"Free Will, above all else there is and will ever be."
-A common saying among the All-Father’s Priesthood.
William awoke feeling cold, chills running down his spine.
He tried to open his eyes but couldn't, and trying to move and drag himself out of harm's way, he sensed was stuck... somewhere.
A whirlwind of emotions hit the boy like a bag of bricks, then the cold got worse, it was like the damn thing was pushing him, trying to bend him down, William tried to push back, to no avail as it just grew fiercer.
"I give up!" he shouted into the void, but no one answered back.
The words seemed to have worked nevertheless, the cold ran across him like a mother's caressing hand.
But just as William started to relax, the cold sucked him up in a blink of an eye, followed by a moment of pain so strong, it felt endless.
William screamed, begged it to stop, but the cold didn't care a damn about him.
----------------------------------------
William came to in a gray street, his mind a haze.
To his sides, he found, were waterways and old soviet-style apartment buildings, and at the end of the street was a monolith, tall and foreboding. He felt it somehow called to him, so he decided to move towards it.
On a closer look, he saw it had a silvery sheen to it, with hints of copper and red on it.
He moved to touch it—
“What the fuck is this,” he cursed out loud, taking a step back. He could feel the heat and cold coming out of the Monolith, it was like a part of him was there, something deep and powerful.
He also felt a mix of emotions from it, sadness, resignation, hopelessness, as those sensations flooded over him, he was assaulted with memories of a great fire over a harbor.
“This is goddamn freaky, what the hell is going on?” William uttered to the empty streets around him.
William felt drained like he had run a marathon and worked on a thousand-word essay while at it. He sat down beside the monolith, and before he knew it, he was asleep.
----------------------------------------
William woke up for the third, this time, however, he felt very much alive, and not stuck in some sort of a lucid dream.
He looked up and saw some very fancy-looking cloth above his head, and it was cold. Really cold.
"What" William said, the second those words got out of his lips he froze.
That wasn't English.
And If that wasn't English, how is it he could still understand those foreign words he uttered?
William panicked, had they put him under some sort of a super-VR treatment and it fried his brain?
A headache slammed him as he tried to get up, he felt wrong, like something was trying to claw him out of his body.
"Who...Who are you?" a voice deep within the recess of his mind asked in a weary, tired tone as if it had slept for years.
Great, I'm hearing voices now, they really done fried my goddamn brain in a VR machine.
"Hello?" William spoke in his head, the voice didn't answer back, the headache was gone as well Is anyone there?
Silence greeted him like an old friend, he tried getting up again, when a second headache, less strong than the first one hit him, and he was flooded with flashes of memories, the harbor burning in the night, eating a cake in a rundown bakery while an old man cried, and a maid helping him near a map.
"I...I know these people, lord above this can't be happening, can it?! please tell me it's a joke, or the VR machine broke again or something!" William whispered to himself, dreading to rise, for he knew that just to his right was a massive mirror.
Seconds that felt like hours went by, the boy dreading going up but his mental faculties already clueing him in on some...very peculiar propositions.
As panic kept rising, William pinched his arm, the pain and shock getting him out of the attack, he turned inwards and did a series of deep breaths, focusing solely on his heart rate, when he felt his blood go cold, but not in a bad way, it felt... it felt like magic.
"Don't say the M-word, William Don't Say the goddamn M-word..." he tried his hardest but alas, his will was obliterated by the sheer joy that sprung from the depths of his soul.
"...Mana..." a whisper, a prayer, William felt the world shift, like it all made sense for attosecond, he raised his arm, a pale hand and immaculate skin came to his view, he sent the pulse to his fingertips and they danced in a mesmerizing pattern, the feint whisps of cold and magic falling in his face.
He then focused and the pattern became a solid mass of ice, with a thought and the mass became a flat circle, he brought his arm down and pointed to a closet, closing his eyes he focused on the flat circle, making it spin, giving it serrated teeth when the mental image clicked he opened his eyes and with but a slight pointing of his finger, the disc launched itself, spinning mid-flight, and embedded itself on the closet door.
He felt the rush of power flooding him, there was more than ice on his soul, something far more tangible and heavy, a coppery taste flooded his mouth and he felt strong like he could bench press a house with his mom inside of it.
"Magnetism, just like in..." He didn't want to say it, a small part of him still believed that this was all a dream, a very elaborated and good dream, but a dream nonetheless, but more and more memories were flooding him, including the one of his death.
"I died," the boy said in a voice that wasn't his, in a language he didn't know, and in the body that belonged to someone else.
He got up, the windows of his room showed many blackbirds, ravens, and crows looking at him, he turned to the mirror and walked towards it, getting as close as he was comfortable.
A beautiful ivory face greeted him, its crystal clear blue eyes staring at him with an intensity he had seen only when another fighter was ready to compete in the finals, It's silvery gray hair flowing in a perfectly done braid.
The memories clicked, it was as if everything was leading to this very moment, William's memories were blended with his new ones, they became one and the same, there was no distinction, and he felt that deeper inside him, his very soul was preparing to do the same.
A chill run up his spine, it all felt so real, he ran his hand to his face, touching his hair, it felt like him, like his.
"What about the voice...?" He whispered again, something in that voice reminded him of someone important, he had to speak with the voice, he felt that the voice would shed some light on what was happening.
He stared at the mirror again, the face, His face.
"Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem, Heir Apparent of the Wulfgrem Duchy of Vermilion kingdom...The first of the big three in the Grand Academy..."
"Yrithuan, the main setting of the game...this is happening, isn't it? not even the best VR machine out there can simulate reality this good..."His new memories told him so, he watched as the massive snowstorm rolled on the horizon, more and more flashbacks flooding him as he stood there.
"That's Winter's End, how come it hasn't hit the city yet? in the game, the storm barrelled through the entire duchy...I was halfway done with the last side quests there before I..." William winced, he touched his chest where the bullet drilled holes in his final moments, there was fear in him, fear of dying again.
"Never again" A promise, burning hot inside of him, even as the cold air of winter flew inside via the open windows William felt truly alive.
Walking towards the room's table, he found Lucrezia's diary, the inkpot fresh, he sat down and read the last thing that was written on it.
"We are sending the letter tonight, I've discovered horrible truths about Father and Mother, with the arch duke's knights we will be able to bring justice to the duchy once again..." the more he read it, the more his memories fused with Lucrezia's, from small interactions with the staff to practicing magic, it felt like it was him.
The panic began when he started recalling his life on earth, he was no longer William Luther. no, he was Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem, in name and body.
"Mind Magic, and no regular Mind Magic at that, something only very few masters would have access to or...or a god" the implications were enough to stun him, if this was real, and he really was in Yrithuan, then the existence of magic might not be the biggest surprise for him yet.
In the game, there was a very basic mechanic where the player character would perform a rite William remembered in crystal clear detail, it would send a small prayer to All-Father Faal himself, and whoever did it, would get a small temporary blessing of good luck.
The second William mentioned the All-Father's true name in his mind, he felt the world grow colder.
"True names have power, shit forgot about that, ok onto that ritual, as if this wasn't evidenced enough of literal gods watching..." he was staling and he knew it, the sheer philosophical implications once again bearing down on him like a thirty kilo set of weights.
He produced a small candle from another drawer in the table, a piece of cloth torn from a dress in the closet, and a small silver coin, closing his eyes William recited the words any Waves of Anger player knew by heart.
"Blessed those who are truly free, for the father is with them all the way to the end" a hushed whisper left his soft lips and the candle was ablaze, not the wick William noticed the entire candle was burning!
He felt as if the heat of the flame flooded him, reaching his soul, and in just that second before the effect washed over him he felt it, he felt something every race in this world knew from the day they were born to the day they died.
Divinity, pure and eternal, but more importantly, powerful, so powerful he fell from the chair and landed on his knees, tears formed in his eyes out of pure awe.
Grabbing the table for holding. William picked the coin he had used and flipped, hoping to land it on tails, and every flip did so.
"A small miracle, but a miracle nonetheless haha" he chuckled nervously, so caught up he was at the ritual that he didn't notice the door opening and a very familiar face rushing in.
"All-Father above you are awake Lady Lucrezia, I must call the others right away..." her voice grew distant as William froze from the realization of who was talking with him.
"Leanu..." he whispered, she stopped talking and looked at him, William's mind went back to a very dark part of the game, where the protagonist first broke into the castle, the horrors outside paled in comparison to the fate that befell the many maids and guards who worked and lived there.
“The castle banshee is hugging me!”
He also knew what was the end for Lucrezia in the game, but he had no time to ruminate on that when the maid, very much alive and not a spectral being of death and sorrow hugged him.
"Ohh Lady Lucrezia I'm...I'm so glad you are ok" he felt tears on his shoulders "we have been in low spirits ever since you fell Ill yesterday, even Velkarius's ravens were quiet, we thought you had died My Lady" the Maid stopped hugging William, she schooled her face and said.
"I'll wake up the First Maid right now Lady Lucrezia, she was worried sick about you, didn't leave your side for hours..." she left the room quickly, her steps sending echoes in the halls.
William broke free from his stupor, he was on the verge of crying while the woman spoke with him, he knew it was weird of him to be so attached to these NPCs but now, now they were real, flesh and blood just like him.
"Did I kill the real Lucrezia?" William was afraid of the answer, coming to a new world by killing someone and stealing their life as some sort of dimensional body snatcher was, to put it mildly, fucking horrifying.
He then recalled what happened to the original Lucrezia in the game, how after losing to the protagonist in a battle for the third's prince hand had her exiled from the grand Academy and...
"Raped by the first prince and turned into a soul-eating monster set loose on the countryside of her duchy, begging for death in her final moments..." she wasn't that evil in-game William thought, more akin to a comical evil, complete with stooges and cliche laughs, to see that sort of ending to someone who didn't deserve it was for many fans of the game, one of the lowest points of the story.
While musing about his past life and hobbies, William failed to notice the door opening again, and again he was taken by surprise, this time the whole crew Original Lucrezia had gathered in her attempt to save the duchy came with Leanu.
“The lich Wilson, that goddamn bastard of a living armor Serkj and the Ninja Maid Saa’ryu holy shit” William thought to himself.
He recalled the final boss fight with the maid, which unlocked the way to the Wulfgrem Duchy, her final words begging the protagonist to save its people and her master, a very strong moment William felt.
The maid marched up to him, placed her hand on his forehead, and exhaled sharply "Thank the gods you are ok Lu, I..." she couldn't finish her words, William saw how much pain the woman had in her eyes, He knew how strongly she felt towards Lucrezia, it was almost on a maniac level.
"I'm ok now Saa, really" he replied weakly, more and more William was feeling sick, pretending to be someone he was not, to people who loved and held the original Lucrezia dear..., the cognitive dissonance caused by the memory editing was nasty as it is, but this? this farce was horrible.
Would they believe him if told them the truth he wondered, Wilson at this stage was a regular mage, not the seasoned if a bit insane necromancer, at best they would think their mistress is still sick, at worst they would kill him. possessions were dealt with maximum prejudice outside of very specific reasons in the world of Yrithuan.
No, his best bet was to get in contact with the voice he heard, if it came from his soul, then there's a slim chance that Martius the Unbroken had felt a disturbance on the balance of souls, as the patron of necromancy, he enjoyed a close friendship with the God of Death Malpay’ruh after all, maybe he could return Lucrezia's soul to her original body...
"Lu? Lu, are you hearing me? Snap out of it Lu!" he heard Saa'ryu scream at him.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"I'm sorry, I’m just... exhausted" he took a seat, the rest of the group looking at him, worried, afraid, their only hope was but a frail candlelight against a heavy storm.
"My Lady, forgive me for rushing you but we must know if we are to assault the Highway, we have dealt with Eustace's men inside the castle and the workers can fight...Passably..., with the harbor" Wilson was abruptly cut short by Leanu who spoke with anger in her voice
"Lady Lucrezia almost died and you want to talk about that?! We must make sure she's in good health before.
"We can't afford a delay Head lady, just saying" Private Serkj spoke "The man guarding that gate? We have bad news concerning their status, my scouts just reported that after the deep-sea harbor went to the dragon's embrace, the Highway fort and its guards were turned into this"
The man pulled a piece of paper, sketched on it was a horrible-looking four-legged beast with three arms, each holding crossbows, and swords.
"What in all hells is that?" Leanu said to no one, Wilson received pointed looks from everyone before saying "Don't look at me people, my field is arcane mathematics, not demon summoning or flesh warping" he said with a puff.
"It's a Devol Peacebringer," Said William automatically, suddenly everyone stopped talking and stared at him
"A what Lu? how do you even know that?" Saa'ryu asked, William could feel the heat on his cheeks and ears, he coughed and said "From the library, we have in the castle where else? I do read you know" he tried imitating the tone Original Lucrezia had in the game, he cringed.
"I didn't know the Young Lady had such...Exotic interests" Wilson said looking at the drawing "So what does this Devol Peacebringer? does that everyone posted in the fort got turned into one"
"They are shock troops for an unnamed Fallen God from the Devol spirit realm, this god sells his creations as a mercenary force, one soul gives you one Peacebringer, many old Imperium Families used them in their wars..." William was about to lunch on an extensive talk about how they worked when Serkj clapped.
"Lessons later My Lady, how do we kill this abomination upon all that's holy?" he talked in a clear, loud voice.
William was slightly annoyed, the Peacebringers were efficient summons for would-be pet master builds, since the god took large beasts as payment, even if the beast soul netted you a common quality Peacebringer, having 50 of those things charging at any foe was great.
"Mage fire, Oil bombs with sap from those trees you find in the forest south of the city, Sonic booms if you can set up the ritual right and have enough mana to pull it off, they are shock troopers meant to flood the enemy, not the best you can summon from the spirit realm or the hells."
William held his tongue, he wanted to explain more but the man was right, time was of the essence.
"Many thanks my lady, I'll have my acolytes ready their wands and tomes for the sonic boom ritual" he turned to Serkj.
"Lady's Lucrezia deep knowledge of devil summoning aside, I'll tell the lads to gather that sap, the city is still under the rule of Eustace so it won't be much, I can't have they thinking we are going against their leader."
A silence fell in the room, everyone was waiting for Lucrezia to say something, they all looked at her, she was leafing the diary as fast as she could.
Looking up, she said to the conspirators "The attack on the Highway fort won't work, even if we muster the entire castle forces" nods all around "We must establish contact with Knight Commander Erwin in the wastes borders, and also contact the snow elven tribe that lives secluded in the forest near the crystal lake" she grabbed a map and pointed out three locations.
"This here is a cave system, southwest of the lake, in there lies the entrance to an abandoned underground fortress left from a dwarven expedition from Stenhein 200 odd years ago, we must have the Knights take that position as soon as we can establish contact with them"
"What about Eustace's man in the city and those Devol things my Lady?" asked Wilson in a worried tone, he didn't know Lucrezia had more secret locations to give, and the plan with the knights seemed like madness, didn't they attempt a coup?!, he could say the others shared the same opinion.
"I see you all are questioning why to reconnect with the Knight Commander, Do not worry, there's good reason for what he did, and more so for him to come to our side," William said, the act was starting to fail he felt, he was dead tired, all this knowledge from the game kept popping the second he needed them, his brain was running on fumes now.
"As for the city guards, I have a plan, in three days they shouldn't be an issue no more" they nodded again, this time they were less worried, but Saa'ryu threw a wordless question at him, likely wanting to know more.
William felt dizzy, and as he was about to drop on his butt, a firm hand took him, Saa'ryu bolted to help him, she had him placed in bed while the others left one by one.
"I'll have the cook ready some mana rich meals for you Lu, we lost the doctor but All-Father knows Cook Richard can make good grub, if you need anything, just use the bell ok? try to rest, the situation in the city isn't as dire now, there's a rumor of another blessed with food magic, and they aren't carting more people to the prison...I'll go back to helping Leanu train the staff, try to rest a little ok?" she kissed William in the forehead, the boy went red again, his face burning.
Saa'ryu laughed and left the room, William at this point was barely awake, he struggled to grab a pitcher with water and had a cup when sleep finally took him back to the dreamlands.
----------------------------------------
William was once again in front of the road leading to the Oddly comfy Monolith, he decided to try to reach the apartment buildings across the waterways but whenever he would step on the water, he was kicked back to the road by an unknown force.
“Whatever is stopping me to reach those buildings really doesn’t want me there huh” William said after getting up from the ground, that was when he noticed something major.
"It's me? Holy shit it's me!” he patted himself, checking for scars and the telltale sign that he wasn’t in the body of Lucrezia, a sigh of relief came, together with the realization of what the monolith was and where he was standing.
Before he could voice his eureka moment, William caught sight of a spark below the Monolith, he rushed over to it and bent over to read two signs who had formed.
"Here lies William Luther Aurelius, died hoping for better days"
"Here lies Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem, Betrayed by those she loved the most"
That was when it hit him, this was his soul, his soul was merging with Lucrezia's, in the game there was a single lich powerful enough to do such a thing, and it was a complete accident, to merge two souls was something even gods would require considerable power investment.
He touched the Monolith, His hair went Silvery white, just like Lucrezia’s, he gasped and let go of the thing.
He was staring at the Monolith when he heard a voice just beside him.
"Who are you?" She spoke in a language that wasn't English but he still understood, William turned to his side and saw a beautiful young woman, her azure eyes staring at him "Why do you have my hair?" she asked sounding a little offended before he could answer she kneeled in pain, her eyes bulging out of their sockets
William stared at the young woman, she looked tired, angry, he could feel the rage boiling just below her skin, he debated over what to say to Lucrezia, how do you explain to someone you just stole their life?
“I can feel your emotions stranger, hesitation, doubt, awe, and shame?” she spoke touching the Monolith “This is my soul, I was never one for Necromancy but I can feel it, and something else as well, something alien yet human”
“My Soul” William spoke, fear in his voice
“Yes...Yes not just your soul, your memories as well, going to school, helping in the shelter, talking with my...your sister” She looked at the signs “William huh, a strange name” she left the question hanging in the air.
“That’s because it’s not from here, No not Vermilion either, I mean not from this world and universe” he said, feeling the torrent of emotions coming from the woman, her guard was up, but underneath of it, curiosity and hope.
“This is godsdamn weird, I can feel your emotions and how you are reacting to mine..” she was upset.
“Almost as bad as mind magic” he tried to crack a joke, she laughed but the smile didn’t reach the eyes or her emotions for that matter.
“How...How do you know about magic if you aren’t from here? I only saw glimpses of your memories but I felt the nostalgia and sadness you felt when you saw my staff earlier, how do you know any of them?” William felt a powerful wave of emotion when she mentioned her staff, love, caring, protection all making their way to him and filling him with awe “and how did you get here?”
More anger, he could feel her wanting to blame him, blame for her death and all that had happened before, she was ready to ask more when her eyes went wide, she dropped to the floor and started shaking, William rushed over, her emotions were pure shock and fear.
“All-Father above I saw...I saw you die William…” William helped her sit down on the floor, he decided to sit beside her as well, the memories of him being gunned down coming back after being mentioned, the horrible feeling of choking on his blood…
“Stop it! Gods, I can feel it” she screamed and shook William out of his stunned state, he looked at the woman with glassy eyes.
“Trauma, we will need to hire” she began talking but he cut her off “We will learn mind magic, hiring one would put us in unnecessary risk” he spoke slowly, she narrowed her eyes at him, feeling his hesitation and fear.
“Speak” she barked an order, irritation on her face masking the fear William felt underneath it.
“What do you know about Terra Maleficium?” William braced himself, his game knowledge reminding him that many nobles had a passing interest in the outer reaches of the universe, but everyone knew about Terra, and how its humans and gods were bloodthirsty warmongers, mad for chaos and destruction, and how every other entity at the level that All-Father was, had basically enacted a total blockade over them.
Something, if the game’s lore was to be believed was also favored by earth’s many gods.
Lucrezia was taken aback, her feelings in complete disbelief of what William was implying, then a primal fear took hold of her, she laughed a maniacal laugh for minutes before calming down.
“Great, just godsdamn great, First the Duchy goes to shit, then my plan FAILS and NOW, oh ho ho, I get the SOUL of a TERRAN on my GODSDAMMNED BODY!” she ran her hands to her face and hair “AAAAAAAA” a scream loud enough to scare William something fierce.
“Let it all out…” Not knowing what to say to the woman’s existential dread, William went with another bad joke.
Lucrezia stopped screaming, a wave of what William could only describe as pure distilled cringe came from her, great he thought, it worked!
“I didn’t know Terrans were capable of humor, considering your entire planet can only think of war it’s not so far fetched…” she spoke, feeling calmer now.
“Hey! I'll have you know that we have a great sense of humor!”William felt the need to defend his species on that front, but he picked up another emotion from the woman, and it was a big one
Distrust
William was taken aback, growing mad at her perceived distrust of him, he calmed himself fast, but he knew now that woman didn’t trust him a hundred percent.
“You are stalling for time, ask your question Lucrezia, you know I can’t lie to you by now,” He said trying to sound and feel serious, she was staring at the Monolith now.
“I know you weren’t the cause of...This” she pointed to the monolith ”But I can feel that somehow, somehow you have Knowledge from this world, not some but intricate Knowledge of many things even the most ancient of elves wouldn’t be able to fathom, How William? How’s that even possible, we all know no one, not even All-Father many enemies would even dare set foot on your hellhole” she spat out words fast, the growing sense of distrust reaching a crescendo, she looked at him, and amidst that distrust, there was a spark of hope.
“On earth, there’s a how can I put it, a piece of entertainment not unlike high-level Illusion magic…”
“A video game you mean?” she spoke cutting him mid-sentence
“Yes! how do you know?” she tapped at her head “Oh yeah memories, I was quite obsessed with them, so the few memories you were able to glance at would have them there…”
“How do you know I can’t delve deep into your memories?” she asked alarmed
“Because I can’t do the same, whatever is happening here is not complete Lucrezia, the more our soul's meld, the more we will see until…”
“Until we become a gestalt soul, not unlike the ones necromancers make, Gods above…but we are getting sidetracked here, back to earth and this video game…” she said trying to cheer herself up a little
“Why do you call Terra earth anyway? isn’t silly to call your planet dirt?” she asked on a whim “Oh wait! Latin, Terra is Latin for earth” her eyes grew in horror.
“Our souls are more intertwined now, I can feel your memories flooding in” William said, a nasty headache hitting him, images of horse riding and dancing classes coming with it.
Lucrezia kept quiet, she waved him to continue
“The game is called Waves of Anger, it takes place here in Vermilion, I’m quite honestly horribly obsessed with it, beat it at least ten times and got more than two thousand hours on it, in the game you were the first Villain Lucrezia” sadness hit him “And the Duchy was basically a wasteland, the early Winter’s End destroyed it all, the game’s protagonist spends her time recruiting the leftover staff from the castle to defeat…”
“Defeat Father and Mother, driven mad by the ritual they were doing” Lucrezia spoke softly, she then lay down on the road.
William coughed and touched the Monolith “If we can learn necromancy, there might be a way to stop this, or at least stall it…” Lucrezia laughed bitterly “I mean it! in the game, there are books about this kind of soul fuckery! If we can learn mind magic I might even be able to get you back in control of your body!” He was trying to reassure the young woman, who slowly shook her head.
“It would take years to get that good, boy, besides I can feel your ambitions William, I can see your wanting to uphold the duchy to something...something” she looked confused, Williams emotions were plain to see for her, worried, distressed, sorrowful, the kid didn’t feel like a perverted, and better yet warmongering bloodhound she’d expected of a Terran, but deep in that connection with his soul she could feel whispers of great ambition, and a plan for her lands slowly taking shape.
“Guess that’s the limit to our connection,” William said in a blank tone, Lucrezia might’ve not been able to see but he could, right now he could see himself raising the Duchy as anointed messiah, building a grand army to weather the war that would come, and more importantly, claiming the title of duchess for himself.
He steeled himself and spoke “Tell me Lucrezia, what can I do to assure you I mean no harm to the duchy, its people, and your body?” he was being honest to the core, trying his best to convey his emotions, so much so that in his focus, he could barely pay attention to her own emotions.
Her azure eyes locked with his, she made a small thin dagger made of ice and slashed her palm.
William’s eyebrows went up in shock, he knew what she was doing, a Spirit Contract!, modified for non-spirits to use, she used her magic to make a small bow and tossed the dagger to him.
“By the look on your face, I assume you know what this is? good then, spare us from a lengthy explanation, I will keep my terms simple William” the boy nodded, entranced by the blood dripping from the dagger, whispers of hesitation and bitterness came from her emotions but he paid them no mind.
“You are not to bring destruction to the Duchy of Wulfgrem.”
“You are not to kill, or harm in a way that would render the rightful heir apparent of the Wulgrem line unable to live as a regular person.”
“You are not to perform immoral acts with my body.”
“What?” like a bucket to cold water William was taken aback “Immoral acts? Jesus Christ, Lucrezia” he was honestly offended by the thought!
She didn’t speak, only staring at him, William shook his head and motioned for the dagger.
“...Immoral acts, as if I would…” he muttered as he slashed his hand and let blood, or what his soul thought it was blood drop in the bowl, without a word Lucrezia picked the bowl and chanted the final words of the contract, he saw the blood flowing into the monolith, expecting another dose of Lucrezia’s memories William braced himself.
“Huh, nothing” he said, Lucrezia had the same reaction if her feelings were anything to go by.
“You read about the plans, didn’t you? and you also saw what happened to them, so tell me, William of Terra, can you, can we save the duchy?” she was feeling tired William could feel.
“Yes! first and foremost, the ward spell that destroyed the deep-sea harbor, you don’t need to worry about that as long no information about what’s happening here leaves the duchy’s border, that ward was keyed for the harbor and the highway” he launched into a lengthy explanation on how it worked, she gave him a sign to speed along “ there are four key players we need to bring into our new plan, the winter elves druids of the great Zhyr forest to the border, Knight Commander Erwin, Alat and his clan of dwarves that are stranded in the northern wastes…”
Lucrezia didn’t need to use her newfound emotion detection power to notice the boy was hesitant on the last member on his list.
“Speak boy, who’s the fourth?”
“Winter Dragoness Kallista” he said
“Hells, what in all that is holy you want with that disgraced dragon?! don’t you know she devours menfolk? and spawns enough half-dragons to populate a small village?” Lucrezia went red, she knew very very well what the dragoness had done to many men in the duchy’s history, Uumaries herself send a platoon of paladins to slay the beast, having ruined the marriage of a duke from her family some 500 odd years ago
“Not to say how you will get the Knight Commander to our side, he…” Willaim cut her off “I know how to get Erwin to support us, trust me” he was dead serious, more game knowledge Lucrezia thought.
She suddenly felt tired and seeing nowhere to sit plopped onto the ground.
“I think we best end up here,” she said “Once we wake up, try reaching me, if we can communicate in the waking world, then our…situation might not be so dire”
William could tell she was lying to herself, he also could tell anything he tried to say to cheer or reassure her would fall on deaf ears, the grim realization of just how much power he held over her body and soul hitting him, like a bag of bricks.
“Power is like a drink. The more you have, the more you want. And there are few men who can handle it…” William whispered to which Lucrezia looked at him and then the monolith
“Go”
William woke up, he was feeling refreshed, like he had taken a perfect nap, as he got up he heard Lucrezia speak in his mind.
“William, can you hear me?”
“Yes, how much are you getting down there?”
“I can see, hear, feel… gods this feel weird, it's like I’m in a dream, everything feels off and disconnected to a certain degree, raise your hand please”
He did so without hesitation.
“Can’t Feel the muscles going up but I can feel the wind at the fingertips, ugh this is going to take a while to get used to”
“We should get ready Terran, Write the plan you have in mind, I don’t know how much time I got before needing to rest, a few hours maybe…”
William thought of something regarding her state, only for Lucrezia to not respond, he got surprised and asked her about it
“Did you not pick up that thought just now?”
“What? no no, I didn’t, hmm so we can “talk” but not read each other's minds, I also can’t detect your feelings very well from here, Guess we gotta come back to the monolith so the connection gets stronger, let me try something”
Lucrezia presence disappeared for several seconds, then William felt like a scream went off inside his head
“Ouch! what was that for?”
“Testing magic, seems like I can wake you up at the very least, l also thought several things to myself and you didn’t pick right?”
“Nothing on my end no, and please don’t wake me up with that, feels horrible”
She laughed
“Let’s get back to work Terran, show me if your warmongering ways can help us now”
She sent a final wave of smugness before William got to the desk and started writing.