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Chiaroscuro, Chapter 4: Revelations

Here is the fourth chapter of my RP with @grumpyoldsnake / @justashadetalkative ! For this chapter art, I did the composition and character flats, while @grumpyoldsnake did the background, shading, and effects. The other artwork in here is one recycled from an ask a ways back, heh.

The streamlined, edited version is on AO3 here. I would recommend reading that one, since there are a few minor content changes as well.

Fun fact: this is the first time I concretely wrote anything about Elk’s backstory! It was just a vague idea then, heh.

-

Old troubles are revealed, and new ones uncovered.

Words: 7655 Characters: Elk and Wiki (mine), Linast and Phosa ( @justashadetalkative ) Indented is me, regular is @justashadetalkative Dashes are POV shifts. *Asterisks+italics* indicate telepathic communication, to distinguish them from thoughts and emphasis.

The first thing they became aware of was a deep-rooted pain, piercing through their void. They twitched, jerking from the sudden realization of pain. What... had happened?

They remembered... the creatures, and then - the Ooma. The memory of the spot of orange speeding towards them, and light, and sound, and a crack-

*Oh... you're awake... that's good...* Wiki's thoughts filtered into theirs. *I... need you to focus. We're safe.*

Too exhausted to properly respond, they gathered their presence of mind and sunk into the feeling of soul coursing through their body. They could feel the cracks in their mask seal slowly, until they were completely gone. All the remained was an immense exhaustion, mirrored in Wiki.

*Ah... good... I'm going to rest a bit. You may want to talk to Linast...* Their memories of what had happened up to that point flashed through Elk's mind, before Wiki completely sunk into oblivion.

Elk shook their head lightly, gradually becoming aware of their surroundings - sounds and sight finally filtering back.

A light pressure against their shoulder disappeared as they shook their head. “S-sorry, ssorry, just didn’t want you to fall off—“

As their vision cleared, Linast’s face came into focus from where he had leaned worriedly over them. His eyes darted across their mask, taking in their newly fused shell with evident relief and a faint smile. “Well, you’re looking a lot better anyway—are you awake?”

They perked up a bit at the sight of Linast, trying to speak- before recalling that Wiki was asleep. Right. They settled for an exhausted wave, before gesturing to Linast. Was he alright?

Linast’s smile widened slightly. “Hey. I’m really glad you’re back.” His brow furrowed as they gestured at him, and he looked confused for a moment.

“...What—me?” Linast snorted, or something like it, a staticky scoffing noise emanating from his chest. “I’m not the one that just got blown up. I’m fine.” Linast stayed leaned above them for a moment longer, seeming to check them over for damage again, and then he finally straightened up. “I’m... s̷̡s̀͘orry that happened. I—I told you I wouldn’t... let you get hurt.”

They immediately shook their head, reaching forward and patting Linast on his arm. It wasn't as if he could control whether they got hurt or not. They were just careless, and they panicked when they had to- when they had to fight back.

They froze a bit at the memory, the creature shooting towards them-

“—okay? Ssshit. Ah... Elk, hey, you’re okay. I’m okay, too. I—well, I think Wiki’s asleep, because—you’re not making sssounds, anymore, again, and I—think you s-said you share a voice?” Linast peered at Elk, looking worried again. There was a steady tapping noise near their head, a quiet counterpoint to his rambling. “But—I’m guessing they’re okay, too. We’re... in the atrium of the, of the Archives. Not... wherever you’re at. Or maybe you’re still hurt? Um...”

Pulled back to the present, they lifted their head to look at Linast. Focus, focus. They took a moment to process his words, and - at times like these it was very frustrating to be unable to speak. And be unable to make expressions, but they never were able to, anyways.

They patted Linast's arm to draw his attention again. How to communicate... They covered the "mouth" area of their mask, nodding - yes, Wiki's asleep so they couldn't talk. They then patted their mask. No cracks left! Luckily. Soul is a wonderful thing. But they were definitely not at full strength, so they sat back down.

And- they sat straight up again- right, Phosa! How much time had passed? They pointed to Linast's core, then pointed to the room's entrance, tilting their head in silent question.

Linast straightened, watching through Elk’s charades. Some of the worried tension drained from his shoulders as they indicated they and Wiki were alright. He frowned thoughtfully as they gestured to his core, and his gaze followed their next gesture to the entrance.

“Oh—Phosa, right? Ah, yeah, sshe just left to try to... capture one of the—rift people that were chasing us. While they’re hurt.” Linast shrugged. Reaching up, he drummed his fingers against his core in a steady rhythm that produced the same tapping noise as before. “I don’t know how long she’ll be gone, but... I’m not worried yet.”

Elk nodded. Linast would know Phosa's limits, they'll trust him on this one. Even if they were still a little worried.

They slouched on the bench bonelessly, breathing out a quiet breath of air as they turned their head to stare blankly at the ceiling. Absentmindedly, they put a hand on their shell. Even if they were fine now, if Wiki hadn't been there - they doubted it would have remained intact. They shivered at the thought. They've never had their shell completely broken, but they doubted it would be anything good.

Linast watched them, and his tapping quieted as he hooked his fingertips into one of the many whorled ridges on the surface of his core.

“...that was close, wasn’t it?” he asked, his voice subdued. “Wiki kept saying you—would be fine, once you woke up, but that’s only because you can heal so quickly. You were in danger until you did.”

Elk shifted, wrapping their arms around themself before giving another nod. Not so mention that they were lucky they had just gone to the spring - if they didn't have enough soul, they would really be in trouble.

If they had just- been more careful, or if they were faster, or if they weren't so afraid of attacking attacking anything- Wiki had been the one to strike, and it still sparked the dread coursing through their body. Why couldn't they do anything? They were weak. They were always weak. ~~It's why they were thrown away-~~

They didn't notice as their grip on themself became tighter, as they curled further into themself.

“...hey, no, it’s—it’s okay. You’re okay now, yeah? You got out of there. And we’ll—we’ll be more careful.” A light pressure settled around Elk’s shoulders, with an odd, fluttery insolidity to it. But it soon firmed into a proper hug as Linast gently tucked them against his side. “I didn’t mean to... hm. How did... Phosa do this, when...”

Linast fell silent for a moment, and then he shifted, gesturing to get their attention. “Hey, I’m gonna try something. You don’t... have to talk, if you don’t want to, we can—we can definitely just ssit here, that’s fine. You—it’d probably be good to rest, you look... exhausted. But, uh.”

Gesturing again, Linast set a pale, shadowy symbol hovering in the air within easy touching distance in front of Elk. “Are you s-sscared that you got that hurt?” Another gesture, and Linast set up a second, different symbol, and pointed to it. “Or is it... like before, when—when you felt like you sshould be able to fight?”

Linast hummed, then sighed. “...s-ssorry, I haven’t known you that long. Ah...” A third symbol. “Or is it neither of those, and I should—keep guessing?” He hummed again, clearly still thinking. Then he twitched slightly, and his arm loosened from around their shoulders. He made a fourth symbol. “Shit, and, ah—do you want me to keep hugging you? Ssorry, I—should have asked before I, before I did.”

Linast's touch and voice grounded them, drawing them out of their turbulent thoughts. They lightly grabbed his arm when he started to move away, immediately pointing to the fourth symbol. It was... nice. Somehow, they felt safer. Better.

They took another moment, leaning into his side, before looking at the other symbols. Sure, they were scared by the prospect of death, so they pointed to first and shook their hand in what they hope would be understood as a "kind of" gesture. But the real issue was probably...

They pointed to the second symbol, squeezing Linast's arm slightly.

Linast sighed, a soft rush of static as Elk gestured to the relevant symbols. He gave them a gentle squeeze in return, as if trying to steady them by the pressure alone.

“Okay. Well, first off, like I s-said, you’re okay now. And I’m really glad you are. And we’re gonna be more careful. For... the rest? I... know I rambled a bit, before, when this came up. I might not have made a lot of s-sense,” Linast admitted, and grimaced. “Sorry about that. It’s. I just... I kind of know how you feel? And I—well, like I ssaid, I’ve learned that... trying to just force myself into things doesn’t, doesn’t work. Even if we want it to.”

Linast sighed again, and hunched into himself a bit. He’d started tapping at his core again with his free hand, the rhythm more agitated than before, not entirely steady.

“Knowing that doesn’t... actually help much, though, does it?” Linast continued. He sounded a bit bitter. “Almost the opposite. It s-sseems like it just—means the obvious fix is... futile. It still feels like—like ss-something’s wrong with you, and you’re just not strong enough to will it away. It feels like it should be ssimple, but here you are and you—you can’t do it. You keep failing.”

Elk squeezed Linast's arm a bit tighter at that, looking away and nodding. It was hard, knowing you were made to be something, meant to do something, and knowing that you could not. But more than that, it was the thought that... if you couldn't do what you were meant to do, could you do anything at all?

A drop of void slid out of their eye.

Linast shuddered just slightly, with a quiet hiss. Then some of the tension drained back out of him and the hiss turned into a hum, soft and soothing. He reached down with his free hand to brush away the drop of void on their mask, then patted their hand on his arm.

“...okay,” he said, after a bit of a pause. “Can I... ask why being able to fight is ss-so important to you? I know... that you were s-saying it’d be useful, earlier. But, I mean. It’s—not everyday you get... other dimensional people invading and, and trying to hunt you. That’s, uh, that’s kind of on us. And... you’ve been doing pretty well, with Wiki, yeah? Exploring and things. You’re really good at avoiding those—husks, c-ccertainly. But it... sounded like it was a thing you and Wiki had talked about, before.“

Linast started up his hum again, for a minute. Then he set up a new array of symbols, pointing to each in turn. “You don’t want to talk about it at all. You want to wait until Wiki’s awake. You want me to try to help you answer like this. You want to keep talking but don’t want to answer that question.”

They wrapped their arms around him, burying themself in Linast's embrace - a balm to their distress. But before long, they hesitantly lifted a hand.

They... weren't sure. But maybe. Linast could help. He was nice...

They pointed to the second. If they were going to share, they might as well go all the way.

“Wait for Wiki? Okay. We can definitely do that.” Linast let out a slow sigh, shivering again, and tightened his arm around them for a moment. “Do you need to sleep, too? I can keep watch for a while.”

They gave another squeeze. If only they could speak to express their gratitude. Some rest sounded very good right about now....

They nodded, settling into a comfortable position against Linast before drawing themself inwards.

Linast kept his arm around Elk, humming softly at times; perhaps in thought, perhaps still attempting to soothe them. Regardless, he sat still with them until they'd fallen completely asleep.

—

Wiki snapped to awareness, like being suddenly pulled from a dream. Or, like they were already awake and suddenly became aware of it. Where were they...?

Ah! The Archives, yes. Elk seemed to have fallen asleep, but was stirring at the presence of Wiki. They became aware of a presence at their side - Linast?

They ran through Elk's memories - they were glad he could reassure Elk. They always felt like they couldn't do anything, despite all the evidence otherwise. Wiki gave a soft sigh before they emerged from Elk, turning to face the other inhabitant of the bench. "Linast?"

Linast sat curled next to Elk, one arm wrapped loosely around them. His other hand pressed against his core, his fingers digging into the ridges that lined its surface.

He looked paler than normal; only the shadows supporting his core and those in his arms at their various tasks seemed to have any substance to them. And even that seemed lessened, and drifted faintly at the edges like so much smoke.

Linast shifted as Wiki spoke, sitting up a bit to look at them. “Hey, Wiki.” Then he twitched, seeming to register them properly. He straightened up the rest of the way, and his body darkened again, some of the loose edges pulling back together as he offered them a tired smile. “Wiki! Hey. Glad to—I’m glad you’re awake, again. You ffeeling okay?”

"Indeed I am. Some rest certainly did me some good." They drew closer to him, observing his form. "Was that normal? Just now. You seemed a little more insubstantial than usual."

Linast’s smile widened slightly. “I’m glad,” he said, then shrugged, glancing down at Elk for a moment as if checking they were still there. “And, ah—yeah, I’m just... tired. Getting a bit harder to, um... words… multitask, is all. I was just... distracted. Keeping watch.”

"Ahh... Very understandable. Thank you - at least we have a brief respite for now." They turned to look at Elk. "I'm grateful you could be there Elk. I wish I could assuage their worries, but..."

"I know you're doing your best. I'm just... me." Elk rolled over, exposing their face to the outside world once more. "But- now that I can say it-" they embraced Linast. "Thank you."

Linast huffed, returning the hug. “I just... rambled at you for a while,” he protested, resting his forehead on theirs for a moment. He kept a hand on their shoulder when he straightened again, seeming disinclined to break contact completely.

“But—I’m glad that talking, ah, helped. It can be... nice to know s-ssomeone understands how you feel, at least, s-sometimes. I take it I wasn’t… wasn’t too far off mark.”

"... You were pretty much on it." Elk shifted on the bench. "So... did you... want to know...?"

Wiki laid a tendril on Elk's head. "If you'd prefer... I can show you the memory. It's easier in some ways. But maybe harder in others. I can also simply explain, Elk, if you do not wish to."

Linast hesitated, looking conflicted. “I don’t... mm.” He sagged, tension draining all at once, and the hand on his chest flexed restlessly. “I’m, ah. I don’t mean it... personally. But I’ve... had enough of, ah, telepaths putting—putting experiences in my head. S-sometimes I’m not even sure if it’s me reacting to s-ssomething, or if it’s just... leftovers from what’s been shared. Sorry. I know it’d be easier.”

Linast fell silent for a moment, staring off into space, then shook his head. “But, I... yeah. I mean. Either of you telling me would... help me understand, anyway. If you—ss-still want to talk about it.”

Wiki nodded. "Ah... of course. I understand."

"Mind things can be uncomfortable. We're just so used to the convenience of sharing thoughts." Elk fidgeted with their hands for a moment, before grasping them and putting them in their lap. "I... I want to say it."

Wiki closed their eyes and gave a reassuring pat. "I'm here. Linast is here. Take as long as you need."

Linast made a soft noise of assent, giving their shoulder a squeeze. “Yep. You’re s-ssafe here, and we’re listening.”

They sighed, taking a moment, before looking up at nothing in particular. "He created us. Thousands? Millions? All for the sake of finding one perfect vessel. One pure vessel." Their gaze slid down. "We were all brought to the palace. Put through 'trials.' Tested."

They fidgeted with their hands. "We were taught how to fight. Trained to be knights - potentially."

Gaze sliding left. "At that time, I didn't know anything. I didn't really feel anything, either. We weren't supposed to. We all did as we were told. I did as I was told.

And... I was told to fight another like me. Unlike the other fights, they didn't tell us to stop. That meant we kept going.

I..." They looked down. "When they hit me, I struck back, cracking their shell. I hesitated. I didn't know. They told me to keep going. I struck them again. Isn't this when they made us stop? My nail was covered in the void of my sibling. They told me to keep going. Until their shell broke. I looked into their eyes, moments before they vanished. I realized what I'd done. I threw my nail away from me. They gave it back. Told me to fight again. I shook my head. Insisted. I swiped my nail at them - and then he came."

They clenched a fist in their cloak. "'This one is a failure. Dispose of it.'"

Linast hissed, slow and cold. His fingers twitched on Elk’s shoulder, and he closed his eyes, his form flickering unsteadily. He managed to calm himself before long, though. He opened his eyes again and looped his arm around Elk in another hug. “And... hhow did they... try to get rid of you?”

Elk looked up at the ceiling. "They told me to come with them somewhere. I... didn't want to, but I didn't know what to do but obey. One of the... caretakers. Brought me and the shell of the one I..." They looked away. Wiki squeezed Elk tightly around the shoulders, reassuring.

"We walked deeper into the basin. It was completely silent. We reached a door. Beyond it... I felt... it felt so familiar.

The one who brought us there picked us up. Walked into the door. Beyond it was an endless darkness - and I know now - that was where he took us from in the first place. It called to me then...

I did nothing as she walked to the edge of the abyss.

She tossed my sibling first, and I realized what was happening. I began to struggle. I pulled my nail from where I held it in my body, and struck her. She stumbled, letting me go- but then, she slipped on the ledge- grabbing my cloak as we both fell into the endless chasm."

They looked up again. "It's... a big blank after that. I don't know how much time I spent there."

Linast’s form flickered again, the pressure of his hand atop Elk’s shoulder fading and reforming. He was quiet for a long moment, staring off into space.

“That’ss... a. Pretty complicated introduction to ffighting,” he said, eventually. “I’m—I’m nnot s-surprised you... freeze, when... you think you might have to, again. Those are ssome pretty bad memories, to be reminded of. Easy to wonder if things... will go that badly, again.”

Linast’s fingers on his core flexed, and he shook his head lightly, turning to look down at Elk. “But... you... sstill feel like it’s a thing you should be able to do.”

Elk flinched, nodding. "It's... useful to be able to defend yourself. We're good at running," they gave a light huff of a laugh, "but running can only do so much. And... you can never stop."

They fell silent for a moment. "Even if I could just. Fend off things on my own. That would be good... But... Every time I move to attack, I think of inky void on my nail, looking into the blank eyes of my sibling, of falling, falling."

Linast hummed. “Fflashbacks s-suck,” he said quietly. “Especially when... you get them when you need to be thinking clearly. When there actually is danger. Half the... half of the techniques for dealing with them normally involve telling yourself you’re ssafe, now.” He let out a humorless laugh.

Elk gave a huff at that. "Yeah- I'm. Pretty in danger whenever that happens. Wiki usually takes over when my limbs feel weighed down by lead."

Wiki nodded. "I don't particularly mind fighting, myself. I'm just rather weak." They climbed onto the bench next to Elk, opposite of Linast. "There's nothing wrong with avoiding danger. We've done pretty well with that, haven't we?"

"Th.. that's..." They looked at their hands. "I guess... except for this time."

“To... be ffair,” Linast offered. “The, ah. The Sspire’s... pretty cursed. We s-seem to bring danger pretty much everywhere.” He made a huffing noise. “I doubt you’re nnnormally triggering those... jellyfish things—Ooma—on purpose.”

He shook his head again, and directed a mild frown at Elk. “But... mm. There are—there are things you can do, to help with the... with the flashbacks. I can try to help, if... if there’s time, and if you want me to. But.” Linast paused and closed his eyes, apparently gathering his thoughts.

After a minute he shook his head, opening his eyes to give Elk a pointed look. “You... before. I asked—why being able to f-fight was, was important to you. And you didn’t... you didn’t s-ssay you don’t feel ssafe, traveling with Wiki, or that you’re... tired of always having to run. You’re only s-saying that now. You... you told me about what happened, first. What you were asked to do. What your creator ssaid.”

Linast let out a quiet hiss, looking away from them to stare out the atrium’s windows. “You told me that you wouldn’t ffight when they asked, and that they threw you away.“

They cringed. "That's... probably... the crux of it. I..." They took a breath, letting it out slowly. "I don't want to feel this way. I don't want him to take so much of my mind, when he made us to have none." They looked up at Linast. "If... There's anything you know about how to deal with this. I'd... be grateful."

Linast made a sighing sound, his form flickering. “...mm. It’s... I’ll nneed to... think, f-for a while, I think,” he admitted. “Trauma ssshit’s... complicated. Can’t undo it in a day. And I’m... sstill working out a lot of my own s-stuff, I don’t... I really don’t have all the answers. Words aren’t. Words aren’t s-sso great, right nnow, either.”

Linast looked back down from the windows, meeting Elk’s gaze. “But... Ffor now, and... for what it’s worth. What I’m hearing is that... the ffirst choice you ever made. The first thing you—you chose to do without being—no, despite being told... was to refuse to murder another one of your siblings. Literally the ffirst time you saw death up close, right, and you—you decided you didn’t want to make more of it. Even though you were being told it was good, that it was what you were... s-supposed to do.” He leaned into them slightly, a careful bump on the shoulder. “That doesn’t ssound like a failure to me. I think it’s—admirable. I think it’s amazing.”

Linast leaned back away from them, dropping his suddenly distinctly clawed hand to the bench and gripping it tightly. He shuddered a bit, and the hand at his core tightened as well. “Your creator, on the other hhand, was a fffucking f-fool,” he added in a low hiss. “Even—even more of one than most people who, who make people like that, make them to try to get a job done. And that’s s-ssaying something.”

Wiki felt an overwhelming surge of gratitude from Elk - it nearly brought tears to their own own eyes.

Elk suddenly wrapped their arms around Linast, squeezing tightly. "Th... thank you... more than you know. I'm... I'm feeling a lot better already. Take all the time you need. And," they pulled back a bit, "if you ever want to talk about what plagues your mind... We'll be glad to listen, if you think it would help."

Wiki brushed a tendril across Elk's shell, before facing Linast. "Yes... You've done plenty for us. Please, rest now. Gather your thoughts. We will watch." They paused a moment before realizing- "Is Phosa still out? How long have we..."

Linast twitched rather badly at Elk’s hug, his form flickering and nearly phasing through them at first. But he leaned into them after a moment, his hand lifting from the bench to pat at their arm. “...I’m glad. I will.”

He blinked at Wiki’s question, looking up at them. “Hm? Um, nno, sshe’s not back. It’s been... I mean, we’ve been talking f-ffor. For a while? Right?” Linast frowned, starting to look more agitated. His posture tensed again. “I... I don’t know how long you were asleep, though? I don’t...”

With a soft scree-click, Linast’s fingers cut through the ridge of his core that they’d been gripping and came to rest on the next one down. He flinched and gave a soft hiss of pain, some of his tension draining away with the distraction. He lifted his hand and looked down in what seemed like genuine surprise at the damage he’d just done. “...ow.”

Both Elk and Wiki startled - Elk gave a small squeak.

"Oh- oh dear. Linast, are you quite alright? You seem....... tense, to say the least." They hovered a few tendrils near him, hesitant to go closer. "I... I'm not aware of how much time had passed, but considering the state we were in, I'd expect a few hours at least."

“I’m... I’m... tired?” Linast trailed off, seeming uncertain about the statement. He pressed a carefully closed fist over the scratches on his core. “I... always get, get a bit... twitchy. Bitey? Light pain... does that. When I can’t com... disss... Mm. Ignore it, anymore. And it’s... Elk was hurt. Your creator’s horrible. Phosa... I shouldn’t have—have lossst track of… of time like that. But I’ve been... better. At nnnot—scratching us.”

He shivered convulsively, looking out the atrium window. “...and hours is too long. Phosa would have at least... checked in. And sshe would have felt—that, jusst now.”

Elk leaned back, nervously clenching their hands. "Ah-hh, I should have let you rest... Sorry if I've... made it worse..."

Wiki narrowed their eyes at a corner of the atrium. "... This is concerning, though. I- we- the creatures. There... might be something we didn't expect. They're certainly harder to kill than most things around here... They might..." They blinked a few times, a faint memory at the edge of their mind. Was it a memory? They've never seen the creatures before, though... Have they? They shook their head. Focus. "Linast, is it possible for you to communicate with Phosa at the moment?"

“I’m used to it,” Linast said, a bit distantly. “Sssomeone had to keep watch.”

He roused as Wiki said his name, and looked away from the window to refocus on them.

“Nno, not... really. We can’t—sshare thoughts, like you. We... sometimes get... emotions. But it’s more like we... mm. Words. Influence each other’s moods than, than even being able to tell it’s nnot—ours.” Linast hummed, closing his eyes as if trying to think.

“We can—fffind each other? And—ssome physical stuff. If we’re awake or nnot, have enough—enough energy or are too tired, if we’re using a lot of magic or nnot. Pain, if it’s... in our core.” His hand tilted as he ran a thumb across the new notches in their core. “...n-nnormally.”

Elk shot a worried look to Wiki - well, shooting a look with feelings of worry. "You should rest. Does your core heal over time? The atrium should be safe... If they haven't found us yet, I doubt they'll find us at all."

Wiki hummed. "If you know where Phosa is, we can go out to search for her. Now that we're rested, we'll probably be fine on our own-"

Linast barked out a laugh. “—sssorry, ssorry, it’s just. I mean.” He gestured vaguely out the atrium windows. “Ssshe’s—that way. Outsside my—my range, right nnow, so I can’t even... tell you exactly how fffar.”

He shook his head, and drummed his fingers against their core. “...you might... be... able to contact her? Just because—just because I’m nnnot in her head doesn’t mean ssshe isn’t... here, in part.” Linast shivered, his voice going a bit thin. “Sssomething’s... definitely nnot right. Now that I’m... paying attention. I—we—sshe, maybe. Kinda want to kill s-something.”

"Wh-"

"Kill something? That doesn't doesn't sound good. Whether something's aggravated her to that point, or if something is influencing her..." Wiki brought a tendril to their chin. "I... I could try. If you're alright with it. It may be intrusive - probing a mind is more active than mere communication..."

Linast closed his eyes and gave a stressed, unhappy hum. “I... I know. You did the... the language thing, earlier...” He shook his head, and made a visible effort to relax. “...I do trusst you, though. And I—I don’t like this. S-sssomething’s wrong. I want to—to know what ssshe’s doing, before we... jump into things.”

"Alright. Very well. Elk, just in case..."

Elk nodded, and Wiki completely removed themself from their body before approaching Linast. "Your core would likely offer a stronger connection. But if you'd like, I can try to reach her through contact with your magic first."

Linast hesitated, then shook his head and pulled his core from his chest. “I think I should... ss-stop concentrating. Ffor at—at least a bit. I’m—having enough issues that it... might be dissstracting to you. And... you’re right, our core’s likely... going to work better.”

He set his core on the bench, and directed a tense frown at Wiki. “...Be careful? If—if s-something is... influencing her. Us. Or if sshe’s hurt and it—bleeds through. Don’t... mm. Just be careful.”

Wiki inclined their head. "Understandable. I shall do my best." They extended a few tendrils to the core, avoiding the scratches as they wrapped around it.

Closing their eyes, they focused their mind into the core. The world fell away as they drew their mind deeper, probing for other presences.

Linast’s mind was scattered.

Some of that felt familiar to Wiki. Linast’s mind might be centered in his core, but pouring the majority of his attention outward into his shadowform created something of a disconnect. And while the injuries to his core during their previous contact with him had pained him considerably, he’d seemed able to push that pain to the back of his mind unusually well; another careful compartmentalization.

But now, Linast’s attention drifted in all directions in a much less controlled fashion. And even as he let his tenuous hold on his shadowform fade, removing both the sting of light upon it and any need to force his focus outwards, he still struggled to gather his thoughts. The burn of light exposure seemed to echo disruptively through his mind even though he’d released his magic.

Wiki’s initial probings did not reveal any immediately obvious presences other than Linast. But as they pressed deeper, something that could only be described as bright drew their attention. Pursuing it lead to an area of the core that seemed like it would be accessible enough to Wiki, but which Linast’s mind refused to even acknowledge beyond a few faint tendrils of connection.

One of these connections was a nagging, directionless desire to hunt. That seemed relevant. Wiki drew closer.

They found... Phosa’s awareness, in the same way that one could be said to be aware of one’s body. It should have been a simple enough connection to follow to the rest of her consciousness. But the majority of her mind felt distant and well beyond Wiki’s reach, somehow.

Much more present was a searing light that Wiki could tell at once was not Phosa, now that they felt it more directly. It jarred against what little of her mind was here with a grating feedback that kept it from meshing with her fully. And it was hungry.

Wiki jerked, instinctively shielding their mind from the light. A sense of dread sunk into them - Phosa was under the influence of something far more powerful than they'd imagined.

They attempted to quarantine the presence interlocked with Phosa, constructing mental barriers of void - Linast was probably being affected as well. Hopefully they'll last... it's a good thing that Void was born to oppose light.

That done, they turned to the blinding light in the core. Phosa seemed so far away, but perhaps... They tried to weave their way towards her presence, seeking gaps in the other light's influence. Phosa-

Wiki felt some reaction from her, nonlinguistic and distant as it was. A twitch, a sudden uncertain hope—and then the feedback of the other light’s incompatibility with Phosa rose in a screech all around them. Their mind echoed with it, ringing, drifting.

Where had they...

They were—they are...

… They are... at the bottom of a dark cavern that stretches upward beyond the edges of their sight. Strands of webbing cross through it at irregular intervals, and large, hulking spheres hang suspended-

—They are a part of the center of a field of death, the corpses of some alien species piled high and arranged in careful patterns stretching into the distance. They reach to the seeds of flame they’ve planted within each body and begin to burn each to ash. The ground splits beneath the heat and begins to collapse downwards into their grasp, and the widening fissure spills their light up into the sky-

— They are in front of Linast, who sits half-formed as a simple torso hovering above a pool of shadow around his core. But it’s Phosa who’s speaking, for all that she’s little more than a thin sheen of light around the core at the center of her sibling’s protective hovering. “That’s right,” she says. She sounds tired and dazed but she’s recovering quickly, her voice gaining some momentum. “We’d been... we were going to Deepnest, right? That was... that was the plan-“

— They are reaching out through their disciples’ touch. They capture the flame of life as it begins to gutter out beneath their fingers and they make it their own-

—But none of that makes... sense. Does it?

They are... shifting through silken records- No, they were… cutting at the creature that had grabbed at Elk- No, that wasn’t right.

They were... holding Elk together—no. They were... no.

...

What were they doing...?

Something tugged at the edge of their mind. Another presence, someone else...

"Ma'am?"

They turned to look at the bug that had just entered the room, carrying some records. He seemed to be some kind of pill bug, cloth tied upon his head. "I got what you asked-"

That wasn't right. The presence was stronger now, insistent.

Something broke their seal. Consciousness rushed towards them, like a flood, and they looked into hollow eyes-

Wiki blinked. The glow of acid filled the bronze of the room, purple light diffusing through the windows. Elk stood in front of them, grabbing a tendril.

*Wiki? Can you hear me? Are you alright?*

They blinked again. "I..." They looked at their surroundings. The glasslike core was next to them - they must have let go of it. Luckily, they hadn't lifted it from the bench, so it didn't look like any further damage was done.

That's right. They were trying to reach Phosa through the core, and then…

"Ugh..." They pressed a tendril to their face. What was it they saw? Certainly, some of it was in the past, yet... They'd never been to some of those places, and the visions of light...

They stiffened. "Elk- Phosa is, she's under the influence of another entity. A powerful being, something like light... But it's not... The old light. Something different... We have to. We need to find her-"

*Wiki, wait! You've been out of it for a while, are you sure you're alright?* Elk gripped their tendril more tightly.

"I'm fine now. I'm not sure what just... it might have been an effect making mental contact with the entity. But I... it's not the first time something like this has happened, just not to this degree. I... I'll think about it later."

They turned back to the core. "l hate to trouble Linast again, but I need to let him know. We might be able to carry him to let him rest, but." They reached towards the core-

Elk snatched them back, locking gazes with them. *You're sure it's fine?*

*Of course.* "I quarantined the light. It should last, at least for a bit." With that, they turned back to the core, one tendril making contact with the surface. *Linast?*

It took a moment, but Linast roused soon enough. It seemed he’d fallen asleep—a realization that sparked enough alarm from him to echo through the connection Wiki had established.

A layer of darkness pulled up around the core. A moment later Linast had reformed and quickly looked around the room, taking in Wiki, Elk, and the empty atrium. Only once he’d checked his surroundings did he relax, pressing a hand up against his core with a grimace.

“Shit. I’m sorry, I—for some reason it got harder to think when I s-stopped manifesting, I’m not sure what...” Shaking his head, Linast refocused on Wiki. “Are you okay? Were you able to contact her?” His expression creased with worry. “I... can’t feel her as well as before.”

Wiki shook their head. "Not... exactly. She's... under the influence of a powerful entity of light. It doesn't seem compatible with her own light, but... it's overpowering her will, it seems." Their tendrils curled in anxiety. "I've constructed a few mental barriers to isolate you from being influenced by the entity. Unfortunately, with how entangled Phosa is right now, that means it's also a divide between you and her."

"It also sort of put Wiki in a daze for a bit," Elk spoke up - the contact they had with Wiki seemed to be sufficient to speak. They were sitting on the bench, eyes downcast and hands gripping the seat tightly. "Whatever... influence," they ground out the word with clear displeasure, "is happening, it seems powerful enough to affect us beings of Void, as well."

Wiki huffed. "Perhaps." They turned back to Linast. "I... saw a few things. Some of them I recall - they occurred in the past - but... some were not. I was... in places I haven't been. Visions of... light. The entity's light, I think...? I saw you and Phosa as well, for just a moment, but... it was so strange. Like an odd dream."

Linast hunched into himself as he listened to their explanation, his arms folded around his chest. “I... hate that things can be that wrong without me even noticing for so long,” he muttered, and ran a shaky hand down his face. “We need to... I... fuck.”

He glanced from Elk’s tense posture to Wiki, scanning them over. “...an odd dream. Did it feel like that in the moment, or only now? If it can mess with perceptions...”

"I... Hmm." The tapped their chin. "It felt real, then. Like I was there. Only now do I feel that it was oddly out of place. Disjointed. Then again..." They hummed in thought. "I have... had similar situations... I think? None so forceful. None jumping from place to place like just now. But... flashbacks that felt so real... things that I've never seen before. I assumed it was from the memories buried in my mind..."

Linast frowned as he watched Wiki think. “Maybe... but... Phosa and I definitely haven’t met you, before.” He shivered slightly. “We’re—pretty young, for sstarters. And we’ve got—a few muddled memories of our own, me more than Phosa, but we know what was happening during them. We either wouldn’t have been recognizable, or wouldn’t have been... coherent.”

Linast pushed himself to his feet. He wavered unsteadily for a moment but quickly found his balance again and began to pace, fingers tapping at his core. “...whatever happened, whether—whether that thing did it to you or not, I need to go find Phosa. You... you ssaid it wasn’t compatible with her. Maybe she’ll be able to fight it off once she’s not projecting s-so far, or... I don’t know. I need to try, though. And... we need to try to seal these things off as s-soon as possible. Apparently we keep managing to—underestimate them. But we still haven’t heard from the Spire...”

"I-" Wiki paused. "You're right. I don't have enough data, and we have more pressing matters." They rose from where they were seated.

"No word..." Elk muttered. "That doesn't sound good."

"Looks like we'll stick with our original plan. You mentioned sealing- we'd planned to go to Deepnest, in the far reaches of this kingdom. The Weavers there are rumored to be masters in weaving seals and spells. We were discussing it with Phosa before we were... well. Interrupted. We'll go there once we retrieve her..."

"Oh, and-" Elk jumped up from their seat, "If it helps, you can rest while we seek her out. We might need a bit of directional help, but we'll be able to carry your core."

"In our void is most convenient, but we certainly have enough limbs to carry you ourselves."

Linast didn’t stop pacing as they explained their previous plan, but he did seem to be listening, his head tilted toward them as he nodded occasionally. He slowed to a stop as they offered to carry him, though, and looked conflicted as he turned to look them over.

“I... I’m not going to say I don’t need your help. I do, I—I know I’m getting clumsy. And you two are more likely to be able to help Phosa with mind shit than I ever will be, anyway. Sstars, this thing might have had me, ah, influenced by now too, without you. I was... I can think way more clearly now, after whatever you did.” He frowned at them, looking tense. “But... are you sure?”

Linast gestured out the atrium windows to the canyon beyond. “You don’t have to go back there,” he pointed out. “We—we sstill don’t know what they can do, or what they’ve done to Phosa—what she might try to do to us. And you had a plan, it s-sounds like. If you can get to this—Deepnest place safely on your own... well, we can travel fast, straight through walls if we need to. Let us know what direction it is and we’ll catch up. Or... nnot, but at least you two would still have a chance at getting ssome help and fixing this.“

Wiki shook their head. "Deepnest is easy to get lost in, and it's not a good place to be alone. It would be best if we were to stick together, regardless of whether we assist now. Which..."

"We will, obviously." Elk's tone held little room for argument. "We're certain."

"And... the barriers I've constructed are only temporary. It would be best if we could evict the entity from Phosa's mind entirely. Which I will certainly be able to assist with - generally speaking, void is very effective at opposing light. And I'd like to think that I am skilled in regards to mental navigation and manipulation."

Linast sagged with evident relief. For all that he’d questioned them, it was fairly obvious which answer he’d hoped that they would give. “I... Thank you. Both of you.”

He pressed a palm to his chest, glancing away. “I, uh... planning, then. Okay.” Linast hummed, closing his eyes.

“I don’t... think your void is a good idea,” he decided after some thought. “Cutting off from Phosa is never very good for her, I don’t want to try it with her projected so far away. She wouldn’t just ssnap back to our core like I would. But if you could carry us for a while, that would help, yeah. I’m, ah. Your s-springs gave us plenty of energy, but I’ve been... awake and manifested for too long. It was a long day even before we got here, and then we were hurt...”

"Very well," Wiki nodded. "We'll be careful. Just let us know where to go."

"Get some rest, alright? We don't know what'll happen once we get there." Elk gave a light pat to Linast's arm.

Linast gave Elk a weak smile at the pat. “I’ll try. Thank you.”

He glanced back up again, looking to Wiki. “She’s definitely in the—the general direction we came from, but... further away than the Ooma were, I think?” he said. “She might have moved closer to the rifts, or off down a side path, or... I don’t know. I’ll be able to tell better when we’re closer. You might be able to feel her through our core, too.”

As he spoke, Linast cupped his hands. He winced slightly as his core shifted. Much like it had when he’d teleported earlier, his core began to unspool, the intricate ridges covering its surface separating and lifting outwards.

This time, rather than fading away they curved around to reform in his hands. But they seemed to weave themselves more tightly, now. The resulting sphere was much smaller than before, small enough to fit into even Elk’s hand without too much issue. Linast passed the core over. “Careful, we’re not actually lighter. It can be—disconcerting. Might be easier to carry, though.”

Elk laughed lightly. "I'm a lot stronger than you might expect- oh, that is much heavier than it looks." They cradled the core in their hands, before looking to Wiki.

"We'll be fine. If I'm getting lost, I'll try to sense where she is from your core. Now then..." Wiki flowed into Elk, settling into the familiarity of their void. They wrapped a few tendrils around the core, keeping them under their cloak but not impeding any movement. "Let's go find Phosa."

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