Ed and Amelia removed the soul linking device and went back upstairs to Ed’s secret apartment. Unfortunately for Ed, she was still a normal glossal, and glossals needed to eat regularly, even if she often forgot all about it.

Amelia looked at the kitchenette and sighed. The cabinets and shelves were filled with various food products, but telling which ones were usable, which ones were expired, and which ones were simply unappealing ended up a disastrous mission. In her quest to find something Ed wanted to eat, she organized the entire pantry, then cleaned off the dirty dishes—which was, naturally, every single dish in the house.

Then, and only then, could she light a fire under the burner and heat up a pot full of noodles and dried bean sprouts. It would be nowhere near one of her better meals, but at least she could make something mildly passable for her girlfriend to stay alive.

It was a real wonder how Amelia managed to live through over a year all by herself. It was even more of a wonder how Ed did it.

As the pot boiled and Ed gripped her stomach in hunger pains, Amelia leaned against the open window and watched the garden outside as the sun set in the sky above. When this place was fully open, it would likely be a magnificent view, Amelia thought. But for the time being, it was drab and ugly.

A lone golem paced along the perimeter of the garden space. It looked to be the same model as the golem who gave Amelia the note last night, or possibly the same exact one.

“Hey, Ed? There’s a golem down there.”

“That’s my patrol golem, don’t worry,” Ed said, still clutching her stomach. “I have a lot of golems everywhere to keep tabs on people and places. They take snapshots and memory captures and help me keep information under control. That way, if my plan is compromised, at least I’ll know ahead of time.”

“Is... that how you found my hostel?”

“Duh. I’ve known about you since your time in the Red Light District. It was fun seeing you in action, by the way. I’d never seen you in a real fight before.”

Suddenly, Amelia’s paranoia about being tracked was not so unfounded after all. It was just that her girlfriend was the one doing it. “A bit creepy.”

“Sorry. I know.” Ed paused. “But I’ll still keep tracking you, as long as you’re here. I have to know you’re safe.”

Amelia felt distinctly uncomfortable about the prospect, but she understood. From everything she had learned about North Sunwell so far, it seemed entirely plausible that Ed herself was being tracked as much as possible already. Paranoia begets paranoia.

Finally, the meal was done, but there was no space for the meal to be placed. Amelia had to spend yet more time clearing off the table before, finally, she placed a bowl of vegetable and noodle soup in front of Ed.

From her reaction, it seemed that the woman had not eaten a home-cooked meal in months. One could not subsist on food bars and snacks alone, and yet Ed was a testament to how every rule has an exception.

“Delicious. Amazing.” Ed ate her food as quickly as her mouth would allow. That is, until she started to cry out of nowhere.

“Ed?”

“I’ve done so many horrible things to you,” she sobbed. “There’s so many secrets I’m keeping from you. And you still make me the most wonderful meals... Oh, honey, I’m so sorry...”

Amelia patted her on the back like one would a homesick child. “Let’s enjoy the meal.”

Ed sniffled. “Yeah. Thank you, honey. You’re the best.”

“I love you too.”

***

Now they were back in the soul plane, connected to each other and to all the modules that tapped into Amelia’s core.

“I’ve fixed the errors in the Boost Module, of course, and the activation time is now thirty percent faster than its previous level,” Ed said, looking quite comfortable in that human form, “but I wasn’t sure what you’d like to upgrade specifically.”

“I just want to overclock to be as powerful as I can be.”

“Well, there’s a limit to how far you can go, you know? If you overclock at five times your normal speed, your body’s just going to break as soon as it wears off. You’ve upgraded everything pretty well already, so I’m not sure...”

“What’s the least harmful thing I can do?”

“Well, reaction time is probably okay,” she said. “Ten times reaction speed, and you’ll never get hit again. But afterwards you’ll probably wish you had been, if you go that high.”

“I’ll do it.”

“Alright then! Souls used up. You’re almost at a hundred percent capacity. Isn’t that crazy? After all we’ve upgraded so far?”

“What else is there?” Amelia asked.

“The Repair Module, and... We’ll talk after that.”

“Okay. Repair Module. I have a request. I’d like to expand it to help me repair physical injuries on other glossals.”

“Eh? Really?”

“The woman I was with in the Fourland facility? She was injured badly. I had to use my Repair Module and some goods from her bag to seal up a wound before she bled out.”

“You mean you... Gods, that sounds awful.”

“Worse for her than me,” Amelia said. “That’s why I’d like to upgrade it.”

Ed bit her lower lip. “I’m sorry.”

“No? Why?”

“I just don’t have any directives I can give the module. I’ve never even thought about medic capabilities in a golem before, besides one specifically designed for it. I’m not sure what I’d do.”

“So it’s impossible.”

“No way,” Ed said. “I’ll think of something. Just get back to me sometime.”

“A promise to see you again? I’m fine with that.”

“Well... The time frame might be long. I’m a very busy woman.”

“And I’m a patient one,” Amelia said, folding her arms.

“Honey, no, you’re not.”

Then, after the main five modules had been fixed and upgraded, Ed brought up three more figures, icons with the soul plane space.

“So, I said we’d get to it, but... Yeah. I’m sure you’ve seen these in your system’s directives before. Three more modules that aren’t yet active.”

“Morph Module, Warp Module, and Ruby Module,” Amelia said. “Yeah. What the hell are they?”

“Well, they’re experimental modules I never quite finished before... before we were separated. But I’ve mastered golemancy since then, so I can finish them now. And you have just enough soul energy to activate one of them.”

“Tell me about them, then.”

Ed began: “The Morph Module is a neat one. It allows you to shift your body composition into new shapes, including your own face. Obviously, you could never alter your flesh or bones this way, but theoretically you could encase your entire body in extra stone to take the shape of a stock golem model. Or, I guess, you could change your haircut whenever you feel like.”

Amelia touched the top of her head. “It’s not a haircut.”

“Yeah, yeah. Seeing the enemies we’re up against, the Morph Module is a great way to sneak around the city undetected, I think, and it could help with defense in a fight. All you need is some sediment around you and the mana to activate it.

“Then there’s the Warp Module. It utilizes some of the most advanced telemancy spells I’ve ever seen, and the only reason I can say it works is because I’ve used the spells myself. You can do it now, but in directive form. You can teleport over short or long distances. Very expensive in mana, but obviously, there’s almost no limits.

“Though, since it’s extremely dangerous, if you activate it, I’m setting a limiter on anyway. I don’t want you getting your head stuck in a wall, you know?”

Amelia shrugged. “It happens.”

“Once you’ve mastered it, you can turn the limiter off yourself, and then you're good to go. You can go anywhere, escape any battle. Or, knowing you, jump into any battle.

“So, which one sounds better? Which one do you want to activate?”

“What about Ruby Module?”

“Ehh... Well, um... No, sorry. That one is a codename for a reason. It’s still extremely early, and I’m still not confident enough that it’ll work. In fact, I’m confident that if you try it, it’ll kill you.”

“Oh. Okay, not that then.”

“Yeah.”

Another one of Ed’s secrets, but this time it was directly inside of her. Just how many did this woman have?

Amelia thought long and hard about which module she would pick. Morph Module was more immediately useful, especially in combat, while Warp Module would need more practice, and she had plenty of time to do that at the hostel.

She made her choice:

“Warp Module, please.”

“Final answer?”

“Yes.”

“Really sure?”

“Yes, Ed.”

She smiled cheekily. “Alright then, Amelia. Activating Warp Module now!”

She felt nothing, since the soul plane did not allow her to feel her own body, but she was sure it was surging with a brand new magical aura at the moment. A brand-new module, active for the first time in her nearly seven years of existence.

And just in time, too.

If Amelia could practice it well enough by the time of her mission with Korath, teleportation could really end up extremely useful in capturing Castien Brielwa. She had no idea what his magical capabilities were, but he also likely knew none of hers. So every single surprise advantage was a good one.

“And now... You’re good to go,” Ed said. “Nothing should malfunction in you for a very long time. Get stronger. Keep upgrading. And one day, the two of us can take down the North Sunwell Company together.” She smiled, with a hint of something else behind it.

They left the soul plane, and Amelia’s hair disappeared again, possibly for the last time.

Ed put away the device and helped Amelia down from the table. They hugged, and then went upstairs to make love one more time. The stars were out to play again, and so were the two of them, keeping their souls and bodies as close as they possibly could.

Afterward, and after they both got back into more than just their underwear, the romantic mood disappeared, as if whisked away by the wind.

Ed gazed on Amelia with a distinctly sad expression. Before she even said it, Amelia knew exactly what would come out of her mouth:

“Today... All of this... This was a parting gift,” Ed told her. “I hope you do well.”

“I’ll do better than well,” Amelia said. “I promise you, I’ll stop at nothing to avenge the life we lost.”

“I don’t mean do well in your violence crazy stuff, Amelia.” Ed rubbed her hand up and down Amelia’s left arm, over her muscles. “You’re going to leave Fleettwixt tomorrow or next week, or whenever you can. You’re going to go on some exciting journeys, explore new places, and settle down somewhere far, far away from here. You’re going to forget about Ed, the person who ruined your life and kept so many secrets from you. And then, one day, if we’ve both healed and if my plan succeeds, we can meet back again and see what happens.”

“Okay.”

Ed was taken aback by the response. “Huh?”

“I’ll do it,” Amelia said, holding back the incoming sobs that lurked underneath the surface. “I’ll leave Fleettwixt as soon as I can.”

“Oh. Well... That’s... Okay, then. Well, I don’t know when I’ll see you again. If things go poorly, then it might be never.”

“So this is goodbye.”

“I guess so.” Ed kissed Amelia on the cheek. “Goodbye. I love you more than anything.”

“I love you more than everything.”

Ed giggled. “I don’t even know what that means. Oh, get out.”

And she did. Amelia left the apartment complex and, having long missed the last train back to Beechhurst, walked the rest of the way to the hostel. Surprisingly not that cold, she realized.

Just like her heart.

Amelia knew that everything Ed said was wrong. She was not going to leave Fleettwixt. She was not going to settle down somewhere far away. And she was not going to let Ed embark on some grand plan without her involvement. Ed surely understood that, too.

Tonight was a first reunion, not a final parting. Amelia was going to destroy the colonial power, and the two of them would finally be able to live together in peace, just like the old days.

She did not even bother asking Ed where Castien was located. She obviously knew, but it was never something she would have told her. She already had a lead, and when she captured him, he would tell her about Ed’s true goals. She would make sure about that.

With a strange mix of frustration and glee swirling around her, Amelia walked with the sunrise back into the hostel, where Mino was already awake, cleaning dishes and humming along to the record player on low volume.

“Amelia. Long time no see,” Mino said. “Aeo told me about the arrow, but then you never showed up yesterday. Is everything alright?”

“Much more than alright. It’s amazing.”

Amelia walked upstairs to her bedroom and entered power-saving mode with the fiery resolve of a true hero.