Holding onto the doorknob, Caelan took a deep breath, preparing himself. No weakness allowed, not when facing what awaited him inside. Putting his biggest smile, he opened the door in one go. Sam sat on the bed, her open hospital gown revealing the naked body underneath. Meanwhile, a nurse scraped a patch of crystallized skin.

The faint gleam of the stones on her skin caught the fluorescent light, blending with the white of the walls. Muscles stiffening, he thought of the young child he had met on a mission once. His face covered whole, leaving no flesh visible beneath the iridescent stone.

“Caelan!” Sam rushed to cover herself as he laughed at her tomato face. “Seriously?”

He closed the door behind him, unable to hold back his now genuine smile. “Oh, shush. I’ve already seen everything you have to show, so why bother?”

She thanked the nurse, who had finished up with her and left them alone. Placing down his bag by the armchair, the young man sat down beside her. He did his best to ignore the sterile smell all around them. “You look like an angry guinea pig when mad, did you know that?”

“Oh, screw you.” Despite her words and the push she gave him, the corner of her mouth turned upward. A smidge, no more. "I thought you would only come tomorrow.”

His body twitched; the smell of burnt flesh returned to the forefront of memory. "The major gave us an early break. For a job well done.”

Caelan didn’t talk much, letting her agitated hands do most of the work. All while filling the space with her contagious voice. She had lost some weight, but the slight chubbiness of her cheeks remained. Even the subtle way her dimples deepen when she talked about finishing a difficult game.

These made him relax more than he ever told her. And would become a source of anguish years in the future.

But for now, he listened. Giving Sam all the time she could get before the young soldier knew he would bring her crashing down. Sighing, he at last sprayed the open wound with disinfectant. “And how’s the treatment going?”

A stop. Too quick for anyone to notice. Except her husband. “Oh, it’s going great! Might even go back home in a few days.”

“Sam…”

“Don’t look at me like that!” She flexed her arms, the IV tube swinging like a wild snake, trying to hide the small pause before continuing. “See? I even set a new record on that dancing game! I won’t lose when we play it next…”

Caelan waited for a moment before holding onto her cheek with a caress. “Blood Sworn, I talked to the doctor in the hall.”

Her breath caught, and for a moment, her usually expressive hands froze mid-motion. “Oh.”

“It’s okay."

“Sorry.” She sniffed, looking away from him. "Sorry for being so useless. Maybe I should just d…”

“Stop!” Arm wrapped around her shoulders, he felt a familiar warmth. Head resting on his shoulder, she remained in silence. After several minutes, he spoke first. “We’ll cure you.”

“Did you get a medical degree since we last saw each other?” A weak chuckle left her lips, her shaky hands going for his steady ones.

Chewing on the inside of his mouth, the young man buried all his doubts. They weren’t needed at the moment. “No, but I’m paying for people with that.” Caelan kissed the top of her head, supporting her whole being. “This is just another bump; you’ll see.”

Deep inside, Caelan’s resolve hardened. Pressing his lips to her hair, grounding himself in the moment. For now, the only thing that mattered was the heat coming from her.

Everything else could come later.

-----

With the quiet settling in like thick dust, Caelan held his own against the cold gaze of Selene Veylor. She tapped at her elbow, absorbing his revelation for several minutes. With a sigh, she sat down, placing both hands in her lap. “Either you lost your mind, or you are being honest. Not sure which frightens me more.”

“You sure about this?” Leopold kept wringing his hands as he looked at the headmistress. “There’s no undoing it once it’s out there.”

“Thanks for the confidence, you ass.” Caelan fought to steady his breathing, his pulse pounding in his ears. This wasn’t a gamble—it was a leap into the void. But what other choice did he have? Stop being such a scaredy-cat, Cae! Hearing her voice again settled his inner turmoil, reminding him of his mission. “Ma’am, may I sit down? This might take a while.”

“Before we do that, I need to know what happened to the real Leopold.” Each tap now echoed through the chamber, as if a clock signaling his doom. “The way I see it, you are suffering from Soul Fracturing, a rather severe case.”

Caelan could feel every bead of sweat on his body, as he thought about how to answer that. “I’m not under the impression I’m two people at once, as my soul remembers fragments of its previous lives. Besides, fractured don’t have one person floating around them as an annoying ghost.”

Selene’s brow furrowed, her fingers curling into the fabric of her lap. “You’re saying Leopold is still here, but… displaced? That’s quite the claim.” Her voice was cool, but her eyes narrowed, searching for any signs of deceit.

“I have full control of the body and all my memories, yes. Leopold is now an annoying spirit floating around me.” He then pointed to the irate form swinging his diminutive fists at him. “In fact, he’s right there yelling all manner of profanities at me for calling him that.”

Selene leaned forward, her gaze unyielding. “If what you say is true, then tell me—what is Leopold saying now?”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Caelan took a fleeting glance at the specter, waiting. Then he conveyed every word Leopold chose to describe him and the Veylor. A new barrage of profanities came from his companion, while the woman seemed a bit taken aback by what he had said.

Or the fact that he told no lies.

Despite finding herself in her early thirties, the woman released a deep sigh. Like she had the weight of the world on her small shoulders. “Very well.” Her eyes sharpened, cutting through him like twin blades. “You have one chance to convince me. Speak carefully.”

“Well…”

-----

“The biggest issue isn't the professors. It's the Headmistress.” Caelan circled her name to put emphasis on his words.

“Yeah, everyone avoids the woman like a lower district whore. Feels like she knows when you do something.” Leopold nodded to those words, a shiver running through his transparent body.

“Being able to read minds will do that for her.” That had his companion looking at him in complete shock. “You know, when you don’t speak, you almost look cute, with those chubby cheeks and all.”

“She can fucking read minds?” Leopold stopped, his mind racing. “Is that her Blessing? What broken bullshit is that?”

“I mean, it’s a rare Blessing, but not unheard of.” Caelan shrugged.

“Then how in the blazes are we going to convince anyone when she can do that? Wastes below, how are we even hiding anything from the woman?”

With a chuckle, Caelan pointed his pen at him. “We explore its one major weakness.” He paused, letting the moment stretch for a second longer. “She can only read the minds of people who tell outright lies in her presence.”

Leopold raised an eyebrow, pondering. Following with a question on how that would make anything better. Only for Caelan to remind him that, as long as a straight lie isn't told, her ability wouldn’t work.

“And how does that help us, again?”

Caelan thought the best course would be to treat him as a toddler and give a simple example. If he said he regretted what he did the past year to the students, the ability would activate. But if instead he claimed he had regrets over his past actions, it wouldn’t. As long as he didn’t say a specific action.

“It’s like navigating a minefield,” Caelan said, drawing a few circles on the paper. “You step carefully, plant your feet where it’s safe, and never, ever look back. The trick is to stay vague while saying only things that fit as true.”

Leopold fell silent, his ghost form hovering in place. “So… like the trick fortune tellers use to trick gullible idiots?” His voice carried more skepticism than certainty.

“Kinda? The stronger the Blessing, the greater the drawback or limitation. Also, later in the games, there’s one major betrayal by one character. Who exploited this exact weakness of hers.” Stretching his arms, Caelan leaned over his notebook. “Not saying it’ll be easy,” he admitted, his fingers brushing over his notebook. “But hey, if I can heli-drop in the middle of a war zone...”

His voice trailed off, unspoken words lingering.

-----

Holding the bridge of her nose, Veylor remained a few minutes in silence. Aside from a twitch when revealing how much he knew of her Blessing, she showed no changes. “So, you know about my deepest secret because of a game? One which also had future events in it?”

Caelan nodded. “That’s a pretty good summary of it, yes.”

She leaned back in her chair, legs and arms crossed. “Either my Blessing stopped working for the first time in my life or you're telling the truth.” She looked down, her face softening. “No clue which is worse.”

This would be the moment, striking as the enemy is reloading. Caelan leaned ahead, meeting her eyes, explaining how this could be a blessing. With the worst futures averted.

“Which would be…?”

Closing his eyes, he pondered how to best convey the worst scenario. “The destruction of the Aether Heart of the Ardunovian Kingdom.”

The headmistress held back well enough. Leopold, on the other hand, floated backward, his spectral form dimming. “The whole kingdom… crashing down into the Wastes?”

“Now you get the stakes.”

“If that’s true…” The disgruntled ghost went silent upon hearing Veylor speak again. “How can we stop this event?”

Flashes of the many hours he poured into finishing every shred of content from the game came to Caelan. “I give you the names of the ones orchestrating it, their leaders and associates. You investigate them, lock them up, do whatever you want. This should at least help in preventing it.”

“You are not sure?”

"We're talking about the future here. Ask Lady Vaedra about the ramifications of trying to change it, if you want details.”

To that, she only sighed. “Of course, you also know about her Blessing.”

“More like a curse, if you ask me.” Caelan looked down, thinking of the size of his task. “Ma’am, we find ourselves at times of change. The Valiant will soon reveal himself. The Ascendant will follow.”

Once again, she gave the slightest hint of a reaction while Leopold gave the most dramatic one. “And for giving me that information, you want to remain at the academy?”

“I like to have backup plans, just in case.” I mean, you weren’t my Plan A to begin with.

The young woman closed her eyes, deep in thought. “You’re asking me to risk everything—my reputation, the safety of the academy, and possibly the entire kingdom. And for what? The ramblings of a boy who might be lost in his own delusions.” The steel returned to her tongue, slicing through his very existence. “Forgive me if I seem a bit hesitant to do so.”

Caelan held her eyes without flinching. Then, with the most neutral voice he had, he gave her a single sentence.

“I know who is responsible for the Redwood Killings.”

Such was the violence when she got up, the chair fell to its side. All pretense gone, she now looked at him, boiling blood in her eyes, nostrils flaring in a grotesque way. “Who?” Voice raised, she stepped forward, grabbing him by the arms, voice cracking. “Tell me, WHO?!”

Keeping his cool, Caelan reminded her of what he wanted. A place on the Aethertec Course. His expenses for attending paid. Support on preventing the bad endings. Then, he would reveal all that he knew.

Her expression froze, the steel in her voice faltering. Two words she had buried deep—The Redwood Killings. The stern educator had begun the process of turning into who she once was, so many years before. Only two words, at the right moment, and Caelan won.

And all it took was opening deep wounds on the woman. Even Leopold seemed disturbed by how callous he was in making his demands. Claiming he had never seen her like this, rubbing her hands like a scared kid.

“That’s messed up. Even for me.”

“Anything for the mission.” No emotion, Caelan waited for the conclusion he knew would come. “Not to mention, you of all people shouldn’t have a say in my dubious acts.”

“Hey, I do feel bad, at least.” Taken aback, Leopold floated some distance away from him. “You… there’s nothing. You don’t care, do you?”

“I know I should. I just don’t.”

“That’s… really scary.” Leopold’s voice had lost its usual sharpness, quieter now. “She’s breaking in front of you, and you don’t even flinch.”

"I know. Doesn’t change anything.”

The mask cracked, and there she was—a frightened girl, trapped in a moment she could never escape. She opened her mouth several times, unable to form words. Only when a single tear came down her eye did she relent.

“Very well. You shall have my support.”

Blood pumping a bit faster, Caelan nodded. “Then I hope our partnership is successful.”

He won. But as she trembled, just for a moment, a sliver of something—doubt, perhaps—pressed against his mental walls.

As with anything useless, he shoved it deeper down his psyche.