"Oh wait, it would be better to speak face to face," the voice said. Then right in front of Ash, a grey cat appeared.
"Holy shit, you're a cat," Ash said out loud.
"Yes, and you can call me Sero," it said. "The previous wielder gave me that name. In case you were about to ask."
"I wasn't yet."
"You were getting there."
Ash looked at it for a moment. "You know, I always assumed these inner world types were supposed to be, I don't know. More professional, wise, less rude."
"Welcome to the real world, boy," Sero said. "Also I nearly depleted my entire energy getting here, so forgive me if I'm lacking in etiquette."
"What do you mean depleted your energy?"
Sero sighed. "Those two out there were right. Mostly. But not everything. Starting with calling me a fragment, that's rude, you know. I am the Primordial Orb. A quarter of it technically, but still."
"So each fragment is..."
"Different," Sero said. "We're not the same. Don't treat us like we are."
Ash looked at the cat. "Why can't I actually see you properly? You're kind of transparent."
"Because I'm running on almost zero energy right now. I exerted most of what I had just getting to you." Sero tilted his head. "This is already more than I should be able to manage."
"How did you even get to me?" Ash asked.
"Your Core has a particular resonance, suitable, compatible. In a way we were waiting for someone like you. Someone who could wield us again." Sero paused. "They took me out of the chamber for the ceremony. But then I felt the presence of the dark one's underling closing in. The pilot attempted to jump through a space vortex to escape, so I exerted what energy I had left to divert the ship toward where your Core signal was coming from."
Ash stared at it. "You guided a ship through a vortex jump."
"With the dregs of my energy, yes."
"That's insane. But why didn't you find me when I was a child? I was right there the whole time."
"Because ordinarily I'd be sealed in a resting chamber and can't reach anything or anyone. Can't sense outside it, can't move. The previous wielder built them so we'd be dormant between ceremonies. Supposedly so we wouldn't feel alone."
"That's kind of—"
"Twisted," Sero said flatly. "Yes. Centuries of forced unconsciousness as an act of kindness. Deeply twisted. Anyway."
"Anyway?"
"The moment they took me out was the first time I'd been awake in thirty years. So I could sense your Core then."
"Can the other fragments do the same? Find me like you did?"
"No," Sero said. "I got lucky. It was pure coincidence the pilot was about to use a vortex, I used that window. Poor man, couldn't escape the dark one's underling though."
"And who was it?"
"I didn't get a good look. I was still inside the carrier when it happened."
"Right. Sorry."
"Moving on. They were tracking me somehow. And when I merged with you it would've sent a signal to all the families as well. I don't know if the dark one's underlings picked it up too. If they did, they'll move fast."
Ash exhaled. "That was a lot."
"Yes."
"So we need to find the others."
"The other me's," Sero corrected. "And yes. The cycle is arriving."
"What cycle—"
"Not yet," Sero said.
"You can't just say—"
"How do you plan to control the pulse," Sero said, completely ignoring him.
Ash stopped. "That's literally what I was about to ask."
"I know. Stop bleeding outward and pull inward. Be calm and inhale."
It was the simplest thing anyone had said to him all week. Ash pulled inward. The constant pressure bleeding out of him since the merge drew back. His chest settled and the relief it left behind was remarkable.
"That's it?"
"That's the start," Sero said. "You'll leak again when you're scared or angry. The goal is to make contained your default."
"Okay." Ash looked at the cat. "So what can I actually do now?"
Sero's eyes caught the light.
"Behold," Sero said, with complete and total sincerity.
Something appeared in the white in front of him.
*Fragment I — Sero [Defence Aspect]*
> *Cloaking Thread (Level 1):* Push pulse through objects or surroundings to bend how others perceive them.
> *Mend Thread (Level 1):* Channel the core to repair minor damage in armour or small wounds on yourself or one other people
> *Suppression Bind (Level 1):* Temporarily weaken or cut off an enemy's ability in a small area.
> *Barrier Dome (Level 1):* Form a stable shield in a limited area that absorbs or deflects incoming attacks.
> *[Locked]*
> *[Locked]*
Ash stared at it for a moment.
"It's all defence."
"Yes," Sero said.
"Nothing offensive."
"Correct."
"Not even one"
"I heard you," Sero said. "My aspect is defence. The others carry different aspects. You'll have access when you find them." He looked at Ash. "Also, for the record, defence is what kept the previous wielder alive long enough to end the dark one. So."
"I'm not complaining, I just—"
"You wanted something to hit people with."
"...Yeah."
"You'll have that eventually. And with training, defence alone will make you someone people don't want to be standing across from." Sero paused. "Don't underestimate it. It can be a weapon too if you're creative enough."
Ash nodded slowly. "Actually, thank you. For getting here."
Sero looked at him.
"Don't," Sero said.
"I'm serious."
"I know, it's embarrassing, stop." A pause. "...You're welcome."
He looked away. Then back.
"Do you know what my existence has been," Sero said. "Centuries in that chamber. Then out every thirty years to sit in front of a parade of nobles trying increasingly ridiculous methods to force a merge." Something that might have been amusement crossed his face. "One of the idiots even tried to grab the fragment with his bare hands. Knocked himself completely flat." Sero laughed.
Then he stood up and stretched the way cats stretch. "We need to find my siblings," he said. "All three, and soon." A pause. "But right now you need rest. Go."
"You're kicking me out of my own inner world."
"Correct. It looks like an empty warehouse anyway. Put something in here. It's depressing."
The white folded.
Rhea noticed first.
Just like on the ship, Ash was completely still, eyes white, like he was in a trance. She watched the faint silver-green threads moving slow beneath the skin of his hands and said nothing for a moment.
"He did this on the ship too, after touching the orb," she said quietly.
Han Wei nodded.
Zhao stood with his arms folded. "He's not in distress."
Rhea looked at him. "You can feel that from here?"
"Yes."
She looked back at Ash. The threads caught the dim light and settled again. "He better be fine," she said.
Ash opened his eyes.
He sat up and looked at his hands. Faint silver-green threads ran just beneath the skin, catching the light. He felt like he could call the powers forward at will now. And deeper than that, a presence, resting.
Ash laughed.
"What happened?" Rhea asked.
He looked up at all three of them.
"Everything," he said.