When the binding completed, Lucille collapsed, her mind receding as a defensive measure in response to our consciousnesses brushing up against one another during the process. I immediately set about making adjustments to my new vessel. I had quite a bit of work to do in a short amount of time.

In accordance with our pact, I would give her power. My years of dreaming on the Truth of the Soul had yielded many advancements but few would prove invaluable in my struggle through the Great Trial than the development of my very own specialized mana. Psykhe, as I had termed it in honor of one of Libbu’s more pleasant children, contained my understanding of the many fragments of Truth that I had gleaned from the discordant whispers of mankind’s souls.

Psykhe’s versatility and power permitted me to do things easily that Libbu had needed to sacrifice pieces of her astral body for. Namely, the creation of structures within mortal souls.

I etched lines onto the fabric of Lucille’s soul with psykhe causing her to writhe and groan in her unconsciousness. Instead of a Bridge, I built my modified version, an Astral Gate. It would allow her to protect herself more efficiently against the invading astral beings by temporarily closing her connection to the Astral and provide a better base for the cultivation technique I would teach her. After I laid the framework into the fabric of her soul, I filled the structure out with pure mana. I had an inkling that psykhe might achieve different results based on the other types of mana it interacted with but now wasn’t the time for experimentation so pure mana had to do.

The bitter irony of the ease with which I created the Astral Gate wasn’t lost on me. If I’d had this level of strength a few thousand years ago, Libbu wouldn’t have had to sacrifice herself. Still, the past had gone and the future was yet to come so I pushed the bitterness aside and focused.

Once the structure was complete, I turned my attention to her body. She had several minor imperfections that might affect her mobility in the coming battle so I fixed them. First, I reinforced her bones and strengthened her joints. In some places, I had to break the bone then repair it to achieve the proper level of strength without wasting mana. Next, I trimmed the excess fat from her legs, arms, core, and chest while simultaneously tearing and reknitting the muscles in those regions to strengthen them. Lastly, I charged her neural pathways with mana, a quality of life change more than anything else that would increase her response time and make it easier to channel mana through her body. I left the optimization of her body at that. I could’ve made several more improvements but I had learned that humans didn’t appreciate extremely drastic changes to their form, even if they were beneficial.

I didn’t bother cutting off her pain receptors— an unfortunate habit from my darker days— so she started screaming partway through the process. The three conscious acolytes flinched and cowered as they watched her suffering with horror and morbid fascination. Altogether, the process took approximately five minutes as opposed to the several hours it would have taken to create a suitable physical body from scratch.

Lucille, how do you feel? I asked after rousing her consciousness. Although it had been painful, there was no residual damage from her transformation. Contrary to what one might think, she should feel better than she did when she fell unconscious. Still, the mind was a fickle construct so I asked and kept an eye on her soul.

“Ugh…,” she groaned pushing herself up into a sitting position. She seemed a little disoriented but nothing outside the ordinary. “What happened…?”

You passed out due to the binding. Now answer my question. I’m not fond of repeating myself.

I could’ve utilized my position as the patron of our pact to force her to answer the question but I saw no reason to demonstrate how tight her leash was. Since most of my bindings were enacted to ensure the secrecy of my knowledge and protect my interests, I rarely cared to flex the authority given by my bindings unless my bonded attempted betrayal or became unruly.

“I feel… Actually, I feel pretty good but my head hurts,” Lucille said as she got to her feet with her hand pressed against her temple. “Did I hit my head when I fell?”

No, I responded offhandedly. The headache is just a side-effect of your mind coming to grips with my existence after our consciousnesses met. It will pass soon.

“Oh, ok,” she said, unsure what else to say.

“Lucille?” Aran asked with concern and fear thick in his voice. He didn’t approach her from his position across the room where he, Sophia, and Caleb had retreated after Malcolm’s failed attempt to rouse Lucille.

She scowled at her fellow acolyte. “What is it, Aran?”

“Oh, thank god,” He said, his relief practically radiating from his soul. “We weren’t sure you’d still be you after… you know…”

He trailed off, his eyes roaming up and down her body. Her scowl turned into a grimace when she looked over her body.

“What the hell is this?” she whined as she brushed her hand against the slimy layer of dark fat that clung to various parts of her body. “Ugh and that smell…”

Just the impurities from your muscles and excess fat, nothing to be concerned about, I said. Now, your first task as my bonded. Put those three to sleep. I will show you the technique; you need only move your mana to match it and point at your targets.

She hesitated for a second then did as she was told. Her mana control was as dismal as I expected it to be so I had to correct her several times. This led to an awkward situation where she pointed at her fellow acolytes in silence for nearly a minute.

Aran and Sophia exchanged glances while Caleb asked, “What are you doing?”

Finally, she achieved the correct flow of mana and the technique went off hitting Aran with a bolt of purple light. Aran instantly collapsed like a puppet cut from its strings. Sophia screamed but it was cut short when Lucille pointed her finger at her.

“No, no—,” Caleb begged with his hands up before another bolt hit him.

“Oh my…,” Lucille whispered, shivers raising gooseflesh all over her body. “Using mana like that is… I’ve never felt anything like this before.”

That is true sorcery. I monitored her mana levels and them a bit low for my liking. Now, close your eyes and focus. I’m going to show you how to access the Astral.

“Wait!” she exclaimed. “Sorcery? The Astral? You don’t mean… Am I—”

Yes, I carved a connection to the Astral into your soul. You are a sorcerer now, congratulations, I said all but brushing aside her excitement. Fortunately for my nerves, I didn’t need to repeat myself as she immediately dropped into a lotus position and closed her eyes. Good. How familiar are you with meditation and internal visualization?

“I’ve practiced meditation since before I became an initiate of the Order. It's how I trained my mana sensitivity. As for internal visualization, I only know a little bit about it. We call it the mind’s eye in the Order and they only teach low-level acolytes enough to cast basic spells like creating a spark or a ball of light.”

I see. That should suffice. Empty your mind and steady your breathing, I ordered. She took a few seconds to reach the correct state but once she did, I continued. Imagine yourself floating in an empty space, the void, a blue sky, whatever you find most relaxing.

I inserted some mana into her muscles to ease their tension and she sighed. I contemplated using psykhe to do the same to her soul but it would be best for her in the future if she achieved a state of stillness in her soul on her own. It took her another five minutes of guided meditation to reach an adequate facsimile of stillness.

That will do. Now, imagine a door forming in front of you. It helps to picture a door that you are familiar with like the one to your home.

She struggled for a few minutes, various door-like shapes forming in her mind’s eye yet failing to fully take form. On her ninth attempt, a heavy, dark wooden door with four glass panels and a bronze griffin head knocker appeared. I was a little surprised by the detail I saw in the cognitive manifestation through her soul. Given the trouble she was having, I expected something a little more basic.

That’s impressive, I said. You might’ve succeeded earlier if you tried for something a bit simpler though.

“There’s no point in doing anything if I’m not giving it my best,” she said.

A good mindset to have for one so young but beware of stagnating your development with stubbornness and pride. I sensed that she wanted to respond but she had the good sense to keep it to herself. Now, you must believe that this door can take you to the Astral. Do think it might, hope it will, or anything of that sort. The door MUST lead to the Astral. Leave no choice for any other possibility.

Surprisingly, this process took her less than only two attempts. The first time she opened the door, it opened to a blackened hallway. The hall branched off into several rooms seemingly scorched by a fire or something similar. Her soul constricted in dismay for a few seconds before she closed the door and buried the emotions so well that I might not have noticed had I not been able to read the state of her mind in the motions of her soul. When she opened the door the second time, it opened into another vast emptiness almost identical to one she visualized. The only difference was the transparent barrier that surrounded her.

She pressed her hand against the barrier. “What is this?”

That is the natural defense of your soul protecting your consciousness. Pay close attention to its condition wherever you enter the Astral because it's all that protects your mind from entities like the one possessing your Archmage, I explained. If you ever encounter a being too powerful to defend yourself against in the Astral, your only hope is to close your connection to the Astral by going through the door and closing it. That won’t guarantee your safety but it’s the best option available to someone of your strength.

I had already moved her astral presence under my protection so she didn’t become prey for the numerous minor astral beings prowling in the Astral.

Now, I am going channel mana into you. This is a one-time occasion due to the circumstances and in the future, you’ll have to gather or cultivate your own mana.

“Cultivate?” She asked. “Do you mean like the Neidan practiced by Taoist monks?”

While I didn’t know exactly what she was talking about, the nature of mental communication clarified the points enough that I got the gist of her intended meaning.

“Something like that yes but you will need to cultivate here in the Astral for it to be effective, I said. Unceremoniously, I began to channel mana into her through her Astral Gate.

“Ah! What—,” she squealed unable to finish her thought before her mind became clouded with a mix of pleasure and pain.

Do not worry. The sensation will become milder as your body and soul acclimate to the elevated levels of mana.

“I… This is… incredible.” She paused, uncertainty and gratitude warring within her. “Thank you so much for this. I won’t waste it.”

Gratitude is appreciated but this does not come without a price and I have the rest of your existence to collect. I said coolly.

Instead of feeling unnerved or disheartened, she turned pensive pursing her lips for a second until the resolve in her soul shifted slightly.

“Are you angry?”

The question caught me off-guard. Silence slowly edged its way between us as I failed to answer but she pressed onward.

“The mana you gave me… It felt like lightning like it was agitated and violent. It's so different than the few times that I’ve felt any mana but my own.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond due to shock and agitation. The shock came from the fact that her mana sensitivity was keen enough for her to feel not only subtle uses of mana but the temperament of the mana as well. I had never met a human capable of doing that. I made a note to investigate her further after I settle matters with the Archmage. My agitation came from the fact that she had been able to read my mood so easily.

I gave her the equivalent of a mental sigh. Yes… I am very angry.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

I don’t need your apology. Just your focus, I responded brushing the uncomfortable moment aside. Now, picture a book filled with blank pages appearing in your hands.

A thick leatherbound tome with hundreds of pages made from aged vellum appeared in her mind’s eye. It was a testament to her love for historical texts, one of the many things that her soul whispered to me. With everything in order, I channeled psykhe into her soul.

Open the book and listen carefully to all I am about to bestow upon you. In the coming days, this information may be key to your survival.

For the next ten minutes, I rapidly explained the process of building up and maintaining her astral presence, cultivating mana, and improving the effectiveness of her “mind’s eye”. To increase her retention of knowledge, I filled the “book” within her cognition with a steady flow of information detailing the processes of which I spoke. Along with the fundamentals, I included a mana control method appropriate for her skill level, several formation patterns, and numerous techniques, or “spells” as she seemed to call them, for offensive and defensive purposes. By the end, a full fourth of the tome was crammed with my insights.

The process took longer than I would’ve liked. After all, I was anxious to confront the Archmage with the invaders running rampant in the Old World but I needed her at a minimum level of proficiency for my plan to work.

And to be honest, I liked her. She had a sharp mind, determination, and talent. She and her peers were also the first humans with whom I had interacted in a very long time so perhaps, my fondness for humans made me a bit more generous than normal.

“This is… a lot,” Lucille said, stuck somewhere between awe and confusion.

You won’t understand most of it, for now, I said. I essentially forced several years’ worth of training into your mind. For now, focus on the first five pages in your “book”. Cast the Threefold Barrier and Physical Empowerment on yourself and get familiar with the Mana Bolt technique, you’ll be using it a lot shortly.

“Ok, I think I got it,” she mumbled after a few seconds, so focused she forgot to speak mentally.

Her mana began to oscillate as she lifted her hands touching the tips of her ring finger and thumb together on each hand, then layering her fingers on top of one another to form the facsimile of concentric rings. Finally, she pressed the pads of her pinky fingers together completing the circuit. As her mana fell into the right pattern, the Threefold Barrier flashed into existence one layer at a time, just over the surface of her flesh like an invisible, skin-tight bodysuit.

Next, her mana condensed. She pressed her fists together and like that, the Physical Empowerment technique activated. Lastly, she pointed a hand forward, palm facing the ground and all her fingers but her ring finger folded inward. Her mana shot forward and a concussive bolt ripped into the mattress sending a small spray of fluff into the air.

There was a time when I thought that the gestures humans used for sorcery were completely ridiculous and to some extent, I still held that belief. Sorcerous techniques or magic was merely the act of channeling mana into a certain pattern via different mediums like one’s body, the air, one’s enemies, etc. Anyone skilled enough should be able to direct the mana into the desired patterns through sheer force of will. However, for novices like Lucille, the gestures offered a conduit and point of reference for them to guide their mana.

“This is amazing!” She said, practically jumping up and down. At that moment, she realized something and her enthusiasm dampened a bit. “Wait, you said I’d be using the Mana Bolt soon but aren’t you going to take over my body to fight the Archmage?”

No, I decided to change my plans to trap the creature possessing the Archmage.

“I don’t think I like where this is going,” she said, frowning.

I laughed. Yes, my newly forged sorceress, you are going to subdue the Archmage while I weave my web. Fear not, I’ll be with you the entire time.