Chapter 83: Book 2 chapter 41

Amethyst, after leaving Applejack’ home, went to work immediately trying to help her sister. She was concerned about Hecatolite after what had been said to her, but it was also a way to occupy her mind, something to focus on other than the painful hole she felt inside of her chest.

Once home, she immediately retreated into the herself and started the search for her sister, finding out the void was in fact quite small. If one were to run into the forest directly from the cliffside that overlooked Amethyst's own mana pool, they would run into the inky black lake of Hecatolite’s aether, that marked the far side of the void, in a few hours.

“Amethyst, I must inform you of something.” Babylon appeared before her as she made her way through the forest.

“Aren’t you the one who said we needed to hurry?” She asked, pushing through a particularly thick bush.

“Yes, however, given the current situation I feel it would be best if you knew about Hecatolite.” Amethyst watched as the terminal before her flashed a light blue momentarily before returning to the usual red, unbeknownst to her Overseer disconnecting itself from Babylon again to avoid the safety protocol pertaining to Hecatolite, “more specifically, what she is.”

“She is currently lost in this forest alone. What more would I need to know?” She asked, now slightly annoyed at the terminal that blocked her path. “Now that I think about it, you're acting strange Babylon, it's almost like you're afraid of Hecatolite.”

The terminal was silent for a moment as it flashed a handful of colors before landing on a dull yellow, “I do not fear Hecatolite, I simply believe in caution while dealing with her. I can acknowledge that she has changed greatly since I last encountered her yet that doesn’t change what she was in the past.”

“I don’t care what she was in the past,” Amethyst replied curtly as she pushed past the floating terminal. “She is my sister.”

“It is possible she will attack you.” Overseer called out after her crunching the numbers and stopping when it concluded that Amethyst’s odds of survival if Hecatolite attacked her were… higher than it originally anticipated. “40.6%...Odd… did I make a mistake?” the terminal muttered as it ran the numbers again. “No… strange…” It began running more simulations horrified to find that Hecatolite, though the most dangerous, was far from the only “threat” on this world. “Mother Eryl will not be happy about that…”

Amethyst left the strange terminal behind as she continued on her path, she had enough to deal with without arguing with her own skills. Though when she came to the clearing where her sister was, she did briefly consider calling the terminal again.

She looked at the massive wall of wooden logs that had been stacked haphazardly surrounded by whites that seemed to be attempting to get past it. a sinking feeling formed in her stomach as she watched the whites clawing at the wooden barrier while they… muttered incoherently.

She had grown used to the strange aberrations that lingered in their soul space, always staggering around before disappearing into the forest but she had never heard them make a sound, yet as she drew closer, she could hear the distinct chorus of voices.

“Demon”

“Run”

“Attack”

“Monster”

Their distorted voices grew louder as more of them emerged from the trees.

“What in the hells is going on here?” She asked as two whites walked right past her, the thunderclap of a Babylon terminal appearing seemed to make them stop.

“The whites, as Hecatolite calls them, appear to be the remnants of souls she has consumed. Specifically, the lingering thoughts of those she ate, though they are no danger to her, they seem to be contributing to the deterioration of her mental state…” Overseer was forced to pause as the whites all turned to the terminal, their featureless faces twisting into a horrific visage as they rushed towards the terminal that quickly retreated into the air out of their reach, “they are linked to Hecatolite’s mind, as such, seem to have a distinct dislike for the system.”

“How do we stop them?” Amethyst called over the growing horde only to watch as an enormous white swooped down from the sky, the enormous bird swooping in and snatching the terminal from the air before disappearing above the trees. The whites on the ground turned their attention back on the wooden wall, as if forgetting what drew them away from it.

Another thunderclap caused the situation to repeat as Overseer quickly spoke, “I doubt destroying them will do much good, I surmise that you will need to stabilize Hecatolite, before they will return to their normal state.” Overseer, having scanned the whites now that they have become active, had gained quite a bit more insight into what the creatures were, though they still registered as Hecatolite it could now see exactly how they were linked to her. They were bits of soul mass that formed around lingering thoughts, what it still couldn’t understand was why? What had happened in the war after it had been eaten? Why did the Primordials not simply destroy her instead of erasing her existence from the system and putting such a faulty safety protocol in place?

Amethyst nodded as she turned to the wall, with a loud pop, teleported herself to the top of the wall. Looking out over the clearing on the other side she spotted Hecatolite curled into a ball in the center of the empty clearing surrounded by tree stumps.

“Hecatolite!” She called as hopped from the wall; she considered teleporting to her sister but did not want to risk scaring her.

Hecatolite did not move as Amethyst approached, she just sat gently rocking herself as she muttered… nonsense to herself. Her broken speech shifting dialects so quickly Amethyst doubted even Babylon could translate it.

Amethyst stopped a few yards from her sister, speaking softly she called to her again, “Hecatolite, it’s time to go home.”

This time Hecatolite’s head snapped up, her large red eyes outlined by dark black streaks that ran down her cheeks.

  “No… nOt SaFe… LeAve.” Her voice was distorted beyond recognition causing Amethyst to step back as she looked into the shaking eyes of her sister.

“Hecatolite,” She prepared herself as her sister stood with jerky motions, her long tail uncoiling behind her with a sharp snap. The motion caused Babylon’s warning to slam into Amethyst's mind as she realized for the first time just how long the strange appendage was. “I know what Applejack said to you, how it must have felt… I am sorry, I need you to understand that he was wrong….”

“NOT WRONG!” The entire void shook as Hecatolite’s tail lashed about, “always the same! Always fear us, then attack us, hunt us… then we eat. Always same! Don’t want the same! Hide this time, hide good, never find…” Suddenly her head snapped to the side before she grabbed her head, “quiet!” She yelled as she fell down clutching her head, Amethyst could see her tiny claws digging into her hair. “Not a monster!” She cried curling in on herself, her tail wrapping tightly around her body as she spoke, “if attack they come, the never dies… the Ferryman… they come again…”

Her pleas were strange as Amethyst stood before her rambling sister… it was a strange sight, her words were ones that should be filled with fear, as if pleading with herself not to attack these “never dies”, yet, the entire clearing was awash with Hecatolite’s aura, a very distinct feeling rushing into Amethyst at the mention of this ferryman… excitement.

Amethyst stood while she deciphered what Hecatolite had said. She has been hunted before, that much is clear, but she said she ate after… Did she eat the ones who hunted her? and who are these never dies? I have heard her talk about this Ferryman before, but only when talking about someone who died… She did not move as she thought, listening to Hecatolite ramble gave her nothing more to go off of as she might as well have been speaking in tongues with the speed in which she changed languages…

Amethyst took a deep breath as she cautiously took a step towards Hecatolite, “I do not fear you.” She decided to simply address everything she understood in order, her words causing her sister's head to snap up again. “I will not attack you.” She took another step, “and I will not hunt you.” She swallowed hard as she was now within arm’s length of her sister, “if you wish to eat, would it not be better to eat together.” She knelt down beside her, “you are Hecatolite, my sister, not a monster.” She held a hand out to her, “we will not attack, but we will defend ourselves. If these never dies come, if the ferryman comes, we will stand together.”

Hecatolite flinched away from the hand as she inspected it much like a wild animal, she even sniffed it once before speaking. “Together… never stood together…. Never dies strong, never die, Ferryman is fast. Only one couldn’t beat, Ferryman ran after eating arm.” Her eyes opened wide before she dove away from Amethyst. “No. can’t stand together. Amethyst different, stole body. Shouldn’t have. Make problems, always make problems… try not to… but.” She shook her head side to side in jerking motions. “No memories bad, don’t want to see them anymore… should leave, go. I stay, cause no problems, will be quiet…”

“If they are strong then we will be stronger, if they run, we will let them. Hecatolite…” Her words were cut short as Hecatolite’s tail lashed out, barely even a white blur as it just barely missed Amethyst, smashing into the hard dirt beside her sending a spray of dirt into the air as it carved a trench into the ground.

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“Will make leave, better…” Hecatolite crouched as she spoke, her tail coiling around her defensively, as if ready to strike anything that came too close.

Amethyst knew fighting her sister would be nearly suicidal, even more so within the void where Hecatolite had the clear advantage given Amethyst herself had no way to actually harm a soul.

“Hecatolite, enough!” She yelled, releasing a wave of her own mana to combat her sisters, “I will not fight you!” She bellowed as she watched Hecatolite turn her head, looking at Amethyst with only one eye at a time.

“Don’t want to fight…. no… protect sparkle…” She ground her teeth as she seemed to argue with herself. 

“Now, listen to me, Hecatolite,” Amethyst again approached her sister, this time with reckless abandonment as she held her arms out, Hecatolite did not move as her tail twitched with every step. If Hecatolite was going to attack her… no Hecatolite would not attack me. Amethyst thought as she wrapped her arms around Hecatolite’s small soul form. “I will never leave you; you are my precious sister.” She whispered as she patted Hecatolite’s hair, “Hecatolite you are a lot of things, annoying, rude, vulgar,” with each word she could feel her sister tremble, “but you are also kind, so kind you always try to shoulder everything on your own, always getting hurt for others. Hecatolite you are a lot of things, but you have never been a problem.”

Amethyst could feel Hecatolite’s body relax as she slowly wrapped her arms around Amethyst's waist, a soft whimper escaping her as she spoke. “But I took your body. I’m the reason the church attacked you. I cause problems because I can’t control my power, always messing with people’s emotions…” Her voice finally coalescing into the soft voice Amethyst was used to.

“We share our body; it is every bit yours as it is mine, I told you that.” Amethyst replied softly, “what happened is not your fault, no one has any right to blame you for that, if they do let me know and I will set them straight.” She gently ran a hand through Hecatolite’s hair. “I have never once seen you attempt to take advantage of someone with your power…”

“But Saffron…” Hecatolite cut her off as Amethyst felt her grip tighten around her waist, Amethyst instantly happy she was able to avoid fighting Hecatolite as for the first time she felt discomfort as a soul from her grip.

“I…” Amethyst bit her lip, not wanting to add to Hecatolite’s concerns over a bit of discomfort, “I doubt Saffron thinks you took advantage of her. but if you truly feel you did, you should talk to her about it, apologize if you still feel you have to and we will go from there, ok?”

“What if she hates me?” Hecatolite asked burying her face into Amethyst's stomach before she violently shook… “no more memories.”

Hecatolite had told Amethyst about the memories before, the ones that were currently plaguing her left Amethyst at a loss. No matter how much she tried to comfort her sister she couldn’t protect her from her own mind.

The memories apparently came without warning, or so Hecatolite explained, just suddenly shoved into her mind randomly before quickly fading away. Amethyst had been worried when Hecatolite said that she couldn’t recall them sometimes, she assumed they went back to wherever they came from after she was done with them.

“Hecatolite… are the voices…”

“I don’t hear voices, I’m not crazy.” She hissed, squeezing her sister tightly; though her words said no, Amethyst could feel her nod slightly.

“Can you not make them be quiet again?” Hecatolite shook her head side to side causing Amethyst to wonder yet again what they were as she asked out loud, “why can you hear them? What are they?”

“What are we?” Hecatolite replied, the air around them vibrating as the words seemed to linger in the air. “Simple, we are thoughts… but if that’s the case then what are thoughts…. Thoughts are what makes us unique, makes us, us. But what am I then?” The ground shook as Hecatolite spoke, the clearing suddenly flooded with a strange energy that was similar to the feeling Hecatolite normally exuded, yet it was distinctly different; stronger, more defined and controlled, uniformed instead of coming in waves.

Amethyst readied herself to teleport as she looked down at her sister whose whole body vibrated, colorful lines dancing across her skin as she looked up to Amethyst. Hecatolite’s eyes caused Amethyst to freeze; the sinking feeling of looking into something she shouldn't be gripping her soul as Hecatolite’s large blood red eyes drew her in. 

“I think, therefore I am,” It felt like looking into an endless pit as she looked into the now crystal-clear eyes of her sister, “and I am me.” Hecatolite’s head snapped back with the sound of shattering glass as the entire void seemed to bow outwards.

Amethyst finally tore her eyes from her sister only to look up to see the egg in the sky vibrating as a low hum filled the void, aether pouring from the hole at an alarming rate as even from here, Amethyst could see hundreds of whites falling from the hole.

“That…” Amethyst bit her own tongue as her whole soul shook, a sudden rush of energy forcing her to her knees as she dropped her limp sister. “Can’t be good.” She struggled to say as she felt mana rushing into her. She could only assume Hecatolite’s aether pool had overflowed into her mana pool, activating her own skill to convert aether into mana. 

She clutched her abdomen as she watched the aether, thankfully it looked to be slowing down. “Good thing… I jumped around town for a while.” She chuckled dryly as she hoped she drained enough mana teleporting herself across town to get home.

Amethyst awoke laying face down in the dirt, her whole soul ached as she slowly stood to see Hecatolite laying where she had dropped her. “Babylon” she groaned, “what happened?”

The arrival of the terminal caused Hecatolite to jerk though she did not rouse from her slumber, “congratulations, you succeeded in stabilizing Hecatolite. you're currently suffering from mana burn though your soul seems undamaged… it's actually healing rather quickly as well though, it is advised you drain the excess mana as overloading your soul’s mana pool for a prolonged period may have adverse effects. Note, your soul space has expanded 15% in the last 12 hours.”

“I’m starting to see why Hecatolite doesn’t like you,” Amethyst rubbed her nose as Babylon managed to tell her nothing she did not know. “Are the whites back to normal?”

“Yes, it would appear that whatever you did caused them to cease the odd behavior. Though…”

“Good enough for me.” She cut Babylon as she carefully picked her sister off the ground and started back towards the cabin, “I’m going to leave now Babylon, as you said, I have to drain my mana.” 

She poofed herself to the top of the wooden wall and then back to the ground before heading into the trees.

“The cabin is the other direction.” Babylon called out causing her to groan as she adjugated Hecatolite in her arms. 

She closed her eyes as she sighed, “of course it is.” She said, turning to face the right direction only to open her eyes to find herself standing before the cabin. “Well… that’s different.” She said out loud as a terminal appeared beside her.

“How did you do that?” it asked flashing yellow.

“Does it really matter?” she asked as she made her way to the dual possession circle and gently placed Hecatolite in one of the chairs.  

“It does indeed matter, you shouldn’t…” Overseer stopped as Amethyst plopped into a chair and activated the circle, her presence vanishing the moment she did. “Be able to teleport around Hecatolite’s domain like that.” it finished as it scanned her innate soul. “That… Babylon is going to be very angry about that.” it sighed as it contemplated simply not reconnecting to its sister system…