I shiver though the waters aren’t so cold, I kick my tail back and forth, new flesh rippling around my legs. I practice the movement, altering my buoyancy. It’ll take a while before I’m confident in this form.

I’m not frightened of death or pain, but my heart pounds heavily now, my tail feeling like the alien prosthetic that it is. The thick waters disguise the busy thoroughfare surrounding us, and I can only sit here while Pi talks with old friends and acquaintances.

Nel and the others are playing with our kids, I swallow down the taste of bile as I watch on. The small fleshy bundles seem… not quite right. It’s not the alien features, but the way they look at me, or the machine that I’m inhabiting.

I force calm to my breathing only to suck in a mouthful of sour water, spitting the last air from my lungs. It bubbles up and away, slipping through my fingers as I instinctively grab for it.

I choke on the water, trying to spit it out, only sucking in more water in my struggle.

Clenching my jaws shut isn’t enough to stop the instinctive movements of my lungs. Reminding myself that I don’t need to breathe isn’t enough.

My body doesn’t understand.

“Kyra?” Nel asks, reaching out for my machine body.

“I’m fine,” I say.

“You don’t seem fine?” she says. “Did something happen?”

“I breathed,” I say, shivering as little Tanya glares at me from her arms. “There’s no air and my lungs don’t like the water.”

I can fight off panic better than most, and I’ve been through enough to have confidence in that, but there’s something visceral to this, something coded into my very flesh.

“You’re fine,” Nel says, resting her hand on mine and looking into my machine eyes. “Kyra, are you safe right now?”

“I’m safe, surrounded, but they’re friendly.”

Leai and Seia act without the need for orders, they stand by me, distracting the few ocean critters that approach us directly. Their interference isn’t perfect, but no one steps in just yet.

It could be the rust particles in the water, or it could just be the sensation of drowning, but as the last bubbles escape me, the pain only gets worse.

“Focus on me,” Nel says, holding my hands tight in hers. Little Tanya hangs from her arms, staring at me cautiously.

“I’m trying,” I whisper, swallowing hard.

My throat burns. I consume the mana from the water inside my lungs and try to cast it out, but I keep sucking in even more water in its place.

“Are you okay?” Pi asks, reaching out a tentacle for me. If I can’t breathe in the water, will I count as a part of their community, or will I just be a land crawler?

Will they cast me out? War against me? Send their ‘guardians’ against me?

“I’m fine,” I hiss, the sound is barely audible but he waves in quiet response. His big eyes focus on me as he deflates, his eyes shimmering with restrained concern.

“Close your mouth and stop breathing,” Nel says. “You don’t need to breath, so don’t.”

I nod, closing off my lungs and floating loose in the depths. The water sits heavy on my chest, but it’s not quite as bad as it was. At least not until a small twitch brings about a desperate convulsion as I try to expel the water only to suck more in.

I try to stop it, but my body still moves at its own whims. I won’t complain that my heart beats all of its own, but I don’t need to be worried about drowning anymore and I don’t need to be worried about water in my lungs.

“Water isn’t so different from air, they both flow easily,” Nel says, squeezing my hands and speaking forcefully, denying me any right to deny her ‘facts’. “With your mana density the water will be almost light as air, right?”

“Right…” I nod slowly, breathing the water very slowly. She’s right that it’s not as heavy as actual water would be for an ordinary human. I process the water, draining away the mana and slowly expelling it.

“Okay, I can do this,” I say, recovering and meeting Pi’s eyes. Air? Who needs air? Water on my lungs? I’ve had worse before, I don’t even know why I’m struggling with it so much right now. I’ve even practised drowning myself a time or two and it was never so bad as today.

Wait, does that make this an ordinary panic attack?

Later. I’ll think about all that later.

What am I here for?

“So, how can I go about asking for open trade between our peoples?” I ask Pi. “I also want to invite some of your youth into my school.”

“Your school?” He asks, focusing his attention back on me. “We’ll need to open a conversation with the community, I’ll ease you into it. It might be a little strange to experience at first, but just let it happen, okay?” he says. I don’t trust him on that, but I do trust that I’ll be able to free myself if the worst comes about.

“Right now?” I ask.

“Daddy?” The young woman who approaches looks much too old to use that sort of term, but the translation seems to carry with it a certain childish affection. I try not to let it affect my judgment.

She floats up to Pi from the depths below and shares the same floating limbs as Pi, but she has an elvish face and a torso that imitates the right shape but is far too colourful.

Red and blue criss-cross her body and blend into intricate patterns of purple. Her eyes, however, glow in a deep silver hue, reflecting the colours around her.

She notices me briefly, tilting her head curiously and waving, the streamers that shape her limbs reshaping into a hand.

“Sorry, my daughter, I might have called you here for nothing,” Pi says. “She’s recovered.”

“Daddy?”

“I told you I was fine,” I cut in, kicking a little closer while stifling a few more coughs. “I told you before, the water is cleaner where I come from. This rust just makes it difficult for me to breathe.”

“You were floundering around like a land crawler,” Pi says. “I thought it might have something to do with the curse.”

“Well, setting all that aside,” I say. “I should introduce myself properly. I’m Empress Kyra of the Ashen Empire.” Ashen Empire sounds good, perhaps I’ll even stick with that name.

“An Empress?” Pi asks, bloating and floating away from me, raising a few limbs between me and his daughter.

“I’m Freyra,” the pretty young mermaid-adjacent says, poking her head up over her father’s arms.

She’s pretty, but that might partly be because I’m drowning, and the idea of death might be messing with my judgment.

“It’s a pleasure to be acquainted with you,” I reply.

“There aren’t many cursed around here,” Freyra says, looking around in the misted surroundings, seemingly just as blind as I am.

“There are many like us in my empire. We don’t consider it a curse, either, many of us even come from cultures that idealize this form,” I wave at my human features. “For better and for worse.”

“Really?” she draws closer as she looks between the twins and I.

“Yeah. I mean, heck, my own kids are a mess of parts,” I say. “They’re all very adorable, though. I wish I had a photo to show you.”

That’s how you do it, right? I’m a proper mum now.

Freyra’s eyes shine in the low light as she wanders closer to me. A moth drawn nearer to the flame, or the cat drawn in by curiosity.

“Let’s start this conversation,” Pi says, waving a few limbs between me and his daughter and floating between. “I think there are many things that we need to talk about.”

“Alright, I’m willing to talk this out,” I say, reaching out to the fluttering arm that he thrusts out toward me. It’s vaguely slippery, and his mana density is considerably weaker than mine. Somewhere in the lower- to mid-liquid stage.

The connection that he forges between us is somehow bound together by some magic that isn’t unlike the communication Skills I’ve already toyed with. It’s far from a complete merge, like how Unity works, but it is still a rather powerful bond.

“What is this?” I ask, floating in an ethereal council room. It’s a figment of my imagination, that much I can tell immediately, partly from experience with the strange and partly from my anti-illusion Skills.

“What’s this?” Seia asks, moving her hair about and exploring the space around her. It’s as if the space expands the more she stretches out, never quite reaching me.

Meanwhile, Leai’s attempts at reaching out to her sister have her swimming in place like she’s on some absurd treadmill.

Pi and his daughter are a part of the crowd opposite us but quickly shift closer after a moment’s contemplation.

“Greetings Pi, you have convened this meeting?” A monstrous whale says, floating from a seat across from me.

“I have convened this meeting for the sake of our visitors,” Pi says. “They have travelled here from the nearby dungeon, and their leader wishes to speak with us.”

“Greetings young one, I hope this meeting is fortuitous. This meeting of minds allows us to discuss all things of importance here, do you have any questions that you wish to ask of us?”

The chatter that fills the room is remarkably easy to understand. Almost as if I’m remembering a half-forgotten conversation just from a few words overheard. Entire concepts are being shared across a wide network, ideas processed at an incredible speed. It’s not quite as fluid as being a part of a single mind, but it is certainly closer than most will ever achieve.

“I want more than anything else, for peace between our people,” I say. “Yet, we cannot join your civilisation. Is it possible for us to maintain civil relationships keeping this fact in mind?”

“Why can’t you?”

“Why wouldn’t you want to?”

“Is she stopping people from coming here? Slaves?”

Millions of minds touch upon countless lines of thought at once, the most powerful of these thoughts rise to the surface in a chorus of voices.

“I will not stop anyone from leaving, but I will not cede our territory to your rule, nor will I force my people to leave their homes,” I explain.

This regains some calm from the gathered millions.

It strikes me briefly just how insane this situation should be, but it passes quickly. Speaking before millions of aliens is hardly anything special, not when I’ve been a part of Unity and grown acquainted with dungeons that have lived for longer than most civilisations.

The general assessment from the group is that my demands are completely reasonable. I can’t yet know that their way of life is superior and it’s only reasonable that I wait and see just how inferior my way of life is.

“You are an Empress of your own little civilisation?” Pi asks, instantly bringing the conversation to a new tilt. Everyone looks at me, whispering thoughts ranging from impressed to frightened and angry.

“I am,” I say evenly.

“We don’t mess around with such things like monarchies and empires, we are all equal here,” Pi says.

“That’s fine,” I reply. “I’d be quite interested in finding out how that works. This council is great and all, but it can’t keep you safe from the monsters that I’ve crossed. If I weren’t as strong as I am, my people would all be dead or enslaved. My position as empress is a necessity for my people. It is my purpose to guard them from all the dangers of the universe, and I will not take that responsibility lightly.”

“You’re not here to take over?” the idea isn’t wholly from Pi, rather it’s spoken with ten-thousand voices in ten-thousand different ways. “That’s what empires do, isn’t it?”

Ah, shoot a difficult question…

My honesty has me wanting to tell the truth, that I’m going to take over everything eventually, but that feels like a terrible thing to do at this moment. Still, lying seems… wrong.

“I… I don’t want to war with your people,” I say truthfully. “I will be expanding my empire throughout this world, but I will respect the borders of your civilisation so long as you do not take any hostile action against me and my people.”

“Expanding your empire?” Asks yet another group, not entirely the same as before, though many voices are shared between them. “The oceans are ours our borders from shore to shore.”

“Well, I suppose I’ll be taking everything from shore to shore, the other side of it, I mean. The land.”

“You would take the land?” The response is nearly in complete unison, I’m not sure that Unity could reply with such a singular voice.

“Is that a problem?” I ask.

“You would choose to become a land crawler?” The voices ask in horror. A thousand other whispered conversations take place around me, their contents confusing to keep track of.

“I do not discriminate,” I say, looking about the crowd. “Land, water, sky, the fiery solar storms far above, and the void of space between, I will claim it all.

“Excepting only the lands that friendly neighbours hold claim over,” I add quickly. “I would not spite my neighbours and allies.”

The council falls into mass confusion, my ears hearing one term return a few times. ‘Guardian’ the concept carries with it a sense of protection, a warrior that keeps them from harm. One which would cast me out, or see me dead.

“I do not want war,” I say. “But I am prepared to do whatever it takes if you take violent action against me and mine.”

My own voice feels terribly weak before the chorus of countless millions. They speak with confidence, and no matter how I scream I won’t be able to silence them. This is as true of a democracy as I’ve ever known, it’s… nice.

I won’t give up my position within my empire, but perhaps it’s worth copying this Skill regardless. I might be the sword and shield of my empire, but here in this space, people can speak freely.

If I could connect with my citizens using this, it could be tremendously helpful. It’s not some magic cure-all for civilisation, but it could help keep me grounded with the perspective of the common citizen of my empire.

“You are dangerous,” the voices chorus, all but a small few directing their fear toward me. “The guardians will escort you out of our waters.”

I swallow, meeting their eyes.

There is silence as they wait for my response.

“I have come here with good intentions even if I may be brash with my words,” I say. “I will need to defend against the waves that crash against the shore.

“My first duty is to my people and I will keep them safe,” I say. “I respect what you have here, and I do not wish to destroy it. I do, however, prioritise the well-being of my people. I hope for a diplomatic solution between us, I’ve already had more than enough of killing everyone in my way. If I do not have that choice however then violence will become the only tool left to me. Do not press me into such a corner.” I keep my tone even, explaining my situation. It’s a threat, but also a statement of fact.

“Then stay in your cave,” Pi says. “Stay in your cave, and our waves won’t reach you.”

“That isn’t an option,” I say. “Some jackass wants to dust everything in the universe that doesn’t bow to him. That means I have to grow up big and strong to fight him off, and that means that I need to eat.”

“We will allow anyone to freely meet you at the shore,” The council remains conflicted, but the majority agree to permit this much. “We will not cease our conflict with the land crawlers, and you will not enter our waters again until this council changes our decision.”

“Then I would like to make a final appeal,” I say before he can close the meeting. “Anyone who is curious can freely come to my empire and leave as you will, granted it might prove difficult depending on your size and shape, but I will try to be accommodating.

“We also have an academy that I’m still developing, and I can guarantee you a position there if you wish to learn any new Skills or magics. I’d like to study the phenomenon of ‘the ravaged’ as I’ve heard about it, but with limited access to the victims that will prove difficult.

“Come and see who I am, and the empire that I protect, before casting judgement.” I close out. A quiet curiosity bubbles in the back of the room, but the majority are uninterested in my offer.

That’s fine.

I can work with this. As Nel said, the school is a nice cultural focal point that allows me to reach out to these people.

The meeting magic snaps out of place, and we all return to ourselves. The city of chaotic lights and sounds seems more familiar, but also much more distant now.

“Pi,” I meet the colourful octopus’s eyes. “Can I request your service in returning us to the shore?”

“The guardian will guide you,” he says.

“But we can give them company, can’t we?” Freyra asks, appealing to her father.

“I’d also like to learn more about the waves,” I say. “If there is a good purpose for them, then I would like to hear it.”

Pi grumbles but leads us away after a short exchange with Freyra.

“We’re not fighting?” Leai asks, bubbling with frustration.

“Not today,” I reply. “Hopefully not ever. Historically speaking my attempts at diplomacy lean far too heavily on violence, don’t they? I don’t think that’s going to help me here.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Stats and Skills

~Mana Form:

Current mana crystallisation:

-2.1% at 78,231 (Stage 2)

-97.9% at 60,892 (Stage 1)

Current mana volume: 30,450 / 30,450 shards

Mana volume at Stage 1 crystallisation (Max. mana volume):

Kyra: 30,271 shards

Kyra’s armour: 20,777 shards

Kyra’s throne: 1,109,298 shards

~Forms

Mana Canon

-Annihilation Heart (Adapted)

-Blood Fuel (Adapted)

-Bone Magic Storage (Adapted)

-Nail Shifters (Adapted)

Dancer

-Flash Nerves (Adapted)

-Quick Perception Mind (Adapted)

-Burst Reflex Muscles (Adapted)

-Layered Space Muscles (Adapted)

Turtle

-Rebinding Tissue (Adapted)

-Catalyst Sweat Glands (Adapted)

-Repulsive Skin (Adapted)

-Prehensile hair (Adapted)

-Fatty Tissue Blood Storage (Adapted)

Investigator

-Wide eyes (Adapted)

-Wide ears (Adapted)

-Sharp nose (Adapted)

Misc.

-Clean bowels (Adapted)

-Mana Drive (Adapted)

~Favourited Skills:

Magic:

-Annihilation Magic (Customised)

-Fire Magic (Functional)

-Space magic (Broken)

-Force magic (Functional)

-Ice magic (Broken)

-Wind magic (Broken)

Movement:

-Hand-to-hand casting (Mastered)

-Mana surge movement (Customised)

-Stealth (Functional)

Senses:

-Eyes of an Empire (Customised)

-Combat Awareness (Mastered)

-Watchmen (Functional)

-Hidden bug (Mastered)

-De-tagging (Mastered)

-Anti-stealth sight (Mastered)

Special:

-Spirit Transformation (Broken)

-Conformity (Broken)

-Training mana form (Functional)