Chapter 72: Chapter Sixty-Six – Soul Speech 

“Are you sure it’s okay to bring me here?” Neige asked, hesitating just outside the manor’s door. 

“I have faith nothing too bad will happen to you. Worst case scenario Otrea forces you into her harem, gives you custody of an undead, and uses you to oath bind a councilwoman whom you will later fall in love with.” 

“That’s an oddly specific example…” 

“Yeah it is,” I winked. “So come inside, I’ll introduce you to one of my mothers first.” 

I led Neige into the study where Rysa was currently sitting in a chair, watching Corrynthia meditate. As we stepped inside Rysa looked up and smiled at me before widening her eyes a bit at Neige. “You must have incredible luck to stumble upon a snow elf in this city, Bernice.”

“She had a meeting scheduled with Otrea,” I replied before grabbing Neige by the hand and pulling her forward. “She’s also a wyvern tamer.” 

“A traditional class among her people,” Rysa replied with a wry smile. “I assume you’re going to use her to gather some coffee?” 

“You guessed my plans so easily…” 

“I can’t imagine any other reason you’d be so excited about her class,” Rysa chuckled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Neige. Take care of Bernice for me, okay?”

“Y-Yes Ma’am!” 

“You’re so skittish all of a sudden,” I giggled gazing side-eyed at Neige. 

“Your mother has so much mana rolling off of her body… She has to be the most powerful person I’ve ever shared a room with. Of course I’m skittish!” 

Rysa grinned. “I forgot that many of the elf species have a natural ability to sense mana. If I remember correctly Snow Elves are the most sensitive to it, as they were favored by Perolyssa, the goddess of dreams. She lived among their people for a few millennia before returning to the heavens.” 

“How do you know our history?” Neige asked gazing reverently at Rysa. “We rarely interact with humans.”

“I have met Perolyssa personally, though I will not answer how. I know of her history with your people.” 

“I also know,” Rysa noted telepathically to me. “That in our time, the snow elves are extinct.” 

“That can’t be right, she was going to have Otrea impregnate her. We’re only a couple hundred years in the past, don’t elves have long lifespans?” 

“Otrea must have denied her, or Neige died before the ritual. Either way, at some point over the next two-hundred years there will be no more of her kind. I say this to emphasis just how lucky you are to have met her.” 

“Am I allowed to save her people?” 

“If you can, do it. Fate is not something that is set in stone, it is an ever-flowing path that can be easily changed if someone is willing to try. I have no reason to ensure the snow elves die out, especially not here in a world that is only a mirror of our own.”

Neige collapsed to her knees, “A human met with our Divine Lady, I don’t know whether I should laugh, cry, or beg to touch you.” 

“There is nothing saying you can’t do all three,” Rysa replied with a motherly smile. “I don’t mind keeping Neige company, Bernice, if you need to go speak with Otrea. I assume you intend to ask permission for her to stay here?” 

“Among other things.” 

“Well, don’t let us keep you, go.” 

Nodding to Rysa I turned and left the study, heading downstairs where Otrea’s lab was located. As I descended the staircase into the lap I found Otrea standing over a table in the darkness. Beside her a dim lamp with a green flame burned, barely illuminating a vaguely humanoid body on the table. 

“You’ve already crafted a body?” I asked curiously as I made my way to her side. 

“Just a formless shell,” Otrea replied. “It may have two arms and two legs, but this body has no identity yet. Still, I believe I’ve found the answers I need, I’m almost ready.”

“I knew you could do it, thank you.” 

“Well, I’ve apparently done it before,” Otrea smiled and raised an eyebrow at me. “What brings you down here Bernice?” 

“I was wondering if I could speak with Karolina, before we finalize her body.” 

“It shouldn’t be impossible, why though?” 

“I would like to try and see if she would be willing to have a snow elf body. I know that if she’s unhappy with her new body, she could end up rejecting it. Still, it would benefit me if she’d choose snow elf for her new form.” 

“So you wish to speak with her for your own selfishness?” 

“That bad?” 

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“Of course not,” Otrea laughed. “I’m just, impressed. I can help you speak with her, but before that I have to make something perfectly clear. You cannot simply have her say ‘yes’, I don’t believe mere consent is enough to settle her soul in her new form. You need to make this new body one she desires from the depths of her heart. This has to be something she accepts as the ‘real her’ or better yet an improved version of herself.”

“So I need to make being a snow elf the coolest thing ever.”

“If she has any interest in magic, I doubt she would turn down the evolution. Dwarves are the worst at magic, while Elves are the best. It would be quite the upgrade for her.” 

“Alright,” I nodded. “Talk up the magic angle, got it. I’m ready to speak with her.” 

“Okay, take this,” Otrea placed Karolina’s soul in my hand. “Now close your eyes and focus your mind on her soul. Allow your consciousness to flow from your mind, down into the base of your throat. Continue to descend, out and along your shoulder, down into your elbow, and then out into your hand. Meld your mana and your consciousness with hers, use your body as a conduit to wake her from slumber, pull her…” 

Otrea’s voice grew quiet before vanishing entirely. Feeling floaty, as if gravity itself has begun to falter, I opened my eyes to find I was no longer in Otrea’s lab. I was standing in a large room with all its furniture pressed up against the walls, leaving a wide empty space at its center. Seated before a vanity, gazing into a mirror was a youthful looking Scaleborn woman. 

The woman before me was one I’d never met before. She had short black hair and a long golden tail. Sprouting from her forehead were two lengthy golden horns which curled slightly at the tip. I couldn’t help but gasp as I gazed at her, she was beautiful. 

“Excuse me,” I called. “Have you seen a dwarf?”

“I am not a dwarf,” the scaleborn woman replied cooly. “Nor is my name Karolina. I am Lucetta Furstenwald, elder sister to Harriette Sol Furstenwald, and rightful heir to my family.”

“You’re Harriette’s older sister?! The one she said would rip out my heart to drink my blood?” 

“She has such a barbaric mental image of me.” 

“Didn’t you try to kill her? Also… why were you a dwarf?” 

“I died,” Lucetta shrugged. “But a god decided he had use for my soul so I was snatched away before I could return to the river. It was Deezer who gave me that form and name, tasking me with endearing myself to you. It was an act of severe stupidity on his part, I have never endeared myself to anyone, even my own mother never truly loved me.”

“You still have a chance, we’re working on a new body for you as we speak. That’s actually what I’ve come to speak with you about.” 

“Bernice,” Lucetta turned and gazed into my eyes. “It feels like I’ve been here for months, gazing into this mirror, watching my life play out again and again in its reflection. I feel like a fool, I wanted so badly to live, but I have nothing to live for. My mother hated me from the moment I was born, my sister was the victim of my foolish attempts to earn acceptance. I’ve never loved anyone, even in my final moments all that I concerned myself with was myself. My own survival was all that mattered, I feel like I can see it clearly now, and I’m sick of it.” 

“We could give you a new life, you don’t have to return to the one you had.” 

Lucetta took a deep breath and shook her head. “Erase me. Do what you want with my soul, but let my memories fade from existence, I’m tired. I wish I’d turned Deezer down when he spoke with me in the heavens, I wish I’d been strong enough to let myself die.” 

“Lucetta,” I dropped to my knees beside Lucetta and wrapped my arms around her. “It’s never too late to start over. I don’t know if Harriette will ever forgive you, but it’s worth trying. Beyond that, who cares if your mother hates you, or you’ve never known love. You can still fall in love, you can still find a place in the world. This is your big chance, don’t give up now. Tomorrow might be better than all your yesterdays, you just have to be willing to stick around to see it.”

“I don’t know,” Lucetta sighed, resting her head on my shoulder. “I don’t feel worthy of trying.”

“You’ve been trapped here in limbo watching your worst moments on repeat, of course you wouldn’t feel worthy. Anyone could be sanded down to self-hatred if forced to rewatch themselves make the same mistake again and again. But you don’t have to be trapped in your thoughts anymore, it’s time to wake up.” 

“Alright,” Lucetta pushed me away. “I’ll try to be positive, but I don’t want to be a dwarf again.” 

“That’s fine, we can bring you back in any form you desire. Though, if you don’t mind listening to my own selfishness, there is a form you could pick that would benefit me.” 

“Which is?”

“Snow elf.” 

Shaking her head at me, Lucetta chuckled, “I’ve never heard of a snow elf, is that even a thing?”

“Their population has declined to the point that there is only a single living member. Her name is Neige, she’s a bit tall, with white hair and extremely pale skin. I’m not sure if all members of her race have these traits but she’s the only example I have.” 

“Why do you benefit from creating another member of a doomed race?” 

“Lots of things have happened since Deezer turned you into ash, and now I need Neige’s help to gather coffee again because I can’t access my previous stores. She said she’d help, but not until there was another member of her race so that if she died the snow elves don’t die with her.” 

“Ah,” Lucetta nodded in understanding, though with a look of confusion so plain it was obvious she didn’t understand anything I’d just said. “Well then, that’s fine. As long as I’m tall and have five fingers I’m willing to be a snow elf.” 

“You sure? If you’re not one-hundred percent behind the idea it could cause your soul to reject your body.” 

“I’m sure. I don’t want to look like this when I wake up. And,” Lucetta smiled. “My whole life I wished I’d been born with silver hair, white hair is at least closer to that wish than the black I lived with for most of my life before now.” 

“Thanks Lucetta,” I smiled and stood, making my way back to the center of the room. “I’ll see you in the real world soon.” 

“See you there.” 

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