I chose the mind.
‘Somani, you don’t have enough Mana for the bomb, so stop the act.’
‘Doesn’t matter! I have all the time in the world to kill myself!’
I sighed, but this time it was out of frustration, not pretension. Human expressions were starting to become part of me.
‘Don’t you think this contract is absurd?’
The kid ignored me, continuing to gather every recovered Mana particle into his bomb.
‘Somani, our goals align to the point of the empire’s demise. Building another empire? That’s on you, not me. Plus, the contract doesn’t even mention what my growth entails… don’t you think that’s a bit unfair?’
Somani’s eyes glared daggers.
‘Unfair?! You’ve been taking advantage of me since the moment we met! No, not met, since you stumbled upon my miserable life! Either you walk my path, or it ends here!’
I snickered; the kid heard it.
‘And who is it that has made your life miserable, huh? As I said, even if you die, I’ll live, but when your life ends, the empire will continue, unimpeded.’
Somani hesitated; the Mana stopped gathering for a moment.
‘So what do you say? Live my life with a manipulative demon that wants everything without giving. I prefer death!’
‘I… I think I can separate us if that is what you want.’
Somani stopped the bomb creation.
‘Are you saying you can leave me alone?’ Somani’s thought showed a twinge of happiness in his sea of doom and sadness.
I couldn’t help but smile internally.
‘With my current skills, it’d be too risky, but when we end the empire… my skills would probably suffice. After that, we can go our separate ways. You build your utopia on your enemies’ ruins, while I live my life as I wish. What I’m saying is, let’s revamp the contract and make it clearer.’
Somani looked sceptical.
‘And how do I know that you’re not lying just to achieve your goals?’
‘The contract. We add a clause which says that by the end of the empire, I must do everything in my power so that we each go our separate ways.’
Somani didn’t say anything for a long moment.
‘What… what would the new contract look like?’ The kid asked hesitantly.
Success!
‘The same penalties, but with three changes. First, our shared desire is the empire’s demise, not the creation of a new one, and a substantial growth in my class, skill, and host levels and numbers. Secondly, when our goal is done, we can go our separate ways. Finally, no matter the path, as long as it helps us reach the goal, it’s walkable.’
Somani didn’t hesitate in his answer. ‘I refuse.’
Argh! What now?!
‘Why?’
‘To me, the path is as important as the goal. I won’t be killing humans here and there just to achieve my desires, because then I’ll be no different than the empire and you.’
Hm…
I couldn’t concede on this condition as I knew the kid… he wasn’t heartless like me; he could impede my goal.
‘But Somani, my morality is different from yours, so whose to say what I did is wrong or not?’
Somani pointed angrily at a random wall.
‘You have no morality, demon! I won’t back down on this condition, so either take it or shut up!’
The kid started to gather Mana again, trying to form his suicidal bomb.
‘Who will be the judge if this action is right or wrong, and don’t tell me it’s you. Somani, if you want to end the Empire, then you’ll need my help, and I won’t help until you give me what I want,’ I reasoned, but the kid ignored me.
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I thought deeply, trying as best as I could to hide my thoughts. I had to find a way out of this situation that wouldn’t be me giving concessions to human whimps.
As the ball continued to grow and the situation looked more hopeless, I remembered a truth. The only truth I knew: I’m one for all, and all is for me.
Somani is no longer part of the all, but I won’t allow him to harm it!
‘Somani, this is my final offer. The first two clauses remain the same, but the third… I’ll agree—‘
‘Yes!’
‘—But on a condition. This soul will follow your morality, but the remaining All won’t be jailed by your humanity. It still won’t impede our goals, but my All will act accordingly with my ultimate goal… Endless growth, no matter the path, so what do you say?’
Somani pondered, and pondered…
‘I’ll agree, but your… other hosts, or whatever you call them, can’t harm those I deeply care about, even if it hinders your growth, nor could they harm anyone in my presence if I don’t agree. This, too, is my final offer.’
Since when has this kid become so shrewd?
I knew the answer to the question—Since his evolution.
It’s like when Kamos hit puberty… a qualitative change.
The swirling Mana around us responded, and the System spoke.
The System bears witness to the formation of a Mana Contract.
The Primus Magus and The Manima Monoform’s Wills have spoken to Mana, to the world itself. They desire an end to the status quo and the birth of a new supreme creature or something close—the end of the Empire and the growth of the Monoform’s levels, class, and hosts to the highest heights possible. But although their desires are untied, their paths differ. The Monoform has promised to adhere to Primus’s morals within his body, premise, and loved ones’ presence, while the Primus agreed to turn a blind eye to other hosts’ actions—those that don’t inhibit the Shared Desire. One final promise, when achieving the Shared Desire, the Monoform will do everything in his power to successfully separate this soul from the Primus, breaking the Perfect Unity and ending the Mana Contract. This contract, if accepted, will prohibit both parties from acting against the Shared Desire and require them to work toward its success.
Penalties:
-Minor offence: The offended side will momentarily gain a higher percentage of control over the Perfect Unity.
-Major offence: The offended side will momentarily gain full control over the Perfect Unity.
-Breaking the Contract: The offender will become subject to the desires of the offended, becoming a slave to their whims until the Shared Desire is fulfilled.
Primus Magus and Manima Monofrom, do you both accept the Mana Contract?
(Warning! The System itself monitors the contract and will be the one to decide whether to enforce an offence or not, and its severity.)
I immediately noticed the change. The System now wrote it as the combination of our will that has spoken to the world, not just Somani’s. It also said that the shared goal was not only the Empire’s demise, but the creation of a supreme being, whatever that means.
A Supreme Being…
I’d heard about them before in some skill descriptions, like heal. The System seemed to loathe them for some reason.
Whatever being a supreme being entails, it surely doesn’t sound weak.
I was content with the new contract. Although having to abide by Somani’s morality with this soul seemed like a hassle, in general, this was a way better contract than before.
‘Yes!’
‘…Yes.’
Contract signed.
The swirling Mana grew to a crescendo before entering Somani’s core and my film, joining our Mana.
Somani stopped creating his suicidal bomb.
‘…What should I call you?’ Somani asked as he went and sat in a corner, his eyes different—still sad, but determined.
‘Partner. Call me partner.’
‘Partner… so be it. But what is your name? Do you even have one?’
My name?
‘No, I don’t have a name.’
Somani stroked his chin.
‘How about Cello?’
‘Sure.’
I didn’t care what the human kid called me, as long as it was practical, no problem.
Grr!
Somani's stomach rumbled. He reached for the food—
‘Don’t!’
‘I don’t think it’s poisoned.’
‘I’m not worried if the food is poisoned or not. What worries me is that it might have some foul play inside, maybe something that could gather info out of us, or a thing that can take control of our minds.’
Somani looked at the food with desire before reluctantly agreeing.
‘You can eat this.’
I created a flesh piece, then played with blood so it had a somewhat similar composition to water. I placed the food and water on the bone plate and cup, respectively.
‘…I think I’m not hungry.’
Somani still ate the food I had created, although his face was scrunched all the way.
***
Keenda’s POV:
Although I was a Royal Guard, the times I had seen a Noblesse could be counted on one hand, but this was no ordinary Noblesse; this was the Governor of Cervita—Ra’ara.
The hall we were in had a high-vaulted ceiling supported by gem-decorated white columns. On both sides stood Royal Guards; they wore golden armour, and at the end was the throne, hidden behind green curtains with the Noblesse insignis—a circle containing three words written in an ancient language.
The words’ translation to Wakana was: The Eternal Ones.
As I prostrated inside the opulent hall with Pomus next to me, I heard footsteps.
They were slow, but sure. They sounded too loud in the silent hall.
“Rise,” a soft voice ordered.
We both raised our heads, but didn’t dare look at the Noblesse, only glancing at the golden tiles in front of us.
“Finding the Primus Magus… I must say, that’s a stroke of fate. Keenda, right?” The woman’s voice was kind with an undertone of playfulness.
“Yes, your highness.”
“Pomus?”
“Your humble servant, your highness,” Pomus replied.
Stuck up as usual, I see.
Hahe
The laugh was low and mischievous.
“I, too, despise stuck-ups,” Ra’ara said.
My eyes widened.
She can read thoughts?!
“Not really. If you live as long as I have, reading facial expressions becomes as easy as breathing, but reading a mind… that needs a being with unimaginable processing powers. Even then, they probably won’t be able to read more than the surface thoughts of a tierless being. Brains are complex.”
I involuntarily sighed before quickly covering my mouth. That could’ve offended the Noblesse.
“Anyways, tell me, how come you two found the Primus Magus when hundreds of Royal Investigators had previously failed?”
***
‘…This would leave us vulnerable,’ Somani said after I had explained to him my escape plan.
The plan was simple. I would split my soul, then Somani would explode a strong Mana Bomb; I’d escape this room through the momentary tear and try to find a suitable host. Even if I didn’t find one, once I got outside, I’d gather as much information as I could, maybe even destroy some stuff, then we’d see our options.
‘This is the best plan we’ve got. When I split my soul, as you know, I’ll be weak, so you have to protect us.’
‘But when your soul is split, and my bomb explodes, neither you nor I will have any Mana. We’ll basically be… vulnerable.’
He’s really smarter.
The old Somani I knew would’ve gone with any plan I offered without any questions; he was too obedient, but now…
‘If they had wanted us dead, we would’ve already been long ago. What I meant by protecting us is that if we manage to escape, anything that comes our way is your responsibility. Now, try not to distract me—’
Somani cut me off.
‘Wait… don’t you think I should choose a class skill now? It’ll help in the escape?’
Hm…
‘You’re correct. [Primus Construct] or [Primus Batteries] sound like the best options for our current situation.’
Somani shook his head.
He drew white Mana from his core and started shaping it.
The Mana strings tangled, twisted, and interwound. They started to form a shape, a human face, before…
Argh
The strings unravelled as Somani fell to the ground and started breathing heavily.
‘Controlling~huff~this Mana is way harder than the green Mana… I think [Mana Manipulation] is the best option.’
‘Do whatever you think is best. I’ll be starting now.’
I made [Manima Senses] focus only on my soul, then used [Hive Mind] to increase my BP to ten.
I pinpointed a circle that cut my soul’s sphere and film in half, then, just like how a cell propagated…
AHHHHHHH!
The pain was immediate and intense, but due to my expecting it and having experienced it, I somewhat kept my focus.
Unlike last time, I observed the inscribed cubes that represented the skills and tried to move them all towards the half that contained Somani’s soul, but… I failed miserably. Three skills went to one soul, while the other two joined the clone.
No… matter…
I continued the process, pushing against the crazying pain. I took hold of my quickly disintegrating soul and film halves and mended, creating two perfect soul spheres surrounded by Mana films.
Soul Manipulation has reached Lv. 10—Skill evolution available!
I blacked out.