The silver flame burned between us, and Sid went still; everything that had come before suddenly seemed meaningless before the glow of this flame.
I looked into his eyes, and I saw that he did not know this flame, but he could tell it was something. A Sovereign does not live for thousands of years without learning to read danger, and his grey eyes narrowed on the flame with such fierce concentration that it made me almost bow my head in shame... I had believed I knew what the thirst for knowledge and the unknown was, but glimpsing the total concentration the Sovereign had devoted to this flame, I thought I could begin to understand how this man, among countless millions, had been able to reach this step.
Forget everything I knew of the loop, and the madness that waited for me in this world. In times like this, I realized that it was a privilege to stand amongst men like this, no matter how evil they were.
He gestured, and a book of darkness opened before him, and my eyes focused on it, because it reminded me of the book that the shadow form of the Sovereign of the Stars had used to interrogate the truth of the loop out of me.
However, I could see that it was not the same; the book the shadow held was far thicker than what Sid was holding, almost ten times thicker... I don’t know what it meant, but I suspected that it may be a secret of the Sovereigns, or perhaps the Conclave.
I have not met many Sovereigns, so what did I know?
The book flipped by itself until it closed, and the Sovereign frowned before he banished it, and he looked at me.
"That is not lightning," he said slowly.
"No."
"It is also not any fire that can be found in this world, my Grimoire has no name for, and it has the names for a great many." His head tilted, and he stretched out his hand as if he wanted to reach for the silver flame. "I can feel it from here; it is not reaching for my body, more like it is trying to touch my soul... how fascinating, only Celestial Magic should be capable of this." His voice sharpened. "What is that?"
Of course, I did not forget that Sid knew of demons and the celestials, but I wondered how much I could tell him, knowing that every word I spoke in this loop was essential for placing me on the right path, or I had to repeat everything over again, finally I decided to go all in.
"Soul-Forge." I turned my hand, and the flame turned with it. "It eats souls, and things made of souls. That’s why you feel it reaching under your skin instead of at it. It isn’t interested in your body, Sid. It’s interested in what lies beneath... and also what is tied to it."
The nave went very quiet.
∞
He understood faster than I could have explained it. That was the thing about him, I never had to finish a sentence.
His hand came up, toward his own chest, and touched the spot where the anchor was etched into his skin. It stopped halfway, shaking, and I saw the desire in his eyes.
For a Mage who claimed to have slain a god, what would it feel like to be shackled to a parasite for millennia? There was no way Sid would not want to end this torture, and I was counting on this to be the deciding factor in this loop.
"You think this can touch the anchor?" he whispered, "Do you understand the sort of power that laid this on my skin?"
I bowed and lifted my head, "I have died here hundreds of times," the fox looked at me in puzzlement, but she kept quiet, "I may not be able to solve it today, but the day would inevitably come when I would master it, and with your help, that day can come faster, after all, it is an Inscription, and I am learning as fast as I can."
Sid cocked his head to the side, and there was a hint of disbelief in his eyes, and also mockery, "You have read it." Something moved behind his grey eyes, and I did not like it. "The anchor is written in a hand that is beyond anything you can ever comprehend. How do you intend to solve what I cannot break?"
I shrugged, "I am a very fast learner, and I possess the magic of the Celestials; give me the right tools and imagine how much I can give you in a hundred loops, in a thousand... In ten thousand."
I closed my hand, and the flame went out, because I wanted him to feel it leave. "I have nothing but time; why else did you think that the Sovereign of the Stars brought me, a mere Adept, to this place?"
The Sovereign closed his eyes, and for ten whole seconds, he did not say anything; he was not even breathing. In the silence, I glanced behind me because I could no longer hear the sound of the undead knight’s boots.
I was not sure that my plan would succeed. If it did, it would accelerate my learning of Inscriptions, but if it did not, then death by death, I shall inch closer to the truth about the path of the Sovereign, and understand the mysteries behind this world and free myself from the goddamned place.
I may have left the vat, but this facility, covered by the darkness of the Sovereign, was a bigger vat that I could not leave. I had just jumped from the frying pan into the fire, and I needed to leave!
The Sovereign suddenly opened his eyes, and my heart sank, because I could still see the greed inside them... it seemed I may have to work on my persuasion.
"If I let you do this," he said, "Then I will be the one in control. You could escape your vat. It shows that you are clever and stubborn, and I will take a disciple’s oath from you. The oath will hold you to your word, and then..."
"No oath."
"...and then you will..."
"No oath, Sid." I flatly spoke this fact, and I did not flinch; the Sovereign would not find fear in my heart, not when I had a Title like Death Consort. My greatest fear of being trapped was no longer an issue, and I would not be caged.
"If you want to bet on me, do it... But know that I will never change my stance, not even if I have to fight you a million times."