[I suppose a thanks is in order for you saving my life, both figuratively and literally.] If she hadn’t been there to stop that Intent, Jake had no doubts he’d have been dead.

[Don’t thank me, it’s all downhill from here. I need ya if I’m gonna make it too.] The usual casual aura Kyrie had was absent, replaced with neutral annoyance. Jake wondered if it was because of him, though it was just as likely the situation caused it.

[Ah. Well, if we need partners to make it out here, we should go back to Roger. He can assist us, and I’d rather not leave him alone.] He had been growing rather concerned for Roger’s wellbeing, which only escalated further once his connection was severed.

[Oh yeah, because draggin’ along two Conduits is sure to save my life.] Kyrie sighed heavily, her aura drooping when she noticed Jake refused to budge. [Let’s go already.]

[Before we go, what can I do with this Insight? I can’t gather it even if I wanted. My capacity’s topped up.] He wouldn’t want to let it go to waste, especially considering how far his high Insight had taken him up to then.

[Well if ya really wanna up your Insight capacity, tighten your Core. That’ll take some of the Insight away from the edges, makin’ ya feel a bit slow, but it’ll be worth it later on. Core’s gonna spin faster and that’ll boost ya all ‘round.] Her aura was slightly warming as she spoke, clearly showing her enjoyment at explaining something. [Of course, some would argue that makin’ subcores would be better, but that’s only once the main one’s gotten some speed.]

[I’m sorry, could you slow down? My Core? And what are subcores?] She was giving him a wealth of new information, most of it at a rapid fire pace.

[Sorry sorry, I forgot ya don’t know much. Basically, notice how I took that crazy bastard down without trying?] She started idly floating around at this point, her casual tone and pace belying the razor focus exuding from her aura.

[Yes, it was quite a terrifying wake up call.] He had been underestimating her small form since he met her, which he was now seeing to be a mistake.

[Yeah, well that was only ‘cause I stabbed ‘em in the Core. It’s pretty much who ya are, and if that breaks, no more you. Ya get it?] Jake only somewhat, in fact, got it, which Kyrie quickly realized with a sigh. [Just… look inside yourself. As deep as ya can. Lemme know whatcha see.]

Jake did as told, focusing inwards beyond the outer edge of his cloud. Despite his ability to see everything outside himself, he couldn’t normally see inwards unless he directly focused on it. They were two mutually exclusive senses from what he could tell. He could still, of course, sense his extremities, as otherwise he’d be totally disoriented.

Once he got far enough in, he sensed a gently swirling Insight mass similar to when he was an Insignificance, only somewhat larger and faster. He relayed as much to Kyrie.

[Good, that’s your Core, and it seems like ya got alright control of your Insight as well if it’s already spinning. That’ll make this next part easier. Basically, ya gotta condense your Insight, just like with the Vigor, and make the Core smaller while keepin’ it spinning at the same pace. It should get faster if ya do it right, along with your mind. Just a warnin’ though, you’re gonna feel a bit sluggish. That’s normal, and it’ll go away once ya get more Insight.] Kyrie’s aura was slightly tense, and not just because of where they were.

Jake pulled some of his Insight into his Core and began to press down on his Core. As he did so, he could feel his mind sharpening slightly, like a reverse whetstone. His Core continued shrinking, all the while maintaining the spin. This resulted in the same rotational power as before, but with technically faster rotation at a smaller scale. Once compressed to its minimum, the Core was sending off much stronger Insight strands than before. They unfortunately didn’t reach out as far, but they would clearly be much better at moving once they did.

Minor Insight Control increased to 2/10

Insight successfully refined; Insight Capacity +5.

Insight -10

Insight 5/20

Skill Unlocked: Inferior Insight Core Refinement 1/5

[I… uh… believe it worked? It says my capacity improved and I unlocked the skill for it as well.] Jake also noticed it stated refinement rather than creation, though it took him much longer than usual to do so. Likely because he had just lost ten Insight in one go.

Insight +1

Insight 6/20

[Great, great. How're ya feelin'?] Concern was obvious in Kyrie’s aura, along with a small amount of curiosity.

[Stupid and slow. I feel too big and not smart enough to deal with it. I don’t like it.] Jake made a mental note to try to keep his Insight slightly above his Vigor in the future. Hopefully he would avoid repeating the mistake.

Insight +1

Insight 7/20

The more he thought, the clearer his mind became. It was a strange feeling, his mind growing even faster than it could before. Was this all a result of the tighter Core? No, not tighter, but rather more refined.

Insight +1

Insight 8/20

Complex Reason increased to 9/10

Jake would’ve gasped in shock if he were able, the sudden skill increase improving his mental acuity even further. The fact he even remembered the word ‘acuity’ was a clear sign if nothing else.

[Wow, ya sure are catchin’ back up quickly. You sure do overthink stuff, huh? At least it’ll be easier for ya later when the bigger jumps gotta happen. Anyways, if you’re all done thinking-] Kyrie paused to laugh at the absurdity of that statement, her aura shaking warmly and giving Jake a mental smile. [Sorry, as I was sayin’, I do wanna start up the Conduit stuff. As much as I don’t like it, it helps us both grow. So whenever you’re ready, let’s get it goin’.] She stopped moving through the air for the moment, a section of her aura focusing into a thin strand which she held expectantly.

[Yes, of course, just allow me a moment to do something with this loose Insight.] Jake was still hesitant on simply leaving it there, yet he was unsure if what he had planned would work.

[Whatever ya want, Locke. Just don’t go all crazy and attack me, ‘kay?] She stated this with a joking tone, but her aura visibly tensed all the same.

Jake reached out with the Spirit Symbiosis skill, creating a thin strand of Spirit awaiting a connection.

[Um, ya do know it’s dead, right? Ya can’t send a dead thing any Spirit, not unless ya plan on bubbling it. And I’d rather not have that on our hands.] Kyrie somewhat relaxed nonetheless, visibly relieved her sole companion wouldn’t drive himself mad.

Jake made the connection with the Insight despite her statement, noticing she was, in fact, correct. No surprises there, Kyrie was a very smart woman. No Spirit was coming through in either direction, but luckily that wasn’t his intention. With a deep mental breath, Jake pulled the Insight directly into his Soulscape.

[Ow, that felt strange. Just a warning, I’m going to sleep for a moment. Feel free to set up the connection. If you want, you can even drag me around.] Before Kyrie had a chance to argue, Jake then went to sleep.

* * * * *

Jake opened his eyes to total darkness. With a sigh, he got up with his hands in front of him, stopping when he felt a large orb. He moved to the side and immediately poked his eye.

“By the Cosmic, will I ever get a blasted break?!” Jake shouted this out while moving backwards in shock. As he did so, he missed the body on the floor behind him and promptly tripped over it. He windmilled his arms as he fell over backwards about a meter away. “No, I clearly won’t.”

Insight +1

Insight 9/20

“Oh piss off, will you?” Jake was grumbling angrily to himself as he walked over to the body on the floor. He squatted down next to it and shook them gently. “Hey, are you alive in there? Or, I suppose, awake? I’m sorry, I wasn’t even sure this would work.” Jake had an easy gentle smile on his face, not wanting to frighten them.

Just as he was doubting they were even alive, they loudly hacked and coughed into the floor. Jake promptly flipped them over so they would be able to breathe easier. The being immediately sat up and continued on coughing painfully into their hands. Jake began rubbing their back gently as he took better stock of their appearance.

The being, which he realized was female, had silver hair growing all the way down to the small of their back. They were rather short, appearing to be about 5 feet even. They had lightly tanned skin with a few scars on their arms and legs, which Jake promptly covered in Dark Spirit as they were currently fully nude. Her face had a gentle demeanor capable of making most anyone let their guard down, with high soft cheekbones, a small button nose, and a round jawline. Her eyes were slightly tilted with piercing blue in the left, green in the right, and nigh invisible wrinkles telling of many smiles had. Her ears were a touch longer than a human’s with slight points at the top.

“Hey, are you alright in there? Apologies, the trip may have been a tad disorienting.” Jake reached out and grabbed her hand, helping her to her feet gently as she continued coughing.

“I-hack-I’m fine, th-hack-thanks. Wait, wh-hack hack-who are you? Why am I hack na-hack-ked? And hack what in all the nine hells is this black crap?!” The woman began freaking out and ran off into the distance, yanking the Dark Spirit off as she did, so Jake sat down and started making a Dark Spirit Gem while he waited.

“Oh, how nice, there’s some Water Spirit. I suppose Kyrie made the connection after all.”

Inferior Spirit Symbiosis increased to 5/5

Inferior Spirit Symbiosis upgraded to Minor Spirit Symbiosis 1/10

Minor Spirit Gathering increased to 2/10

Inferior Dark Spirit Gem successfully created; Dark Spirit Capacity +5.

Spirit -10

Spirit: 5/25 (Water 5), Dark: 4/10, Fire 0/5

Finished with that rather lengthy process, he rose from where he was and made his way over to the woman. She was currently lying face up gulping down breaths, which gave Jake pause. Why would they need to breathe when they weren’t really alive in here?

Insight +1

Insight 10/20

Complex Reason increased to 10/10

Complex Reason upgraded to Advanced Reason 1/20

Jake shot his hands up to grip his head, nearly tearing out his hair in the process. It felt as though his entire brain were being recreated from the ground up to run more efficiently. And by the Cosmic did it hurt.

Once the process was over, he became distinctly aware of two things. One: the woman previously in front of him was gone again. Two: His mind was processing things at a flabbergasting pace. So much so he realized the woman was behind him before he even really noticed.

As she jumped at his back he deftly rolled to the side, causing her to land face first in surprise. She lay there unmoving for a good few seconds, before quietly getting up, turning around, and sitting down facing Jake. He walked up and joined her, sitting close enough their toes nearly touched, and promptly covered her average yet ample breasts with Dark Spirit.

“What, too much for you to handle?” She stated this while promptly removing the Dark Spirit from her breasts once again. “I don’t like the way that gross stuff feels, I’d rather be naked. If you have a problem with that, turn around.” She sighed loudly as Jake covered his own eyes with Dark Spirit.

“I assure you I’m not a horndog, but that’s rather distracting to look at.” He sighed inwardly as he immediately regretted his choice of words.

“Then just don’t look, problem solved. That’s distracting to me.” Jake felt her hands remove the blindfold from his face, leaving him with no choice but to hold the most intense eye contact he could muster.

“Fine. What’s your name, first of all. Before you say it, I’m-”

“Jake, I know. I know more about you than I care to admit. No, I didn’t know you when I was alive, it’s just being in your Soulscape has linked my mind to yours in a way. I’m Flynn, by the way. I know, I know, guy’s name, but my dad’s life was saved by a man named Flynn and he promised to name me after them. Also, that’s why I don’t mind being naked in front of you. I both know you like a brother and I know you’ve got it baaaaad for Kyrie.” Flynn took a deep breath at the end, having said it in one long go.

After Flynn reached over and closed his mouth for him, Jake shook his head and asked the first thing on his mind. “Why do you breathe in here?”

“It feels more natural, plus it calms me down. Death by drowning will make you treasure every last breath you can get. Hell, after I ran away from you, I sat down and cried for a good thirty minutes while taking the deepest breaths I could manage.” Flynn seemed a bit on edge at the mention of her death, so Jake decided not to pry.

“I understand. I’d tell you how I went, but it would seem you know everything about me. Since that is the case, do you mind if I ask you more questions?” Once she shook her head no, Jake continued on unabated. “Why did you attack us? You seemed like you had gone totally insane, nothing like the woman sitting before me.”

“Oh, that’s because I had. When I first came back, I was terrified of dying again. There were a bunch of mad Intents everywhere just tearing into each other. I did what I could to gather Vigor from the edges without being noticed. When my capacity filled up, I made armor and kept on gathering. I did that over and over again, just gathering and armoring, gathering and armoring. At some point, I don’t really know when, I was out there too, smashing myself into anything nearby until it either died or ran faster than I could catch up.

“Eventually, I made my way to the Blue Rose, where I found you two. From there you know the rest. Sorry about the Blue Rose, speaking of which. If it’s any consolation, I wouldn’t have done that to you if I were in the right frame of mind.” Flynn rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly as she said this.

“It’s not a problem. I’ve felt firsthand the effects of having a good bit more Vigor than Insight. Though, to be honest, I’m not sure if the reverse is much better. Before I picked up a chunk of your Vigor I had no idea just how exposed I was. It was horrifying to realize even an errant rock could’ve killed me. In any case, I should be going. I’m sure Kyrie is quite miffed with me.” Jake rubbed at his smooth cheeks while he thought on that, glad he didn’t need to shave anymore. Shaving on a wobbly ship was how he’d gotten the scar on his left cheekbone.

“Yeah, no worries, I understand.” She gave a thumbs up and beamed a grin at him. “And good luck wooing her!”

Jake rolled his eyes as he severed the connection to his Soulscape.