking. I mean, I can see, but at the same time, I can't see. As in I can't see like a normal person. I can't see faces or colors the way you do. Not really. I wouldn't even be able to tell you what your hair looks like, or the patterns on the plates Willow's stacking"

  She exhaled a deep breath before continuing.

  "But I can see things now that most people probably can't. The air is full of movement. I can see how people feel. Or at least, how their astris is reacting to the world and how it reacts back. For example, when Leo was cutting herbs earlier, I could see the scent of rosemary floating in the air. A curling shape, like the smoke from a candle. I didn't know you could see smells"

  It made her wonder if she really could smell colors now.

  She went quiet for a bit, leaving Grace the stage to respond. However she also had gone silent. Her hand was placed on her chin.

  And then, her expression wavered into awe.

  "You're seeing astris in its raw, unfiltered and reactive state. Most advanced practitioners can barely get beyond detection, let alone vision. This is…"

  Grace buckled down to Yuzuriha's height and met her gaze closely…too close.

  "Revolutionary!"

  She whispered in excitement and continued to do so.

  "This isn't exactly the outcome I hoped for but it's a lot better than I thought. The shape and color of your eyes haven't changed one bit from where I'm standing. However, from the way you explain it, I suppose it worked in a different way but still achieved the same result!"

  Yuzuriha raised her brow with a question, she whispered.

  "Huh, what does that mean? What happened to me while I was passed out?"

  Grace chuckled and spoke.

  "I cannot say for certain, you were out for five hours. And please, don't be alarmed. I think Azure Ooze has entered your body and integrated with it. Hence the reason for your newfound way of perceiving the world"

  It was like a sign of an omen, or the beat drop of a punchline to a bad joke but a loud crash rang out right in front of them.

  "Oh, nooo!"

  When they both turned their heads to look, Willow had dropped the plate pyramid.

  "Damn it Willow, why do you never listen to me!"

  "I slipped! I'm sorry!"

  And just like that, the two went back to bickering. It wasn't really bickering, more like Leo scolding Willow who was fully submitting for once.

  Yuzuriha grinned because she saw the shattered plates as petals of broken light. However, that sight didn't last because there was another sudden loud noise.

  This one came at the door, and the voice that accompanied it had the tension of the room on a chokehold.

  "Yor! Willow! Leo! I'm home!"

  It was Marcille.