Sean Brynor

I was about to collapse when we made it to the entrance of Nayu’s cave. My leg was throbbing in pain, but I didn’t have the energy to create another ice prosthetic. If I had tried, we wouldn’t have been able to get off the island, and I wouldn’t be able to open up the thick sheet of ice covering the cavern in front of us. Coming here wasn’t my first choice, but once I’d seen the guards within the forest, I knew I couldn’t bring her back to Dousin. They knew what she looked like, and there was no way they’d believe I’d saved her. I barely believed it myself.

It took a second for me to feel the ice sheet covering the cave. My Soul was far past exhausted, and I could barely raise my arms enough to reach out and touch it. As I tried to open a hole in it, I felt the same resistance that I normally felt when trying to manipulate Nayu’s scale. That power bent against mine, but didn't give way. I almost gave up when the resistance suddenly disappeared, and I opened a hole in the ice sheet. Then, I felt my arms and legs go numb. I lost my grip on my cane, and I was suddenly falling to the ground. Thankfully Ronan was leaning up beside me and he caught me in my fall. I rested against him for a moment, trying to find even the smallest amount of strength left in my limbs.

“Are… are you okay?” Isla asked behind me.

I lazily turned my head back to her. She was shivering and desperately holding onto the cloak I’d given her, pulling it as close to her body as she could. If I could still feel my body, I’d probably be the same as her. It was just past midnight now, and the cold was reaching its peak.

“I'm fine,” I answered. “Just need a moment. Go on inside. It should at least get you out of the wind.”

Isla didn’t waste a second and rushed inside the cave. I wanted to talk to her more. To explain everything I could about what had happened and how I’d managed to help her, but I was worried those wouldn’t be the things she would focus on. Reincarnation was an exclusive topic, one that she probably never got to discuss. When I first found out Blair was also reincarnated, it was all I wanted to talk about. Even magic took a backseat in my mind back then. Except, I didn’t want to talk about reincarnation anymore. I didn’t even want to think about it. “I shouldn’t have told her,” I mused aloud.

I leaned down to grab my cane, steadying myself on Ronan, and the two of us started walking in after Isla. The tunnel I’d made wasn’t very wide, just enough that we’d be able to barely fit inside, so having the giant flaming wolf next to me as we went in ended up being a tight squeeze. I was surprised that his flames didn’t melt any of the ice around him. It stayed perfectly frozen, not responding at all to the newly added heat. When the two of us were finally inside, the hole in the sheet of ice closed instantly. I worried instantly for Winter, but she would be fine out in the woods for a while. She may even think of it as a vacation.

“I told you… not to come back and… not to tell anyone of this place.” a deep voice said within my own head.

Isla was holding her hands to her ears, looking around frantically for whatever had made the noise, while Ronan let out a startled yelp and jumped away from me. I fell to the ground without his support, almost hitting my chin against the stone. I ignored the two, as well as the pain, and spoke aloud, “Nayu! It’s good to hear your voice.”

Nayu responded with a grumble.

“Please, we need your help. I– I can’t make it down the mountain like this.”

There was a long silence, and I feared he would end up turning us away. I’d made it clear that I’d visit him again one day, something he already didn’t want, but I’d also broken one of his rules. He had every right to turn me away, or even kill us.

“Fine,” Nayu said tiredly, “I have plenty of questions for the two of you, especially her. For now, get some rest–”

I didn’t hear anything else the great beast said. My body was exhausted, and I could barely feel anything at all. The second he said “rest,” my eyes shut and I drifted off into a deep sleep.

I awoke sometime later to a bright flame. I watched it through my blurry vision as It danced joyfully, licking at the air with glee. I rubbed one hand against my eye, trying to focus and get a better look at it. It wasn’t just a flame. It was a giant fire that billowed almost half a meter high. Underneath it was a larger blob of black, and as my mind cleared, I realized it was Ronan. He was staring off to the side somewhere, his eyes never blinking. This was the second time today I’d woken up somewhere strange to the heat of his mane. I didn’t hate it, though. Somehow, it made me feel safe, knowing that he was watching over me.

Something on the other side of his mane caught my eye, and my blurry thoughts started to move into position. Isla was sleeping on his other side, curled up in a ball and wrapped in the cloak I’d given her. She was no longer shivering, which took some worry off my back. Above her, floating lazily in the air, was her Soul Bind. It was barely visible, but I could tell it was in some kind of state similar to sleeping.

“She has quite a lot to say for… someone that’s lived alone for so long. It took her a few hours before she spoke to me, though,” a voice said in my head.

I turned to my side like I was following the noise, even though there was no real voice speaking. There, almost flush with the stone, was a giant wall of light blue scales rising to the height of the giant cavern. Near the top the scale’s pattern changed, curving around a circular deformation. There was a giant yellow eye there, with a vertical iris that stared down at me.

“How are you feeling, Sean?” Nayu asked.

“Better,” I responded. “My leg still hurts, but I can actually feel things again, as well as my Soul.”

Nayu’s eye moved down to look at my leg. “What is wrong… with your leg?”

“I was injured when I first came here. The wound was worse than I thought. I… I won’t be able to walk normally ever again.”

Nayu’s iris expanded, making it look surprised, then his eye moved downward to the floor. “I am sorry. I did not know you were that badly hurt back then. If it were a spiritual injury I would have sensed it immediately, and I could have warned you.”

“It’s not your fault Nayu. Besides, I’ve already been looking into fixing it.” I opened my Soul, allowing Nex to fill me, and focused my attention on my injured leg. I was still exhausted, even after sleeping for such a long time, but I managed to form the ice prosthetic around my leg with a bit of effort. Then, I stood, showing off to Nayu. “See. Already found a temporary solution.”

Nayu stared at the spell. “Impressive. Magic is used best when helping others rather than… destruction. I’m proud of your progress.”

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Hearing that gave me a sense of contentment. Nayu wasn’t a teacher that I needed to seek approval from, but he was an incredibly powerful beast that was stronger than anything I, or Restivus, had ever seen. So his approval did feel nice. I sat back down and let the ice prosthetic dissipate, not wanting to tire myself out before I climbed back down the mountain. It would be a tough journey.

“You should thank her,” Nayu said, looking over to Isla. “She carried you all the way down here from the mouth of the cave, and was quite worried. Though, I suppose that hardly repays the kindness you’ve already shown her.”

I stared up at him, confused. “What kindness?”

“She told me what you did, and I can feel her Soul. Stitched together in so many different ways even I can’t tell how many Soul Binds she’s made. It’s almost impressive, if it wasn’t so dangerous. I felt her Soul start to break down at the top of the mountain, but then something else came and stopped it. Was that you?”

“Yes, it was.”

“How did you do it? Why did you do it?” Nayu pressed me, his voice suddenly louder within my head, “It shouldn’t be possible to save a Bind Fiend, and yet you did it!”

Nayu waited expectantly, his mass of scales seeming to swell in excitement. “I… overpowered her,” I answered, “You told me that I had a draw on Nex, something you’ve never seen before. So, I just pulled at the Nex that was rushing into her. It worked… I guess.”

“I… see. Your own pull on Nex outweighed hers. I suppose, thanks to your strange relationship with Nex, you are the only one with the ability to do so. Though, she may have been able to save you if your circumstances were reversed.”

I tilted my head to the side, confused, “Why do you think that?”

“I… hmm,” Nayu seemed to stutter, making a coughing noise in my head, though I was sure he didn’t have to since he wasn’t using real vocal chords to speak.

“Or was he?” I thought.

“I thought you would have realized. She has the same strange cloud of Nex around her, like it has a mind of its own and desires to be instructed by her Soul. Such a peculiar quality, one I still don’t understand, and it’s shared by two different people. Curious.”

My head whipped over to Isla. She rolled over in her sleep, possibly disturbed by my speaking, but her eyes remained closed. I opened up my Soul, and Began searching around her with my Soul Sense. Sure enough, I could feel the Nex gathering around her, much thicker than anywhere else in the room.

“It’s true.”

“Intriguing, isn’t it. I would love to understand this phenomenon more.”

“Yes. Me too,” I responded.

A sigh escaped from my mouth as all the pieces began coming together. This had something to do with our reincarnation. Whatever had caused us to have a new life also gave us this innate pull on Nex that Nayu described. At first, I thought it was something only special about me. A gift I could use to become more like Sean, but it was clear now that wasn’t the case. Blair probably had this pull as well, and I had just never felt it before.

None of this mattered, though. Reincarnation and its mysteries weren’t my concern anymore. Our relationship with Nex was certainly intriguing, and it made me itch with excitement thinking about what other innate powers I may have thanks to it, but I ignored that feeling. In my father’s eyes, I wasn’t a reincarnation. I was Sean, and being him was all that mattered. I started to rub my hand against the ground, trying to get the wet, warm feeling to go away.

“Nayu, have you ever seen parts of the world turn black?” I asked, steering the conversation in another direction.

He thought for a moment, then said, “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“When I pulled the Nex away from her, I could see something in the air. It was like a mist, but was different somehow. It felt… strange. I was wondering if you've ever heard of something like that?”

“No. I have never seen or heard of a black mist or strange power. Are you sure it wasn’t your eyes playing tricks on you? Human’s have very unpredictable senses, and eyesight is one of their worst.”

“It may have been,” I said, still unsure.

Whatever that power was, it was something worth looking into, more so than whatever reincarnation had gifted me. I remembered it so clearly, the way it seemed to separate the world itself just before I blacked out. I didn’t know how I would start looking into it, but it was definitely something I wanted to learn more about. I had many other things to do first, though.

I stood, reforming the ice prosthetic as I did, and walked over to Isla. She had been rolling over constantly as Nayu and I talked, clearly not satisfied with whatever dream she was having. When I knelt down beside her, her wisp flew in front of my face, and I blew it away. This woke and startled the small creature, who quickly zipped back in front of my face, blowing small gusts of wind against me. I pushed it away with my hand, feeling a surprising amount of weight from it, and it assaulted that instead.

“Isla,” I shook her with my free hand, “Isla, wake up.”

She stirred, and her eyes shot open. She jumped up and away from me, shaking as she raised her fists in my direction. When she finally realized it was me, she calmed down, letting her fists fall to her sides and taking slow and deep breaths.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Yes. Sorry. I’m fine,” she said, wrapping her arms around herself like she was hugging something.

“I need to return home. I have to get back to Dousin and make sure my friends and family are all right.”

“Oh. What about…” she paused, then mouthed the word, “Reincarnation.”

I sighed. “We can talk about that sometime later. I have to go now.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Okay. Yeah, that’s okay. I need to get moving anyway. I don’t like to stay in the same place–”

“No,” I said firmly. “They could still be out there looking for you. I would take you back to Dousin with me, but that could be dangerous. Something tells me you won’t be able to stay around the city anymore.”

She sounded irritated, “Then what do you suggest I do?”

“Stay here, for now. I’ll be back tomorrow. I promise.”

She did not look happy. If anything, she looked furious. However, I could see something beyond that fury. Fear was an emotion I was well acquainted with, and one that I was able to spot on others. “Fine. But if you're not back tomorrow, I’m leaving.”

I tried to give a smile. “Is that okay, Nayu?” I asked the living wall.

“Yes, it’s fine. She is better company than you and Restivus ever were, and I have more questions regarding the nature of her Soul.”

“Okay then.” I looked over to Ronan, whose eyes were staring into me. He was waiting for his goodbye. I walked over to the large beast, and started patting his belly. “Watch over her, and be safe.”

Ronan let out a grunt of satisfaction, then rolled over on his side, begging for more belly rubs. I responded by standing up and walking away. He growled for my attention, but I ignored him. When I reached the tunnel that led up to the surface, I glanced behind me, noticing that Ronan had crawled over to Isla and was begging. She obliged, and started scratching his head. I laughed, then started up the tunnel.

The ice sheet was still there when I reached the mouth of the cave, and I could feel the resistance of Nayu’s will on it much clearer this time as I opened a hole in it. It was much easier to open it this time, though, since my Soul was rested and feeling much better. It still, however, took longer than I would have liked. If I was ever going to make any progress with Nayu’s scale, then I’d have to be able to crush this much weaker will instantaneously.

I stepped out of the cave, and was met with bright sunlight and the chirping of morning birds. I basked in the sun for a moment, the first time I’d gotten to in a long time. I sat down in the snow, resting my back on the now closed ice sheet, taking a moment for myself. I was then disrupted by Winter, who landed gently on my shoulder.

“Hey girl. You okay?”

She chirped happily while holding some kind of nut between her beak. Then, she gulped down the food in one bite.

“Yeah, I know. She’s going to be mad.”

If I was honest with myself, I wanted to do everything in my power to avoid going home. It would not be easy to calm my mother down, nor would it be easy to convince her of what I had in mind, but I hadn’t completed my goal yet. Isla still had nothing, and everyone needed a family at least. I stood, wiping my hand on the side of my pants, and made my way down the mountain.