Ai: “Sorry, give me a moment…”

Vision One: “…You are not well, are you?”

Ai smiles weakly at Vision One.

Ai: “Pray forgive me. It’s been a while since I have gone so far from my company house.”

Vision One: “I can understand that.”

Ai: “You understand my true nature. An aetherochemical clone made as a test for the empire. I’m almost out of time, I suppose.”

Ai shrugs at Vision One.

Ai: “But we’re not here to listen to my griping! Pray tell, what have you been up to lately?”

Vision One wears a sort of forlorn expression at that.

Vision One: “Well…I have been living among the Khatayin tribe for at least ten cycles of the—ten moons. After I traveled across the waste of the Burn and into the Skatay Range, they were the first natives I rendezvoused with. I have hunted and mentored, and occasionally I travel south to barter in Reunion. Especially after I came to know this place we sit among now.”

Ai: “This is the House of the Crooked Coin, right? That crystal pillar is full to bursting with aether. Do the Xaela use it for anything?”

Vision One: “You have the right of it. It is a sacred place, believed to be an effigy of Nhaama herself. The Dotharl believe that…taking their lives here breaks their cycle of reincarnation.”

Ai: “O-oh.”

Vision One: “And perhaps they have a point, but I can see it for what it is, or where it began. With Allag. You can imagine my surprise to have found it here, even now.”

Ai: “Really? The Allagans had fingers in every pie, it seems.”

Ai slowly gets up to take a closer look. Vision One follows behind her.

Vision One: “From what I can gather from local myth, this tool may have been instrumental in some of the empire’s greatest architectural achievements. Including Azys Lla, where you found me.”

Ai: “Wow…with all this aether, you can probably power all those devices on Azys Lla. Or run the world’s largest computational node, or summon a billion eikons.”

Vision One nods to Ai. “Yes. So much so that it is likely the reason why the Burn is so depleted of aether.”

Ai: “Can we possibly transfer this aether over there? Transform the ashen sand into somewhere lush and alive.”

Vision One: “It should be possible, but I would not go freely tampering with it without consulting local tribes.”

Ai: “Oh, yes. Of course.”

Ai: “Um, listen, Miss One. If you’d like, you can come visit the Sandsea. My company house. We have a bar and a training ring and a library. It’s a cozy place.”

Vision One: “Aidea…” She looks at Ai closely, head to toe. “Did you really come out here to find me once more? At the risk of your health.”

Ai: “No, this was a happy coincidence! Miss Yun told me to buy medicine from the apothecary at Reunion.”

Vision One is taken aback. “What a task to have of you. The nerve.”

Ai: “Well…I think…I was supposed to come here. Meet up with you, see this crystal. Miss Yun is always planning something. She swore she’d help me, and never once looked doubtful.”

Vision One’s eyes widen a little as she looked back out at the crystal. “…You said you were nearing your end, by your cloned nature. And Yun knew that I was out here, as well as this wedge.”

Vision One: “It would be awfully lonely knowing you to be gone, my first friend.”

Ai smiles at Vision One. “You are my first friend also. But we mustn’t despair yet! I—I would like to stay.”