Life took so many unexpected turns. Once, Zae Zin Nim had known exactly how her future was going to progress, down to the year she would achieve each cultivation stage. Then had come the blockages, Deadwaste, Kai, and so much else... and now Omilaena.

They had taken over the estate for now, to give themselves time to recover and regroup. Zae Zin Nim had seized the resources that she had formerly tried to steal, which were now hers by right. Unfortunately there weren't many left, but she had plenty of pure qi from home to fuel her cultivation. That made her feel slightly better about the entire experience.

It was when she went down into the basement that she became less certain. Omilaena waited there, obediently trapped in the chakra prison yet still dangerous.

"What is this?" Zae Zin Nim asked, holding up a yellow rock from the vault.

"That's a chakra stone." Omilaena peered at it for the briefest of moments, then shrugged. "I could tell you more, but it wouldn't matter. Having trouble tapping it, huh?"

"Tell me the secret. Or is it some Rosemount mystery I couldn't comprehend?"

"Oh, you could get it, even without my help. You're a pretty good cultivator. But I really don't recommend grabbing just any old source of chakra you can find. More than qi or mana, it's absolutely essential that what you absorb is aligned with your body."

That sounded like a mix of bullshit and what she already knew. Zae Zin Nim stared down at the colored rock and frowned. "So it's similar to a qi crystal?"

"In a simple sense, as an object that stores energy, sure." Omilaena stepped closer to the boundary, eyes alight. "In the technical sense, not at all. Qi crystals are just temporary storage containers, not that exciting in the end. When chakra is stored in an object, the energy alters the matter permanently. The process is fascinating and I'm not sure I understand it fully yet."

"You said the crystals here aren't interesting... then why come to Krysal?"

"I had such high hopes for this place." The other woman sagged against the energy wall. "Their crystal cores are like little external dantians, it's fascinating. I really thought that studying them would be the breakthrough I needed, but it wouldn't actually benefit me. The soul only has so many capacities, you know, and you shouldn't fill them with weak powers."

"I am aware." Zae Zin Nim raised one hand and let some qi flow from it, tinged with blue mana fire. "That's why you wanted to experiment on how I use mana."

"Yes, you have one of the best fusions I've seen. In your case, it's like you've learned to draw mana into your cultivation, yet you also gained some mana-like characteristics without polluting your qi. I can't duplicate it, but it was instructive."

"Why did you have to come here to experiment? You should have plenty of qi on Rosemount."

"Ah, but it isn't that simple." Omilaena wagged a finger. "The structure that develops depends on all types of power in a region, not just the existence of one. Haven't you ever wondered why you don't have Classes on Cloudspire and you had to come all the way out here to develop one?"

Zae Zin Nim blinked as she considered that idea. She had always been taught that they could have such powers, they were simply inferior to cultivation. Now...

"Areas with lots of mana but not much qi turn out differently than regions where both coexist. It makes cultivators angry, but what you view as 'pure' cultivation is actually the form that exists only when there are reasonably high levels of all three types of energy."

"I was told it made the qi richer, but..." Zae Zin Nim frowned as she considered it. "But I was always taught to avoid drawing on the chakra or mana."

"And thus you became a cultivator, but your body was still shaped by the environment with all three. I'm telling you, the natural laws that govern all of this are trickier than we understand, and I'm not sure I've grasped all the nuances yet."

"If I shouldn't use this chakra rock, what do you recommend?"

"Since fusion worked for you once, you should pursue it again." Omilaena looked her up and down, mostly professional but still causing a little shiver. "If you went to Rosemount, you could probably find a chakra-based art that's compatible. Then you could draw it into your cultivation. If you did, the result could really be extraordinarily powerful."

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It was a ridiculous plan for the far future, yet she actually found herself considering it. "And you?"

"Crystal cultivation didn't work, but it taught me a great deal about utilizing qi as a tool. I just need to find the right method. Or maybe I should wander into Goralia and try to awaken a Class, since it seemed to work out well for you. The Krysali don't respect them much, but they may be underestimating Classes."

Despite her initial misgivings, Zae Zin Nim was beginning to accept that Omilaena could be a good resource for them. Perhaps not a trustworthy resource, but a knowledgeable one. The question was how to extract actionable plans from her without surrendering too many of their own advantages.

"So..." Omilaena leaned on the chakra barrier with one arm, pressing right up against it. "I was impressed by how well you and Kai fought together. You had to adapt on the fly after being apart, too. That's the kind of coordination that can only be attained by lovers."

"Wh-what?" Zae Zin Nim stiffened and stared at the other woman, then realized she was being mocked again. "That is not appropriate!"

"Are you telling me I'm wrong? I'm shocked! But the two of you are so close..."

"We are companions. We have fought together. You know this and you are lying."

"But is that all you are?" Omilaena raised her eyebrows and managed to make that simple expression lascivious. "You were so worried about dual cultivation, why not just settle it? Hmm, but that's quite a height difference... could the two of you even kiss in the middle of things?"

"I do not have to listen to this." Zae Zin Nim turned on her heel and left the room, trying to push aside the images filling her head.

And yet, as much as Omilaena infuriated her, Zae Zin Nim found the other woman hard to forget. Where she could only view her sex as weakness, Omilaena easily used it as a weapon. Her figure was very feminine in a way that felt balanced, not exaggerated. She wore those dresses with the long slits all the way up to the side, not as if she was trying to entice men, but as if she was utterly in control of herself. That composure was something Zae Zin Nim wished she could master.

She came up the stairs and nearly ran directly into Kai's chest in her distraction. Zae Zin Nim released an awkward gasp and retreated as quickly as possible.

"Sorry," Kai said, "was just looking for you. Is now a good time to talk?"

"We can," Zae Zin Nim answered. "I was merely interrogating Omilaena."

"She's been helpful, hasn't she?"

"So it seems."

"I wanted to float the idea of working together with her more." Kai spoke hesitantly, as if expecting an argument. "We need to make a decision soon, and-"

"That is acceptable." Zae Zin Nim nodded briefly.

"Are you sure? I thought, after she captured you, that you might hold it against her."

"I do, but that does not preclude us working together. I think she would be useful to us." She raised a finger. "For one, she is a far more obvious target than we are. She was already considered a menace after taking this city, and the theft at the auction only worsened her reputation. So long as she is active, we have a ready-made distraction."

"Good, I was thinking the same thing." Kai smiled in relief. "Plus, she's one of the only people who Suortril hates even more than us. She might betray us, but she can't really betray us to most of our enemies because they'd never trust her."

"Then you do want to go to war against the crystalliers."

"Well... yeah, I guess that's what I'm thinking."

"I don't care," Zae Zin Nim said, "but how do you expect that to end? If the Krysali all kill one another, they won't be ready for the next monster incursion. And isn't that what matters most to you?"

"Matters most? I don't..." Kai abruptly shook his head. "In any case, you're right. Ideally this would happen as a slow, quiet revolution. We keep arming the workers, in both the mines and the pits. Make them strong enough that it's not economical to keep them imprisoned anymore. It might hurt some profit margins, but they'll have to adapt if the change is already so far gone that it can't be easily rolled back. War hurts their profits too, after all."

"The top merchants have too much invested. You don't think they'll go peacefully, do you?"

"No." Kai met her gaze and she saw the monstrous hunger in him then. "Even if everything goes well, the most powerful people in Krysal will send out their crystalliers. If not checked, they'll slaughter the workers to try to turn back the tide and break their spirits. We need to be prepared to fight Diamond Crystalliers."

"Good. I agree." Zae Zin Nim hesitated, then gave him a slight bow. "I doubt I will be much use helping the peasants, but when we face our elite foes, I will fight at your side."

"And I'll be glad to have you there. But we need others too, including..."

"Let Omilaena stay in her prison a while longer. She has been misbehaving." Zae Zin Nim stepped past him, irritated again. "I believe she will fight with us, but we should not plan on her remaining with us in the end. As soon as is convenient, she will abandon us."

Kai was quiet for a while, his thoughts unknowable, but eventually he nodded. "You're right. We can't rely on her."

So they had a plan: revolution to overthrow an entire country. Zae Zin Nim had studied some political methods, but they primarily relied on a cultivator with overwhelming personal strength who could decapitate the leadership structure and dictate from above. This kind of more complex war, with so many different forces, was not a conflict she was suited to.

Still, through qi or mana or chakra, she would be ready. For the battles that day, and the day after, and beyond the horizon.