Chapter 73 - Soul Sense
"Auram," Drahk said.
In the blink of an eye, he was away from the rest of his group, up on a giant tree branch, hidden from anyone's line of sight.
"What brings you here?" Drahk said. For how strong his presence was, his voice was disarming to a fault. He was the opposite of Liesel in that regard. Her neutral tone would put even her closest ally on edge, not that she considered anyone as such.
Auram regarded him for a moment before she opened her mouth.
"I was in the Primordial Core too."
Drahk frowned. "But you were..."
"I found a way in, but because of the time dilation... I couldn't come back out."
"I am glad to see you are well," he nodded.
"Yeah..." Auram took an audible breath, an unnecessary act that she emulated from humans. It helped with the conversation, intrinsically. "You asked Liesel to leave the village."
"If you are here to ask me to change my decision, then I cannot help you. The bloodshed seems inescapable should your friend remain our guest. I'd rather avoid it."
"It's the last thing she'd ever do," Auram said defensively. "Liesel never starts a quarrel."
"That I can see. But I doubt anyone is so benevolent as to shrug after the hundredth time their toe is stepped on. She is too strong, and I'd rather not know what her patience slipping would look like, especially as she lives and breathes among so many of our innocent brethren."
Auram wanted to point out there were no circumstances where Liesel would hurt a bystander, no matter how dire the situation may be. But she decided to move on. Her goal was not to attest to her friend's character.
"She understands your reasoning," Auram said. "What I want to talk about is... Arval."
Drahk nodded slowly, as his eyes wandered to a distant tree. "I am listening."
Maybe because Auram was a spirit, Drahk didn't just leave. Even that privilege she was willing to use for Arval's sake.
"Your Elder..."
"Do not speak ill of her," Drahk warned, half-heartedly.
"Well, I will. She is using some magic on a child," Arval said. "Even if you don't find her blaming someone using my people's tragedy to be a line too far, what she has done to Arval should be."
"I do not know what leads you to arrive at this conclusion, but I assure you Elder Ahura's entire life has been dedicated to her children. Never would she do anything that harms us."
"Yeah, right, like sending half a dozen of your Pathstriders into this place and you had to argue that would have them all killed because she was paranoid about a certain someone."
"She is wise beyond our considerations," Drahk said. "Her decision may have been the right one. It is her benevolence to entertain my inapt demands."
"You lie," Auram said. "I can feel that even you don't believe your false words. You know she is wrapped around that smiling frog's finger. He might as well be the only elder in the village as things stand. But he's weaker than you. The Pathstriders will follow you if you explain your reasoning."
"Again, you speak ill of Elder Ahura, Auram," Drahk said. "I am duty-bound to capture you if you keep up the act. Please refrain from it."
"Is that all you are gonna say?" Auram sighed. "At least, give me the reason why you chose to be this way? Why would you not do anything to change the fate of your Caravan when you possess the strength to do so?"
"Elder Ahura gives us the techniques to weave the fabric that we use. A divine technique that mortals cannot learn. Only she can pass that knowledge as a piece of her soul. It remains in our being," Drahk said. He sounded even more defeated. "What does our village become if we do not have the way to weave the primordial energy into substances? Even if I can miraculously convince my people that Elder Ahura no longer has our best interests in mind, we will be left with nothing. Worse than that, we will starve to death in a matter of days, or perhaps the first Ashstorm would claim all our lives, as even the barrier that protects our village is her gift."
Auram couldn't just tell them to leave the realm and find a place in the real world. No way all the people of the village would survive that journey, even if all the Sand Centipedes were gone and Ashstorms stopped. Still, it was wrong, and again, Auram wondered why the world had to be this way.
"I didn't think of that."
"I do not blame you," he said. For a moment, the mask on his face slipped. Auram could see the pulsing rage in his eyes, but it was gone as soon as it appeared. "It is understandable that you care for Arval. I have no right to claim such. But I do understand it."
Auram tried to smile; what else could she even say? It was no longer a matter of convincing him. He was equally angry that he had no way of saving Arval. He was just as powerless as Auram, even with all his might.
"I am sorry," Auram said. If the Ashlord is gone, would he accept her reasoning?
"You were worried, and that is an admirable trait," Drahk said. "If you really wish to save her, you should talk to your friend. I am duty-bound to my people."
Auram blinked.
—-------
Liesel was falling. It felt odd. This was not memory. Her body was her own. A mere illusion, it would seem.
The Mindeater, if it was anything more than the instinct of the blood, was weak, far too weak to be a threat.
If all this blood just amounted to this...
Tendrils of darkness approached her body as if to swallow her.
Something in her was oddly quiet, naturally resisting the coercion of the Mindeater's magic. The tendrils never quite touched her, repelled by an invisible Aura. Of course, there was a component of mental exhaustion somewhere in the mix. It was an act of her powers on a subconscious level, akin to closing your eyes when bright light flashes into it, but far more advanced and strong.
She let go of the sword in her hand. The darkness vanished. She was back in the tent, sitting there without any change in her being.
She exhaled, massaging her forehead. A headache was blooming from the subconscious use of her power. I don't understand half of my powers, and the half I do is imbalanced. I am a mess. And still, this is a blessing. I am stronger than I ever was. I am more vulnerable than I ever was, both in body and mind.
Stolen story; please report.
She picked the sword up again and used the Soul Sense. This time, however, she felt the lingering presence of something, a tiny, wiggling worm. Nothing more. No voice greeted her.
Did you exhaust yourself?
Liesel frowned. Or was that a creation of my mind? No, that can't be right. The illusion was tangible, not a brief flash. So, whatever remains of the Mindeater is able to pull me into an illusion, but that seems to have exhausted all its reserves.
The problem with that conclusion was that her sword had absorbed too much blood for it to be just that little flash. Either the weapon had consumed the rest in its Reforge, or the Mindeater had used it to become that tiny sliver of existence. If that was the case, it would not be a soul worth squashing in hundreds of years.
Or it had used the energy while being held by Fiya or... only Fiya, I imagine. Saaranam was unbothered. Used the energy to split its soul, possible, and then leech onto Fiya's soul.
Liesel found Fiya in the larger tent.
"Fiya," she called.
The mage looked at her curiously.
"Can I have you for a minute?"
"You can't stay away from her for a minute?" Charbil asked, raising a brow. "I heard you threatened Saaranam and the elder to set her free."
"I'd have done the same had it been you," Liesel said.
"Heh, I don't buy it." He gestured at the rest. "Neither do they. Clearly, she is your favourite among the team."
"I do not believe I owe a proof of my character to anyone," Liesel said. "Fiya, would you mind coming with me?"
Fiya nodded, hurried climbing to her feet.
"It was just a jest." Charbil smiled. "I know you'd never abandon us."
Liesel didn't react. To deny would only fracture their trust, and to affirm would be a lie. A leader who cannot abandon one of his aides when necessary was nothing but a failure.
"What is this about?"
"My sword," Liesel said.
"What about it?" Fiya settled on the mat. "I assure you I didn't try to use it."
"It harbours an ill being. A creature that wishes to live still, and I am worried that it may have tried to escape the blade and latched onto you."
Fiya frowned. She shook her head. "I don't feel anything wrong, except for the slight mental toll. It will be gone in a day or two."
"I trust you. Yet, I am worried it was sinister enough to hide its malice." Liesel offered her hand. "Can I assess your soul?"
Fiya held herself from outright denying it. Anyone would. "I don't think that's necessary. I'd be able to feel if something was wrong."
"I trust you," Liesel said. "But I am responsible for my blade, and I feel I should make sure, lest it becomes a problem later on. If you are not comfortable, that is completely fine. We can find a different way to be assured once we have found a way out of prison."
"I... trust you," Fiya said. "It's just..."
"If you are worried about what I might see, you have my word I will never mention it, under any circumstances."
"And I don't need proof of your character," Fiya uttered.
Liesel shrugged. The other way might require a trusted healer who could appraise the soul. They were bound by myriad oaths, rendering them incapable of abusing their knowledge of persons.
"How will you do it?"
"I can see souls, though barely."
Fiya blinked, nodding. She offered her hand. "I don't want it to weigh on your conscience. We are in a difficult situation as it is."
"Even as the person asking it, I don't think you have your priorities right." Liesel accepted the hand still, before Fiya could change her mind.
There was an ulterior reason. She was curious whether or not she could extend her Soul Sense and see someone else's soul in its entirety—the Soul Core, the Materiality, and the Veins.
"If you are willing to expose one of your secret skills for my sake, I can't help but take the situation as grave beyond my comprehension." Fiya's lips curled up.
It was not that. Liesel didn't think, at this point, hiding trivial things from Fiya meant much. She may be wrong about that.
Liesel activated the Soul Sense. And as she used the physical connection to inch it outward, something struck her mind. Her head ached with a pang. She immediately let go of Fiya's hand.
"I... am... sorry!" Fiya uttered in panic. The words echoed between the hissing in Liesel's ears.
After a moment, Liesel could focus again. It took another minute for her to regain her ability to speak. The backlash had quite literally scrambled her mental fortitude.
"It must be scarier than I thought."
"Not scary," Fiya shook her head. "It was like I... don't know. I was aware of something I didn't know. My mind didn't want to experience it, so it tried to push away the impinging sensation."
Liesel nodded. "It is the first time I am using it on someone who's not aware of their soul. It would appear to be more complicated than I imagined. We can try one more time if you are willing."
"What if you get hurt?" Fiya said unsurely. "I have never seen you so rattled."
"It is just backlash of a skill, nothing more," Liesel smiled.
The second attempt was worse. As if Fiya had prepared her mind to bash the intruder with a sledgehammer, and this time with intent to kill her.
Liesel lay on her back, waiting for the backlash to recede. She couldn't even gather her thoughts for a while. It was just blankness.
The Soul Sense was not supposed to be used on another, Liesel concluded, unless she was invited. She couldn't just ask, and on some level, coerce another to participate.
That's a severe limitation of the ability. I'd have an easier time using Soul Unravelling on someone than seeing their soul. Guess that should be expected. The fact that there is an evolutionary capacity to resist it says everything about the heretical act I am performing. Or rather, the dangerous nature it possesses.
"It's not going to work," Fiya said, once Liesel's ears stopped ringing. "I don't understand how I did that."
"No worries," Liesel said. "It is, I believe, a manifestation of your apprehension, even if you feel pressured into accepting my proposal."
Fiya shook her head, paused, and then said, "Maybe... I don't know how I am supposed to control my feelings. I'm always resistant to everything."
"Let's not do it again. It might work after a few more tries, perhaps. But I don't want to experience another recoil. I might be an inch away from permanent mental harm."
"Yeah," Fiya bobbed her head in relief. "That might be for the best. What kind of creature was in the sword that has you so worried?"
Liesel raised her brow. "I told you earlier."
Fiya frowned. Her eyes widened as she remembered their conversation earlier. "How... how would you kill such a thing?"
Liesel's lips curled into a smile. "As you may or may not know...the Mindeater is all just one spell, and one moment to strike it dead."
Fiya's eyes still betrayed a doubt. And that doubt would linger still if Fiya were to witness it with her own eyes.
"It may have been a creature imitating a Mindeater," Liesel said. "I cannot know. Its illusion was perfect."
Fiya nodded. That was a good enough explanation for the mage.
Even after all I have done, this is still the most impossible achievement.
Worse still was the fact that, even with her impossibly high capacity, if she were to slay the Mindeater today, she would not be able to affix the actual title. Only the lesser one because of her lack of Materiality.
Auram teleported in front of her face. "I have the permission."
"Permission for what?" Liesel asked, propping herself up.
Fiya observed the spirit curiously.
"To save Arval," Auram said.
"Arval?" Fiya asked.
Liesel sighed. "Auram will explain after she tells me what saving Arval means."
"It means Drahk will not stand in opposition if you do save her. He told me if you want to save her, ask your friend. Not me."
"And I am that friend?"
"Yeah."
"Then, we will have to wait until we are finished with our quest. Once I have a path to escape this realm, we can consider that possibility."
"After that, we will save her, right?" Auram asked.
Liesel wondered how frustrated Auram must be with her own powerlessness. The fact that she had to negotiate with Drahk and her to save Arval.
To that end, perhaps out of pity, Liesel couldn't bring herself to spell out the myriad problems that would arise.
"Yes," Liesel said. "We have to be rational in our steps, Auram. I am no Custodian. The moment I come out of line, we will have a hundred Pathstriders, led by Drahk, on our tail."
"He said—"
"He asked you to let me know that he is not at odds with reality, but he also makes it clear he is bound to the Elder's decisions, no matter what that looks like. He may not unleash everything he has, but he will have to put up a convincing act."
Auram nodded. "It won't be enough. Not against you."
Liesel grinned. "Of course, it would never be enough. For now, you must endure."
"It is not I who endures," Auram sighed. She explained her entire conversation with Drahk.
"A piece of her soul, a divine technique," Liesel considered for a moment. "Utter nonsense. If someone can use it and do so while not even being an Ascendant, that means the technique is rudimentary. I think a likelier explanation is that she is passing the knowledge within a seal that can only be accessed by her soul, which renders it completely useless in her absence."
"Then, is there something we can do?"
"No," Liesel shook her head. "I am not a Rune Scholar to be able to unravel the knowledge without Elder Ahura's soul. There might be a self-destructive aspect to it... but it is not all bad. If anything, this might work in our favour."
"How?" Auram asked.
"You will see," Liesel said. Her intentions, however, were not aligned with Drahk at all. Drahk supporting Auram's idea of saving the child meant Arval would be stuck with Liesel, away from her people and family. A responsibility thatLiesel had no intention of undertaking.
There was another way.