The moment Jerome stepped twenty feet away from the threshold of the dark forest, Achilleia stirred in his mind. He smiled, finding the sensation comforting. Just a few feet away was Nyx, standing with a cold gaze. She looked to have been waiting for them.

“She’s been out here for a while now,” Achilleia said. Her feminine voice was a breath of fresh air, even though he was still getting used to it.

Are you okay? Jerome asked hesitantly. Did you…

“I’m fine, Xerae; not at full strength but fine nonetheless. It will take a very long time for me to regain the power I lost though.”

The power you lost? Did she take your Authority?

“A piece of it.”

Jerome’s heartbeat turned frantic for a second.

“Whatever you did though, destroyed the piece she took of my nexus… and apparently destroyed her connection to whatever gave her the power to consume Authorities.”

Jerome jumbled her words through his mind for a while. He remembered Dashani saying ‘My connection.’ If there was something out there, most likely an artifact on the Western continent that gave her the ability to consume Authority, they were more or less fucked. What’s to stop her from establishing said connection once again to her artifact?

“I’ve never heard of such an artifact, Xerae. And even if there was one, I don’t think she can just establish a connection to such a powerful artifact. It may take a long while before we see her again. Plus, she was close to losing her mind when we left.”

We ran away with our tails tucked between our legs, Achilleia; that doesn’t exactly inspire confidence; or for me to think I have somehow managed to cause irreparable damage to her.

But then again, the mind-calming stone did the heavy-hitting. But he didn’t want to hope for some miraculous outcome. Such thoughts could be destructive, leading him to believe he could take things easy. No. It was better to assume the mind-calming stone didn’t hurt her as much as he’d like to believe.

“You’re doing it again, Xerae… blocking me out.”

Jerome sighed. I’m not blocking you out, Achilleia. I actually have another being occupying a fraction of my mind, so to speak.

Achilleia was quiet for a long time, processing his words. Jerome took the time to observe Nyx. She had come closer to him but her face still held that look of haughty determination.

“Why is this so important?” he asked her.

Csala stood by his side, fear oozing out of her pores like it was the fourth of July. She stood rigid, not making a sound. In fact, it seemed she wanted to make herself as small as possible.

Nyx stepped a little closer and Csala gripped his arm, her fingers tight like a clamp. “I’ve seen this day.”

Jerome’s jaw dropped a fraction at the revelation. He searched the dragoness’ eyes for some sort of pretense but found none. Putting his hand on Csala’s, he tried to soothe her as much as he could.

“And it’s a crossroads for me,” Nyx continued. “If I can’t gain your trust, Jerome, I cannot fulfill my destiny.”

“Sounds too epic for the likes of me,” he said looking into the distance behind Nyx. “I’m not that important.”

Are those…?

“Yes, Xerae, they are. They must have sensed the fight you had the day before.”

How did they get here so fast? He zoomed his eyesight into the distance to see four mystic kin hovering in the air. They must have been about ten miles away from their position.

Eleven and a half miles, he corrected, with the aid of his nanites.

These mystic kin were a lot more advanced in years than the ones he met before — not because they looked aged. No; because of their eyes.

Their faces and bodies looked youthful and beautiful — with their bodies covered in little more than a chest and waist wrap — but each pair of eyes held a cunning to them that told of decades — maybe centuries — of intelligence, battle, and strategy.

A horse kin, two felines and one with very sharp eyes that sensed it the moment he looked at them. He couldn’t determine the race of the last one. She looked quite human, with long, chestnut-colored hair and dark brown eyes. Her ears were hidden by her long brown hair. So he couldn’t tell if they would be pointed at the tip or round. She could pass for a human if it was the latter.

Like the two mystic kin he’d met with before, the other three had features that made them easily identifiable: pointy, horse ears at the top of the head of the horse kin who also had long, dark, chestnut-colored hair, the felines also had their ears — rounded like that of felines — at the top of their heads and their tresses were platinum.

He saw the one without bestial features mouth the words, ‘he sees us.’ Her eyes widened a fraction in surprise and then, with less movements from her lips, she mouthed, ‘he read my lips.’

Jerome smirked at her. From such a great distance he shouldn’t have been able to track the movement of her lips but that was possible because of the nanites in his brain. She on the other hand was way more impressive to be capable of noticing his gaze — tracking his eye movement even — from eleven and a half miles away! And without any support — technological or otherwise. Except she had an artifact he didn’t know about.

“She doesn’t. And she’s an avian — a peregrine. So she doesn’t just have superb eyesight, she’s extremely fast.”

Well isn’t that awesome. Jerome drawled.

“You seem to have caught her eye,” Achilleia said playfully.

“Ignore them,” Nyx said. “They won’t come near you as long as I’m here.”

Jerome focused on her. With a wave of his hand, a mini cyclone formed around them, obscuring them from view. That should keep the peregrine from reading his lips. The swirling storm of ice and rocks should also create vibrations to distort sound — just in case.

Watch them in case they try something, he said and Achilleia gave him a slight mental nod.

“You know them?” he asked Nyx.

Nyx shrugged. “I know of them. They never come near me though.”

Jerome nodded in thought.

“Do you know what you did when you named her?” Achilleia asked but didn’t wait for an answer. “You bound her to you.”

What?!

“It’s a bond that enables her to hide the entire essence of her being. This way she can masquerade as a human whenever she wants. And because she’s more powerful than you are, you cannot control her through the bond. Although, she would find it hard to keep things from you, to tell you lies and half truths — doesn’t mean she won’t try. She can also destroy the bond if she so wishes. You have to be careful with her, Xerae.”

Do you know what she wants? What does she get out of all this?

“What she told you so far is all I know as well. It would be up to you to trust her or not. But if you choose to go through with whatever it is she wants, I can ensure she doesn’t betray you.”

Appreciated, Achilleia, he said. Jerome felt her joy at his words blossom through their connection for a moment before it passed.

She talked about teaching me how to communicate with me telepathically. How is she going to achieve that?

Achilleia snorted. “I see she’s quite good at obscuring facts. It’s not that she’s going to ‘teach’ you, she’ll entangle your mind with hers, possibly granting her more control over the bond you already have.”

Security in obscurity.

“Yes, Xerae. But she’s desperate. Most likely because she’s running out of time since you have only three days left before leaving Terra Praeta. And partly because of me.”

Jerome felt the mind-calming stone stir at Achilleia’s words. He felt its intent — her intent. She didn’t want such a bond. She wanted to control it; subdue the dragoness and make her subservient to him. Jerome didn’t know what to think of that. That the mind-calming stone was becoming more active was welcoming but also… scary. Achilleia didn’t complain about not being able to read him so the mind-calming stone was just lurking, waiting for the right time to dig her claws into Nyx’s mind. Scary…

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Ready whenever you are, Xerae.”

Jerome blinked, focusing his gaze on Nyx. The scowl on her face was evidence that she was beginning to get impatient with him. He ignored it. She was the one who wanted something from him; she’d have to get on board with his time.

“How do we go about this thing, then. You wanted to teach me how to communicate telepathically with you.”

Her eyes relaxed but she maintained her rigid posture and expression. “Thank you, Jerome,” she said. “I don’t say that lightly.”

Jerome nodded but remained silent.

“Just close your eyes and relax,” Nyx said, closing her eyes as well. “Let me guide your mind to mine.”

He felt a tug somewhere deep within him — an uncomfortable tug. Jerome tightened his abdominal muscles, a reflex that kept him from groaning at the strange sensation.

“Sorry,” she said indifferently. “Dragons are not known for subtlety.”

Jerome glared at her. That felt like payback for his refusal to do this the first time. Or she was just being a bitch. She tugged again but with much less force. It was still uncomfortable though, especially as the tug became a continuous pull — a pull on something he could neither locate nor see inside him. He only knew that it existed. Deep inside his soul.

After a few more minutes of feeling the same sensation, Jerome noticed a change in what he felt. He couldn’t describe it but it was still a pull. But he didn’t want to open his eyes — that could damage the whole ritual.

Nyx grunted a little and at the same moment, he sensed Achilleia lash onto the pull he was feeling. The mind-calming stone was a fraction of a second behind her. Nyx crumbled to the ground in front of him. Jerome opened his eyes, thinking she was in pain. On the contrary, she was experiencing immense pleasure.

Achilles?… ah. This will take some getting used to. Achilleia? What’s happening?

There was no answer. All he could feel was a growing tightness somewhere deep inside him. It twisted and turned and shrunk, only to swell again and begin the process anew. After a few more minutes, the sensation eased but now he felt something attached to him.

“Someone,” Achilleia corrected. “That… was a humbling experience. Is that the being you said occupies a fraction of your mind?”

Yes, I guess. That’s how it feels.

“That’s impressive, Xerae. You’re already starting to get a feeling of the presence of your soul.”

Really? Because I don’t feel my soul, only the being that occupies… my mind, I guess. Is the soul not different from the mind?

“First off, you ‘are’ getting a feeling for your soul. Because you can passively feel her, without her stirring inside you.”

How do you know that? And how do you know it’s a she?

“She shared her experience inside your mind with me… along with threats of what will happen to me if I ever betrayed you.”

Jerome could hear the mirth in her voice. Achilleia, she can be very terrifying. You need to take her seriously. She was the one who did everything I did in the First Heaven.

“Ah. Tialana must have mentioned that to you. I choose to call it ‘The Prime Nexus’. Sounds more meaningful…”

Of course you do, he retorted.

“Like I was saying, you are starting to get a feeling of the presence of your soul. It's like trying to sense — or feel — space. You can only feel the things which occupy it. But the soul is metaphysical, existing both in this realm and in the Prime Nexus at the same time.

“Therefore, everything that dwells in it or is attached to it should be metaphysical too. So you shouldn’t be able to ‘feel’ the things attached to, or that dwell in your soul… yet you do. Since when have you been able to sense her passively, if I might ask?”

Uhm… Jerome couldn’t point out a particular time. It felt like it was just yesterday. Yet it also felt like it had been happening for ages. He knew there was once a time he couldn’t sense her at all though — perhaps only when she stirred. When was that, then? When did he start sensing her?

Maybe it was after coming to Terra Praeta. But that felt wrong. He felt like he had always been able to sense her before then. Or maybe it was after Blade’s Edge Canyon. That also felt wrong. He felt deep down, he’d been sensing her before then too. But he also felt he had only just started sensing her presence recently.

Jerome caressed the mind-calming stone with his intent — a fluke of an action, as he didn’t know how he did it. She purred in his mind with pleasure. She felt like an old friend and a new lover. Or an old lover but a new friend. The duality of his experience with her was confusing as fuck.

“It’s probably a good thing that you can’t figure that out yet. If not I would be scared you were growing too fast. That could have adverse effects on your foundation. The realm of the mind isn’t under the dominion of time. The imagination can create whole worlds in seconds — with their own histories, peoples, cultures, and many more, and destroy them in but a fraction of the time it took to create them.”

That’s… understandable. So are you saying I feel her as a part of me? As though she’s always been there even though she only recently took up residence in my mind?

“Simple way to put it, but yes. When you awaken to the presence of your soul, it wouldn’t be so confusing anymore. And most likely, you’d be able to pinpoint when you started sensing her passively. Only those who have reached the Spirit Realm are capable of awakening to the presence of th—”

Whole lot of words just to say, ‘you can now feel your soul.’

“I didn’t create the literature, Xerae. I only report it.”

Jerome picked up Nyx in a princess carry and she moaned into his neck, nuzzling him. Her body was so hot and the smell of her arousal hammered at him, urging him to take her right there. He let go of the essence he used to create the cyclone that shielded them from the eyes and ears of the mystic kin in the distance. Once it cleared, he noticed they were gone.

So? He asked Achilleia. What about my second question? Is the mind not different from the soul?

“Once again, an impressive observation, Xerae. Vorthe would explain it like this, ‘the mind is an extension of the soul as the soul is an extension of the spirit’. Quite impressive, don’t you think?”

Hm-hm. And how would you explain it?

He took off into the dark forest with Csala by his side. She hadn’t spoken a word since they met up with Nyx. He glanced her way and she gave him a knowing smile. She was still a bit weary of Nyx though.

“It goes a bit deeper than that, Xerae. The soul is the seat and foundation of conscious thought, the subconscious, logic, emotion, and instinct. And like Csala said, it is the currency with which you have access to residency in the material plane — in a physical body, that is.”

So it is the foundation of the mind; the building blocks of consciousness and everything in between, Jerome thought, processing Achilleia’s words. The first meaning now sounded flimsy in the face of the second one. But Vorthe’s meaning connects the mind, soul, and spirit together. What about yours?

“True. The spirit is the inner being — a sapient being, capable of emotion and communication. The Fae called it the ‘all-powerful’ self, the ‘undying’ self. The one that keeps giving.”

‘Undying?’ Come on, Achilleia, Jerome said in unbelief. The Fae were too full of themselves. That was the height of arrogance.

“Well, I don’t agree with them either” — that was new — “See, those who penned the literature about the inner being were at the height of power in their time. Their arrogance knew no bounds because they were very powerful and they gauged the world through subjective lenses.

“I call the inner being the ‘prime self’. Partly because it is the most powerful self of a person; it holds within it the potential to become more powerful than your most powerful physical self. The prime self has no gender — at least in an unmanifested state.”

‘Unmanifested’ state? You would have to clarify that later, Jerome said. Achilleia was throwing a lot of words around that he unconsciously attached the term, ‘spirit man’, to the prime self she mentioned.

“Don’t do that,” Achilleia said.

What?

“Don’t change the terms and names I come up with. What’s ‘spirit man’? It sounds to me like you think only ‘man’ is worthy of this. There are other races, Xerae, and they don’t identify as men.” She sounded pretty hurt.

Sorry about that. It was reflexive. Yeah, he wasn’t thinking when he did that. But he also realized that Achilleia was somehow different from the Achilles he used to know.

“Apology accepted. And yes, I have changed. The former guardian is a persona I wore in remembrance of my maker. And I don’t wish to speak about him, Xerae.” Achilleia continued as if she didn’t just drop a bomb on him. “The spirit is also the altar that enshrines the soul—”

Damn, Achilleia. Ease up on the rhetoric.

She chuckled. “As I was saying, the prime self enshrines the soul. It’s not, however, a placeholder for the soul.” She stopped abruptly.

Is that all? Jerome asked after some time.

“No. But you should take some time to digest all that before imbibing more.”

Good. He’d have been disappointed if that was all.

They got to the edge of the void world and Jerome put Nyx inside his void plane. He didn’t want anyone to see her like this — weak and horny. She’d throw a tantrum if she ever found out, and probably destroy half the void world.

Achilleia tittered a little.

What? Jerome asked.

“Haven’t you noticed that I’m communicating with you… in the dark forest?”

It dawned on him and he was stunned silent for a moment.

How?... Jerome asked with wide eyes. He and Csala walked through the threshold of the void world.

“Your ‘mind-calming stone’. Now I won’t just be connected to you; like her, I’ve taken up residence in your soul. She didn’t like coming to save my ass at the last minute so…” Achilleia gave a mental shrug. “You should stop calling her that, by the way. She’s not a stone. And she probably hates it.”

This is good. I didn’t like not being able to communicate with you. You’re still with me right.

“I’m not going anywhere, Xerae.”

Jerome breathed in the air of the void world. It carried the strong scent of wood and flowers. The change in atmosphere helped him relax a bit, the sun’s rays warm and welcoming.

Thanks for the tip, by the way, he said. But I don’t know what else to call her. I found her as a stone and she helped calm my mind during a rough time.

“Well, we can think of something together. Just make sure to be careful. Naming a being like that could kill you. Which brings me to my next discussion with you.

“Why the hell did you rename a dragon?!”