38: The Hall of the Luminous, Part Three

The Hall of the Luminous, Part Three

The guest room Neve stood in was so quiet, the healer could hear her own heart pounding against her chest. 

She was nervous. 

For a few reasons. Firstly, she worried about what would happen to Erin's combat ability, but she also worried about how the lamia would take this. 

She could stall no longer, though. This was a conversation that needed to happen. And so, Neve brought her summon out. 

"Hm? How did we get here?" Erin asked, looking around after Neve summoned her. 

[Well... I guess that's one way to get started.] 

There was a chance that Neve was simply overthinking this and that Erin's summon settings would work to prevent her mind from fully crumbling upon realizing she was, in fact, the result of a spell. However, on the off chance that the Forces That Be made Erin as realistic as any other person for the specific purpose of messing with her, Neve wanted to approach this carefully. 

[If I don't watch what I say, it could come back to bite me in the ass later. So, how do I tell her?] 

"Uh..." Neve's voice came out with all the confidence and certainty of a child who had broken something and was figuring out how to tell their parents about it. "Erin, I wanted to tell you something," Neve said, pulling Erin's attention toward her. 

The lamia looked back at her. Her regal face showed a slightly nervous smile. 

"Does it have to do with the fact that we went from being in the middle of dangerous catacombs to being in a cozy bedroom seemingly in the blink of an eye?" 

"Yes." 

"Then, by all means, proceed," she replied with a chuckle. "It would be nice if you could stop hiding things from me, human." 

The princess in her came out for a moment as she crossed her arms over her golden corset and looked back at Neve expecting a solid answer. The healer raised a brow briefly, but the warrior princess's real feelings showed in the way her left index finger bounced off her bicep. The way her chest rose and fell slowly, as though she was trying to steady herself. 

[She's scared, isn't she?] Neve had never been too good with people, but even she could figure that much out. [I can't imagine how strange this must feel.] 

Neve decided the best thing to do might be to just get the biggest shock out of the way first. Then, she could focus on calming her down. 

Breathing in and trying to inject herself with some confidence, she outright stated:

"You're a summon." 

"... What?" Erin asked, confused. "Um... What does that mean?"

"It means you are the result of a spell," Neve explained. "I cast a spell that brought you here."

"N-Neve, I did not ask for a jest, I asked for-"

"You are a summon," Neve said once more. "If you need proof, well, more than you've already gotten, I can show you. Look." 

Turning around, Neve reached out with her staff and aimed at the door. 

Then, she cast Erin's summon spell again. Of course, instead of just creating a second Erin, as wonderful as that would be, Erin disappeared and reappeared in front of Neve. 

"W-What!?" Erin asked, pointing at the bed. "How did I just...?" 

"Like I said," Neve replied quietly. "You're a summon." 

The gears turned in Erin's mind. She and Neve had a stare down, almost as though the woman was hoping Neve would show a hint of insincerity like maybe she could get Neve to admit she was lying just by looking at her. One single glimmer of anything that might show she was being deceived. 

Neve did not falter, however, and Erin took her eyes off her first. 

"But... How?" She asked softly, looking down at herself. "What is this supposed to mean?" 

"You died in that cage. The one where I found you," Neve told her. Even to her own ears, she sounded quite harsh, but, at this point, she figured it was best to make sure Erin fully understood. Plus, she had never been good with people anyway, so, trying to figure out a way to soften this blow was likely never going to result in anything. "I found some magic that allows me to bring you back as a summon." 

"B-But, when did it happen?" Erin asked. She slithered closer to Neve, her wide eyes and slitted pupils shaking. "All I remember was sitting in that cage and finding you, and-" 

"I don't know," Neve replied. "That much, I can't say. I never watched you die. I just know that you did." 

To the healer's surprise, Erin didn't seem angry at all. She was mainly just confused. 

"... My memories do not line up with what you are telling me." 

"I don't know why that is either, honestly." 

Of course, she knew who had chosen that to be the case. It was the Forces That Be. What she meant was that she had no clue why they'd done this. 

It would have been ideal from a combat and "gameplay" perspective for them to simply give Erin that knowledge that she had died and come back as a summon. But, they didn't. For whatever reason, they didn't. 

Erin sighed. She slithered over to the bed and sat down next to her. 

"How does this work, exactly?" She asked. "How do I work? I am not too familiar with summoning magic, but from what little I have heard, I thought these sorts of spells had a duration, a timer of sorts before they deactivated. You and I, w-we walked all the way from that portal you'd shown me to the tomb we entered. H-How...?" 

"Your timer starts when you enter combat," Neve explained. "You can only last a minute in a fight before I need to summon you again. Remember how when we were in the catacombs you would sort of... pop in and out? That was why." 

Erin's eyes widened. Her slitted pupils shook a little more before she looked away again. 

[... I guess it's time for me to be quiet. It looks like she's starting to understand.] 

Indeed, Erin shook her head and brought her hands up to look down at them. After a while, she turned toward Neve and opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again. 

Neve wondered then what she would do if she was in a similar situation.

If she appeared before some mage and was told, "hi, you're a healer we summoned to help us with this dungeon. It doesn't really matter if you get hurt or you want to see your family or you want to eat or whatever, because you're not actually here, so, yeah. Please, take care of us." 

It wasn't a particularly appealing thought. 

And yet, that was what Erin was grappling with right now. 

"It is strange," Erin muttered, so quietly Neve walked closer so she could hear her better. "I feel like I should be angry. Or sad, maybe. In denial, perhaps? But, all I can feel is an uncomfortable indifference. I do not like it." 

[That's probably because you're not allowed to go against me, isn't it?] Neve asked in her thoughts. [That's... I don't like it either.] 

Tamira answered. 

"Of course," the snake whispered in Neve's mind. "Can't have your own summon killing you out of spite, can we?" 

[... I get it. But, I still don't like it.] 

"I was thinking about what I would do after I help you with your mission," Erin said. "Before, I mean. When we were making our way to the catacombs. It was strange. I thought about heading back to my fortress and, perhaps, renovating it. However, immediately after that, I found myself wondering if that was what you would want. At one point, I wondered if I should maybe reach out to my friends. See if the people I knew outside the fortress were still alive, but... I wondered if you'd want me to do that. I didn't make much of a note of it, but, now... Well," Erin shook her head. "I understand, now."

"I'm sorry," Neve told her. 

Erin looked up at her. Neve looked away. The lamia's gaze weighed heavily on her. 

"I suppose that is just how things are," Erin said sadly. "It does not matter. I have a duty, I will see it through." 

Those last two sentences felt slightly forced. As though Erin was about to say something slightly out of line and Neve had just witnessed the System correcting Erin's attitude in real time. 

It was weird to see that in action. 

"What will we do now?" Erin asked, as though she'd completely moved on from the previous topic in the span of a few seconds. 

The healer wasn't too sure how to feel about that. On one hand, she was glad Erin hadn't taken things too badly, but on the other, she wished she could offer a little more time for her to adjust to this new reality. 

Maybe she did not need any, however. Maybe the System had adjusted her mind itself.  2

"Uh... I'm just going to get some sleep first," Neve replied. "Then, we're going to be fighting stuff in the morning." 

"I see..." Erin replied. "Will you make me... disappear again?" 

"Do you want me to?" 

That appeared to be a question Erin could contemplate without System interference, as it took her a while to respond. 

"Could you... Could you find me a notebook and a pen?" Erin asked, all of a sudden. "If you can, then no. I would like to remain, uhm, present here." 

"Sure," Neve nodded before looking through the World Shop and purchasing both items for a few WS Tokens. "Here." 

"Alright, thank you," Erin replied, sitting at the edge of the bed. "I will stand guard, then. If I am capable of sleeping, I will try to do so once I'm finished here." 

"Uh, got it... Goodnight." 

"Goodnight." 

That marked the end of that awkward conversation, but, Neve was glad to get it out of the way. Now, she had nothing to distract her from the Infested Hall. Or, as the System referred to it, the Hall of the Luminous. 

[I'm going to be here for a while, aren't I? I should try to get as comfortable as possible... I hope Erin is going to be okay, though.] 

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