by N. Heller
Soulsqn had not finished her answer.
"Before you found yourself at the bottom of the ravine, you woke up once. But, you walked into our storehouse on your own after Sajee made you hallucinate."
Considering Soulsqn's explanation, Lin Sanjiu could piece the puzzle together.
Faun and the others did not travel with her. They had been trapped in the Souls' nest a few months before Lin Sanjiu. The reason she could see her "neighbors" in that flesh prison and even her "transporter", Sajee, was because her higher consciousness was trying to warn her that everything around her was not what it seemed.
Lin Sanjiu felt a sudden chill. After she died in Kisaragi Station, she had not experienced such fear. Jade sat silently, looking somewhat stunned. She didn't know much of what had happened so she couldn't really make sense of their conversation. Yet, Lin Sanjiu did not plan to tell her the full story. Consequently, the airship fell into a sort of strange silence.
The silence was abruptly interrupted by a creak from the door.
Marlon peeked from behind the door and saw four pairs of eyes staring directly at him. He excused himself with a quick cough and pushed open the door with his shoulder. He was holding a tray with a flask of water and two glass cups. There was also a plate with some jerkies and flatbreads.
As he was the only crew onboard the airship, Marlon did everything even though he was the captain.
Even though Lin Sanjiu gave the captain quite a sum of red crystals for the food and water, Marlon came with food a little too frequently. It wasn't even afternoon and Marlon had already approached them twice. He brought dried fruits the previous time.
Lin Sanjiu looked at the middle-aged man once. She wanted to say something but felt that she was just being overly cautious. When she reached for the flask, Marlon quickly interjected, "Let me do it." Then, he eagerly poured a glass of water for her.
The water in the glass was crystal clear and Lin Sanjiu felt refreshed just looking at it.
The two Souls sat expressionless opposite Lin Sanjiu. They did not even look once at the food. Meanwhile, Jade had been staring out of the window for some time and appeared dispirited. After considering for some time, Lin Sanjiu took a sip of water. The water tasted alright, it was just plain water with a slight taste of rust. It slipped down her throat. After waiting for a while, Lin Sanjiu didn't notice anything wrong.
"I must be too paranoid." Lin Sanjiu exhaled and withdrew her higher consciousness from the glass of water.
"The flatbreads are quite delicious, why don't you try one?" Marlon stayed a little longer with them and smiled while he recommended the snack, "I bought this from Depizza. It is their local specialty. People like to bring this back when they return from that world…"
Inexplicably, Lin Sanjiu found it difficult to say "not now" to the man. After hesitating, she finally took one flatbread from the plate. The yellow flatbread looked crisp and delicate. It had a mysterious aroma but it looked tasty. The only downside was that it was larger than a human's head so it wasn't easy to hold.
Lin Sanjiu tore a corner of the flatbread and turned to Marlon saying, "I know, you can go back fir—"
Before she finished her sentence, her vision became blurry.
A dense gray smoke suddenly appeared from nowhere. It seemed slow but it filled the room in the blink of an eye. When Lin Sanjiu suddenly realized her predicament and leaped up. She could only see gray smoke all around her. The smoke was so thick that she couldn't even see her c.h.e.s.t when she looked down. When she brought her hand right in front of her eyes, she discovered that the smoke was coming out of the torn part of the flatbread.
As the smoke surrounded her, she could even see the small particles it carried. She had merely taken two breaths and her nose felt extremely uncomfortable.
[Haze Essence]
Just as the name suggests, this Special Item is concocted from the best essence of industrial smog. It can reduce visibility, cause serious health problems and can be hidden in various objects. When it is released, it would provide a dramatic surprise.
"Marlon wouldn't just target me for no reason. It must be something those two Souls did." Lin Sanjiu swore silently. She felt an instant stinging in her eyes as if they had been burned. Her eyes started tearing non-stop. The effect of Haze Essence was pretty much instant. After just two seconds, her respiratory tract, mouth, and eyes were affected. It was as if someone had buried her in sand. The second she shut her eyes involuntarily, a black shadow tried to stab her from one side. Her hair stood on end immediately while she activated her Higher Consciousness Scan. Lin Sanjiu twisted her body sharply and barely dodged a knight lance in Marlon's hand.
"Jade Zhang!" Lin Sanjiu stabilized herself and growled, "Watch them!"
No answer came from within the smoke.
It was almost as if the smoke had even swallowed Jade's existence. She sat quietly and appeared unaware of the situation around her. If Lin Sanjiu stared harder, she might have spotted the plump lady yawning in boredom.
The knight lance struck from her side again, almost like a serpent. Lin Sanjiu's wings shifted subtly before suddenly reacting as if it was alive, blocking the lance.
As a matter of fact, Marlon's combat capability wasn't much better than the Souls'. Lin Sanjiu could easily come up with five to six different strategies to incapacitate him. However, Lin Sanjiu found herself unable to do much. It wasn't because they weren't on a moving airship with the captain in front of her. Neither was it because she was afraid of any sneak attacks from the two Souls.
She simply couldn't harm Marlon.
[Familiarity Breeds Fondness]
There is supposedly a psychological phenomenon where people would find a face more attractive the more they look at it. Could this be the basis of for the familiarity principle? Many people are saved from being single because of this particular phenomenon.
A middle-aged man without much money and charisma had developed this ability through desperation. Originally, he thought he could finally find a wife with this ability yet the ability only worked on his own enemies.
It was quite obvious that Marlon had taken a few days to prepare beforehand so that he could fully utilize his ability. Lin Sanjiu had seen him at least twice to thrice per day over the past few days, and as a result, the effect of his ability was painfully obvious. Each time she had the thought to retaliate, both her hands would fall to her side limply as if her bones have been drawn out and she would feel no will to fight at all.
Amidst the smog, Lin Sanjiu heard a soft rustling sound from the direction of the two Souls. Lin Sanjiu focused on them but heard another clashing sound as the lance hit her skeletal wings again. At the same time, Lin Sanjiu caught a very silent thud.
Lin Sanjiu identified the sound the very next second. It was the sound of Soulsqn freeing herself. From the start, the two Souls did not count on Marlon defeating Lin Sanjiu. This was all a distraction. Lin Sanjiu had gotten her [ANTI Posthumans Collection: Female Slave Bondage Rope] from the Garden of Eden, she didn't actually know the right way to use it. She didn't even have the full collection. It was actually already quite incredible that she could restrain Soulsqn with it for such a long time.
"I have no choice but to use that…" Lin Sanjiu thought to herself feeling a slight sense of loss. Subsequently, she gritted her teeth as a thin piece of card appeared in her hand. She immediately slammed the card on the floor.
"Stop!"
As that particular action did not result in Marlon being physically harmed, Lin Sanjiu successfully evoked [Souls Queen's Reality] from her Nostradamus' Card. It quickly affected the owner of the knight lance.
This was the first time Lin Sanjiu was using the Souls' ability. She waited anxiously for a few seconds and finally the gray smoke gradually abated. Past the disappearing smoke, Marlon's face was pale. Lin Sanjiu didn't know what sort of "reality" Marlon was seeing, but he was panting. He slowly slipped to the floor and sat down. His lance fell to the floor with a thud.
After regaining her freedom, Soulsqn observed Lin Sanjiu standing some distance away. As she did not have legs, the way she was "standing" was mind-numbingly creepy. However, Lin Sanjiu's only had her gaze on Soulsqn for half a second before focusing her gaze on AYU, who was standing behind Soulsqn.
AYU was standing right beside a window. The vast open skies and ocean were on the opposite side of the window. Lin Sanjiu exhaled slowly. She did not know what sort of physics principles affected the flight of the airship. Neither did she know how high they were. However, all her experience from before the apocalypse situation told her that no one, other than the Souls, would survive if that window was compromised.
While the Souls stared at her, she smiled. She pulled the armchair she had previously knocked over closer to her. Then, she sat down. While Soulsqn was visibly stunned by her action, AYU immediately placed her hands away from the window.
"You guys have been drifting and struggling for so many years. Your main goal is to find a way to reproduce and create your next generation, right?" Lin Sanjiu spoke very slowly, in an intentional manner. Her words were clearly rhetorical.
"But, no matter how many worlds you have been to, you can't find a suitable host body to reproduce." She pointed to Soulsqn and continued, "You were interested to take over my body because you noticed that I was different from other humans. I have hypervariable genes… Also, I managed to modify my own body."
When Soulsqn's gaze landed on the skeletal wings behind her back, Lin Sanjiu was almost convinced she saw a glint in those eyes.
"But, have you ever considered this question? How did I modify myself?" she crooked her head and asked quietly.
As expected, that questions provoked a response from Soulsqn.
"How did you do that?"
"I know a person," Lin Sanjiu's smile remained on her face. "She personally designed and created a new species of sentinel being. Furthermore, they can reproduce."
God knows if those "Sages" could reproduce, but that didn't stop Lin Sanjiu from continuing, "She helped me modify my body, taking me as a friend… You noticed my skeletal wings, right? They're quite powerful, aren't they?"
No one would ever interpret Nüwa's action of helping Lin Sanjiu develop a set of weapons as being an act of animosity. Similarly, Soulsqn was no exception. She eyed Lin Sanjiu's skeletal wings without moving. She only spoke after some time.
"What... do you mean?"
"I think what I am trying to convey is very clear," Lin Sanjiu said coolly. "You have two choices. You can either continue standing there and let me kill you guys before you break that window. Or, you can come back here obediently. Sit down in your armchairs and think about how you are going to make your requests when you meet my friend. What would you choose?"
---
As the Free District appeared in far in the horizon, Soulsqn sat in an armchair, staring down at the human settlement outside the airship.
Chapter 317 - Free District, here I come!
After the small, dingy airship vibrated for a long time and finally stabilized again, Lin Sanjiu looked up and nodded at AYU. The latter's face was stoic, and Lin Sanjiu couldn't tell what expression she was making. She made a gesture and Jade, who was sitting in front of her, suddenly shuddered. Jade blinked her eyes a few times as if she had just woken up. It took at least half a minute for Jade to snap to her senses as she asked, "Have we reached our destination?"
It was no surprise that she was shocked. In her mind, they had only sat in silence for five minutes, flying above the ocean.
"They've been so quiet all this time. It's quite strange." Jade remarked before suddenly realizing that Soulsqn was not tied up. Her face turned white, "She... She! What happened?"
"Don't worry," Lin Sanjiu consoled with a slight hint of amus.e.m.e.nt. She stood up and said, "They have decided to turn over a new leaf."
"What new leaf?" Jade showed an expression as if someone had punched her in the face. She didn't know how to react for quite some time. After hearing Lin Sanjiu's obvious nonsensical explanation, the two Souls remained expressionless and definitely did not look like they were going to explain. AYU stood up without saying a word and carried Soulsqn. The latter's empty trousers fluttered as AYU walked past Jade.
"Huh? What was that about?" Jade thought to herself. In her mind, they were just sitting beside her moments before, yet she couldn't connect what had just happened. This confusion was actually caused by Soulsqn's ability.
"If the reality I create only works on one person, what is the difference between my ability and the other Souls' illusion?" Soulsqn said after the situation with Lin Sanjiu had calmed down. "Since I call it a reality, there is some level of authenticity… As an intelligent being, you should know the power of thoughts."
At that time, Lin Sanjiu was standing right in front of Marlon and wasn't quite sure what to do with him. When she heard what Soulsqn had said, she immediately looked at her and asked, "What are you implying?"
"You better stand further from him now," Soulsqn turned her head 180 degrees around and her chin angled over her back. She sounded almost haughty as she explained, "I didn't explain the full extent of my ability. People who are affected by my ability are like… a sort of transducer. Your world should have something like that too.
"As sentient beings, humans cognitive thoughts possess a sort of power. Under the influence of my ability, this cognitive power can create a certain level of reality. People who have a stronger will, spirit, consciousness, and awareness have a greater potential of 'exuding' that reality."
When Soulsqn saw Lin Sanjiu's clueless face, she laughed out. That was the first time she laughed since her legs have been severed. It was also the first time she had chosen the right context to laugh. "As expected, you haven't realized this. The waves and the lightning I cast at you were all real. When you grew old, it was also real. That truly happened to you on that islet. Others could also observe and see what was happening to you. Or, I should put it this way, you have a very strong psyche so you could make them real. The effects disappeared because you used some strange thing which absorbed the effect of my ability."
"What... what sort of reality is he channeling now?"
Lin Sanjiu was surprised when Soulsqn reacted with a very human-like action. She shrugged her shoulders and replied with an unconcerned tone, "You absorbed the effect of my ability and re-released it. How would I know? You should ask yourself."
Lin Sanjiu only shouted for Marlon to stop. Therefore, a logical deduction would be that Marlon's reality would be built based on that. However, Lin Sanjiu was just trying her luck when she released that effect, she certainly had no idea what sort of reality Marlon was experiencing right now. But, that question wasn't left unanswered for long.
Marlon, who had been treating Lin Sanjiu as if she wasn't there, walked over to Soulsqn and said, "Hey, I don't think you guys are traveling with that woman right. Now that she is dead, I hope you would keep this all a secret."
After AYU nodded her head at him, he dragged himself out of the passenger area with some difficulty. When Lin Sanjiu watched blankly as he walked away, Soulsqn laughed at her again.
"You're really lucky. His psyche isn't that strong. But, I think you shouldn't stay on this airship for too long. We really wouldn't know how his 'reality' will affect you."
Lin Sanjiu also discovered the answer to that question very quickly.
She first noticed that something was wrong when she spotted that one of her nails was missing a corner. It was as if it had been bitten off by a small worm. That missing bit was so small that she could have almost missed it. After a few hours, when Lin Sanjiu turned her head casually, she realized that her hair which was around neck's length was now shorter by quite a bit.
"Oh, it seems to be slowly consuming you," Soulsqn commented calmly. "Don't worry, the effect of that ability wouldn't last forever."
Even though Lin Sanjiu did not feel any pain or anything else and knew that she wouldn't be nibbled to
bits so easily, there was definitely no one in this world that would just wait for themselves to slowly disappear. Because of this, Lin Sanjiu couldn't wait to get off the airship when it landed. She couldn't wait to get away from Marlon. The two Souls followed behind her. Jade only dared to step out after the two Souls left for some time.
Apparently, this terminal for long-distance airsh.i.p.s was not very well maintained. It wasn't so much of an airship registration point. It was more like a wasteland closest to the coast. There were a few buildings which were haphazardly built nearby. The landscape was covered with various rock outcrops and the ground was covered with uneven rocks of all shapes and sizes. The airship landed on the largest flat rock. The ground was so uneven that when they got down from the airship it was easy for them to twist an ankle if they weren't careful.
From where they were, they had to still walk a few days before they could reach Free District. Anyone who wanted to go to the Free District could only go there on foot. One needed a map and at least a little luck. After buying a map from a shoddily built wooden hut, Jade bid farewell to Lin Sanjiu. Even though she had gone through a near-death experience with Lin Sanjiu, she clearly did not wish to continue her journey with her and those two weird creatures. "Look, girl. I only have five to six months left in this world. What you and those things plan to do is really none of my business. To put it crudely, we probably won't meet again. Thank you for saving my life, anyway. I won't hold you back further, you just go ahead and do what you need to do, alright?"
Lin Sanjiu wasn't surprised. The Souls were obvious trouble. If a person doesn't look out for him or herself, they wouldn't last long enough to reach the Twelve Worlds Centrum.
After she parted ways with Jade, Lin Sanjiu continued on her journey with her two human-skin donning parasite companions.