I kept my face as neutral as possible.
Barely.
Braska and Elle were still talking to each other, doing a bit of emotional catching up, and now was not the ideal time for me to look like I'd just swallowed my own brain.
I hadn't heard from Karma in years.
Years.
Not once.
Not during the docks.
Not during Bevelle.
Not while I was skipping through time like a lunatic with no safety manual.
And now?
Now it chose to come back online?
And how in the ever-loving hell did Storage of all things evolve?
Does it stop time or something?
Does it preserve things?
Does it—
No.
Breathe first.
Think second.
Panic later.
Adrian: Karma, what does evolving Storage do?
As long as the bounds of Storage are dictated beforehand, the possibilities, although not endless, are still filled with many variations and applications.
My mind reeled.
That…
That was not a normal answer.
Didn't that basically mean I could make Storage do almost anything as long as I defined the rules correctly?
Okay.
I really needed to think carefully about this.
Then a memory surfaced from somewhere in the back of my head.
Wait a minute.
I remembered reading a fanfic in my past life with an ability like this.
The protagonist had been a complete kleptomaniac and the way he abused Storage was absolutely insane.
Yeah, it was a Harry Potter fanfic, but still.
The way he used that power?
Broken as hell.
My eyes narrowed.
Oh.
That was dangerous.
I loved it immediately.
Adrian: Karma, please evolve Storage to the same as the one from "Harry Potter: The Boy Who Never Was."
There was a pause.
Then—
System searching…
Error. Error. Not of this Multiverse.
Fixing scans…
Storage located.
Syncing timeline… Successfully synced.
Locating interface… No interface found.
Upgrading Storage system…
Re-synching… Successful.
Attained excess memories provided by Harry Potter Multiverse world and condensed into orbs.
Attained seven years worth of memory fragments from protagonist and placed into Storage.
Storage system is now online.
…whaaa?
No.
No no no.
I blinked once.
Then twice.
The notification didn't disappear.
It just sat there in front of me like it hadn't casually told me it had reached across multiversal boundaries, stolen a concept, rebuilt my ability, and then gifted me somebody else's condensed memories in orb form.
My breathing slowed.
Not because I was calm—
—but because my brain was trying very hard not to explode.
That thing had been dead silent while I was out here breaking timelines, saving legendary figures, and throwing myself face-first into destiny with all the grace of a falling wrench—
—and now it woke up and handed me what sounded like the single most dangerous utility ability imaginable.
That was not suspicious at all.
Not even a little.
Something shifted.
Not outside.
Inside.
Not a sound.
Not a voice.
Just… a feeling.
Like opening a drawer that should have been empty—
—and realizing it wasn't.
I frowned.
Adrian: Karma… open Storage.
For a moment—
Nothing happened.
Then—
It opened.
But not like I expected.
Not like a clean interface.
Not like a list.
No.
It felt like I had just reached somewhere else.
My mind dipped into something vast.
Heavy.
Occupied.
And unfamiliar.
My breath hitched.
Adrian: …what the hell…?
There were things in there.
Not just items.
Not just objects.
Presence.
Weight.
History.
Things I did not remember putting there and trust me, there were a LOT of things in there ranging from candy to what looks like a Dump truck and a whole lot of random things.
My instincts kicked in.
I reached for a hammer.
The moment I did—
A flicker.
A glitch.
A sensation that sent a chill down my spine.
For just a split second—
It felt like something had slipped.
Like something had been taken from somewhere it didn't belong.
Then—
It was in my hand.
I stared at it.
Adrian: …I don't remember storing this.
I didn't answer.
Because something else hit me at the same time.
Memories.
Not mine.
Fragments.
Broken pieces.
Harry Potter.
Messy black hair.
A grin that screamed trouble.
A room—
No.
A space.
Endless.
Organized.
Controlled.
Owned.
And for just a moment—
I felt something else.
Awareness.
Not mine.
Not Karma's.
Something distant.
Something that hadn't noticed me—
—but would.
Eventually.
The connection snapped.
Gone.
Just like that.
I staggered slightly, catching myself before I fell.
My tone sharpened.
Adrian: Karma. Explain.
There was a pause.
Longer than usual.
Then—
Storage system is functioning within defined parameters.
…
That was not an answer.
That was a dodge.
A blatant one.
I narrowed my eyes.
Adrian: Karma. Those items weren't mine.
Another pause.
Storage has been successfully integrated.
No inconsistencies detected.
Lie.
Blatant lie.
I exhaled slowly.
Alright.
Fine.
We were playing it like that.
I forced my expression back to neutral and turned toward Braska and Elle.
They were both still watching me.
Still waiting.
Still completely unaware that I may or may not have just tapped into something that absolutely should not exist.
I smiled.
Adrian: Change of plans.
Elle: Why do I not like the sound of that?
Adrian: That power-up I mentioned?
A small pause.
Adrian: It's better than I thought.
That wasn't the problem.
The problem was—
I had an idea of whose power it actually was and I feel as though I may just end up influencing another cannon even that may not be mine.