image [https://i.imgur.com/KgyATPr.png]

The room remained silent until Carmen finally spoke up, wanting her confusion to be cleared as soon as possible.

“Ummm, but what does any of that have to do with me? Why drag me into your plan? I’m not one of your citizens.” She asked with a sharp tone, fully pushing back Homura’s advances.

“You’re included because you don’t belong with these lesser life forms on the surface and deep down you know that. I am simply offering you a life with no more bounds or hardships…” Homura replied, her voice carrying with a velvety cadence. Carmen shook her head in disagreement as she tried to process the ridiculous information she was hearing.

“What? You’re talking nonsense! I do belong here, with my family and friends!” She stepped back slightly, putting more distance between them. Homura moved forward to close the gap while continuing her verbal assault.

“Am I really talking nonsense? You say you belong here with your family and friends, but, is that truly the case? What type of friends willingly drag their peers to places of danger like this? What family allows their own flesh and blood to slip through their fingers completely unnoticed?” She bellowed.

“It’s already been 4 full days and yet, not a single one of them has come to find you... The way I see it is that these people simply tolerated your presence, keeping you around just for the sake of it. Because if they actually cared about you, I promise you wouldn’t be in the situation you’re in right now. A shame, really.” Homura added with a saddened expression, feeling bad for her guest.

“You’re wrong! It’s not like that at all!” Carmen exclaimed, trying to block out her words. Homura approached even closer and locked her eyes with Carmen’s, building up the tension to even higher levels.

“Let me guess, your family never let you experience life hmm? Kept you locked away or something? Every time you wanted to do anything, you had to report to your family first? I’m right, aren't I?” Carmen shook her head and before she could reply, Homura continued her verbal assault.

“You should be able to enjoy the spoils of this world, whenever you want and however you want. No human should be telling you otherwise... You could do great things, but it seems as though they are only holding you back. We would never.” Homura’s words began to slowly eat away at Carmen’s mind, implanting dark thoughts into her head with each sentence spoken. Carmen stood there in shocked silence as she thought over Homura’s statements carefully.

“Y-You aren’t making any sense. I-.” She stuttered before getting interrupted once again.

“Child, you are powerful and your Dark affinity proves that. With us, you would instantly be propelled to the highest heights, well respected and revered by all. We, the Boundless, cherish our brethren and don’t discriminate against our people, unlike those pathetic humans you call friends and family. Come with us and I promise that your life will be better off in every aspect imaginable. Accept my offer and Lord Briddle will make it so...” Homura kindly placed her hands on Carmen’s shoulders, smiling greatly.

Homura’s soothing and tempting voice was slowly but surely swaying Carmen’s naive consciousness, each word causing her to question past experiences. The mental gymnastics occurring in this moment was unlike anything she had ever encountered before.

“Why... Why are you telling me all of this? I’m just some random girl you met. I don’t deserve any of the things you’re talking about.” She softly questioned as she looked into Homura’s gray eyes.

“Because you’re more special than everyone around you has led on. Sure we hardly know each other, but I saw it the moment you entered our home. Your potential has been greatly wasted and out of the kindness of my own heart, I want to allow you to shine brightly. The Boundless will show you what it truly means to care for your own.”

Carmen started to think back and applied Homura’s remarks to her past situations, connecting the dots and finding truth in her words. As she did this, Carmen remembered the good times she had with Rivell, Sarah, and Caleb. She found those moments to be very precious to her and after a brief thought, she cautiously made mention of them to Homura.

“B-But my friends… I can’t just... I can’t just leave them here to die..” Carmen softly replied with a blank stare, her mind incredibly blitzed by Homura’s enticing words.

“Hmmm, how about this, I will permit you to take them as your pets. They will be free from harm and would serve under your rule. You could put them to work or have them cater to your needs, no one would question your intentions.” Homura replied with a playful cadence, thinking this idea was wonderful. Carmen looked down as she slowly nodded her head, surprisingly accepting the outlandish idea.

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Homura glanced at Carmen while deviously grinning, feeling thrilled that this conversation was having so much success. However, she suddenly felt a jolt in her stomach, causing her to flinch slightly. Homura let go of Carmen and slowly backed away, taking a seat on the bed while rubbing her pregnant belly.

“Are you alright?” Carmen asked with newfound worry towards this Boundless woman.

“Yes, I‘m fine. My child is just excited to meet its new sister. Come over and say hello.” Carmen walked towards the bed and took a seat next to her. She slowly placed her hand on Homura’s belly and felt the baby inside of her kicking.

“Woah..” Carmen muttered as she felt the subtle taps against her hand.

“As a Boundless, our pregnancies are greatly accelerated compared to other races. Even though it's only been five months, this child is almost ready to enter the world. I bet they'll learn a lot from someone like you. I can’t wait to see you two interacting and getting along.” Homura then placed her hand over top of Carmen’s and smiled warmly again.

“Promise me you will protect this child... We have to look out for one another.” Carmen looked at Homura’s hand before averting her gaze towards her face. She firmly nodded with a determined expression, now feeling like she was also responsible for this baby.

“I appreciate that, truly. And once you have a child of your own in a few years time, I will do the same. I can only imagine the extraordinary offspring you will one day give birth to. It'll be the beginning of a new Boundless generation and our future will be the brightest it's ever been.” Homura replied as she rubbed her hand gently across Carmen’s.

Carmen blushed as she imagined herself being pregnant and having children, feeling embarrassed by the thought. Homura chuckled at the display of young innocence and quickly reassured Carmen.

“No need to be embarrassed, my dear. You'll experience it when you're ready.” Homura then got close to Carmen’s ear and whispered into it.

“Only thing you need to know is that the act of making children feels incredible. Look forward to it.” Carmen continued to blush and gently nodded her head, not quite sure how to respond to that statement. Homura smiled again before standing from the bed.

“Well my dear, thanks for the wonderful conversation. I have some things to take care of, so If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.” She walked towards the door until Carmen suddenly spoke up.

“Uh, wait! The Core Depths… When are you planning on going?” She asked with a light, curious tone.

“Hmm, after our next few shipments of Strands. I would say, the end of next week most likely. We’ll hopefully hit our quota of 10,000 Boundless Citizens by then, assuming we don’t run into any snags.” Homura replied, tapping her chin as she pieced the timeline together.

“Ah.. I see.. And what about this chain? How long do I have to wear it?” Carmen wondered, kicking her leg up gently.

“Once we get to the Core Depths, we’ll take it off. If you continue to be on your best behavior, I may just remove it sooner than that. It all depends on your cooperation, my dear.” Carmen looked down at the chain and then back to Homura, giving her an empty smile and nod.

“Okay. Thanks..” Homura returned the smile before gazing up at the ceiling, taking a brief moment to think. However, this moment was interrupted by Carmen having a sudden and sharp pain shoot through her head. She gripped her forehead while grimacing, now seeing haunting images of pale and shadowy beings again.

“What’s wrong, Carmen?” Homura asked with a worried expression.

“T-These nightmares.. Ever since I got here.. They keep g-getting worse.. They’ve been popping into my head every hour or so.. My head hurts and I keep seeing weird imagery. Urgh..” She replied, struggling to get through her words.

“Hmm, it seems you’re having an adverse reaction to our summoning ritual downstairs. Every time a new Boundless is brought back you’re sensing their Dark Affinity close by. This is completely normal.” Homura softly said, helping Carmen understand what the problem is.

“Nothing about this feels n-normal..” She took a seat on the bed and slowly exhaled, wanting the pain to stop.

Homura gently placed her hand on Carmen’s head and exerted her Core Energy. Her palm became incredibly warm as it started to glow a dull black color, pulsing with each passing second. Within a few short moments, the pain subsided entirely and Carmen no longer saw the weird imagery. Instead, she now felt a warm throb in her chest. It felt significantly more pleasant than the headaches she had been experiencing over the past few months.

“There. I rerouted the area of your Strand that senses approaching Affinities and Core Energy build up. You shouldn’t have any more headaches.” Homura remarked with a smile, removing her hand from Carmen’s head.

“What? You can do that?” She asked, surprised it was even possible.

“Of course I can. I’m a Boundless, manipulating one’s Core Energy is within the fabric of our existence. That was but a simple task for me.” Homura headed towards the door again and paused as she gripped the handle, looking over her shoulder at Carmen.

“Well Carmen, it was a pleasure to finally speak with you. I’ll be back later to check on you, so in the meantime, think long and hard about what I said earlier. It’d be a shame to let your potential go to waste here on the surface world.” She gave Carmen another smile and swiftly exited the room, gently closing the door and locking it behind her.

Carmen rubbed her forehead as she laid down on her bed, deeply thinking over all of the things Homura had said.

“I wonder how many people would even miss me if I left… My sisters don’t really have the time to spend with me anymore and honestly... Did I ever really have true freedom to begin with? I’ll probably just be seen as a burden. Maybe... Maybe Homura’s right... I can live my life how I want to and with no limits. Sounds... Kind of nice.” She smiled as she stared at the tall, vaulted ceilings, wondering what it would be like to live among the Boundless.