“Please, proceed with—“
“Shut up!”
Somani turned around and, with the largest Mana infusion to date, surged towards the gate.
The door was already shut, but that didn’t dissuade the kid from—
BOOV!
The protective shield sprang to life, breaking Somani’s knuckles.
BOOV!
The thinner bone, forming the forearm, snapped, tearing muscle and skin as it escaped its enclosure.
BOOV!
The third punch had Somani’s arm unrecognisable: more blood with sharpnel mixed with tissue than arm.
The shield, denying our freedom, stubbornly held.
Why aren’t they stopping him?
Our imprisoners usually intervened when we didn’t follow their set course. Letting Somani ignore the fight as he tried to escape was uncharacteristic of them.
They want to break him mentally, I theorised.
The past months had been futilely spent, with them unable to extract any information of importance from us. They probably had rationalised that if physical torture wouldn’t do, then psychiatric attacks could work.
Humans… as ruthlessly smart as ever.
I was ruthless; I knew that, but to reach humanity’s ingenuity… I needed more knowledge and experience.
Somani's right arm dropped helplessly, too abused to function.
The kid started punching with his left whilst his right regenerated.
‘Somani, stop! You’re scaring the little girl.’
I couldn’t see the elf’s face, but this was the best I could come up with to end Somani’s frenzy.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work, although…
A tear fell from the kid’s face as he delivered a punch.
BOOV!
Then another tear and another until it turned into a stream.
‘I… I can’t take this anymore,’ Somani said.
Another punch, this one with less heft than its predecessors.
His arm gave up, leaving him with no means to punch the red-smeared wall.
I have to thwart their plan.
I doubted they could easily break Somani’s morale, given that he had endured far greater hardships. Still, this could be the first step on a long and treacherous pathway where they attacked us mentally.
Somani glanced at his regenerating arms before…
BOOV!
A headbutt.
Somani swayed, his forehead having caved in a bit.
Taking a drunken step forward, he fell to his knees.
The kid looked miserable.
I waited for the shine to come back to his eyes before trying a moral boost.
‘Stand up and fight, Somani! For our goal!’ I encouraged.
Somani sniffed, blood and snot entering his nose.
‘I give up.’
That confused me, as the kid had never uttered those words before, even under greater duress. The usual Somani would’ve stood up and declared his desire for revenge.
Are they influencing him somehow?
I knew it wasn’t beyond their means—a Mana wave that influenced us, and a heartbreaking scenario that delivered the final punch.
I didn’t give up.
‘What about your mom? Don’t you want to take revenge for her? Don’t you want to upend this corrupted, filthy empire and create your heaven upon its ruins?!’
Somani shook his head.
‘I’ve killed my friend… I’ve killed my comrade without trying to understand her, and for what? I… I ended up becoming just like those I seek to destroy. Corrupted.’
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‘Stop blaming yourself for something you couldn’t predict! You had given her a chance, and that was all you could have done at the time!’
Somani shook his head.
‘You don’t understand, do you? If what it takes to end the Noblesse is to become one myself, then I won’t continue on this path!’
Who is this I’m talking to?!
‘Can’t you hear yourself?! Your solution for making a mistake is to give up? That’s it! Where’s the Somani I knew who hiked barefoot for days, who killed the soldiers that took his mother’s life, and who endured this prison?!’
“Contestant—“ I filtered the voice out.
But then… I felt it.
I had been given control of the kid’s body.
Contract breach!
Under distress, the Primus has revealed his will to stop pursuing the shared goal: a major hurdle and a breach of a clause.
Penalty level: Major offence; the offended side will momentarily gain full control over the Perfect Unity.
Warning! If the Primus acts upon his distress, thereby turning intentions and words into actions, the contract will be fully breached, granting the Manima indefinite control over the Perfect Unity.
Reading the message, I was… overwhelmed with joy!
If this happens… I could turn Somani into my main body!
A host with an exclusive class and Perfect Unity, but without the disadvantages… that would marginally enhance my powers.
I stopped talking, not wanting to encourage the kid out of his misery. I knew this could end horrendously, with all the trust I had painstakingly built with Somani blown to smithereens, but the advantage of controlling Somani, without the incumbrance of his morals… that would be worth the risk.
Somani had read the notification, but his expression remained the same, sad, as if he had expected this outcome.
I felt a tinge of guilt. Somani had grown on me during our journey. I could even say that we had become one, with most of my life spent next to him, but my All came first.
It was simple: One for All, and All for One.
If a part wasn’t fully obedient, it could turn cancerous; it had to be taken care of before it could pose a threat.
Sorry, kid. I had tolerated your independence as you benefited me more alive than dead.
‘Cello?’ Somani spoke softly.
I debated whether to answer or not, but decided not to leave the kid hanging; he could try to read my intentions.
‘Yes, Somani.’
‘Destroy the empire and—‘
Yes!
‘—Avenge my paren—‘
The kid was cut off.
“Ahm… Mister… are you okay?”
Somani’s head jerked backwards, almost snapping his neck.
Don’t interfere!
The elf kid jumped, surprised by the sudden motion.
Staring at her with wide, desperate eyes, Somani didn't utter a word.
‘Yes, Somani. I’ll destroy the Empire and avenge your parents,’ I said, trying to get Somani back on track.
No response.
I debated whether to forcefully move Somani’s line of sight away from her, but feared the adverse effects.
The girl clenched her robe as she looked down at her bare feet.
Her feet were smaller than Somani’s and smoother.
Clenching her robes, she raised her head and looked Somani in the eyes.
Her eyes shot wide, maybe surprised by the kid’s scarred face or terrible condition.
I didn’t interfere, not wanting to sound too suspicious.
Biting her lips, as if to muster her courage, the elf girl spoke.
“I’m sorry for what they’ve done to you, Mister.”
“…”
Somani just kept staring, but deep down, he was nothing if not in turmoil.
I could feel them, his raw, undulated emotions. Their intensity was overwhelming, much more so than when even his mother died, and…
A bud of hate was growing in him, in me… in us.
No, no, no.
Hate brought in by Somani clashed with my calculative, emotionless side. Either support Somani and risk him losing this hopeless state, or interfere to stop this farce, but in the process… lose the Perfect Control.
The obvious choice should’ve been the latter, as it was better in the long term. As the emotionless cellular being I was, it should’ve been an easy choice, but…
His emotions… they are influencing me.
It then all hit me.
Why I had been making uncalculative decisions, like saving the kid’s butler comrade, staying and fighting when it looked hopeless, and finally, starting to appreciate, maybe adore Somani: The kid’s emotions were interfering with my thought processes.
I… I’m becoming more humane.
I hated the thought. I despised it.
Humans were the ones who had caused me the most pain. They were the apex predators that, through my uniqueness, I had to overcome to become the highest being. One that lives on and on, happily increasing its All throughout the millennia.
A strong All couldn’t be tolerated by humans, so it had to become better than them. They couldn’t live together in harmony.
I won’t join their fold and abandon my goal! I won’t allow Somani to turn me into an emotion-driven human doll!
But before I could do anything.
“My sister is kind. If we find her, I’m sure she’d help u—“
BOOOOOOOOOOOV!
A part of the ceiling came down as everything became grey with dust.
Cough cough
“I’m sorry for the unpleasant second meeting, although not unlike the first. Anyways, come, it’s time to get you out of here.”
***
Keenda’s POV:
I, the dignified and unyielding warrior, was humiliated. That left me scarred.
For weeks, after the abusive incident with Grigor, I roamed around mindlessly.
There was a fight inside of me. One side told me I should’ve fought to the death, refusing to be touched by anyone other than my late husband. The new slave side, the one that I’ve unknowingly gained after serving under the Noblesse, feared death, which in turn required submission.
A watery ball slid on my cheek, refusing to separate until the last moment: a tear.
The memory of my late husband had summoned it, of our shared experiences and ambitions.
He always used to call me fiesty, a thorny rose, but one he liked nonetheless. I used to get offended at that, but remembering it… I really was uncontrollable.
I was free.
Unlike now.
Entering the monitoring room, I slid into my door-side position, right next to the pig Pomus.
The glutton, taking advantage of our relatively lax mission, had gotten even fatter. He now looked more ball than human.
Giving me a side eye, he snickered as his belly shook for a second.
He delighted in my misery.
A fire, no, a small stick lit inside me, but was quickly smothered by my slave side.
“Don’t get us into trouble,” my slave side urged.
I obeyed, turning to look at the screen.
It’s the eternal kid.
Lately, there’s been more focus on the kid, as the other eternal had been propagandised and enticed with the reward of longevity. He would be released today to serve the empire, or that’s what I’d heard.
Glancing at the kid’s new opponent…
She’s familiar.
I didn’t remember where I had seen her until the conversation between the opponents refreshed my memory.
It saddened me, but I knew I could do nothing.
As I watched the kid, refusing to yield to the orders of the empire, I couldn’t help but compare ourselves.
Here he is, imprisoned, tortured, and broken, but still refusing to surrender.
The electricity cooked the eternal, making him a twitching heap on the ground.
“He reminds me of you… a long-gone you,” Pomus said as he twirled his new space ring between two fingers.
I shook, but didn’t respond. The obedient side ordained.
The elf charged the human. She attacked relentlessly, sending blood and viscera flying. The boy still refused to fight back.
Chance after chance, he gave her, until he decided to fight back and… easily won.
By the end, my palm hurt. I had squeezed my fist too hard.
That stupid elf!
I couldn’t help but shout internally.
The boy had suffered so much for her, accepting death over compromise, but she… she…
She acted like me.
The elf had prioritised her life over companionship, over her friend’s own, and over… her principles.
Just like me.
I thought, but my prideful side, being rejuvenated by the fight and long slumber, had another thought.
No! I would never choose my life over my partner’s!
Even though I was abused, breaking me, I still believed that if my husband were alive, I wouldn’t compromise on his life. That’s… that’d be my remaining principle.
That thought comforted me a bit. It made me believe that I wasn’t completely lost. That I was morally superior to the elf.
I still had a principle; it just hadn’t been and wouldn’t be tested.
“The next fight,” Rahoon, the Royal Researcher, ordered.
That’s weird.
Even with all the focus on him, the kid never had to go through two fights in a row.
Glancing at the Royal Researcher, I couldn’t help but be repulsed by his wicked grin. He was glancing at an inscription on the ground, one recently inscribed by Toread. Unfortunately, I wasn’t an expert in Runeology, so I couldn’t figure out its purpose.
What is he planning?
In her last visit, Ra’ara had given the man an ultimatum: results or demotion.
But the kid was a hard nut to crack, and with no results in sight… the researcher was desperate.
Inside the new arena was another elf, one that looked suspiciously similar to the previous.
And as the kid asked the elf what was on my mind, I felt my new house of comfort crumble.
She… she was protecting her sister.
That shook me, and the kid ramming his head into the wall shook me more.
As I stood motionless, all I could think of was how hypocritical I had become.
The eternal had shown his principles and stood by them,
The elf had hidden her morals, but still stood by them.
I believed that I had stood by my principles all my life, but when the first real test came, I faltered. Then I had conjured a new principle, one based on my moral superiority to an imprisoned elf, and that too… I had failed in.
No, no, no. I’ve faced too much, seen too many. I’m not new to this!
But then I remembered how my husband had stood by me. How he had, unknowingly to me at the time, lifted most of our journey’s burden.
And when he died, I convinced myself to act momentarily as a servant. That it was all an act, and when the order came, one where I’d have to break my principles, I’d refuse.
I was too prideful after all, too dignified, and unyielding. I was free.
But all those years of servitude, accepting one ambiguous mission after another, had eaten me from the inside. They left me a shell of my former self. One that broke when it came time for the real test.
I felt it. No! I ignited it!
The smouldering stick became a wildfire. It was revived!
I might’ve fallen once, but not again! I won’t break my principles again!
With all my strength…
BOOOOOV!
I’ll save you, kid, and the elf, too!