Tears streamed down Donte’s face as he smiled sweetly while staring off into space. Charly sat next to him, laughing to himself as if he had just heard the greatest joke ever. Under the effects of the blue flame, neither boy noticed my presence at all.

I sighed in annoyance at my own lack of understanding. The blue flame was growing stronger at the same rate as my other talent but I was still no closer to figuring out how it worked. I could create a positive or negative effect in anyone I looked at but I could not figure out why it worked that way. The moment the flame entered someone else’s body, I lost any connection with it. All I could see were the random emotions and guess what I might have done to cause it.

I pulled at my hair in frustration as I tried to think of some way to fix this problem. “Mare, you are there, right? You can see everything inside Dragon’s Nest. Are you able to tell me what is going on inside their bodies?”

To my surprise, I actually got a response. The walls of the room pulsed with blue light as a specter of smoke slowly formed. The featureless girl was leisurely floating on her back as if she was in a pool of water. Her hands were behind her head as she spoke. “Sorry, shorty. I can’t help you with that. My observations are limited to surface level until the dimwit fixes my core.”

I started nibbling on one of the loose strands of my hair tried to think of another solution. “Do you know of anything that can help me? At this rate, it will take years before I finally understand this talent.”

The astral figure of Mare floated by me, not bothering to look in my direction. “The real me did not have a talent that affected the soul. I am not very knowledgeable about the subject. The best advice I can give is to find someone with a similar ability. They would be able to observe the talent working inside their own body in a way no other could.”

My shoulders drooped. I knew that already but finding someone capable of helping me was easier said than done. Soul-based talents were extremely rare. Add on top of that, the person would need to be fairly skilled in order to help. Some random kid off the street would not be useful even if they had exactly the same talent.

Mare spun upside down and floated close to me. Her featureless face was less than an inch away from my own. “Why so depressed, shorty? From what I understand, there should be another right here that is perfect for such an experiment.”

“What? Who?” I asked in confusion.

Giggling laugher echoed through the room as the figure of Mare moved behind me and wrapped her arms around my neck. Her voice whispered lightly in my ear. “There are two souls inside your body, right?”

Realization dawned on me as the figure of Mare began to disperse in a fit of laughter. I was left alone with my thoughts until Donte and Charly snapped out of the effects of the blue flame.

“I forgot how addicting that feeling of bliss can be,” Donte said as he blinked away the vertigo of being back in reality.

Charly took a few seconds longer to break free of the effect and his inane laughter died down. He looked around in confusion for a moment then smiled at me. “Thank you, Wren, for still being alive. I forget sometimes just how much of a miracle that day was when you came back to life. That dinner we had afterwards was one of the most joyous moments of my life.”

I threw a spare towel at Charly as I tried to hide my own smile. “Let the talent wear off a bit before you embarrass yourself.”

Charly threw the towel back and laughed. “I am serious.”

I draped the towel around my neck and walked towards the door out of the training room to hide my own growing embarrassment that came from knowing one of Charly’s happiest moments was my revival.

“Do you need any more help from us?” Donte asked before I completely left the room.

“No, I know what I need to do. You two are free, for now.”

Outside the training room, I saw my mom and dad once again listening to a lecture on swordsmanship from the undead Sigmund. This time though, they were in no danger. The Swordsman was no longer fighting my control and I could relax knowing my family was safe.

I waved at both of my parents and showed off the near-perfectly healed wound while omitting the pain I went through due to Charly’s mistake. After reassuring my parents that I was fine, I excused myself and told them that I was going to go rest.

I entered the tower closest to the entrance of Dragon’s Nest and walked up to the stairs to the third floor. I had claimed this room as mine. There was no furniture yet and the only decorations in the room were the old bedroll I slept in and the clothes scattered on the floor but I was happy to have a space I could call my own after all the time we spent in that cramped wagon.

Among my personal belongings was a small hand mirror I used to get ready in the morning. I picked up the mirror and paused.

I looked like a complete wreck. My shirt was torn in multiple places, with a new long slash down one side that made it completely ruined and my hair was more knotted than a bird’s nest. I chuckled at my disheveled appearance and took a deep breath.

I was more than a little nervous at what I was about to attempt. Using a talent, you did not fully understand, on yourself was a recipe for disaster. It was how tragedies like the girl in the library, Ghost, came about. I had not even considered trying it before because the danger was too high.

Having two souls might mitigate that danger slightly but not completely. If I had tried this back when I was first reborn there would not be much of a threat. Now, however, the line between Those two souls had long since started to blur. There was no guarantee I could only use the talent on just one soul and not affect the other.

I clenched my jaw and shook away the doubts. Sebastion would be coming for me soon and Envy would invade this realm before long. I did not have time to be indecisive. I needed strength. For that, I would have to take risks.

Green flames ignited in my hand as I began to empty my body of every bit of power I could. The last thing I needed was to self-destruct while attempting this. Flames filled the room for a solid minute before I finally started to feel like it was safe to do this.

A blue fire ignited in my eye as I held the mirror up. I carefully felt the effects of the flame as it rushed back towards me. With a flash, the world faded away and I fell into an empty void.

I was suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling of joy as I remembered a moment from long ago. Almost as if I was reliving the moment once again, I felt the warmth of the hands holding me as I was carried free of the dark Corvus prison that had been my home for as long as I could remember. I could feel the touch of sunlight on my skin as I saw the outside world for the first time in so very long. The smell of cologne my teacher wore filled my nose. The bright blue sky hurt my eyes but I could not look away. The peaking sun was rising over the mountain, casting the passing clouds in beautiful orange.

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I relived the moment I was freed from the pain and darkness that I had known for so long.

I wanted nothing more than to spend forever in this moment. I lost myself in the raw emotions, stronger than any I had ever felt. However, before I could be consumed by the feeling of joy, the figure of a young girl tore me away from my dream.

I blinked away the confusion as I found myself back in the messy room. I had no idea how long I was lost in that dream. It could have been minutes or hours. Since none of my family had come looking for me, it should not have been too long.

“I think I know how it works now,” I mumbled softly to no one in particular, “However, to be sure I have to experience the negative effect as well.”

I frowned as I looked at the mirror and hesitated. Getting trapped in a dream was one thing, but getting trapped in a nightmare would be an existence worse than death. Wren’s half of my soul had managed to free me from the dream but I felt that it had not been easy. If she failed to pull me out of this one, I would be trapped reliving my most horrible memory forever. It was not a thought I relished.

I closed my eyes for a moment, taking a moment to compose myself and gather my courage. I had a great many bad memories and I did not know what the talent would force me to confront. Regardless of which one was chosen, this would not be pleasant.

Like jumping into a lake of cold water, my eyes shot open and I activated the talent immediately. I felt pain as the blue flame ricocheted back at me and the world faded away.

I found myself laying on a stained wooden table. Rough leather straps bit into my wrist and ankles, completely preventing me from moving. My mouth was dry and cracked. Even breathing caused discomfort but none of that compared to fear I felt as two men entered my view.

“As you requested, my prince. Subject two three one eight five one four has been brought for you to examine,” said a mousy-looking man wearing a butcher’s apron.

A man with slick black hair that reflected hints of purple in the dim torchlight moved towards me with a grin. “Excellent. According to the reports, this one’s talent has been quite the conundrum. Replicating this talent is incredibly important for my future. From this day forward, I will be taking part in the experiments personally.” As the man talked, he picked up a large knife from an assortment of tools on a nearby table.

His finger ran along the sharp edge with a wicked grin. “We will begin by testing the limits of the subject’s self-regeneration. I think amputating a limb or two will be a good start, then we will work our way up from there.”

Panic overwhelmed my mind as the man approached. The blade reflected the flickering light of the torch. I could feel the cold of the steel against my skin as begged the man not to do this.

Just as the blade was about to cut down, I was pulled free of the nightmare. Alone in a deep black void, the figure of a small girl held me in her arms as my body shook with terror. The girl held me in her arms until the fear faded and the tears dried away. At that moment, I felt closer to her than I ever had before. Almost as if we were one and the same.

My eyes blinked open as my reflection peered back at me from the small hand mirror. Tears streamed down my face. I felt like I wanted to throw up as I grabbed a nearby blanket and curled into a ball. I cried for what felt like several hours before the welcome darkness of sleep finally overtook me.

My dreams were no escape though, as the wicked smile and cold steel of the knife never stopped hunting me no matter how much I ran.