Soul's Requiem: B1 - 27. Eating Poison (Patreon)

1:  Clover Emberfield

Soul's Requiem Index

Previous Chapter

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“Samuel, once again, you are sneaking into my palace, causing trouble. It’s…been a while. A lot has happened… [data lost]. Hmm? I sound tired? Humph. What did you expect? Life has its fingers around my neck… I have a lot of mouths to feed…and my expedition parties are having to explore further…I need to explore further.

“Without me, no one can survive, but if I don’t leave, they die from a lack of supplies… Spirit users don’t have that problem. [data lost]. Hmm? You saw that, huh? Figures, since you used to be their general. That was so long ago…ages ago… Yeah, desire users are becoming far more common…far too common…

“Like you saw, I found Rick from the New Hope Settlement… Your old pal. He’d…killed every last man, woman, and child. [data lost]. Yes, you saw the aftermath; of course I killed him… Not many spirit users could have other than me or you. Anyway, crack open a drink; let’s talk…” - Clover Emberfield, Ice Empress, The Lost Diaries, Vol. XII

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Heading for the gathering place Clover had first met Tamara, she motioned for Leora to follow her while contacting Yumi.

“Hello, Clover—oh, is that the mysterious girl Tamara told us about?”

Leora’s eyebrows lifted in fascination as the 20-year-old’s smiling young face popped up on the screen. “Nice gear,” she muttered, focusing on the floating earrings. “Does it come with the entrance package?”

Ignoring her comment, Clover forced a smile as Ronan hopped into view. “Hey, let me see! Yo, she’s a total babe—look at her, Parker—she looks like Clover but totally taller! I bet she uses a gun. Pew-pew-pew! Hehe. I can’t wait to tweak her Soul Armament! ”

“You’re getting ahead of yourself,” Tamara chided, walking up behind them to adopt a more business-like tone. “She uses a spear and shield from the reports I’ve seen. What’s the deal, Clover?”

Happy the masked woman was taking control of the situation, Clover put a hand on her hip and turned to look at the nonchalant teen as Ronan complained about her not having a gun.

“Leora is an irregular spirit user, I suppose you could say—like I am—and she is very particular about contracts and funds. She does not believe anything comes without a price and is suspicious otherwise.”

“Am I wrong?” Leora grunted. “People need shelter, food, water, and help—money gets you all of that. Without money, you’re trash, and people will treat you like trash. You don’t have friends. No one wants to be around you. You die alone.”

What kind of life has she led to have this firm belief in money? Obviously, she’s never had it if she thinks money buys friendship… I guess I grew up in a society that wouldn’t understand that kind of mental state, but many in today’s world likely have similar beliefs.

“Mmh-hmm…” Clover gave Tamara a meaningful look, yet she could tell that Leora and the black market dealer were going to be besties by the end of this; she had to lay out the foundation of their deal to let the woman know how they needed to proceed, though.

“I won’t play games with you, Leora; if you support me for a month, in that time, you will meet all my contacts, and they will work with you. You get twenty percent of what we earn for living expenses or things you want.”

She directed his attention to Yumi as the crew pieced together the compromise she’d made with her niece. “Yumi is my weapon and armor designer; she will need to see your Spirit Armament to understand how best to upgrade your powers.”

Leora’s forehead furrowed, lifting her hand for an orange pulse to reveal her spear. “Is that possible?”

Yumi jumped in with a grin. “Yup! I’ll give you the rundown, but don’t think I’m cheap; if you want something that won’t break, we’ll need good parts, the labor price, and it has to go through quite a few hands—as Clover said—we’ll trust her and work with you.”

A short chuckle came from Tamara. “You certainly are fun, Clover… Does she have any components?”

“Components?” Leora repeated, her weapon vanishing in a pulse of light as a shimmering piece of white fabric appeared in its place. “Is this what you mean? I’ve been killing these transevil all over the place back in that ruined city—the puppet army sucked—they never stopped until I got to this town.”

The crafting group’s eyes sparkled at the information.

Yumi’s hair bounced with her bobbing head, pushing up her big glasses as they slid down. “Mhm! We can go over your stock when you get back—uh, does that include the deal you made with Clover?”

“No,” Clover swiftly interjected, wanting her niece to have something to start with and lay down clear rules she believed the girl would agree with. “She obtained those outside of our jobs and before we met, so these can go toward crafting her Soul Armament; after all, we need as much firepower as we can get when dealing with Castro.”

Leora’s green irises darkened. “Castro… I assume that’s the clown that’s been chasing me?”

Clover’s vision shifted to her for half a second. “Correct.”

It is possible Castro killed her and used this entire thing as a ploy to get close to me? How would he know what Leora would look like? Copy parts from my sister-in-law’s past photos? I don’t know if Castro can mimic energy, though. He can negate it from showing, so why not mimic someone else’s?

When he transforms into his clown state, he smells like a rassi. Still, that could be because he took on the form of Castro… I hate this second-guessing. I can’t live like this, and I feel like I should follow Shion’s advice. Plus…it’s Leora! Maybe that should make me more cautious, but it’s hard to see it like that.

Turning down another alley, Clover looked at a nearby man digging through the trash and kept silent for a moment until out of earshot. Leora appeared untrusting of her surroundings, as well.

“Tamara, I’m taking her to the place we first met. Melissa is scheduling a helicopter to take me to Steel Box Bastion; can you and Tyler come meet her? And…one more thing…” The gang gave her a questioning stare as she paused, glancing back at the silver-haired woman. “She’s my niece, Leora.”

The woman seemed to catch her double meaning and sighed; Castro could be in disguise. “I’d rather not be in the same room as the man, but if you are being tracked, I understand. We should be there shortly.”

“Yumi, if you could get some food prepared for her, a shower, and some clothes, then that would be wonderful… Eh-heh, I don’t need my partner or potential niece smelling like garbage. We’re going to get a DNA test.”

Leora didn’t seem bashful about it at all, quietly scanning the area for the jester and ignoring what she no doubt thought was her hopeful fantasy at having family.

“You got it, Clover! Hehe. I bet Parker can trade some of her DF products for an outfit.”

Ronan’s excitement sounded from the back. “You hear that, Parker? Yo, let’s check out your stock, bro!”

“Ugh, you just want to see what’s in fashion and in holding right now. This is something Jessica would be better for since, you know, she’s a girl.”

“Bro, we gotta do it for our new customer; it’s business!”

“Uh-huh…wait—uh-oh… Jessica going to my clothing storage vault? Mmm.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” the woman’s vibrant voice answered. “You act as if you’re not happy to see your fiancè and treat her with goodies! I’ll take care of your niece, sweetie!”

“Oof—I’m gonna go play my new game. Hey, Jessica, eh, nice ta see ya!”

“You too, Ronan! So, hehe, why don’t we look at that stock, hun; any good dresses come in from Bloom?”

Parker hung his head with a sad laugh. “Eh, a nice green one that I think you’d like.”

“Yay! I knew you’d have something for me; don’t I know you?”

“I wish you didn’t—it would make surprising you so much easier.”

“Hehe, well, why don’t I go try it on; care to join me?” she winked.

“Bro! I’m trying to game here, not hear your couple drama! C’mon, it’s distracting…”

“Aww, Ronan, you’ll find a good half-rassi girl soon; don’t give up hope,” Jessica chuckled, pulling Parker toward the door Tamara had exited.

“Whatever…”

Yumi strained a smile at the exchange. “Hmm… I hope everything goes well with Lily, Clover. Anything else you need?”

As their conversation drew to a close, Melissa’s comment from earlier tugged at her brain. “Uh… Has anyone you know absorbed transevil corpses with the items they carry—with their aura, that is?”

Leora’s eyebrows rose with the designer’s as the dark-haired girl shook her head.

“Erm…not that I’m aware of,” she mumbled, looking to the side while in thought. “It’s true their bodies are generally worth way more than the stuff they carry—at least for research companies—but Tamara…”

The masked woman came back into view to speak for herself. “It is a very risky business, and not easy to complete transactions when moving them requires heavy equipment. It’s typically where the SPU makes most of its money, trading those they’ve already examined to companies such as MASS…or CAT,” she added, throwing shade in Tyler’s direction.

A thoughtful hum followed from the telekinetic. “Mmh. Can I assume you or Leora are capable of such a feat?”

Debating on how to answer, she hesitantly said, “I…get the feeling I’m devouring them when collecting their goods.”

“Yeah, not me,” her niece mumbled, stepping away from her a bit with a leery stare as if she’d absorb her on the spot. “You eat transevil… Noble chicks have weird fetishes.”

Clover shot a ‘really’ look in her direction as Yumi and Tamara giggled. “It’s not a Noble chick’s fetish. Don’t be a fool.”

“Oh, so it’s just a you thing? Got it,” Leora nodded, putting more distance between them as if she had a sickness and further entertaining the women on the call.

“I can’t even with you!” Clover snapped, now feeling as if she were the weird one. “I’m not a monster; I’m your aunt.”

Leora held up her hands defensively. “Aye. I never expected my aunt to eat monsters, but you do you, I’m just saying.”

“It…is kind of, eh…odd,” Yumi admitted with a forced laugh. “I get that you absorb Desire Force, but their corpses too?”

“Unbelievable,” Clover hissed, shooting a frown at the crafter.

Yumi’s eyes widened. “No—not that I’m judging you!”

“I am,” Leora’s smirk made indignation well up in Clover’s chest, and Tamara raised her hand to add to the utter nonsense this conversation was.

“It really is a fascinating hobby, and they just…swirl deep inside you? We’ll have to go into detail sometime; profit can be made from such…pleasurable activities, should we call them! Any more, hehe, fetishes you wish to disclose, Clover?”

“Forget I said anything,” she growled, fingers sliding through her hair. “A heads up, Yumi, I will need to use my weapon when I get to Steel Box Bastion.”

“Right, right, I understand; in fact, I think I’m almost done… I can tell you my initial thoughts in a bit,” she mumbled, directing her camera to her soul table to view Clover’s floating sword. “It’s not like anything I’ve studied before.”

“I look forward to it; talk to you later.”

Cutting the call, silence ensued as they passed through the backstreets and alleys to the meeting point. Clover was not going to entertain this deviant mentality Leora and Tamara were going with; she had no control over how her body absorbed energy. It wasn’t until she had almost reached their destination that she shifted to look at her smirking, sixteen-year-old niece, walking a few paces behind her with her hands in her pockets.

“Are there no questions you want to ask me? Our family maybe? And not about my…”

“Eating habits?” Leora finished.

Clover strained a laugh. “Sure. We can call it that.”

Leora shrugged, smirk falling a tad. “I’ve listened to people and looked around the town; the only thing I really care about is keeping a low profile, and it looks like you run with people that like to do the same. I’m cool with that, and if I get paid, I don’t care.”

“You’re rather…calm about everything—joking even… Aren’t you confused?”

A slight smile lifted her cut lips, and she looked up at the cloudy heavens, showing her messy silver locks. “Joking, huh? Maybe I am. You can’t be serious all the time or you’ll never be free. Ya know?”

Clover rolled her eyes, pulling back weeks earlier to this girl as a baby in her arms; at least, to her it only seemed like weeks. “You…may be onto something.”

“Hehe. You gotta find joy in the small things when they come, right? I found a path forward with you—niece or not. If so, I don’t know you, so…nothing would change. I’d still need to see who you are.”

Vision opening, she turned to give her niece a thoughtful stare. “You’d…entertain the idea?”

“Why not?” Leora shifted her hands to link behind her neck, showing a rather cute smile that reminded her of the girl’s mother when dancing with her brother at a ball. “I don’t think you’d be that clown, and that attitude of yours makes me laugh. Plus, having someone else to watch my back—as honest as you feel to me—yeah, it’d be cool. There’s just a lot of stuff that puts me in a good mood, which doesn’t happen a lot. I haven’t had that for a long time.”

“So, you’re savoring it,” she whispered, drawing into her own happy memories. Tranquil emerald eyes falling to look down at her, her niece shrugged again. “I’m looking forward to working with you, Aunt Monster Eater Clover.”

“Shut up…”

“Ho-ho. She bites!” her niece laughed as Clover lost her cool and jabbed her shoulder. “I have plenty of questions—none I think you can answer—but killing transevil and rassi doesn’t sound like a bad business.”

Clover’s features softened upon hearing the sincerity in her voice; maybe Leora had a few barbs to her, but she seemed honest, which was a core value of their house. “A real simple girl, huh; money and being true to your word?”

“Uh, yeah?” Leora hugged herself and looked up at the cloudy heavens. “How can anyone trust you’ll hold your end of a bargain if you don’t show trust yourself? Trust broken, even once, and you’re less than trash. Oh, and just so you know,” her perfect teeth flashed in the dull street lamplight, “I take back what I said about you being a goodie-two-shoes spirit user; you don’t seem to be so bad, Your Highness.”

“Humph. I will say you grew up to resemble your mother more than my brother…just a lot more crass and confrontational.”

“Hehe. Better than a yes-girl, huh? And can we save the talk about family until we actually do the test? Sure, we have silver hair. I’ve seen others with it.”

“There, we agree,” she smiled before her last comment stopped her dead in her tracks. “Others with silver hair—not dyed?”

Leora shook her head, fingers intertwined behind her neck and not knowing how significant that was. “Yeah, three or four. Sure, it’s not common, but out of all the people in the world, there has to be others, right?”

Clover brow creased, vision shifting to the homeless, scavenging through trash. “No…the Emberfield line has a synthetic genetic alteration that was made to our bloodline a few generations back. If someone has natural silver hair, then they’ve gone through the same genetic mutations or are a part of our family.”

“Cool? Why does it matter?” Leora mumbled, obviously not having a strong attachment to the word family. “I never knew my parents or siblings or whatever. What good is family anyway? Parents and siblings sell each other in slavery all the time.”

“What?!” Anger flared within Clover’s heart as she looked at the back of her niece’s neck, her barcode hidden beneath her linked hands. “Where?! Who buys slaves? The Order of Royals? The SPU, companies—who?!”

“Meh. My brain is still kind of fuzzy on the details after coming out of that big black hole. It’s not important. I’m free. I can do whatever I want. And what do I want? Eh, heh, maybe a bath or two, some decent clothes, and a warm, really good meal,” Leora joked.

A growl rumbled in Clover’s throat as she pushed toward their destination. “You’re so aggressive about some things and totally nonchalant about others… It’s frustrating. I want to learn more about you.”

“Join the club! I bet you have secrets you want to keep, though. Ya know?”

“Fair,” Clover admitted, rubbing between her eyes. “I’m just happy to know there is a possibility that I’m not the only Emberfield left.”

It wasn’t bad feeling a bit of comradery with someone who could actually watch her back, and Leora seemed more than capable of defending herself; she didn’t know why, but her instincts told her Leora wasn’t playing any games. How had she survived, though?

Dropping her niece off at the empty building, Clover waved her off, choosing to wander the town and clear her mind for what was to come; it was hard when she instantly wanted to drag Leora off to get a blood test done. She was totally not still fixating on the ‘Monster Eater’ title her only living family member had given her.

Listening to the bustling streets of citizens heading home—or what passed as their home—the sound of the night took a stronger hold in the town by the minute. She stopped in the middle of an empty road to gaze at the purple moon; it peeked through the clouds, casting an eerie glow across the streets. It had been three days since she’d fallen from the Great Void, one of which she’d spent unconscious and recovering in bed.

During that short time, she’d proved herself to be more than a spirit user, breaking the SF training simulator of Steel Box Bastion, received a culture shock in the state of the world, and discovered she might have been made sterile by The Void. If this mysterious silver-haired spirit user was her niece, how would she take that information? Did she already know?

She got a message from Tamara that they’d picked up Leora, which was a relief. Clover wasn’t sure what to make of her niece quite yet.

Passively scanning her environment, she walked along the path she’d taken when Lily was kidnapped, resulting in her discovering an entire hidden underground base—Marcov’s doing—exposing a rising corporation in Skydream for their illegal and unethical activities. Had they bought and sold slaves to conduct experiments on?

When assaulting it to recover her new operator, she’d found another intruder—Castro, the shapeshifting jester. There was another powerful rassi with him that she had to keep her eye out for, who devastated the lower floors before Castro wiped the facility’s data.

Who really were the rassi and transevil? Could they have been created by some government experiment gone wrong? At this point, she found it hard to believe news like that wouldn’t have surfaced after most of humanity had nearly been exterminated. At least she had connections now.

Tamara had brought her into her crew and then she received some unsolicited advice from some mysterious figure, seemingly related to Rosa—an old religious figure in Skyhaven. 

If she wasn’t dealing with enough drama, she’d exposed Tyler’s secret powers to Tamara, causing a painful fracture in their relationship, whatever their relationship had been. After that unfortunate event, she agreed to investigate a possible lead in Marcov’s offline backup centers to obtain information to help Lily since the black market lady and the bank owner were on the rocks.

Isngneal began his assault against Hollow Veil, which turned out to be puppeteered by Castro. That had snowballed into her saving Melissa during her child rescue operation, which resulted in her regaining her Soul-Spirit; she still hadn’t figured out exactly what her Soul-Spirit was trying to tell her.

Her showdown with the Class-3 transevil, Castro’s performative introduction with the jester’s big surprise, and now he’d brought Leora back into her life somehow. What was his game? What was she supposed to make of this changed world? What was her place in it?

A long stream of air blew through her nose as she watched the clouds overshadow the lavender-cast moon to bleed through the veil and touch the mountainous town. Clover shifted to stare at the ominous black and violet giant Void; it drew in air and spat out a haunting gale across the landscape.

I had a life inside that thing… I was such a fool to enter it, but I suppose I am just a fool. Did I love anyone inside that place? Why was my memory taken… Why was I a calamity? Surely it didn’t happen overnight… I was there for fifteen years, yet I look the same. How is any of this possible? Now I hear there are multiple people with silver hair…and from my niece, of all people. What has happened to my planet in the last fifteen years?

Hand rising to her breast, Clover searched her slow-pumping heart for answers, yet it was as if a high tide had covered everything beneath an unassuming sea. There had to be a way to remove the rushing flow of obscurity to reveal what lay hidden underneath the cascading waves that battered her psyche. She scanned for any trace of the buried memories, yet it proved pointless. After a while, her chaotic mind gradually cleared, bringing to her lips as she centered on one thing she could do.

My place right now is to save Lily, then be there for Leora. As for my past, I guess I’ll have to wait for low tide. I’m not alone. Melissa, Lily, and now Leora… Leora may not know or necessarily love me, but we’re family, and I can’t walk away from her.

Several more minutes went by as the night stilled in the section of the town she waited, and Melissa finally got in contact with her.

“We’re heading to your location now—can you get somewhere high?” she yelled past the blades of the helicopter.

“I’ll be waiting.”

Casually scaling a nearby four-story building, she spotted the aircraft outside the city as it flew toward her. When it neared, Clover used her SF to jump onto the large secured pallet of supplies it was returning to SBB, giving a confused Melissa the thumbs up to go ahead.

Balancing on the crate and using a strap as a back support, she allowed the rush of air to fly past her, whipping around her bound hair. It wasn’t as difficult as she thought to remain stable, and moving over the tundra outside of Hollow Veil gave her an aerial view that helped still her thumping heart.

She wasn’t sure if this would work, and the alternative could be disastrous for her new operator; still, she was committed to saving the girl. Lily had been placed under her care, and if she’d been faster, her operator’s life wouldn’t have been turned upside down in the first place.

Clover knew it wasn’t right to blame herself, but the fact remained that had she been as strong as she was now, she would have made it in time; Lily didn’t need any more tragedies in her life. Something her mother told her as a little girl beat within her as if infused into her very blood; it lifted the weight against her shoulders, unlike the previous day, and she found herself repeating it in her mind, planting her foundation in her mom’s voice and the lessons she taught.

You are a high noble, Clover, and not just a high noble…you are an Emberfield, and our family’s motto is ‘Strive For Perfection.’ A leader does not need to preach; true leaders live by their ideals and accept all those who wish to follow. Serve those who idolize and put their faith in you. Give them reason to trust you, and they will follow.

You are my little Clover—four petals—each a binding force that combines faith, hope, love, and luck into perfect harmony… You are my spark of perfection. Be strong, and exemplify our family standard to serve all those who seek it to the highest excellence.

Do not try to convince others to follow but live in a way they naturally are drawn to you. Become the young woman that binds others with the symbol your name represents, creating a standard of perfection. You must first have faith, hope, and love in yourself to generate your own luck through your labor—not the labor of those you serve—in order to reach the hearts of those that gather around you.

A soft sigh escaped her lungs, yet she felt strength in the motto of her family; it was how she’d modeled her entire life.

Strive for perfection… My duty is not to the world; it is to those who rally to my banner… Those who seek a better life, and who are willing to follow the standards to reach that perfection that is within us all. I cannot protect those who do not want it or who aren’t willing to sacrifice to achieve a better life. I can’t protect those close to me if I don’t get stronger… I need to get stronger, and I know I can… I will get stronger.

The flight to SBB was far quicker than the drive to Hollow Veil, and once outside the base, Clover dropped down. She hopped a few times, spinning in the air and using her platform to slow her momentum.

Melissa jumped soon after to join her, trying to manage her dress’ attempts to slip off; she landed in the parking lot as the helicopter went to its landing pad and jogged over.

“Umm, Clover!” the blonde shouted past the loud blades whipping up the air behind them.

“Mhm?”

“Uh…the general wanted to speak to you before meeting Lily!”

A tad frustrated she was telling her this now, Clover had to restrain herself, figuring it was probably something he’d told the captain on the way here; still, he could have called her during the flight.

“Lead the way…”

Entering the facility to salutes from the posted soldiers, Melissa brought her to an elevator, using her clearance to reach the general’s office. He sat in his chair but not at his desk, which was a little odd to Clover.

The man was staring between two monitors, one with Lily and the other with what appeared to be an x-ray. Her focus was instantly drawn to the 3D model—it wasn’t of Lily—the shape was clearly indicative of Clover’s own figure, and there was something inside her stomach.

Melissa looked as stunned as her. “General, uh, what…is that in Clover’s stomach?”

Clover’s gut tightened upon stopping in front of the flat display. “I have…some kind of creature inside me—a snake… Is that why my pupils are slits and my serpent-based abilities?”

“D-Did it just move?” Melissa hissed, shivering as the serpent shifted within her body. “And no, Clover, I don’t know a single spirit user that has…has something like that inside them. Is it hurting her?”

Laurence puffed out a stream of smoke, throat dry as he studied its shifts within her belly. “It’s not physical, whatever it is, and I’ve been having the Medical Core’s top physicians and energy researchers going over it since you were brought in… I’ll say that we’ve only gained a rough understanding of Desire Force from MASS in the last few months, and from shocking breakthroughs they’ve shared with the SPU’s research division. This…is unprecedented.”

He motioned toward the red lights, being drawn to the lilac-colored cobra image within her body and the light-blue aura shimmering around most of her figure. “These are the results we’ve gained from your battle simulation; it took a bit for the team to compile, given the technical difficulties we’ve been experiencing.”

Because of me, Clover internally growled.

The general’s focus moved to her. “Are you clear-headed enough to get the cliff notes?”

“It’s Void Force, is my guess,” she whispered, rubbing her tight belly and swallowing the sticky saliva in her throat; it chilled her veins, yet she couldn’t get distracted, even by something as terrifying as this ethereal serpent within her body. “All the teal is my Spirit Force and the red Desire Force?”

A wry smirk lifted the man’s typically tired and mildly annoyed expression. “Let me put this into perspective for you… Almost all technological breakthroughs regarding energy have come from MASS over the last fifteen years, and I won’t bore you with the details, but let’s just say we’re walking uncharted territory. What have I been told about these forces? The red is Desire, the blue Spirit, and that purple snake…is something new.”

Laurence was telling her that they’d had less than forty-eight hours to even look into these developments after she’d been tested. He was gauging her reaction to see how she’d respond as an anomaly among spirit users.

“In essence, you have no idea what this is,” she reasoned. “So…I’m going to pretend I didn’t see it right now and let your people dive into it more. I need to focus on saving Lily first… We can deal with this after.”

“It’s your choice,” he mumbled, gesturing for Melissa to take her to Lily’s room. “I wanted to have answers for you… I don’t. Melissa.”

“Yeah… Wow, eh-heh, that’s a lot to take in before this, General.”

He calmly nudged his head to the side. “I’m being transparent with Clover, and I wasn’t sure if this changed anything for her in using her abilities. Obviously, it doesn’t. Good luck.”

Melissa was concerned but led the way until they came to a secure bunker five floors below ground level; three thick metal gates opened and closed behind them. Security was tight. Making it to the room Lily was in, Clover smiled upon seeing the girl’s bright smile and shoved down the feeling in her squirming belly.

“Clover—oh, you brought Melissa, too! Hehe, doctors have been rushing in for the past bit, setting up—eh, well, all of this,” she muttered, motioning at the equipment and sensors linked to various parts of her body. “So, uh, what did you find out?”

Clover took a deep breath and looked up at the camera, calling the general; he answered seconds after, focus seemingly still on her recording.

“Are we ready?”

“Yes,” he muttered, near the point of snapping the lit cigar in his tight hand.

Melissa’s face scrunched up as he came into focus, probably deflecting from what they’d just learned. “General! You promised me you’d limit yourself—that can’t be your third for the day—I saw you earlier on your second! You need to take better care of your health.”

“Yeah!” Lily swiftly interjected. “What would happen to Hollow Veil and Steel Box Bastion if you died; that stuff is super cancerous!”

“Heh, well, medical science has advanced a great deal since the Rassi War; besides, Melissa can heal me if that’s the case.”

“Just because I can doesn’t mean you should go crazy with it!”

“What she said! You shouldn’t make everyone worry.”

“Ahem,” Clover cleared her throat. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but we should get this started as soon as possible. You can lecture the general on personal health later.”

“I’d rather they not—ugh, I have enough to deal with,” Laurence growled, but a small, tired smile lifted his somber face. “I appreciate the concern, ladies. Clover?”

Lily and Melissa’s heads turned to her as he gave her the stage; Clover had been preoccupied with the heavy scent of Desire Force on the girl, feeling the jitters in her stomach that now made sense. It wasn’t even recognizable compared to everything in the Marcov facility, but now it was clear as day.

No…am I too late?

Taking a prepared seat beside the girl’s bed, Clover took a deep breath and smiled. “Lily, I don’t want you to freak out, but you’ve been injected with some pretty nasty stuff, but I’m here to stop it… It’s going to be scary, though.”

Lily’s brown eyes strengthened. “I’m a part of the SPU and military, too, Clover—I’ve been trained to accept death if it comes to it… I’ll do my best!”

Clover nodded, taking a second to form her words. “Lily, you’ve been injected with Desire Force nanites, meant to give you the ability to control transevil. You’re the only person that’s survived the procedure for this long by a substantial time, which is good, and I’m…going to try to drain the Desire Force out of your body—starve the nanites—and hopefully halt the change it is having on you.”

“Rosa…” Melissa softly cursed in horror. “They—are they trying to turn her—”

She snapped her mouth shut, but Clover could guess what she was about to say: ‘Are they trying to turn her into a transevil?’

A researcher nearby cleared his throat, drawing their gaze. “We’ve only recently begun to even look into Desire Force after MASS shared their findings in the last annual memo. It’s…very early in research development as to its detection and the effects it can have.”

The air in Lily’s lungs froze, vision glazing as she processed the information. “I have…tiny robots in me? No, but you’re going to try to take all of their energy, so… Wait, you drain Desire Force through your weapon, right? So, you’d need to…”

“To stab you, yes,” Clover sighed, “but you will be heavily sedated for it, and Melissa will be healing your wound.”

“You won’t even have a scar! Eh-well, maybe a faint one—it depends on how big it is—Clover’s sword is kind of wide at the end. Sorry—not helping—I know…”

Lily took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself. “Okay… Huu-haaa. Okay, I trust you, Clover. Wow, uh… Yikes! My spirit user is…going to stab me. I doubt any other Operator will have that story to tell, right? Hehe-mmm. Umm, so… How will we know if it works?”

She’s panicking…

“The equipment,” Laurence spoke up before the researcher could respond, which was probably for a reason. The researcher snapped his mouth shut as the general took a moment after to drag on his cigar before puffing it out. “Now that we know what we’re looking for, we were able to bring in the proper analytical instruments.”

“I see… So, I j-just lay here and, heh…get stabbed by Clover…” Lily forced a laugh, running a hand through her messy hair. “Well, umm, I’d like to be put under now—wake me when I’m better, please.”

As if waiting for her consent, the liquid was pumped into her IV from an automated machine, tracking her mental state and vitals; Lily’s eyes rolled back, her body went limp, and Clover called the Viper Blade.

Looking at the wicked edges, she puffed out a stressful breath and turned to Melissa. “Where should I cut?”

“I…can’t tell you; I don’t know the data.”

Clover’s earrings expanded to show an internal view of Lily’s organs and blood flow in a manner she’d never seen, Laurence’s voice following. “I’ve sent you a live data feed of the analysis. As you can see, the red is everything that is being affected by Desire Force.”

“That’s her entire body!” Melissa hissed. “Is it even reversible at this rate?”

Deciding she needed to be thorough if it was going to work, Clover stepped forward and unfastened the ties around Lily’s chest to peel back a line to her lower abdomen. “Melissa, if I keep my blade inside and don’t move it, can you heal her organs? I’m going to be very slow, and I’m going to be very thorough, which might cause a lot of damage.”

“Eh—it’s going to be hard—especially something that severe with how long I’ve rested, but…I should be able to.”

Lips becoming a line, Clover placed the edge against the girl’s thin belly as a continuous feed of liquid fed into her veins to stem the pain. “Hold on just a little longer, Lily.”

Jaw locking, she plunged the tip into her stomach, making Melissa flinch at the sight of the bubbling blood sliding past the blade to stain her medical gown and bed.

The sweet taste of Desire Force flowed into her body, but this was unlike anything she’d experienced, and there was an intoxicating flavor that gave her the distinct impression of something of great power. There was something of immense strength hidden within these nanites the instruments weren’t detecting but she felt it the moment she tasted its energy.

There were Desire Force nanites inside Lily, yet something else had infused into her spirit; it was this separate thing that was the cause of Lily’s changed spirit, and it was rassi in origin—like Ronan or Castro. No, this sliver within Lily was in an entirely different universe beyond the strength she felt from Castro or his partner in the underground massacre.

What did they inject you with, Lily?

Her vitals began to fall a tad as the girl’s blood continued to pool and drip down the bed to the floor. Melissa jumped forward, concentrating as a warm golden glow shone from her hands to support the girl.

“H-How much longer, Clover?”

“It’s not the nanites—they don’t require that much Desire Force—it’s whatever rassi bone they infused into one nanite that is transmitting to the others… I can feel it squirming away from me as if it’s alive, trying to resist my draw, and it’s powerful…far stronger than Castro. Melissa, I need to dig it out!”

“Clover, I’m trying to knit together the damage you’re causing, but if you just go digging around inside—I don’t know how much I can keep—mmgm, where is it?”

“It’s not that far from her stomach—I couldn’t drain it if I tried for a year—I have to.”

Making the snap decision, she pulled the blade to the side and pushed her fingers into the gash, using her senses to feel out the section the sole nanite passed through; thumb and index finger closing around it, she carefully withdrew her hand.

“I have it—Melissa?”

“I can heal her! I—I just need a little time; the blood pumps are helping.”

Clover retreated a ways away from Lily, her gut churning as the snake within her writhed to consume it, and she glanced at her bloody hand. Her fingers were shaking as they slowly spread apart; the nanite wasn’t there anymore, though—it was inside her—the nanite had bypassed her defenses in an instant and was now burrowing into her body, yet the serpent was in pursuit.

It instantly looked for a new host… Heh, but if you think I’m going to be the same as Lily, you’re sadly mistaken. How long can you last attempting to change my spirit before this thing sucks you dry? If it’s a battle you want, it’s a battle you’ll get.

Closing her fist, Clover looked back at the pale-faced operator, her unconscious breathing ragged as the air bag on her face steamed; without a doubt, Lily had been affected by the object, but not any longer.

The steel doors slid open for surgeons to rush in, but Melissa halted them, saying she had it. Clover backed off, sweat beginning to gather across her brow; she could feel her own Spirit and Void Force combating the foreign agent inside her body.

Her stomach squirmed, feeling the snake within find it and coil around the nanite; now that she knew what it was, she could follow its movements. It didn’t take her long to conclude the snake had become a part of her as much as this nanite had tried to do with Lily. This would be a marathon, not a sprint, and she could use the nanite’s own strength against it.

I gained this snake in the Void. What happened to me in there?

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Need To Write More

I've come to the end of where Public is on SR; there are three more chapters in the volume, but those are on patreon. I need to write in Volume 2 to keep releasing. It's hard to find time, but when I finish the next volume of one of my series, I'll probably put SR into the slot of that completed volume while I plan the next one. Undying Empire will probably be the next one that finishes its volume...well, I can probably split it into two volumes since it will be around 320k words by the end of where volume 2 is.

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