Ch: 119.1

My consciousness snaps back to reality, and my eyes shoot open, but all that greets me is darkness.

Slowly, I sit up from my lying position and scan the dark room with Sense Mana. Tabitha was where I left her, sitting still like a statue. She didn’t have her light spell activated, but her mana network was calm and steady, a good sign that she was healthy and that nothing happened while I was out.

Tabitha was probably awake, but she could be meditating or resting her eyes, so I don’t call out to her. Instead, I do what I do every time I wake up in a dubious location and scan for anything dangerous. We were deeper underground now, but my senses could still reach the surface from where we were. I quickly confirmed that I still couldn't sense the winged serpent before focusing on our surroundings, mainly the sinister feeling chamber below us.

In the nine or so hours I’d been out, more of the remaining death mana had been pulled downward. So much so that the air in our room no longer felt heavy. A lot of earth mana replaced the death mana, and the air was still stale, so it wasn’t like the environment was suddenly more hospitable, but at least it didn’t feel like we were walking over our graves.

Thankfully, the change in mana was the only thing I sensed, so I breathed a sigh of relief.

“You’re up,” Tabitha’s soft voice echoes in the quiet room.

“Yep,” I yawn as I stand up and stretch my arms and legs. “Thanks for watching over me," I smile in the direction of Tabitha, forgetting she can't see me for a second. You know what; I'm not dealing with this again.

“Cicsh het ploetts lages!”

As soon as the ball of light forms in the palm of my hand, the darkness is banished from the room, and as it floats up and finds its place above my head, I can adequately see Tabitha again.

Tabitha looks up at my spell hovering overhead. “If you asked, I would’ve cast it.”

“I know you would’ve," I smile knowingly. "But which of us will use less mana to maintain it? How’s your arm doing?” I stare at her scared left arm.

“Better,” Tabitha copies me and stands up. “I should be able to move it again by the end of the day. So how was it,” Tabitha pauses. “How was your soul?” Tabitha awkwardly asks.

I guess she hasn’t entirely gotten used to talking about things regarding souls. It completely slipped my mind in all the chaos, but skills regarding souls were still considered taboo by most. Because Tabitha now had the same skill as me, I thought it might be easier to talk to her about such things, but I guess that was just me being optimistic.

But seeing as I wanted Tabitha to become more used to talking about soul matters, I ignored her awkwardness and proceeded as if we were having a regular conversation. “There was some damage, and it took me a few days to patch it all up, but I think I’m better now. Thanks for asking,” I smile brightly.

“A few days?” Tabitha’s face scrunches up in confusion. “You were only out for nine hours. Ten, max. What are you talking about?”

“That’s a good question,” I puff up my chest and try to replicate the exact tone and stance Tabitha likes to take when she’s teaching me. “When you’re in your soul, time flows differently.”

"I don't understand; how can time move differently?" Tabitha struggles to understand the concept of time dilation.

I’m about to wag my finger like a knowing teacher at an uneducated student and explain the difference when I pause. And it wasn't for dramatic effect. In truth, I didn’t know how to explain the concept of time dilatation. I only knew of it from media back on Earth; I had no idea of the science behind it or how to explain how it was even remotely possible.

“Ugh,” I stammer, my professional demeanor cracking by the second. "How do I explain this?" I rub the back of my head.

“You don’t know?” Tabitha’s eyes narrow, seeing through my crumbling facade.

“I don’t know how to explain how it works,” I correct her. “Listen, all you need to know is you can spend a long time in your soul, and when you leave, it will only be a few hours in the real world. Does that make any sense?" I ask, hopeful she understands my ramblings.

“I believe I understand,” Tabitha slowly nods along, but her expression quickly becomes one of joy. “Wait, if you can spend more time in your soul, then can you train in there!?” She asks excitedly. “I could spend more time perfecting Sword Mastery!”

“Whoa there,” I hold my hands up, interjecting before Tabitha gets her hopes up. "You can meditate in your soul, but nothing physical transfers over to the real world,” I correct her with an awkward expression.

All of Tabitha’s initial excitement vanishes as if it were never there in the first place, and she audibly grumbles. “Then what good is more time?” Her shoulders sag.

"There are other things it's good for," I quickly offer seeing Tabitha's downcast expression.

“Like?” Tabitha doesn’t look convinced. “I spent the last nine hours meditating and couldn't learn a thing."

“You were practicing Sense Soul,” my eyes widen in shock. “I thought I said…. I thought you didn’t care about it?”

Tabitha shrugs, “Yeah, well, you made the skill sound important, so I decided to try it out.” Tabitha sees my concerned look and rolls her eyes. "You don't need to worry; I took your warning to heart. I only tried to focus on the outer edges of my soul and avoided the core, as you said. It's strange," Tabitha brings her right hand up and touches her breastplate. "Ever since I got this skill, I've felt a small flame in my chest. Initially, it worried me; humans aren’t supposed to mess with souls; only the gods should have that power."

"But?" I prod, sensing a huge but coming.

“But, whenever I focus on the flame in my chest, I feel comforted. I feel alive,” Tabitha grins like a child wrapped in their parents’ arms. “It’s soothing.”

I smirk, knowing the feeling Tabitha is describing. There was nothing like looking at your soul to make you feel alive. Our souls are the center of our being, and knowing it was burning strong was indescribable.

“I know what you mean,” I beam happily. "I've heard a lot about how people frown upon soul skills, and I won't lie, there are risks to using them, but I don’t think they’re inherently evil.” I chuckle before adding, “And I don’t think the gods care that much.”

I hold my hands out in a wide gesture. “Feeling your soul might not be the most glamorous tier 5 skill, but it has many uses. It's how I realized the winged serpent was affecting us. It’s how I can enrage people with only a look and can their levels. And most helpfully of all, it's what allows me to tidy up my status page."

Tabitha looked interested in the first three uses, but the fourth earned me another roll of the eyes. “That’s the most useful,” Tabitha shakes her head. “I’ll admit, the skill sounds like it has many uses, but tidying up your status page, what does that even mean?”

Now I get to wag my finger and not feel stupid for doing so. “It means I can see how close my stats are to increasing naturally. It means I can organize my skills however I want; by tier, by level, what have you. I can pull up only a part of my status page if I want; great for seeing my Health, Stamina, and Mana without clouding my vision by my entire status page,” I smugly grin.

"That…. actually sounds useful," Tabitha begrudgingly admits. "And I can do the same thing?"

“Probably, I’ve been practicing the skill for a long time, and it took me a while to figure out everything I could do. But with my help, it shouldn’t be long for you to get the basics down,” I boast.

“And you’d give me such valuable information freely?” She gives me a skeptical look.

“Not for free,” I grin predatorily at my teacher.

“As I thought," Tabitha looked relieved to hear my knowledge had stipulations. “Name your price,” she demands confidently, making me pause.

I was just going to say something cheesy like 'You have to be my friend' and have fun finally knowing something she didn’t. I was only trying to give her a hard time after finally getting her to admit Sense Soul was remarkable in its own way. I had no intentions of blackmailing Tabitha, as she’s already done so much for me and never asked for anything in return. There was nothing I wanted from her.

Actually, there was one thing.

It hurt to do so, but this was the best time to ask since she brought it up and now was as good as any other. Clearing my throat, I lock eyes with Tabitha. "You've done so much for me," I start. "I wish I could give you this knowledge for free, but I have to ask.”

Tabitha nods, “Say it.”

I grit my teeth and force out the words. “I’ll teach you what I can, but in exchange, please don’t tell anyone what I can do.” My heart threatened to burst out of my chest, and I could feel myself trembling from anxiety. “If word gets out about my skills, who knows what will happen.”

“That is a lot to ask for,” Tabitha doesn’t look away and stares me down. "You ask, I don't tell my king. Worse, you ask me to say nothing to Master, to whom I owe everything. You realize this, yes?”

“I do,” I meet Tabitha's intense gaze, managing not to flinch back.

For what feels like forever, Tabitha and I say nothing, the soft glow of my magic bouncing off our bodies, casting deep shadows behind us.

In my head, I'm pleading Tabitha takes the deal. While the winged serpent was a blade hovering over our necks, Tabitha’s knowledge of my skills, what they could do, and how they could be used were a meteor threatening to destroy my entire world. I could pretend it wasn't there and focus on the problem at hand, but that only worked for so long. So, when Tabitha finally gives me her answer, I can’t help but swallow a nervous lump in my throat and anxiously listen to her answer.

“You saved my life at the cost of endangering your own,” a hint of pride leaks into Tabitha’s otherwise emotionless voice. “You helped me obtain strength that would’ve taken me decades to achieve. Even now, you fuss over my health as if our positions were swapped. You may be the only person besides Master I call a friend."

“Does that mean?" I start, but Tabitha cuts me off.

“But I cannot blindly agree to your demands,” she says with conviction.

My legs threaten to give out on me, but I remain standing. “I see,” I lower my head in disappointment. I really thought Tabitha and I had grown close enough that she'd have my back, but I guess I was wrong.

"Let me finish," I hear her say while I still have my head bowed. “I cannot say whether I will ever disclose your secrets, as you and I will live long lives, and neither of us can predict the future. But you have earned my trust, and hopefully, I yours. Of course, it will be impossible for the two of us to hide the levels we gained here, but when we escape, and I do mean when... you will not need to worry about me spilling your secrets.”

"Even if Pacore asks you?" I look up, tears gathering in the corner of my eyes.

Tabitha looks uncomfortable seeing my teary-eyed expression, but she powers through it. “I believe Master will understand if I tell him I can’t disclose what happened to us. While I hope you realize you can confide in him one day, I understand your weariness toward Master. So I will not outright lie to him, but I will not disclose the specifics we’ve gone through.”

“And you think he’ll accept that?”

Tabitha scoffs. "Gods, no, he'll be more of a pain than you are. But unless there are extenuating circumstances, your secrets are safe with me.”

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," I repeat, rushing forward and wrapping Tabitha in a hug. Of course, while being careful of her arm still in the sling.

Tabitha flinches at my sudden closeness but doesn't immediately tell me to let her go. And even in her current condition, it wasn't like she couldn't have dodged me if she was really against my hugging her.

"Alright, enough," Tabitha finally says after a few minutes. “The two of us are warriors; this is unbecoming."

“I’m a craftsman, so I can be touchy-feely all I want,” I retort, giving Tabitha one last happy squeeze before letting her go.

I don’t think Tabitha realizes how much of a weight off my mind this is. I’ve been focusing on healing and thinking up a plan to escape the lesser dragon, but in the back of my mind, I was constantly worrying about what would happen once we succeeded and made it back to the village. But now that I have Tabitha’s word, I can devote 100% of myself to the here and now.

If there was one thing I knew about Tabitha, she was extremely loyal to those she cared about. Of course, I could ask her to form a contract with me, but that might sour our relationship, and depending on how well she takes to her soul studies, she’ll eventually realize how to break contracts herself. So, there was no reason to form one, especially because I trusted Tabitha with my life.

"Alright, no more of this," Tabitha steps back, and though it was hard to see in the faint light, I could see the slight blush she was trying to conceal. “I’m sure you’re healed fully?”

“I am,” I nod happily.

“And I’m just waiting on my arm,” Tabitha notes before turning toward the doorway leading out of the room. “I no longer have a shield, so I don’t need to use my left arm. Let’s check out that chamber you were going on about.”

“Sounds good to me,” I grab our gear and bounce happily beside her. I don't care what happens next; it wouldn't affect my mood.

Today was a new day, or at least I think it was. It was hard to keep track of time down here. But no matter what time it is, it is irrelevant. We were mostly healed, so it was time we explored our surroundings.

Whatever that may entail, we were ready.

**********

2,500 words.

What do you think of the chapter? Did you like Tabitha and Aaliyah's back-and-forth? Let me know below.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and as always, stay safe.