Poisoned Rationality

-Nyx-

I let out a long sigh as I slumped into my seat.

“Did it not go well?” Ariana asked softly. I shook my head in reply.

“I’m just tired,” I explained, leaning against her shoulder.

The rest of that day was very boring. But, as it always does, night rolled around.

“Tonight’s the night we get to visit Stella!” Ria said excitedly. “I’m so excited.”

I’m glad, I thought, smiling.

“Oh, you should tell the group, though,” Ria pointed out. “I don’t think you’ll be able to wake for the watch.”

Good idea, I murmured. Taking a breath, I brought the issue up with the group.

“It’s alright, Nyx,” Nat said. “I would have wanted you to get the rest anyways, after what happened today.” Sarya and Tyler nodded in agreement.

“Thanks,” I murmured shyly, before switching seats with Ariana so she was closer to the outside of the wagon, ready to jump out.

I curled up against her shoulder and soon fell asleep.

…

-Stella-

I was sitting in the front room of my home, working on a painting, when somebody knocked on the front door.

I sighed, setting down the paintbrush, and got up to see who it was. Opening the door, I found my sister Ophelia and the Head Goddess Celeste standing there.

<Hi,> I said. <What are you two doing here?>

“I’m here to check in with you,” Ophelia told me. “I’m not sure what she’s here for.” I sighed and let the two inside.

<So what did you need?> I asked Celeste.

“There’s some things going on you should know about,” She replied. “Nyx and Ria are demigods, correct?” I nodded. “And because Ria is Fated Ones with you, that means that she is guaranteed to become a fully fledged God. Because she and Nyx are headmates, this applies to her as well.” I nodded a second time. “So, if Nyx is going to become a God, that means that her Fated One will also become a God.”

My eyes widened at the implication of that.

“That’s neat,” Ophelia said.

“I suppose,” Celeste grumbled. “The main thing I wanted to talk about is Ariana’s authorities.”

<Do you know them?> I asked.

“Sort of,” The goddess replied. “I have a general idea. However, you cannot tell her, alright?”

<Why not?> I demanded.

“Because if someone else who already knows tells her, then she doesn’t discover it herself, and then it can’t be her authority,” Celeste explained. “You can also tell Nyx and Ria, but only if you explain to them why they can’t tell Ariana either.”

<Fine,> I muttered.

“I have confirmed one of her authorities is Venom,” Celeste said. “Based on all the evidence, it’s highly likely that her second is Storms. I’m not sure of her third, if she has one.”

“How do you know for certain that she has Venom, then?” Ophelia asked.

“It’s… complicated,” Celeste replied. “Do you two know what the Primals are?”

We shook our heads.

“They’re people who embody certain concepts,” The head goddess explained. “Time, Death, and so on. I recently talked with the Primal of Fate.”

“Ah,” Ophelia said.

<That’s… convenient,> I pointed out.

“Perks of being the head goddess,” Celeste replied. “Alright, now that I’ve told you what I needed to, I’m going to go.” She turned around and disappeared instantly. I blinked, surprised at her lack of magic when leaving.

<How did she do that?> I asked.

“She’s a fairy,” Ophelia explained. “So she has access to the kind of magic that’s hard to notice. Pump up the power from being a goddess, and it works on us as well.”

<How come I’ve never seen it before, then?> I wondered.

“Oh, you probably have,” Ophelia said. “You just wouldn’t have noticed.”

<Huh,> I murmured. My sister flopped onto the couch in my front room, spreading out her limbs. I frowned and asked, <Why are you still here? You know today’s my day with Nyx and Ria.>

“That’s part of it,” Ophelia replied. “I need to check in with them. Especially on the fact that there's two of them now.”

<Fine…> I grumbled, flopping next to the tall woman who was my sister. She began to run her hand through my hair, occasionally giving me little scratches behind my ears.

After a little while, I felt the two girls appear in their room. I leapt from the couch and rushed through the short hallway.

“Hi,” Ria said, smiling. I pulled her into a tight hug, making her let out a soft squeak.

<I missed you,> I murmured. She patted my head and curled her tail around me.

“I missed you too,” She told me. I smiled, my own tail beginning to wag happily behind me. Nyx joined the hug and my heart swelled.

After a little bit, the three of us went out into the front room, where Ophelia was still waiting.

“Hello,” She said, waving at the two women that still had their arms around me.

“Hi,” Ria murmured shyly as Nyx waved back.

<Ophelia’s here to check in with you two,> I explained, waving my hands around. <About your soul, or something.>

“Pretty much,” Ophelia added. “I’m not sure how your one soul became two, and I wanted to look into it and make sure you’re not two half souls.”

“That’s fine,” Nyx said. “Go ahead.” My sister instructed the two to sit down on the couch and prepared some magic.

She waved her hands around Nyx’s head first, weaving a strange cocoon of magic lines in the air. After a moment, she let that sit, the lines flaring brightly before fading.

She then did the same to Ria, before weaving a smaller conjoined structure around the two of them.

“Hmm…” She murmured. “That’s odd. It’s like your soul went through mitosis and became two identical ones, except they also have very slight differences.”

“What’s mitosis?” Ria wondered.

“It’s when something splits into two identical copies,” Ophelia explained. “It’s a complex science concept. Kind of.” She waved her hands. “Anyways, that’s not the most interesting bit.”

<What is, then?> I asked.

“It’s the nature of your souls,” She replied, indicating Ria and Nyx. She pointed at Nyx as she continued, “Yours is dipped in some kind of inky-black substance.”

The two sisters shared a look, and Ophelia raised an eyebrow.

“That’s probably void,” Nyx said. “It’s a thing I have control over. One of my authorities, as well.”

“An authority?” Ophelia asked. “Didn’t you already have three?”

“We lost our authority over the Forest,” Ria replied. “And gained one over void. I can use it too, but Nyx is a lot better at it.”

“Very interesting,” Ophelia murmured. “Your soul has a tiny portion with this void coating it, but most is untouched.” After a moment of silent thought, she sighed. “Alright, I’ll look into this. Have a good night, you three.”

I waved goodbye and she opened a portal, stepping through into her home.

Then the rest of us found a comfy spot on the couch to curl up. Ria grabbed a thick blanket and pulled it over our bodies, forming a warm cocoon around us.

<How close are you to your next set of memories?> I asked.

“Kind of close?” Ria replied. “We’re level 15 right now, and we need to get to level 20.”

“Hopefully the dungeon will let us get there quickly,” Nyx added. I sighed softly.

“Don’t worry,” Ria murmured softly, patting my head. “We’ll get there.”

<Yeah, I know,> I said. <I miss spending all day with you.>

“I do too,” Ria told me. “I do too.”

<I’m going to have to leave for a while, tomorrow morning,> I said, sighing sadly. <It’s a big important God thing, and I won’t be able to talk to either of you.> Ria made a sad noise, and I patted her head.

“How long will you take?” Nyx asked.

<Only a week or two,> I replied. <Don’t worry. I’ll be back as soon as I can.>

The three of us cuddled together as the twins started getting tired. I put my arms around Ria and tried to sleep as well.

As I began to fall asleep, I decided not to tell Nyx and Ria about Ariana’s authorities. It could wait another time.