Chapter 16: Legends
Rin's fingers brushed against a frost-bitten, leathery scroll tucked behind a row of crumbling genealogies. He pulled it free, the ancient parchment groaning as he unrolled it.
As he read the spidery, faded script, his heart sank lower with every line.
"At the furthest reach of the Eastern Horizon, where the sea meets the sky, lies the Floating Isle of Aetheria. A sanctuary of primordial mana, it houses the Divine Soul Stone within its crystal spire. Yet, the heavens guard their own; the island drifts among the clouds, unreachable by mortal feet for most of the year.
Only during the Deep Winter Solstice does the island's mana exhaust, causing it to descend into the icy waves of the Great Eastern Ocean. But beware: this is the season of the Celestial Dragons (SSS-Rank, Level 5). They return to the island's crags to slumber, their frozen breath creating a fortress of death for any who dare trespass."
Rin stared at the map depicted on the scroll. It was currently mid-spring. Even if he could survive a confrontation with a flight of Level 5 Celestial Dragons—which, in his current "twink" body, was about as likely as Finn winning a Nobel Prize in Poetry, he couldn't wait eight months for the island to drop. His mana poisoning would have turned him into a literal puddle of blue goo by then.
"Great," Rin whispered, letting the scroll snap shut with a dusty thud. "The only 'clean' way out is guarded by a bunch of oversized lizards and a calendar."
He leaned his head against the cold stone of the library shelf. He had four days before Alice Silver dragged him into her "experiment," and his only other option for stabilization was the one he'd been trying to avoid: Divine Resonance with Milim. Rin pushed off the shelf and began the long walk back to the guest wing. He had to face facts. He was a strategist, and a strategist didn't bet on a miracle eight months away when the roof was currently caving in.
He found Milim back in their room, staring longingly at a single remaining cream puff she had managed to save from the kitchen disaster. She looked up as he entered, her four tails drooping as she saw the look on his face.
"The island is a no-go, isn't it?" she asked softly.
"It's a floating fortress guarded by SSS-rank dragons that only lands in December," Rin grumbled, sitting down on the edge of the bed and burying his face in his hands. "I'm not making it to winter, Milim. Not like this."
Milim went quiet. She set the cream puff down and crawled over to him, her green eyes reflecting a mix of fear and a strange, determined heat. "Then... we have four days before that red-haired scientist gets her hands on you. If we're going to do the Resonance, we should probably start preparing the ritual space tonight."
Rin looked at her, then at his own trembling, pale hands. The silver hair was already starting to look a little translucent at the tips.
"Fine," Rin muttered, his voice muffled by his palms. "But if you ever tell Finn about this, I will find a way to reincarnate you into a toaster."
"Deal," Milim whispered, her face turning a bright, radiant scarlet.
The sun is setting over the White Stone Castle. In four days, Alice expects her 'test subject.' But tonight, the 'Master' and his 'Goddess' have to figure out how to stabilize a soul without losing their minds in the process. The ritual had begun in a haze of incense and shimmering mana. The air in the guest suite was thick, vibrating with the frequency of Milim's divine aura as she pressed against Rin, their souls attempting to stitch together through the physical resonance. Every movement, every rhythmic surge of energy, was driving them both toward a breaking point—a primal, magical high that blurred the lines between Master and Spirit.
Then, the heavy oak doors didn't just open; they were practically dented inward.
"RIN! WE HAVE A PROBLEM!" Finn roared, stumbling into the room with his armor half-unbuckled. "I'm turning clear! My hands—I can see the floor through my—!"
He stopped dead. His blue eyes bugged out as he took in the sight of the "Consultant" and the Goddess mid-ritual. "Oh... uh... sorry to interrupt. Truly. But Alice said you need to take this immediately."
Finn lunged forward, awkwardly avoiding eye contact as he shoved a small, pulsing violet pill into Rin's hand.
"What is this?" Rin gasped, trying to pull a silk sheet over himself while his heart hammered against his ribs.
"It slows down the 'Evaporation' process," Finn explained, his own form flickering like a dying candle. "Alice said the 'Orb' Milim keeps would help stabilize the transition... whatever that means. She looked really excited when she said it. It was creepy."
Milim, her face a nuclear shade of crimson, scrambled off the bed. "The Orb! The Aetheric Regulator! I kept it in the washroom to keep it cool!" She bolted into the bathroom, her tails fluffing up in panic. "I found it! I've got it!" she shouted from behind the marble door.
CRACK-BOOM.
A sound like a localized thunderclap ripped through the bedroom. The air pressure plummeted, and a flash of blinding white light seared the retinas of anyone watching.
"Rin? Are you okay?" Milim called out, her voice trembling as she clutched the glowing glass sphere. "Rin? Finn? Hello?"
Silence followed. No sarcastic retort from Rin. No panicked babbling from Finn.
Milim stepped back into the bedroom, and the orb nearly slipped from her fingers. The bed was empty. The "Saint" was gone. In their place, sitting right in the center of the rumpled silk sheets, was a single, large, undulating mass of jelly.
It was a strange, marbled color, swirls of deep, metallic Iron Gray clashing against a translucent Sky Blue. It vibrated with a low, wet thrum-thrum sound, blubbering aimlessly as it slid toward the edge of the mattress.
"Rin?" Milim whispered, poking the mass with a finger. "Finn?"
The blob didn't respond with words. It just let out a soft, squelching bubble and wobbled. The "Ego" and the "Essence" hadn't merged back into a human; the stabilization pill and the ritual resonance had triggered a total physical collapse.
The Saint and the Slime were gone. There was only The Primal Blub. As the marbled slime starts to slide off the bed and toward the door, Milim realizes the two souls were going to fighting for dominance inside the jelly. If she doesn't use the Orb correctly, they might fuse into a mindless monster forever.