Vorn looked at the twins on the ground and debated if he was really that mad at Rowan. They were clearly not very injured, just winded.

“Serves you right. I’m almost glad that this happened. Really, you should be thanking me, Rowan wanted to do much worse.” Vorn said, vindictively. He couldn’t un-beat their ass, after all. Might as well gloat.

“What are you talking about! Did you really snap! Stop talking about yourself like your multiple people!” The twins shouted.

At that, Vorn raised an eyebrow.

“Did you really not even bother identifying me?” He asked, incredulous. Who picked a fight without identifying their target if they had the option?

“Why should we have! You're nobody! You couldn’t have possibly gotten that good of a Path!”

"If they did not identify us, which I assume is a skill of some sort, how could they tell our level?"

“Oh, that’s simple,” Vorn said, the twins looked at him like he was crazy, “If you focus on someone you can see their level above their head. Identify is a deeper dive that lets you know their Class and stuff. The better your [Identify] skill, the more detail you get. Twin one, go ahead and identify me, tell me what you see.”

“You think you can order me-” Vorn raised a fist in his direction, “Fine, whatever. It says ‘Voran, Level 1, Twin Soul: Warrior’ Huh? Wait, you aren’t human!?”

Vorn said, “Just remember to pick your battles carefully in the future, alright? Not everyone will be as kind as us.”

"In case you didn't catch that. It goes Name, Level, Race, Path. That clarify it enough for you, Rowan?"

“I understand. Thank you.”

On the way to Voran’s uncle’s office, Rowan asked, “Are you sure it was a good idea to show them our… non-standard status?”

“We couldn’t have hidden it even if we wanted to. We are a level one being, and most people are at least level fifteen, their identify skills would have penetrated whatever measly defense we could have managed with no magical stats.”

“Fair enough, I suppose.”

A comfortable silence enveloped them, and Vorn didn’t bother breaking it until they reached Burken’s office.

“Boy, I thought you wouldn’t be coming back today.” Burken said shortly.

“We need to resign.” Vorn spoke, equally short.

“What!? Why?”

“Rowan beat up the twins, and I’m not destroying your business because you refuse to fire me.” Burken looked at him incredulously.

“How did you beat the twins?” He said, flabbergasted.

“Again, it wasn’t me. It was Rowan. And as to how? Honestly, I’m pretty sure he could have won without a Path, but he did pick one. Yes, before you say anything, I told him not to. He was lucky it was a pretty clear cut choice.”

“Well, I’m sorry to hear that boy. I know that you never wanted to give up on your dreams, and having them forcefully taken from you must be even harder, but this is probably for the best.” Burken said, patting his shoulder. His tone wasn’t nearly as melancholic as he thought it was.

“Oh- For the last time! I’m not giving up! Me and Rowan get separate Classes!”

“Tch, damn.”

“AND YOU’RE DISAPPOINTED BY THAT!?” Vorn shouted, increasingly incredulous.

“I had just hoped… well. I guess if you're getting two Classes, you can afford to waste one.” Burken muttered to himself.

“That’s as close as I’m going to get to support, isn’t it? An, ‘Oh well, at least he has a fallback when he inevitably fails.’? Really? You know what? I don’t need this. Goodbye Burken. Thanks for the job.” Vorn said, the heat in his chest nearly suffocating.

“Boy, you don’t mean that. I’m still your uncle!” Vorn was already out the door.

Burken sighed and fell back into his chair.

‘At least the boy has someone to look after him now.’ Burken thought sadly.

— — —

Vorn stormed out of the mine and into the streets, the people going about their daily business giving him a wide berth. He needed to get home, then he could relax.

“Are you sure that this was how you wanted to say goodbye? I understand- Actually, I don’t understand how it must feel to have your dreams stomped on, but are you sure that this is what you want? Renouncing someone from your family is a very serious thing”

“I’m not renouncing him! I’m just angry, he understands. Our temper runs in the family, and he has it just as badly as I do. Mom used to tell me stories about the trouble they would get into because of it.”

Rowan noticed how his tone brightened considerably the moment he brought up his mother, so he continued to ask about her on their way home.

“Tell me about them.”

“What?”

“The stories, I mean”.

“Ah, well there was this one time that a baker marked up prices for them by five percent, so Mom and Uncle would go to his store after dark and take five percent of the next day's goods. The baker thought he had mice because all his bread had little pieces pinched out of them! Breaking into the bakery was one of their mildest stories, there was this one time-”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

By the time they had reached their home, Vorn was considerably less stressed.

Plus, Rowan was significantly more well-versed in Hyal’hiem criminology.

Walking into his new home, Rowan was instantly put off by just how… selectively organized it was.

“It looks like a hurricane came through your room and left only your bed and desk untouched.” Rowan said.

For the first time since arriving here, Rowan was truly dumbstruck.

“Oh come on, it’s not that bad.” Vorn said aloud.

“It is truly one of the most horrific sights I have ever laid eyes upon. I’m- How? How did you do this? Wait a goddamn fucking moment, is that sock on the CEILING?!”

“I guess you do care about more than just fighting.”

“I. I just. In all my years I’ve-”

“Did this really break you? Really? You died, got reincarnated, and then became a unique being, and this is what does you in? My room?” Vorn chuckled at the incomprehensible stream of words coming from his… roommate? Mindmate? Soulmate? Nope, nope, nope, not that last one.

“I say this with as much kindness as I can spare, please never allow yourself to buy another home. This one has already been cursed, no other real estate needs to feel your wrath.”

“HAH! Good one. I thought you didn’t understand jokes!”

“Did that sound like a joke to you? I’m pretty sure this counts as a landslide hazard!”

“Yeah, yeah. I get it. I’ll clean up tomorrow, for now, I’m taking a nap.”

As their head hit one of the only clean surfaces in the house, Vorn’s pillow, he could have sworn he heard Rowan grumbling about something.

It was probably nothing

— — —

Vorn awoke suddenly. He was sore, sweaty, and… in a different home? No, wait! He recognized that scratch on the wall, this was his home!

“Good morning. I have taken the liberty of borrowing our body to do something about this disaster you called a room.”

“YOU CAN DO THAT!?” Vorn shouted.

“It was a surprise for me as well, though a welcome one. I would apologize for taking control without asking, but I would have killed you if I had to stay in that pigsty for even a single hour more. Seeing as that would have killed me as well, I took it as a threat to our collective safety”

“You don’t get to just do that!”

“I can and did. We are a partnership by choice, not necessity. I follow along with your demands because it is the most efficient method, and it is only fair. I am no body snatcher, and I don’t want to ruin your life.”

“‘No body snatcher’ my ass! You literally snatched my body!”

“No, this is snatching your body”

Suddenly, Vorn was booted from the front and sent to their soul space. It was disorienting, to say the least.

“Is this a mutiny or something! How can you do this?!”

“No, I am not ousting your control. This is just an example of what I can do.”

“So you're threatening me with this then?”

“No, this is a partnership. You agreed to be my ‘handler’, but I think you misunderstood what I meant. I do not need you to be the voice of reason, I need you to be a force of reason. So this will be your training. Knock me back from the driver's seat. You do not need to retain control, just contest it.”

“This is fucking ridiculous!”

“I asked you if you wanted this role before you accepted. I could have picked Tempered Blade, and we would not have this issue. I did not quite understand the effect that my Class would have on me. I think I understand why they have Path in their name. Doing something that would go against my Class’s Path is genuinely difficult now. Plus, it wasn’t as if I was having an easy time controlling my emotions beforehand, either.”

“I- Fuck. I forgot to explain that. You shouldn’t have picked a Path anyway, but I suppose that’s in the past. Alright fine, how did you break out of your restraints?”

“For me, it was very simple. I just lashed out in anger and they broke. I do not know if that is the only method.”

Well, if there was one thing that Vorn was feeling, it was anger.

He looked around their soul space, it was a dark void with only one solid surface. A circular platform hovered over infinite darkness, and that was where he stood. The platform itself was made of a cool, strangely smooth, gray stone. If he tried to turn, chains would appear and force him to look forward. Directly in front of him was the only break in the void, a seemingly glass window that showed what his physical eyes were seeing.

Following Rowan’s advice, he struggled and strained against the chains. He thought of every argument, every bully from his childhood, and the bastard guildmaster who got his family killed.

Everything in him burned and flailed as he pushed his limits. And failed. It wasn’t working!

Vorn began to panic. He was trapped here. This infinite void would be his prison!

Then, he remembered.

— — —

[Fifteen Years Ago]

“Vorn, do you know what separates us from beasts and monsters?” His mother had asked on a cozy winter morning. He remembered it vividly. It was the first snow of the season, and his tutor wasn’t able to make it to their house. That meant his mother got to stay home and take care of him.

“Uh, the God who made us?” He guessed.

“Nope, we were created by Lunaris. The very same God that created monsters.”

“I don’t know then!” He said cheerily. Whenever he didn’t know something, it meant Mom got to teach him about it!

“Reason is the difference. Our ability to look at a situation, and instead of using brute force or giving up, thinking of a solution.”

“Is that why you say daddy is a brute? Because he doesn’t know how to reason?”

His mother choked a little on laughter when he said that.

“Yes, actually. I swear, that man would rather punch a puzzle than solve it. Just because we have been gifted with reason doesn’t mean we all choose to use it!” She laughed.

“Just remember this, okay? You are not like your father, I can already tell. You are like me. Slight, small, and clever. We can’t coast on brute strength like some others. We’ve got to use this muscle up here,” She tapped his forehead, “Understand?” He nodded.

— — —

That memory cleared Vorn’s mind. He was freaking out over nothing. The System was not fair, and yet, it was not unjust either. It gave nobles advantages at birth that a commoner would never have, but in spite, or perhaps because of that injustice, the desperate and low class had the potential to become truly monstrous in a way that those born privileged couldn’t. The system allowed, nay, encouraged everyone to reach for the zenith of their Path.

The only one stopping Vorn was himself.

He carefully analyzed his bindings and quickly realized that they were made of mental energy, not mana. All of this was taking place in his soul space, and though he didn’t know much about the soul, he knew that it couldn’t be negatively impacted by magic. The System protected the souls of its users above all else, after the Night of the Broken Moon, it had to.

If the bindings weren’t magic, then that meant the chains were a construct of the spirit or the mind. Vorn knew next to nothing about the spirit, but he did know a little about mental constructs, and this had all the makings of one. The most obvious being the fact that he didn’t know what the chains were made of. They weren’t made of energy, or mana, that much was obvious. They were made of some sort of metal that Vorn had never seen before. He wasn’t an expert on materials or anything, but he felt he would have heard of a bright blue metal.

That meant that either, one, the material of soul bindings was a blue metal for some reason? Or two, it was a mental construct made by Rowan. If it was the latter, it was almost certainly an accident. He didn’t even know what mana or the System was, how would he know how to contain a foreign being in his soul?

There was a very simple way of testing his theories.

Asking.

“Hey Rowan, are you familiar with a bright blue metal with a dull luster?”

“Hm? Oh I had kind of zoned out there for a moment. Yes, I am familiar with a material that matches that description. It was an alloy that was discovered not too long before I died. Apparently it was meant to be the hardest known metal alloy ever discovered. Unfortunately, it was very brittle, so it never saw any military use in my time. I heard talk of a prototype artillery shell using it, but it was too expensive to be practical.” Rowan chuckled slightly at the idea of a material too expensive for even the Continental Americas Army.

Vorn could work with that. Rowan’s subconscious must have latched onto the ‘Hardest Metal' thing and made his bindings out of it. Now, he just had to hope that it kept its original properties.

Vorn twisted on the platform, and the bindings appeared once more. Carefully, he moved so that the smallest link was situated directly on the hard stone surface of the platform. Then, he raised his fist and slammed it into the chain. Nothing happened.

‘Yeah, I should have figured that would be the case.’ Vorn thought to himself.

Wait, Rowan had been restrained by chains not long ago. That meant that Vorn could also make mental constructs.

Carefully, he imagined a chisel made out of the most durable material he knew of, adamantium. Then he imagined a hammer as heavy as he could manage to use with one hand.

He was twisted in a knot as the chains kept trying to align him back to face forward, but he managed to line up the chisel. Then, with as much force as he could muster, he slammed the hammer down on the chain link. It shattered easily, turning into small fragments.

One arm free, one more to go.

Now that half his body was free, it was much easier to line up everything. Within a few more moments, he was free.

Instantly, he could feel the difference. He knew that all he had to do was step off the platform, and he would be in control.

So he did.

“Ah, I see you managed it! Great job. I must admit, I was starting to get worried after half an hour had passed.”

“Yeah, well, not everyone has the strength of a Behemoth.”

“How did you break out then?”

“I used my goddamn brain,” Vorn said simply as if it brooked no further question.

Apparently, Rowan agreed, as he made no mention of it.

“So, I guess that means you're officially qualified to be my handler now. I can finally start being myself again... Truthfully, I never thought such a day would come. It may take a while to get out of my meditative habits, though.”

Now, Vorn had a choice to make. He understood how mental bindings worked, and if he was able to use them subconsciously, then there was a good chance he could make them better by actively using them. Did he want to, though?

Sure, Rowan had some rough edges – very rough edges –, but Vorn felt he had a pretty good understanding of the man at this point. They were literally joined at the soul, it was hard not to. He was blunt, assertive, and analytical, while at the same time being passionate, irrational, and quick to anger. There was also a sense of… Honor? Of not wanting, or perhaps not being able to, use underhanded tactics. He was straightforward, more than anything.

He had seen some glimpses of Rowan’s past through his Classes, and he had not lived an easy life. So far, Vorn had put together that he was an orphan who had lived on the streets. Not content with already being disadvantaged, he decided to take care of his fellow street rats. Then, after all of that, he joined the military and became one of the greatest soldiers to ever live. Based on a few descriptions, it would seem that he was quite well-known as well, but he didn’t let it get to his head.

Now that they were in equal standing in Vorn’s – No, Voran’s – body… they could really make this whole ‘better whole’ thing work.

He was willing to bet on Rowan.

But… that didn’t mean he had to tell him how mental constructs worked either. He could keep it in his back pocket and hope he never had to use it. Just in case. A healthy bit of paranoia never hurt anybody.

“So… what are we going to do for work?”

“About that, I have an idea. How would you like to really let loose?”

"You have my attention." Rowan’s metaphorical blood was already pumping.