Chapter 254: Promising start

Once again, the raptor guards turn the massive purple wooden wheels, and the thick door of blue glass that secures the Vault slowly grinds open.

Frankly, I find the amount of time it takes a little grating, but I try not to show any outward sign of my impatience.

I would’ve loved to tunnel in, but after our battle, Bhat decided to add some new restrictions to his prison walls, lest another Ascendant showed up capable of bending space.

It seems my restlessness is apparent despite my efforts to hide it, for Kaitlynn grabs my hand and squeezes.

Or perhaps she’s just looking for reassurance as we’re heading into what’s assuredly not going to be an easy conversation. After all, last time Kaitlynn and Suri spoke, Kaitlynn was still under a Command that made her view Suri in a more favourable light.

Finally, the door is open wide enough to let us through, so I take a deep breath, and stride forward.

As we enter, it becomes apparent that Suri has done a little decorating with conjurations. The floor is covered in thick carpet, the previously bare walls of rock are hung with tapestries, and the edges are lines with plush chairs and couches.

The whole assembly is tastefully coloured in browns and shades of green and turquoise, and looks suspiciously like her apartment back in the Yin-Yang Realm.

Minus the view, of course.

Yuna glances up from where she’s lying in a kind of nest of blankets, but otherwise doesn’t move.

As for Suri herself, she has her human guise on and is primly seated at a table that appears to have been exquisitely carved from dark wood, surrounded by matching chairs. “Hello Kaitlynn, Emma,” she chimes. “I would offer you refreshment, but alas.”

While I can’t read anything off her conjured face, something in her voice tells me her nonchalance is feigned.

Kaitlynn flashes a smile in response, but quickly glances away as she sits down.

Yup. Awkward.

“I would’ve brought some,” I take the initiative to reply, as I somewhat stiffly take a seat, “but Kaitlynn tells me you can’t really eat, only kinda absorb stuff.”

Mentally, I pat myself on the back for managing to get that out without any rancour. While Suri’s apology helped, there’s still quite a bit of resentment brewing inside of me, so I’m not exactly ready to be all buddy-buddy with her. Still, I would prefer for Suri to help us voluntarily, and it never hurts to be polite.

Also, I promised Kaitlynn I would try to be polite.

“Yes,” Suri chimes with a sigh-like sound. “I’ve yet to figure out how to get my spiritform to perform such an act. I’m hopeful I someday will, though. I’d love to experience flavours first-hand, for once.”

Kaitlynn winces at those words. “You’ll definitely figure it out,” she’s quick to exhort. “And it’ll be much better than just sensing it through the Lavi flows of a host-creature, I’m sure.”

Suri frowns at her a little, seeming to pick up on Kaitlynn’s inner turmoil.

I clear my throat to draw her attention. “We can get you some food to practice with later. Right now, however, we have more important matters to discuss.”

“Yes, I imagine we do,” Suri chimes quietly.

“Firsts things first,” I continue. “You wanted to know what we’re going to do with you. Right now, the plan is as follows: I’m going to attempt to sever your mortal tether.”

The words hang heavy in the air for a moment, but Suri’s only reaction is a slight raising of her brows, so I continue.

“It’s part experiment, part necessity. Which is why, if it turns out I can’t do it, you’re going to do it yourself.”

“I am, am I?” Suri chimes dryly.

I nod, trying to convey my conviction to her with the weight of my gaze. “You will. One way or another. That part isn’t elective. However... there is some leeway regarding the circumstances.”

“We have to sever your tether because we’re going to take you up to the Realm of Imagination,” Kaitlynn explains. “There, you will be hidden away, but we’ll make sure it’s in a nice space.”

Suri stares at her, remaining silent.

“What about me?” Yuna yips.

“I’m afraid you can’t come,” I reply, glancing over. “You’ll have to stay here.”

“But you’ll get more freedom once Suri has been moved,” Kaitlynn reassures her. “I’m making sure of that. And if all goes well, we’ll come back to get you, one day.”

Judging from the way her ears are drawn back, flat against her skull, the fox isn’t happy with that answer. But ultimately she just huffs and puts her chin back down, the picture of sullen resignation.

I turn back to Suri. “Anyway, while you are coming with us and will have to remain hidden, it’s up to you whether you do so as a secret prisoner, or a secret ally.”

“Is there really much of a difference?” Suri muses wistfully after a moment. “I feel like the end result is going to be my cooperation regardless.”

“Sounds like someone’s been getting a whole new perspective on forced compliance, huh?” I can’t help but dig. “Don’t worry; I can make sure you’re perfectly content helping us.”

Kaitlynn shoots me a warning glance, and I hold up my hands placatingly, indicating I’ll play nice.

“What Emma means to say,” she says, turning back to Suri, “is that we’ve talked about that, and have come up with a solution that we feel is quite palatable. And it only takes a single Command.”

Suri raises a single brow, in a move she totally copied off of me. “Really now?”

“Yeah,” I reply curtly. “In fact, we might as well get that over with. I’m going to put the Command on you now. Try not to resist.”

That earns me another glare from Kaitlynn, but it was worth it to throw those words back at Suri for once.

“Very well, dear,” Suri chimes stiffly.

I close my eyes and stop tuning in, taking a moment to centre myself.

Following the advice of Goddess, I went and got some tips from Shaz regarding Commands. It turns out, doling them out isn’t even that hard, though the method to do so is a bit involved.

The first step, naturally, is to come up with a proper phrasing for the Command. Since communication in Spiritual Realms relies on intended meaning, it’s actually more important to have clear intentions than clear phrasing, but as I’m used to thinking in language, coming up with proper phrasing helps me better establish and convey those intentions.

Next, the Command has to be loaded with Willpower. For this step, it helps to visualise the Command, treat it like a discrete thing. For me, this means visualising the words written out in my head, but I understand others focus on sounds, or even an image.

Finally, the Command has to be issued. For this, it’s important that it’s directed at only the intended target. If it isn’t, the power inside the Command might be distributed among innocent bystanders, which would obviously be a less-than-optimal result for multiple reasons.

If the meaning of the Command is properly understood and the target fails to resist it, the issuer should then be able to feel the Command settle in through their connection with the Espir that forms it. Using that connection, they can then tell whether the Command is in need of reinforcement, or seek out the recipient by following it, and stuff like that.

Of course, I wanted to be sure I could do it, so I practised on Yexl. He volunteered, actually.

Naturally, I kept removing the Commands I put on him afterwards—which is a lot easier when you can just tug on the connection and choose to allow it to Fade. However, he wanted to keep the final Command, which is incidentally the exact same as the one I’m about to issue to Suri, saying it was a great honour.

Anyway, I follow those steps methodically, going over the phrasing Kaitlynn and I came up with, making sure my intention with it is crystal clear, and then loading the words with power until they threaten to burst out.

Finally, my eyes snap open, and my gaze pierces through Suri’s human façade to stare directly at her crystal spiritform beneath, and in fact, at her Core beneath that.

My mouth opens, and the Command comes out, more like a flood released from a dam than a conscious action. “YOU WILL KEEP ANY PROMISES MADE TO KAITLYNN AND I TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITIES.”

As promised, Suri doesn’t resist, and the Command easily flows through her spiritform and into her Core, where it settles around her.

Interestingly, the newly established connection allows me to catch a glimpse of the inside of her Core. Her avatar, as expected, is a large crystal made of cyan essence.

One thing I immediately check for, is if there are any other Commands present that might interfere with mine, but I don’t sense any.

From what Shaz explained, in the case of conflicting Commands, it’s the oldest, the ones at the bottom, that take precedence. One of my worries was that Starmother may have put some extremely powerful Command on Suri that we couldn’t manage to break, but it doesn’t seem to be the case.

I suppose this particular scenario is not one anyone could have easily foreseen.

Suri blinks a few times, then frowns. “That’s it?”

I nod. “That’s it.”

“See, it’s not so bad, right?” Kaitlynn asks coaxingly, wringing her hands.

“Of course, if you want to come up with us as an ally,” I add, “you’ll have to come up with a convincing set of promises. Otherwise we’ll have to add additional restraints.”

“I see,” Suri chimes bemusedly. “I must say I’m a little surprised. I was expecting something a little more... heavy-handed.”

I shrug. “We felt that, ultimately, the most humane method would be the one that allowed you to keep as much agency as possible. This way, you can choose to promise only what you feel comfortable with, and if you later decide you want to play a bigger part in helping us, you can decide to promise more, so we can give you more freedom in return.”

Suri is silent for a moment. “Well, you’ve given me a lot to think about. Perhaps... perhaps my people’s methods were always a little... harsh. Your solution is certainly more elegant.”

Kaitlynn smiles happily at me, relief in her eyes, and despite myself, I give a small smile back.

Then I turn serious again, returning my gaze to Suri. “We can give you some time to think about what you’d like to promise—not a lot, but some. Before we leave, however... I’m going to need to try to sever your mortal tether.”

Author's note:

Thanks for reading! ^^