Death, Devotion, Dissonance

Chapter 86 - Reluctance To Part

<Do you think there's a reward card or something here?> Evin asked.

During the previous hour, he managed to gather quite a few cards from the chambers that housed the creatures: a Find Person Card, another Slaver Card, an information card regarding the Volcano, a card that hinted at the possibility of a hidden trial area (though Evin was sure it was the unspoken area), and finally a card that allowed him to speak with the Ruler. 

<Forget about the cards. They're just things useful only on the Island anyway, so don't be so fixated on them. The real treasures are these papers lying around everywhere… And if you want something material for your reward, you can strip those three creatures naked and take their ketricite cloaks.>

<That…>

<Actually, go strip the leftmost one's cloak. That one's the least bloodied one.>

<I can't just loot the dead like that! What if the instructors are going to judge me for doing something so disgusting and not give me the position of Helm when the time comes?> Evin insisted. 

<Then shut up and gather the papers. I'm sure you're gonna love its contents anyway.>

Evin reluctantly went into the job of gathering the papers and as Evin stacked them up, the Voice was busy trying to sort them into proper order. Aside from human anatomies, many different pictures of animals began to appear among them, the most prominent of them all being rats. 

<Yes… It's definitely something related to that. This is so good that I'm even starting to wonder if this is a trap of some sorts…> 

<What are you talking about?> Evin asked, trying to see what the Voice was seeing from these papers.

<I'd usually make you find the answer yourself, but since we're in a hurry, I'll tell it to you straightforwardly. These papers are all about putting the souls of animals inside humans.>

<…>

<…>

<That's… wrong.>

<It is definitely wrong and it's beyond me why the Academy would expose first year students like you to things like these, but it is what it is. What's important is that these might help us in our goal of separating our souls.>

Evin almost gasped, but he managed to contain it. <Is that why you think it's a trap of some sorts?>

<Yes. It would be hard to not suspect something like that in these circumstances… but it's hard not to be interested because we finally found a hint towards our goal. If we properly research what's on these papers, at least we'll get some understanding of how souls work. Finally, after 10 years of toiling, we're going to take a proper step towards separation.>

The Voice seemed awfully excited about the prospect, but Evin couldn't make himself feel the same. Was it because he was attached to the Voice, or if he just felt lonely at the prospect of being left alone, he didn't know. A darker part of his mind suggested that it was because he was afraid of losing the power he had in the form of the Voice, but Evin decisively shut that thought process down. 

'No, it's for the best that we let go of these research materials. I'm sure it's a trap left by the Chairman or whoever. It's best to be prudent.'

<I think we shouldn't act so interested in these papers,> Evin explained. <There's a chance they're things that the Chairman left intentionally to lure us out. I don't know why he would do that, but I can't shake off the suspicious feeling I get from it… And also, I'm pretty sure that if we just rise the ladder the orthodox way, we'll eventually stumble upon a similar research. And judging from the creatures that roam this place, I don't think those papers would lead us to a very positive answer in the first place.>

<…>

The Voice turned silent at the remarks, making Evin sweat with panic. It definitely wasn't someone dumb, so it was definitely possible for it to deduce that Evin possessed ulterior motives in saying these things. A part of him wanted it to confront him about these motives, but Evin knew that whether it knew about it or not, the Voice would stay silent about it. 

This was one of the reasons why it was so hard for him to deal with the Voice. Evin could never tell what it was thinking about inside. 

But on the other hand, what Evin was saying definitely made sense. It wasn't every day you stumbled upon a research that involved transferring souls between bodies, so it was completely logical to suspect something else going on behind the scenes.

<You're right. At best, these papers will describe how those creatures are made. If I jump from  your body to another one using the techniques shown on these papers, it wouldn't be funny if I found myself turned into a mindless monster.>

'Yes!'

<But we should at least get something for our troubles,> the Voice continued with a sigh. <I'm very curious on how those ketricite cloaks work, so do me a favor and strip one of them naked.>

Evin paused, strongly suspecting that the Voice knew what he was trying to achieve and was demanding a gift of apology instead.

<I- I'm also interested in the cloaks, so despite how it might look to the teachers, I guess I can go pick it up.>

Careful not to touch the blood of the creatures, Evin undressed them of their cloaks and inspected the item. Contrary to his expectations that the cloak itself would be made of ketricite, it was actually just a thin silk-like cloak with rough, sandy ketricite pasted on one side. This actually made sense, as Evin never heard of ketricite taking any other form except for a mineral of some kind.

<Well, I was kinda expectant to see a ketricite silk or something, but I guess that's a bit unscientific,> the Voice said, and tried to wash the non-ketricite part of the cloak using the World of Water.

Its little experiment ended in a failure, as the ketricite's powers were still effective even with the layer of cloth protecting it. But it didn't really mind it as much, since Evin was the one who had to wear the thing if push came to shove. 

<Let me try casting magic while you're wearing it,> it insisted, so Evin had to wipe the cloak's insides with a piece of cloth he carried around and reluctantly draped the thing over his body.

The Voice concluded that the cloak definitely made it much harder to cast spells, as World energies always appeared from inside Evin's body. This fact required the Voice to control the energies movements as well, so they didn't accidentally make contact with the ketricite as they left Evin's body.

<It's a bit annoying, but it's definitely worth the effort,> the Voice concluded. <Now, let's search through the room once more and leave. Maybe there is a card or something here.>

Evin searched through the papers and books for cards, but like the Voice said, there really didn't seem to be any cards inside the room. With a sigh, Evin gave up and started to journey back through chambers he just cleared.

He put the cloak in his bag and although he wondered whether there would be a reaction of some sorts with the lodestones inside it, but thankfully nothing happened. 

But as he walked through the chambers covered in shadows, he heard the hushed whispers of students coming from his front, with rays of light shining inside the underground.

'Shit, they've finished exploring the two floors upstairs?' Evin cursed and asked the Voice, <Please make sure we're invisible.>

<Your cover's fine as it is. Just make sure to be mindful of their lights.>

Since he didn't wish to fight against them, Evin quickly approached a corpse that was lying around and stood still. He just needed to wait until the students passed him by and he'd be safe. He guessed that the students would be unlikely to approach a dead body, instead of another random spot in the room. And a few seconds later, Evin was able to hear the students' conversation.

"You think it's him?" a female voice resounded in the corridors. Her voice sounded dead.

"Huff, yeah, definitely…" a male voice replied, seemingly struggling with something. "Most of the Turned ones here were killed very cleanly, and that loud boom we heard just now should also be his doing… maybe he went up against the robed ones and couldn't use his Hard Air swords… or something."

Evin wasn't sure, but it sounded like there was the sound of someone else grunting alongside them.

"Fucking hell, this thing's getting harder and harder to control."

"Grraargh!"

Evin couldn't understand what was happening, but the answer came pretty easily.

Two students came into the room, but they weren't alone. The male one, a son of a lesser-known baron, was holding one of the creatures at bay using a wooden leash. And when the creature entered the room Evin was in, it immediately noticed him thanks to its ability to see constructs of World energies and started growling at him.

"He's here!" the girl exclaimed and let loose the spell she was working.