When She Spoke Again

Kristel wasn’t getting anywhere at all.

It could’ve been ten minutes or an hour, but the lack of response both from her Milling and Drawing threw her into boredom far sooner than her patience could allow. And while she considered herself a patient person, enough that she could power through this struggle with sheer will, her curiosity easily leveraged the lack of action in the room.

So the Princess opened her eyes.

She noticed Frill and Katherine first. Kristel had never seen such a powerful resonance effect permeating from an integration. The Aria’s hair, long and scarlet it was, along with the frills of her clothes fluttered wildly through the surge of meiyal.

Kristel wondered why she wasn’t feeling its effects until she realized that Katherine was blocking them in order not to bother the other trainees. Frein and Xiv were, in fact, oblivious to it, absorbed in their own meditation.

With her interest piqued, the Princess decided on a break and stood, approaching Frill’s quadrant. As soon as she entered the shimmering barrier that Katherine formed, she was struck by the violence of meiyal.

“Will she be alright?” she asked the Lady who was already aware of her presence, gesturing to stand beside her. Kristel followed while Drawing a significantly emphasized Siffera.

“This is still within expectations, yes,” Katherine said, struggling slightly. “It’s probably one of the most potent integrations I’ve seen yet, but there aren’t any signs of her losing control or outright getting rejected.”

Kristel afforded a sigh of relief before the change in the Lady’s demeanor abruptly cut it off.

“Uh, oh…”

“What’s happening?”

“Some complications.”

A small dream wolf emerged from Frill. Kristel immediately recognized her.

“Norazzel, what are you doing here?”

“I have no time to explain. Lady Katherine, Frill couldn’t control the Nightmare in the Mercurial Liquid. Can you assist her?”

Katherine didn’t ask and agreed. “Stay behind me.”

“I apologize, I couldn’t stop it from her Dream,” Norazzel said as she sat behind the Lady of the Void. The faunel was visibly exhausted. Kristel followed suit.

Kristel’s heart couldn’t handle what she was looking at. Frill was in a trance, floating in the air through sheer meiyal. Surges of her power leaked through, bouncing off Katherine’s barrier. It kept the situation isolated, but the Princess could see traces of cracks starting to form.

In front of her, Katherine was taking a deep breath. She removed her cap and retied her ponytail. Kristel had never seen such composure as the Lady’s meiyal system burst to life. The shimmering prismatic colors of her hair ornamental meiyal core fought against the uncontrolled meiyal surges.

The meiyal surrounding Katherine sprung forth. Gathering, Milling, and surging through her Siffera like a strong flowing river compared to the chaotic tidal waves coming from Frill.

Trepidation dawned on Kristel. The view looked oddly familiar. And she remembered the day the Lady of the Void returned from her Seeking mission.

Katherine turned to look at her directly in the eyes. She was smiling. “Don’t worry. It’s not the same as last time. I believe Frill can do this. All I have to do is contain the Nightmare.”

Her eyes move beyond the Princess. Kristel followed to see the two guys still in their respective quadrants, completely unaware of the situation. When she turned back to Katherine, the Lady had already returned her attention to Frill, taking another deep breath.

Something was different with her floating meiyal core. It was pulsing with meiyal. Kristel could tell it was different from when she usually Gathered or Drew. Like two chocolates looking completely the same but tasting entirely different from one another.

It was Katherine’s meiyal. Untouched and un-Milled. Completely pure, coming from the Lady herself.

Kristel knew of the Order of the Void’s Void Control Techniques. How they developed a completely different discipline from Meiyal Arts and Armaments that adapted to any practitioner in order to fend off the Nightmare. The training involved was extremely risky, playing around the rules of the Nightmare influence. She didn’t quite understand how it all worked, but she knew that many trainees never viewed the Nightmare Lands the same once they’ve had a taste of those Techniques.

Kristel didn’t know how it initially looked, but she could tell that Katherine had Opened her meiyal core. It was the only thing Void Control Techniques required. Only thing that differentiated it from Arts and Armaments. It didn’t matter if the Technique was supplied with Milled meiyal or Smelted meiyal. As long as the practitioner could Open their core.

Katherine’s meiyal, a shade of silvery white, surrounded the chaos emanating from Frill and reinforcing the barrier at the same time. Cracks mended and layers reformed. Kristel could barely resist the pressure from the two opposing meiyal alone. The Lady of the Void reached out a hand towards Frill and spoke, her voice causing ripples of meiyal as she uttered the Technique.

“Brace Against the Madness.”

The silver-white meiyal exploded in volume, completely surrounding Frill in a globe of spinning meiyal. Kristel couldn’t see the Aria anymore, but she began to hear her screams.

“Tell him to stay back.”

Kristel almost didn’t process the Lady’s command before Xiv’s voice barely penetrated the chaos.

“What’s going on?” he said, pushing against Katherine’s barrier.

“Let’s leave it to Katherine,” Kristel said unconvincingly as she pushed back against the Vyndivalian. He was quick to calm, settling outside the barrier, but the worry didn’t leave his face. He turned towards the Visitor, which made Kristel look as well. Frein was completely immersed in his own meditation. She had seen that before and understood that he wouldn’t be able to help for a while.

Not that she could see Frein helping with this current situation. But then again, she couldn’t be too sure.

“Can you assess her from here, Nora?” Katherine asked.

“She’s fighting it off, but she’s struggling. Why not completely purge the Nightmare?”

“What do you mean?” Kristel asked. The dream wolf turned to her.

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“Brace Against the Madness, is a Void Control Technique used to remove the Nightmare influence.”

“Without purging the Nightmare itself,” Katherine finished for the faunel.

“Why not?” Kristel and Xiv demanded at the same time.

“Because I believe she can control it,” Katherine replied with finality in her voice. Out of everyone present, she and Frein were the only ones that didn’t waver.

As if in response, the chaos subsided. Frill was still inside the silvery globe. With the way Katherine slowly rested her arms, Kristel realized things have finally calmed down.

“Give her time. We’ll monitor her closely.”

“How long will it take?” Xiv’s voice barely pushed through now that he wasn’t screaming.

“I don’t know.” Katherine turned to the Vyndivalian. “Hopefully before your date.”

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“Kristel said I’m supposed to hear you out,” Frill said towards Liona. Or at least it was Liona if she had lived for ten or more years.

“She should’ve told you about my warning also.” Liona, or as Kristel had shared, Brymeia, sat on a bench which was floating atop a calm sea illuminated by an afternoon blue sun. The water was deathly still, only the points that touched it—Frill and Brymeia’s feet—caused suppressed ripples which instantly vanished.

The sea was also transparent, showing Frill’s underwater Mind Palace.

“That there are two of you, and that I should only listen to the right one. Yes.” Frill could feel the Mercurial Liquid in her Exhibit rejecting integration, but for some reason, something was keeping it from disintegrating completely. She could only look at Brymeia.

“If you’re wondering about the Liquid, it’s Katherine, not me. You should integrate with it easily once we’re done talking.”

“But the problem is, are you the right one?”

Brymeia pushed herself to one side of the bench. “There are two of us, Frill. That much is true, but what if I tell you that we’ll respond to that question with the same answer? How would that help you decide?”

She didn’t offer the seat, but she kept it open. Her hand gestured to the opposite side and a champagne glass manifested in her grip, filled with sparkling orange juice. However she classed it up, it couldn’t fool Frill’s eyes.

“I’m not much for wine,” Brymeia said in defense, taking a sip.

“If I don’t want to talk, will you let me leave?” Frill asked. She had never seen Liona shrug for the longest time. And the one in front of her did so in the most familiar way she recognized.

It was aggravating.

“Sure. I can always try again next time.”

Frill had the urge to leave but ultimately decided against it. Whether or not this was the correct person to talk to didn’t really matter. The Princess or Frein wouldn’t let this chance for information slip by, neither should she. Sitting beside someone who looked like her sister was a little out of what she could stomach, though.

“Well, that’s to be expected, I suppose.” Brymeia conjured a chair opposite her and gestured for the Aria to take a seat. When Frill took it, a cup of tea manifested in front of her. It wasn’t infused with fruits or herbs she was familiar with, but she caught a dab of honey within the taste.

“So what are we talking about?” Frill asked. She had never quite tasted such delicious tea, but she kept that to herself. She noted the taste and wondered how she could replicate it. It was mostly an afterthought.

“What I have to say right now wouldn’t take very long,” Brymeia began. “But I can see you have a—”

“Are you the voice I heard back in Mount Rindea?” Frill’s sudden question took Brymeia aback. But rather than get angry, she ended up smiling instead.

“It was both of us, to be honest. The other one was stirred awake by your awakening, but I managed to separate myself eventually. Who before you now is just me. Brymeia.”

“Why do you look like Liona?”

“Your Princess responded well to this form. I admit she also didn’t like it at first, but we eventually reached a consensus. I’m hoping you would respond the same way.”

“That doesn’t exactly answer my question.”

Brymeia nodded. “My forms are limited to the people you recognize, Frill. They have to be significant to you personally. In your case, aside from Liona, my options are Kristel, Katherine, Frein, and Xiv. I was tempted to appear as the Vyndivalian given your current situation with him, but I would rather not affect your future decisions with him or with anyone if I can help it. As you can tell, I can vary the age of the person’s form I’m assuming as.”

Frill churned the response. From a logical standpoint, appearing as a person who already passed away made the most sense. This way, she wouldn’t mistake Brymeia for anyone else. The idea was cold and inconsiderate, but it couldn’t compare to the fact that she was having a conversation with a person who named herself the same as the world she lived in.

That gave her the next question.

“Why do you call yourself Brymeia?”

“Because I am,” the person in question replied simply. “It is the name I gave myself and the name you all agreed to call me. Therefore I am Brymeia.”

“‘You?’”

“You, your ancestors, your descendants, your closest relatives, your farthest enemies, even those who will never be born recognize me by this name. Such is the way that Destiny works, Frill. It is the one thing it holds true, and none of the known Contradictions can sway it otherwise.”

“Contradictions?” Frill tried not to be confused, and it was unsurprisingly more difficult than she thought.

Brymeia sighed. “We are getting sidetracked, it seems. But we have time. The Contradictions can wait. Instead, allow me to show you Destiny.”

The world suddenly turned to mush and was instantly replaced by nothingness. Frill blinked and things changed once again. This time, she found herself in the middle of a mirror world. Everywhere she looked was a reflection of some sort of reality playing out. As if hundreds upon thousands of M.O.B.I.L.E.s suddenly delivered a holographic message and were neatly ordered to provide some sort of symmetry.

“It’s not everything,” Brymeia began, “but what you see before you are possibilities of Destiny. Why don’t you focus on one and observe?”

Frill clutched her throbbing head and tried to follow the instruction. She found one with an image of herself and Xiv and decided to give her full attention to it.

She was giving him a tight embrace. At first, Frill thought it was a simple show of affection, until the image panned to his back to reveal a dead Those That Fell Off the Cliff. Its massive skeletal ribcage weaponry had stabbed the Vyndivalian straight through his core and it was taking his all to prevent it from piercing through. He died a moment later.

The revelation pushed Frill out of her concentration and she was returned to within the kaleidoscope of Destiny.

“What?”

“It’s not the future, Frill,” Brymeia assured hastily. “It’s one possibility. A consideration for Destiny. Whether it becomes reality or not is still a distance away for you to know right now.”

Frill studied a few more and came to the conclusion that all these are reflections of the future.

“I can show you the ones in the past, but your heart might not take it.”

“What do you mean?”

Brymeia hesitated before giving an answer. The way she looked away reminded Frill of Liona’s habit when responding to something her little sister didn’t like.

“Because I know you’ll look for who killed your sister, Frill. It is not yet the right time for that.”

Brymeia was right. Frill couldn’t take it. Just the mention of the possibility made her heart ache.

“I need to know!”

Brymeia—Liona—turned to her, eyes close to tears but full of determination. “I’m sorry.”

Even here, Frill could feel the meiyal surge with her anger. She could feel it close to wreaking havoc. But she pulled herself back. Her fists ached from clenching too much. Her arms shook because of how tensed her muscles were. Her jaws were tired from pressing too hard. Her teeth hurt.

She pulled them all. Suppressed them until they were nothing but pain and exhaustion, unable to find closure.

The rage she stored along with the rest.

“How?” she asked. Frill had never felt the need to breathe so heavily before. “How can I look for it myself?”

Brymeia’s stern face eased and afforded a soft smile. “Thank you, Frill. I will help you.”

The kaleidoscope vanished and they returned to the surface of Frill’s Mind Palace.

“First, you must integrate with the Mercurial Liquid. What has Norazzel told you about it?”

“She said it should work and allow my Arts to be elevated to Nidai levels.” Frill concentrated on the now, but the things this revelation could bring kept playing in her head. She wanted revenge, she wanted power. She wanted them now.

“The Mercurial Liquid originated from Palar’gog. His essence resides in that material. If you successfully integrate with it, not only will it increase your Meiyal Arts level, but it will also provide you with a new type of meiyal just like what Frein has now.”

“I’ll have three-meiyal?”

“Yes. Unfortunately, the core is the source of your own meiyal, and you gave your sister’s away. But I think it’s for the best, Frill. You can get more sources of meiyal in the future.

“You need more power if you are to look at Destiny on your own. You need to achieve strength on par with your ancestors.”

Having something to work with was proving to be a good motivator. Now Frill couldn’t handle the anticipation. She wanted to get back to work. It made her realize that Brymeia hadn’t told her why she appeared before her yet. She motioned to ask, but was met only with a smile.

“I’m glad with the time you shared with me, Frill. Don’t worry, if you allow it, we will meet again. Next time, I’ll tell you all about it. I’ll tell you how to become the next Brymeia.”

Frill blinked before she could ask. A mistake. Her words caught in her throat, unable to be voiced as she suddenly found herself in front of the Mercurial Liquid. The material was calm, lying on a smooth sea stone while surrounded by a coral bed.

The Mercurial Liquid turned towards her. A small blob rising from the rest of its circular body. Both it and Frill tilted their heads, wondering what to do with each other.

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