ToC - Chapter 8 - Introspection

"What do I have to gain?" Ina repeated the question. IRyS simply stared back at her, eyes narrow, waiting for her to answer properly. Ina thought about what IRyS was talking about and what the correct answer was.

But there is no right answer to that question.

"I don't have anything to gain," she answered. IRyS' eyes narrowed further.

"Why would you do something if there was nothing for you to gain?" she asked, almost repeating her previous question.

"I was scared the first time," Ina began. IRyS' eyes returned to normal as she listened, "I just wanted you to go away and that seemed like a good way to keep you gone for a while."

"So you were gaining something," IRyS interrupted. Ina shrugged at her remark.

"I guess I gained time by doing that, but that wasn't for only my gain. It was for all my friends, for everyone…" she trailed off, becoming slightly worried that IRyS could become angry or unstable if she mentioned her first attack.

"That is true, but then why continue unlocking them after your goal was already met. Clearly, it did not gain you any more time unless I was unconscious for longer than I thought I was," IRyS said.

"The second time was…" Ina paused for a couple seconds, trying to come up with any rational reason as to why she helped IRyS before, "...because I wanted to." IRyS looked frustrated at that answer.

"But why would you want to if there was nothing to gain?" Ina's mouth twitched upwards slightly, making IRyS take a step towards her. This placed the two of them only a couple inches apart. "Are you mocking me? You think this is funny?" IRyS didn't sound enraged, but her frustration was clearly building.

"No no, I'm not, I promise," Ina leaned away, uncomfortable with how close they were now, "I saw you hurting and it reminded me of myself." IRyS took a small step backwards, shifting her weight onto that leg.

"How so?" Ina looked around her, avoiding meeting IRyS' gaze for several seconds.

"I had a blocker on my memories once, too. It was put there to manipulate me and only removed once it was no longer needed," Ina said with a quiet voice. IRyS listened to her intently. "I saw that your memory blocker was similar to mine and you were fighting like a cold, unfeeling robot. It wouldn't have been right to let you suffer like I did when I could've done something about it."

IRyS took a full step back and stopped staring at Ina for the first time during their conversation. Ina could see her mind working to process what she had just said to her. After a long silence, IRyS sighed and looked back up at Ina.

"Do you think I'm going to hurt you?" IRyS was full of questions right now. Ina glanced at IRyS' right hand which had been pressing a magic blade against her throat not too long ago.

"I'm not sure if you will or not…" she answered.

"If I wanted to hurt you or any of your friends, you would not even know it was coming," IRyS told her in a vaguely threatening manner. Ina swallowed hard and glanced at IRyS' hand again. IRyS sighed, "That means I'm not trying to hurt you. Honestly, I'm sorry for grabbing you like that, but I didn't know if you would have complied any other way," she said, scratching the back of her head.

"You're lucky that you grabbed me. Anyone else would have attacked you as soon as you let them go."

"Why do your friends hate me so much?" Ina's eyes widened before she realized that IRyS was simply ignorant on that matter.

"You remember how you attacked us right after you awakened?" IRyS nodded.

"If that is their problem then I would like to apologize-"

"You've done far worse things that you haven't remembered yet," Ina interrupted her. IRyS closed her mouth for a moment before opening it again.

"What did I do?" Ina sighed and shook her head.

"I have no right to explain that to you," she said with pity.

"So why don't you hate me? Is it because of how my memory block was similar?" Ina thought for a moment before replying.

"None of your actions impacted me directly, so it is just easier for me to brush them aside."

"Could you convince your friends not to attack me? I don't really enjoy being hunted…" IRyS said with her voice becoming the quietest that Ina had ever heard.

"I don't think Kiara will ever forgive you, until one or both of you are dead," Ina answered honestly. IRyS looked away from Ina again, taking what she had just said into deep consideration. "But don't think that any of us will let you kill her just to settle things. Everyone, myself included, will hunt you to the ends of the Earth if you-"

"So I just have to make you all forget about me," IRyS said, not phrasing her thought like speculation, but a fact.

"W-Well…" Ina stuttered, not really sure how she should respond to such a statement. It was technically correct, but it still didn't sit right with her.

"At least, that's what I would've done if you didn't put all these memories in my head and converse with me normally," IRyS allowed Ina to exit her moral turmoil and return back to the conversation at hand.

"I don't think the easy way would work out very well anyways," Ina tried to say something in response.

"It could, but right now I want to know more about these memories."

"Alright, but I don't think I'll be of much help."

"Do you know who Hakos Baelz is?"

Ina froze at the mention of the Concept of Chaos. It was such a casual mention of a Council member that it kind of scared her.

"H-How do you know her?" Ina asked in response.

"So you do know her," IRyS said in a slightly accusatory fashion. Ina didn't respond. "I've been seeing her in my memories. She was always pacing around me when I was unconscious and mumbling weird things."

"Hakos Baelz is the leader of the Council. She's one of the most powerful beings in existence," Ina said, surprising IRyS. She took a couple steps backwards, but she quickly moved back towards Ina. She couldn't let her veil expand too large or she would risk being detected. The distant sound of helicopter blades told her that she shouldn't stay here much longer anyways.

"She said that 'she can't let me do this' just before I awakened," she explained quickly, "And she always looked so unhappy with me, like I'm both horrifying and pathetic to her." Ina also heard the helicopters approaching.

"I'll look into her," she also said quickly, "Just give me some time and come talk to me later when you're not being actively searched for." IRyS nodded after a couple quiet seconds. She let her veil retract back to only covering herself.

She snuck away with ease, feeling slightly better after talking with Ina then she had before. But something was seriously bugging her.

"What is your name?" Ina heard whispered from just behind her. She jumped several inches upwards and away from the voice, nearly screaming, as well.

"I-I'm Ninomae Ina'nis, and you're IRyS…" she asked, leading IRyS to give her the other half of her name.

"How did you know my name?" she asked, still not revealing herself from underneath her veil.

"You said it just before I teleported you last time," Ina explained. It was weird not being able to see the person she was talking to. Was this slight pause because IRyS was thinking? Was she angry or happy that Ina had known her name? Or had IRyS just left once she had heard that last answer?

"What are everyone else's names?" IRyS' whisper told Ina that she was at least still there.

"Why do you want to know that?" Ina knew that the Foundation backup promised was nearly here and that IRyS really should be leaving now.

"Maybe I'll remember what I did to Kiara if I know who she is," IRyS replied.

"Don't wish for it…" she said under her breath, "Takanashi Kiara is the Phoenix and the Reaper, Mori Calliope, is her closest friend. Gawr Gura is the Atlantean and one of my good friends. Lastly-" Ina closed her mouth abruptly, cutting herself off.

"I've only ever seen four of you. Are there others that I am unaware of?" IRyS asked innocently. Ina nervously chewed on her lip a little before answering.

"No, it's just us four…" she said, wishing for IRyS to not press further.

"Ok, thanks." The loud droning of helicopter blades and radio chatter were all that Ina heard, as IRyS fled once again.

The mood in the board room was even more tense than it had been before.

Kiara wore an expression of constant anger, having let IRyS escape once again. Moreover, she also had been unable to leave so much as a scratch on IRyS for a second time. Her continued inability to fight at even a remotely similar level to IRyS left her feeling powerless. If this kept up, Kiara would be chasing nothing but IRyS' shadow as long as she lived.

Gura felt a similar way, but her expression was the complete opposite. Instead of expressing overwhelming hatred towards the person who had defeated her again, Gura stared blankly at the far wall, her mouth hanging slightly open. Not only had she been beaten again, but she wasn't even able to perceive IRyS' attack before it hit her.

She was more than powerless…

She was useless…

A liability on the battlefield that would only get in the way of her friends…

Someone who was better off gone…

Forgotten…

Calliope, as was the usual when in her immortal body, could only view the battle from a logical point of view. Of course, she did understand the emotional impact that the fight had on all of her friends, but she lacked the ability to empathize with them.

She felt herself being pulled towards her mortal body which was finished regenerating by now. However, that pull was not only caused by her wish to understand the emotions of the people closest to her…

Ina continued to hesitate in her seat. As her report from earlier had been interrupted, she should be the first one to speak now. She needed to finish her previous report and would probably have to tell her part of the most recent fight right after.

The conversation she had with IRyS was still fresh in her mind. She mulled over the words they had said to each other, trying to find a hidden motivation beneath IRyS' cryptic questions and answers. AO-chan spoke amongst themselves, also attempting to discern a possible motivation beyond the obvious. But neither of them could find anything within reason.

IRyS seemed to simply be curious about her origin and memories. Ina felt compelled to help her, as IRyS' curiosity reminded her of herself. In fact, many aspects of IRyS reminded Ina of herself. There was something strange going on with that girl.

But right now, she has a report to finish. Those deeper questions and mysteries would need to wait until after because she couldn't risk exposing that information to anyone else at the moment. Kiara was on a warpath and simply wouldn't listen to her reasoning, although Ina did understand and sympathize with Kiara's personal reasoning for seeking revenge.

"I'll go first," Calliope suddenly stood from her chair and marched her way up to the front of the room. Ina turned to the Reaper as she walked by and began to offer to go first instead. After all, she should be the one to go first.

Calliope gave her a slight head shake in response. Ina closed her mouth and leaned back in her seat. Even if Calliope was an emotionless Reaper in her current form, that didn't mean that she was incapable of understanding how others felt. She saw Ina struggling with something and was going to give her more time to figure whatever it was out.

"So we're going to throw chronological ordering out the window…" Akiro mumbled to himself. He flipped to a new page in his notepad and tapped his pen against it. Emersyn nodded to Calliope, indicating she could start.

Calliope began by recounting her and Kiara's portion of the fight against Caesura within the cavern. Kiara got a few concerned glances when the part about her almost collapsing the cave was explained. She brushed off the looks, not caring what others thought of her actions. She believed them to be correct in the moment and no consequences had happened because of them.

"The main thing I learned from this encounter is that, in our current state, none of us stand a chance at defeating Caesura," Calliope stated after finishing her objective explanation and beginning her subjective analysis. Kiara gritted her teeth and Gura hung her head lower upon hearing this.

"You said, 'in our current state.' Does that mean you have an idea for being able to defeat her in the future?" Akiro asked. Calliope nodded, shifting her stance slightly before continuing to speak.

"My immortal body is made entirely out of magic, not flesh and blood like a mortal one," she said, morphing one of her arms into various shapes as a demonstration, "As I described before, Caesura obliterated me with a simple wave of her hand. However, she did not do this to me during the first fight or to anyone else at any other point. This difference in bodily composition is what I believe to be the cause."

"You believe Caesura is capable of interacting with magic other than her own," Akiro surmised from what Calliope had been saying thus far. Calliope nodded, indicating that his assumption was correct.

"Yes, and that is why we currently stand no chance against her. I, in particular, am very weak against her abilities due to this body being made entirely out of magic. Using my mortal body would solve this issue, but it creates many others in its place. Some of these are specific to me, like my fighting style being suited to the adaptability and quick regeneration granted by this form, while others are intrinsic to having a magical affinity or even being alive at all."

"Caesura has demonstrated multiple times in extreme fashion that she is capable of altering people's memories. Do you believe that her memory manipulation and magic manipulation are related?" Akiro, again, correctly assumed where Calliope was going and specified what questions he wanted to be answered.

"I quickly found out that I, as a Reaper, am completely unable to feel emotions due to my anatomy. My immortal, magical body does not need air to breathe, water to drink, or food to eat. It also does not produce the chemicals that are needed to feel deep emotions.

An immortal soul is incapable of inhabiting a mortal body, so I thought my goal was simply impossible. This is where I imagine all other Reapers before me had given up, but I knew someone that had overcome this impossibility.

Hakos Baelz, a fellow immortal being and friend I had made a long time ago. She was capable of feeling emotions while still having an immortal soul."

Ina was taken aback by the mention of Chaos once again. It was even more odd because this was a completely different context than when IRyS had mentioned her. Someone of Baelz's status being casually mentioned by two different people, in two different contexts, and within the same day struck Ina as very odd.

"I thought you said that no Reaper had been successful in gaining emotions before," Akiro said in this moment of silence. Calliope thought for a moment longer, taking some time to think of how to structure her next few sentences.

"Bae is not a Reaper and what she is won't be important until later, so I'll just leave her as an immortal being who I am good friends with." Akiro nodded, understanding Calliope wanting to keep things simple. The Reaper continued her explanation, "The difference between mortal and immortal souls lies in how they travel through time. A mortal soul exists directly within time and can cause time to split with its decisions and choices, whereas an immortal soul exists a layer above time and can not cause it to split. This is very important for the jobs of immortal beings, as we usually fill some kind of universal purpose and need our actions to be absolute across time.

Bae, like I said before, is immortal just like me, but can experience mortal emotions. She achieved this by having a soul that either split time or not. In her case, she achieved this through mastery of her magic and with the help of someone close to her, Ouro Kronii. However, Kronii would not help me due to her thoughts on the matter changing over time and the difference between my position as a Reaper and Bae's position.

Thankfully, though, Kronii did point me in the right direction and told me about the possibility of transfiguring my soul. I spent a long, long time figuring out how to accomplish this with tools I could reasonably gain access to. That meant I had to learn how souls generally functioned in order to most easily allow mine to split time."

Calliope took a long pause, allowing Akiro to finish scrawling notes onto his notepad. This was a lot of information after all and someone could only write so fast. Once he was done, he nodded for her to continue speaking. Despite his many questions, never once did Akiro attempt to interrupt someone while the were speaking or assume that they were saying unimportant things. He trusted the people he worked with.

"All of that is to say that I am very well versed in the realm of souls," Calliope began, "I know that one's magic is inherently linked to their soul. If someone is not born with a magical affinity, then they will never be able to use magic. I also know that one's memories are linked directly to their soul, as well."

"Caesura's magic is capable of directly altering someone's soul?" Akiro asked, almost hesitating slightly while speaking. The Foundation was no stranger to powerful entities with powerful abilities. However, a revelation like this would put Caesura far above what normal people could handle. Usage of spec-ops units was the only way the Foundation could deal with threats this severe.

"During my research into souls, I came across several mentions of an ancient magic that could be used to create, destroy, and manipulate souls to the user's content. Soul Magic, as it was known, dominated above all other forms of magic seen in the mortal realm. Only extremely powerful immortal beings could stand up against it.

Not only does soul magic differ from other forms of magic in its sheer power, it also has two distinct forms based on what kind of affinity the user has.

Light Soul Magic could be used to create and annihilate complete souls, while Dark Soul Magic could be used to manipulate preexisting souls."

"So not all types of magic have two distinct types?" Akiro inquired.

"Most modern forms of magic have a mixture of Light and Dark properties, allowing for both the creation, manipulation, and destruction of whatever the magic has domain over. Fire and Water Magic are two good examples of magics with mostly Light characteristics. They specialize in the creation of their particular element, but their users are also capable of rough manipulation of the element, as well.

On the other hand, Corruption Magic is much older and exhibits mostly Dark characteristics. However, there are still subtle Light characteristics within it, such as the ability to create energy barriers and beams. Teleportation could also be considered destroying and creating matter. Technically, all of that could be viewed as careful application of corruption magic's ability to manipulate the properties of matter, but the principle is still there.

The oldest, least changed magic since its inception here is my own Shadow Magic. I am completely incapable of creating my own shadows and must entirely rely on preexisting ones to manipulate. Thankfully, shadows exist nearly everywhere, so this doesn't really limit me.

Different races of beings are also closely aligned with either Light or Dark. Reapers always have an affinity for Dark, while Phoenixes and Atlanteans usually have an affinity for Light. Occasionally, a Phoenix or Atlantean was born with an affinity for Dark, which would allow them to more easily manipulate fire or water respectively. However, this meant they were not capable of using standard spells within their cultures and they would struggle to fully utilize their potential. Humans rarely exhibit any magical affinity, but when they do it is nearly always Dark."

"What if, theoretically, a Reaper was born with a Light affinity? Would they be capable of using 'Light Shadow Magic'?" Akiro tossed a theory out to be questioned. Calliope shook her head adamantly.

"Soul magic is so ancient that it is has two distinct forms, whereas shadow magic has only one. If a Reaper was created with an affinity for Light, which has never happened in history before, they would be completely unable to use shadow magic because it has no relation to Light at all.

However, if let's say a Phoenix was born with a Dark affinity, then they would struggle to create their own fire. But they would be able to manipulate what little fire they could produce with extreme precision. They would also be able to manipulate preexisting fire much better than Phoenixes with an affinity for Light.

There is no Light Fire Magic or Dark Fire Magic. Fire and most other forms of magic simply contain a blend of the two affinities. Older forms, like shadow, don't have a fold for the other, at least not directly. Technically, you could consider Life Magic or pure Light Magic to be shadow magic's opposite. But a Reaper with an affinity for Light wouldn't be able to use either of those, as they are a completely different kind of magic not related to shadow magic in the slightest.

Soul magic is one of only two forms of magic that differs from this philosophy. Depending on the user's affinity, they would either be able to create and destroy souls with light soul magic or manipulate them with dark soul magic."

"So which kind of soul magic is Caesura using?" Akiro asked the question weighing on everyone's collective mind. Was it extreme manipulation of souls to alter memories and control other's magic? Or was it careful destruction of the link between a soul and their magic or memories that was then recreated however Caesura wanted?

The room was plunged into a deafening silence, as Calliope hesitantly opened her mouth to answer.

"Both."

Author's Note: Whew, that was a lot of talking, wasn't it? Calliope's presentation/explanation about magic was interesting, if a little tedious to write. I had to make sure I had every mechanic related to magic nailed down before I could really get it going. Hopefully what she said doesn't contradict anything that has been said/shown previously. If it does... oops...

IRyS and Ina finally get to really talk. That first "conversation" doesn't count since IRyS was still freaking out a bit and hadn't yet accepted her memories as her own. Now that she has, it seems like she wants to understand herself and what purpose she serves. It might seem simple for her right now, but when the Anchor massacre comes back to her I don't think it will be anymore.

I tried to avoid having Calliope spell out every last detail regarding magic and its functions, but I definitely let her run her mouth a bit lol. It is pretty in character of her in this story, though, since she's going full logical explanation mode and doesn't like having to say things twice.

Baelz finally got a full name drop (Calli mentioned her last part, but it was in passing only as 'Bae'). Things are continuing to escalate within the story, so I would expect Council to be getting mentioned more and maybe even start directly interacting sooner rather than later.

Next Chapter: Calliope explains more stuff and Gura is depressed
Any feedback/criticism is appreciated!