Family and Humanity

  ?“A human? You are a human?”

  ?Blade nodded.

  ?“I am. A human… well, human and part blade, I think, would be more accurate.”

  ?“Part blade?”

  ?“I’ll tell you later., for now, you can focus on the human part.”

  ?Aisha was deep in thought, mulling over the different questions she had before asking.

  ?“Then how is it being human?”

  ?“You don't have humans here?”

  ?To the question, Aisha simply shook her head.

  ?Blade did not understand. He had seen multiple different species on his way.. Some even looked like humans. But now he was confused.

  ?“Wait, so if you don't have humans, what race are you?”

  ?“I’m an origin.”

  ?“Oh yeah.”

  ?In the rush, Blade had forgotten Aisha had been born with her authorities and therefore was an origin. Yet he had seen other people around, those without an Absolute Authority.

  ?“Then what about the others? Do you know their races?”

  ?“They are primals.. Don't you have them on Tersei?”

  ?“No, never heard of them before.”

  ?Primals? Was this what they had instead of humans then? Yet that made him even more confused at how he had come here. Especially when the Origin Realm held a being who was the root of everything through all universes, would it not make sense to have the root of humanity, and by that line, humans too, here? Deciding that was not the most important for now.

  ?“Well, humans are unique. We don't have anything special to boast about other than our ability to cause chaos no matter the world. Yet we are probably one of the species that boast the most. We have virtues and sins, and we are a species who can barely coexist with each other, let alone others. Still even among the bad there's good, we might not be special but we are capable of adapting”

  ?“Sounds like… a complex species.”

  ?“Yeah.”

  ?Blade knew no better way to describe humans. They had their good and bad moments. You could find heroes and villains, monsters and saints. No words could properly describe them as a whole, yet "complex” felt quite fitting.

  ?“I guess that means I should talk a bit about myself too?”

  ?“Only if you want.”

  ?Aisha thought about it, yet her resolve was there. Blade had trusted her.. Now she should do the same.

  ?“Well, firstly, I should clear up a secret of mine too.”

  ?“What secret?”

  ?Blade was curious. He did not really mind that she had held secrets.. He had done the same. But he was curious about what she was going to share.

  ?“You see, when I told you I had a few authorities, I didn't tell you all of them. I actually have one more.”

  ?Blade's eyes widened at this—another authority?

  ?“So what is this authority?”

  ?“It's… It's the Authority of Souls?”

  ?“Of souls?”

  ?“You see, I'm a homunculus. I died early after first awakening my authorities, yet because of my Absolute Authority of Souls, my family was able to preserve my soul and keep it in this artificial body. As the soul shapes the body, this artificial body became a perfect replica of my original one. Meaning I can do everything I could normally do, feel, and show expressions—all of it. Yet I'm unable to age because of it.”

  ?“... why would they do this? I don't understand? How old are you actually?"

  ?“I don't really remember. I hated all those experiences, everything I felt with my family, so I locked that part of my soul deep away. To remember would mean…”

  ?She left it unsaid, though Blade understood. He did not want to push her, so he asked instead something else that had plagued him.

  ?“Well then… How did you find me? The chances of us meeting without any other knowledge are too low.”

  ?“Well, because of my Authority of Souls, I actually talked with Severance.”

  ?“Huh?”

  ?Another surprise, though Blade's eyes could not go any wider, he was left speechless.

  ?“I felt her soul once while we were talking. So while you were away on training once, I traced her soul and found her in a physical body. From there she and I slowly began talking.”

  ?“But that still doesn't answer how you found me.”

  ?“Well…”

  ?She began looking down, almost acting as if she was guilty for something when she continued.

  ?“A day before you left, Severance told me about her plan. I didn't understand at first until she told me about a possibility. This would be the first time you would be left totally alone here, and thus she wanted me to follow in case you would get lost. At the time, I truly didn't understand the scope of what that could entail, and so when I first saw you, I rejected what I saw, as I couldn't reconcile it with the memories I had.”

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  ?“That explains a few things.”

  ?They were quiet for a few moments before Aisha continued again.

  ?“It doesn't feel right lying to you, only to reject you after. And so I had been thinking about how I could make it up. Maybe we could try getting Severance back.”

  ?“You can do that?”

  ?“To be honest, I'm unsure. I have never really used my powers willingly before, as they always brought me nothing but fear. Yet I want to use them for you, and I want to defeat my fear. If you would help me…”

  ?“Of course, but why would you do that for me, though? Would it not cause bad memories to resurface?”

  ?“Yes… I don't really want this, but I want to help you., I want to redeem myself for deceiving you and…”

  ?“And what?”

  ?She mulled it over for a while before finally saying.

  ?“I will tell you later.. Now isn’t the right time.”

  ?“Okay.”

  ?Blade wanted to know, but he also wanted to give her the space to tell him of her own free will. So instead he asked.

  ?“So how do we do this? How do we get Severance back?”

  ?Aisha smiled at Blade, a silent thanks for changing the conversation. Getting up, she tugged at Blade.

  ?“Come on, we need to start immediately.”

  ?Blade was surprised at how eager she seemed, letting himself get dragged as he followed. As they walked, Aisha began.

  ?“When I looked at your soul, I originally thought it seemed weird, which was why I thought you were an intruder. It looked like your body, soul, and mind were disconnected.”

  ?“Is that weird?”

  ?Blade was already confused. It felt like he was learning more and more each day.

  ?“Well, you see, since you're human it might not be so, but for everyone here is their soul, body, and mind fused together. This is why you can't actually damage any of us without attacking all three simultaneously. That perfect synchronization is what makes us so durable.”

  ?“You seem to know a lot about this.”

  ?At his words, Aisha stopped for a moment, a blush rising up her cheeks as she turned slightly.

  ?“Well… I had a lot of free time, so I studied a lot to keep the loneliness at bay.”

  ?“I see.. Maybe you should begin teaching people.”

  ?“We are getting off track.”

  ?She said, shaking her head, both to get his attention back on track and also to try and shake away her growing embarrassment.

  ?“Either way, as I was saying, since your body and soul are not fused, yet you have Severance fused into you, how would that work?”

  ?It was a good question, and one that made Blade think. How would it even work? He could think of it as two dots trying to fuse with a line. The two dots being his body and soul separate, and the line being Severance’s fused body and soul. The conclusion he came up with was the one he voiced.

  ?“I guess Severance is used as a bridge to connect my soul and body.”

  ?“I came up with the same conclusion. And since that is the case, we should be able to bring back Severance.”

  ?“But how?”

  ?“The same way she managed to be here despite also being in her sword form?”

  ?It took a few seconds before Blade understood what she meant. Severance had managed to have both versions of herself exist by lowering her own power. By using the same technique, they could bring her back. Since Blade technically had her body and soul, all they needed was her mind. Yet Blade also held her memories, meaning with Aisha's help they could separate them to bring her back.

  ?“What do we need then?”

  ?Blade said he was prepared to gather anything required.

  ?“Nothing really. Only a space with enough room and no distractions.”

  ?“That should be simple enough.”

  ?Blade said, lifting Aisha in his arms, and leaping off the ground. Aisha clung to him as they took off, watching as they left the ground. Blade headed for a place he thought would be filled with mora. the place where he had killed the tentacle thing.

  ?Landing on the ground, he gently placed Aisha on the ground as he asked.

  ?“Will this place work?”

  ?“Yes, yes, it will.”

  ?Aisha responded, nodding. She walked around a bit, feeling the mora, before creating multiple spirit birds that flew around them.

  ?“So how do we do this? You haven't really told me how we will go about this.”

  ?“I will gather a lot of mora using these spirits. Then I'll use my authority to gather whatever pieces of Severance within you I can find. I only wish we had the place where she disappeared too.. It would make this easier.”

  ?“Well then, we are in luck.”

  ?Blade said, pointing up.

  ?“It's here.. Will that be too far?”

  ?She looked at him, noticing his hidden sadness as she said.

  ?“No, just knowing it’s so close is good enough.”

  ?“So what should I do?”

  ?“Sit down and focus your mora on whatever of her you have.”

  ?Blade sat down and crossed his legs, focusing his mora on his weapon authority. The authority was what had originally tied them down together and had let her fuse with him, so it should be reasonable to believe it could be used the other way too.

  ?Aisha placed her hands on his back, under his shirt, as mora was better transmitted with physical contact.

  ?She could feel remnants of what was not fully absorbed into Blade, trying to purify them to better use them. Though that led to a sudden backlash.

  ?Coughing up blood, Aisha had to push through. Blade wanted to get up and look at her but was quickly stopped by Aisha as she said.

  ?“Don’t worry about me. If you stop this now, we will have to try again. Please just focus on Severance and getting her back.”

  ?Blade had to restrain himself from getting up, refocusing on his own core and authority.

  ?The closer they got, the more backlash Aisha received. She was hurting badly and was struggling to continue standing, but her resolve remained strong as she pushed through to the best of her abilities.

  ?She had managed to separate part of Severance at the cost of some of Blade’s strength as planned and crystallized it into a small orb. Now it was just up to Blade to create a body and memories.

  ?Falling back, Blade managed to catch her in time and put her down gently, letting her rest.

  ?Now it was simply up to him to take the crystallized orb. Putting a lot of his mora into the orb, he saw it as it hovered above his hand. Afterwards, he began, using his authority to slowly make weapons around the orb until it formed a humanoid shape.

  ?The last part was giving the memories. Blade had gotten her memories after the fusion but had refused to look at most of them, not wishing to invade her privacy. Now it was time to give them back. He already had what he needed, and if this worked, he could simply ask.

  ?Summoning Severance in his hand, he used their fused form to transfer the memories through the chain and into the sword. Then he pierced it through the humanoid shape.

  ?A blinding flash appeared. Blade was forced back to not be consumed by the light. As he looked at his arm, he saw how the chains had disappeared, leaving only marks in the shape and color of the chains. His sword was also gone, though the voice was what made him look back.

  ?“Are you my master?”

  ?Standing there was a girl, very similar to Severance, but with eyes akin to Blade’s. Her grey eyes host what looks like two spiraling cross-shaped swords, overlapping each other in the shape of a cross.

  ?Blade could only stare in awe before he finally asked the question.

  ?“Are you Severance?”

  Character Card:

  A blade of unknown origin and the source of all weapons given form. She serves only her master with undying loyalty, holding up her values and ideals while fighting for him.

  Name: Severance

  Age: Unknown

  Race: Weapon

  Mora: Purple

  Title: None

  A slim woman with dark grey hair, the color of her weapon form, and eyes similar to her master's. Her grey eyes host what looks like two spiralling cross-shaped swords, overlapping each other in the shape of a cross. Her nails are also painted grey. As she is a weapon she can change the form of her body whenever she wishes, and even turn parts of it into weapons.

  She wears a black kimono with grey linings. Her sleeves are cut at intervals, revealing chains holding the sleeves together.

  As the original weapon she can take on whatever form of weapon she wishes, but chooses the one that suits her master the most. Therefore she takes the form of a katana with a dark gray blade, glowing white hand guard and black hilt. The hand guard is formed like a circle with intricate patterns in it, and at the end of the hilt is a chain wrapping around her master's arm.