Chapter 13 - Bound

The katana rotated toward him, bobbing up and down as it did so.

Tal couldn’t help stopping for a moment as he took in the sword. It was positioned perfectly beneath the room’s skylight, such that the golden glow from above highlighted its sleek design. A golden, circular guard met between the honed blade and the simple black grip at its end. Again, Tal couldn’t help being blown away by its design. A pale blue inlay ran along the metal’s length, crisscrossing toward the sword’s tip. Tal noted dully that the colour matched the room’s crystal pillars before he went back to admiring the handiwork of the blade.

“So are you going to keep gawking at me, or will you finally say something? You know it’s not very polite to ogle a naked blade like that.” The sword spoke in a high-pitched, squeaky voice.

Tal looked across the room, doing a double take. It certainly wouldn’t be the strangest thing he had seen lately, but really? A talking sword?

“My apologies. I was just…confused. This is my first time talking to….” Tal let the sentence trail off. He didn’t want to say ‘something like you’ in case it offended the sword.

“Ahh, I remember my first time…I wa-”

Tal got the distinct feeling they were beginning to venture into territory best left untouched and tried to change the subject. “Sorry, but I’m unsure how I should address you. Do you have a name?”

“Your Sharpness will do. Or anything actually, I’ll take whatever you’ve got! I’ve had plenty of names, each dying along with the wielder that chose them for me. Ooh, this could be fun. Why don’t you choose a name for me!” The sword spoke in exaggerated tones.

The Sword spoke as if what it was saying was perfectly ordinary. Tal was flabbergasted. Still, he couldn’t help smiling at the overexcited thing. The Swords’ joviality was contagious.

“I might have to leave that task up to you, Your Sharpness.” he laughed. “But maybe you can give me a little advice while I’m here? I’ve been bumbling through this tower and need some help before I get into something I can’t handle.”

“You got it, friend. I do have a condition, though. This wealth of knowledge cant come for free! I’m looking for a new wielder. Someone who can take me to grand heights! And out of this Tower. I’m not a trophy to be thrown away and kept here. I don’t know why everyone keeps treating me like one…” the sword trailed off, a tinge of sorrow entering its voice.

‘Of course, there were conditions,’ Tal sighed. Though he couldn’t help feeling pity for the poor thing. “And you would let me take you just like that? No trial or nothing? I don’t know if that’s so wise…this stupid tower just punished me for taking something I apparently didn’t deserve. I don’t want to repeat that.”

“Well, usually I would give someone a challenge before allowing them to bond with me but screw that! I’ve been here far too long. Besides, you seem nice!”

‘There it was again’, Tal thought. That word, “bond”, kept coming up. It seemed like something he was being cornered toward. That made him wary. The last time some sort of bonding had been mentioned, an Imp had been trying to imprison him to a life of servitude.

“And what would be the conditions of this bond” Tal replied on alert, though it was hard to see the sword trying to swindle him.

“Oh, nothing too formal. I never was comfortable with long contracts. You would become my wielder. Taking me into battle! Bringing glory to my name! We could be partners on each other’s side. It would be fun. I just need you to bind a teeny-weeny bit of your soul with me to break the tower’s seal on me, though.”

Tal raised his eyebrows. “You understand you’re asking me to exchange a piece of my soul in exchange for a piece of metal, right? And although you do seem quite lovely, I’m afraid that does seem like a rather large price to pay.”

“Oh! It’s not painful or anything. Bonding is really quite a smooth and easy process here. And I’m not just a piece of metal! I’m an excellent conversationalist. Besides, what use is a soul if you can’t trade it away?”

Tal shook his head. The sword definitely had an odd view of life. “Surely, there have to be other drawbacks to bonding with things. As much as I would love to get you away from here, if it comes at great cost to me, I really can’t justify doing so.”

“I…understand. But look, you really have nothing to fear. Your spiritual pathways are really quite developed for your level. Enough that you’d be able to bond with me and still have room to spare.”

Tal sighed. He really didn’t know if this was a bad idea or not. On the one hand, he didn’t have much information about the bonding process and how it might change him. But, on the other hand, if The System itself was mentioning it, then surely that meant it was endorsed. Besides, he was beginning to realise how hard it would be to turn the enthusiastic sword down.

“Fine. Fine. You’re beginning to convince me. But I don’t even know how to do this whole thing. I’m not going to turn into a sword, am I?” Tal half-joked.

“Probably not! And that’s fine. The System handles all the nitty gritty stuff. You just have to consent.” The sword replied happily, twirling in midair. “Besides, the more powerful the entity, the more impact you can expect to see from forming a bond with it. And I’m no legendary sword.”

“Well shit…here goes nothing then. You’ll have hell to pay if you’ve screwed me over,” he said. Although on the inside, he was beginning to get excited. It was time to see what this business was all about.

“Yes, yes. Very scary. Now get on with it. I’ve got a world to see!”

Ding!

Soul Binding

You have bound a piece of your soul to the sentient sword only known to you as ‘Your Sharpness’, and in return, it has done the same.

The consequences of your actions may only be known in time!

Tal’s vision reeled as the notification came in. For a moment, the two swapped places and Tal could see the world around him through a sense other than vision. A sensation he would have described as similar to echolocation. It lasted only a second, and then his vision snapped back.

He didn’t feel any different, which was both relieving and unexciting. He hadn’t levelled up or gained any new abilities. Even his status hadn’t changed in the slightest. His new companion, though, didn’t seem to be deterred in the slightest.

“Oh wow. Human eyes really suck! That’s okay. I can lead you to the way out,” The Sword chirped up.

“Now, just wait a minute. We aren’t leaving yet. I don’t know what to expect to be waiting for me outside the tower, but we should make some preparations” Tal glanced at his expulsion timer. He still had a little bit of time.

“Oh, come on. We’ll be fine. Though if you really want to prepare, maybe we should sit down and get to know each other better. A little talk never harmed anybody.”

“Yeah, maybe you can talk everyone to death”, Tal muttered under his breath. He wasn’t sure how a conversation was any sort of preparation, but there was a good idea buried in there.

Soon later, Tal gripped the chattery sword and moved it around in the practised fashion he had learnt with Doldahr. The instant he wrapped his hand around its grip, it began to change. Slowly morphing into a shape that matched his stature. The sword’s grip shrunk beneath his fingers, feeling more comfortable by the second.

Tal turned with his weapon still in grip. ‘Much better, he smiled.

Then he began to wave the sword about. Getting a feel for its change in weighting and its new dimensions.

“This was not what I had in mind!” It shrieked as Tal struck forward with the sword. Nevertheless, it was somewhat refreshing to start using his Sword Mastery skill again, even if he wasn’t in actual battle. The exercise helped calm him down, even as it did the opposite to the sword.

For hours, Tal practised getting used to the change in weaponry; when he stopped, he felt much more comfortable.

He searched the small room and, with the help of his new friend, quickly found a sheath and a sash-like belt that he wrapped around his body and thrust the sheath through. His dagger also found a spot in the belt, looking very ordinary next to the illustrious new blade.

Tal eyed the timer, it was getting close, and while he was reasonably sure that The Tower would kindly and safely expel him toward the outside, he felt more comfortable trusting the sword’s judgement to find an exit for him.

“Thank god! And I thought we would never leave with you playing with me like that. You sure know how to woo a woman,” it exclaimed.

Tal didn’t have time to assert that he didn’t really think the sword could call itself a woman. But that was probably for the better. He didn’t think his sword would take kindly to being told such a thing. Not to mention he was hardly trying to woo it. It floated off, expecting him to follow in its wake. As Tal strode after it, he couldn’t help thinking it seemed to have some severe interpretation issues.

His companion ventured further into the room. At the end of which was a hidden door that slid back seamlessly when they got close. The two walked on through without a word. A pleasant respite from its usual unending rambling.

It didn’t take long for Tal to figure out where he was - back in the place where he had met the Null. Instead, the landscape before him was a broad swathe, teaming with fantastical-looking portals to the unknown.

His heart froze at the same time as his footsteps. But then he remembered he had a guide this time. Besides, unlike before, the null where nowhere to be seen. He started to breathe a little easier.

Tal wouldn’t have known which of the entryway to choose, but the sword seemingly did. Each of the entrances was wildly different yet, lacked any unambiguous identifiers as to what could be found beyond them.

The sword continued onward, and Tal trailed behind it, firmly trusting its judgement. Eventually, they came to a large tunnel, descending down into darkness. Tal sheathed the sword now that his final destination was clear, and trudged forward alone.

The closer Tal got to the end of the tunnel, the easier it was for him to make out the dark shape waiting at the end.

‘It’s never easy, is it?' He thought. ‘Wait. That's...’

Clustered around the base of the portal that Tal needed to get through was a small army of silhouettes.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Tal Cael.” they hissed out in a discordant cacophony of voices.