Nimh waited for Stain to finish. He’d had a long day after all.

“Nimh?” Keira asked, eyes showing concern.

‘It’s fine,” Nimh said easily, “He will come around quickly.”

“You’re insane.” Stain said, voice oozing mockery. “You think I will help you conquer this world? You have no idea how outmatched you are. You’ve been here, what, a month? Do you think you can scale the gap of twenty years in just a few months? Arrogant punk!”

Nimh let Stain’s tirade continue, observing the man with a casual air.

“Nimh, I don’t think he will help you,” a silent comment from Marcus echoed. Nimh was somewhat surprised to hear from him. He’d been quiet for a while.

“Do you think I’ll be giving him a choice?” Nimh replied silently. “Do you think I’d trust this unworthy pond scum to do anything without assurances?”

Marcus hesitated then disappeared back into Nimh’s spirit well. Probably waiting to see what Nimh would do.

To her credit, Keira remained silent, observing with cautious eyes.

“Keira, you understand why I need this man alive?” Nimh asked her.

After a pause, she nodded. “He has information that can help you. And he’s a known figure. Using him to act while you operate in the shadows will allow you to act more freely.”

Stain had stopped by then, listening. A small spark of vitality had returned, though it was weak. He was still far from recovering.

“Very astute,” Nimh said with a smile. “You are correct. Now our problem is making him comply. Any ideas?”

Keira shook her head. “I can’t think of anything. His pride probably won’t let him work for you, you can’t use his children as hostages because they’re dead and I doubt he values anything that you could offer him.”

Nimh looked down on Stain and nodded. “I suspect you are right. Which means there are far fewer ways to make him do what I want.”

“Out of curiosity, Keira, do you know what he meant by spirit invader?”

Keira shook her head.

“Well, a long story short, I am not from this world. There are a lot of worlds out there and I am from a people who control a lot of them. It is our way to leave our world behind and eventually, find our way into new worlds. Sometimes we find a way to join the world and sometimes we die in the attempt. Though I suspect others just live their lives and pretend there is no way home.”

Throughout his little speech, Nimh was watching Stain, looking for something, some sign that Stain knew something more. But all he saw was resolution and disdain.

“One of the reasons we are called spirit invaders is because we practise an art focused on the spirit. One day, I will teach you about it, but for now, understand this.”

He moved forward, placing a hand on Stain’s head. For a moment, he drew his spirit out of his well, letting it flow into Stain. A resistance met him, and for a heartbeat, he fought Stain for control.

It was a quick battle, and Stain’s spirit retreated. Nimh followed, tracking the Stain’s spirit all the way to his spirit well. Nimh was surprised to find it oddly well developed, though it was nothing Nimh could not crush.

With a moment of effort, he pushed against the well and for an instant it held. Then the innate protections around the well shattered like glass, allowing Nimh in. But he did not enter. Instead, he pulled Stain’s spirt out.

Stain’s spirit trembled, instinctively knowing that it was prey before a predator. And the predator had it by the throat. If he wanted, Stain’s spirit could be crushed into nothing, the body left as a husk.

But Nimh did not want to kill Stain. Instead, a small fragment of his own spirit split, merging into Stain’s. It was like adding dye to water, with Nimh’s fragment of spirit vanishing almost immediately.

Nimh was satisfied as he watched, drawing himself out.

Blinking, Nimh took a deep breath. The fragment of spirit he had left in Stain was noticeably gone, leaving a sensation of hollowness. It would take time to recover, but it would be worthwhile.

On the floor, Stain spasmed, foam bubbling from his mouth. With an expert eye, Nimh watched him for a moment before turning from the man. Nimh looked at Keira, her eyes open with horror.

“The spirit can be used in many ways. It can be used to build bonds that stand the test of time, and it can sever the spirit from the body. What you must remember, is never cross a master of the spiritual arts. And if you do, never let them seize control of your spirit well.”

With that, he rose to his feet, stretching as he did.

“What did you do to him?” she whispered.

“I have tainted his spirit.” Nimh replied, his voice feeling hollow. “over time, his mind will also be affected, though I am unsure to what extent.”

“What does that mean?”

Nimh scratched his ear. “Think of it like this. The spirit is like a memory of everything you are and have ever done. It is the blueprint of everything that makes you, you. If that blueprint is tainted, then it creates a link of sorts. I tainted his spirit with my own spirit, so a fragment of me is changing some fundamental components of him.”

He caught Keira’s eye and sighed. “Where I am from, this is considered a crime, punishable by eternal imprisonment. If it were done on any world connected to my home, I would be punished for this.”

“Then why do it?” her voice was strained.

“Until I forge a way home, crimes such as these are considered, null and void. The method used to take the world does not matter, and the crimes committed will be wiped away upon my return. It is the way of my people.”

“Your people suck,” Keira replied, cold fury in her voice.

Nimh nodded. “We are not perfect. I am not perfect. But I am resolute in my goal. If you stick with me, you will be privy to a lot, including my plans.”

“And if I disappoint you, or oppose you? Are you going to do that to me?” she jutted her chin towards Stain who had stopped spasming.

“You wouldn’t trust me if I said no.’ Nimh replied calmly. “So instead, I offer something else.” He took a seat, crossing his legs. “Will you join me?”

It took Keira a long moment of glaring at Nimh before she sat in front of him, mimicking his position.

“As I said earlier, a master of the spiritual arts can make bonds that stand the test of time. If you are willing, I will share with you the spirit arts and offer you a spiritual bond. It is harmless but will offer you protection. It will also make you aware of my location and intent. You will know if I lie, you will know if I ever mean you harm and no matter where I go, you will be able to hunt me down. The bond works both ways of course. The choice is yours.”

“No thank you,” Keira said immediately. “I am not so sure I trust you enough to do that to me.”

Nimh nodded. “Wise choice. Never trust someone to create a spiritual bond. It is best made with both sides forming it, together.” He winked at her. “Just so you know, it is possible for one to form it for two alone, but it’s a bad practice. I offered it because Stain all but said there is another spirit invader in this world. Maybe more than one.”

Keira frowned at that. Even Marcus made a sound of unease.

“Does that mean your people have already conquered this world? If you meet up with them then can't you work together to make a way home?”

Nimh shook his head. “There is no way someone from my generation has already built a foundation in this world, which means they would be from the last generation. That’s a good twenty years for them to develop their abilities, build their power and put into action their own plans. I would have little to offer them if they even intend to find a way home.”

“So, are you going to continue your invasion?” Keira asked.

“Yes, though I will need to adjust my plans somewhat. Believe it or not, I do have a good reason to do that to Stain. He knew what I was.”

Keira’s confusion made it clear she didn’t see the problem. Marcus on the other hand got it.

“If word gets out that there is a new generation spirit invader wandering about, I cannot guess what any of the older generations will do. Maybe they will reach out to work with me. More likely, they will try to kill me, so they alone bring this world into the fold.

“But surely, they would know you?” Keira asked confused.

‘Maybe. But there are a lot of worlds under my people’s control. One generation of spirit invaders can consist of millions of my people.”

“That’s insane,” Keira muttered.

Nimh shrugged. “Maybe, but it is how it is. Anyway, if you won’t accept a bond, then you will need to learn to defend yourself against the spiritual arts.” He grinned. “Lucky for you, you have a master to teach you.”

Sebastian woke up, staring at the ceiling. A cold breeze drifted through the office, but the vital in his body shrugged the chill off with ease.

He did not know how much time had passed, but he knew it must have been a while. His body was fully healed, and vital energy thrummed through him, stronger than ever.

Slowly, his mind rewound itself, memories of the fight clear in his mind. That young man had been strong. Stronger than Sebastian had ever imagined. Strong enough to make Sebastian tremble in fear.

Or, it had.

For some reason, Sebastian felt calm, his terror of the young man nullified. It was a strange sensation.

Curling up into a seated position, he turned and saw the young man, sitting opposite the pretty young girl that had followed him. She had her eyes closed and seemed to be concentrating hard. She was quite pretty, though unexpectedly, he didn’t feel any lust for her.

As he watched, he saw the young man turn his head to look at him. His eyes showed none of the ferocity that had dominated Sebastian, instead, he was calm belying any thought of violence.

“Welcome back Stain.” The young man said. “Are you ready to talk now?”

As he spoke, the young girl opened her eyes, looking at Stain. He reconsidered his opinion of her then. She was a young woman, and he could feel her strength. She wasn’t much weaker than he was, far stronger than his children had been.

“I…” he began before shaking his head. “Please, call me Sebastian. I suppose my friends used to call me Bash, but that was a long time ago.

The young man nodded. “Sebastian, my name is Nimh. I have an offer for you if you are willing to talk it over with me.”

Previously, Sebastian had hated this man. He had broken the control measures he held over the undercity, killed his daughter, embarrassed his son, and caused severe damage to his E Ranks. But for some reason, Sebastian could not muster any anger at the man.

No doubt, something had happened to him, but though he could feel something was off, he felt like denying this young man was not something he could afford to do.

“Nimh,” he said somewhat cautiously. “I think I would like to hear what you have to say.”