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Soul's Requiem: B1 - 15. Q&A
🕑 Added 2021-11-07 11:10:23 +0000 UTC1: Clover Emberfield
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“It’s okay… Shhh. It’s okay. The High Lady is outside keeping everyone safe. So long as she’s here, nothing can hurt us. [data lost] Samuel? Why is someone from the New Hope Settlement here, Rick? How…did you get past the front Four Gates? I didn’t see them open… High Lady! Is she okay? What happened?!” - Hazel, Personal Attendant to the High Lady of Ice, The Lost Diaries, Vol. VI.
A frown touched Clover’s eyes as she stood at the door to the abandoned business that acted as a meeting ground for Tamara’s group, glaring at the light drizzle falling over the town—rain.
Well, isn’t this great… Fate, Shion? I suppose this is a good test of my senses.
Taking her time through the wet streets, Clover slowly followed Tamara’s scent; it took longer to identify, but it wasn’t as if the water washed their passing entirely away, and it helped that Ronan had a unique attribute as a rassi that was stronger than human.
Yumi, Ronan, and Parker had taken the same route as her, which helped to zero in on the trail—she refused to get down on the ground and sniff like a dog—luckily, if she lingered for a moment, it was still possible to identify their scent.
On the other hand, Tyler had taken to the roofs soon after exiting, and given his unusual energy, it wouldn’t have been difficult to track; it was good to know that scents might fade, but the force they produced still gave her the option to tail a target.
Once entering the surprisingly busy streets, Clover had to come to terms with the fact that being discreet wasn’t an option; her glistening mane of platinum-blonde locks appeared to be a magnet for attention in the light pour.
It didn’t help that she wasn’t using an umbrella, and her standard gray dress would have stuck to her figure a minute into the drizzle, so she swapped to her SF outfit. The fabric seemed to be completely water-repellant, although the contrast wasn’t going to help her noticeability.
Her mind filtered out the looks she received, parsing through each piece of information she’d been sandblasted with since exiting the Great Void. This world appeared well put together on the surface, and the general public seemed to have adapted reasonably, yet the administration was in shambles.
Then again, the majority’s compliance shouldn’t be a surprise to her when law-breakers were executed without question, and those placed in power by the Order of Royals seemed to be able to use that authority with a snap of their fingers.
The SPU certainly is the top dog within humanity, and I can’t say much about their military power other than Ivan and Wilfred. Still, if Isngneal—a Class-3 transevil—can cause this much of a problem, it stands to reason there aren’t many more options at their disposal… at least in this area.
Given how highly people speak about Shane and spirit rulers, a Class-5 spirit master might even be considered an army or nuclear weapon themselves, and Wilfred follows SPU’s status quo. They’ve kept their power for over twelve years—in turbulent times, no less—which means there must be more to it than what I’ve seen so far.
There’s Melissa’s attitude, too… She’s terrified of the Order of Royals treating me like an enemy. General Laurence is concerned about them trying to pressure him into certain decisions, as well. Obviously, they don’t have supreme control, but enough to exercise a great deal of influence, and there must be a reason for it…
Her slitted irises flipped between various small businesses, each selling goods or moving trash in the early morning town downpour; Clover could see the poverty level was fairly consistent overall.
Hollow Veil—a small, self-sufficient community—made her ponder; the area had gone back several decades in terms of technology, and social order was in the gutter, yet there were smiles on people’s faces.
The town appeared to be the furthest habitable place away from the main human population and seemed relatively safe due to, as she assumed, some kind of warding effect of the Great Void, but that had recently come into question.
It isn’t like the SPU has a monopoly on influence, though… I’m sure they could exert authority if it came down to it, but there’s also some kind of code or laws that McArthur set up when founding the organization. Those rules allowed corporations like MASS, Marcov, and Eclipse Banking to gain quite a bit of power.
Her vision continued to wander between the broken windows, damaged sidewalks, and busy citizens; a dark look came over Clover’s face that made everyone look away, trying to mind their own business.
Turning down another street, she continued her internal debate. It wasn’t until Shion made her predictions that the angst in her chest began to really rise.
Fate’s advice… In other words, is it Shion’s advice? No, she doesn’t strike me as Fate, but, in a way, actively working with and against it… which makes her extremely frustrating to deal with. And, what of that voice when I fell?
It wasn’t Shion—for sure… It was completely different than how she made me feel. Shion has a firm, tranquil desire to be heard, yet ultimately, she isn’t going to lift a hand to interfere herself. The woman’s voice that fell with me… that feeling in my chest and being stripped of… She overpowered me.
A low growl rumbled in Clover’s throat. My impression of her is… an unstoppable force; a will and determination to take Fate into her own hands, and I’m a part of that plan. I don’t like that, yet from the sounds of things, I wasn’t the best person in—
Choosing to stop that line of thought, her face became set with determination, and she picked up her pace. I need answers!
Weaving through the confusing mess of a town grid, Clover eventually found herself on top of a five-story building, looking down at a bar on the area’s inner edge. Interestingly, it appeared to be populated by quite a few people, but unlike the other establishment she’d gone to, not a single person wearing an SPU uniform could be seen.
Pivoting back a little, Clover flexed her wet fingers, staring up at the dim heavens that darkened Hollow Veil; the Great Void was blotted out by the haze of the rain, but nothing could hide the violet cast that shaded the water purple.
Can this really be the world I left? It’s so alien…
Hoping to ground level, Clover walked along the path of her targets, entering the stairwell to the basement—the door was unlocked. Skin shining in the faint yellow light of the small check-in area she’d walked into, Clover’s gaze moved to the lounge before settling on a very large man in a chair beside the wall.
He cleared his throat and pressed a button as she closed the door behind her, cutting off the sound of the downpour. “Umm, Clover, I assume… Yeah, no mistake. Eh, go on ahead… the next room to your right.”
Clover took a second to breathe deeply, keeping her focus on the fidgeting giant; he couldn’t pull away from her serpent eyes. A very selective crowd comes here… regularly. How do I know these smells; does it have something to do with my time in the Void? Drugs, alcohol, and just by the scent alone… prostitution. Well, in any case… I’m in the right place.
Entering Hollow Veil’s main area for black market deals, Clover made a note of every person inside the area—pimps, customers, and service workers—with each role having no exclusive gender. The lifted eyebrows and whispers that swept the room couldn’t have been louder, yet nothing Clover didn’t expect.
Bypassing the mutters about a new spirit user and the conversations involving how ‘art’ could be merchandised to fill the rather ravenous spirit user sexual comics market in bigger cities, Clover entered the next room when the attendant promptly and professionally opened the door, despite the commotion.
The only occupants of the quite large meeting area seemed skewed compared to the previous room, enjoyed by only four individuals, yet Tamara wasn’t one of them.
Behind a bar in the back left corner of the room sat a burly elderly gentleman wearing a suit, watching some kind of news network on an old TV.
Parker sat across from Ronan as the two went through some kind of order the boy was trying to talk his way into, and Yumi stood in front of a rather large, sophisticated workbench. In fascination, Clover walked forward to examine the Viper Blade, floating within the holographic-like blue data that displayed several different analyses of the item.
“Is this your spirit user power?”
Yumi tensed, jumping to the side. “Wha—C-Clover! Heh. I didn’t see you there!”
Ronan scratched the side of his head, taking notice of her. “Yo, Clove, he-he, looks like ya need some heat; aye, I’ll turn up the fire!” he said, gesturing to his hair as it intensified. “Glad I can’t get wet like that—looks miserable!”
“Kind of like talkin’ with you,” Parker grunted, scrolling down a holographic list on his wrist device. “Ya don’t got the liquid for this, ma boy… You’re trippin’.”
“Wha—naa! Yo, bro!” he sat forward, gesturing to her as he tried to barter. “I’m good—Clove’s got me!”
“I don’t even have a Soul Weapon yet,” Clover returned, giving him a wry smirk. “Keep it in the basket list.”
“The what now?” Ronan asked.
Yumi directed an accusatory glare at the half-rassi. “Ronan, don’t call her ‘Clove’ without seeing if she’s okay with it. You’re always making up nicknames for people.”
He waved his hand dismissively. “The full name’s hard; it’s whatever.”
“It’s one letter!”
“Meh.”
Clover snickered. “I could care less what someone calls me; I’d rather people speak their minds than hide what they’re thinking.”
“Aye!” Ronan grinned and pointed at her. “Ma SU!”
Clover dismissed the boy’s slang and cry for attention, figuring it was short for spirit user, and Yumi sniffed at his greeting, turning back to her work.
“Umm, anyway, Tamara’s waiting for you in the next room—eh, I know,” she mumbled, giving her a forced smile, “it’s a lot of doors!”
Wanting to see if she could get at least a bit of information, Clover hummed, walking around the opposite side of the table. “I’ll head back in a second… This is your spirit user power?” Clover repeated.
“Huh?” Yumi doubled over, clutching her shaking stomach. “He-he-he! No, I’m a Class-0; all I can do is hone my ability to sense Spirit Force and the other energies… Not that I’m good with anything that I can’t touch.”
“Yeah,” Ronan goaded, giving her a wink, “I’m so much better at figuring out how strong spirit users are than Yumi.”
Clover shifted her half-smile to the boy. “Yet you can’t break the scaling or intricacies down?”
“Oof… call me out,” Ronan hissed, rubbing his arm. “Yeah, well, we all got our specialty.”
“And general usefulness,” Parker mused before taking a sip of alcohol.
Ronan grunted, leaning in to continue his discussion on various parts.
Yumi seemed to be gathering her thoughts in the following silence, sliding her hand across the blade and making digital notes. “No, this is a design table I developed with the help of a few other spirit users… Heh-wow, the level and number of transevil and stolen rassi components it took to make it all come together was insane looking back.”
“Shane?” Clover casually asked.
She nodded, pushing her glasses up to stare fondly at the device. “Mhm… and a few spirit masters in his circle. It was so fun back then, and they were always joking around with each other.
“Umm… I’m learning a lot of stuff, but to be thorough, I need to work my way from the surface to the Core—I need to determine what kind of Driver and Soulstone you align with—their types—ugh, I know it’s confusing… So many other things, too.”
Filing the information away for another day, Clover let it go, already so overloaded with the customization options seemingly available to her. “Yumi, eh, there was one thing I wanted to ask you…”
“Yes?” she responded, big brown eyes lifting to look up at her, and sudden embarrassment touched her darkening cheeks. “Oh, umm-heh, my glasses? I know—I don’t need them as a spirit user, but Alma said I looked cute with them.”
“Alma?” Clover repeated, recalling the silver-haired hunk from Melissa’s recording. “The Class-6 spirit master that was always around Shane?”
Ronan instantly jumped in. “You knew Alma?! Yo, of course, you knew him; all the girls knew Alma! He was like some kind of celebrity or somethin’ before The Voids, I heard. Pfft, I swear, he was always more interested in Shane over any of them, though.”
“They were best friends, and that’s it!” Yumi grumbled. “Girls and their fantasies. Besides, you know Shane and Melissa were a hot topic… They were so cute together!” she cooed. “Heh, and so many women were jealous because spirit users aren’t supposed to find love… It was so romantic…” she trailed off, returning to the Viper Blade, but her brown eyes were glossed over, remembering the past.
Finally confirming the relationship to Clover regarding the blonde, she held a wistful smile; it wasn’t as if it was hard to see by the way the woman talked about the spirit emperor.
“What happened to Shane and the others?” Clover asked, folding her arms under her bust.
Yumi sucked in a sharp intake of air before pushing it out, left hand finding her elbow. “Mmh… It’s a hard topic to talk about, and I’m not even talking about the political stuff… A colossal Void opened up when all of the spirit users were gathered in Bloom City’s main square—a flash of black, yellow, and purple light—and they were all gone.”
A rumble shook in Parker’s throat, pulling Clover’s attention. “A lotta speculation on what went on—was the Order of Royals involved, provin’ they’ve got the power to back up their word… I don’t know. Was it the rassi’s revenge after what Shane did ta the Great Inferno Tribe? Although, ta me, that yellow tint was a dead giveaway…”
Ronan and Yumi turned solemn eyes to him, and the designer whispered, “The Brilliant Purge and the Golden Gate…”
Catching Clover’s drawn-in eyebrows, Parker created a sound by sucking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “Basically, just after Yumi was thrown out of the Void, a golden aurora blinded the heavens, driving hordes of people to insanity, and a golden gate appeared in the sky—like the opposite of a Void.”
He hissed, rubbing the back of his head. “To make a long story short, it looked mighty similar ta that event, and there were even similar lookin’ Voids that popped up all across the heavens when Shane went in to stop the Brilliant Purge three years prior—alone.”
Yumi’s face tightened. “He was a bit different after that event… He saw something that shook him up, but he never said anything about it to me.”
In the ensuing silence, Clover’s narrowed gaze fixated on her blade. Shion would know what happened, but the probability of her telling me is probably zero. In fact, it was likely her that guided him through it… Still, it makes sense why all the spirit users are gone now.
They were likely at a big protest of some kind, and a Void came out of nowhere to just swallow them… Yeah, that’s not an accident or random. Although, maybe it was caused by the large gathering of Spirit Force? It’s certainly something to ponder.
Directing her focus to the last thing she wanted to ask of the woman, Clover cleared her throat. “Huh. Thank you for giving me the light version. Yumi, can you tell me a bit more about this personal storage spirit users seem to have? How does it work, and how do I collect these parts from transevil?”
Yumi blinked, dragging her fingers through her bangs to pull them behind her ear. “Yeah… right, eh, that’s kind of important! The SPU is pretty limited on their information to spirit users because they’re after a lot of the transevil and rassi for research materials themselves, and they hope by withholding information they can pressure them into tests.”
Holding out her hand, Clover watched a black leather animal skin materialize over her fingers. “I know you can use your weapon and SF attacks by instinct, and this isn’t any different. All you need to do is place your hand on the dead transevil or rassi—important detail; they need to be dead—and then you sort of will it into your storage.”
“Rassi, too?” Clover asked, glancing over at Ronan.
The dark-skinned boy—disguised as a man—stiffened at her question. “Aye! Okay, yeah, whatever, ya can… but I’m only half-rassi, ya hear! Don’t be gettin’ any ideas, cuz I’m your only ticket to perfectin’ what rough diamond Tamara crafts ya!”
“Aww, thanks for the off-handed compliment,” Yumi giggled, making a small, happy gesture toward him. “I design diamonds! Oh, but the return isn’t all that high—it’s like, the transevil have certain materials they absorb and mold inside them—the same for rassi.”
Parker shrugged. “Theoretically, lass, if ya had somethin’ stored in your pocket, a rassi would be able to take it, too.”
“Okay, I understand,” Clover whispered as the woman absorbed the item again. “The size of the storage space changes per spirit user’s strength?”
“Yup!” Yumi enthusiastically nodded. “You’ll learn about all the different types of materials as we do business, but that’s the gist of it—oh, and just so you’re not scammed, the Trading Union has a whole database on current material prices, so you know Parker isn’t ripping you off.”
Ronan snorted, laughing and pounding the table. “That’s totally not accurate—he’s a total scammer—it’s a Trade Union conspiracy!”
“Tch, c’mon, boy,” Parker rolled his eyes. “The price varies based on demand, and I can tell ya what demand is… The Union’s a good starting point, but it differs per area as they warn on the site—among dozens of other factors—naturally, Bloom City’s cheap because Stefan’s there, and the East has super low prices.”
“Why can’t I get it at that rate!” Ronan growled, pointing at a much lower number than the others shown on Parker’s holographic screen.
Parker put a hand across the back of the booth. “ ‘cause ya don’t understand markets, smoke brain—no matter how many times I tell ya what supply and demand means.”
“It should be the same everywhere!” Ronan continued. “It’s only fair!”
“To who?” Parker asked, lifting an eyebrow. “Certainly not the prices and risks ta get the item to the location.”
Ignoring the bickering pair, Clover waved goodbye to Yumi. “I’m going to head over to Tamara—by the way, how long do you think you need my weapon, and…”
“Your clothes?” Yumi asked, following her backward gesture at the outfit. “I can work on that next, but a spirit user’s weapon should always be first—as they say, the best defense is a strong offense!”
Nodding, she took her leave, eyeing the man behind the bar as she approached. He listened intently to their discussion but never made a sound while stepping aside to allow her access to the room behind him.
Entering it, Clover found Tamara sitting in a hard wooden chair, mask and unusual clothes still on, yet the face-covering had somehow slid back as if composed of plates. The woman’s revealed pink lips were soft, and her cheeks somewhat gaunt; a bottle dropped from her mouth, already one-third gone.
“Clover,” she said, and a small smirk came into play as she leaned back, “I’ve been following your conversation. I must say, you are far more cautious and ask way more questions than the average spirit user.”
Closing the door, she took the seat opposite the telekinetic. “I’d like to cut to the chase. You’re giving me this leniency because of what I revealed about Tyler. Correct?”
The woman’s neck tilted to the side, and with her hood pulled back, thick black locks cascaded down her front at the motion. “If we’re being direct. Yes, and it’s none of your damn business—we’re not friends, we’re making deals—and you just so happen to have done something I value.”
Clover puckered her lips a tad, lifting one eye in recognition at the prickly response. “Point taken. I suspect you’re not up for talking about it, so how many questions can I ask?”
Tamara took another swig of the bottle, showing a bit of her petite nose before her chin lowered. “I am the one that knows the value of what you revealed—ask away, and I’ll tell you when we are done.”
Basically, get the big questions out of the way first, and eventually, it will even out.
Her first was a given. “My operator, Lily, was injected with something experimental that Marcov was working on. Did you know anything about that? Anything on the company that could help me understand how to help her?”
The woman’s jaded voice was without doubt as she snickered. “I was only in Hollow Veil when that void pooped you out because Tyler figured out Marcov was doing something illegal and wanted dirt. Unfortunately, before I could investigate—or perhaps, fortunately, considering what occurred—I wasn’t able to start that job. If you want more information, go to him.”
Clover’s forehead furrowed at her answer; it sounded like she wanted to push her toward Tyler for some reason. “Okay… I suppose if he’s the person with the answers, I don’t have a choice.”
“Tell me about it!” Tamara giggled, yet her tongue was clearly a dagger laced with poison at this point. “You’d be shocked to find the circles he’s wormed his way into. In any case, I can’t tell you squat about the specifics of Marcov—not my expertise—too small of a company. Next.”
It didn’t seem small by the size of the operation, but Clover had the feeling she wasn’t being entirely forthcoming on this one, which meant it was personal and she just wanted to steer her toward Tyler. “Tell me about Soul-Spirits… Everything you know.”
Tamara’s head turned to the wall, readjusting her posture to put an elbow behind the back of her chair. “Heh, not much, to be honest, but more than anyone you’re likely to meet on this planet… Lucky you,” she sarcastically snickered; by her changed mannerisms and scent, this was drunk Tamara, which could be to her benefit.
“From what Shane said across broken conversations and the other Class-5 and 6 spirit masters, a Soul-Spirit is the separated emotional trauma you experienced in the Void…”
Her smirk became more pronounced as her head tilted back toward her. “That’s right! You didn’t just go to sleep and wake up—I presume your clothes were much different than what you’re showing now when you fell.”
Tamara’s wet tongue slid across her lips, making them shine. “Did she say something about casting her off or throwing her away?”
“She… did?” Clover stiffly replied, mind racing at what Shion said about her past. “Were those that came back with Soul-Spirits… evil—inside the Void?” she tentatively asked.
The psychic snorted, chest shaking with laughter. “Evil? Where did you get that, I wonder… Honestly, who can say?” she shrugged, taking another sip and smacking her lips. “If they were, you know more than me. All I know is that it is split trauma, representing one’s Spirit Force, and once reconciled with, a spirit user grows stronger… in stages, or so I’ve heard.”
Excited at the prospect after Shion’s future prediction—powers yet claimed—Clover sat forward. “How much stronger?”
“Meh. Heh-he-he! Who do you think I am, Shion?” Tamara chided. “Uniting with your Soul-Spirit is a process—not a sprint. How long? I can’t say, but what I can, is that there is always a price.” Intensity winding down, she sat back again. “I’d seek her out soon if I were you. Next!”
Clover pondered on the advice that appeared to align with Shion’s; it was obvious the woman was driving her in that direction, yet it was a legitimate question. “Hmm… What do you know about Shion?”
“Mmh… She’s ‘apparently’ annoying, beautiful, has no sense of privacy, and has a diary problem—or something along those lines—eh-heh, and she also has these powerful cards she can give you. It’s one of the most mysterious things about her and probably to do something or other…
“But I once saw Shane with decks—yes, in the plural—and more than a little upset about making choices of some kind related to them. Drawing close to your limit on all these exclusive insights, dear! Next.”
Vision falling to the table, Clover’s jaw tightened, working through her responses. “What would you tell me if I said Fate—being a separate entity to Shion—has advised me to bring together everyone that wants my help to fulfill my future goals… To bridge the gap that separates them?”
Tamara’s surfeited smirk washed away for the first time, chin lowering slightly to stare at her bottle. “To be honest… that almost sounds like a threat to me, Clover; I know you don’t understand why, but…”
Her tone sobered, looking up to level a solemn frown at her. “Good luck. Now, I think we are done. I look forward to being involved in more business proposals that don’t include whatever… this has been.”
Taking another drink, Tamara took her bottle with her into what appeared to be a storage room beyond the current dried-goods store.
What did you do to her, Tyler?
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