Devil’s Doll Reincarnation | Chapter 8 | Waiting Game

You know that feeling you get after running for a long time, or the sensation of a heavy weight squeezing you from all sides after a good workout?

Well, that’s what I’m going through right now. I’ve been non-stop training my walking for two or three days with body enhancement magic constantly running. I don’t know whether the length of day is the same here, but I’ve gone through a couple of sleepless nights already. I asked Anna how many days had passed, but she reminded me she still couldn’t couldn’t tell what was going on around us, she could only feel my general movements in some weird way. She compared it to feeling the direction of a strong wind.

That must suck though…

I get that she’s upset, but she’s been really quiet for a while now. The only time she talks to me is when I ask her a question, or majorly stuff up in my training. I’ve felt some depressing emotions rising up within me, but Anna always seems to notice beforehand, making sure to calmly speak to me about random things. Anna told me about her experiences while learning the arts with Geralt in the cabin, or tales about her father, the mayor, who would often buy gifts from travelling merchants.

I’d like to speak to Anna more often, she’s a nice girl, but I’ll have to wait until later. I’m too busy practising long through the night, all I can manage is the occasional light chat with Anna every now and then. It keeps us entertained, since we can’t actually sleep anyway…

You would expect that a person with a sleepless body, and another without a body would have no need for sleep, right? Not true, we get mentally tired, I take the time to rest whenever I get a headache from over exerting myself. Sometimes, during the the night, I hear odd noises out in the forest. I always end up heading back to the safety of the tree whenever that happens, Anna teased me for being such a scared little girl, but she wasn’t wrong.

I’ve been walking around lopsided due to my other arm missing, and whenever I fall over, I don’t have the strength to keep my face from slamming into the dirt. Its really worrying you know? This body is pretty fragile, and I don’t like seeing cracks appearing in my pretty porcelain skin. I wonder what I must look like right now, I guess I’d appear to be a dirt covered, little girl; that had tumbled down a steep hill. Although… the missing arm would be very concerning.

Well, I’m pretty much stuck in a situation where there’s barely anything I can do, fortunately, I’ve always managed to get over difficult things like this. All I have to do is separate my problems into a list, and fix them one at a time.

Okay then… sighing in my mind, for the umpteenth time, I go over the steps once again.

Step 1:

Fix the issue with mobility.

Now, so far, this isn’t much of an issue. I’ve been training my ability with Body Enhancement magic frequently, and although its uncomfortable, it allows me to move much easier. If I tried moving without using it, I’d faint from exhaustion after a minute or so. Using magic is a much more reliable method, and as of yet, I have felt no real limit to how much mana I can use, unless the splitting headaches I get every 6-7 hours come as some sort of warning.

Step 2:

Set up some defensive parameters.

Yeah, and that’s it, I haven’t thought any further than step two…

Home base is still at the large, hollow tree. With my size its plenty enough space, and the thick protruding roots of the tree obscure the entrance pretty well, especially when combined with the curtain of hanging vines hanging just outside. Because the centre of the tree dips down into a shallow hole, water tends to pool up every so often. Using this water, I wash my arms, legs, and neck at least once a day. Although I thought it was kind of pointless, Anna kept telling me to keep my body clean; or else my joints would lock up, and I’d be paralysed forever. With that slight mental trauma now stuck in the back of my head for the rest of my life, washing myself has become a habit. After that I continue on with my tasks.

With how things are right now, I can’t simply walk out of here, or I’ll risk being ripped apart by those red-furred monkey things. Previously I would have thought this not to be an issue, I mean, I’m a doll after all. However, with my encounter with the insane wizard dude, and the excruciatingly painful experience of having my arm shattered into little pieces. I’ll have to go with some other, less painful alternative.

I’d asked Anna about that man as well, and apparently it was the manager of the village she lived in. He was supposedly a nice guy, so Anna was really shocked after what happened earlier. I reminded her how worried I was about her, and she replied, saying she just wanted to think over some things. Promising to help out as soon as she could.

Looking outside the opening of the tree, I watched as the sun slowly dipped over the horizon. It was going to be dark soon, and lately I’ve been seeing strange shapes in the distance. This was enough to keep me inside during the night. I need to find some means of protecting myself in the case that something bad really does happen.

Anyway, I honestly haven’t got much planned. I know its kind of sad, but I can’t help it. A part of me just doesn’t want to have a long, daunting list of possible steps, and I don’t have enough information to make any solid plans either.

…

After waking up, washing myself, and heading outside to practice my movement like a machine for a few hours; I once again fell face first into some mud. By this point both of us had gotten used to it, ignoring it as if nothing had even happened. However, this time, Anna gasped and told me to stay still.

Worried that another strange creature had appeared, I hurriedly cradled into a ball, hoping whatever it was wouldn’t see me. I heard the sound of Anna’s giggling, and felt my face heat up.

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“Sorry, sorry. It’s nothing to get scared over, you’ve just stumbled across something pretty useful.”

Anna imitated a fanfare going off, telling me that I had miraculously discovered a special deposit of clay. It was low quality compared to what was used to make my body, but Anna said we could still try using it for a myriad of things. One of the lessons Geralt taught Anna was how to make golems, he was no expert on the subject, but he knew how to make some really detailed, humanoid ones. I am living proof of that.

By imbuing mana into certain kinds of clay, you could shape and control them with your thoughts. To make a golem move around from afar you needed something called a golem core, an object created from a mana stone of enough power. This piece was essential for self-sustaining golems because the embedded mana stone allowed for a more localised power source, effectively removing the need to make physical contact to power them.

To control a golem from afar, you would need a mental connection with the mana stone beforehand. This can be done by filling an empty one with your own mana. The more powerful the mana stone, the larger the golem can be, and how far away it can be while remaining under your control.

As far as Anna could tell, golem makers were very rare. Not only is the cost of decent mana stones incredibly high, the profession is widely unknown to the public, resulting in not many people finding it profitable to learn. Because of this, locating someone who would willingly teach the craft is rather difficult. Most countries hold talented golem makers in high regard for a few reasons. With them, even small kingdoms could literally build themselves an army of stone or iron soldiers, if given enough materials and time. They also make great sources of profit in the trade industry. Having a giant, mana powered stone worker, capable of tirelessly moving around heavy cargo, is very useful after all. They could even act as powerful bodyguards or transportation methods when used creatively. There were reports that the Devil Kingdom created stone horses to pull their carts, since living horses were hard to come by in a monster infested country.

All you need to keep them running is mana, a good grasp of controlling things mentally, and bam. You’ve got yourself a completely obedient, multipurpose, moving statue. Pretty cool right? It’s almost hard to believe that Geralt was the first person to make a sentient golem, what with all this competition going on. I guess he was really dedicated, good on you Geralt. Without you, who knows what would’ve happened to my wandering soul.

Taking a moment to thank Geralt in my mind, I joined back into the conversation. Anna was listing off the multiple uses Golems could have for us, but I decided to butt in.

“Alright Anna, I get that golems are really cool and what not, but I don’t see how I’d be able to make one. We don’t have any mana stones, I don’t know how to shape clay, and I certainly don’t know how to control something with my mind,” I said, pointing out a few problems with the plan “Why did you suggest this in the first place?”

Anna stirred in thought, finally answering me in a calm, but sure manner “…Fumi, no, Michael. I get what you mean, but I can’t think of anything else… my soul is undoubtedly dying in this pitiful excuse of a shell. I can feel myself fading away as we speak, and I can’t quite tell you how much it irks me to say this, but I can only think of one way to save myself.”

So… her soul is dying after all? Well, that should I have expected. That little glass vial would never be able to substitute for a human body, it was stupid of me to take it for granted.

The two of us just sat for a moment, wondering how things would turn out. Would she gradually fade away? I couldn’t possibly except that. Resolving myself, I told Anna I’d go through with it. She thanked me profusely, immediately telling me the best way to go about it. First, I had to gather a decent amount of clay. This alone took two or three hours, and digging up what I could with my brittle little hand wasn’t quick to say the least. From what we’ve speculated, Anna’s vial kind of works like a constantly regenerating mana stone. The weird looking thing inside my own body is a soul stone, much better than the vial that Anna uses. The stone, albeit very expensive, is currently the second best alternative for holding a soul. The first one being an actual, living body; with an undead one coming in at a smooth third. Its lucky that Anna knows so much about this.

After piling up enough clay, Anna instructed me on how to shape it into a humanoid body. My hand was incredibly unsteady, there were so many things to worry about. I wasn’t proud of how it was going, I could tell it was lopsided, but because I only had one arm it was nearly impossible to make it symmetrical. Anna’s voice had been getting weaker as the two of us carried on, speedily slapping clay onto the weird human shaped blob.

I kept calling out Anna’s name periodically, over and over, not stopping until getting my desired response. I swatted the idea of her never speaking again, never being able to laugh with me and chat. Someone as kind and gentle as Anna doesn’t deserve this.

I didn’t know if I would make it in time, yet I continued even as her voice went silent. I couldn’t bare the thought of letting Anna die like this, I’d already allowed it to happen once, but this time, it’ll be permanent. I grasped at what knowledge I had, focusing my all on the task in front of me.

Nothing would stop me from finishing this. Grabbing onto Anna’s vial as gently as I could, I slowly positioned it within the small hole. I waited for a moment, but nothing happened. What I needed to make this work was some reference, so perhaps looking into myself would reveal some answers.

Angling my broken arm, in a way that would allow me to see inside myself, I spotted a glowing crystal. The thing was covered in the very same black liquid that occasionally dripped from my arm. It almost seemed as if the ooze was constantly seeping out of the crystal. Is that where it comes from? I assume it’s kind of like blood, whereas the crystal is the very definition of my heart and soul. I never really believed in souls before, but I think it’s safe to assume that things work differently over here.

Taking a wild guess, I unsealed my arm, allowing the black liquid to flow freely. While pouring it into the spot where Anna’s vial was placed, it reminded me of ferrofluid, pulling towards her vial and enveloping it whole. It glowed ominously a few times to the rhythm of a heartbeat. Hopefully that is something good.

With this, my job was done. There was no way I could tell if everything would be alright, I can only wait to find out.

Just… please be okay.