Tala waited as Master Xeel collected his thoughts, still pouring his magic outward to slowly counter the remnants of the Reality Mage’s—Reiki’s—power.

Finally, he gave a slow nod. “Reality is fundamentally opposed to us for two critical reasons. The first is obvious: Magic. We introduce more and more magic into existence every moment we continue to exist.”

When he paused, she decided to respond. “I think I got that one.”

He chuckled. “True, that is generally the most obvious reason. The second is a bit harder to understand, however.”

She smiled wryly. “I’ll try to pay close attention, then.”

He smiled in return. “I’m glad to hear it. So, the only way that I can think to describe it is as a piece of paper.”

“Okay.”

“If you cut a piece of paper in half, how many pieces of paper do you have, then?”

“Two.” She gave him a flat look. “Is this the part that’s hard to understand?”

His smile widened. “No, not at all. Between Zeme and the next world—what we see as the afterlife—there was a void, a simple separation. Ignoring the disastrous mess of things made by magic that the arcanes call the Doman-Imithe, the void was just that. Now, with every gate, there is, in a sense, a division of that void. Because of the nature of the void, there are more voids now because of gates than there would be without.”

“So, every gate creates a dual imbalance? More void and magic within existence?”

“Essentially.”

“So, shouldn’t that mean that void and magic have more power, here?” She frowned, considering.

“They do, but existence requires balance.”

And then she understood. “So, existence itself drags reality into prominence.”

“Funny way of wording it, but effectively, yes.”

Tala grimaced. “So, the automaton I have in my sanctum?”

“If you activate it, I’ll destroy it. Or someone else will. Even if it was perfectly safe now—which it wouldn't be—every moment of activation would give it the chance to be corrupted by reality.”

She sighed. “What if I soul-bound it? Or kept direct control of it through some sort of connection?”

He opened his mouth, but then hesitated. “Well, that wouldn’t actually be an automaton, then. The name really says most of it. Automaton. It acts autonomously. If that’s not true, then it’s not an automaton.”

“It’s that autonomous action that allows the taint of Reality to grow?”

Master Xeel considered for a long moment then shook his head. “No, I think that autonomous choice is the issue. That choice-making is what leaves an opening for corruption.”

Tala hesitantly disagreed, “That can’t be it.”

“Oh?” He regarded her again.

“Yeah, the core of the House of Blood’s hold was an autonomous set of inscriptions that simply used a vestige to power itself. It made decisions, enacted magics, and generally ran the place free of issues. My understanding was that it had been doing so for thousands of years.”

Master Xeel shook his head. “I understand the confusion. Assuming they haven’t lost their rusting minds—more than usual I suppose—that core wasn’t autonomous. It likely had incredibly complex decision matrices pre-set by its creator. We humans use magics like that all the time. In fact, our cities’ defenses function atop decision matrices of incredible complexity and nuance.”

“What’s the difference between the two? I mean, how is a really intricate decision tree different from a choice? I think I get it in concept, but I don’t think I could actually explain the difference.”

He pulled a long breath, then let it out slowly, his cheeks puffing with the exhale. “That’s quite the existential question, Mistress Tala. It could be argued that humans are each just a very complex decision matrix, built by our biology, upbringing, and environment. I would say that the difference is the soul.”

She huffed a laugh. “So, a soul is what makes us into autonomous actors—more than just a decision matrix—but being an autonomous actor without a soul is what opens the Black Legion up for corruption.”

He gave a half-smile. “I see what you’re saying, and it does sound self-defeating, but in essence, yes. There is no hard line that says this is just a complex matrix and that is an autonomous actor. All that we know is that the more autonomous a thing is, the more open it is to corruption. I could list off a thousand ways to define the line, or gradient, or binary, or spectrum, but it wouldn’t be that useful unless you intend on delving into magical constructs and want to stay on the safe side of things. There is no point in categorizing things unless you have use for those categories when you’re done.”

She frowned but didn’t interrupt.

“The automata were set free with their initial programming and allowed to simply act. Maybe that is the great distinction. They are created to act independently, so it is our conception of them as independent or autonomous actors that opens them up to the corruption.” He shrugged. “I’ve conveyed most of what I can on the subject, as I am by no means an expert.”

Tala understood the confusion.

It seemed like reality corrupted and bent even creatures—which had at least what seemed to be souls—toward hating humanity.

After all, most magical and arcanous creatures disliked—or even outright hated—gated humanity. But Terry didn’t.

He’d chosen to at least get along with her. So, he wasn’t corrupt.

On the other side, Io had been corrupted, turning on her creators.

The Black Legion had as well.

Yet again, some Mages had familiars of both magical and arcanous varieties.

Why couldn’t that work with automata, too?

For that matter, why were humans and arcanes immune to reality’s corruption?

That drew her attention back outward to the cell that surrounded them.

We’re not immune. We just have a bit more magic—maybe a bit more void too—and that… protects us? Insulates us? She didn’t know, and it seemed like even Master Xeel didn’t have answers for her.

Based on Master Xeel’s words, she let that topic die, turning instead to other things that she’d been curious about, and simply hadn’t had a chance to inquire about.

“Master Xeel?”

“Yes?”

“May I ask… Did you ever marry?”

“No, I did not.” There was a bit of sadness to his answer.

“Can I ask why not?”

After a long moment, he shook his head, still with a bit less energy than he’d shown just a moment before. “I would rather discuss something else, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course. Was Reforging hard for you?”

He laughed. “No, it was my easiest step by far.”

Tala’s eyebrows rose. “Oh?”

He shrugged. “I transformed myself entirely into soul-bound light. You don’t have to remake every cell in your body if you don’t have any cells in your body.”

Tala moved to poke him, but her finger stopped on a little circle of hardened light that appeared in the way.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“I have a body when I look like this, Mistress Tala, but it is one I build entirely at my discretion, and under my own authority. Thus…?” He trailed off implicatively.

“A Reforged body.”

“Precisely.”

“That seems… that seems like cheating.”

He shrugged again. “Unique to me and my own journey of advancement. It wouldn’t work for anyone else, I imagine. I also had to make certain… sacrifices, but I think that’s enough on that topic as well.”

“As you say. Thank you.”

“Of course.”

“Well, there are definitely other things I’d like to ask about.“

For his part, Master Xeel humored her, easily falling into the role of teacher and instructor even while he continued to dump his magic outward.

The process of clearing out Reiki’s cell—as well as the conversation—was quite enlightening, all things considered, and by the end, she had even managed to understand some of the nuances and interactions well enough to advance another percent toward Paragon.

In the end, it took three days to fully balance existence within the cell.

* * *

Tala and her unit arrived back in Alefast in high spirits, their mission accomplished with little difficulty.

It hadn’t been easy, but it was hardly ‘difficult’ on the scale of things.

At least that’s how Tala saw it.

They had all received a unit bonus for removing the need for a cell, and everyone had given a big portion of that to Tala, despite her insisting that that wasn’t necessary. They’d have given it all, because she was the only person from their unit to really do anything—except facilitate transit there and back—but she absolutely refused.

The other unit had received their standard pay and a bonus both for identifying a problem cell before entering and calling in the right resources to deal with it effectively.

Reiki’s cell had not had a cell-core, unfortunately, but Kit had still been able to consume the dimensionality and material of the place, once Master Xeel had deemed it safe to do so.

That was actually seen as another service that Tala provided, because the reintroduction of that much space to the region would have weakened existence in the area for years to come.

In discussing things with Master Xeel, they agreed that Kit could have eaten the cell earlier, but it likely would have wiped out most—if not all—the magic in the air within the dimensional storage, and that would have been less than convenient.

As it was, Tala was devoting all of her excess power—along with implementing void-channels to increase her throughput—into Kit, in the attempt to bring the average power density back up to match her density.

All the new dimensionality—all the added space and material—had been existentially neutral after all of Master Xeel’s work, and so adding it all in had lowered the average quite a bit.

The Reforged had not been willing to bump up the density before Kit’s acquisition. Though he had found the request entertaining.

Even with the lowered average, Tala maintained the high density in most of the expanded space by keeping a volume equivalent to that added space relatively magic-free.

Once that was established she slowly began backfilling the magic-bereft space with power.

But all of that had been sorted long before they arrived back at Alefast.

Tala was a bit introspective and considered just going off to be by herself, but Rane was actually at the edge of the city, waiting to receive them as they arrived, having received her message asking him to be there.

Even though she’d asked him to come—and so she’d been almost sure that he’d be there—seeing him brought a smile to her lips.

As she looked his way, Tala noticed that Anna was with him, which dimmed her smile just a bit.

That wasn’t because she disliked the girl. On the contrary, Tala actually found Anna an incredibly decent person, but she was what Tala considered a ‘flaming extrovert,’ and if Tala’s analogy were carried further, that flame seemed to subsist by consuming introverts in an attempt to be kind and social.

Tala liked her own introversion.

“Master!” The chipper young woman called to Mistress Vanga while giving an enthusiastic wave as the unit’s vehicle settled down upon the ground. “You’re back!”

The Healer smiled demurely in return. “Anna, how were your duties while I was gone?”

“Oh, just great. I only used magic to heal when mundane skills wouldn’t do—or to relieve suffering—just as you instructed. Gwenna says that I am picking up the basics of the mundane craft rather well, and she thinks that I should be able to take the Apprentice level evaluation sooner than expected, maybe even this year!” Anna was practically bouncing with excitement.

Tala found herself marginally exhausted as the torrent of words continued coming from the woman, and so Tala tried to move off the vehicle and around the conversation unnoticed.

She failed.

Anna, of course, saw Tala immediately and grinned widely. “Mistress Tala. It is always a pleasure to see you. Are we still having dinner at the end of the week?”

Tala had gotten in the habit of having one meal a week with the Zuccats, and Anna had been joining her parents and siblings in that meal with Tala whenever Tala’s travels and duties had her in Alefast over the recurring mealtime.

Tala gave the other woman a smile and nodded. “Yes, Anna. We will eat at the same time, and the entrance will be on the same wall as usual.”

Anna gave a grinning bow. “Thank you, Mistress Tala. I look forward to it.”

Rane had stepped over to meet Tala. He seemed a bit dazed, likely from having been with the woman while they waited for Tala and Mistress Vanga to arrive. “Hey, Tala. It sounds like you had an eventful trip?”

She nodded slowly and definitively in response. “Oh, yes. Are you up for chatting?”

He smiled, seeming to be recovering. “Almost always. Your message said you wanted to process some things. Does now still work?”

“Thank you, Rane, and yes. I would appreciate being able to unload a little.”

“Then let’s go find a good spot.”

They waved goodbye to her unit and to Anna.

Then, Tala smiled, falling into step beside him as they walked through Alefast, together.

Terry flickered to Tala’s shoulder as they moved away, and Tala created an opening into Kit in front of the Terror bird, offering him the option.

He seemed to consider for a moment, then he bobbed his assent, headbutted Tala’s cheek, trilled happily toward Rane, and flickered away.

Apparently, Terry had taken the three days while she was within the cell to roam the surrounding countryside to explore, hunt, and get up to whatever it was he did on his own.

Consequently, he was ready for some ‘Kit time’ as Tala had taken to calling his lengthy stays within her sanctum.

As for Tala, she had tried to take the time with Master Xeel to process everything that was swirling about within her mind, but her talk with him had also added more debris to the maelstrom of thoughts and emotions swirling through her head.

The flight back hadn’t been nearly long enough to reorder her thoughts, and she didn’t want to just talk with herself about it, even if that was in the form of a dialogue with Alat.

Thus, she had requested the walk with Rane. Even so, for the moment, they only walked side by side in comfortable silence.

The two of them swung by Artia and Adrill’s shop, dropping Kit’s door on the outside of the alley wall and sticking their heads in to say hi and let them know that Tala was back.

Beyond that, Rane and Tala just kept walking.

Rane could tell that a lot was bothering her, but he didn’t press. Instead he was just there for her.

Like he always is.

He almost never overstepped; he never forced his help on her; and he was always willing to give it when she wanted or needed his assistance.

She shifted to bump her shoulder into his arm. “Thank you.”

He looked her way with a smile. “You’re welcome, I suppose, but what for?”

“For always being there to help me. For being a good friend.” She smiled his way.

“Oh, just a good friend?” He teased, emphasizing ‘good’ so it was obvious he wasn’t contesting the ‘friend’ part.

“You know, I’d say that you’re my best friend, but then Terry might get jealous.”

Rane chuckled. “I wouldn’t want to be the cause of that, so I appreciate your restraint.”

“Of course, dear Rane, I do so strive to not have your end be the result of avian assault.”

He shook his head, “Terry tribulation would be an awful way to go.”

“Oh, I like that. Flickering flailing?”

He made a fake horrified face. “Horrible in concept and structure, well done.”

She huffed a laugh and bumped him again. “Regardless. Thank you.”

“You are most welcome, Tala. It has been—and always will be—my pleasure.” He quirked a smile. “You know, you’ve been there for me, too.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. When I joined your caravan, you were kind to me—and more than just in a professional sense. I was a bit… lacking in social capacity, and you helped me to improve.”

“You were?” She teased in return.

That made his smile grow. “Fair. I’m still not the most adroit, but I feel that I don’t put my foot in my own mouth nearly as often.”

“Well, that was always better than putting it into other people’s mouths.” She said, trying to keep the teasing going.

Then, they both paused, though they kept walking. Rane was the first to break the momentary silence. “Like… to kick them in the face? What were you going for, exactly?”

She shrugged, giving a half hearted chuckle. “Honestly, I wasn’t thinking of anything specific. I was just trying to turn the words around.”

“Fair enough.”

They fell back into comfortable silence as they continued meandering through the city.

Finally, Rane broke the silence again. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She hesitated for a long minute, during which Rane didn’t press or say anything further. Finally, she nodded. “You know what? I really think I do.”

And that opened the floodgates.

She found herself unloading about everything that had been on her mind—everything except her stresses related to his Refining, of course… and her other, growing, thoughts about him—and Rane simply listened, asking clarifying questions, and showing her undivided attention.

She talked about Reiki, about Thron, even about Be-thric.

She whispered about those who had died under her charge, including two children in particular.

She ranted about Masters Xeel, Grediv, and Jevin.

She theorized about master Lisa, and the future of the gateless humans throughout the gated human cities.

In the end, she felt like everything in her mind was just splattering all over the cobblestones as she tried to piece together… everything.

As she talked, Tala felt the weight slowly lifting from her mind and shoulders, and she found herself naturally leaning into the comfort of Rane’s presence and listening ear.