Vualla felt the assurance in the darkness that manipulated her limbs as it stated that it would overpower her and take the life of the unconscious Eliot. But simultaneously, Vualla also felt the constant stream of warmth that flowed from Randidly to her. In a way that the darkness-Vualla clearly couldn’t feel, a handprint of fire burned on her back. That warmth was glimmering with strange motes of invigorating energy that made her consciousness tingle.

Vualla’s attention was razor-sharp as she felt the tendrils of darkness moving through her body, expertly manipulating her muscles. For most of the past few hours, she had ceased struggling against the motions; it was enough for Vualla to simply observe the surrounding action. The things she witnessed included but were not limited to the growing proficiency with which the shadow in her body controlled its image.

Secretly, Vualla’s own image slowly shifted to match it.

She had also learned a lot by listening to the darkness that was one of her other-selves. Despite their differences of opinion, she could truly feel how they had originated from the same core. And with that growing empathy, Vualla believed that she had slowly begun to parse apart the goals of the lock of darkness by feeling the pulses of emotions that were periodically released. Which was why Vualla felt rather confident now in asking a question as the darkness manipulated her body to cross the shuddering battlefield toward the spot where Eliot’s body had landed.

Why can’t this role be avoided? Wouldn’t it be better to save Eliot? You- Vualla stilled herself just as she was about to remind the darkness of all the care she had given to the body when they had recovered it from the rubble. Moving too quickly here wouldn’t help; better to go about this persuasion slowly.

Because Vualla knew that when they started directly addressing the issue she believed to have sensed in the darkness Vualla’s emotions, there was no turning back. So for now, Vualla just allowed the opening question to hang in the air.

Because it is karma, The darkness rebuked gently. It manipulated Vualla’s body to scurry behind a large boulder as a wave of horrendous sound blasted outward from the Nether King’s body. By this point, the floating island had shrunk that any of its attacks would basically hurt everyone else in the surrounding area. This… this is how it always must be. Can’t you feel it in the air? There is no choice left to us.

Again, Vualla suppressed her immediate thought. If that were truly the case, why are we physically approaching Eliot to do this…?

Yet despite the fact that it was clear there was more to this situation than the other version of herself wanted to admit, Vualla couldn’t deny that there was a strange resonance in the air. She had felt it originally, but it had grown much stronger once Eliot had distracted the Nether King and allowed Lady Iellaya to catch her breath. These moments had happened before.

Behind them, Ileot Swacc stood at the edge of the widening chasm between the two sundered halves of the floating island and followed Vualla’s movements with bulging eyes. It was clear that he was torn between staying as far away as possible from Vualla and wanting to move to stop her. For the time being, he was completely frozen by indecision.

Meanwhile, Lady Iellaya and Lord Miln had found a new equilibrium with the Nether King. As its terrible roars continued to strike at some vital part of the surrounding space, Lady Iellaya experienced a sudden and noticeable improvement in power to the point that she was capable of fighting the Nether King to a standstill. In that opening, Lord Miln was rapidly able to isolate the wounded Nether Heralds and strike crippling blows. At this point, he had forcefully suppressed the remaining number down to four, and two of the survivors were oozing ichor as they fought.

Seems like that shadow energy version of me isn’t playing the damsel in distress anymore… Vualla thought to herself as she eyed the darkening wings on Lady Iellaya’s back. But immediately after the destructive hymn that the Nether King released began to fade away, the darkness inside her body urged Vualla forward.

So once more, Vualla spoke directly to the darkness. She didn’t have much time to spare. You have given me some… description of what karma is. But you made karma out to be a universal accounting system. One that tracked your actions and perhaps… judged you? Or give you an evaluation? But I fail to see why that score would mean it is necessary to do this.

Those who do not understand karma often believe that they possess a great deal of freedom in life, the darkness mused as it moved Vualla alongside a rapidly widening fissure to skirt the edges of the main battlefield. Small pebbles buzzed on the ground from the Nether King’s reverberations. But everything is connected. Your actions have meaning… and with meaning comes consequences.

This time, Vualla let some of her rage show through the controlled silence she had maintained for a while. I’ll be blunt; I don’t get what you are saying. So answer me this: what is the mechanism by which karma forces us to act this way?

Pah. Unfortunately for you, only experiencing the horror of karma will teach you these lessons. With a short dash, the darkness had Vualla’s body cross the remaining distance and appear before the pile of broken stone that covered Eliot’s body. With the Nether King being occupied and Ileot still torn on what course of action to take, the shadow began to patiently shift the stones to the side. Then… you will understand.

What I UNDERSTAND is that I can feel the way this moment mirrors one that had happened in the past. The air is heavy with it. It’s like this place remembers the shape of things. I can feel that… and I suppose that is karma. Yet what happened then was a tragedy; that’s something I bet you won’t deny. There is meaning in this choice because it was made before, but there is no terrible punishment waiting if you want to change what happened here. Eliot doesn’t need to die, Vualla urged.

For the briefest moment, the darkness faltered in its control over Vualla’s body. A baseball-sized shard of stone fell out of its hand and hit the ground. Yet then the darkness shook Vualla’s head and continued to methodically dig. You think there is no punishment for dodging karma? Heh. If we do not do this… we will be the ones to die, young-one. The Nether King is strong; too strong for any one of us to defeat alone. Yet we are connected intimately with Eliot. Our karma can be united. That blade of karma we quenched in the ashes of his life can bleed the Nether King. Without that, it will kill us. You would rather have us all die than sacrifice a single-

You know what I think? That you are afraid. Vualla interrupted. With their shared senses, both could sense how close they were nearing to Eliot’s body. They had cleared out a reasonably sized indentation in the pile of rubble, and while reaching down to find him they had moved into the pile of stones. So they were isolated from the rest of the chaotic battlefield.

The darkness pulsed with indignation and annoyance. I am not afraid, child.

...but you are guilty. Vualla said slowly to the darkness that she could have been. Guilty because… when the other Vualla came, when that other version of yourself came and demanded that you take Eliot’s life in order to survive… you gave way to her will. You agreed. You allowed your brother to die because you were afraid of what would happen if you didn’t and that sudden darkness seemed so sure.

It was necessary, the darkness hissed. Its control over Vualla’s hands wavered without her even interfering in the thin tendrils that allowed darkness-Vualla to control her body. Yet even if her fingers were ripped open by stone warped beyond recognition by Nether, the darkness continued using Vualla’s hands to rake away the last few pieces of rubble to reveal Eliot. If I had not agreed, we would have died pointlessly. ALL of us would have died for nothing.

You don’t know that.

I know karma! And that was the karma of that day! The darkness-Vualla’s emotions were running wild now, surging back and forth through its body. This, this role, his death, this is how the moment was meant to go. This was our destiny!

You cannot hide how you feel from me, Vualla whispered. You can feel my emotions… did you think that I can’t feel yours? You wish there was another way to survive. You wish that Eliot didn’t have to die. So let me help you find that Path forward.

...Approving of the result doesn’t mean I don’t mourn for the costs. Of course I wish he could be saved. But he cannot. That is his karma. ...Child, karma is much more complicated than you think. Or rather, perhaps it isn’t. But if you can feel the echo of this moment in the past, you know why I cannot deviate. My karma is set. If I do not rely on my karma…

There’s a big difference between allowing something to happen… and taking my body and forcing it to occur, Vualla paid very close attention to the terrible feelings of responsibility, depression, and guilt that wafted off of the darkness. Do you truly mean to be the ones to take Eliot’s life? He’s our brother. Making that choice will change you.

There’s no other choice but to accept that. Immediately, emotions stopped flowing out of the core of darkness that settled over Vualla’s heart. The tremors running through it slowed and then ceased. With renewed vigor, it controlled Vualla’s body to remove a few slabs of stone and reveal Eliot’s bruised face.

Warmth continued to flow into Vualla through her connection to Randidly. Her nerves were practically buzzing with Eliot so close. It was a risk to wait so long to act. But she wanted to try. For the sake of the woman she might have been who had been driven to these lengths, she would offer her one more chance.

Vualla watched the darkness move within her body and said, He brought us orange juice.

There’s no choice! The darkness hissed. Yet the original version of Vualla controlled the current version to brush a lock of Eliot’s hair away from his face.

It’s not that there’s no choice. It’s just that the choice would mean you no longer know how this moment will go, Vualla took a deep breath. This would probably be her last chance to convince the darkness-Vualla. If she failed here… Well, then she would deal with it, one way or another. But Vualla dearly wanted to make this other version of herself understand the box she had painted herself into.

You would need to fight in a much more disadvantageous battle without taking Eliot’s life. And… you might lose. But you might win too, without having to kill your brother to achieve victory. Karma isn’t determinative; It’s just a record of what is. YOU are the one making this decision. And you can choose to save your brother’s life.

Please. Make that choice. Let me help you discover a new future.

For a second, the darkness-Vualla was silent. She looked out through Vualla’s eyes at the familiar, dark blue hair of her brother. And then, with a heavy finality, the darkness sighed. And this is why the young would drive our world to ruin by ignoring the wisdom and weight of history… child, karma is not simply a record. It is also the very real connections we have made, those that continue to affect us. It is the patterns that we use to define our own lives. It… is impossible to escape karma. Ignoring it and choosing ignorance is the path of a fool.

Vualla felt the darkness version of herself begin to move in a way that she had refrained from doing since Vualla had stopped her earlier; a tendril of darkness stretched outward toward Eliot to take the dimming fires of his life for her own gain.

In a purposeful mirroring of the darkness’ sigh, Vualla also sighed. ...I suppose that is your choice to make. To remain too afraid to deviate.

Ha! You talked so much about how easy it is to avoid karma, yet now you acquiesce, just as I did… The tendril of darkness shot outward and pierced into Eliot’s chest. Perhaps the lesson- eh…? You!

Vualla surged forward with those strange, glimmering bits of warmth she had carefully gathered from Randidly and smashed her will against the darkness. For a second it struggled, yet whenever Vualla needed more energy she just drew deeper and deeper from her connection to Randidly. The tendril of darkness in Eliot’s chest was retrained and then pulled backward.

The darkness-Vualla very quickly realized what was happening and began to struggle more directly to suppress Vualla’s consciousness. Her thoughts and desires smashed against Vualla’s. For several seconds, they groaned against each other, the two forces almost equal. The darkness-Vualla possessed much stronger images, but Vualla could rely on the potent energy from Randidly to make up for a lot of that difference.

More than that, Vualla’s own images were no longer as weak and shallow as they once had been. She truly had been carefully studying the darkness’ image for hours, an image that was extremely compatible with her.

She could perhaps only wield 75% of what she had witnessed. But with those strange, invigorating motes of energy, it was enough to buy time for the emotions that both versions of Vualla felt to come into play. As the images strained like stuck machinery, the emotions spread quickly outward. They met.

Vualla dearly wanted to save her brother.

The original Vualla felt like she had no choice but to kill him.

Vualla’s want began to devour the sense of fearful certainty the original Vualla felt. The difference between the purity of those images quickly became clear.

Bit by bit, Vualla burned away the darkness and regained control of her body.

What are you doing?!? The original Vualla howled. But the current Vualla used her own face to smile. Her eyes opened of her own will for the first time in hours.

“...fine then. If you insist on going by karma… we can go that route,” Vualla said lightly. Her grin stretched wider and wider. “But you know the bit of karma that I find the most compelling? The one where your wishes get pushed to the side by another version of yourself. So for the second time in your existence, watch carefully; this is a life that you could have lived.”

Vualla pressed her hand to Eliot’s chest and poured some of that nourishing warmth she obtained from Randidly into her unconscious brother.