The Bit Bucket

A Transgender Paranormal Romantasy

From the Paranormal Visitor Universe

Chapter 22: The Reward Revealed

By Sasha Zarya Nexus

Will a higher power recognize Meda for her choice of using redemptive power rather than turning to destruction?
How will Aislynn's College for the Blessed react when they find out how Meda is rewarded for the way that she offered redemption to her sister Morgana occurs?

Copyright 2025 by Sasha Zarya Nexus.
All Rights Reserved.

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The crystalline spires of Aislinn's College gleamed with renewed brilliance in the aftermath of the great battle, their surfaces reflecting not just light but hope itself. Meda stood in the college's highest observatory, the Stellar Prism still warm in her hands, feeling the cosmic forces that had been set in motion by their victory over Morgana's darkness. The artifact network hummed with harmonious energy, no longer weapons of war but instruments of healing that resonated throughout the magical realms.

The recognition came not with fanfare or celestial trumpets, but with a gentle shift in the fabric of reality itself. As Meda gazed out at the swirling cosmos beyond the college's protective barriers, she felt the attention of forces so ancient and vast that they predated the sorceresses themselves. The cosmic principles that governed the balance between creation and destruction, light and shadow.

Well done, daughter of transformation, a voice spoke directly into her consciousness, carrying the weight of eons and the warmth of infinite compassion. You have chosen the harder path, the one that requires true courage. Love over vengeance, healing over destruction, understanding over judgment.

Eva moved to stand beside her sister, the Empathic Crown still glowing softly on her brow as she felt the cosmic acknowledgment washing over them both. "They're pleased with our choice," she said softly, her voice filled with wonder. "The universe itself is celebrating what we accomplished."

Wanda joined them, her artifact fragment pulsing with sympathetic resonance. "The cosmic balance has been restored," she observed, studying the readings from her various magical instruments. "But more than that, it's been strengthened. Your decision to heal Morgana instead of destroying her has created new pathways for redemption throughout the magical realms."

The divine recognition manifested in ways both subtle and profound. Throughout the college, students reported that their magical abilities had grown stronger, more focused. The barriers between different magical disciplines began to dissolve, allowing for new forms of collaborative magic that had never been possible before. Even the college's reality matrix had evolved, becoming more stable yet more flexible, capable of adapting to the needs of its inhabitants.

As the cosmic forces settled into their new configuration, Meda felt something unprecedented stirring within her consciousness. The Stellar Prism in her hands began to resonate with frequencies she had never experienced before, not the familiar harmonics of stellar manipulation, but something deeper, more fundamental.

"I can feel it," she whispered, her voice filled with awe and growing understanding. "The power to restore... not just to heal wounds or mend broken objects, but to bring back what was lost entirely."

The revelation came through Andromeda's memories, but these were new memories, knowledge that had been locked away until this moment of cosmic recognition. The greatest reward for choosing love over vengeance wasn't just victory or peace, but the ability to undo the deepest losses, to restore what had been sacrificed in the name of the greater good.

Eva's empathic abilities allowed her to sense the magnitude of what her sister was experiencing. "You're not just talking about healing," she said, understanding flooding through her. "You're talking about resurrection. True resurrection."

Aislinn materialized in the observatory, her ancient eyes reflecting both joy and caution. "The power of restoration is the rarest gift in the universe," she said, her voice carrying the weight of millennia. "It's granted only to those who have proven beyond doubt that they will use such power wisely, without thought of personal gain."

The cosmic forces that had acknowledged Meda's choice began to weave new patterns in the magical matrix surrounding the college. The Stellar Prism blazed with light that seemed to contain not just starfire, but the essence of life itself—the fundamental force that animated all existence.

The decision came not from calculation or planning, but from the simple recognition of what her heart had always known. Standing in the observatory with the power of true resurrection flowing through her, Meda felt the absence that had shaped her entire journey, the loss of Sarah, not as Eva her sister, but as the woman she had loved in life.

"I know what I want to do," Meda said quietly, her voice steady despite the magnitude of what she was contemplating. "I want to bring Sarah back. Not as a memory or a spirit, but as herself, alive, whole, in her original body."

In that moment Eva became transfigured, and she was more than just the reincarnation of Sarah, but the full manifestation of the original Eva.

The revealed original Eva's expression showed no jealousy or concern, only understanding and support. "You want to restore her to life so you can love her as she was meant to be loved," she said. "Not as your sister, but as your partner. There is a prerequisite and that is for me to unbind myself from the reincarnated Sarah so that her soul stands alone. Sarah will retain the power she gained and the knowledge she obtained when she was joined with me since we have always shared the same gifts."

The original spirit Eva, wearing the Empathic crown, emerged from the reincarnated Eva in preparation for the return to life for Sarah. Her spirit presence was very powerful as compared to any other spirit at Aislinn's College.

"There is another coming who will want me to bind with her in reincarnation. I depart in physical form and return to being a spirit, waiting until that time comes to be manifest again. A new Eva will return in body before all the cosmic forces at my command are needed again. Even as we communed all that time, I will ever be with you, my beloved sister. I love you, Andromeda."

Meda spoke with the resonance of her memories from Andromeda, "And I will be with you, dear sister, as we have been since our birth ages ago. Thank you for helping us through our reincarnation and challenges. Thank you for helping Sarah and teaching her how best for her to use her gifts because they are the same as your gifts. I look forward to interacting with your spirit at Aislinn's College for the Blessed. I love you, too, Eva."

The process required more than just power. It demanded perfect understanding of the soul being restored, complete knowledge of their essence and identity. Fortunately, Meda possessed both through their shared experiences in the Bit Bucket and Eva's time as Sarah's reincarnated form.

Working together, the sisters began to weave the restoration magic. The Stellar Prism served as a focus, while the Empathic Crown provided the emotional resonance needed to call a soul back from the realm of spirits. Wanda's artifact fragment added stability to the process, ensuring that the restoration would be complete and permanent. In the center of the three sisters was the physical Eva, soon to be Sarah brought back to life again.

The magic that flowed through them was unlike anything they had experienced before. Where reincarnation had been about transformation and change, true resurrection was about perfect preservation, bringing back exactly what had been lost.

As the restoration magic reached its crescendo, something extraordinary happened. Instead of simply returning Sarah to her original state, the cosmic forces that governed the process recognized the growth and development she had experienced as Eva. The magical abilities she had gained, the wisdom she had acquired, the bonds she had formed. All of these were preserved and integrated into her restored form. However, this Sarah would start out at the same age of Meda so that they be equals.

"She's keeping everything," Wanda breathed, watching as the restoration took shape before them. "All the power she gained as Eva, all the knowledge, all the connections. They're becoming part of who she is."

The figure that materialized in the observatory was unmistakably Sarah, the same storm-gray eyes, the same gentle strength, the same compassionate spirit that had first guided Fred through the Bit Bucket. But she was also more than she had been before, enhanced by her experiences as Eva without losing her essential self. This was also not the adult Sarah that Fred had lost but a teen Sarah, full of youthful joy, and a perfect match for Meda,

When Sarah's eyes opened and focused on Meda, her smile was radiant with recognition and joy. "Hello, love," she said, her voice carrying both the warmth of their original connection and the wisdom of their shared journey. "I remember everything, being your guide in the Bit Bucket, our time as sisters, and now... this. Thank you for your gift of love, Meda."

Meda wrapped Sarah in a hug and kissed her passionately in welcome, " Hello, Sarah! Thank you so much for all your love in all the forms it has been expressed. I look forward to that love being able to climb to new heights in celebration of your homecoming back to me. I love you, too, Sarah."

She looked down at her hands, flexing fingers that glowed with residual magical energy. "I can feel the power still flowing through me," she said with wonder. "The empathic abilities, the healing magic, the connection to the cosmic forces. It's all still here."

Eva turned to Sarah and taking the Empathic Crown from her head and placed it on Sarah's head. "I know that you will wear and use this Empathic Crown well, Sarah."

Sarah turned to Eva and told her, " I'll just be holding on to it for you, Eva. I know what a difference the live sister bond can make. I'll be glad to pass it back to you when you return to us in body and soul."

The reunion between Meda and Sarah was both a return to something precious and the beginning of something entirely new. They were no longer the 'man' and woman in the butterfly garden. They were no longer the uncertain 'man' and spirit guide who had found each other in a metaphysical prison, nor were they the twin sisters who had supported each other through cosmic trials. They were two women, each complete in herself, choosing to love each other with full knowledge of what that choice meant.

"We're different people than we were," Sarah said as they stood together on the observatory balcony, looking out at the cosmos that had witnessed their transformation. "You're not Fred anymore, and I'm not just the spirit monitor who helped him. We're Meda and Sarah, two women who've been through death and rebirth and chosen to find each other again."

Meda nodded, feeling the truth of it resonate through her transformed consciousness. "Our love has evolved," she said. "It's not based on need or desperation anymore, but on choice. We choose each other not because we have to, but because we want to."

The relationship that blossomed between them was deeper and more complex than anything they had experienced before. It carried the weight of their shared history while embracing the possibilities of their transformed future. They were partners in the truest sense, equals in power and wisdom, united by love that had transcended every boundary the universe could place before it.

Wanda watched their reunion with joy rather than loss, understanding that Eva's transformation into Sarah had been a necessary part of their journey rather than a permanent arrangement. "I'm still your sister," she told Meda with a smile. "That bond will always be there. But now you can also have the love you were meant to share."

Word of Sarah's restoration spread throughout Aislinn's College like wildfire, and soon the entire institution was celebrating not just their victory over Morgana, but the demonstration that love really could triumph over any obstacle, even death itself. Students and faculty gathered in the great hall, their voices raised in songs of joy and hope.

Dean Bronwen, who had coordinated the college's defenses during the battle, stood before the assembled community with tears of happiness in her eyes. "Today we have witnessed something unprecedented in the history of magical education," she announced. "We have seen that the greatest magic is not the power to destroy, but the courage to heal, to restore, to choose love over fear."

Professor Ingris, the college's historian, was already documenting the events for future generations. "This will be remembered as the day when the ancient cycle of vengeance was finally broken," she said. "When two souls proved that love can overcome any darkness, any separation, any loss."

Dean Molli Rose, whose expertise in child welfare had been crucial during the crisis, worked with the younger students to help them understand the significance of what they had witnessed. "You've seen that the most powerful magic comes not from artifacts or ancient knowledge," she told them, "but from the choice to love unconditionally, to forgive completely, to heal rather than harm."

The celebration continued late into the night, with students from across the magical realms sharing stories of hope and transformation. The college's reality matrix resonated with joy, creating aurora-like displays of light that danced through the crystalline corridors.

As the festivities reached their peak, Meda and Sarah stood together in the center of the great hall, surrounded by friends and allies who had supported them through their darkest moments. The Stellar Prism and Empathic Crown glowed softly nearby, no longer weapons or tools but symbols of the love that had made their victory possible.

"This is just the beginning," Aislinn said as she approached the couple, her ancient eyes bright with hope for the future. "The power of restoration you've unlocked will allow us to heal wounds that have festered for millennia, to bring back what was lost, to offer redemption to those who thought they were beyond saving."

Wanda joined them, her own magical abilities enhanced by her connection to the artifact network. "The cosmic balance is stronger than it's ever been," she reported. "And the pathways for transformation and healing are open to anyone willing to choose love over hate."

As the celebration continued around them, Meda and Sarah felt the weight of their cosmic responsibility settling comfortably on their shoulders. They had proven that love could triumph over any darkness, that healing was stronger than vengeance, that the bonds between souls could transcend any boundary the universe might place before them.

The reward for their choice had been greater than they could have imagined. Not just the reward of the restoration of their love, but the opening of new possibilities for redemption and healing throughout all the magical realms. The real work was just beginning, but they would face it together, as partners in love and guardians of the cosmic balance they had fought so hard to restore.

The celebration marked not just an ending, but a new beginning—the start of an age when love would be recognized as the most powerful force in the universe, and when the choice to heal rather than harm would be seen as the highest form of magic. The reward had been revealed, and it was greater than any treasure: the knowledge that love, once freely given, could never truly be lost.