That was enough to shift Yao's facial expression into one of faint surprise and amusement - faint, but very much there. A raised eyebrow, slightly upturned corners of the mouth.
"Both,” Mistress Yao answered. “The real prosthetic is a spiritual construct, the talismans are suspended within it to make it less obvious, provide structural support, and to give me easy access to a great number of them at a moment's notice. In my state I... Cannot reach into my subspace storage with any speed. I did not think they were so obvious; is some of the leg construct shining through?"
"No, you'll probably get people assuming they're just wrappings. I just made an educated guess based on the scars that poke out past the edge. Looks like some shit gangsters used to do back home to try and destroy the nerves in a stump so you couldn't have new prosthetics fitted," Krahe said, standing back up.
"I suspect that to have been the intention; the perpetrators of my injuries did much the same spiritually, or at least made the attempt. As if I would need working nerves or meridians to replicate something so simple as the function of a limb."
Her otherwise calm tone was tinged half by smug self-satisfaction, half by murderous vitriol towards these perpetrators.
Glancing between the two of them, Casus wasn't sure what he felt. Not himself, but from them. The way they looked at each other, spoke with one another, it was like two graft-saints meeting after a century apart. But... Krahe was barely a low mid-ranker, and the Yao woman wasn't a contractor at all, not a registered one at least. Even appraising her, Casus saw nothing to suggest that she was a high-ranker, but then... He saw nothing that he had expected, not even the tiny expectations of an insane graft-saint level readout. Yao didn't have a system connection of any kind.
“I ah… As Lady Blackhand said earlier, I believe it would be best to begin with why you have called us here, and, if you would not mind, why you believe either of us can help you, given the fact you do not operate under the Seven Spokes System. Our understanding of magic likely does not cross over in the slightest.”
“But that is where you would be wrong, pretty boy,” Yao said, smugly. With a gesture, one of the papers of her arm detached. A crimson blob floated out of an ink basin on a nearby table, before shaping itself in the palm of her right hand. Half of it splashed onto either side of the paper, forming complex patterns.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
“I know that these are not so foreign to you, and neither are the spirits which are often used to empower their consumable versions. Eidolons and Theurgy, you call them. We all work with the same magic, Igaria’s System is merely one way of harnessing it. I must admit that I was humbled by the greater world. Despite falling short in all matters of what I know as cultivation, the number of exceptional talents and monstrously powerful individuals matches and in some places outstrips my home nonetheless. Even the weakest among the weak are able to sense and harness Ke, the Breath of Emptiness, if only they reach for it, whereas back home, only perhaps one among a hundred ever has the chance to wield it in its most basic form.”
An exasperated laugh took hold of Yao, and she continued: “No wonder, then, that arts which we considered normal are obscure and occult to the people of the outside! Why learn movement techniques and subtle weapon arts when you can throw balls of fire as naturally as breathing?!”
“It is true that natural awakening rates are a fair bit higher than one in a hundred, however…” Casus began, only to be interrupted once more by a laughing Yao.
“...Most still need help. But they can get that help! Those things you call Voidkeys, which are freely sold in stores on the street, they are invaluable relics in Tiengenzhen! The secrets of making them are passed down master to student and guarded so jealously that they are often lost with the maker’s line!”
Yao flicked her wrist, and two voidkeys flew out of the drawer of the nearby desk. One was simple, polished brass, and the other was the shape of a serpent dragon and carved out of solid jade.
“Behold. Identical in performance. One, I exchanged for a few talismans a week ago. The other, I nearly died obtaining and treasured for decades. It is absurd. It is insulting. It is a fact to which those responsible for my state would rather blind and deafen themselves. But enough seething about what I cannot change.”
Another gesture, and both keys flew back into their drawer. Yao walked to the conversation pit and sat down, leaning into a sofa. Krahe gave in, and sat down too, with Casus following suit.
“As for why I believe that you two can help me, and more importantly that you two will want to help me… We will get to that point. Let me begin where I ought to: Why I am here. I am certain that my sorry state has already raised some questions; it is one reason. I’ve been crippled, and coming to this city, halfway across the world, allows me to fulfill two of my goals. The first is hiding myself from those who did this to me, and a stronghold of the Twin Churches is as close to a safe place as I can get. Those who would come after me would immediately come to blows with the Churches. The second reason is to rectify my sorry state and rebuild my strength.”
“And get revenge?”
“Perhaps. Perhaps not. We will see. For the time being, I am treading the path laid out for me by the same providence that allowed me to put myself back together at all. You see… Several weeks ago, a certain event took place in the vicinity of this city. A great rite spurred an even greater machine into motion, and pierced a window into the World Wheel’s firmament.”