"You basically did the thing you keep telling me not to do!" Sev complained. Misa groaned, already annoyed by Sev's nagging—mostly because he was right, dammit, and she knew that. She knew that, but she hadn't been able to stop herself, and even now she wasn't sure that she would have.

"I didn't know what it was," she tried to explain. "It just hurt a bit! That could mean anything! Things hurt while we're adventuring all the time!"

"But you're dual classing with a class that gives you a supernatural intuition," Sev insisted. "You have to listen to your gut! What if whatever you did is irreversible?"

"It's not!" Misa said. "I feel better now, I swear. Not even a lick of pain."

Sev stared at her skeptically. "It's not about the pain, Misa," he said eventually, and then he sighed, coming closer to her so he could give her a hug. She appreciated it, too. He didn't really like getting dirty, and Misa was covered in a lot of dirt. His willingness to hug her anyway spoke volumes.

"It's already done," Misa said with a sigh. "But you're right. I don't know. I don't really know if there was anything else I could have done. Backed off and tried a different strategy, maybe. Used arrows to shoot down the roots. But that thing..."

"It was a soul amalgamation," Sev said. "Those aren't easy to fight at the best of times. You saw the way it messed with the system—those things mess with your mind, too. I get it. You wanted to make sure it couldn't hurt me."

"Yeah," Misa said, relieved. "I couldn't actually see where you were while I was up there. I guess the better option would've been to stay down here and let te [Me, Myself and I] clones handle it, but..."

"The damage those clones take still transfers to you, right?" Sev asked. "It's not a risk-free way of attacking someone."

"The only real difference is that I don't feel the pain when they get hit," Misa said with a shrug. "It still damages my health the same amount. I have to be careful with it, same way I am with blocking. That's less of a problem these days when Vex keeps lending me his mana reserves, but..."

"But we're stuck in a dungeon without them at the moment, so you're going to run out eventually," Sev said with a sigh. "Look, give me some time to figure out what that thing did to you, at least. That thing was interfering with our systems somehow."

"I got that impression, too," Misa said. She frowned, straightening and then glancing warily back toward the Soulblossom. "Something to do with the... weight of the souls, or something? You said it might have been what was affecting the chat function."

"Probably," Sev mused. "We never did a lot of experimentation with souls, for reasons I hope are obvious."

"Very," Misa said.

"But we do have theories," Sev said. "A large mass of souls like this should exert a force that's like gravity, but for souls. Something about souls attract one another. And the system operates on the same metaphysical stuff—I'd say it was made out of souls but that'd be really easy to misunderstand."

Misa shuddered a bit at the thought. "Uh, right. Yeah. Not made out of literal souls, but the same... material?"

"Yep," Sev said. "The fact that it sticks to itself is what lets us attach the system to people. But obviously we run into problems if there's suddenly a giant mass of a hundred souls stitched together."

"Which has never happened before."

"Which has never happened before," Sev echoed. "Uh... I think. I hope."This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Riiiight." Misa didn't quite keep the skepticism out of her voice. It wasn't that she didn't believe Sev, really. It was that

"The point," Sev said, quickly moving on, "is that this is new territory for us. Honestly, this entire section of the dungeon is new territory for us. And we need to make sure the side effects don't carry into the next station."

"I agree," Misa said, slowly taking a step back. "Uh. Sev?"

Sev paused. He looked at Misa's face, and then he sighed a single, long-suffering sigh.

"There's another one of them behind me, isn't there," he said, utterly resigned.

"Yep."

Misa brandished her mace, and Sev turned around, divine energy already glowing around his fingers. Before them, a second Soulblossom slowly emerged from the ground, this one much slower than the first, but with a much more threatening label.

<Level 2,576 Soulblossom>

"No reply from Sev," Vex said, glancing at his system, and then more anxiously at the Void still waiting in front of them. Exvhar was getting antsy, the dragon trotting around in a circle and chasing after his own tail in an attempt to occupy his mind. Novice was sitting nearby going through his books.

Derivan sat beside him, holding his hand. "Is there a change in your status?" the armor asked.

"I don't know." Vex sighed. "I feel better for sure. Just feels a bit like there's an itch I can't reach. Or a scab."

"I am not familiar with either of those sensations," Derivan said, amused. Vex chuckled a little.

"Well... your new hand can feel stuff the old one couldn't, right?" Vex took Derivan's hand into both of his own, admiring the craftsmanship of the newly-forged arm. "Do you mind me touching it?"

"I do not mind." Derivan's voice was suddenly softer as Vex began to trace the filigree embedded into the metal of his palm. "The new arm is... strange. It is not the same. And it is difficult to forget that it is not the same." He flexed his fingers briefly, and Vex watched as they curled inward, one by one. "I have not yet decided if I like it, though I suppose I have little choice."

"I like it," Vex said quietly, though there was a bit of uncertainty in his voice. "Is that okay to say?"

"I am happy that you do," Derivan said. He smiled, pulling Vex a little closer and resting the base of his helmet against the lizardkin's forehead; Vex leaned into his touch, allowing himself to relax. "I find it strange still. But I am certain I could grow to love it as you do."

Vex laughed, a little embarrassed. "I mean... Not just because I like it, I hope."

"I suppose I could search for other reasons, if I were pressed," Derivan said, his tone teasing; Vex buried his face into Derivan's chest in response, and Derivan hummed, wrapping his arms around Vex. "It is more sensitive. I can feel with this arm, and it brings me closer to understanding you and many others—closer than I have ever been. I am glad for those things. The sensitivity is... a problem, occasionally. But it is nothing I cannot deal with."

"I'm glad." Vex resumed tracing the patterns on Derivan's new arm, and he watched as the whole thing shook slightly beneath his fingers; he paused, waited a moment, and then continued once Derivan gave him an assenting nod. He lost himself in this for a moment, and came back to himself only when Derivan gave him a gentle nudge.

"You were telling me about how your connection with the Grand Anchor feels like an itch you cannot scratch," Derivan prompted.

"Oh." Vex blinked, trying to remember. "Um... yes. A little bit like how your arm feels, maybe. Sort of... sensitive. Raw."

"I see." Derivan hummed in thought. "And you are concerned it will worsen if you strain that connection."

"Pretty much." Vex shifted a little. "It's healing, though. I can tell it's healing. I just don't know how long it's going to take to heal, and I mean... what if it isn't enough? Just bringing Exvhar back strained the connection. I've got a whole kingdom I need to bring back now. Even if I let it heal..."

"I would like you to be safe," Derivan said. The words were said with the same sincerity he always spoke with, but Vex was suddenly aware of the way he was being held: of the slight shake in Derivan's arms as he held him. "Though I recognize we live in times where such safety can never be guaranteed. All I ask is that we try."

Vex nodded slowly. He glanced over at Exvhar, whose trotting had become even more anxious, and then glanced down at his own hands—felt the mana surging through his channels. Deeper within him, he felt the Grand Anchor, like an ocean of magic hiding within his soul.

The connection was still damaged, but just barely. Vex was almost—almost—certain that it was as healed as it could be. If not for the nagging doubt in the back of his mind, he would have tried it already, but...

"Five more minutes," he said, leaning into Derivan's shoulder. "Let's give this five more minutes. If Sev doesn't reply by then, we'll give this a shot."