“—the power there can also be yours, human creature.” the bird’s thoughts chirped. “Just accept Zerakronoz’s offer,”

“Thank you for that long explanation and the offer, but I can’t help but notice that at no point did I receive a proper answer to my question, creature,” Tercius paused, his thoughts catching the tiny vibrations of the surrounding darkness. At the word creature, the spirit seemed to bristle for a tiny bit.

“Stop that! Zerakronoz is not a… a… creature!”

Tercius hummed. “Be that as it may, let’s not get off the path too much. I will ask once more. What is that thing you want me to open?”

“Power, human c—” the bird chirped. “Power. And it can be yours, if you accept. Human creatures always want more of that, don’t they?”

“From what I have seen, creature, we are not the only ones who want power. You crave it. And again with the non-answer. What is that… darkness I saw? That thing you so fear and crave?”

“That does not concern you!”

Tercius’ cable-tight thoughts surged and quickly tightened around the bird’s large form, his sharp focus cutting deep.

The bird screamed. “No! No, don’t!”

“It is… unpleasant even to me, I have to admit.” Tercius cleared his focus. “Some might say that it’s… painful. But pain is a price I pay often. I got used to it, I suppose. With your age, I’m honestly surprised that that is not the same for you, creature.”

The bird thought’s screamed in pain.

Tercius really couldn't believe it. It felt like some kind of a trap that a millennia-old being was afraid of experiencing a rather small amount of pain, and yet it seemed so true.

Then again, according to Mistress Kalina, the only times they got to experience pain was when they possessed a human. Or, apparently, when Tercius' thoughts turned so sharp and biting that the bird screamed at the lightest brush. There was a part of him that was disturbed by what he was doing, but his survival and the survival of Rona and Septimus required that he dull that part down. After all, feeling guilty was a privilege only the living had.

What he had to do was learn more about applying {Distant Mind} for mental defense and offense, and it would be a waste to let go of the intrusive volunteer. He was learning so much with every passing minute…

Loosening his mental grip, Tercius asked, “Tell me, Zerakronoz. If it does not concern me, as you say, then why do you need me to open it? With all your supposed power, can’t you and… others like you do it?”

“Zerakronoz will tell you nothing!”

A tiny bit of sadness and guilt spiked in Tercius, but it was quickly snuffed out. “Of course you will. You just won’t remember what you did.”

“W-what?”

"Well, think about it. How could I have known to ask you these questions? Well, some were logical, I suppose, but a few I asked required some knowledge I shouldn't have. Don't you think so?"

“No, no, no… it cannot be…”

“I’m afraid so. I’ve decided that I will consider your offenses against me as settled when I’m sure that I have a good enough picture of what is going on here. Then we can talk about your… Skill for real. Now, let’s start from the start once more, shall we?”

Even as he was thinking that on one side, he started forcefully sharing thoughts and once more putting the spirit's mind into a mental loop. The thought-feathers fell off and Tercius was quick to collect and experience all of them while the spirit's mind reset itself to the same state it was at its arrival.

*** *** ***

“And what is inside?”

*** *** ***

“Interesting. And what do your attendants get in return?”

*** *** ***

“—the link between you and Her?”

*** *** ***

“Did you ever meet Her in any other way?”

*** *** ***

“I see. Interesting. And what do your attendants get in return?”

*** *** ***

“—and what kind of powers does your… magnificent self possess over your attendants?”

*** *** ***

“Fascinating. And these… stages of manifestation, as you call them, do they happen at or only after the barrier is broken?”

*** *** ***

“What are your first memories, Zerakronoz?”

*** *** ***

“—tell me about Wells, Zerakronoz. What do they mean to you? How do you observe them?”

*** *** ***

“And how exactly does that work? How exactly does the process start?”

*** *** ***

“Truly? I must say that I’m surprised by that… but… it does make sense. I’ll have to test that…”

*** *** ***

“And how do you deal with the diversity of so many different types, or does that cause no issues at all to your kind?”

*** *** ***

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Dozens of questions got their answers, even as hundreds remained unanswered and thousands developed from the new information. None of the answers he got were direct, but if he framed his questions just right then pieces of the greater puzzle would appear here and there and he would put them in their place.

As far as he could tell, no side effects existed from his method of picking apart the spirit's mind. Well, at least none for the spirit. In a way, he had spent a long, long time observing and experiencing an alien lifeform's life from a rather unique perspective, and yet he knew that it couldn't be more than a few hours.

Even as he learned more about the way spirits worked, he also learned more about how to apply himself to be more effective in interrogation, here in {Distant Mind}. Halfway through the process, he discovered that he could observe the spirit’s thoughts through a strange screen of separation, rather than directly experiencing all those alien thoughts, sounds, and all manner of sensations. He knew that all of this was bound to leave some mark on him, but all knowledge left a mark of some kind— that was the price of knowledge and he was more than willing to pay it.

In a swirl of color, another memory ended.

“Well… So many things make sense now…”

Tercius’ thoughts stilled and tightened, all of them slowly but surely returning to the origin point, to be absorbed and properly memorized. He didn’t just get a verbal answer to most of his important questions— he nearly lived through them. He had to think through everything he learned and… maybe share his findings with Mistress Kalina. She couldn’t be in on it.

Even as he thought it, he almost snorted at himself. Of course, she could, but because she could, didn't mean that she was. In his book, based on their relationship, she would be given the benefit of the initial doubt. But Perdinar and Mistress Prime'era? They were centuries old and neither told him shit.

Of course, for all he knew, the information might be classified under some penalty of the Laws…

So many questions got their answers, and while he had many more to ask, it was getting harder and harder to do. He was either losing focus or the spirit was gaining resistance— the more likely case was that it was the combination of both.

But he had found out the most important things for the immediate future, as well as some that could impact him directly in the distant one.

It was time to end this.

With some conflicted thoughts swirling around, Tercius observed the tiny form of a bird grow once again.

A little disoriented and growing more confused by the passing moment, Zerakronoz's mental form tentatively reformed itself from scratch. In a whisper of surprise and disbelief, the spirit sent out a vibration that was picked up by Tercius' thoughts.

“You— H–how?”

“How did I get you here, you mean?”

Like so many times before, a tiny signal went out of Zerakronoz’s growing form. Like so many times before, Tercius felt it and his thoughts sprang forth like a net, encapsulating the signal into a spherical cage before it could spread.

“Let’s leave others out of this, shall we?” Tercius’ thoughts buzzed and echoed all around Zerakronoz. The bird’s distress rose in shivering feathers.

“Zerakronoz… I want to give you a warning.”

The spirit bristled. “A human creature giving Zerakronoz a warning?! Preposterous!”

Tercius ignored the spirit’s peacocking. How it could get offended when feeling so much fear was beyond him.

“I am going to accept your Skill, but don’t do what you’re planning to do.”

The bird shifted uncomfortably.

“Don’t try to possess me. It won’t work. I know. You can’t win, not when you are so spent— not when you are so close to what your kind considers a true end. I will resist and maim me is likely the best you can do, but I will recover. At worst, I will destroy your mind and collect the scraps of the power you have left. I would rather we don’t come to that. Instead, I propose the following: I will be of use to you, you will be of use to me. Ignore your orders in regards to me—”

“Never! Zerakronoz will do as She says, or perish trying!”

Tercius loomed closer. “Admirable dedication, but think about it some more. You are not blind. You see that I have secrets. Powerful secrets. You see that I know things. I don’t mind helping you with your goal, someday in the future, but only if you help me now. Shield my Well—”

“Y-you have a Well?”

Amusement rippled through Tercius’ thoughts. “That’s why you jumped at the chance to have me, didn’t you? A human creature with a Well, unaligned with none but himself— a puppet to walk in. To experience the world in. And so young, too. Am I right?”

The spirit’s thoughts tried to move away from him, a spike of fear and hesitation running through the form. “How did you—”

“I know you now, Zer— Oh, I didn't ask. I can call you Zer, right? We are to be in a Pact soon enough, after all. Look, I know you perhaps even better than you know yourself. I know what goes on in your thoughts—”

“You know nothing!” Zerakronoz was desperately trying to call that other presence, but Tercius blocked it all.

{Zerakronoz} develops {Spirit Pact}. Obtain Yes?

Yes.

Before him, the bird’s thoughts flashed with light. A part of Tercius was exposed here in this moment— a most vulnerable part. Tercius felt the cold edge of that light and stayed on alert, prepared to fight. As the light dimmed and the sense of danger disappeared, there stood a stunned spirit in a white cloud. All around it, glimpses of a blue sky seemed to manifest in the darkness. The void suddenly seemed willing to allow the spirit a personal sphere. Tercius felt the edges of the bubble and knew that he could negate it with a single thought.

“Wise choice.”

The realization hit the spirit hard. “What have you done?! You– you– this— this isn’t supposed to go like this! Not like this! You... you tricked Zerakronoz, you—”

“Well, I guess that you could argue that I have imposed a decision on you. In that case, you can say that we are alike. But I’d rather like to think that I… helped you make the smart decision.”

The spirit swelled with a burst of pure anger and surged towards him. “What have you done?! Zerakronoz will kill you for this, stupid mortal!”

Tercius chuckled as the spirit’s thoughts slammed into him impotently, screaming bloody thunder and lightning. “Calm down, my new friend. You can’t kill me. That cloud has passed, for now..”

As the spirit howled in denial, Tercius called for the new Skill to appear.

{Spirit Pact} [1]

— Lightning seeps through the Pact, only to settle in your mind. At will, your perception of time expands.

“Oh… this turned out even better than I thought it would. Thank you for this gift, Zer. It will be most useful.”

“Zerakronoz will kill you, human!”

“One day, maybe. But it’s not like you can do anything before the Skill grows enough to manifest you.”

“Zerakronoz can’t wait the day! A storm! Zerakronoz will make the biggest storm for this insolence, you—”

“I’m sorry to disappoint you with bad news, Zer, but I don’t think you will be the one to kill me. There are too many spirits in these mountains that can attack my Well. You will never get your revenge if they get to me first. Then, when I’m gone, and if you survive, you will remember that human that was so much smarter than you—”

“Smarter than Zerakronoz?” the bird warbled with something akin to laughter, but deep under there was so much insecurity. Even at its peak of power, the bird had been close to the top, yet it never reached the known peak.

"Oh, so much smarter, yes. Then the other spirits will talk about how the smart human outwitted the stupid Zer, and in the end, Zer couldn't even get revenge for his own sake. Imagine that!"

The bird’s feathers bristled. “You outsmart Zerakronoz?!”

“Well, you will not get your revenge, so yes. I get what I want and you don’t. I’m definitely outsmarting you.”

“No one takes Zerakronoz’s prey! No one will dare!”

“Oh, they will dare. They will dare— you know that. You know what those newborns are like. Just imagine what the baby spirit that claims my Well might look like after he outsmarts you, eh Zer? In a single strike, the baby will prove to every other spirit just how powerless you are. Other spirits will say that you couldn’t even keep out a tiny spirit out of your own Well. They will whisper about: Zerakronoz is slipping. Zerakronoz is so weak. Is that what you want?”

Showers of angry sparks fell out of the bird’s form. “If any dare approach, Zerakronoz will consume them like the prey they are!”

“Does that mean that you will protect my Well against any intruders that want to use me to insult your reputation so brazenly?”

“Zerakronoz will get the rightful revenge for this insolence on you. Then who will dare call Zerakronoz stupid or weak? Who?! No one, that’s who!”

“Good. That’s the spirit, Zer. You show them who is the boss around here.”

With a new target before him, Zer seemed to forget all about Tercius. In a puff of clouds, Zer disappeared, all focused and intent on keeping the Well safe. Tercius waited for a while, expecting something to go wrong, but before long even he left the {Distant Mind} behind.

Sleep claimed him before he even turned on his bed.