Kanin Fyre: Chapter 31 - Pockets and Prisons

It feels weird to go about life without Zyneth around, but the Fyrethians find plenty to do to keep me busy.

When Fyre learns all of my body is made of Attuned glass, she manufactures some more for me to add to my collection, seeming to conjure it out of thin air. Apparently, her remnant, The Dungeon Core, is responsible, able to alter the state of the matter it’s previously consumed. Creepy, but also extraordinarily useful. When I have time to myself, I Attune it and then begin to etch and Sculpt the strengthening spell circles Caesius and I designed into each new piece. For now, I keep all my glass Chained together in one Inventory slot, so I can leave the other three free for clothes or whatever else I might need them for, but the ball is getting so large and unwieldy now, and it’s starting to take a good amount of mana to Chain and unChain it all, that I might start thinking about dividing it between two slots.

I spend more of my time practicing spells and trying to level up. I’m right at the threshold of 30, and though Echo has informed me that I don’t get anything special like a class upgrade, I will get a boost in my mana stores. I’d like to unlock that before my celestial infiltration if I can.

“Aquenno,” I call one day at the training grounds. Mirzayael is off busy with other work, but her guards are happy to spar with me whenever I ask. “Want to fight?”

The nereid raises a skeptical eyebrow. “Why?”

“For practice,” I say. Not to mention, it would be good to size up just how powerful he really is. I’ve fought other people around his level; is a champion level 40 different from a non-champion level 40? Only one way to know.

“I don’t need the practice,” Aquenno says.

“Aw, come on,” I needle him. “How many remnants have you had a chance to fight before today?” No, really, I’d love to know the answer to that question. Fyre thinks he’s a newly ascended champion, so this info could be pretty useful going forward.

Not that I expect to win this watch, as Zyneth and Mirzayael can still a challenge for me, and they’re both 10 levels lower than Aquenno. But hey, it’s worth a shot.

Aquenno regards me with a thoughtful frown. “I am not here to participate in play fights.”

“No, you’re here to spy on me,” I say, causing his frown to deepen. Look, I know I shouldn’t antagonize the people who I want on my side, but I can’t help it. He is here to spy on me. “And if it’s your job to ensure I’m not a threat, then wouldn’t evaluating my combat abilities help with that?”

Ink is eagerly listening in, not daring to interrupt me. It really wants a chance to play-fight with this nereid.

He’s not Gillow, I remind Ink.

Close enough.

No, I say. Bad void monster.

Ink ignores the scolding. Maybe I need to find a dog trainer or something to help with Ink. I wonder if Sandro could help. He has experience training stubborn carnivores with sharp teeth.

“Alright,” Aquenno says to my surprise. “I’ll indulge you. You can expect this to be the only time, however.”

Heh, nice try; I can see right through him. He was hooked by the idea the moment I suggested it would benefit Blair. If all champions are so transparent, I might be able to weasel my way around them, after all.

We take one of the empty sparring rings and step inside its bounds. Ink reaches to take control, but I hold it back. Give me a minute with him first, I think. Ink starts to protest. You’ll still get your fight, I assure it. Let him get used to my fighting style, first. Then maybe we can surprise him when you take over.

Ink accepts this as a tolerable compromise.

 “You’re the Champion of Wards, right?” I ask. Aquenno doesn’t appear to have any weapons, but then again, neither do I. “What was that Tournament like? Whoever builds a wall first wins?”

Aquenno’s eye twitches. “I can assure you it was far more involved than that.”

“Yeah?” I start to circle around the ring, and Aquenno moves the opposite direction. “What did you have to do, then? Come on, no reason not to tell me—the results of Gods’ Tournaments are public knowledge, aren’t they?”

Yet, in the brief research I’ve done into the gods’ champions with the books in Fyre’s library, I haven’t found any mention of Blair, Aquenno, or any type of ‘God of Wards.”

He frowns. You know, I don’t think I’ve seen the guy smile once. He’s grumpier than Rezira and Mirzayael put together.

The champion raises a hand, and a trident forms out of water, materializing in the air before his grasp. He takes hold of the weapon. A trident? Really? Seems a bit cliché. “You’re trying to antagonize me.”

I laugh. “Man, I’m trying to get to know you.” Which isn’t a lie; I am curious to know more about him. How did he become Blair’s champion? And more importantly—when?

Aquenno darts forward, weapon raised. “She didn’t hold a traditional Tournament,” he replies, stabbing the trident toward my torso. I grab the glass and yank my body to the side, unnaturally moving out of the weapon’s reach. “Tournaments are favored, but not required. Blair hand selected me for my abilities.”

Interesting. And kinda sus. I send a flurry of glass spheres his way; I might be able to repair my body, but I can’t assume the same for Aquenno. Better to leave him bruised than cut up. “Blair’s not much for tradition, is she? Does she have some history with Lorata, too?”

Aquenno’s eyes narrow, and he deflects the orbs with rapid and precise sweeps of his trident. Then he points it at me, and a bolt of lightning burst from the weapon. It hits me before I can even react. Ink hisses as the electricity stings our void, causing the fluid-like substance to puff into a dark mist instead. It doesn’t destroy the void, but it does make it loose its solid form, and it can take a few minutes for it to coalesce once more. My glass, on the other hand, is entirely unaffected.

The champion frowns. “That usually ends the fight.”

“Sorry,” I call, knocking a hand against my chest. “Glass is electricity proof.” I neglect to mention that it’s actually pretty effective against void.

“Hmph.” Aquenno rests the trident against his shoulder as he regards me. “I don’t know what information you’re fishing for, but you won’t find it from me. Blair is entirely faithful to the Heavens.”

Busted. But I’m not about to give up that easily. I grab the deflected spheres and launch them back at Aquenno, this time coming at him from every direction. “Yeah, entirely faithful. Is that why she’s going behind Lorata’s back and working with Shirasil to help people like me?”

A dome flickers to life around Aquenno, and my attacks crash into it, forced to a jarring stop. He flicks a hand in my direction next, and I dodge to the side—and promptly crash into a wall that’s formed in front of me. The opalescent dome begins to surround me, and I rush the other way, trying to slip under—

The barrier seals with the ground, locking me in.

Ink growls. See? This is what happens when I don’t let it fight!

Aquenno looks quite smug.

“Well this is hardly a sparring match,” I remark, tapping at the barrier. I doubt it’s as strong as the one Blair trapped me in, but it seems sturdy enough. “It’s barely been thirty seconds.”

“Not much different from your first match with Lord Mirzayael,” Aquenno says.

Oh, so we’re being cheeky, are we? “At least I dumped her out of the sparring ring. What are we supposed to do now? Seems like a stalemate.”

Aquenno smiles, and neither Ink or I like that look. “I’m glad you asked; you can always admit defeat.”

The dome begins to shrink.

Dammit. I shouldn’t have asked.

I press my glass against the barrier, trying to dig sharp edges into the force field. I can almost feel it give, unlike Blair’s unyielding wall, and I throw all my weight into it. The barrier stretches. It warps around my glass fragments. I try to push even harder, and a hairline crack stabs through one of my glass pieces.

[1 Point Crushing damage self-inflicted.]

Shoot. I stop trying to cut through the shield and pull back, trying to reassess. Meanwhile, the barrier continues to shrink around me.

“Just because Blair wants to help those in need doesn’t mean she isn’t also loyal to the Heavens,” Aquenno says, casually replying to my earlier remark as I scramble to find a way out. “The Heavens’ first priority is to protect this world and ensure our survival. Blair also believes in this cause. She simply believes this can also be done by allowing certain Travelers to be free.”

“Yeah, certain ones,” I reply, still trying to find a way out. I dig some of my glass into the dirt, but like with Blair’s barrier, it extends beneath the ground, too. I’d gotten out of Blair’s barrier before because some of my void was already outside of it, so I could Displace my core out. Not an option right now. But I do have more options today than I did when I was captured by Blair.

“Of course,” Aquenno says, planting the sharp end of his trident in the ground as he watches me struggle. “Those who don’t pose a threat should be free to live their lives. But those who are a danger to the world should be contained. Did your world not also have some form of incarceration?”

“Yeah, and it sucked.” Last time, I had no mana left. Right now, I’ve got a full tank. Last time, I had one empty Inventory slot. But right now, I’ve got four.

I summon my Chained ball of glass from my Inventory—right on the other side of the barrier. Though I need to touch my core to something to add it to my Inventory, when I remove items, they don’t have to be touching me, as long as they’re close by.

Aquenno’s pulls his sphere from the ground, shifting into a defensive stance.

“Innocent people sometimes got caught up in it,” I say, launching the glass at Aquenno. He sidesteps the attack, but I circle the massive cluster around to attack him again. “And people would serve more time than they deserved. And sure, some people should have been there, but that system ruined more lives than it protected.”

“Then you should understand Lord Blair’s perspective,” Aquenno says. He holds up his trident with both hands and uses it to brace against my strike. Unlike a god, though, Aquenno is clearly affected by its force, and he grunts, digging his heels in, as I push the glass into him. His feet begin to slide across the dirt. Just as he’s near the edge of the circle, he pivots to the side, deflecting my glass past him retreating toward the ring’s center. Hey, I might stand a chance here.

Except the barrier continues to press in around me. I crouch down to avoid it.

Ink paces my mind in frustration. We need to get out of here. It does not like being trapped. We need to defeat that man! Why won’t I let it take control?

Because there’s nothing you could do from in here, I think.

And then, I have an idea.

Actually…

“Lord Blair also wants to see as many of you free as possible,” Aquenno continues, breathing a little harder than he had before. I add my body to my Inventory, and Ink’s void catches my core before it can fall. “But those who are not in control of their remnant—those who would succumb to its influence and attack others—cannot be allowed to walk free. Like that remnant Yedzaquib attempted to integrate. It consumed its first host, and it would have consumed him, too, had Blair not intervened.”

“Shame,” I say flatly, summoning my body outside the barrier. It stumbles, and I struggle to prop it upright. Without void, it’s significantly more difficult to control each independently moving limb. “Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Hey, what do you mean by ‘integrate’? What was Yedzaquib trying to do?”

Alright, Ink, I say. Ready to go fight Aquenno?

It swirls with annoyed relief. Finally! It has wanted to do that the whole time. Can I let it take control now?

Sure, I think. But that won’t get you outside. I nervously glance at the barrier, which is still shrinking around us. Another few seconds and it wouldn’t have even been big enough for my body. If we want to get your void outside, we’ll have to do it the same way we got our glass out there.

It takes Ink a moment to process my idea. Then its anger crashes into me.

No! It will not be put back in the Inventory. It will never go back there!

It’s just temporary, I think, pushing back against Ink’s crushing fury. It’s just so I can get some of our void outside—

Ink isn’t listening. It’s pinned my mind down, ready to take me over at the slightest hint I intend to go through with my threat.

It’s not a threat—

Its mind is a maelstrom of anger, but beneath it are undercurrents of fear and betrayal. It’s terrified of being sealed away once more. It can’t risk spending eternity in the dark.

I try to convey that that’s not what I mean, that this isn’t a trick and I’m not trying to seal it away, but its threads of fear are infecting me as well. As I struggle to push back against its influence, alarm jolts through me as I realize I can’t fight it off. I’m not strong enough—not while its mind is in a frenzy, disrupting my own. Abruptly, I’m thrown back to the moment in Peakshadow when it overwhelmed my mind. Panic floods my mind—from me, from Ink, from the memory—and Ink finally seems to hear my thoughts.

Its grip on me is still tight, its claws sunk into my mind, but it stops trying to suppress my will. It hesitates, beginning to process my intentions. I really wasn’t trying to imprison it.

That’s what I’ve been saying the whole time, I snap, panic starting to fade from both my and Ink’s minds.

“Kanin?” Aquenno calls. The force field has stopped shrinking, and my glass body and Chained sphere have both collapsed to the ground. He actually sounds faintly concerned.

“We surrender,” I call as Ink eases its pressure off of my mind. It’s too tangled in its own thoughts to realize I just forfeit the match. The barrier is now only twice the size of our core, uncomfortably claustrophobic. “Can you dispel the field? It made Ink panic.”

Well, technically I made Ink panic, but I’m not going to tell Aquenno that.

The barrier dissolves into motes of light around us as Aquenno strides our way. His frown is tinged with a hint of worry, but he stops a healthy distance back. “I didn’t realize it would react to confinement that way.”

I start to pick my body back up and reattach the void so it functions properly. “I doubt many people like being imprisoned. And Ink doesn’t understand the world with as much nuance as we do. I knew it was a practice match, but Ink just felt cornered.” I slot my core back into my chest. “How do you think the remnants imprisoned in the Heavens feel about it? I doubt they’ll think highly of the gods after this. Ideas like ‘this is for your own good’ aren’t really concepts they seem to grasp.”

“Which is why Lord Blair wants as many of them free as possible,” Aquenno insists.

“So then why not let them out?” I pick myself up and dust off my jacket. “What’s stopping her from doing the right thing?”

Aquenno’s expression clouds over. “She would be imprisoned herself. Lorata’s will cannot simply be disobeyed without consequence. But if Blair can gather enough evidence to support her case, if she can find enough Travelers like you and Fyre, she can present it to the Heavens and hope that they change their rule as a result.”

Sounds like a pretty flimsy plan to me. “And how long is that supposed to take?”

Aquenno shakes his head. “I wish I could say. Perhaps once all the Travelers are found and evaluated.”

“How many has she currently evaluated?”

Aquenno hesitates.

“Come on, man,” I say, exasperated. “If you want me to go with her plan, I need to know what to expect.”

“Not counting the twenty-four currently incarcerated Travelers, Blair has met and evaluated seven Travelers, three of which have remnants.”

I do some mental math. “Is that excluding us?”

He grimaces. “Including.”

I scoff. “So besides Me, Fyre, Ollie, and Sandro, she’s only met three other Travelers, and none of those three even have remnants. And it’s been, what, ten months since they arrived here? And there’s still another hundred or so Travelers out there? How long does she expect us to wait—decades?”

“Hopefully it will not come to that,” Aquenno says.

I don’t even know what to say to him. I respect Blair for wanting to help, but this is not nearly enough, and it will take far too long. By the time Blair feels ready to make her case, we all might already be discovered and captured.

I’d been hoping that if she could work something out sooner, I wouldn’t have to go with Shirasil’s plan, but this all but settles it. I’ll break those Travelers out with or without her permission.

“Rematch?” Aquenno asks as I stew in my thoughts.

I shake my head. “If you keep using that barrier then the outcome won’t be any different. Thanks for indulging me, though.”

Aquenno faintly frowns as he stares off into space, then turns his attention back to me with a sigh. “I can see that you really care about this. You seem to treat this as your responsibility to solve, and I respect you for that. Perhaps I treated you too harshly when we first met.”

Huh. That’s more than expected from him. “Is that an apology?”

He smiles wryly. “No. You’re still stubborn and impulsive and I’m sure now more than ever that you’re going to cause more trouble. But I think you’re trying to do good, and for that, I almost like you. In different circumstances, you could have made a decent champion.”

I laugh. “Thanks for the ringing endorsement, but I’m perfectly happy not answering to anyone.”

Aquenno gestures for me to move back into the ring. “Come. I won’t use my barriers this time. I have not yet fully evaluated your abilities—and I’m sure you haven’t finished evaluating mine.”

Heh. I really am as transparent as my glass, sometimes. “If I can’t beat you, I won’t stand a chance against less friendly champions that might come my way.”

“I’m more than willing to help you grow and learn to defend yourself,” Aquenno says. “However, you won’t be able to beat me even without my barriers.”

“We’ll see about that,” I say, following him back into the ring.

Ink, who has slowly recovered from its earlier panic, perks up at the prospect of a fight. Now can I let it fight?

Oh yeah, I tell it. He’s all yours.

The sun sinks toward the horizon as we spar, and short of allowing Ink to stab Aquenno, I let it take the reins; this will be good for it to blow off some of its steam. Even so, Aquenno is able to keep up with us. Our Displace gives him a good run for his money, and he struggles to deflect all our blows when we come at him with eight limbs, but he manages to eek out a win every match. As the shadows grow long, Aquenno is finally breathing hard, but we’ve run out of mana, so we aren’t faring much better.

Finally, the champion calls it. “It will be dark before long. We should postpone further matches until tomorrow.”

“You’re just calling it quits because we’re about to win one,” I say, backing off regardless. Ink smugly agrees; it can tell the nereid has been slowing down. It is only a matter of time now before we prevail!

But to my surprise, Aquenno laughs. “Perhaps. I may be a champion, but I’m still very much mortal.”

You know, in spite of myself, I think I’m starting to like the guy.

As I step out of the circle and start to put my body back together in a mostly humanoid form, Echo speaks up.

[Level Up! Populating new stats.]

[Name: Kanin]

[Class: Arcane Attendant]

[Level: 30]

[HP: 10/10]

[Temp HP: 472]

[Mana: 650/650]

[Role: Homunculus]

Oh, now we could really throw down with Aquenno. It’s too bad we didn’t get that mana refresh in one of our matches. Still, it’ll make fixing our body go a lot faster.

[New skill obtained,] Echo adds. [Pocket Expansion. Inventory slots have increased to six. Range for removing items increased. Range for storing Attuned items increased.]

Storing Attuned items? I ask Echo. What’s that?

[The new range for storing Attuned items is a two-foot radius from the user’s core.]

Wait, that means I won’t have to touch my glass to my core to add it to my Inventory anymore? Hell yeah. All that Inventory work I’ve been doing is finally starting to pay off.

It’s unfortunately that I’ll still need to touch everything else to my core to store it, but hey, I’m not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

As we depart the practice grounds, Aquenno walks at my side—a nice change from him shadowing ever step I take. I consider heading up to Fyre’s library to get some research in until Aquenno heads to bed, but he hasn’t had dinner yet, so I decide to be merciful. I can’t do anything related to my spell circle with him around, but I can at least get more familiar with the Pantheon as I kill time. Maybe he’ll even answer some general knowledge questions for me.

As we climb the streets toward the palace, my mind wanders. Even with Aquenno warming up to me, it’s a bit lonely here without Zyneth. I was never one to have a tight-knit group of friends back on Earth, but I did enjoy partying and socializing, at least. Fyre and Mirzayael are busy with ruler things, Dizzi is sleeping for another few hours, and Ollie is off flying with one of his harpy friends. I suppose I should chat with Sandro one of these days, though I think my presence would frighten him more than anything. Ink sure can be its own handful, but at least it doesn’t give me crippling anxiety.

No, Ink agrees. It is not scared of anything.

The previous panic attack it had experienced at the notion of being put in my Inventory suggests otherwise, but I keep this thought from Ink.

Just as we’re turning to head into the palace, an energetic wave catches my eye. I turn my attention on the gesture, and my soul leaps.

A familiar elvish face beams back at me, and I stop dead in my tracks.

“Kanin!” Noli enthusiastically signs. “I found you!”