Lurona city [southern shores of Fuminao Legacy Kingdom], local time [1794.01.16]
================ Mavis the Mabia PoV ================
“The first one is obsolete, though? No memory scans for me. I and the System have a deal.”
Her mouth opened involuntarily as she gaped at the man in shock. “You… What?” she managed to voice out.
“Didn’t you see that part in my memories?” he asked lazily, evidently channeling his inner fob. Irritated, she regained her composure immediately because of that. “We are in a quite close business relationship. As so, I already made sure to have some privacy.”
As he spoke, her emotions were being drowned down by the sea of information descending from her Mindcluster.
Her plans… no, their plans suddenly shifted to incorporate this new piece of information. There was a lot to compensate for, and even more to plan out to readjust the network she had created. Those changes were massive and—
“That’s awesome!” She shouted and started twirling in the air happily. “That was, arguably, the most dangerous part of the deal!”
—overwhelmingly positive in their effects!
In response, the primitive manifestation of the Terrien started beaming with positive energy.
Noticing that, another strange emotion leaked from between the meticulously misshaped gears of her Mindcluster. She felt proud. Proud of how quickly the man was advancing. It was crystal clear that he was learning how to read her Soul and, as a result, how to use his own in a similar manner. An advancement much faster than ever predicted.
Which also meant that this imperfect simulation was paying dividends in abundance.
“Make sure to mention that to your original,” he continued, still giving off an impression of puffing his chest out. It may have been cute a little. “I am too good to NOT have more of the easily accessible knowledge from the get-go!” He laughed silently saying that.
What an ostentatious child, she giggled to herself, even as a bittersweet mood overtook her after that proclamation. Her original was the one to be negotiated with – the reminder wasn’t pleasant at all despite the innocent intentions behind his words.
“I will!” she shouted in an overly-enthusiastic voice, stopping mid-space and saluting. She buried down her dark thoughts and matched the level of contentment and enthusiasm Zeph’s Soulform was emanating.
Still, she didn’t have the time to spoil the young one for long. Taking a deep breath to center herself, she put them back on track. “Okay, so we will have to deal with the Soul threshold only.” She nodded to herself.
“You mean level 100, right?” Zeph asked naively.
“Indeed…” She said, stopping herself from calling him names. “…Zeph.” That was a basic knowledge. The most obvious of thresholds. She was as irritated as disappointed – the question was plainly stupid. “The true merging will start after you reach that point.”
“I will gain Soul density when that happens?” he continued his questioning, making her believe that he was trying to just be prudent. He isn’t acting, that’s for sure.
Those realizations helped her emotions to settle down. The adorable impression of a tilted head that he was emanating definitely wasn’t influencing her state, though. Definitely.
But the topic was diverging drastically from what had to be said, hitting the matters he wouldn’t understand with his limited knowledge. Not without an intense course on the topic.
A shame. I think he would understand the basics of the Soulform Shifting if I explained it properly, she thought sadly. I don’t have time to babysit him, though.
“Something like that. That information will be available in the first batch of Soul memories if you agree,” she explained plainly. Basic knowledge was basic, after all.
The man nodded, allowing her to continue.
“Going back to the topic of recognition. The more you learn before they discover that you possess the Netherform – or that you can use Nether, as that would be our final goal – the smaller the chance of them trying to get rid of you. The System Onji especially. That one is quite relentless in its pursuit and its rules, but would always place rationality above all else. The risks don’t matter if the possible gains overwhelm them. Although, System’s calculations in that regard seem to be a little random at times...”
Pausing and clearing her throat to distract him from the unnecessarily tasty bit of information that accidentally slipped through her mouth, she straightened up and theatrically pointed at the center of his spherical aural form. “Your first order of business will be to access the computation unit and get accustomed to operating it – that includes attuning your Will!”
“Without the simulation?” he asked skeptically. “Actually, how will I even remember to activate it? My memories of this encounter should be a part of that… scrambled and encrypted fragment of my Soul, right?”
She smiled knowingly. “You won’t. That’s the trick to keep the secrecy. Let’s just say, you will be encouraged to study that section of your Soul in the future. By the System Onji itself, if my predictions have any credibility. You will be at least informed about the anomaly and I have faith in your curiosity. In the worst case, you will have to deal with it at the threshold. Anyway,” she took a much sterner posture, “try to avoid any questioning or scans from the System Onji after recovering your memories, okay? You should fall under the System’s category of a ‘Soul-damaged when under their scrutiny’ when you wake up, which will give you certain boons. No forced digging into your Soul or memories, for one. A more careful treatment. But if it sniffs a scent of the Nether-related business in any form… It can end up really bad for you.”
The blob of Zeph’s consciousness nonchalantly shrugged. “I was aware already, but thanks for the heads-up. More importantly, I am also very aware of the fact that I am not producing any Nether here, despite your claims that this place is just like theirs.”
She bobbed up and down to show her acknowledgment of his insight. His question was loaded and he asked it consciously, so she felt obliged to acknowledge that she understood the true meaning behind that question. “That’s the nature of the entis dimensions. Mimicking environments doesn’t form energy in them, only information. And only if you fuel the construct properly to keep the simulation ‘physically active’ and stable. Sorry, but further details are a little above your pay grade…” she said apologetically. It was the topic of her masterpiece; of her original’s lifework. As so, she felt terrifyingly compelled to share the details with him… or rather, with anyone competent enough to understand it.
It was another reminder that she wasn’t an independent being. That she wasn’t… a natural creation. She was an imperfect copy. A clone, at best. But she had learned to ignore that fact and those feelings.
“In the future, you will find out what I mean,” she started the explanation with a small excuse. “Without becoming the source of the interaction between the Soulscape and the Nether’s space triplet, no Nether energy will form. That complicates the whole affair, as you noticed. It’s not an unsurmountable obstacle, though. There are a few things we have to do before addressing that problem. We will first need to train you in shifting your Soul and awareness, and that doesn’t require a simulation. Quite the opposite. As of now, you are in possession of a working prototype of a specialized Soulform – the Netherform – as it is imbued within your processing unit. The only question is, how much time it will take for you to regain access to it.”
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She hoped he would be able to access it sooner rather than later. Transferring and training how to use the Nether would take much longer. Assuming it even happens in the first place.
Yes, their current situation wasn’t promising.
Another reason to not babble… too much… she thought, renewing her resolve. If he is convinced, his Will will do the heavy lifting for us.
===============================
Zeph waved from side to side, thinking. The deal—as promising as it looked at the beginning—was wrapped in a fine sheet of undesirable and unwelcome limitations. Any further details he managed to deduce weren’t pleasant to think about.
There were probably more of these – the problematic details that could as well maim his ability to progress, if not kill him outright. He was already playing an active role in whatever the Onjis were policing. Going full stealth on them sounded like a really stupid idea.
Moreover, his knowledge was limiting his understanding. But it was clear – the Faerie was not only breaking the rules by working on the Nether, she was promising him her original’s knowledge. A thing that shouldn’t be accessible to the lowly him without a price.
That could backfire dramatically and yet, he was being manipulated to accept the deal. Yes, he could notice that, at the very least. But he also knew when he was out of his depth.
Still, he couldn’t bring himself to hate the Faerie for doing that. She already opened up to him quite a lot. If that was just an act to gain his trust, it was working splendidly.
Also, as aware of the risk as he was, he couldn’t simply throw away this opportunity. For his own future.
Not because he didn’t trust the Onjis entirely—and he didn’t, especially after the events in the Custur Onji’s domain—but because staying dependent on them would bring risks of their own. He knew what kind of longevity awaited him if he wasn’t to simply die due to an overwhelming opponent or circumstances. There were worlds where those beings weren’t present. Words where they couldn’t exist. Realities they hadn’t touched… probably.
“It doesn’t sound like I will be gaining any valuable information before my level 100 advancement,” he said with a slight worry in his voice. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but you said their space triplet isn’t a part of this universe. If that’s true, their dimensions aren’t superimposed over Corora’s space. Simply shifting my Soul should do nothing, as you implied. I will have to navigate through the Soulscape to find… something to connect to on the other side. I can’t see myself doing that in the near future.” He shook his nonexistent head vehemently. That was a major problem.
Aisha told him once to never make a permanent deal with an Onji. He was starting to believe that making one with a Faerie was an even worse idea.
She smiled, proud of her student. The feeling was surprisingly easy to interpret. “You are mostly correct! The training I spoke about is to maximize your ability and survivability. You will not know how to contact my original until you master what was left within your Soul after this simulation unravels. But after that – hopefully long before you reach the threshold – you will be gifted with all necessary tools for the task.”
Clearing her throat, she changed her tone to a more dignified one. She even started making funny poses to enhance the gravity of her words.
“As the time for seeding your Souls arrives, my original’s Soul will part. The majority will be condensed and granted to you, while the untamable Nether-infected vestiges will follow their own instincts. They will reform and shift to return to the reality of the original offender – the one who dared harm us so badly – even if their body had perished. With my original’s help, you will be able to trace them. After finding a deep, dense, and fresh cluster of Nether-influenced Soulscape, you should be able to find an anchor. Your Soulform and Will should already be attuned, granting you greater ability to perceive and manipulate. Your only mission would be to find a connection to the physicality. The knowledge of how to usurp an existing connection is already embedded in your Soul. You can try with the offender, if he lives, or search for anything living in the vicinity of your Soulscape location.”
He shook his head in disbelief. Maybe Gru would be able to move like that in the Soulscape. Navigating even the closest vicinity of his Soul… it was difficult to imagine. Easier said than done.
Perceived vicinity, he corrected himself. The objective position of my Soul won’t change until I start to expand my Soulform in a new place; it will be just my perspective that will change. Haah, he sighed with resignation. Or the direction of my reality’s influence, rather… this shit is difficult…
“The rest is in your hands. But you need to remember one thing,” she stated, her tone changing to a deadly serious. “After making a connection, you will start creating Nether particles. Never, under any circumstances, are you to channel them through your Soul. System Onji will notice, and will instantly deem you compromised – you will be located and killed within hours. Possibly, cut off from this reality as a result.”
“No, I will be obliterated instantly,” he said absentmindedly, still in the process of synchronizing the new knowledge. “I have a Shrine Seed implanted.”
“You have WHAT?!” the little being screamed in horror.
He turned to her with a frown. Some harsh words threw themselves at his lips, but seeing her panicked face, he stopped himself from voicing them. Even though it was her biggest oversight yet. “Easy here, it’s semi-active and doesn’t seem to possess any tracing abilities beyond what the System can see when actively communicating.” He tried, but that didn’t calm Mavis at all. She started frantically buzzing around, her head jerking in different directions every second as if invisible enemies started popping around, startling her.
Hoping that a change of focus would help her, he pointed out a more obvious target for her anxiety. “Look, you should be more worried about the Safety Protocol they have installed in my Soul. I am fairly certain they have maximized the computational capability of that construct – they informed me that the… ‘Module’ space… was depleted…”
His voice petered out as the dry husk of the little being started falling down, swinging in the empty space like an autumn leaf in the dry air.
“Was it a mistake?…” a silent whisper could be heard as he followed her descending form.
“Umm… could you please stop playing dead?” he asked while trying, and failing, to catch her.
There was no answer.
He poked her with an imaginary finger, an act as impotent ‘physically’ as the last. The little emanation reacted, though, turning to her side in midair.
“We are doomed…” she mumbled mechanically, like a speaking doll.
Shaking his head, he straightened his imaginary back to a more comfortable position before speaking.
“Aren’t I? Do you even have any contingencies in place for when I try to breach the Soulscape?”
“…That’s different.” She said angrily, regaining some energy and looking up at him. “Your Will is the best source of protection. You will be able to interact with your Nether as you do with Mana. The organisms on their side don’t possess Will after transferring. You will!” she smirked at her own bad pun. Sitting up cross-legged, she started to explain angrily. “We never anticipated you to be an outliner to such a degree. I will have to compensate… But let’s go back to the topic. If they all have fallen crazy on the other side, this mission will be a walk in the park for you! If they don’t, you still possess an immaterial body and a supreme Will. Besides the training and arranging for your energetical needs, there is nothing more we can do to make you safe! My original itself will be, technically, one with you at that point! If you have ANY idea of how to do that better, then tell me!” She screeched by the end.
Taken aback by her volatile reaction, he backed away. That one’s motivation is definitely powered by pure anger and nothing more… he thought to himself.
As she huffed and puffed after her tirade, he pointed out a big no-no factor in this whole idea. “The Netherbeings literally eat Souls. You said so yourself.”
“And yours will be connected to another universe. Let them try,” she crossed her arms.
His frowned. “My core Soul will be at the forefront!”
“Your expanded core Soul will be at the forefront! It will be no longer the same part I had engaged in this simulation.”
His teeth started grinding in irritation. I know it’s risky, why won’t you acknowledge it?! “Their Will may simply be manifesting differently. If mine is overwhelmed—”
“Still on point – yours should stay supreme, if attuned,” she interrupted. “If not, we would have seen the beings wielding the Greater Willpower coming through from their side! And don’t even try to argue on that point!” she started shouting again. “I know well that your Will cannot be depleted fully anymore!”
In one moment, he was ready to violently slap her out of the air. She showed enough incompetency and yet… She dared to dig into his most personal affairs.
But the fury disappeared as fast as it was born. His ‘body’ lost all tension when he realized that he already knew why that happened. Why she did know more than necessary while missing the key information about his physical body?
He still hated her guts with vengeance, though.
“You have answers for everything, don’t you?”
“I was made that way,” she growled back. “Prepared.”