Amdirlain’s PoV - Demi-Plane

  The conversation with Gideon and the rawness from her Soul healing incited her nerves and paranoia to churn. The comforting blue glow she picked for the Demi-Plane shifted from feeling like a cloudless sky to being buried in ice. Amdirlain eliminated the glow, and the darkness enfolded her.

  ‘Sarah, I need to talk to Lethe about learning a few things. I’ll spend my collection of knowledge points to start, but I need to push True Song Architecture a bit. Hopefully, it doesn’t take long.’ Amdirlain projected the details she’d learned about Isa’s faith link along with the words.

  ‘No wonder Isa can get so uncomfortably weird sometimes. What are you going to do?’

  ‘If she still wants it, I’ll turn her back into an Anar. I spoke to Gideon, who confirmed it’s possible to learn enough with the points I have at present to accomplish and it will confirm if the composition is right. They also apologised for a few things—well, close enough that I’d accept it as one. They even said to say Hi to Shindraithra.’ Amdirlain shared a translation of their interaction.

  ‘I’m glad you two are mending fences. Do what you need to set Rachel free. Can I eat some aspects when this is all over? I’m craving the taste of moron.’

  ‘My conversation with Gideon was enlightening. I understand more about their behaviour now. The realm’s rules not only bind them; they’ve got infinite knowledge but can’t apply any of it directly. They’ve got frustration and loneliness bottled up with weird powerlessness since they know everything is happening but can’t act on it themselves. I’m sure Gideon is finding that analysis of their behaviour amusing—or sad.’

  ‘Maybe one day they’ll tell you. Take care, and try not to be away for centuries. While I’m enjoying teaching, that might be too much of a good thing,’ returned Sarah.

  ‘I am not going through the meditation approach of the technique. I plan to contact them through my regular Soulscape.’

  Her news received an approving rumble. ‘See you on the flip side, my love.’

  Amdirlain settled to meditate and turned her attention inwards.

  Within her awareness, she floated on a rough platform in a raging inferno, across from her Lethe sat cross-legged. The memory guardian still looked identical to Orhêthurin, but she wore the same silvery wushu robes as the Enyali?.

  Lethe tugged at the hem of a sleeve. “Thought I’d change my look. You should know I’m not fussed about actually having a flesh form. I was born to exist in thought, and I feel it’s a lot more comfortable, certainly more malleable.”

  “Aren’t things intense in here presently?”

  “A little, but I just had to change my perspective, and it’s fine. To what do I know the pleasure of this visit?”

  “You don’t know what goes on around me?”

  “I know the present day. I can’t dig into memories of other lifetimes. However, consider it like your abrupt instructor with the Soul healing technique. State your goal concisely.”

  “To turn a Celestial in service to an Aspect, back into an Anar without losing her identity.”

  “You know doing that will strip all her classes away?”

  “I figured that would be the best-case scenario.”

  Lethe smiled. “I know the effect the link you had with Sarah used to have. Since I had experience hindering it, I can duplicate or refine it. There is a problem, though. I blocked your acquisition of life experiences on those occasions, even though you got the insights.”

  “To improve the outcome, you’d have to allow the life experiences through?”

  “How many decades elapsed while we reviewed those memories of the True Song design?”

  “Only two years.”

  “That is better than I feared,” allowed Lethe. “I’ll show you the creation of the first Anar Soul and then the first celestials of similar potency to Isa. Spend your points, and I’ll repeat the memories until you tell me to stop. How hard do you want me to push?”

  “I know Kung-Fu,” quipped Amdirlain, and the memories of the movie raced through the Soulscape.

  Lethe held out her hand, and Amdirlain took it.

  “Sarah wears red, but you’re not a machine.” Right on the heels of that observation, the memory crashed through her.

  It was the memory of Nicholaus and Orhêthurin forging the Anar souls. This time, millions of songs swamped their surroundings, and Amdirlain poured hundreds of knowledge points into the new knowledge of Soul Lore. Though straining to absorb the music in the memory, she felt her consciousness barely hiccup from the flood of information from the points spent. The framework it established worked with the practical example before her to explode a cascade of insights that sent the knowledge of souls leaping through evolutions. Outside what she wanted to know for Isa, Amdirlain saw countless new possibilities for old lessons to advance her plans for Atonement and a desired rescue.

  When she got to pushing True Song Architecture, what had progressed to an effort jumped in difficulty to a furious assault as Amdirlain’s understanding of the music flowed—the cascade of insights having turned into a hurricane once the creation of songs were involved. The rampage continued until Amdirlain felt a sour slice dig liquid fire through her mind, and a tipping point threatened. Razor-edged notes flayed across Amdirlain’s mind, and the inferno from her Soulscape aggressively echoed in her flesh.

  Lethe yanked her hand away, and the bombard stopped. “Hopefully, that’s enough to help Isa.”

  “We should push further,” protested Amdirlain.

  “You did well, but you need to rest your mind and compose yourself, after you’ve recovered.”

  With that warning, Amdirlain found herself dumped from her own Soulscape.

  It took her nearly half an hour before she could focus on the waiting notifications.

  [Phoenix’s Symphony-Lord [G] (265) -> Phoenix’s Symphony-Prince [G] (54)

  True Song Architecture-Lord [G] (306) -> True Song Architecture-King [G] (186)

  Soul Lore Unlocked

  Soul Lore (1) -> Soul Lore-Prince [G] (19)

  Celestial Lore [M] (8) -> Celestia Lore-King [G] (187)

  Planar Lore [S] (27) -> Planar Lore-Lord [G] (106)

  Note: Learn about something’s construction, and you will learn much about its limits.]

  That was a decent result for a thousand-odd knowledge points and only a hundred and nineteen Skill points.

  ‘Sarah.’

  ‘Long time no hear!’ Within the words was a sense of surprise and extended absence.

  ‘A long time? I’m sorry.’

  The link carried an amused rumble beneath the words. ‘I don’t know how hard you pushed, but you’ve only been out of touch for three days.’

  Amdirlain sent her the details from the notification.

  ‘That’s a lot of big jumps. You want me to summon you now?’

  ‘Lethe told me to rest and compose myself. I think I’ll do just that. Do you want me to wash your back?’ A craving to see her warmed the link.

  Sarah hummed happily. ‘Somewhere quiet and away from others. Meet in my playground?’

  ‘Good, I can scold you for worrying me.’

  Amdirlain jumped locations and found herself face to face with a kaiju chomping on a dinosaur. Tentacles grew from her shoulders, and she waved one at the kaiju. “Shoo.”

  It snarled and spat plasma across its meal before it roared a challenge, only to find itself and its dinner sitting across the inland sea.

  With the sharp pain nipping and chewing at her brain, Amdirlain moved to the water’s edge and slumped on a rock to enjoy the radiant sunlight of the Demi-Plane.

  “Maybe I should wash your back,” said Sarah as she perched beside her on a rock, Amdirlain not having caught her arrival.

  “I flaked out. Words hard.”

  “You’ve not degraded to monosyllable replies yet,” noted Sarah. “But you didn’t even clean up after your kill.”

  “Not my kill. One of your toys was snacking,” Amdirlain waved towards its landing spot. “I sent it across the sea.”

  The house appeared higher on the slope and trotted around in circles for a bit before it took position on the grassed ridgeline.

  Sarah scooped her up, and Amdirlain snuggled into her princess carry, too worn by the pain to argue.

  “I prescribe a day of rest.”

  “Okay,” breathed Amdirlain, not complaining when Sarah stripped her off and loaded her into a bath filled with lavender soap bubbles.

  After much pampering, she was put into bed, and they cuddled; Amdirlain, with her head against Sarah’s chest, listening to only her heartbeat.

  ? ? ? ? ? ?

  Sarah awoke to find Amdirlain lying on her side with an intent but pain-free expression.

  “I’m surprised you’re not out of bed composing. Or do you have a memory crystal in skin contact?” asked Sarah as she wiggled around.

  “No memory crystal. I was taking some of Eleftherios’s advice.”

  “Oh?”

  “He said, ‘Love your life instead’, and I was enjoying watching my love sleep,” replied Amdirlain.

  Sarah drew an arm out from under the sheets and caressed her face. “Once you’ve got Isa free, I want to do something fun. Nothing from our agendas, no checking on anything. Let’s take Isa and Ilya somewhere and have some fun.”

  “A girls’ night out could be dangerous.”

  “Then let’s up the danger and make it a proper vacation. I want to grab some of your time before you’re gone for a really extended time, and Rachel will probably need some care and attention,” said Sarah. “Depending on how much she’s changed by removing the influence, Ilya might need some emotional backup too.”

  “Calling her Rachel already? My clearing of the Priest Class doesn’t mean she’ll magically revert to her prior personality.”

  “Just a reference to separate whoever she becomes from the Aspect-touched individual we’ve known since we reunited,” said Sarah.

  “Okay.” Amdirlain paused with her mouth open. “One problem.”

  “Everywhere you can think of has some sort of spot on your agenda?” Sarah pinched Amdirlain’s chin and slowly shook her from side to side.

  Amdirlain shrugged helplessly. “The Exchange? I want nothing there, and there are entertainment places.”

  “Too crowded. Think about it, and I’m sure you can name something you don’t have an alternative motive to go see.”

  “It’s not a motive as such, but I’m still learning so much about True Song, and my senses keep getting sharper, so I’m always learning. Even though I made this Demi-Plane, I can hear more about the underlying rules the songs accessed when I set it in place.”

  Sarah stole a kiss and trailed her fingers along Amdirlain’s neck. “I won’t hold learning new songs against you during the holidays. I was all set for another couple of years of not having you by my side, but suddenly you’re back, and it made me think more sharply about how that experience would have been. It has me feeling a little greedy, but we’ve got a friend who needs rescuing.”

  “But after that, a holiday.”

  “Yes, now if your brain isn’t still mush, why don’t we fly around a bit? After that, you can start figuring out what song Isa needs.”

  “I was supposed to take it easy and heal. Have I let myself get distracted again?”

  “I see the situation with Isa as part of the healing you need,” said Sarah. “From your first encounter with her, there has been an odd air. You worked better with Ilya learning about Hell than with Isa. Many of Rachel’s antics when you shared a place I would have found grounds to strangle her, yet you both waved it off. When she started having audible sex with her not yet fiancé in the next room, you just put headphones on. You two were constantly doing stuff on the weekend that I tagged along on to spend time with you. Do you meet up if it’s not part of a plan?”

  “No.”

  Sarah sat up and cupped Amdirlain’s face. “Sweetie, set her free of those hooks and heal things between you.”

  ? ? ? ? ? ?

  It took Amdirlain nearly four weeks of long stints composing before Gideon didn’t rate it as ‘needs more effort’; even then, it was only a 7-star rating. Amdirlain kept going, and the results slowly climbed to 8 and 9 stars, but it took three months before she got full marks from the review. To take breaks, she worked on the composition aligning the jade courts to an entire planet, but those hadn’t gotten above 6 stars. She intermingled the compositions with regular healing meditation but refrained from increasing her sigil’s growth.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  As she dismissed the notification, Amdirlain relaxed against the back of the couch and spun the notes hovering in the air. “Do I ask Gilorn to help?”

  Sarah looked up from the weapon pieces she had spread on the lounge room table. “Gideon said you’ve got the raw power.”

  Mum would freak out when she found Dad with car parts on the kitchen table.

  “Raw power isn’t finesse.”

  “You might need to pin her down for it to happen,” cautioned Sarah. “Gilorn could help you with that part.”

  “I’m unsure how to raise the topic. ‘I don’t like that another being has hooks in continually influencing your brain’. Is it okay for me to play god and change you back to a long-lived Mortal? Say, girl, you want to win the prize of being an Anar again; is today good for you?”

  Amdirlain waved her arms about, drawing a laugh from Sarah. “Maybe put it as a bet?”

  “Why would she take a bet like that?”

  “If the Aspect is manipulating her to hurt you, I’d say they’ll prod her to accept the bet, expecting you to screw up and get hurt by the guilt.” Sarah set the component she was holding aside and turned on her chair to face Amdirlain. “Otherwise, they’ve had years of playtime and caused many things to happen with Isa as their cat’s paw. You know this will also be a new opportunity for Rachel. She could take four True Song classes from the get-go. That might interest certain parties as an opportunity in itself.”

  Amdirlain hummed. “They might take it as a win or get angry and show up to stop it.”

  “Ask someone who has an interest in things being all nice and legal to be present,” proposed Sarah. “I wonder who might fill that criteria? If you’re going to step into the deep end of the pool, have a long-term player backing your move. This isn’t about you getting free of your curse; it’s about a Celestial becoming an Anar again and everyone being held accountable by the surrounding rules.”

  Amdirlain rolled her eyes.

  “What? A certain Aspect of law turned up when you wanted to chat with him and the gateway girl.”

  Theinas and Nexus were interesting to hear in person.

  “Let’s get dressed before I ask him to help Isa. Outside or in?”

  “Do you plan to ask him to sit for a cuppa?” snickered Sarah. “Sorry, I had an image pop into my head: he shows up in construct form while you’re ready to host an Alice in Wonderland tea party. It was an image straight down the rabbit hole of weirdness, curved ram horns spilling food across the table, white rabbits bouncing around the table asking if he wanted sugar, sending teacups flying with each hop.”

  My life disappeared down a rabbit hole a while ago, though slowly getting a better one.

  An idea popped into Amdirlain’s head, and she whistled happily.

  Sarah tilted her head quizzically.

  “Never mind, not about the tea party. I just had an idea about how to anchor a cornucopia of a Plane for the Enyali? to play in,” replied Amdirlain. “I’ll show you it later.”

  “Muse better not have played with my brain,” grumbled Sarah.

  “Oops, I’ve got Muse’s Embrace on, which means it might be an insight I provoked.”

  Amdirlain changed out of her pyjamas, but Sarah just sat there, her gaze lingering warmly on Amdirlain.

  “Flirt,” huffed Amdirlain happily. As she dressed, she let the soaring notes of the warmth coming through their link enfold much of her attention.

  “You can get dressed in an instant. I’ve got to see the floor show while I can,” replied Sarah.

  True to her word, she didn’t move until Amdirlain had finished fastening the last tie of her wushu robes.

  “You’ve been wearing normal clothes regularly. Are the poor shadow vines getting retired?”

  “You can’t undress me when I’m in them.”

  Sarah slipped from her armchair, skin-tight red leather enveloping her lithe body as her feet hovered above the floorboards.

  Amdirlain beat her outside and moved down the slope to where the grass transitioned into the gravelly shoreline.

  “Theinas, are you allowed to come talk to me?”

  A gaunt-faced Human appeared, his grey eyes matching the pinstripes in his black banker’s suit while an old-fashioned bowler hat sat precisely aligned to cover the short back and sides haircut he’d adopted. He leaned on a polished wooden cane, its end planted against a flat slab of rock as he regarded them both.

  “What’s with the get-up?” Amdirlain asked, waving up and down at his attire.

  “Gideon showed me images of legal individuals from your last life.”

  “He played you. That look is outdated and more like a classic bank manager than a lawyer,” advised Sarah.

  “He gave me a few centuries’ range, Shindraithra. I liked this one.”

  “An interesting choice,” said Amdirlain

  “What did you need to talk to me about?” asked Theinas. “I’m sure it’s not my choice of appearance.”

  Amdirlain took Theinas through the situation, not quite naming the involved Aspect; his eyes darkened at learning about the effective breach of the rules.

  “Are you stripping her of the classes before the process?”

  “During, because her species has the first Priest Class inside it,” said Amdirlain. “Since it’s a foundational piece, I’ve got to remove all the other classes she added afterwards.”

  Theinas’ lips thinned so much that they were barely white lines. “And Isa previously proposed a bet requesting you change her to an Anar?”

  “Yes, but I won, so she didn’t get it,” replied Amdirlain. “Which is just as well, because I needed to grow to have a chance.”

  “Technically, if you argue that you’re looking to close this loophole, Erwarth is also in violation. She is a former Lóm? with True Song in service to a Goddess,” noted Theinas. “Have you asked her if she’d renounce her ties? Or if she’d return to being flesh? Perhaps my colleague also had a hand in that happy accident and felt she could only get away with it once. The Enyali? aren’t in violation as they’re not in service to anyone, so you could ask Erwarth to leave service.”

  “That is a point. You’re certain there is no other option to get you to help?” asked Amdirlain.

  “If you wish me to help apply the law, then you’ll need to do so,” stated Theinas. “I also have two requests I would ask of you regardless of this situation.”

  “If Erwarth accepts and I don’t grant your requests, will you still help?”

  “Yes, since the requests are not for me.”

  His theme gave nothing away; its regular tempo was mechanically precise. “Interesting. What are the requests?”

  “First, that you spend at least a century studying the boundary before attempting to seal the conduit.”

  “I’ll look into that one. I’ve been recovering some of my old knowledge quicker than expected. How about I won’t try to seal it until all the aspects assisting are comfortable? Anyone who wants to argue the point must provide a logical reason and a plan to resolve it which isn’t simply more time spent. And who were you making that request for?”

  “A very fair counteroffer, I agree. I requested it for you.”

  Amdirlain raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

  Theinas smiled. “So you’d have more time with Shindraithra before the Abyss. Longer away from your goal doesn’t help you escape the curse, but it might give you a solid foundation to endure the plinth’s judgement.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re a romantic, Theinas,” Sarah said. A gleam of curiosity softened her composure.

  “I think there is more to it than Theinas being romantic.”

  “There is, but it’s not my doing, and it will happen regardless of your acceptance of this request. You’ll likely escape the curse if you make it to the plinth again. Whether your mind can handle the process of its judgement is different. You’ve done too much, far too much, since you last underwent its assessment.” Despite his words, Theinas tone was as drily factual as a stock take report on a stationary cupboard.

  Amdirlain swallowed. “The second?”

  “I’d like to determine the parentage for Torm’s reincarnation,” said Theinas.

  The regret and sympathy that rose in her rather than old pain were a pleasant affirmation of her healing to Amdirlain.

  Sarah clasped Amdirlain’s hand. “Come on, Theinas. You did well with the first request, but that sounds like a massive reservoir of potential manipulation ammo.”

  “It’s alright.” Amdirlain touched her forearm reassuringly, and Sarah relaxed. “Since you’re asking to decide, it would seem probable that you’ll get something. Would you explain how it’s a request for someone else?”

  Their closeness drew a slight smile from Theinas that seemed foreign to his stern features. “It’s for him and Nicholaus. His Soul is settled, but I can tell how divided your patér is about him. He feels Torm hurt you unnecessarily, and he doesn’t trust himself enough to give him a fair chance. Nicholaus has already imposed some challenges on him, but I won’t share the details with you. However, he refrained from blank slating his Soul as you do to those in Atonement. If I have your permission, I can ease that burden from Nicholaus; matters involving you have greater emotional weight with him than anything else in the realm.”

  “Harmful challenges?”

  “Not in themselves, but Torm will need to work hard in his next life, to a fierce degree, if he seeks anything like a path to enlightenment. Nicholaus doesn’t want him regaining old memories of you, as he feels that would harm the happiness of all three of you.”

  “What’s your intention in requesting to place him?”

  “So certain seeds of wisdom bloom properly without hurting him. He already had a bitter lesson that he can’t remember about placing trust in unworthy leadership. I don’t need to put him through it again. Instead, I’d put him somewhere to learn to judge leadership on merit.”

  “You’ve got parents lined up?” asked Sarah with sudden suspicion.

  Theinas let out a bark of laughter. “No, I’m not looking to take advantage of your matings. I have a set of criteria and some candidates. The priority is a loving family who’ll have him question his need for obedience to a rigid hierarchy. The rest of my conditions support that purpose.”

  Sarah snorted and squeezed Amdirlain’s hand. “That seems to be an odd criterion for you.”

  “The law should treat all equally, not favour someone because of their position. Unless I find a suitable candidate, it might be centuries before he is Mortal again. Yet, for those centuries, the decision won’t be a burden to Nicholaus.”

  “Will you stick around while I talk to Erwarth and Lerina? I’m taking away one of her angels if Erwarth agrees,” said Amdirlain. “Though I’m going ahead regardless, even without your backup to prevent interference.”

  I must remember to call her Lerina and not Ebusuku or Eb. I’ve been quite slack.

  “Of course,” said Theinas.

  Amdirlain checked with Analysis to see if the song would work on Erwarth before she dispatched the request to meet with them.

  Lerina showed up in a Wood Elf form clad in sombre silks. Her dusky skin was nearly an ebony hue that echoed back to Ebusuku’s original form, drinking in the radiant light of the Demi-Plane. Beside her, Erwarth seemed aglow in golden armour with white wings out. When she saw who was waiting for them, she shot Lerina a reproachful look. “Formal visit indeed.”

  “I’ve never met Theinas, the Aspect of Law,” said Lerina.

  Erwarth blinked and tried to take in Theinas’ appearance, but her gaze slid off him. “I can’t see past your concealments.”

  Theinas’ energies shifted and removed the obfuscation effect. “Lady Lerina. Erwarth. It’s been a pleasure watching you both challenge legal loopholes seeking change on many worlds.”

  “You like us picking at legal holes?”

  “Laws challenged grow stronger, a situation which is healthier than stagnant. You’ve got rid of many decayed laws.”

  “I could argue the point, but I think that would take us away from whatever reason Amdirlain asked us here,” said Lerina. “Who’d care to begin?”

  Amdirlain nodded to Erwarth. “It’s in regard to the concern that Erwarth raised. The problem is that Erwarth is effectively in the same situation, and Theinas won’t help prevent outside interference unless Erwarth also stops exploiting the same legal loophole.”

  “You mean me having True Song and serving Lerina?” asked Erwarth.

  “Though I give her free choice, and Isa is being yanked around like a puppet,” stated Lerina.

  “The law is the law. The Anar and Lóm?, at full strength, have a greater ability to change things than anyone except a very few realise. While I wasn’t involved in the design, I know the laws that bind their powers,” said Theinas. “It’s not a power that anyone except the Titan and Amdirlain should direct. Also, if Erwarth is to regain her full strength, she can’t do it in your service because she’d need to follow the realm’s agenda, not yours.”

  Lerina looked to Amdirlain for confirmation.

  “That is true. While there is some overlap between change and creation, the route for each individual to fix their True Song path requires dedication to creating according to the realm’s design.”

  “It’s always your choice, Erwarth,” said Lerina. “Is this a change you’d like to make?”

  Erwarth nodded sharply. “I’d become a Lóm??”

  “Yes. Though I intend to power level you and Isa back up to obscene levels to match your singing capabilities,”

  “I’ll take the offer, but we need to earn True Song back,” said Erwarth. “And I mean that literally because it’s not a Skill; it’s a Power. We’ll have insight to draw on to improve it faster, but we’ll still need to work. Voice of experience there, since I lost it when Balnérith ordered us to transform ourselves into Succubi.”

  Amdirlain winked mischievously. “No, you won’t. You won’t lose the Power ratings you have now, but you’ll be very weak and lack the health to support its use until I get your levels back up. You will lose all your resistances, species powers, and those related to other classes where the Lóm? species can’t support them, so you’ll be considerably weaker.”

  Theinas tapped his cane against the rock. “For a Hidden, the external flesh doesn’t prevent the Soul’s expression nor the classes they can gain, which is how Isa and Amdirlain accessed it.”

  “Where do you want my equipment, boss?” asked Erwarth. “It’s only fair I go first since I brought the issue with Isa to Amdirlain’s attention.”

  “Boss indeed,” snorted Lerina. “Just give it to me.”

  Lerina took the armour and weaponry from her, and when Erwarth shrank to Human height, she clasped her shoulders. “Don’t be a stranger.”

  “I’ve got a hundred thousand Enyali? to teach, so I’ll be on Laurelin a lot. I’ve done this three times now—hopefully this one is less painful,” said Erwarth.

  “Three times?” asked Sarah. “I thought it would be twice.”

  “First into a Succubus, second when Amdirlain stripped all my classes with Profile Mastery, and third when the Titan transformed us from succubi into celestials. That hurt, but I think that might have been deliberate and deserved. Klipyl experienced a warm hug of approval.”

  Sarah smiled. “She’s Amdirlain’s best little sister; even Nicholaus can’t resist giving pats.”

  “Do you need me standing anywhere in particular?” Erwarth motioned to the grassed slope.

  “The song will keep your flesh from mingling with the rocks or grass. I could levitate and spin you around if you’d like,” offered Amdirlain.

  “That’s okay, I think I’ll manage. How long does this take?”

  “You won’t notice the passage of time, but it’s about twelve hours of singing. You’ll have to get used to reverie and the biological challenges again.” Amdirlain ignited her aura; the white flames were just a finger width along her skin and didn’t even singe her robes or the grass, but a heat haze rose around her. “I, however, will feel it. Weirdly enough, creating planets is easier.”

  The silk of the robes clung to her body as blood vessels split with the force of the music, and the surrounding flesh ruptured. The blood mingled with the aura and turned the surrounding air into a metallic steam bath; Sarah gusted it away from the rest of them. Aeons of accumulated Soul energy that had transformed into Celestial essence had set and become inertia that resisted her efforts to restore it. Golden light flickered up from Amdirlain’s exposed bones, flaring in the gaping holes through her flesh.

  When the first T-Rex followed the blood scent, Lerina seized it by the tail and tossed it towards the horizon. The house’s defences blasted smaller specimens that raced in for a taste.

  “Those are my snacks,” protested Sarah.

  “Then keep your pantry under control,” huffed Lerina playfully as she moved towards another.

  Sarah snorted and released drones skywards and more scavengers died in droves.

  A shifting light pattern around Erwarth became more pronounced as her aura became visible; the silver celestial energies bled out and clashed with Amdirlain’s aura. Lerina pulled them spiralling into her before it was more than a loud firecracker effect.

  As the song stripped away Erwarth’s celestial layers and converted her essence into a Soul, Amdirlain heard the energy pools consumed by Erwarth’s Prestige classes reform. The songs passed the True Song powers back from Erwarth’s species and classes to her Soul’s care alone. Within the last bars, she rebuilt a brand new Lóm? body with bronze-gold skin and a bright emerald gaze; Amdirlain ensured everything was functional before anchoring the newly remade Soul.

  Erwarth took a shuddering breath and almost fell over, but Lerina and Sarah steadied her before her wobble got out of hand. “I’m so weak.”

  Amdirlain cleared the last blood steam away and sank to her knees. “My advice is to pick only classes related to True Song if you want to hit your maximum potential with it.”

  The thick metallic scent had soaked into the grass, but Amdirlain was too tired to care.

  Sarah released Erwarth into Lerina’s care and moved to crouch before Amdirlain. “Are you alright?”

  “Souls are hard work. I don’t know how I used to make thousands of them a second.”

  [Achievement: Soul Musician (Tier 6)

  Details: Create (or re-create) a Soul with a single True Song.

  Reward:

  - 100,000,000 experience

  - Insights

  - Class: Soul Tender Unlocked!

  Total Experience gained: 100,000,000

  Songbird: +33,333,333

  Psychic Bastion: +33,333,333

  Psychic Bastion Levelled Up x60!

  Ki Guardian: +33,333,333

  Ki Guardian Levelled Up x60!

  Phoenix’s Symphony-Prince [G] (54->66)

  Protean [S] (58->95)

  True Song Genesis-Lord [G] (112->120)

  Universal Life [S] (134->142)

  Note: You didn’t waste too much energy, but a Soul’s nature is conceptually infinite.

  Note: Good work, but you owe yourself one experience point.]

  Taking in the stability of Erwarth’s song, Amdirlain restrained her relieved giggles.