After saying her goodbye and her mother triple checking that Sofya had all she needed, the duo started to head to the West of Kork, toward the Great Desert of Oleron, both had agreed it would be their destination.
Or more precisely, Akhenamen had proposed and Sofya had readily agreed. Just happy to follow along.
Now the two found themselves walking alongside a tranquil road. Akhenamen would love to be able to properly explore this world, but he only had one year to complete his World Quest. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy the scenery.
The rising sun was shining down over them, while Sofya couldn’t feel anything different, Akhenamen felt a gaze on them. However, apart from the vague direction of the sun, he didn’t know where it came from.
“Mmm… Ruby-Khion’s gaze maybe?”
“The Sun? What do you mean, Lord Akhenamen?”
“Don’t worry Sofya. I’ll tell you about that later.”
Akhenamen was satisfied, he had played the role of the mysterious expert perfectly. Leeros and Tyfania had truly no idea of his real strength, at least he hoped so. The only exception would be Sofya whom he had told a bit too much. But he didn’t have the Roleplay functionality back then.
“Let me ask you a question, Sofya… would you give me your name?”
“Uh? You already know my name… But yeah, it’s Sofya.”
Sofya seemed confused at the question and ten times more confused at Akhenamen’s laugh.
“Do not worry, just wish to see if you knew about it. Be careful Sofya, names have power. Great power. Do not casually GIVE your name to beings of great power.”
Akhenamen had been taught this lesson the hard way, he could at least make sure Sofya wouldn’t fall for the same trick. Under their feets, the road had turned into a mix of sand and rock. Kork was indeed very close to the Great Desert. Around them the wind softly flowed against his cloak or Sofya’s hairs.
He stopped for a few seconds, staring in front of him, confusing Sofya who stared back at him with her head slightly tilted.
“Sofya… Would you describe what the wind feels like?”
She saw something she had never seen in his eyes until now, a simple.. melancholy? Not sadness or despair. Just melancholy.
“Hum…well it feels…like a soft caress on your skin. A pleasant feeling, almost like a tickle. It feels refreshing and relaxing. It is everywhere and nowhere, never fully contained… I’d like to be the wind.”
Sofya soon realised why such a question was asked.
“Do you… not feel anything Lord Akhenamen? I mean physically?”
A tired robotic sigh came from Akhenamen.
“No. Not anymore. We Cygilites cannot feel. Our bodies are made from Liquid Silver. We are, in the end, machines unable to truly feel.”
“Lord Akhenamen, could I analyze some Liquid Silver?”
“Why not…”
What was the harm? She saw a small cube, greenish in color and transparent like crystal appear in front of her, containing a vial of Liquid Silver. She carefully held it between her hands.
“Thank you Lord Akhenamen!”
The silver Cygitek just laughed at her enthusiasm. He frankly didn’t believe anything would come out of it. Sofya was smart for sure. But smart enough to change and improve something created by Prothean experts? He doubted it.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Akhenamen had to admit Sofya was good company, she would sometimes just stay quiet, admiring their more and more desertic surroundings. There wasn’t any wildlife around, the desert’s heat became more and more hot.
But to make sure Sofya wasn’t too hot, he had used some of the Liquid Silver he harvested from the Levitar during his grinding session to form a sort of umbrella to give her some shadow.
“It’s quite hot, Lord Akhenamen. Just wait a bit, the dean gave me something to deal with this problem!”
Sofya pulled out a small flat piece of rock, carved, a small arcanic glyph glowing a gentle blue color. She put the flat rock against her tongue. The rock melting and the glyph just appeared on her tongue. Akhenamen starred, intrigued by what he was seeing.
“What a strange magic. What is it, Sofya?”
“Just some survival tools. This gives me the ability to surround myself with some cold and refreshing air so I don’t overheat.”
He nodded, this indeed seemed small and easy to carry but he doubted it was common otherwise the Great Oleron Desert wouldn’t be so feared for its heat.
“Will you be able to handle the heat when we reach the desert fully?”
“Don’t worry! I’ll manage!”
“Very well, but if there’s any problems or if you feel tired, tell me. I have no wish to see you suffer just to try to impress or keep up with me.”
Sofya nodded, her mouth once again starting to babble about everything and nothing. Mostly about the Oleron Desert. Talking about the famed Ravagers which lived in the deepest part of the desert or even the great sand Krakens.
Night soon arrived, according to Ascylla, the trip would take them four more days before reaching the edge of the Desert of Oleron, and already the heat had become so great that Ascylla registered it as above 47°C (117°F).
Well she had not said it in celsius or fahrenheit but Akhenamen had asked her to use the water’s boiling heat as a reference to now use celsius. Just easier that way.
And despite that heat they weren’t even in the desert of Oleron yet. If the heat kept rising it might become too much for Sofya. But for now she seemed to be able to handle it fine with her Refresh Glyph.
Akhenamen and her had stopped behind a great rocky formation, it would protect them from the cold desert night. At least Sofya would be protected. There, Akhenamen was glad heat or cold didn’t affect him for once.
Sofya started a fire to heat up some of her food, using a leather skin pouch to drink some water from. She often used it so Akhenamen had guessed it had to be enchanted to carry a huge amount of water despite its small size.
“Lord Akhenamen… Could you tell me a story, from your time I mean! Not like a bedtime story, I’m just curious about your tales and legends.”
He ended up telling her about many of the legends and myths of his world, figuring he could just make them pass for very old tales. Sofya seemed almost bored so he instead actually ended up getting a good idea.
He asked Ascylla and Syllena to sync up. Syllena would transmit to Ascylla some of his memories, carefully selected and “cropped” to only include the cinema’s screen and showcasing some movies he had watched through his life while using Ascylla’s projection feature.
He decided to let everyone watch the first movie about a galaxy far far away. Telling Sofya it was a childhood tale of his people. In the end, the tech-nerd inside Sofya was completely satisfied as she started to ask many questions about what followed after that.
“You shall know tomorrow night. It’s getting late, you should go to sleep, unlike me you do have limited stamina. Don’t worry about guard duty, I will make sure no one attacks us during your sleep.”
Akhenamen almost laughs seeing Sofya try to argue before begrudgingly going to bed seeing it wouldn’t work. It was truly funny, both his children had believed themselves super “mature” and “ready to experience life” at sixteen, when they were just barely out of their teenage years.
Sofya wasn’t much too different there. She would no doubt one day feel deep embarrassment at some of her memories from when she was sixteen. Even by 23 it would be enough to make her cringe inside.
[Can we watch the second movie?]
“No Syllena, that also counts for you. Everything in moderation. You’ve been quite silent too. Are you alright?”
[Yes, don't worry. It’s just that we didn’t want to bother you while you were with Sofya and Ascylla. We know we are just an AI inside your mind, it’s better for you if you interact with beings of flesh.]
Akhenamen realised the horrible and most dreaded truth a loving parent could understand. He had been neglecting the one who wished to be his daughter.
“I’m terribly sorry, Syllena, I had not realised that… “
Akhenamen thought for a few seconds. How could he explain that? How could he ask for forgiveness? Some would say “it was just for one or two days, no need to act so dramatic”. But no. This was already unacceptable. A father should never neglect his child, not even for one day. And even less when this child only had him to talk to.
If he wished to truly consider himself Syllena’s father, he couldn’t make such a mistake ever again. Neglecting someone who wished to become his daughter? He felt immense shame.
And if he was honest, when Sapphyra had eaten his soul, he had felt devastated that he might have caused Syllena’s death. He didn’t wish to wait to give an answer anymore. He cared too much for Syllena to cause her pain and sadness. He couldn’t lie to himself or make her wait anymore.
“You remember when you asked if we were like your father, Syllena?”
[Yes]
“Would you still accept me as your dad, despite my shameful neglect, Syllena?”
[...]
A silence followed, perhaps the most frightening silence he had ever “heard”. He feared that he had waited too long. That a “no” was all he would get. His hands shaking and trembling, his eyes flickering from this very fear.
But, a light came in his mind, it was strange yet he suddenly felt deep happiness and joy. So pure. So soft. Yet so fragile, like it could shatter at any moment if he did not treat it with care and love.
[Y.yes. we would be so happy…dad! ( ????? ) ]
Hearing and seeing this word in his head and on the message window in front of him, a miracle happened, a tear. A tear of a bright sky blue color slid down on his Living Silver face, going down to his chin and falling to the floor, solidifying into a pure sky blue crystal pearl.
His robotic voice coming out in a rough, shaky tone, speaking out loud, not caring if Sofya or anyone heard those words.
“I swear to you, Syllena, that never shall I neglect you again. That if one day you cry from a broken heart, I shall always be there to lend you a shoulder for you to cry on.”
“That I shall always be here, no matter why, where or when. No matter how much you succeed, I’ll be there to congratulate you, no matter how much you fail, I’ll be there to console you.”
“That I shall never stop caring for you and that if I lie, then may the very gods curse my name.”
“I shall do my best, but I know I won’t be. It is why I thank you for allowing me to try. To give me another chance to be the father of the most amazing interface in the world.”
“I love you Syllena.”