Felio and her guards watching was not an option. Of all the satanic cult witch soulmancer shit I could do, taking a milky jar of third-evolution souls and stirring them into my bath water like Kool-Aid was probably the worst. So I had to make up an excuse—fast.
"No offense, but I'm not going to leave anyone with my unguarded body for multiple days," I said. I turned to Felio. "Even my best friend."
"You have to, Mira," Felio said. "You could die of dehydration."
"And that's why I'm filling my bathtub with DIktyo water," I said. "That way, it's impossible to die."
The group looked at as if I had declared that I would eat peanut butter on pickles, sothing that many may have heard tastes okay but still feels wild and out of bounds.
"I have a wheelbarrow sowhere," I said. "I'm filling up storage bins with water and bringing it back to the bath. It'll take most of the day, but it should be done by tomorrow."
"That's…" Felio's eyes widened, and she giggled in delight. "Such a strange and wonderful idea."
"Mistress, this isn't funny," Cassain said.
Felio giggled harder. "But it is. Can you imagine it? Mira hauling sothing as priceless as Diktyo Water by the wheelbarrow just to bathe in it?"
Soon, they were all laughing at the absurdity.
One obstacle down, I thought.
With the big problem out of the way, I could set to work. It would be a long day on the morrow.
And it was.
Rigging up this wheelbarrow was easier than I thought because Asail and the guards helped with their technical experience. They also taught how to make bags out of tarps for the lurvine and insisted they co along to help.
"It'll take forever," Asail said. "Just let us help."
So, with guilt in my heart, we set off for the river as a team, filling the wheelbarrow and all the tie bags with water as I used Separate to bring a massive sphere of floating water back to camp.
The river was only about a couple of miles away, but it depleted all my mana. I had a Kyfer core, and it recuperated absurdly fast, but it was still a first-evolution core—a fact that confused my guests regularly. Yet it was strong enough for each trip, and soon it was complete.
I was glad for their help—it really would have taken forever.
It was late afternoon when we finished and we enjoyed a long, rejuvenating al and bath to heal up.
"Ah, that was the best," Felio said with a satisfied smile, coming out from the bath.
I agree.
"Get so rest, guys," I said as the night ca to a close.
"When are you doing it?" Cassain asked.
"Early tomorrow morning," I lied.
"Okay…" Felio said nervously.
"I'll be fine," I said with a reassuring smile. With those words, I returned ho and perford ntal Shielding training until one a.m. Imdiately following, I used Wood Wide Web to determine that all of them were sleeping.
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Perfect.
Kline stretched his legs as we traded the warmth of our house for the bitter cold and trudged through a snowstorm to the location where I hid my soul jar. We then returned to the bathhouse. It was cold inside, and I shivered as I activated a heating array and let the place heat up.
I turned to Kline. "Stay inside unless you need to warn people off, okay?"
He owed and brushed against .
"And you can get into the barrier now, right?"
He owed.
My ward required a password, and while he couldn't speak my language, he found a way to translate it into sothing he could use.
"Let's test it." I activated my new ward over the bathtub, and he lted through it with ease, stopping right before the water.
"Good kitty." I scratched his ears and he sauntered off, laying down on guard duty as I prepared my ritual.
I opened my bag and pulled out the jar. It shone like a star under Soul Vision, and I gulped as I dunked it underwater.
"Let's do this," I whispered.
I opened it slowly, using my spell to assimilate the souls into the bath as I had with the water in the jar. The effect was disorienting. Just like the Diktyo River, a fog pooled over the surface, and the bodies of the souls ford in the mist, roaring and screeching and howling as soon as I stuck my feet inside.
I need to concentrate in this? I cried.
I wisely decided to contact Yakana before I threw a liter of this elixir into the water and prayed for the best.
Luckily, the mont I dunked my head I heard a warm, familiar chuckle.
Did Brindle put you up to this?
He did, I replied.
Why?
You've seen, right? I have acquired a Numina Anima.
And you wish to use it to save ?
So it's true?
No, I'm simply guessing what you're thinking, given what I've heard.
So you were listening?
I was always listening. Though it's hard to communicate.
I erged from the water and took a deep breath to the sound of screaming souls. Then I subrged myself again and said:
I see… So, is that really your body down there?
Ah… Brindle. Yakana chuckled darkly. He has not told you?
I frowned at his tone. He hasn't. So can you? I'm seriously worried that thing's gonna eat you.
Unfortunately, I cannot.
Why not? I cried.
Because I cannot let my situation influence your decisions. As a guardian, you must act alone, determining what is right and wrong for yourself, as there are no consistent answers. Humans destroy—yet that might also protect. So people are friends, but they can quickly turn foe. If you pursue this route, you do so without a guarantee that you will ever know the truth. You have done this far on a simple whim—and that's how it shall be. Will you continue?
I smiled wryly. I don't have any choice.
Then let's begin. But first, tell . What has Brindle told you to do with your Numina?
Pour a liter of it into the water and pray you'll help .
Yakana fell silent.
Wonderful, I said when he didn't answer. Is he trying to kill off the problem child?
No… Yakana said. But he does place great trust in you. I can only aid you so much. Should you lack the willpower or skill, your mind will drift away into a place between consciousness and death, and you will never think again.
I erged from the water and laughed, piercing the sound of screaming souls. "Wonderful," I said above water. "Truly wonderful."
Of all the things I hated to toy with, it was my mind. Questioning my sanity. Changing my personality. Having people say, You've changed as if my old personality was dead and gone. I liked the old you, they'd say. But you've changed.
Yes. I was stronger now, but for what?
mories played in my mind like a movie reel—all of them interactions with my family. Laying down the law before my brother. Telling my father I killed people. Killing rcenaries in front of my parents.
I had changed so much since I was dropped into a forest where I was required to change.
Change or die. Those were the rules. Change or die. Those…
To be honest, I liked who I was now. I was more confident—in control. During the springs and sumrs, I could walk around to my heart's content. I wasn't fettered by society's worries, and my skills made food a guarantee. I was set for life and proud and content.
I liked who I had beco. So change wasn't necessarily bad, and if it happened I wouldn't regret it. Otherwise, it all ca down to risk, and so far, Yakana and Brindle had not done wrong. So I subrged once more and said:
If he trusts in , I'll trust in him. Please help , Yakana. I'll need it.
As you wish, Yakana said.
I erged from the water, poured a third of the elixir into the water, and watched as the entire tub turned a mixture of light blue and gold. Despite the array in the tub constantly regulating the temperature, it began bubbling and steaming like a cauldron—but the steam wasn't hot.
It created a new compound… I thought. That's… concerning.
The only way it would boil like that was if the two liquids created a new compound that had a lower boiling point. Still, I was told to do this, so I listened.
I put away the elixir and stepped into the bath. I expected it not to feel like anything due to the temperature regulation—but it did feel like sothing.
Sothing magical.
Literally magical. Words cannot express what it was like to walk into that water. It was as if my body, mind, and spirit harmonized to enjoy the sensation. The souls felt the sa way. They stilled their screaming and lay dormant—satisfied and calm.
This's amazing… I thought as I drifted to the center. Once in the bath, I slowly laid on my back, floating with my ears under the water, letting my mind drift off. Everything was so nice…
It was like lying on the cloud. So peaceful. So serene. My soul was pulled to it, and I rember thinking, Just let go… Just let go. Total relaxation. Free your mind and all that.
Then, in that state of blissful harmony, I heard a voice yell: Mira! And I snapped out of my daze, rolling over in the water.
You mustn't sleep! Yakana warned. If you sleep, you will be lost. The struggle with Numina Anima is not falling victim to its siren's call.
Suddenly, I rembered the plant from the crypt. The way that it tried to lull into giving up—telling that it would eat my soul and set free.
My heart pounded at the thought, and I took deep breaths.
Exercise a will to live, Yakana said. Embrace a desire to stay the sa. And I will keep your mind focused.
I nodded.
Now lay…
I hesitantly lay in the water, trying not to succumb to sleep. It was like waking up in the early morning, warm and snuggled in the blankets before school, on the precipice of sleep—a dangerous state where you could sleep in and ruin your life. Yet it was absolute and the stakes were deadly.
Repeat after , Yakana said and began chanting.
The chant sobered up. My cores and brain heated and they started warping and twisting and knotting together. First hot. Then cold. Then, my imagination exploded like fireworks, and I found myself standing in a forest. The wood blood to life with thousands of flowers, vines, and leaves, crawling and twisting up tree trunks at a rapid speed. Then, eeeeeer! A sharp noise ripped out of the forest, and I was suddenly on a crosswalk in New York, holding up traffic. I looked up, and the massive clock tower read 8:23. It had stopped ticking.
What? I thought.
Boom! The sudden crash and splash of water resounded in my ears. I was now in the middle of the ocean after being thrown off a boat. Then ca the scratching of pencils, and when I opened my eyes I was lying on my bed as a little girl, coloring pictures of plants. Crash! The glass cake pan I used during high school suddenly exploded when I dropped it in cold dishwater. Reeer. I was on a sports bike for the first ti in my life, holding onto my dad's torso.
Wake up, Yakana said.
I snapped out of these fevered dreams and gasped for air, listening to Yakana chant. Seeking salvation, I chanted, too.
Focus on sothing, Yakana said. Perhaps a mory.
I didn't even have to will it. mories blood in my mind, this ti less fragnted. I lived through Salan's life before she beca Kira, I relived my mories with Felio, I beca Felio and took over what I perceived to be her life.
I beca everyone and no one, and then I heard Yakana laugh.
I snapped back to consciousness and whispered:
"What?"
It's Brindle… Yakana said. He must trust you.
Trust ? I echoed. Why?
Because he left a piece of him with Kira.
Another? I asked.
Yes.
Is it a ssage?
Yakana chuckled. No child. He left you so much more. Allow to show you.
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