Elias's room was a mess.
The room smelled faintly of metal. Metal, oil, Flowstone dust and burnt wood.
Elias sat cross-legged on the floor of his bedroom, surrounded by what looked like the aftermath of a workshop explosion.
Improvised tools were scattered around him.
Sheets of etched metal.
Half-finished arrays.
Flowstones.
Carved beast bones.
On the floor, the horn of the Monocerus Ibex sat propped against the wall, its surface polished and carved with Arrays that seemed to shift when viewed indirectly.
Two partially finished circular objects being woven from the Damascus-steel threads lay on his lap alongside enough scraps of material to convince any sane observer that he had finally lost his mind.
Fortunately for him, there were currently no sane observers present.
Unfortunately for him, Tamamo was.
"You know," the fox said lazily, sprawled across the branches of a golden cherry blossom tree inside his Spirit Domain, "most boys your age spend days doing normal things."
Elias continued carving runes into a metal plate.
"Such as?"
"Making friends."
"I have friends."
"Aside from Jamie name five."
"Fair."
"Chasing girls."
"I'm not old enough yet. Besides, Jamie's a girl."
"That's not the same thing."
"I disagree."
Tamamo groaned.
"One day you're going to realize how strange your life is."
Elias did not look up. His fingers moved with precise, practiced motions, weaving the Damascus Steel threads into circular frames—the beginnings of a weapon he had been designing since the moment he saw the material. Hundreds of tiny channels had already been carved into their surface. The Damascus thread threaded itself through them one by one. The resulting structure resembled a metallic halo. Two deadly metallic halos. Slowly, they began to rotate.
Elias examined it critically.
"Needs reinforcement."
"It already looks dangerous."
"It isn't."
Tamamo stared.
"Elias."
"What?"
"It is literally spinning."
The ring abruptly accelerated. A blur of silver and a nearby chair lost one of its legs, collapsing. Elias nodded.
"Almost but not dangerous enough."
"..."
Tamamo decided she wasn't winning that argument. The weapon slowed again. Elias returned his attention to the rest of his preparations. A set of dark armor rested nearby. Semi-finished, uneven, incomplete.
The breastplate had been constructed using layered Flowsteel and reinforced beast hide.
Thin channels ran across its surface like veins.
The shoulders remained unfinished.
Elias was still an amateur when it came to the ways of artificing. he only knew the basics which were the various arrays and how to link them to use the essence of the materials. But he was also blessed with a vast amount of flow and using his newfound understanding of predation he could prune the essence found in the materials and use his flow to forcefully guide it along a desired path. Not to say it was easy and he didn't face any struggles but he was managing. The tools he had made was basically like him him editing the a code, that is the essence withn the materials as well as the circuit, which was the armor to fit his purposes. He sighed as his mind drifted to...
Deus.
His fingers paused. The memory irritated him. The god's cheerful smile, the casual way he had used Maria like a puppet, the way he had spoken about futures.
Possibilities.
Pieces.
Pawns.
Elias hated games.
Mostly because he kept discovering he was already participating in them. Which brought him back to his current situation.
"Why are you preparing to do what that guy says anyway? I thought You wanted nothing to do with this."
"I need to disappear."
Tamamo perked up.
"Oh?"
"Yes, and the key to get off that bastards radar is by infiltrating the Forbidden Vault."
"Huh? What about my tail?!" Tamamo whined.
"I am."
"Oh yeah, both of them are in the vault. Silly me."
Elias rolled his eyes and continued arranging the materials.
"By all means, the other deities are aware that the fragment is either at the palace or in the vault. If I move toward the Forbidden Vault."
"The children will assume you're chasing the fragment."
"Exactly."
Tamamo slowly grinned.
"Oh."
"The real objective remains your tail."
The grin widened.
"Oh."
"The Vault is bait. The gods watch the bait and move accordingly thus revealing their hands."
Tamamo sighed dramatically.
"Using my tail as a secondary as a decoy. How cold. How calculating. I thought you cared."
She then placed both hands against her cheeks.
"But then again, that was almost romantic."
"What are you on about?"
"You are literally infiltrating one impossible location to distract multiple gods so you can help me."
"It's the logical choice. I want nothing to do with whatever those imortal bastards are plotting."
The fox sighed dramatically.
"You always ruin these moments."
Elias returned to work.
Elias reached for the Ibex horn again. He had already carved the core of the weapon—a circular frame that would be carved into an armband. Using the essence of the Ibex he could utilize its density altering property for the redirection of force. The concept was simple, in theory. The execution was anything but. Elias paused for a moment, thinking abput where to begin with it.
"You know," Tamamo said.
"Hm?"
"There is another option."
Elias immediately disliked her tone.
"What option?"
"Intead of creating a whole new persona, you become a Yako."
Silence.
"A what?"
Tamamo straightened proudly.
"A Yako."
That explained absolutely nothing. Seeing his expression, she sighed.
"Children these days."
She sat up.
The fox pointed accusingly.
"When a Pact is formed..."
"I know how Pacts work."
"You know the boring parts."
Elias immediately regretted speaking. Tamamo ignored him.
"In a Pact, the servant can borrow a portion of the master's essence—energy, abilities, even form. But it goes both ways. The master can also borrow from the servant."
Elias paused. The fox smiled a dangerous smile.
"You're saying I can use your power? But I can do that already."
"I'm saying you can wear my face."
"So, a Yako?"
"A Yako—a fox spirit that took on the form and personality of its master. Back in my prime, I had commanded countless Yako, each one a fragment of my power given shape. They had wreaked havoc across the ages, sowing discord and confusion wherever they went.Back in my glory days..."
"Oh no." Elias palmed his face.
"Just get to the point."
She looked offended.
"I was getting to the good part."
"The point."
Tamamo pouted then continued.
"As a Yako, you will take on characteristics similar to my own. My elegance. My beauty. My magnificence."
"..."
"You gain access to certain aspects of my abilities and I can also use my smoke to compensate for your diminished stature."
Elias stared.
"What."
She smiled innocently.
"Your diminished stature."
"Are you calling me short?"
"I would never."
"You just did."
Tamamo looked away.
"Anyway, there are problems."
'Of course there were.' Elias rolled his eyes.
She held up one finger.
"First—the difference in level. You have infinite Flow, but your output is limited. Your body can only use so much at a time. When you take on my form, you will be drawing on power you are not accustomed to wielding. You will tire faster so you will need to be careful."
She held up a second finger.
"Second—the deities will be suspicious. A Yako hasn't appeared in two eras. If one suddenly shows up, they will notice. They will investigate and while that is in line with your plan to make them show their hand but their disdain for me far exceeds their interest in whatever moves you may make and so they will take a more...belligerent approach."
Elias thought about it. Then he nodded.
"We'll still do it."
Tamamo blinked.
"Excuse me?"
" I don't think they'll be rash in thier actions. I think,to an extent, they will be weary of you. We use that weariness to move in for the tail."
Tamamo was quiet for a long moment. Then she laughed.
"You really aren't afraid of dying."
"I've died before. Its an overrated experience."
Just then the door opened and Jamie walked in with a half eaten apple in one hand.
Elias's hand moved. The artifacts vanished into his storage bracelet. The steel threads, the tools, the breastplate—all of it gone. Only the Ibex horn remained on the floor.
She stopped at the threshold, her eyes scanning the room beforeher gaze landed on him, then the horn, then back at him.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"You were doing something." Jamie said.
"No."
"You're a terrible liar."
She walked in, dropping onto his bed. The springs creaked.
"I saw the steel threads. And the breastplate. And the—" She gestured vaguely. "Isn't that the horn of the Apex beast we fought in the forest? What's the horn for?"
Elias hesitated.
He could lie. He could deflect. He could keep his secrets.
But Jamie was looking at him with that open, honest expression she only wore when they were alone. The mask she wore for everyone else—the tomboy bravado the carelessness, the charm—it was gone. This was just Jamie.
"I'm planning something," he said.
"What kind of something?"
"The kind that requires preparation."
The previous they didn't talk much. by the time she came to his room he had already started forging the artifacts and planning with Tamamo in his Domain. This morning too, his father had left to go attend to some business and Gyan had given her chores to do, now she was free they could interact.
He didn't want to keep secrets from her, but ath the same time he was weary that she would inadvertantly be an interloper for her patron.
''So..." she began.
"I ran into those six again," Jamie said, not looking at him. She was examining a piece of the Ibex horn, turning it over in her hands.
"The ones from the market."
"And you just... ran into them."
"Coincidence."
Elias stared at her. Jamie stared back.
"Coincidence," she repeated.
"You're a terrible liar."
"I'm a great liar."
"You're really not."
Jamie shrugged, taking another bite of her apple. "They were just... around. It's a big city. People run into each other."
"Jamie."
She met his gaze. There was something there—defensiveness, stubbornness, but also a flicker of something else. Something she was trying to hide.
"I'm fine."
"You keep saying that."
"Because it's true."
"You keep finding yourself in situations where it isn't."
Jamie opened her mouth to argue. Then she paused. Her expression softened, just slightly.
"I just... wanted to see what they were doing."
"Why?"
She looked away.
"I don't know. They seemed important. They knew things. They were looking for something." She shrugged. "I was curious."
Elias studied her.
"You're hiding something."
"So are you.
"I'm not denying it."
Jamie grinned—a flash of her usual energy. Elias shook his head.
"You're impossible."
"I'm awesome."
He sighed.
"So where did you get this stuff."
"What stuff?"
"I saw the stuff Ellie, youre not slick."
Elias sighed.
"A warehouse."
"A warehouse?"
"Yes."
"Just... a warehouse?"
"A very large warehouse."
Jamie's eyebrow rose. "You found a very large warehouse and they just let you take this?"
"I bought it from Quin."
"Who's that?"
"The person she said she was going to meet."
Jamie pondered for a moment.
"Oooooh."
''His name is Quinlan but I call him Quin."
"Is he Ok with that?"
"Nah he hates that. That's why I do it."
Jamie nearly choked.
"You are terrible."
"In my defense he wouldn't shut up so I had to get him back somehow."
He narrated the chain of events particularly amused by the part where Quinlan discovered Elias wasn't poor. Meanwhile he carefully avoided mentioning meeting Deus.
Eventually Jamie turned her attention to the horn that he had partially carved.
"Ooo."
"No."
"Ooo."
"No."
She picked it up anyway. Elias sighed while Jamie examined it. She turned it over, studying the channels. Then grinned.
"You making something this cool and you didn't invite me?"
Elias looked away.
"Can I help?"
"No."
Jamie smiled.
The one Elias knew meant resistance was pointless.
"Too late."
She reached for his beaded bracelet.
"Jamie."
"Hm?"
"You don't know what I'm making."
"I'll figure it out."
"That's not how artificing works."
"It is today."
Elias stared. Jamie smiled.
For a moment he considered arguing but decided against it. She had already tapped the bracelet with her own Copper Ring causing the contents to reappear and was already helping herself to the materials.
Elias sighed. Once Jamie Thorne decided she was doing something she was doing it.
Whether he wanted it or not.
The day stretched onward as the two sat together on the floor, surrounded by tools that slowly took the shape of change.