"Like beetle animals. Feed now, grow fat, eat later."

  Theo rubbed his eyes with both hands. "Don't eat Senka. This is difficult to explain, but she needs to come with us."

  "Senka-what? Senka-parasite?"

  "We need to feed her, but she'll be helpful. Or she should be, once she changes."

  Krikree sat back, clearly displeased by this answer. She spent a while cleaning her antennae with her upper hands and muttering to herself. Eventually she said "Senka commensalist symbiote" and sat back as if marginally satisfied.

  Despite having traveled with her for so long, Theo was still surprised to hear a word like that come out of Krikree's mouth. The sound, not filtered through soul translation, had been just a pair of syllables. In a way it wasn't strange that the Slescans would have words for such relationships, though he wondered just how it would have translated if he didn't have a biological vocabulary from his time on Earth.

  Just as Theo was about to return to his work, he saw Senka rise. Something about the way she pulled herself up - wearily instead of bouncing - immediately drew his attention. When she looked at him, her eyes were shot with dark blood and there was no trace of levity on her face.

  "Hey." She coughed and pitched to the side, but he caught her. "Can't stay long."

  "Why show up now? Do you have a warning?"

  "Just took this opportunity to find you again. Just... don't sporp up this local blook. It's more important than it looks."

  "But I suppose you don't have time to explain." Though Theo spoke sharply, he was incredibly relieved to hear her cynical voice. He'd spoken to the real Senka for such a short time, yet...

  "Don't have time to explain why I can't explain... but I do have time to annoy you." Senka shot him a weary grin, but her eyes were beginning to bleed. "Found the next river. Can get there from Noven. You need to go to Noven, right?"

  "Yes, it's my next goal. Where is the next one? Is it like the Chasm or-"

  "It's in Senkaland, dummy!" The little brat slapped him across the face and then ran away to eat rocks. Her eyes weren't bloodshot anymore, but in a sense Senka was suffering even more.

  At some point while she was lucid, they'd need to talk about exactly how much she could perceive while she wasn't in her right mind. If she was trapped in there, listening, then her antics would be much less insufferable. For the time being, he decided there was no point in interrogating her further.

  "Not commensalist symbiote?" Krikree crouched nearby, wielding a spear in Senka's general direction while flicking her antennae toward him.

  "It's... hard to explain."

  "Senka-what?"

  "Just don't eat her for now." His words didn't appease Krikree, but she retracted her spear.

  So now he had another reason he needed to get to Noven. All he needed to do was navigate through byzantine local politics and stop a war between superpowers funded by shadowy entities from outside the continent and likely the world.

  Theo got back to soulcrafting.

  Chapter 10

  As much as Fiyu had come to enjoy Siata, they returned to Ichil for her ascension. There was really no question about it. Her Corporeal Floor would define who she was as an Ichili adult, so she wanted to be bathed in her world's own darkness.

  Her relative had taken her back by weirkey, so there hadn't been any extra soulcrafting time to prepare. Instead she had taken several days in one of their safe houses to fully prepare everything. She had removed several temporary constructions, such as the vestibule that Theo had suggested she build. Finished stabilizing her pyramid on the roof, of course. Then yet more polishing, just in case, as she double and triple checked every individual component.

  Still, even as she stood on the precipice, she hesitated. This was the first time in her life that so much was riding on a single moment. Other errors could be remodeled, but a fatal flaw in her Corporeal Floor might potentially be beyond repair. If she hadn't struggled through so many challenges with her companions and even ascended in order to defend them, the idea would have been paralyzing.

  "You are nervous," Relative Guchiro said from the real world. "You need not be. I have explained every detail of the ascension, and you have grasped them all. There is nothing to fear."

  "Yes, but..." She looked toward her relative uncertainly. Only after having done so did she realize that it was a habit picked up in other worlds, useless here. Perhaps another way in which she had changed too much...

  Her relative's body was completely unmoving for several heartbeats, then he spoke somberly. "You are no longer a child, to follow after a relative. Perhaps if you understand the broader theory, you will understand the paths not taken, and no longer fear the one before you."

  "Yes, please." Fiyu abandoned her soulcrafting entirely and wiggled forward to sit in front of him. Even though he told her that she was an adult now, she wanted to learn at his feet one more time.

  "An ordinary soulhome interacts with the body on solely a spiritual level, mediated by cantae. That power reinforces the body, but only temporarily. A Corporeal Floor partially merges your soulhome with your physical body. You will cease to be simply flesh and become partially cantae. This floor may grant less power, but there is no suppressive force in existence that can take away its gifts."

  Fiyu had heard some of this before, but her relative had never spoken so directly to her. She leaned forward and listened carefully as he continued.

  "There are many techniques, following many approaches. For example, it is common for soulcrafters to build their Corporeal Floors slowly, heavily reinforcing each organ and using their ascension to seal their work together. But there are limits to this method. The soulhome can only be fused to the body in the fires of ascension, so the preliminary reinforcement can often embed errors in the design. To be fair, many soulcrafters cannot afford to wait to finish an entire floor. You have no doubt felt your limitations already."

  "Could that method be done effectively?" Fiyu asked.

  "It is not unheard of. One could follow a blueprint to the tiniest detail, or carefully rebuild the body one step at a time. There are benefits to this, but in the end, the ascension is required to complete the connection. For that reason, I prefer singular transformation." Her relative paused, tilted his head oddly, then spoke in a different tone. "Can you guess what sort of problems might be caused by partial rebuilding?"

  Normally he didn't ask her questions in the middle of lessons, so Fiyu scrambled for an answer that wouldn't shame them both. "If a warrior strengthened their arm... would the shoulder be too weak? And the shoulder requires the torso, and so on."

  "A valid example," Relative Guchiro said, "but most are not foolish enough to run into that error. One I have actually seen is soulcrafters who attempt to strengthen their heart first. Without their veins being reinforced, it pumps so powerfully that their veins burst open."

  Fiyu shivered at the thought and inventoried everything on her second floor again. She knew the blueprint was well-tested, but what if a small error led something similar to happen to her?

  "Once forged, the link between body and spirit cannot be easily reforged. For this reason, it is impossible for soulcrafters to simply remodel an old floor at a later time. That is why this ascension will be so difficult: there are many steps you must take now because they can only be done now."

  "I understand." Learning that did make the task seem a bit less ominous, but Fiyu decided that she should air her remaining doubts as well. "I wonder if we could place more sublime materials on my second floor. It would not create clashing cantae, would it? Is any empty space now a missing opportunity forever?"

  "Never fear." Her relative smiled beneath his mask. "What you have soulcrafted is a complete system: every aspect of yourself represented and no dependency missing. However, when you have reached Authority and beyond, you may desire modifications. The remaining space will allow you to improve your soulhome on future ascensions, without cutting out essential features."

  "Then... one last thing." Fiyu swallowed, but pushed forward. "I have wondered about the staircases you have instructed me to build. My companion Theo has emphasized internal space... the stairs take up so much space, and they do not generate much cantae. Why did your blueprint include such large stairs?"

  Relative Guchiro was still again, then his entire body relaxed. "Perhaps I should have told you more of the design from the beginning. For now, the staircases do appear to be wasted space. However, when it comes time to build an Immortality Conduit, you will not regret having them. Your companion is not wrong, simply mistaken about the intention of your first floor."

  That doubt had been growing in her mind for some time, but hearing her relative's explanation put it to rest. Part of Fiyu wanted to ask him about Immortality Conduits and another part of her mind felt full. No, best to focus entirely on the soulcrafting ahead of her. The task was difficult enough.

  At least she was no longer struggling with the concept. When Fiyu walked through her second floor, it felt right. She could imagine all of these sublime materials, carefully worked with her own hands, becoming a part of her body. Some of the more dangerous steps now made sense, and she looked forward to fusing her body and soul.

  "I am ready." Fiyu straightened her back and focused all her senses on her relative. "I wish to complete my Corporeal Floor now."

  "I believe you are." Relative Guchiro reached into his soulhome and revealed a shallow cup. He placed a sphere of metal inside it and then focused his cantae, melting the metal into a bubbling liquid which he set before her. "You may begin when you wish."

  After a deep breath, Fiyu contracted all her senses until she felt only herself. In the real world, she pulled the pouch from her clothes and clenched the sphere in her fist. She kept that pressure in her mind and stepped into her soulhome to begin.

  She walked to the top of her soulhome very carefully. Her partial pyramid extended into the pressure overhead, but it left an opening into the central chamber of her second floor. When she looked down into it, she saw the metal sphere glinting there. It pulsed in time with the sphere in her physical fist and she finally understood why. Soon the paired sublime materials would be one.

  As she began to climb the side of her pyramid, the wind pressed down against her, but Fiyu could struggle through it. Actually, it was easy. She had more than enough willpower to push to the sky, just as Friend Theo had said. If she had wanted to simply ascend, she could have done it that moment.

  Instead, Fiyu reached her limits and pushed gently. The heavens thundered down on her and she let them push her back instead of piercing through. Her entire soulhome wavered as she stood on the edge of ascension, her boundaries weakened and thus ready.

  Quick as she could, Fiyu dropped down into her central chamber. She cupped her spiritual hands around the sphere and awakened it, just as she had been taught. The sphere lifted into the air and then began emitting pure darkness. The shadows flooded through her second floor and for a moment Fiyu choked. She knew that this step was meant to fill her second floor and unify it, but she was spiritually suffocating, and her physical body gasped for breath.

  Yet she knew why, and it gave her the strength to climb back to the roof. Her soulhome had been flooded with material meant for the real world and it was reacting violently. If she could ascend and unify both, then the immense pain in her chest would become a strength.

  When Fiyu attempted to climb the pyramid again, she almost immediately fell against the steps. Her will might have been strong enough for a normal ascension, but now she was struggling against great pain and attempting to force her entire body to transform. She immediately gave up all hope of walking up with dignity and began crawling up the steps.

  Three quarters of the way up, she had to pause to collect herself. It hurt more than she had expected, and the pressure was beginning to make her soulhome tremble. Her carefully polished walls deflected most of the power, but the opening to the central chamber was beginning to shake.

  Stilling her mind, Fiyu concentrated enough to keep everything in place. No errors, no mistakes. Her Corporeal Floor would be perfect when she broke through. The pressure was coming in more powerful waves now, and threatened to be even worse at the top, but she could overcome it with a little focus.

  Burning cold touched Fiyu's face and she gasped. When she opened her eyes, she saw that snow was falling - no, had been falling for some time. Drifts were building up on her roof, threatening to collapse it. Worse, the chill was penetrating inside, threatening to freeze everything she had built. There was no more time, she needed to ascend now.

  In the real world, Fiyu reached down and picked up the dish of boiling metal. She forced herself to drink it in a single gulp and immediately let out a strangled cry as the metal scorched down her throat. Only her cantae prevented it from killing her, and it was burning through her reserves at a terrifying rate.

  When Fiyu reached for the next step, her hand stuck to the frozen stone. She forced herself up, losing some of her skin. Step after step she struggled onward, losing a fingernail against the third. The cold was seeping deeper and yet it prevented none of the pain. Her body and soul were both racked with agony as she forced herself against the heavens, yet she pushed upward.

  She needed to stand when she reached the peak, yet Fiyu realized that she could not. Her knees struggled to bend, and threatened to crack as they froze. All around her, the snow came down more swiftly, blown by the pressure from above. Fiyu managed to lift one leg and almost immediately fell, doubled over against herself. While she groaned in the pain, the snow covered her body.

  In the real world, Fiyu gripped the metal sphere in her hand tighter. Then she slammed it into her chest and leapt.

  Finally the clouds gave way, revealing only glorious darkness beyond. Cantae flooded down and Fiyu dissolved in it, her spiritual body breaking apart and rushing down into her soulhome. For a moment she was aware of her scattered spiritual flesh, her dying physical body, and even every single sublime material. Then it all rushed together and Fiyu was left lying on her back, gasping.

  For a time she had no idea whether or not she was in her soulhome or the physical world. When she stared upward, she saw both the ceiling of her soulhome and the roof of their cavern. Only as she pulled her other senses back into service did she recollect herself.

  "Well done." Relative Guchiro offered her a hand.

  At first she didn't think she could take it. Hadn't her body frozen and burned? Yet when she raised her arm, it felt whole, and when her relative swept her into an embrace there was no pain at all. Fiyu found herself laughing with relief as she clung to him.

  She had truly linked her body and soul, and it changed everything. When Fiyu extended her senses, they pored over the world around her with new precision. For a time she simply examined her relative in great detail, marveling in the change. Senses that had been drilled into her from a young age were now truly a part of her.

  "You should test yourself." Her relative took her shoulders to pull her away, but he couldn't bear to let go, and she felt the pride in his grip. "The first purpose of your Corporeal Floor was to make cantae techniques truly a part of you. The difference should be clear immediately."

  When Fiyu attempted to use her stealth technique, it failed at first, but that was because it was too easy. Cantae that had once required conscious discipline now flowed as easily as moving her hand. She raised an arm and watched the stealth flow down its length, hiding it a little at a time. Some opponents, such as the Slescan royal guards, had been able to blow away her stealth cantae. Now her body would be truly invisible.

  That was the most obvious difference, but the change burned in every part of her. When Fiyu generated a blade of cantae around her hand, she could feel the edge naturally extending from her skin. Deeper than that, her very bones helped generate the blade. When she drew a breath, she could feel a storm of light in her lungs. For all that her techniques were meant for combat, all she wanted to do now was relish the experience.

  "This is only the beginning," Relative Guchiro said with a smile. "This has allowed you to do the possible more efficiently... as a Ruler you will take a step toward the impossible."

  Chapter 11

  After weeks in the Dustwind Plateaus, Theo had made significant progress on some fronts and none at all on others. His soulcrafting took his third floor ever closer to ascension, as he installed all of Navim's available windows and perfected a few carvings. Politically, he understood the situation better: the locals were more of a force than anyone had realized, and they were repelling the Asplundat Movement just as much as the Ruling Cities.

  His largest accomplishment had been his anchoring chamber. It still needed another material to be finished, but it was strong enough to grant him a new technique: now he could bind an object to a point in space, which synergized well with his mass technique. Most usefully, he no longer needed elaborate gravitational fields to let him hover - if he reduced his momentum enough, the anchoring point would stop him, then he could float easily on neutralized gravity.

  In terms of finding the source of the demons... no progress whatsoever. Theo had spent several days down in the dust storms, his anti-mass chamber struggling to keep it away from him, and found nothing. Every time he helped the locals, he asked them about demon attacks and updated his mental map. So far, that suggested the phenomenon was too random to pinpoint.

  Which made sense, if someone from outside the continent was trying to pin it on outsiders. Theo had given up on an easy solution like finding and destroying the device. Now he would settle for figuring out exactly what the Asplundat Movement was doing, and identifying a few other forces he'd seen from a distance.

  Some of the locals had tipped him off to Asplundat soulcrafters moving into the canyons. Allegedly they hadn't attacked anyone or set up permanent bases, but they might be up to something: potentially searching for information on the demons, Theo guessed. That required more investigation, preferably alone.

 

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