“You couldn’t have learned such a thing alone, especially without even knowing what it was. Someone taught it to you, right?” Ira asked the plump dragonling.

Ginger turned pale. No, he might have also become a stone, judging by how he grew so still.

“I can… I can use it?” he said after what felt like ten whole seconds. His mind was lagging behind the double feature of revelations. It didn’t help that he immediately recalled the point in time Ira had just referenced – when he said he sensed Kardia mobilizing for a complex Pieyro in Ginger.

It was when Ira had flashed between Ginger and his two friends right after Ginger had woken up.

‘I had been about to use… Perfect Execution right then?’ Ginger shuddered.

“Focus, Ginger,” said Ira, ignoring his question. “Who taught you that Pieyro? You were seeing dragons that no one else could see and hearing their voices, weren’t you? Did one of them stand out? You couldn’t have learned something like this in passing and from a random dragon. Did any of them have distinct features? I need that information. You’ll likely forget it soon since it’s all tied to that other soul of yours.”

As Ginger stuttered silently, Reiss exclaimed, “Good grief! So, it’s really true? You have two souls, Ginger?”

The plump dragonling drew in deep breaths. It appeared to him that neither Reiss nor Caron had internalized what Ira had just said. The latter was looking at him with wide eyes glossed over with the physical manifestation of shock.

“I… There was this strange dragon behind me when I opened my eyes in the Beginner’s Den,” Ginger began and he wiped off the sweat gathering on his brow. “He had the most impactful voice out of all the dragons there, and he was… in his Denatured form. He was…” Ginger spared a look towards Reiss and Caron. “His entire body could fit on the little pedestal at the end of the chamber.”

Reiss jerked back in shock.

“No way! That’s…!”

Caron gulped audibly, similarly horror-struck.

Ira’s face turned grave.

“I see…” he said with a coarse voice. It had all the grace of crushed stone. “So the Great Godling taught you.”

Ginger somehow felt some degree of shame sink through him. He shrank and hung his head.

“He was the one who kept telling me he would teach it to me, and that I had to use it on everyone there, and that they wouldn’t hold a grudge against me for… for hurting them.” He sounded panicked. The voices were whispering to him again, somewhere behind his ears. He huddled against himself, quivering. “I should have known it was him, but…”

“There was no way you could have just reasoned it was someone you’d recently learned about in your studies, Ginger,” said Ira. He looked away ponderously.

Reiss pulled on the gatekeeper’s sleeve, ashen.

“What does this mean exactly? I thought the Great Godling died a long time ago. The Beginner’s Den was one of the sites he used to meet with his followers Cycles ago, right? So… how is this even possible?”

“Cou-Could it be some kind of clairvoyance?” chimed in Caron. She sidled closer to Ginger, fearing that he might start feeling very out of place and too odd to be normal. She nudged him with a shoulder as she pressed against the wall like him. “I’ve heard some dragons earn natural gifts upon birth. Maybe… you’re the same Ginger.”

Reiss immediately refuted, shaking his head.

“Even if that were true, clairvoyance is perceiving future events. This doesn’t seem like that to me. It’s like... it’s like the Great Godling, and all these dragons are trapped somewhere, and they can only reach out to Ginger,” he said, trying not to look as shaken as he really was.

“No, no. This isn’t the right kind of discussion for us to delve into,” said Ira as he sat back down. He stared keenly at Ginger. “We can try and decipher what all this means later. That much isn’t all that urgent. Whether it is true that the Great Godling and others are imprisoned in some unknown place, or not is irrelevant. Our objective for now should be to trace where this ability of Ginger’s is stemming from.”

Ira sucked his teeth, prompting Ginger to look up.

“Then…” said Reiss, his eyes on the gatekeeper.

Ira sighed.

“I have managed to glean a few things about the cause of all this – this other soul of yours, Ginger,” he said. “The first time, it led you to Alexandros’ office just to stare at the golden fire and now it brought you to the Den to do the same thing, I imagine. To take in the space where it earned refinement. But of course, it encountered something else in the Den – something most aren’t able to connect with.”

Reiss put his hands to his mouth as though to warm them with his breath.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

“Uh…” Caron wore an odd face. “Am I reading this wrong, or are you implying that the Beginner’s Den is haunted?”

Reiss gave her a look that clearly said, “What in the world are you talking about?”

Ira shook his head calmly and his eyes kept steady on Ginger who tried to avoid them.

“I was under the impression that this other soul of yours is simply immature, yet to grow like yours. I think that was a false assessment. This second soul… I’m starting to believe it is incapable of growing at all. It’s an infant and will remain as such.”

“What?” Ginger gaped.

Ira gave a nod and a shrug.

“Everything young in this world is extremely sensitive – open to forces that all mature souls are oblivious to. Initially, I made the mistake of considering only its power. It is powerful, much more powerful than your soul, but it is also much more sensitive and perceptive – freakishly so. It will get triggered by things you cannot see or sense and it will react appropriately, completely ignoring your circumstances and emotions. It sensed Agathe’s strength and avoided her, and it sensed whatever lingering powers are in the Beginner’s Den.”

Ginger couldn’t process this as smoothly as Reiss and Caron. The former was particularly absorbed in everything Ira said, as though it were a simple lecture by one of his favorite Professors. He was particularly good at seeing when and where Ginger was confused. He noticed it this time as well.

“It wasn’t just dumb luck, Ginger,” he said. “When you pulled me to Professor Alexandros’ office back then, we assumed it was just chance that helped us not to run into Madame Agathe. You avoided her intentionally. You could sense her somehow.”

“I could?” Ginger’s face crinkled.

“You did the same thing tonight,” added Caron. “You considered Madame Agathe as the sort you had to avoid, but you didn’t hide from Ira.”

“Sensitivity,” the gatekeeper twisted his lips in annoyance as he said it. He seemed to get ignored.

“And you were able to fly here, Ginger,” said Caron. “You used the same Pieyro Professor Lyall used to take us to the Beginner’s Den during the Breather.”

Ginger was overwhelmed. Everyone could see it in his eyes.

“But I…” he began.

“Like I said before, your soul is incredibly sensitive and perceptive. With its abundant Kardia, it’s not unthinkable that it could use a basic flying Pieyro after seeing it used perhaps… twice? It knows things you don’t,” Ira said. “At times, it will use those things against you. Unknowingly, of course. This is something we need to address and I have a few thoughts.”

Ginger, his eyes racing, mirroring the chaotic reactions of his brain cells at the moment, took in several deep, quick breaths with Caron’s instruction.

“What do you have in mind?” Reiss said to Ira.

“I was hoping you’d be the first to ask,” said the gatekeeper with a small smirk. “The first idea I have involves you two.”

“Us?” Caron asked unnecessarily.

“For Ginger’s safety and yours, I want you to join Marvellous Impediments.”

“The Out Course?” Reiss asked with a frown.

“No, the pig farm. Of course, the Out Course, imp!” Ira flared. Smoke billowed from his nostrils.

“Alright! Alright!” cried Reiss.

Caron’s eyes brightened.

“You want us to learn barriers and seals in case we need to contain or restrain Ginger,” she said, realizing the gatekeeper’s intent.

“Precisely. I doubt it will matter much if Ginger’s second soul really wants to flee, but I imagine certain types of barriers could help in situations where Ginger doesn’t instantly put everyone around him to sleep. Or perhaps when you are able to get outside the range of whatever that ability is.”

Reiss gave a sagely nod, his eyes wide.

“I get it, but will there be instances where Ginger doesn’t put everyone out of commission?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I’ll have to leave that up to you for now while I think of better means to deal with this. When Phoenix returns, I’ll see if she can help. She’s the only one we can trust for now,” said Ira.

“What about your other idea?” Ginger was the one to say. He had gathered the general idea behind what Ira intended for Caron and Reiss to do, and however much he didn’t want the two to be burdened because of him, he had to admit, it was better than having them wait around for the next time he lost himself. They had to have some kind of means to defend themselves at least.

“I want you to join an additional Out Course too, Ginger. Lesser Eved. I’m not sure if the Out Course hounds got around to telling you all about it, but it’s an Out Course that specializes in allowing dragons to tame lesser creatures like Olarmanders,” the gatekeeper explained with a stern look. “Taming is all about soul connections. The Out Course essentially gives you a head-start in subjects you’ll only get to explore in your Second Year, like the intricate nature of souls.”

Ginger immediately caught on.

“You want me to learn to tame my second soul,” he said, feeling bits of hope bubble up.

“I wouldn’t expect that much yet. Rather than tame, I want you to focus on a more… micro goal. If you can learn to maintain consciousness while your second soul is taking over, that will be plenty. Lesser Eved will teach you how to feel the boundary of your soul and that of your second soul. That is likely the prerequisite required for you to not let it overpower you every time it acts on its whims. You’ll have to work hard… and convince Lyall that this choice of yours is necessary.”

The plump dragonling thought this was indeed manageable. He had no awareness of where his second soul was despite knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that he had one. His nerves began to loosen.

“I-I think I can do that,” he said, determined. Much of his courage was building.

Admittedly though, as Ira said, Professor Lyall would not be happy about him, Caron, and Reiss taking on more Out Courses. She had instructed her students against this.

“Well, Ira,” Reiss began, mustering determination of his own, “Caron and I will also—”

“Absolutely not,” Ira cut him off with a wave of his hand. “There’s no need for you both to join a third Out Course. That will only compromise your studies and besides, it won’t really teach you anything necessary for what we are trying to do here. You can’t tame or help tame Ginger’s second soul. It’s capable of putting grown dragons to sleep. Worse case, if you attempted it, it could hurt you.”

Reiss deflated. Caron didn’t express her opinion on this, but her eyes did droop a little.

“I have given you all roles, little imps. Stick to them and produce results. You don’t have to encroach on anything that will only stall your progress,” said Ira with a sigh. “For now, don’t bother with anything else. We have much we don’t know. Don’t stress over any of it – the Great Godling and the Perfect Execution – needlessly. I will be watching. I’ll be watching closely.”