“Maria,” I say, nodding as I hover myself down before her. Sah alights on the ground with an upstroke of his wings, his tail lashing behind him. Crystal jumps lithely from his back.

Maria looks over from a massive half-complete pentacle on the ground. She looks tired but undefeated. “Welcome back, Dunai. Did you or Crystal find anything noteworthy?”

Where to begin. Crystal?

“I can explain,” the fish states. “I’ll show you images I took from Ian’s mind.”

Wait, images taken from my mind? I was just thinking that it might be faster to have Crystal mentally explain what happened versus me explaining everything out loud.

“It’s easier this way,” Crystal argues mentally. “Your thoughts were clear and easy to see; I felt like I was nearly in the room with you. The conversation is short enough that I can replay it in its entirety for Maria.”

I rub the bridge of my nose. Fine, do whatever.

Maria’s eyes suddenly narrow, her lashes blinking rapidly. Two seconds later she closes her eyes and holds her arms across her chest. She sways back and forth slightly while Crystal transfers my...memories? I’m not sure what to call pilfered surface thoughts.

When she opens her eyes next, she looks at me with an expression of muted wonder. “Is that how you see the world?”

What?

“When I place soul gem dust into my eyes, everything is muted, like I have only half permission to peek into the domain of Life and Death. Your vital vision, on the other hand...it’s so clear. And you don’t just see things in front of you, you sense vitality everywhere in the vicinity.” She shakes her head. “It’s an interesting way to see the world.”

“What do you think about Floria?” I ask.

Her lips curve downward. “She confounds me. All that power, and she refuses to even hear out your cause, telling you to leave. You’re the first interesting thing to find her in who knows how long. I don’t like her.”

“But do you think she might be useful? Or even any of the revelations she dropped, do any of them inspire your imagination?”

Maria smirks. “You haven’t even asked me how my progress has gone; perhaps we won’t even need the help of Floria.”

I glance at her pentacle once again. It’s inscribed into the dirt; a torch bathes the area in light, allowing me to see its curves and script. “What is this?’

“Guidelines for one of the last segments of the End array I’m working on. I don’t want to fully finish the array until we’ve decided upon a course of action.”

“So let’s decide on a course of action, then,” I say, looking between Maria and Crystal. “You know what we’ve been up to; what have you managed to accomplish, Maria?”

“I’ve been working on an array to weaken Karanos through his soul. My memories of my own soul were, admittedly, an enormous help in making this array possible.”

Wow...so Maria was actually able to figure something out in a day? “Did you have a breakthrough?”

She cocks her head. “Of sorts. I haven’t become an ascendant, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

“When will the array be done?”

She points to the pentacle. “I’m interested in hearing your opinion on the last part I’m working through right now, the cornerstone of the entire array.”

Sounds like she isn’t as far as I thought if she’s still working on the cornerstone. “Happy to help.”

“I need to understand how your soul differs from mine, why it’s untouchable.”

I consider for a moment, peering inward at my ethereal body. “It’s not that the soul is absent–I was able to sense the state of Floria’s soul without issue. I just can’t touch it. The soul is a projection, a mere representation of the true soul that lies beyond.”

Maria nods. “In the amber.”

“I’d think so. But that doesn’t explain why your soul is present–you entered through the amber as well.”

Maria sighs. “We’re not going to figure out all the answers to everything; let’s stay focused. So, your soul is not here, but probably far away in the amber, somehow projected here into your current body.”

“Yes.” When she puts it so starkly, I almost start to doubt my own senses–is my body real, or just an illusion?

“You can’t touch or directly affect the soul, but might we be able to indirectly influence it?”

Floria forces her soul to waste away by turning herself into a vegetable–that’s an indirect way if I’ve ever seen one. “Yes, it should be possible. Consider Floria,” I prompt, gazing at her expectantly.

Her eyes suddenly light up. “She’s trying to unravel her remote soul through her actions in this plane. So it is possible...” She gets a far-off look in her eyes. “Dunai, I need a few more hours to finalize everything. Then, we have two options: wait for Karanos and hope my array works, or try the array on you first.”

“So, use me as a guinea pig for an array that attacks the soul? Sounds pleasant.”

“You don’t need to–”

I smile. “I can sense my soul, so I’ll be able to tell immediately if your array is working. I’ll tell you when to dissolve the bindings and there should be no serious damage done. I’ll be able to characterize exactly what your array will do against Karanos–how, if at all, he’ll be weakened, among other things.”

Maria struts over to the right side of the pentacle. “Then I think we have a plan.”

“Good luck.”

She nods. “Hopefully, we won’t need it.”

—

While Maria works, Crystal, Sah, and I rest on the lizard-tortoise cum oculus construct where it lies about a half mile away from Maria’s location. We pass the time talking about potential improvements for both the construct and Crystal herself.

The fish’s pectoral fins drape over her Death energy legs. I point to the space just above them, where I might imagine her shoulders to be. “If I were to give you wings, what kind would you like?”

Crystal’s tail fins swish out to the side like soft drapes, their calico patterning striking in the glow from my glossY. “Is it possible to make them look like fins, to match?”

“Hmm...maybe. They need to be thicker than fins to work, though. Much thicker.”

“That is...oh.” Crystal nudges Sah with a Death energy paw, the dragon snorting out a plume of smoke. “Maria is ready for you.”

My heart flutters. The moment of truth.

Without wasting time, I fly myself over to Maria’s position, leaving Crystal and Sah behind. Seems I’m solidly able to outspeed a frost dragon now. It wasn’t a feat I could claim when Messeras and I first set out. Little signs of progress.

Though I feel like I’m not actively doing much to improve my practice, I feel like I’ve been advancing faster in Eternity than on my old world, outside the loop. Maybe it’s the knowledge that I can push myself past all limits without repercussion that makes the difference. I advanced quickly in the loop when I lived in a world without consequences. Now I’m stuck somewhere in between–a world where I am immortal, but my actions permanently shape the world.

“Dunai,” Maria says, turning at my approach.

I bleed my momentum and land in a crouch by her side. “You’re ready?”

Her heartbeat is like mine: fluttering with anticipation. I detect the smallest trembling in her hands, the only sign of weakness on an otherwise steely exterior.

“The array is prepared. I’ve set it to only activate at my command for the moment; if this works, I’ll be able to turn it into a trap that activates without our presence.”

She’s stalling a bit by explaining this all to me. “Where should I stand?”

Maria blinks. “Since we’re testing this...as close to me as possible.”

I sit down in front of her. If I’m going to potentially be undergoing an assault on my soul, I think it’d be best to be in a position close to the ground, where I won’t fall far if I somehow lose consciousness.

Maria isn’t particularly tall, but she still needs to get down on her knees to reach my shoulders comfortably from behind. She takes a deep breath.

She’s still nervous. I suppose it makes sense–she’s testing an array that’s supposed to do something that most in Eternity would consider impossible, and she’s not even an ascendant. But what good is being an ascendant, anyway? Maria can use ascendant energy and is no less talented in my eyes than myself. I should have more faith in her.

The dry grass is crinkly and itchy on my uncovered ankles. Maria’s hands are warm on my shoulders, vitality thrumming through her body like stellar luminance.

“Maria?” I say.

She shudders slightly, as though startled. “Yes?”

“Eternity rewards taking on challenges greater than ourselves. I don’t know if this will work...but I believe in you.”

Maria chuckles bitterly. “I appreciate the sentiment.”

She doesn’t think I’m sincere, does she? “It’s ironic, but after venturing into your soul, I might be the person who knows you best. Isn’t that something?”

“It’s...something, alright.”

I angle my head around to meet her eyes. “Most people wouldn’t go as far as you did to achieve their dreams, and you have big dreams, Maria.”

“Most people would argue too big,” she shoots back at me.

“Irrelevant.”

She sighs. “What’s your point, Ian?”

‘Ian’ again. “Succeeding here requires two things: talent, and grit. Your talent is exceptional. As for your grit...” I chuckle. “You’re a cockroach, in the best way.”

She rolls her eyes at that. “You really know how to compliment a woman, don’t you?”

I smirk and turn back around. “Enough digressing. I’m ready when you are.”

“She is more at ease,” Crystal interjects. “She acts flippant...but your words carry weight. She respects your judgment.”

Y’jeni, Crystal, trying to make me blush?

“Of course not.”

Maria squeezes her hands, fingertips digging slightly into my trapezius. “Starting in three...two...”

We speak the final number together: “One.”

Nothing seems to happen, but Maria doesn’t ask me how I’m feeling, so perhaps it’s supposed to take a bit of time.

When a minute passes, I can tell she’s growing agitated, her pulse elevating, a bead of sweat manifesting on her temple.

“Maria,” I whisper.

“Yes?” she replies, voice stiff. Her fingers dig in to my shoulder again.

“Can you help me understand what you see? If you let Crystal in, she can share your sight with me...perhaps I can help.”

Will her pride allow it? Crystal perks up from where she and Sah are lounging off to the side, waiting quietly for the experiment to conclude.

“Fine,” Maria snaps. “I–I’m going to need to focus on letting down my mental guard. One moment.”

“Isn’t it easier to let it down?”

She snorts. “No, definitely not. The key to a mental defense is making it instinct, ingrained into your psyche, so that even when you’re incapacitated you’ll be protected. Your defense must be as natural and automatic as breathing.”

No wonder they start training such defenses from an early age...

“This is sufficient,” Crystal announces, scratching a claw against the dusty ground. “I can sense your thoughts, Maria. Apologies for the intrusion.”

Maria’s smile is tired. “It’s nothing if it helps us overpower Karanos.”

“Ian, are you prepared to see things with Maria’s eyes?”

I am.

“Then we begin.”