Arden and Vera said nothing as Sya finished her tale.

  Sya rubbed her palms and trembled. She might’ve healed from her injuries as a result of becoming a Starborn, but the memories would remain for a long time. In truth, they might not ever heal.

  Of all the Blight Walkers that were affected, she definitely came out of the experience better than the rest. But she was also forced to go through more than the rest of them.

  The infinite was stuffed down her throat after hollowing her out. She was forced to watch her brother die billions of times.

  “I was so scared,” she whispered. “Yaan left me to starve in isolation for weeks. None of us ate. None of us drank. We couldn’t die. Everytime the Blight Essence came to me, I felt like I was falling into an endless abyss. I was drowning. The only thing I heard for weeks was the screams of the others. The only solace I had was Yaan staying away from me. No one else was as lucky.”

  Black tears fell from her eyes.

  “It was awful.”

  She hugged her brother and started openly sobbing into him. Arden gently rocked her, trying his best to comfort her.

  Inside, he was boiling with rage. Magma ran through his veins.

  ‘I should have killed Yaan back at Miasma.’

  He felt Vera’s hand on his arm and tried to calm down. Getting angry here would do no good, especially when he already hashed out a deal with Domah.

  He couldn’t kill Yaan. If he did, the Archon of Submission would return.

  A few minutes passed and Sya was able to recollect herself. She sniffled a few times and continued her story, despite Arden’s encouraging her to stop.

  “When you found me,” she said. “Everything was ready for the Archon to descend. She collected enough Blight Essence into my body to make me an avatar. Her prime vessel. So she descended. Domah, the Archon of Submission.”

  Sya turned her attention to Vera, the only one of the three that didn't actually meet the Archon.

  “Domah had a simple objective. Make everything kneel. She embodies submission not because she is passive, but because everything submits to her. She wanted Arden to be one of them.”

  She gave Arden a prolonged, confused look.

  “It wasn't a coincidence that she descended as you found me. She was waiting for you. She wanted the newest Archon to submit to her.”

  “Not to sound disbelieving,” Arden said. “But how do you know?”

  “You saw what happened. She fought you in your soul. When she did she was in my body. For a time, we shared a soul. That's why she had my appearance. She appeared right as you did because she wanted something. I don’t think it was just your secrets. There was something else she was working towards. Learning your secrets would have been a bonus.”

  Vera gave Arden a worried glance.

  “You actually fought an Archon? And in your own soul?”

  Arden nodded. He wasn't really looking forward to this part. Now that he and Vera were an item, being a disappointment or a source of worry were things that he wanted to avoid.

  He felt that fighting an Archon would count as both.

  “It was the only thing I could think of. Out here, she unleashed her power against me. I felt it. Sya said that it felt like infinity incarnate, and that wasn't exaggeration. Domah's soul felt like infinity. Domah wanted my knowledge and when I wouldn't give it to her, she attacked my soul to force me to submit and relinquish my secrets. All I had was the inviolable nature of the soul. If I gave in, she would get what she wanted.”

  “But she got it,” Vera said.

  “I let her in,” Arden corrected. “I did not submit, but I gave her the consent to enter my Soul Cluster. That would be the only way to put up a fight. It was the only way to put a limit on her power. We agreed to a winner-takes-all duel.”

  “He convinced the goddess of submission to meet him at the negotiating table,” Sya said. “I was able to feel her rage, indignation, and confusion, but she still agreed.”

  Arden felt a bit embarrassed at the hyping she was doing for him. Especially because he had to correct her.

  “She didn't agree. I forced her to accept.”

  Vera’s eyes went wide as she realized what he meant by that.

  “You used it then?”

  “It was the only way,” he repeated.

  “And it worked on an Archon?”

  “Somehow. I have no doubt that if I wished for a victory, it wouldn't have worked. Domah was strong enough that I doubt it would have affected her if my wish was too large.”

  “What are you talking about?” Sya asked.

  “It wasn't my negotiating skills that got her to agree,” Arden said. “I got a Satellite for completing my trial. A single use item called a Spark of Paradox. It would grant a single wish. I used it to get her to agree to my terms.”

  “You had such a powerful Satellite, and you used it trying to save me?” Sya asked.

  “It was going to go to you anyway. I planned to use it to either heal you or turn you into a Starborn, whichever you wanted. I told Vera the same when I showed it to her. Besides, fighting Domah was as much for my benefit as it was for yours.”

  Arden continued to explain what happened, mainly for Vera’s benefit.

  “Anyway, I used the spark to get her to agree to the deal. It was more than just a duel. We both swore on our existences as Archons. I allowed her to tap into a small amount of her power to even off being trapped in my soul. If I won, she’d leave Sya’s body permanently, and cease all hostilities with me. If she won, then I’d submit.”

  He leaned back and looked up at the ceiling.

  “I miscalculated. Even a tiny portion of infinity is still infinite. It wasn’t even a fight. It was a one sided slaughter. With her power, Domah was able to do pretty much anything you could think of. If I lived for more than a second it was because she allowed me to. I didn’t know anything about the power of the soul, only that it was my domain to control. She did, though, and she made it my problem.”

  “You were killed?” Vera asked.

  Arden felt his heart hurt seeing the worry in Vera’s blue eyes. He didn’t want to see that, but he couldn’t just lie to her.

  “Yeah,” he responded solemnly. “Hundreds, thousands, millions, billions of times. Sometimes they were quick, sometimes they were painful, but every time I died. But I couldn’t fully die inside of my own soul. Or rather, I couldn’t stay dead. That’s why she did what she did. My deaths weren’t just made to kill me. Everything she did was to make me give up. To submit.”

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  “Are you…okay?” Vera asked him.

  Despite the sharing of trauma, Sya couldn’t help but smile, something she quickly hid. Looking at the pair, it was obvious that they had grown closer in her absence.

  ‘Nice.’

  “For the most part,” Arden said. “After a while the threat of death stops being a thing when you realize you can just come back to life. There was so much death that it became trivial to me. At least it was in there. I have no plans to do something like that in the outside world. I still remember your words about relying on my skill, not my power.”

  Vera sighed in relief. Both from Arden being seemingly fine with his repeated deaths and from his learning from past mistakes. It was nice to see. The best students weren’t ones who ace everything they were given, but earnest ones who learn from their mistakes.

  “So,” Vera went on. “If you were so hopelessly outclassed that you couldn’t even muster up any resistance, how did you win?”

  “I learned. I learned how to use my soul as a weapon, just like Domah was able to do. It might be worth trying to incorporate it into aura control training as well, thinking about it. All of Domah’s attacks were meant to force me to submit. They were an extension of her soul. They, like her, were submission itself. In order to do the same thing, I had to figure out who I am. What I am.”

  “And you did,” Vera said.

  Arden nodded.

  “I had to stop thinking of myself as just a protostar. I had to go beyond ‘Arden,’ because that is not all that I am anymore. I improve. I was a mudanne, then I became a Starborn. I was the inheritor of Beyond’s Legacy, and more recently Life’s as well. Then I became an Archon myself by creating my own Legacy out of their pieces.”

  Arden paused, then continued.

  “When I first learned before the trial that I could improve upon them if I did well enough, I wondered what the combination of eternity and life was. At first, I thought it was longevity, or immortality. But when I fought Domah, I realized it. What eternity and life combine into and what best defines me. Evolution.”

  “Evolution?”

  “Yeah, evolution,” Arden repeated. “Archon of Evolution sounds a lot better than Archon of Slow But Steady Self Improvement.”

  “What about Archon of Advancement?” Sya offered.

  “Thats alright, but it doesn't really fit with the whole ‘life’ and ‘eternity’ theming that I'm stuck with now. Anyway, after that was when things got fun for me. I was able to fight Domah on even ground. I knew how to fight. After learning about my soul powers, I just had to outlast her. She had a limit on her energy, unlike me. When she ran out of energy, she surrendered, realizing that she was unable to win.”

  Arden cracked a smile.

  “The Archon of Submission surrendered.”

  “And that’s what happened tonight?” Vera asked. “You fought toe to toe with an Archon inside your own soul, and won. But to do so you had to burn the Spark?”

  “That’s most of it,” Sya said. “There was one very big and unexpected windfall to come from it though.”

  “And that would be?”

  Vera watched in amazement as the lines of silver underneath Sya’s skin disappeared, and her hair turned fully silver.

  “I’m a Starborn now too.”

  “I think Domah was the cause,” Arden speculated. “Whe she first descended into Sya, she was able to use her powers in a Blight Walker’s body. Blight Walkers using any kind of power is paradoxical, so it must have caused her to become a paradox like us, triggering her awakening.”

  Vera realized another thing as well.

  “You’re not just an Aspirant. You’re already a Starborn. You already completed your trial.”

  “In like ten seconds,” Arden said with a shake of his head.

  “It was nothing,” Sya said.

  “Dont be humble.”

  “No, I mean it was literally nothing,” Sya said. “I don't remember but empty darkness. Like a conceptual darkness that swallowed everything. Aside from that, I don’t remember anything.”

  “What can you do?” Vera asked excitedly.

  Arden smiled. Vera seemed just as excited about her friend's awakening than she did about her own ascension. Arden wasn't an idiot. He knew that powers weren't the reason for Vera’s happiness.

  She was happy that they could spend more time together with her friends.

  Sya grinned.

  “Lower the sensory veil and I’ll show you.”

  *****

  It took some time convincing Arden and Vera that Sya revealing herself to the others would be worth it. Arden’s mind was awash in the numerous what ifs that would happen if Sya's Blight Control could affect other Blighted individuals. Vera was the same.

  What if she was taken away for research?

  What if she was deemed a threat for having the potential to spread the Blight?

  They had just finally been reunited with each other. What if they were forced to separate again?

  Eventually, Arden and Vera came to join Sya in agreement for a simple reason.

  Sya potentially had the power to help the Blight Walkers. It was the right thing to do.

  She had been a Blight Walker for years. She knew what it was like. Spurned and hated by everyone. Of the 90ish Blight Walkers that Yaan had created, maybe one or two would be fortunate enough to have someone around them who would stick by their side like Arden had for her.

  That wasn’t a satisfying ending.

  Sya believed that she had the power to create a happy ending.

  Sya’s original appearance was returned right before the veil came down. She would only use her powers to revert to her Starborn appearance after being given the okay from Arden.

  For his part Arden approached the drained members of the group that had come with him to save his sister. They were all taking a break after healing the last of the victims. All of the Blight Walkers were healed physically, but they were still Blight Walkers.

  Savish was the first to notice his nervousness.

  “What’s wrong? Is your sister okay?”

  “She’s fine. When she gets the chance, she’ll want to visit your steakhouse.”

  “So would I,” she said.

  Arden looked at Chorzo.

  “I have one last thing to trade.”

  “What is it?”

  “Information,” Arden said, glancing back at his sister, getting out of bed with Vera’s help. “My sister has some information on the missing Starborn. She saw it happen.”

  Chorzo narrowed his eyes.

  “You want something in return for that information. Most righteous people wouldn't hold information like that in return for something.”

  “I don’t care. You don’t even have to do anything, and the information is yours.”

  “...Go on.”

  Arden took a deep breath and for the second time that night, stated his terms.

  “Tell no one what’s about to happen here. Me, Vera, and Sya were not involved in this. Agree to this, and the information is yours.”

  “What are you planning?”

  “Nothing bad, I assure you. Too much bad has already happened. Might as well try and work for a happy ending.”

  Chorzo contemplated the offer. He analyzed Arden’s words. The way he phrased it sounded like they were going to do something even if he didn’t agree to the terms.

  ‘That’s what it is. This isn’t a trade. It's a bribe. He’ll still go through with his plan, the only difference is if we get rewarded for it.’

  But would it be bad?

  Chorzo didn’t believe so. He didn't know much about Arden, but he knew enough to know that he wasn’t a murderous psychopath.

  That was enough.

  “It’s a deal.”

  Arden nodded, and turned back to face his sister who now stood over the woman he had found on floor 19.

  “Not a word about this,” he reiterated. “No records.”

  The tent was silent as the color washed out of Sya’s hair and the silver veins receded. Everyone watched in awe as the sickly silver essence that flowed through the victim's body was pulled from her skin and into Sya’s open palm, where it condensed into a small marble-like orb of Blight Essence.

  No one paid attention to Sya as she crushed the core in her hand to absorb the power, like Starborn did with star cores. They were all too mesmerized by the woman Sya just healed.

  Her silver veins disappeared, and her hair returned to being a single color- brown.

  She was no longer a Blight Walker, or even a Blighted.

  For the first time since the Blight came to the world in the StarFall, someone had been cured of the Blight.