Explorer of Edregon

Vin had a lot he wanted to say. Reassuring Lumel that what happened wasn’t her fault. Informing her about the curious new passenger currently hiding within his mana pool he was helping out. Asking her about the progress she’d made with her new spell over the past few weeks. He had so much he wanted to get out, but Lumel was sobbing against him so hard, it was all he could do to hold her close and let her get it out of her system. Eventually, after a good couple of minutes, she calmed down, sniffling as she clung to him.

“I’m so sorry,” she started, pressing her face hard enough into his chest he could barely make out her words. “If I had only listened to you… You were right. It’s all my fault.”

“I happened to be right. This one time,” Vin corrected, smiling as he rubbed her back. He hated seeing Lumel in the current state she was in, but after everything he’d recently been through, he was just happy having her back in his arms again. “I’ll be the first person to admit my assumptions were incredibly weak. I mean, a hunch based on fiction from my world, versus us knowing that the artifact contained powerful spatial magic you’d be able to study and learn from? I don’t blame you in the slightest.”

“How?” Lumel asked, sniffling as she pulled back and frowned at him, her eyes bloodshot from crying as they stared into his own. “How can you not be mad at me?! Or upset? You could have died because of me! And even if you didn’t, you spent the last three weeks in a coma! You can’t just pretend like nothing happened!”

“I promise you, I’m not trying to diminish what just happened… but do you have any idea how many times I’ve ‘died’ over the past few months exploring Edregon? I can honestly say I’ve lost count, which really says all there is to say about how familiar with nearly dying I’ve become,” Vin shrugged. “I seriously don’t think you have any real need to apologize, but if it makes you feel better, I forgive you. None of this makes me love you any less.”

He wasn’t sure if that was the right thing or the wrong thing to say, because Lumel’s eyes filled with fresh tears and he spent another few minutes holding onto her as she cried.

“Okay,” she eventually sniffed. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she gave him a weak smile and wiped her eyes on her sleeves. “I swear, I think I got that out of my system. You’re seriously okay? Golrim kept going on about how we needed to ‘prepare for the worst,’ and everyone seemed to understand what he was saying. Is my world the only one where people being possessed or taken over by demons isn’t a thing that happens?!”

“I think they just wanted to ensure they were ready for whatever happened when I woke up. There’s a saying I always liked on my world that goes: prepare for the worst but hope for the best. That mindset got me through a lot of tough times while wandering the country on my own.”

“I’m just so relieved you’re alright,” she whispered, squeezing him hard enough he was glad he’d tossed those last three points into vigor before leaning up and kissing him hard on the lips. Vin was more than happy to return the kiss, but when Lumel’s fingers wrapped around the bottom of his shirt, he stopped her with a pained smile.

“So I’m totally fine, though there might be one other thing you should know before anything else happens.”

He ran her through everything from start to finish with Ovord. How he’d spent ages battling against the mage. How he’d forced the man to come to an agreement thanks to his magic staff. And finally, how he was now carrying him along inside him. He’d been afraid Lumel would be freaked out by the fact that he had a sliver of Ovord’s soul within his mana at that very moment, but to his surprise, she didn’t seem to think it was that big of a deal.

“It’s basically like what you did with Alka, albeit with a mage instead of a ghost,” she pointed out. “From the way you explained it, it sounds as though Ovord’s basically lost all of his power. And we know he lost at least most of it, or the Gods wouldn’t have let him come over to Edregon to begin with, trapped in that orb or not. It doesn’t matter how skilled he might be, he simply doesn’t have the power to really do much of anything. And it’s not like he can mess with your soul, we’ve already established the Survivor title protects the soul from when Tiffany remained herself during the meriders’ merger process.”

“That’s a good point,” Vin nodded. “Not that I was regretting what I’d done, but thanks for the reminder. Still, you’re not freaked out by any of this?”

“I mean, I’m probably not going to kiss you when he’s in your head,” Lumel giggled, leaning forward and giving him a soft kiss. “But when he’s holing up within your mana pool, it’s not like he can see what you see, right?”

“No, it’s just like when we use Introspection,” Vin confirmed, somehow understanding that from his own title.

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“Then there you go. You’re not the type to allow yourself to be swayed by some bad actor whispering things in your ear, and to be honest, I think you’re right. Obviously we know next to nothing about Ovord right now, but it’s far too soon to start thinking of him as any sort of ‘dark mage’ or the like. I’m beyond mad at him for what he tried to do to you, but logically, if I’d been betrayed and trapped within darkness for who knows how many centuries…” Lumel paused, shaking her head as she sighed. “I’d probably do whatever it took to get out as well. Being trapped within my people’s city was bad enough, but a tiny sphere with nothing to do but think about the past… It truly was a fate worse than death he was suffering.”

“I’m with you there, I can’t even imagine what he must have gone through. It’s because of that I’m giving him a second chance at all. That said, I’m definitely planning to try to get to know him a little better before I start moving ahead with trying to find him a body like we did Alka,” Vin confirmed. “Though that’s enough about me for now. How goes your super-secret tier-5 spell? Still not planning to tell me about it?”

“When I’m this close to actually finishing it? No way,” Lumel giggled. “I can’t wait to see the look on your face. Though I’ve been working on this one for so long, I don’t even know what I’m going to do once I’m done.”

“You know, I have a suggestion on that front,” Vin smiled, casting Dimensional Sheath and holding out the empty orb that popped into his hand to her. “Still want to study this thing?”

“You still have it?” Lumel gasped, her eyes going wide as she stared at the orb. It wasn’t just an artifact imbued with spatial magic. It was a grand artifact imbued with spatial magic. Lumel clearly understood just how rare and valuable such a thing was, because she reached out, her fingers hesitating before carefully closing around it as she pulled it close. “I’d assumed it would disintegrate or become inert after you defeated the magic stuck inside. I never would have thought it was still in one piece!”

“I wouldn’t worry about damaging it,” Vin chuckled, watching as she cradled it like a newborn to her chest. “Seeing as the mages that shoved Ovord in there wanted to trap him for all eternity, I’ve got a hunch it can take a hit. Don’t forget, the sealed box we found it in was rigged to blow, so at the very least, it can withstand a pretty powerful explosion.”

“I’m going to be able to learn so much from this,” Lumel muttered, finally managing to tear her eyes away from the artifact as she beamed at him. “Thank you, Vin. For forgiving me… for this… for being you. You truly are my water and my soul.”

“One of these days I’m going to need to come up with my own sappy stuff to make you turn as red as I am,” Vin said, scratching at his neck as he felt his face heat up. “But I’m glad you’re happy. I’m sure me going anywhere is the last thing you want at the moment, so I’m more than happy to do it here. But I think I want to have a quick chat with Ovord if that’s alright. Just to check in on him and lay down some ground rules.”

“I would in fact feel a lot more comfortable if you stayed and did it here,” Lumel admitted, blushing slightly as she reached out and took his hand. “Not to be clingy, but…”

“I don’t think that’s clingy after I spent the last few weeks in a coma,” he chuckled, giving her one more hug. “I promise, I’m just slipping into Introspection. I’ll be back in a little bit.”

With Lumel’s blessing, Vin squeezed in next to her in her big, comfy chair as he closed his eyes. When he next opened them, he was standing within the dark void of his own mana pool.

Where he was greeted by Ovord’s well-dressed form lying splayed out on his back, the mage staring aimlessly up into the void.

“Ovord?” Vin asked, hesitantly walking over and peering down at the man. “You doing alright?”

This close, Vin was able to better see just how sharp the man’s features were. He hadn’t noticed before, but Ovord’s appearance was almost too perfect. From his impeccable outfit to his flawlessly symmetrical face and chiseled features, the man looked like he should be working as a fashion model rather than a mage.

“Am I doing alright?” Ovord repeated, letting out a world-weary sigh as he continued staring up into nothing. “Well… I’m still waiting on that pamphlet you mentioned, but it sounds like the world I once knew and everyone on it is dead and gone. The only two things that have kept me going these past few centuries… a desire to see the real world once more and enact my revenge on those who trapped me within that orb… are both now either done or impossible to complete. Oh, and the man I am functionally a soul prisoner of is in fact far stronger and more important than I originally expected, which means any hopes I had of somehow managing to subtly influence you or take over your body from within your own title have been thoroughly dashed. I would say I am far from alright.”

“…You’re seriously just going to admit that you tried to backstab me and take control of my soul?” Vin asked, sitting beside the man. “Did you already forget I said I’d find a way to destroy you if you tried?”

“Why not? There’s no point to anything anymore. All I’ve done is trade one prison for another. Sure, this one has a pretty window, but also an active jailer who could probably find a way to kill me at any moment. Hard to call that an upgrade, don’t you think? I am a mere shadow of who I once was. Forget taking over your body or even swaying your actions, it’s a miracle I can even do this much,” Ovord mumbled. The mage waved a hand lazily, and Vin’s eyes widened in shock as two more System notifications popped into existence before him, each one far more important than any old skill increase.

Title Evolution! Human Vessel (Lesser) has evolved into Human Vessel. Reward: 30% of inhabitant’s stats added to your own while serving as a vessel. Allows inhabitant partial body merger for one minute three times a day.

Title Evolution! Common Ally (Minor) has evolved into Common Ally (Lesser). Reward: Gain a deeper innate understanding of other races.