I let out a relieved sigh and responded immediately. While typing, I picked up the water left by the servant that I requested and poured myself and Aelira a glass.

  From what I learned, Aisling was living in what appeared to be a small town from her perspective. She lived in the outer courtyard of the town, and a large wall was visible from her bedroom window.

  The society we lived in was what she described as Magicratic Feudalism. There were rumours that the crown held some sort of magic that rivalled all others, and they used this power to protect the people from the wilds. Whatever was on the other side of the wall that she could see.

  There were no other commonly known cultures or peoples beyond the rabbit-folk that we both had been born as. Which was odd, because the Matron mentioned there being ‘wild-ones’ who were exposed to more magic than the average person. Implying life outside the walls.

  But those people weren't even talked about in children's stories.

  I had more important things on my mind than a lesson on plebeian culture.

  Ren: The Stat that magic in this world provides its users is amazing! It's called Resonance by the System.

  Resonance was practically how well your soul aligned with everything that was a part of ‘you’. The way the Stat was defined in the System made it sound like it would make me both more capable at using anything I inherently owned, including my own body and Aspect.

  Which was likely how I overcame the dimension’s magical interference to a degree in a half-tal. A tal was apparently a unit of time based on a full cycle of changes in the eye looking down on us all.

  I think it was longer than a year, but I wasn't sure how much longer. Earth time units were going to become obsolete over time, especially since it likely no longer existed. So I should probably get used to no longer thinking in years and months.

  After explaining what I knew about the magic system to Aisling, she admitted she would likely need some time before she could find out more. This was because the maximum amount of Dust we could spend at once was only 387 due to the Threshold limit of two.

  Either we needed to encounter Iyora doing something that meant the limit being raised made sense, or Aisling had to wait for the measuring instrument she could buy to run some tests. She didn't know how long that would take.

  I hadn't even attempted to purchase anything yet, given there wasn't really any need. Everything I could want was provided for me by Aelira's servants. Besides, I should save my Dust for when I run into Iyora.

  The only way to fight someone overwriting the rules of reality was to write your own set of rules.

  Our discussion ended when I felt the princess place her hand on mine.

  “Yeah?” I asked, turning to face her.

  She was looking up at something above us. I couldn't turn to look as well without… bad things.

  “There's something weird happening. But don't look. Your princess commands you not to,” she said, a frown on her face. I noticed the hue of light coming from the eye was turning ever so slightly indigo.

  It was cute how she thought she could order me around.

  I glanced back at the servant who was watching us and tilted my head slightly towards Aelira. He stood and started walking over immediately.

  I could have just grabbed all the information I needed from his mind, but I'd been trying to be more deliberate with what I took in this life. It was improving my selectivity with the ideas I could implement. Maybe I could eventually make people stop hugging me when I made them fall for me.

  When he arrived, he bowed, his ears flopping down adorably with the motion.

  “My Saevi, there is no need for alarm. The change in the eye is merely a signal that a time of high-theric is approaching. If it would please you to remain here for a moment, your Mother will be here shortly,” he replied, and I realized a bit belatedly that this wasn't the servant who had been watching us earlier.

  When did they switch out? The flickers of attention I felt never changed.

  Damn, they're good.

  “Mother?!” Aelira peeped, seemingly not noticing the casual address the servant used to refer to the Queen. “What? Why?”

  “It seems you were able to make it happen, My Highness,” I said to her with a giggle. “I stand corrected regarding what you might accomplish. You could make her appear far more easily than I could have imagined.”

  “That isn't—I mean—what?” she stumbled over her words, trying to voice her confusion.

  “The Ceremony of Freal will happen shortly. Please prepare yourself,” he said, before rising and walking off, leaving us alone but not unwatched.

  In fact, there were suddenly a lot of eyes on us. Far more than there had been moments before the eyelight started changing. Including from above somehow.

  Aisling: Hey, atmospheric magic levels are rising rapidly. Do you know what's happening?

  Ren: Something is going on with the massive eye in the sky. I don't know, can't look at it because I see beyond its fragile shell into that which should not be known beyond.

  Aisling: What?

  Ren: Sorry. That sounded cooler in my head.

  Actually, when I paid attention to the direction of the spotlight in the sky… it was coming from where the eye should be.

  I suppressed a shiver of revulsion at the idea that the thing might be alive.

  “What do you think the Ceremony involves?” I asked Aelira, breaking her out of her trance. She looked lost, like the floor had been pulled out from under her and she hadn't yet recovered her balance.

  “How should I know? You were the one looking for information. It's not like anyone I ask knows anything,” she replied, slumping over on the bench.

  I noticed the indigo shade was getting deeper the longer we sat out here, and the air was taking on a bitter flavour.

  “I wasn't really expecting you to know. I just wanted you to stop looking like a rabbit being stalked by a cat,” I said, using English words because I wasn't familiar with a similar analogy from this world.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “What's a rabbit? Or a cat?” she asked. I couldn't help but chuckle at her confusion.

  “You're kind of a rabbit,” I replied, patting her ear while she sulked.

  I picked up on the sound of someone approaching before they came close, despite their attention looking in our direction. Turning my head, I paused as I witnessed not Aelira's mother approaching but something wet crawling out of the ground. The indigo light in the air seemed to bend towards it as the thing pulled itself from the surface of the soil.

  Then it turned its attention to us, cerulean eyes like gemstones, it shook off the excess… liquid? My eyes perceived it as a liquid, but also not. There was a moment where it looked like I was staring at an optical illusion before it vanished, revealing the creature.

  The quadruped's skin was covered in almost crystalline spikes that seemed to shimmer in the air as the light was drawn into them. Its jaws clacked together with a sound like stone hitting stone.

  I glanced at the most obvious other source of attention, a man who was trying to hide behind a bush. He shook his head once when he noticed me looking his way.

  All on our own then. I see how it is.

  A message from Aisling flashed in front of me, but I ignored it. Jumping from my seat, I pulled Aelira with me, as she let out a yelp.

  “What are—” she tried to get out, then I threw her over my shoulder and took off. Unlike when I was a human, I was no longer an endurance hunter. My feet were designed for sprinting, and my Venust made the princess’s weight almost trivial despite her being a head taller than me.

  I moved just in time for the bench to be smashed to pieces by a hulking mass of crystalline flesh plowing through it.

  Aelira screamed, and I turned down a garden path heading straight for the servant of the Queen who had spoken to us earlier.

  Only for him to move away and over a wall at a speed I couldn't keep up with. His attention disappeared the moment he went into motion.

  I let out a growl and turned back down the path I just took, only to be face-to-face with a hulking mass of crystal barreling towards me. Turning to the side, I knelt and hopped onto a stone wall, kicking off from the top of it to run out into an open field.

  I heard the wall explode moments later. While I ran through the grass, I opened The Stream. Right as I went to buy something to alter the world to my advantage, there was a quiet twang. The ground bucked under me, and I was picked up and thrown tumbling across the earth by a wall of solid air.

  Wrapping myself around Aelira, we rolled together, and I used our momentum to push myself off the ground to land on my feet, the princess landing in my arms bridal style. Only to pause when I saw the threat was gone.

  Kneeling where the creature once existed was a woman wreathed in a cloak, she had a bow seemingly made of pure light in one of her hands. When she stood the bow evaporated, and the dispersed energy formed into a crown that sat upon her head.

  “Mother?” Aelira asked aloud.

  “A solid five out of seven. We could make a half-decent Relay out of you if luck has it,” the Queen commented, leaning to one side as all of her attention fell onto me. “Cute kid, I see why you chose him.”

  “Mother!” the princess in my arms squeaked before trying to force her way out of them. I obeyed her desire by flatly dropping her on the ground.

  Only to realize who I just did that in front of.

  Well, it was a nice life while it lasted.

  The Queen snorted out a laugh, “Ballsy, I like him.”

  Someone slapped my back hard from behind, almost knocking me over. I turned to see the Queen standing over me. With how fast she just moved, she could have splattered bits of me across the garden if she had so desired.

  “Ah, alright, kiddos, let's get this over with. I have shit to do,” she said, picking me up by the scruff of the collar and dragging me along behind her. I was joined by the princess in short order, whom I sent a side eye to.

  I was beginning to think Aelira had given me an incorrect picture of the woman.

  There must have been a particularly interesting cloud in the sky that seemed to have absorbed all of Aelira's attention.

  We were yanked together in front of the Queen and dropped in place. She had moved us a few feet from where she had been kneeling moments before. The smoking corpse of the crystalline beast was embedded in the ground, and a massive, still-smoking hole had been blown straight through its chest.

  Off to the side, a man wearing similar garb to mine turned a corner, rubbing the back of his head. I didn't know why, but I liked the cut of his jib; he seemed like a swell fellow.

  “Dear, you're dimming me rather quickly,” he said with a sigh. My toes curled as his voice tingled the back of my skull in a good way.

  Oh. He has a social Stat, doesn't he?

  “Sorry, darling! We'll brighten you back up soon. Don't you worry,” the Queen replied, her voice rising a pitch. She sounded like a completely different person from a moment ago.

  With a wave of her hand, a chunk of the crystalline creature was severed and placed in front of us.

  Her crown of light dissolved into particles that were absorbed into his chest. I only noticed he had been limping when he suddenly stopped.

  My heart sank. Was that what my role was going to be relegated to? The only magic I could use empowered Aelira, while I would be left stumbling and weak?! If that was the case…

  I glanced over at the princess. She was looking my way, and we locked eyes. She smiled at me, and I felt myself go limp.

  Maybe it wouldn't be that bad for a while.

  But I think I'd end up hating it eventually and taking out my resentment on Aelira. I could be a brat when I got bored.

  It was a little late to change direction, unfortunately.

  “Are the kids ready for this?” the Queen's bonded asked.

  “Yeah,” Aelira and I chimed in unison.

  “Place your hand on the Condensate's leg,” the Queen said, pushing Aelira and me forward in a way reminiscent of when I first met the princess.

  That was a leg? I honestly couldn't tell. It was mangled to the point of being unrecognizable.

  I reached down to place my hand on it, and when in contact with the surface, I felt a violent pull on the light within me as it tried to rush down my arm into the crystal.

  When Aelira's hand came down, one of her fingers wrapped around mine. Our light intertwined together where our fingers made contact, then followed the same pull downward. Inside the crystal, the two streams met again and began to build up. I swallowed hard and realized I was sweating.

  The indigo drained from the air around us, drawn into the crystal until it burned bright enough to hurt to look at. I felt the condensed mass of light strain toward me, heavy and insistent, trying to settle entirely into my chest.

  No.

  I twisted it away from myself, moving our intertwined strands back out into the crystal. With a sharp pull of intent, I forced the light to stretch, one end sinking into me while the other part remained within the crystal.

  I looked into Aelira's eyes, she could tell what I was doing and looked conflicted. But when she looked up at me, symbolically not quite meeting my eyes, she gave a nod.

  The light collapsed inward, no longer a single core, and formed a closed circuit. The crystal rang, a sharp, glassy note, and split down its center. It immediately started dissolving into a contract between us.

  A contract whose wording felt slightly out of reach when I tried to glance at it.

  Shards of crystal flowed around my hand and embedded themselves in the back of it. I let out a sharp breath at the pain, but it quickly disappeared.

  In an instant, it felt like I had run several marathons, and I collapsed on the grass, gasping for breath.

  “Their bondkind… that was an aberrant bond, wasn't it?” the Queen's bonded asked.

  She merely hummed in response before leaning over to pick up Aelira, who had also toppled over. From a pouch at her waist, she took out a small boundstone and placed it in her daughter's mouth.

  “You can't seriously be thinking of letting them—” he started, only to be cut off by a sharp glance from his bearer.

  A flow of light filled my chest yet again, and my body lightened. It no longer felt like there was a stack of bricks piled on top of me. I let out a sigh in relief and closed my eyes.

  “What's happening to my bonded?” Aelira asked.

  “You're going to have to put him down. He's already losing it,” the other guy said.

  “What's your problem, man? I'm fine—oh,” I said. Only to pause when I realized I was hanging upside down, floating several feet off the ground.

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