12 - Reflection, recuperation, repetition

“Try to look at it differently. It worked, right?” Luna asked, while munching on a meat skewer. Fenrir was sitting beside her, sulking. But he couldn’t resist her cute face looking at him with eyes full of wonder and anticipation. She acted like she was seeing something beautiful, something she longed for and she desired, and he certainly felt he was not worthy of such admiration. And yet, it soothed his mind, calmed his emotions, and melted his heart. He sighed, feeling the tension flow out of him with his breath.

“You are right. I was let down by the poor results and didn't appreciate the fact that indeed the process worked. Perhaps I'm trying to tackle the problem the wrong way after all.” he replied, then took a skewer himself and ate the roasted meat with a pleased expression on his face. Perhaps he should relax, enjoy the time he has, and take it slow. Except, there were too many unknowns he didn’t like, looming over the horizon. It was a bit frustrating, that he could not take a moment of rest to enjoy his new life here. Not without feeling watched, threatened, or overall uncomfortable because of reasons. He felt tense again, even worse than before. It was like a knot in his throat, or a pressure inside his brain. It made him sick. Thinking was making him sick.

He tried to retrace his steps, to see why he was feeling so strange.

Well, perhaps he had to concede that the events that led him here were everything but ordinary. Apart from the whole other world thing, which was too much to even bother thinking about, there were other issues that bugged him. The system, let’s start with that, he thought. Another sharp fit of pain throbbed in his temple, but he was determined to vent his frustrations tonight, even if only in his mind.

The system. What was it? Who installed it in his mind? The oracle? What was that thing, then, and who built it? Why? The pain was almost tangible. Like metal claws ripping through his temples, ravaging his brain. He felt the tug of something wanting to escape, or perhaps it wanted to infiltrate?

Then there was the matter of the elves themselves. Why did they speak his language? Or rather, why did he speak their language, but not high elvish for instance? And why did it feel like english? Perhaps it was the case like the aliens in old movies who all spoke english because otherwise the show would suck. Yeah, as if real life was a movie or a fantasy story. Perhaps it was the same entity as the one who was responsible for the system who did that to him. But then it also meant it had been watching from way before it installed the system. And if it was another one? Even worse still, because he would have even less data to work with. And magic? Why and how did it exist at all, and why not back in his universe? Where was the data the system was getting about him, which was everything including all the sensory input he feared, even going? Why would someone watch him? And the beam that destroyed the village? Why was he saved?

The pain worsened still. Something felt alive, and it was pissed.

Perhaps he should stop. They were useless things, right? Unimportant, perhaps.

No. He could not accept that. They were things he had no answer for, and that really bothered him. He was no main character, he was in no novel. He could not just ignore those things and go with the flow and let ‘fate’ do its thing. Like hell. Especially now that he had something to live for, to protect, someone he loved and wanted to dedicate his life to. Fuck fate, fuck the system and its stupid rules, and fuck whoever sent the beam to fuck with his life. Not a second of tranquillity, not even one. Damn it all.

He forced himself to relax before his head burst, for he could already sense the mana going haywire in his veins. He looked around, his gaze fixing on this and that. He began to name aloud items, objects he was looking at, and tied his mind to the present. It was a technique well known for its efficacy and ease of use. And it worked, for soon his mind felt calmer, and quieter.

He would drop the matter for now. But only for now. He already had a couple ideas he wanted to play with, just to see if he could maybe outsmart whoever was messing with him. He had the advantage, after all, technology nobody had ever seen or even conceived before in this world. As long as he could work without revealing his intent, nobody would even notice.

The night was pleasant, the air cool but not too cold, and the light from the fire lit the whole area. Of course, just a few meters away, there was a monstrous stream of lava flowing violently like water. But here, inside the protection of those light blue energy fields, the environment was perfect. Tonight they would sleep outside, by the fire, hugged together in a single sleeping bag. Fenrir was already there, with his mind at least, and felt like he was in paradise.

“Hey, are you even listening?” An annoyed elf said, before violently jumping into his lap.

“Ouch! Yes, of course I am.” he replied, while trying to find a comfortable position, unsuccessfully.

“No, you are not.”

“Sorry, I admit I was daydreaming. Or is it night dreaming, since it’s night right now? No, that does sound like normal dreaming. But I am awake right now, so it can’t be a dream… I give up.”

“Silly!” She smiled and kissed him, while at the same time she began to move her hips a bit.

“Anyway.” he said, after freeing himself from the tender embrace of her warm lips. “I think I’ve been looking at the issue the wrong way.”

“There’s too much leftover magic, right? So there’s no way to cool the area down.” she replied, only half invested in the conversation.

“Exactly, but we don’t need to. We only need to be able to comfortably walk outside. I have three possible methods in mind. One could be using some kind of shields, like the ones around us right now.” He pointed at the thin light blue veil around the small area and all around the ship. “We can use magic to replicate them, or I could build some portable emitter that accepts mana as energy. The other two ways are something I postulated, but you are the expert on magic, so just stop me if they don't make sense.”

“Okay.”

“We could grow in strength so much that our bodies are able to resist the harsh environment by themselves.”

“It’s possible, yes.” Her face told another story, though.

“But too far into the future, right?” He chuckled. It was not a serious solution anyway. He didn’t want to spend a lifetime trapped in here, no matter how comfortable he was. He was finally on a real planet, a real world full of things to see. How could he not go and see them?

“Mh.” She nodded.

“The last possibility is some kind of strengthening magic. Do you know any?”

“Nothing against fire, sorry.”

“But it’s possible, right?”

“Yes.”

“So, perhaps a mix of all those things.” He said, before entering a state of deep thought.

***

Lunora was pouting, hoping he would notice her face and say something. How dare he ignore her! She started moving while still in his lap, in an attempt to ignite a kind of response in him. At the beginning it felt like trying to draw blood from a rock, but after a while she began to feel his cheeks flush. Then his body grew hot and he started to fidget a bit. Eventually, she felt his hands around her as he grabbed her tiny body and began to strip her. He was being rough, and maybe a bit violent, but never going over the comfort zone and never really hurting her. Perhaps she liked this new thing. She blushed, and couldn’t contain her happiness. Even after so many times, it still did feel like their first.

She woke up, happy and energetic like never before. Sleeping on the grass, hugged tightly against him… ah, it had been quite the experience. She wanted to do it again tonight!

She looked around, but her man was nowhere to be seen. She felt him through their connection, and realized he was inside the ship tinkering with something. He seemed very concentrated in his work, going so far as concealing parts of what he was doing without realizing. Perhaps it was an instinct from his past, she wondered.

He emerged around noon that day, and quickly a new routine began to regulate the flow of their time.

In the morning, he would work on whatever he was doing, deep inside the ship. She had a rough idea where he was all the time, but the ship was so intricate she feared she’d get lost before reaching him. Of course she could ask the AI to help her, but she didn’t want to. That thing scared her, with its emotionless lifeless voice. So, instead, she spent the mornings reading or watching some holos. There were things called ‘TV shows’ she enjoyed very much. She wondered why the people from her lover’s world spoke elven, but didn’t ask.

Then they always had lunch together, and then nap a bit under the sun. Those naps more often than not turned into something else entirely, but she was more than happy.

In the afternoon she trained, both alone and together with Fenrir. They simulated battles, formed strategies, and experimented with magic together. It was the most fun part of the day, and the one she was looking forward to the most. It was during this time that she felt she was really bonding with her man on a level so deep and intimate she was sure it would survive even the end of the world.

Then, they spent the rest of their day together, idle and resting from the long day of work. And, of course, doing other things.

After almost three weeks of that, it seemed that Fenrir was finally ready to depart. He had been growing a bit restless, confined in such a small space, which made little sense to Lunora since he always told her he used to live inside the ship in space. But she too was eager to get out and explore the world a bit. The captain seemed to have a destination in mind, some kind of small fortified town he had spotted with his map ability. Of course, they had to traverse the fiery inferno to get there, but he reassured her his plan would work flawlessly.

***

Fenrir stood next to the barrier and sighed. It was time. Lunora was under his arm, snugly hugging his body.

“Ready?” He asked. The elf nodded. He sighed again, this time he could no longer procrastinate. It was all or nothing. And, of course, there was that other thing.

He rotated the two opposite ends of the small rod he was holding, and the item began to glow bright blue. It hummed with the same tone as the ship shields, and created a small semi dome of radiant energy around the two standing figures. Where the dome met the bigger shields, it merged with them and opened a safe path to outside.

“Okay, phase one is done. Now the magic.”

“[Repelli ciò che è ostile, preserva ciò che è amico. Proteggi coloro che cercano riparo dal mondo.] (Drive away that which is hostile, preserve that which is friendly. Protect those who seek shelter from the world.)” immediately the shield became more sturdy, durable and transparent. The lattice texture smoothed and melted into its crystal matrix, giving a perfect view of the outside.

“[Secondary functions, activate.]” The inside of the glass-like material came alive with all manner of holograms and displays. They showed information about the energy reserves, the integrity of the shield and also featured a live version of the map Fenrir had in his head. On a side, a small diagram representing the starship Defiant showed their connection to the mainframe was optimal.

“[Activate triangulation algorithm]” This time, the hidden function was activated. If it worked, then maybe he could finally trace the strange mana signature he had been feeling all the time, ever since the system came online.

“Let’s go.” He stepped outside, and instinctively prepared to face a wave of heat and noxious gas. Instead, the air was as clean, cool and pristine as it was inside their living area. The mixture of magic and technology was working wonderfully. A smile crawled on Fenrir’s face, then widened into a grin. It worked! He actually managed to integrate the technology from his old world together with magic!

Lunora too was watching with wide eyes. “You actually did it.” she said. While she believed he would get them out of there eventually, she was not so sure this attempt would work. So many times they failed and had to run for their lives in an attempt to get back to safety. But this time, she felt completely safe.

But it was too soon to celebrate.

Fenrir felt the mana thread, the one his device was supposed to be tracking, get forcefully disrupted until it vanished.

[Notice: you are being watched.]

[System will evolve in order to conceal its presence.]

[Changes applied. Access to system interface revoked.]

“Does this have to do with the device I built? Did the system sense its other function?” he muttered under his breath.

Fenrir frowned. What now? He tried to activate the system but, just like those messages said, nothing happened. Damn, he thought he could have an rpg system with skills, levels and missions. But no, someone must have noticed his tinkering and did something. And now he was without an interface.

Whatever, he would build one himself. It was better this way, after all, he didn’t like the idea of being subject to some kind of intelligence watching his every move.

A quick check confirmed that he could use magic like before: everything from the map, to the connection with Lunora or with his ship, and all the spells he had developed. It was just that he did not have access to numbers, statistics, and descriptions anymore. And, of course, nobody to help him with casting magic anymore. But he had a plan for that.

“Computer.” he said, or rather thought. He was using his telepathic interface with the ship.

Sir. It replied, with its usual flat robotic tone.

“Activate contingency protocol: singularity seed. Authorization ∇ 3Bɑ. Now, can you hear me?”

I can. Thank you, sir. The computer replied, but this time it was a different voice that spoke. It was a woman, soft and gentle, almost alive even.

“Then I need you to take care of magic for me. Can you access my mind?”

I can. Wait… it’s done. You can keep doing things regularly, I’ll take care of the rest.

“Thank you.”

It’s my pleasure to be of use.

“Is everything okay?” The elf said, sensing the mix of emotions in her partner’s mind.

“Yeah, it’s nothing. Nothing important anyway.” he replied, and the two began to walk.