Chapter 266: Turn around, bright eyes

“Okay, I guess it’d be hard for me to gain any Skills without being mentally present,” I mutter, feeling my cheeks redden a little at the odd looks Suri and Kaitlynn are directing at me.

I kind of want to say I got distracted by the vegetable-clad Peilor—which is true—but the whole point of why I spoke without thinking was that I wanted to avoid drawing Kaitlynn’s attention back to the looming threat just a couple of floors below us.

“I just kinda figured...” I instead start lamely, “that Skills are a thing of the Yin-Yang Realm, and they only require Lavi and Qi, no Espir, so maybe...”

“Well, that’s an interesting line of thought,” Suri chimes dryly. “But unfortunately, your mindless body proved about as capable of performing Skills as comatose patients on Earth generally are of jumping backflips and shredding halfpipes. Energy manipulation does actually require a mind of some sort to be present.”

“Right, gotcha,” I say, clearing my throat. “Actually, I was wondering, where do the Skills of the Yin-Yang Realm come from? Like, they aren’t mentioned in any of the Laws of Being or Yin-Yang Principles... Did Starmother create them somehow?”

Kaitlynn perks up a little at this question, clearly interested as well.

“To my knowledge, that’s actually a mystery the Peilor have yet to solve,” Suri chimes. “We have many theories. One of the more likely ones—as far as I’m concerned—is that some being from an even higher Realm took control over ours a long time ago and somehow wove them into its structure, before leaving for whatever reason. Anyway, you shouldn’t attach toomuch value to Skills. While the assistance they offer with certain basic energy manipulation abilities is certainly useful, the benefit of that decreases with time and experience. Ultimately, the real powerhouses are the ones who learn how to transcend Skills altogether.”

“Interesting,” I mutter, my brows furrowing. “And what about the prerequisites? I mean, there was this whole thing where Jacob couldn’t learn Breath Control because his Toughness was too low, but then later Loudmouth gained Regeneration without ever learning how to Meditate. What was up with that?”

“Ah yes,” Suri chimes. “The Toughness limitations on some Skills are hard limits, inherent to the Realm and the Skills themselves. They seem implemented to protect beings from accidentally killing themselves through the use of Skills. However, the Skill prerequisites that the producers of Humanity Unleashed put on some Skilldreams—like the one for Regeneration—were mostly meant to prevent wastage of Trial Points. There’s technicallyno reason you can’t learn Heated Glare before Heat Vision, for example; it just doesn’t really make sense to try it.”

“Yeah, I can imagine that pretty well,” Kaitlynn admits. “Maybe you could go straight to Heated Glare from the second level of Heat Vision, but there’s little point. It’d be kinda like learning how to throw a punch before learning how to, just, pushsomething with your hand.”

“Exactly,” Suri chimes. “Similarly there’s no real need to learn how to Meditate before you can start healing your flesh with Lavi, it just makes it far easier to acquire the relatively complex ability. How your Hoig friend managed it I have no clue, other than that your blond friend’s painting must have inspired him somehow.”

“And the Skill merging for Inertia Manipulation?” I ask. “How does that work?”

“It’s something you could’ve done yourself,” Suri chimes, “if you had known how, that is. In one of the earlier versions of the show, there was a rather expensive Skilldream available for purchase to teach participating hosts how to merge certain mergeable Skills, but it’s a tricky thing to actually master, and it didn’t exactly make for exciting television to see hosts try and fail to do so. At some point, the producers decided that this was one of the few things contestants like myself would be allowed to do for our hosts.”

Downstairs, Trisha is just finishing up the Peilor’s tour of her cosy little kitchen, and it seems like they’re preparing to leave—thank Goddess—so I turn my attention back to the conversation right as Kaitlynn asks a question.

“What other things could you have done?”

“Well, I could have used Qi-based Skills myself, of course,” Suri chimes. “Or even mind-melded with Emma to help her use internal Lavi-based Skills—like when I helped her Meditate while walking back in the First Trial.”

“Right I remember that,” I mutter. “You had to request special permission for that, didn’t you?”

“I did,” Suri chimes. “You were very lucky it was granted. I suspect the producers only gave me permission because they felt that, rather than see you simply keel over and perish in the First Trial, it would be more entertaining to see what you would do next. I doubt they expected you to get past the Second Trial either way.”

“Bastards,” I grumble.

A silence falls over the small room as my attention is once again drawn by the Peilor. Because one of them—the carrot—asks if Trisha can’t include an empty upstairs room or something in the tour, as they’d love to see it.

I don’t think they’re looking for anything, but the question still makes me nervous.

Do they suspect she’s hiding something? If they do, we’ll have to relocate to another shelter... Starmother cannot find out that we’re back, not now, before we’ve accomplished anything.

“We really showed them in the end, though, didn’t we?” Suri chimes softly after a moment, pulling me back to the here and now. “A Solith-tier Peilor and a human they’d written off as done for... actually winning the whole season. I have to say, even if I’m deeply sorry for what you were put through... I’m still really proud of what we accomplished. Of what you accomplished.”

Surprised, I turn to find her looking at me with a hint of a smile tugging at her lips.

“I mean it, dear,” she chimes. “I said it before, but the real powerhouses are the ones who manage to transcend their Skills. Those Boreum-armoured clones of yours? Those were fantastic. And when you pulled Inverse Spatial Energy out of your behind at the last second, well... I’d never been prouder of you.”

There’s a sour feeling in my nose. “Proud, huh?” I drawl. “Like the kind of pride you feel when your pet dog learns a new trick?”

“Perhaps a little, yes,” Suri chimes reticently. “I didn’t analyse my feelings at the time. But can you really blame me for that, Emma? It’s how I was taught to think of you, it’s what everyone did. It was in the way other Peilor talked about the show, about humans. The commentators, the judges, the fans... For what it’s worth, I no longer think of you like that at all.”

I let out a sigh, leaning forward to lean my elbows on my knees.

“How do you think of me, then?”

“Fondly, most of the time,” she chimes. “Like someone I wish to be my friend. A real friend, this time.”

I nod slowly. “I see. Well, thanks for explaining.”

“You’re welcome, dear.”

The Peilor downstairs once again draw my attention. Thankfully, this time it’s due to the fact that they’re finallyshowing hints of leaving.

I guess we can almost get out of Suri’s hair then.

But as we’re still here... there’s something I’ve been wanting and dreading to ask for a while now.

I lick my lips, hesitating for a moment longer.

Come on, Emma. Time to bite the bullet.

“Suri,” I start slowly. “Could you tell me about what, exactly, you did with my body?”

Kaitlynn glances at me, seeming a little startled, but then she quietly takes my hand.

“Ah,” Suri chimes awkwardly. “I suppose this conversation has been some time coming, hasn’t it? Well... I guess the first thing I did was learn how to properly control it through nothing but Lavi manipulation—no small feat, I might add—but I’m sure that’s not really what you’re asking.”

I shoot her a tight smile. “Just tell me what you did with it, please.”

“Let’s see,” Suri chimes. “I did, actually, hire a host-trainer for you. It’s an expensive service, but thankfully I had plenty of prize money to work with. I had him pilot your body a while, do some tempering to improve your Yin tolerances, then exercises to further raise your Strength, Toughness, and Agility—everything but Skills, basically.”

With my free hand, I scratch the back of my head, feeling oddly conflicted. On the one hand, I’m not unhappy to have had my stats and Tolerances raised, yet at the same time...

I guess it doesn’t feel as meaningful when I didn’t do it myself?

Shit. Maybe I am a masochist...

But Suri isn’t done yet.

“After that came the... cosmetics.”

I stiffen.

“I actually hired a pretty famous bodyshaper for that,” Suri hurries to assure me. “A Pellucid-tier artist, even. Though I suppose that’s a small comfort...”

“I’m positively thrilled that you didn’t hire an amateur to work on my flesh and bones,” I reply dryly. “Carry on, please.”

“Right. As I mentioned previously, I didn’t put much heart into your look during the show. I stuck to the theme, of course, but the aesthetic competition wasn’t my focus. So after our victory, I had your look redone and improved. Actually, let me just...”

Suri conjures an image before us. It’s, well, me, but not me. For starters, I seem to have four horns now, two curling back down behind my ears, and two towards the back of my head. My skin is still purple, but now covered in pink lines—some kind of tattoos, I reckon. Meanwhile, my right eye has been regrown, and Suri’s cyan form has been moved up to my forehead, where it juts out, looking more like her spiritform, sharply facetted.

“Is that... a tail?” Kaitlynn asks, slightly perturbed.

“Ah—yes,” Suri admits. “They were in vogue when I left. Might be outdated by now, of course...”

I take a deep shuddering breath, as Suri lets the image Fade. “Well, that’s... certainly a new look for me.”

“I did try to keep it tasteful,” Suri chimes. “And personally, I think the linework suits you.”

“Thanks,” I drawl with a hefty helping of sarcasm.

“Yes, well...” Suri chimes. “My apologies, dear. Rest assured that all of these cosmetic changes are reversible. Anyway, that’s about the extent of it. I mainly used your body to attend official functions, not so much at home, as it, well, lacked you. Most of the time, I simply kept it in storage.”

I shake my head, trying to dispel the odd sense of dysmorphia from seeing my body like that.

Honestly, it’s not a bad look. It’d be pretty awesome as some kind of demoness cosplay or something. It’s the fact that it’s real that makes it so weird.

I frown as I’m reminded of something I was planning to ask. “Suri, do you think my body’s still in your home storage? To be honest, I’m kinda worried Starmother’s having our bodies monitored.”

She’s silent for a moment. “It’s possible, dear. I can’t be sure.”

I nod, my attention briefly diverted as the Peilor finally, finally leave.

A weight is lifted off my chest when they at last exit the range of my senses. I take a deep, relieved breath, and smile at Kait. “They left. We’re out of the, ehm, the hiding protocol.”

Kaitlynn smirks at me, clearly noting my blatant avoidance of the words ‘Peek-a-Book Protocol,’ but otherwise doesn’t comment as she gets to her feet with a relieved sigh. “Good. We’ll give you some space, Suri. I know you have a lot to think about.”

Suri hums noncommittally, already back to staring at the wall in front of her

I get up as well, but then hesitate.

“Are you coming, babe?” Kaitlynn asks after a moment, already at the edge of the sound-dampening field, with the bookcase swung open in front of her.

“Just a sec, Kait, I just...” I trail off with a sigh, shifting my shoulders back.

I don’t like what I’m about to do, but the relief of having escaped detection is already fading, and replacing it is a renewed sense of urgency.

We can’t just keep sitting around here, hiding. We need to do stuff. But for that, we need more than Suri’s tacit cooperation.

“Suri, I’m going to be honest with you,” I blurt out.

“Whereas before, you have been a paragon of tact?” Suri chimes dryly as she turns to face me.

Now that I’m looking for it, looking for the being behind the conjuration, it’s easy enough to recognise the sarcasm as the defence mechanism it is.

Hell, I practically invented that shit.

“I’m aware you’re going through some stuff, Suri,” I reply firmly. “And I feel for you, I really do. But the fact is, we don’t have time for you to sort out that mess inside your mind, to make sense of the world again. So I’m going to have to push you a little, help you reach the conclusion I’m positive you’re heading for a bit faster, so we can get a move on.”

“And what conclusion would that be, dear?”

“Suri...” I trail off with a sigh, sitting back down in front of her, at eye level. “Let’s be real. Peilor society is screwed up.”

She snorts. “My, what stunning insight.”

Kaitlynn sits back down next to me, seeming bemused, and not entirely sure where I’m going with this.

Neither am I, frankly, but I can feel the emotions bubbling up inside of me, and I’m not supposed to hold them back anymore. “It’s really screwed up. Heck, I wouldn’t hesitate to call the acts your society is responsible for evil, but that doesn’t mean... that doesn’t mean that the Peilor are evil. I’m starting to see that, Suri, thanks to you.”

Now I’ve caught her attention. “Well, not all of us, at least,” she chimes quietly.

I nod. “There’s hope for your society yet, Suri, I believe that. I actually believe that. But it’ll never happen as long as Starmother is around. Wouldn’t you agree?”

I hold her gaze for a long moment, until finally she looks down. And nods.

“So join us, for real,” I suggest with conviction. “Not as a prisoner, but as an ally. As a member of the Cinnamon Circle. Help us overthrow Starmother and—more importantly—help us to try and shape the future of Peilinor. Because the more I think about it, the more I realise we need to, to actually resolve this conflict in a meaningful way.”

Kaitlynn looks at me wide-eyed, before turning to Suri—who still has her eyes cast down—seemingly holding her breath.

It feels like an eternity passes before Suri finally looks up at me. “If I agree... What would you have me do?”

Sheer elation surges through me, because I know Suri well enough to recognise a reluctant yes when I hear it. “Well, first of all,” I state, fighting to suppress the massive grin threatening to burst onto my face, “we’re going to need your help to save our friends.”

Author's note:

Thanks for reading! ^^