His inquiry hangs in the air, only met with silence. In normal circumstances, his proposal would have been answered with a clear refusal, but this is not a normal circumstance. I've already told him that he would obtain my soul and I have since long resolved myself to either die, or have something worse happen to me. It is frankly strange that he has yet to harm me. As if he was attempting to gauge my true intentions, they seem to matter to him. First, he showed me the scene of my friends leaving, then demonstrated how the pills were made and even explained the purpose of several elements of the facility. He treats me as a new employee being taken along a tour of the workplace before accepting a new position.

While his behaviour is peculiar, it is not the worst case scenario. He could have simply killed me as soon as he got the chance, though that would not have been a preferred outcome. I was not suicidal when I offered my soul to Soulweaver, I simply uttered the words most likely to attract his attention. Initially, I was hoping to coax Soulweaver into letting me leave by sealing a deal with him. However, while he may be insane, he is not stupid. I will not be able to fool him so easily. Therefore, the success of that plan seems low, and if that does not work, then my options are scarce. In front of him, I am powerless, just as my mother was before her death. It is not a feeling I am fond of.

That is why, to be truthful, there are two reasons that I do not answer him immediately. The first and perhaps the one I find the most meaning in, is simply because I despise the idea of being at his mercy.. This act of defiance is a last attempt at exercising my free will, before it is ripped away. The second, is my need for time to find a solution. My mind furiously races to identify an alternative. I would rather die than to become the slave of such a disgusting entity, but there lies the problem, I cannot die. Those who need me, who rely on me, are too numerous. If I were to die, Aurora and Asher would have no one but each other, they would not be able to survive. If I were to die, without my support, Calliope would likely find herself in a terrible situation once more. The twins do not have the ability to protect her by themselves, and I cannot subject them to that burden. My death cannot be included in the outcome of this situation

Thankfully, Soulweaver does not repeat his question, he patiently awaits my answer, giving me time to think. Making use of his courtesy, I close my eyes, recalling all that has happened to me so far, desperately trying to find a solution, but only one scene occupies my mind. Soulweaver extracting a ball of blue light in a room full of decaying, yet living people. I cannot rid my mind of these images. Serving him is out of the question, there must be another path available to me.

These images plague my mind, but suddenly, another, fainter memory, re-surfaces. It is of the time Soulweaver linked our souls. Not only the act, but Soulweaver's words echo in my head. My heartbeat accelerates, hope fills my being. If I am correct in my assumptions, my fate may not be sealed just

'This might work!!'

To succeed, I will have to negotiate with Soulweaver, which may not yield a positive outcome, but I must try nonetheless. I open my eyes and a few words escape my mouth.

"... I will not become yours"

A frown forms on his face.

"Then, are you prepared to perish here?"

I swallow my saliva and answer him once again.

"I will not be dying here either."

His frown grows deeper, confusion settling into his face. He is having a difficult time understanding what I am saying.

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"Explain, brat."

"... I never said I would become yours"

"... You said you would give me your soul"

"Exactly! I said I would give you my soul, not become yours, and I've already completed my part of the deal!"

The dark personality Soulweaver had adopted falters. His menacing expression turns into one of incomprehension. He attempts to recall our previous conversations to confirm my words. This must not be too difficult, if he can manipulate thousands of avatars at once without his brain shattering, then he can surely recall my words from a moment ago. As he digs through his memories, the lack of understanding turns into pondering, then realization. A nearly unnoticeable smirk appears on the corner of his mouth and he replies.

"I suppose you would be correct on that front

'He's biting!!'

"… However, you have not completed your part of the deal, you have not given me your soul, brat."

"I disagree. I've entered the world of the soul haven't I? The same as you."

".... Sure, but that does not mean you've 'given' me your soul, it simply means that we now share a connection."

His counter-argument is sound, but I've already prepared a response for that rhetoric. I clear my throat and exclaim the main component of my argument. Something that came to mind just a moment ago after recalling my precise words and using the insight I've gained into Soulweaver's [melody]

"A connection is a two-way street, I'm allowing it to flow from me to you, the same way you allow it to flow from yourself to me. Would that not be me giving you access to my soul? Thus, giving you my soul itself?"

"... You say that you allow it to flow from yourself to me. Does that mean you believe in your ability to break that connection?"

"Perhaps yes, perhaps no. But giving does not necessarily mean you have the ability to take it back."

"I see… So you say you've given me your soul when you 'allowed' me access to it... interesting..."

My heart races. The simple fact that Soulweaver is engaging in this conversation indicates that he is seriously considering my arguments. I may have a chance at survival if it continues like this. As I had already realized, Soulweaver is insane, but he is not stupid, at least not yet. He has not lost his ability to reason. Thinking about it carefully, it makes perfect sense. How could he? An idiotic person would not be able to operate this plant, much less control thousands of avatars all at once. A second into Soulweaver's perpetual state and I felt that my mind would shatter. Additionally, an idiot would never have reached the third stage.

While it is great that he is able to reason, it is not the main basis for his willingness to acknowledge my arguments. Had it been anyone else, this might not have worked. I have a theory for that, but its validity depends on his actions from now on. I remain idle, awaiting Soulweaver's reply. If all goes according to my thought process, the next step would be to discuss releasing me. However, he makes another point.

"Everything you've said is true, but there is one problem. I could still kill you right here. Our deal stated that you exchanged your soul for your friends' lives."

"Wrong"

At my words, the atmosphere darkens. Soulweaver exercises invisible pressure on me. Simply his gaze is enough to almost make me stumble backwards. He evidently does not appreciate my rebuttal, but I do not let it destabilize me and explain my line of reasoning.

"What I said is that I would exchange my soul for 'everyone's' lives. Nothing states that it did not include my own. Meaning that you cannot make that assumption"

He places his hand over his mouth, pensively. Eventually, he presents another problem in my argument.

"You're… correct once again, I'll give you that. There is one major flaw in all of this, however. I am an evil being right? I could simply kill you right here and disregard your words, I have the power to do so after all."

"Yes, you could, but you won't"

His smirk grows wider. I am unsure if his personality switched once more, but he seems slightly amused.

"Why is that?"

My next reply is based on my assumptions of his personality. Should I be wrong, he will kill me and that will be my end. However, back when we were connected, he mentioned a friend who had been betrayed a long time ago. Upon witnessing Syvia's refusal to leave me behind, I observed his emotional state falter, into something more alive, more human. The madness receded for a moment. I do not know who that person was, but they must have been tremendously important in Soulweaver's life. He spoke of them being betrayed as an inconceivably tragic event. As such, how could he do the same to another? At least that's what I'm betting on. I drop the last talking point of my argument.

"You've admitted that nothing I said was wrong. If you kill me, you'd be breaching my trust in your integrity. You'd be doing the same thing they did to your friend all that time ago!"

An insurmountable pressure clenches something deeply within my being. I suffer from pain I had never experienced before. It is worse than anything I could possibly imagine. It feels as though something vital is on the verge of breaking and I can do nothing to prevent it. As it sets into my body, I am unable to even scream or breathe. I fall to the ground, writhing in agony.

'D-Damn it!! Was I wrong!? Should I not have mentioned that friend!?'

The agony dissipates as quickly as it appeared and Soulweaver bursts into laughter.

"HAHA! He got us didn't he?! Maybe he's a little too smart!!"