-Doesn’t matter - I finally answered, looking closely at the body and monitoring how it was regenerating magic. - He seems absolutely fine. Or rather will be in a moment, if the speed he’s absorbing mana is going to keep up…
-He’s going to wake up…?
-Probably. What, you’re that impatient?
-No… it’s just…
-Come on. What is it? Spit it out.
-I don’t know! - he finally yelped. - I don’t know what I am thinking, okay?!
-What…?
-I know what I should feel, okay?! I know that I should want to off that guy. That he is my enemy! And yet… I don’t feel like I want to do anything…
-Being indecisive is not…
-It’s not that! That’s more than indecisive! It’s like… I feel nothing. Like something is stopping from feeling angry about him!
-Uh-uh…
-I know you don’t care. But… It’s not me! I shouldn’t be like that… I think…
All of that checked out.
He wasn’t the first person to be influenced like that.
When he first woke up, I thought it a bit weird that he was unchanged. Well, mostly. The fact that his memories were missing I thought might help him.
But, alas, it was not the case.
Just like everyone before him, whenever you had the crystal connected to you, you inevitably were changing.
Be it missing memories, or bonus ones…
The indecisiveness was one certain sign of the “assimilation”...
-Hm. Yeah, right. So what do you want to do when he wakes up?
-I… I still have time. I will make up my mind before that.
-Time… well, yeah, if he was to naturally wake up. But I am not going to wait that long, you know.
-You want to hurry him up?
-I want to. I am not sure if I am going to be able to do much, I am pretty weakened right now…
-Mgh… Just… I think I am not going to do anything to him… yet.
“Yet”.
I don’t think he was going to do anything at all, but I was going to let him believe that illusion.
If he already had that much mess inside his head, I bet that the crystal was going to be more in control…
Was that good or bad for me?
Who the fuck knows at this point.
-Allright. Well, I am going to start helping him now.
-Mhm…
But, despite what I said, I was not going to hurry.
Hell, I wasn’t certain I was going to be able to help at all. I was still weak after, well, essentially being remade again…
Who am I kidding…
That was just an excuse to delay this. I already was healthy enough to do this and even more…
Whatever.
Let’s get this over with.
I focused on the body in front of me.
Sure enough, just like he said he was barely even recognizable as alive. It sort of reminded me of those “zombies” I met a long time ago, those that were still controlled by the plants…
He wasn’t controlled, though. At least not by a piece of wood…
Well…
-Eh…
I sighed and clapped my hands.
Slowly, to not strain myself, I started creating an orb of pre mana between my palms.
I didn’t want to faint randomly, and judging by the recent “problems”, even with me being recovered, it was possible.
But I worried for nothing.
As the orb was getting larger, I wasn’t feeling any weaker.
I guess the crystal recovery was stronger than I thought… And the forest here was also more infused than what I was used to…
It was weird. Especially after all those almost living forests back in the bowl…
Well, it’s been a while since those were like that…
-Good enough… - I muttered to myself, holding the orb between my palms.
It already was the size of at least half of a person, so it would provide plenty of energy for him to recover. Or at least awaken.
I slowly started lowering it towards the body lying in front of me.
I wanted to hang it right next to a part of his body that was crystallized, so it would be the easiest for him to absorb.
I didn’t have to be very precise.
Besides the fact that his body had plenty of spots thanks to the earlier fights, the crystal was smart. The moment the orb got even remotely close to him, I could tell that the mana started getting drained.
It was like someone had popped a balloon.
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The mana started getting drained in such speed that I thought that I lost control of the orb and just let it vanish into the ether, but nope. One look at the body was enough.
Where there was just a slight ember, a spark of mana, there was now a healthy and bright flame.
It was still weak, considering how my own flame looked and how his used to be before, but a lot better.
Was he going to wake up, though?
The answer came almost immediately.
The body stirred and flinching it started groaning.
-He’s waking up!
-Huh. That was a lot easier and less painful than I thought it was going to be.
-What do you mean…?
-I thought that I would have to pour a lot more into him - I said. - And considering how fast he was sucking in mana, I was a bit worried there…
I turned my attention back to the body.
Just like he was waking up from a very long sleep, he was groaning and tried to raise himself from the ground, sitting up, just to fall back down, like he was half-asleep.
It wasn’t completely correct.
-Wake up. How are you feeling? - I asked out loud.
I decided to use regular words, not sure how my mind touching his would affect… Well, both of us.
He didn’t reply, just groaned a bit louder, and this time managed to sit up, leaning on a tree.
Just as he touched the bark, I noticed it darkening.
The crystal was working as intended. Draining magic from the environment to regenerate its host.
But, a bit too well for my tastes.
I wasn’t really worried about him regaining power, but more about him draining the trunk completely and bringing down a log on our heads.
My worries were definitely not baseless: I am pretty sure I heard a loud creaking when he leaned on the tree.
-Careful there, you still have a pretty vulnerable body.
I don’t know why, but he flinched when I said that.
Okay, right, I might have been tampering with it a bit before, but that was for the best for both of us. And I mean it.
I leaned towards him and attempted to raise him from the ground, or at least move him a little bit further away from the tree.
The moment I touched him, he suddenly snapped.
His head snapped right towards me as he looked straight at me.
And his look… was not friendly.
I probably should’ve expected that at this point.
Every time I tried to cooperate with him, he always had some different ideas that most of the time ended up with me being pelted with spells.
I am glad he wasn’t like that when we worked together…
Before I just blamed it on ILMA, being part of him or whatever, but right now, I was slowly starting to think that it was him who influenced her…
Besides having a hand in creating her, the part that was with him was definitely the most… unstable one.
I can’t say that the one who tried “helping” me was better… if that was even a different one…
Fuck. It was hard to keep track of all of those versions…
Were they even versions…? Or just anomalies, emerging thanks to the missing data…?
Well, it doesn't matter right now.
What mattered was the fact that Mike was staring knives at me. And I had a feeling that it was not going to stay like that…
-What?
He didn’t reply.
He didn’t even move. Still, staring right at me. I am not sure if he even registered that we were not alone.
Speaking of.
-What’s wrong with him…?
-Don’t know. Seems a bit unresponsive.
-Is that… normal…?
-I mean… he did just wake up from an essentially coma… So maybe…?
-I thought you knew what you’re doing!
-You talk like it’s just so easy…
-Isn’t it? Don’t you just need to… imagine stuff and that happens?
I hesitated for a second.
-Not exactly. It seems that you are a bit better at it than me, I guess…
-...
-Look, we have a bit more pressing matters at hand right now. Weren’t you going to… I don’t know, ask him some questions or something?
-I don’t know either…
That statement confused me.
But, I didn’t have time to dwell on his indecisiveness, because Mike seemingly finally regained his full consciousness, because he no longer was staring daggers at me. Instead, he looked… curiously wary…
Wait, that’s not good.
Shouldn’t he be more hostile?
Or that was just the aftereffects of all those personalities mixing together…?
-What… What is going on…?
He spoke.
And, understandingly, he was confused.
Obviously. My face was definitely not something he expected to see.
-A lot - I simply said. - How are you feeling?
-Err… decent enough… tired… - he said after a moment of hesitation.
-That’s normal enough for me. Can you control yourself a bit, though?
-Control…?
-You’re draining everything. And while it doesn’t really affect me, I don’t want to destroy this place…
-Destroy…. drain… OH!
He finally realized what was happening.
I don’t know what he thought before, if anything that is, but the moment he noticed, he immediately started limiting his ability.
It was so easy for him…
-Nice. You’re pretty good at it.
-I had my practice… but… who are you, people?
Oh great.
-You don’t remember me? - I asked. - Really?
-No…
Damn? Did I fuck up and he also lost his memory?
Was the crystal really not enough to host all of him? Or that just my methods were flawed and this was bound to be a failure?
I mean… most of this was a fortunate mistake at best, so…
-Well, to be honest, I didn’t recognize you either… - said Steve. - You don’t really look the same…
-Well, you only saw his body and his face - I pointed out. - He knew me from before.
Right. From before.
I never actually bothered to take a look at my own face.
Did I change?
I didn’t really pay attention to my face. Or to my body. Most of it just… happened.
Shouldn’t that just mean that I went to the “default” state? To the one that my mind considered “natural”?
But what did that mean exactly?
Would it be my own face, from before?
The changed one that I had after turning crystal?
Or something completely else? I mean, I had been mixed with many souls before, so it could be even any of those.
-Elvu qomlu.
I went ahead and conjured a ball of clear water in front of me, to use as a mirror.
I wanted to take a look at my face.
But…
I didn’t recognize it.
And it wasn’t just like it was someone vastly different from me.
I was just… bland.
It was just like my face was a rough sketch, a pre-draft of a sculpture.
I didn’t even have eyes.
I mean, it wasn’t really a problem, but that was… a bit disturbing to see.
I quickly dispelled the ball, letting the water splash on the ground.
I was half-expecting for him to attack me the moment I even used magic, but he was just standing there, looking at me with weird focus.
-Well, I may look different, but I am Mor. You remember now?