"Remarkable." That was Azir’s spoken assessnt of Lumi. For the first ti since they’d t, there was sothing like respect in his voice. "You stopped screaming rather quickly, whereas others would have passed out within an hour. You remained conscious and silent throughout, disregarding that start."
Lumi slowly opened his eyes, though he didn’t rember closing them. The ritual room swam in and out of focus as his body tried to process what had been done to it. "Practice." he managed to croak out despite having endured such pain.
"Practice enduring soul deep agony?" Azir raised an eyebrow. "That raises concerning questions about your past."
If only he knew.
Watching the world end had been its own kind of soul deep agony, one that lasted far longer than any ritual.
"The bindings are in place." Azir stated, then moved to help Lumi stand. The Grand Tactician’s touch was surprisingly gentle given his character. "I’ve layered multiple redundancies to ensure they’ll persist through your unique circumstances. Death and resurrection won’t free you. Neither will any form of magical dispelling or divine intervention short of a god’s direct touch."
"Good." Lumi said, testing his balance. His legs felt like water, but held. "That’s what we need."
"Is it?" Azir studied him with those analytical eyes. "Most would consider such thorough binding a nightmare. You speak of it as a gift."
"Trust is always a gift." Lumi replied. "Now you can trust . Now I can act without suspicion following every step. Worth any price."
Azir was quiet for a mont. "I have many thoughts about you. I still have no conclusion."
"Let know when you figure it out." Lumi said with a weak smile. "I’m curious too."
That actually drew a small snort of amusent from the Grand Tactician. "With the bindings in place, we can now provide the assistance you need. Access to hunting grounds, Knight support when needed, resources for growth, and so forth. Though I must ask. If there’s any information you can share, any insight into our enemies’ plans, it would be invaluable."
Lumi considered carefully.
He was trusted, but one had to consider what that ant.
It ant that he was trusted in the sense that they had full confidence that whatever Lumi said, he himself believed.
However, that didn’t an that they would believe Lumi to be correct about everything. If he said sothing too outrageous or impossible to know, they’d think he was wrong, at best.
At worst, they’d think it was implanted mories by an enemy.
This was a mont where being vague would help. "I do know many things, however, much of it I don’t even believe it myself." He said slowly. "But sotis, having Knights follow when I call might lead to favorable outcos."
Understanding flickered in Azir’s eyes. "Ah. You can’t tell us where to find enemy plans, but you can lead us to them. Clever. The restriction only prevents speech, not action."
"Sothing like that." Lumi agreed.
While Grand Tactician Azir was mistaken about the ’why’ he wouldn’t speak further, the misunderstanding worked in his favor. In the future, he could reveal all the information as he pleased, pretending it was intelligence brought back from enemies.
Lumi then added. "Though, I can’t guarantee every call will yield results. Sotis I might just need backup for dangerous hunting."
"Understood. We’ll assign a response team to your calls. Use this." Azir handed him a crystal communicator, different from the others Lumi carried. This one was pure black shot through with silver threads. "This is a direct line to my office. Use it wisely. My ti is not unlimited."
"Thank you." Lumi said, adding the crystal to his collection. He held four communicators now. rath, Gabriel, the Windre house, and Azir.
He made a ntal note to research communication magic when he had ti. The current system of paired crystals was inefficient compared to Earth’s networks.
Surely, there was a way to create sothing more like phones, where any crystal could contact any other.
However, that was for later. Right now, he had more imdiate concerns.
"What are your plans now?" Azir asked, moving to clean up the ritual materials. "I assu you’ll want to begin utilizing our resources imdiately?"
"Eventually." Lumi said. "First I need to explain things to my companions. They’re confused about what just happened. Not to ntion, there are other matters to settle."
"Your girlfriend." Azir stated. It wasn’t a question. "The uniquely talented and distinctly unstable one. You’re concerned about leaving her behind."
Lumi shouldn’t have been surprised that Azir knew. The man probably had detailed files on everyone who’d entered the palace today. "Among other things, yes."
"The bindings don’t restrict your personal relationships." Azir noted. "Though I would advise caution. Emotional attachnts can be exploited by enemies."
"I know." Lumi said quietly. "It won’t be an issue for now."
"Hmm." Azir finished his cleanup and moved toward the door. "You’re free to go. The guards will escort you to the quarters we’ve prepared. Rest, recover, then do what you must. The Empire’s resources will be ready when you are."
Lumi followed him out. His legs were steady, though his soul still ached from the bindings’ installation. The guards outside straightened as they erged, falling into formation around Azir.
The room they’d provided was luxurious by any standard. It was spacious, well furnished, with a view of Herene’s sky. That said, Lumi barely had the ti nor energy to notice the anities. As soon as the door closed behind him, he pulled up his interface to check ssages.
The notification count was staggering.
Dozens from each party mber, ranging from confusion to concern.
But it was Lena’s ssages that made his heart clench.
[Lena: LUMI WHAT DID YOU DO]
[Lena: WHY DID YOU LET THEM DO THAT TO YOU]
[Lena: Please be okay please please please]
[Lena: I’m crying and I can’t stop and people are looking at weird]
[Lena: Are you there? Are you still you?]
[Lena: I need to know you’re okay]
[Lena: LUMI PLEASE]
The ssages continued, becoming increasingly frantic as ti passed. His stomach twisted in emotion. He’d been so focused on the necessity of the bindings...
He quickly typed to her.
[Lumi: I’m okay!]
He then quickly typed out responses to the others, keeping them vague but reassuring. He told them that there were things he’d done and said to the Knights that they weren’t aware of, those things being the reasons the conversation with the Knights had gone as it did.
But to Lena, he wrote more.
[Lumi: I’m okay. I’m sorry I worried you. Can you co to ? We need to talk.]
Her response was almost instant.
[Lena: YES WHERE TELL WHERE]
He sent her directions, and barely a minute later there was a frantic knocking at his door. He opened it to find Lena with red eyes.
User Comments
0 comments from readers