One!
I open my eyes.
One, Two I- wait didn't I already do onThree!
I shake my head but more intrusive HERE thoughts come in, except MORE COLORS instead of those thoughts trying to make me EXPLORE kill someone they constantly interrupt my very important musing.
I didn't even REAL think it was possible for something to make the trip with me, that's because NOT MORE GOOD? dimensional travel is basically something that was set deep within my soul, it's just like someone normally can't share a heartbeat with someone without...them sharing SHARE a heart.
Can you stop interrupting my inner monologue?
MORE SEE GOOD COLORS?
Alright that's it.
Body Clone
Make another body that your soul will control. You do not share thoughts with the clone, but they will think and act like you.
If either you or the clone dies, whatever effect is tied to your body's death will trigger on both you and the clone.
In that case, both of your experience and memories will fuse together, creating a soul comparable to a lesser hivemind.
At least my menu works now, took it long enough.
My soul extends and I slowly push the intruder out of it. It takes a while to rip it out of me--and a lot of its tendrils are still deeply nested in me--but I manage with great effort to throw it into a half-baked body resembling a little kid. The 'child' spasm on the ground for a moment, eyes rolling back into their skull as they froth at the mouth. Eventually, they come back to their senses and try to get back up, falling down multiple times in the process as they are trying to get used to their new body.
It's a temporary solution, but it's good enough for now. As to where we landed, it seems to be some kind of slums, the buildings are made of cement and look pretty run down, I can't see a single person outside either even though it's the middle of the day,it might be another post apo-
PERSEVERANCE BLAST
A giant purplish laser beam pulverize the row of buildings I was currently examining, leaving nothing but dust, smoke and an acrid smell behind it. I'm pretty sure I was a few steps away from being instantly obliterated, which would've had some consequences for once.
I look back at the kid.
They aren't there anymore.
I take a deep breath, inhaling some dust in the process, but I don't let that distract me. If the clone dies, it might just mix us up together even more, so I need to cut the tendrils while it's still separated from me, and then... I'll figure out what to do from there.
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PERSEVERANCE SLASH
ANOTHER ONE!?
A laser fires above me, but this time it's flat and leaves a crescent like shape behind it. It was thankfully nowhere near me, and I don't want to wait until that's no longer the case, so I really should find the child as fast as I can.
Fortunately, finding the kid isn't particularly hard, our souls are still connected, so I just have to follow the thread that connects us. I'd call it convenient, but the fact this thread even exists is the problem.
As I navigate the streets--or at least what's left of them--I can hear crying and I can't help but imagine the worst as I get closer to my target. I don't think my quite literal soul mate understands what is okay and not okay to do and who knows what they did when I wasn't here to stop them. After one last turn, I see them, plural. There's a man in his late thirties consoling a little girl who is crying uncontrollably, and my target is doing the same. The man is trying his hardest to calm both of them down, with very little results.
"Sorry, I lost sight of them," I quickly grab my own crying kid.
"It's nothing, I was afraid this child was also alone," the man says softly. He pats the little girl's head as she cries in his arms, "Are you their mother?"
"Mothe-" I look down. This is what happens when you skip step two, "I guess I am."
"...or maybe you're just someone else trying to give those kids a better life," he smiles when the crying of the girl lessens to a weak sob, and he lifts her up to his shoulder, "There is a shelter that also doubles as an orphanage around here, because of budget constraints I usually only allow other kids here, but I can make an exception for you and your child."
I nod, not willing to argue with their assessment of me. I can always ask a lot of questions about how things work when I arrive in a new universe to blend in better, but you'd be surprised how much information you can get by just letting them figure out what THEY think you are, and agreeing with whatever conclusion they came to.
"Is the shelter safe from...whatever that purple thing was?" I ask as we get deeper and deeper into the slums.
"Anti-magic barrier, one of the kids we raised here ended up as a magical girl that could counter magic and helped us set it up. Her emotion was inadequacy, you might have heard of her? She's not as popular as the rest, but I'm really proud of her!" he looks up at the cloudless sky, as he gently strokes the little girl's hair who has somehow fallen asleep during our walk, "There's a stereotype, that magical girls born out of negative emotions will always end up as bad people. It's not true, of course, and there is a lot of evidence against it, but the stereotype persists nonetheless."
"I'm guessing magical girls are causing all this chaos, then?" I ask while trying to keep my own kid in check. Thankfully, they seem dead set on copying the little girl, so they aren't causing too much trouble. I'm not sure how I feel about the fact that a 5-year-old girl is setting a better example than me, but it's not like I plan on being a mother, or father, or whatever I'll end up being next. If I absolutely had to be a parent however, I'd like to be a good one.
We see a few more purple fireworks above us, but none of them damages us or the building nearby, so we make it to the shelter without too many issues. The shelter is a big square like building with big, bright, gray drawings all over the walls. How can gray be bright you ask? I have no idea, it's just glowing intensely enough that it clearly sticks out from the building, but it's not an oppressive brightness. It's actually a very comfy glow.
Once we enter the building, the man slowly lowers the little girl on the ground as to not wake her up. There are kids of all ages here, teenagers, toddlers and everything in between. And yet it's quiet, everyone is whispering, some are playing games like cards or board games, and others are just sticking to empty corners of the orphanage where no one will bother them.
I really thought a place with a bunch of kids would be very noisy, but those have to be the most well-behaved kids I've ever seen--not that I'm complaining.
A few kids come closer to the man, and he gently hugs them before letting them go, not a single word is spoken between them, but they seem to understand each other well enough.
"That must be a lot of work to take care of that many kids," I sigh, "I'd be absolutely overwhelmed if that was me."
"Of course, I am overwhelmed, and scared. How could I not be? But..." He scratches his cheek as the same dumb smile refuses to leave his face, "If they see the person taking care of them panic, then what would the kids have left? They need to feel safe, they need a constant in their life that they know will always be there for them. It's a lie, of course, but the world is cruel enough as it is, don't you think?"
He looks at me with knowing eyes, I can't help but get lost in his gaze for a few seconds, as a matter of fact he's kinda cu-
I slap myself to get my thoughts in order, I don't have time for this. I need to cut that hotel universe thing out of me and then...and then? uh...
I raise the soul intruder in front of me to get a good look at them, their eyes look around with what I assume is excitement and curiosity, sometimes their pupils expand and retract unnaturally, but I think they are still figuring their new body out, and it's certainly better than the body horror I had to witness earlier.
"Hey, how do you raise a kid?" I ask the man as I try to stop my kid's head from rotating 180 degrees.
He laughs, "If you find the answer, please do tell me," I frown, and he elaborates further once he sees I'm not laughing, "While I do not know what you should do, I can think of a few things you should avoid doing..."