A gentle sea breeze made its way through the floating platform, caressing its once intricate designs. Far too long ago for anyone to name a specific timeframe, this had served as a foundation for a small restaurant. It must have been quite stunning in its heyday, or so Sáinz considered. Now, it was naught but a sizable piece of antique concrete and weathered tiles. Each tile bore symmetrical designs, with matching dark corners that made their placement appear intentional, but as far as the individual figures went, She could find no pattern. The same went for the palette, in truth. She had once attempted to catalogue every color on it for curiosity’s sake, only to find every time She thought She had noted all down, a new one would appear on a previously-unseen tile.

Had She been willing to explain how She obtained the entire thing, She might have sought to find and hire an expert on the matter. A historian or even a decorator, anyone who could explain why there was no rhyme or reason to this.

A single table with two chairs stood on the center of the platform. It went with the restaurant theme, certainly—not that She had any idea what had once been served in it. The top of the table was adorned by tiny mosaic tiles of its own, each sharp enough on their own right that Sáinz had long since concluded mortals of the past must have liked to live dangerously.

Warm tea awaited Her guest in a porcelain pot, from a set similarly salvaged. Its origin was far less clear to Sáinz, as was that of the tea. She had just found it by the beach one day.

The multicolored lights above began to shift, overwhelmed by myriad shades of purple.

Sáinz smiled, lifting Her teacup. Was the door too small for You?

We behold the Aureate Mistress. The figure of Eylo paused as it settled on the second chair. …It was not. But the hall was.

I shall take that into consideration next time I remake this domain.

Do not. We suspect We will not visit often once Our task is complete.

Unfortunate. In turn, I suspect I shall make modifications anyway.

That is Your prerogative. Eylo conceded the point, sipping on the tea. Our recent experiences taught Us We should warn You that this is unfortunately not a social visit.

There was little use beating around the bush, then. What have You found?

…Much.

How insightful.

Wait for Us to continue, fool! Eylo snapped back, though Their lips curved. We have learned much about mortal souls. We came upon a rare opportunity, many souls cut from fully destroyed bodies at once. A marvel to witness and to learn from, yet simply not enough to grant all the answers We need.

What did You do with them?

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

We paid back some of Our debt.

Sáinz nodded. Though that was one facet of greater existences She would never understand, She could respect it.

We fear You will not like what We have learned, Sáinz. Freshly released, the Slivers that make up mortal souls can be grasped and led. That much We have tried and tested.

It was known.

It is now known firsthand to Us, and that is worth so much more. Existence is fickle enough as it is. Our studies tell Us what needs to be done, but they similarly warn of limitations. After We started pushing souls into system-bound forms, no longer could We grasp the Slivers, even if they died.

Obits.

Yes. The system defines souls differently—namely, by defining them in the first place. It forces Slivers of Existence to give their mortal souls a chance to become immortal souls, but in turn, cuts them off from the Sliver’s natural progression. We have yet to understand the full ramifications of this.

But it is dreadful.

And the sky is blue, Sáinz.

You have My apologies. I misstepped, forgetting the sensitivity of the topic to You.

You will find Yourself affected as well, ‘friend’. It means You would be likelier to bring back Your little friend in the tank than anyone whose obit has collapsed.

At that, Sáinz flinched. The inability to bring back Her followers would be quite the setback, but She had not found Herself capable of doing it in the first place. Eylo’s words simply confirmed it.

How unfortunate.

That, it is. The purpose of Our visit was to warn You, to spare You the disappointment. We shall resume Our work in that world soon enough—it has been an endless source of amusement so far.

Lucky You.

Have there truly been no developments on Your side, Sáinz? Standing still is unlike You.

I discovered one of them has descendants alive, at the very least. In Seolferġiefu’s territory of all places. They are a disappointing bunch from what I could see, but at least her blood still flows through some who Exist.

If that is not a twist of that fate so precious to You, We suspect nothing could ever be. But disappointing how?

Sáinz shrugged. Nothing peculiar about them, I suppose. I simply would have expected more. She was fated for greatness.

In time, You will learn, most of them are. Eylo appeared wistful all of a sudden. Existence is haunted by the echoes of countless individuals who once Existed, who would have changed their worlds, and through one mistake or event far beyond anyone’s control, never got to be anything but forgotten. Most of Us never even had the chance to make the most of Our mortal time, anyway.

This has certainly taken quite the morbid turn. Sáinz sighed, raising her near-empty cup and moving it closer to Eylo. A toast is in order, My friend. To better days!

Is this not the incorrect type of drink?

Just shut up and clink the cups.