Death, Devotion, Dissonance

Even if he never saw Endra before, Evin could immediately tell the man struggling under Kena's grasp was him. It was the same face he saw in his dreams and part of Endra's figure was blurred, looking as if it was stretching towards Evin's body. Back to where he resided.

'Stop!' Evin tried to shout, but found that his body was too weakened to even speak. His hands reached out to Endra, but immediately fell to the ground, reminding Evin how weak he was just then. 

"Well, speak, Otherworlder," Kena said. "Where do you come from?"

"EaRtTh!" Endra shouted, his voice distorted beyond comprehension. "I cAMe FrOM eArtH ten yEaRS ago!"

"Earth… you say?" Kena's voice sounded startled. "Don't be bringing up big names just because you're desperate, boy."

"WhAt Do YoU?! the OnLY twO WOrLd I knOW Are ThiS aND EaRth!" 

"Then how and why have you come here?"

"sOME WOMAn SENT me HeRe AFTER asKinG mE If i waNT To Live oR DiE!" 

"What was her name?"

"i DON't KNow?! no, Wait! shE had STorM-Like eYeS! LIghtInG FlickERED aLl aroUNd IT wHeN SHE bLinKed!"

The mask hid Kena's expression, but from the pause Evin could tell he was hesitating. Same with Endra.

"loOK, IF i kneW moRe AbOUt all ThesE worlDs aNd THeiR relATIoNSHips, i WoULDN't cOMe ViSIt a fOrMeR AsPECT sO cARelesSLy, rigHt? if you tHINk ME dAnGERouS, yOU caN EaSiLy keEP ME nexT To You fOrEVEr! BUt nOw, PlEAse Put me In A BODy. i'M reALly FeelING like I'm DiSApPEaRINg!" 

Endra's body was becoming paler and paler, bits and pieces of it dissipating slowly.

"Please…" Evin managed. "Put him back inside…"

Kena's hand stayed on Endra's neck for another second, but he let go. Endra's floating soul immediately flew back inside Evin's body, and Evin was whole once more. 

Although whole, Evin could still feel something wrong in his body. Something in his head felt jumbled up as if someone carved out his brain and then put it back in upside down. Everything was spinning, nothing felt right, and all around him were noises. Not to mention his head hurt like hell.

"Drink this," Kena offered some drink after casually putting Evin on a couch. "It'll right your soul."

The drink was the same blue-green of the tree. Evin felt wary, but due to the allure of becoming better won and he took a sip. Slowly, he could feel himself getting better. 

<Are you alright?> Evin asked.

<I feel old.>

Evin smiled. 

"You seem to be feeling better," Kena spoke. "I'm sorry for acting rashly. I hope you forgive me."

Evin found it annoying how the Cobfolk was able to change moods so easily. But he was too tired to be mad. And even if he could get mad, what was he supposed to do? What was his forgiveness worth, anyway? Feeling pissed off, Evin decided he'd grant the Cobfolk's wish.

"I… forgive you?" 

Evin didn't know why it turned into a question, but it felt good to say that. 

"That makes me happy," Kena chuckled. "I'm sorry to the man inside you too. Now that I think about it, his words make sense."

"I forgive you too," Endra spoke. "But please, tell us how we can separate from this one body."

<Endra?> 

<Remember how I once told you to go ask the Empress for help? I think this will be the closest we'll get to that.>

It wasn't hard to notice the excitement in Endra's voice. It also wasn't hard to understand what he was thinking. This was what he was searching for in the first place, after all. A way to separate. For a brief moment, they truly did separate. 

<We can't trust him!> Evin said. <Look what he did to you? And me!>

<It's a misunderstanding, Evin. Nothing to sweat at. I'd do the same in his shoes,> Endra replied cheerfully. <But thanks to that, I can finally see a way forward for us! We won't have to spend countless years searching for the method on our own!> 

'Of course, Endra's ultimate goal is to separate. He'd do anything to achieve and it he'd forgive anything if it helps him reach that goal.'

"A method to separate, huh…" Kena murmured. "Unfortunately, I don't have a way to help you."

"But just now…" 

"That's thanks to the Soul Tree," Kena shrugged, pointing at the blue tree. "I can use some of its functions. I can briefly reveal a person's soul, I can touch souls, and I can scour a person's memories. But nothing more than that."

"Can you tell us where you got it from?"

"Yes, of course. From a… past colleague of mine I suppose. Twelve Jokes. Have you heard of her?"

"No, never."

"Well, it's no surprise. Even among Aspects, she's quite elusive."

Many mages knew of the Aspects, but few were familiar with their details. The few that Evin was familiar with was Judeus Arcwall, the Aspect of Lumiaris; Ethez Serlant, the Aspect of Seyethe; and Lady Helain, the Aspect of Exivear.

The first two originated from the kingdom. One of them, Judeus Arcwall, was the founding king of the kingdom, while the other was a famous rogue mage, known as the Paramour of Liberty. The latter was somewhat of a dark spot in the kingdom's history. 

Originally a criminal of unimaginable cruelty and greed, who was finally caught by the kingdom after inciting terror upon the lands for three decades. But on his day of trial, he was pardoned by Two Tales, who explained that the Empress was interested in Ethez. Later, he came back as an Aspect of a world, hence the name, Paramour of Liberty. Truly, the stuff of fantasy.

As for Lady Helain, aside from her name, no one knew a thing about her. No one knew which race she belonged to, what country she was born in, whether she was really the Aspect of Darkness or not, nothing. 

So it was big news for Evin and Endra to learn about this new Aspect's name. 

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