To The Salmoon: The Clone and the Conglomerate
Rachel returned to her physical body abruptly, sitting perfectly still even as her head swam.
Though her consciousness was back, her soul and spirit still remained outside, standing over her body as ethereal conduits. Through them, the massive flood of knowledge magic she had gained during her soul walk steadily flowed into her being. She began slowly processing the information.
Much of it she already knew, but like all knowledge, there were fine nuances and hidden meanings within the magical threads. Rachel was determined to fully understand what the Conglomerate was doing, how it related to Shain's deep cover, the realm of Chaos, and the Trannisa people she had sworn to protect.
The knowledge rippled through her body like an electric current moving through a stable circuit. It cycled through her being seven times before she deliberately slowed it, allowing the remainder to seep into her like osmosis.
Rebecca frowned but remained silent. She sensed that something was amiss but nothing immediately dangerous to Rachel, so she stilled her worry.
Smral and Ambruce tensed in unison. Both could perceive the knowledge pouring into Rachel's spirit and soul. They understood enough to know Rachel would emerge from the walk deeply troubled.
Smral suddenly felt used by fate for the first time. Ambruce, meanwhile, became upset with the Conglomerate and, simultaneously, with herself. She recognized how she had treated "lesser beings" in the past and saw the wrongness in it now.
'How can we feel so superior?' Ambruce asked silently.
'This is life. The strongest is always the dominating force. It is something innate and natural for beings,' Rachel's mind supplied gently through the tether. 'We have to think about our actions and place them next to our personal moral codes to understand if we are truly right or wrong. Do not worry. You are already learning if you understand that your past actions are similar to the Conglomerate's.'
Ambruce smiled. Rachel's words offered forgiveness, and she instantly felt a little wiser.
The bright pink streams of knowledge dulled and muted until they were barely visible. At that point, Rachel's soul and spirit bodies entered her physical form almost in unison, merging and disappearing into her being.
She remained seated for many more moments.
Finally, her eyes slowly opened. She looked at Rebecca, Smral, and Ambruce. All three swallowed hard. Her eyes were ethereal and foreboding. The Antrunie felt they were being pulled into a deep abyss of frightening power.
Rachel cracked her neck twice and gracefully rose. "The Conglomerate needs to be dealt with, and soon." She exhaled dramatically. "First, we will return to the Salmoon with the others, as planned."
She looked to Ambruce. "I will need you to look into something." Ambruce nodded. "Go through the pocket realm connected to you and Trannisa and tell me what you see in Trannisa's sea of souls. Then, see how it aligns with fate maps, and report what you discover."
Ambruce bowed deeply. She looked to Smral and Rebecca, stepped to the right, and disappeared, beginning her new assignment.
Rachel looked to the other two. "Let's talk to Cramnal and Struns and begin thinking about our next moves."
Rebecca cleared her throat, but it was Smral who spoke first. "You told Allons you would speak to him before we left."
Rachel looked at Smral. "He wants to go with us. He wants to be an Antrunie, but I am not sure if he is ready."
"You always say that," Rebecca interjected sharply. "Look at how long you allowed Cramnal to linger. He can go with us. If he does not belong with us, he does not belong, but stop trying to hinder everyone's progress, woman."
"I am not hindering anyone, Rebecca. I am just..."
"You're just what?" Rachel did not reply. Rebecca nodded in satisfaction. "At the very least, allow him to be in this meeting while we wait for Ambruce."
Rachel sighed. Smral stood to the side, watching the spectacle with fascination.
Rachel looked at Smral so suddenly he flinched back. "Do you have an opinion?"
"Don't take it out on him, Rach." Rebecca stepped in.
Rachel exhaled and stepped back. "Get ready to leave."
'Allons, if you want to talk, come now. We are leaving,' Rachel sent through the soul tether.
'I am on my way, Milana.'
'Shain.'
'Rachel.'
'We will be leaving soon. If you need me, you can talk to me through the tether I bound to you.'
'Okay, little sister. Did you find out anything within the main facility?'
'...Yes... Two months, Shain.'
'Two months.' The significance of the timeframe passed between them without words.
Allons entered without knocking. He had known he was supposed to be an Antrunie since he was a young boy, and laying eyes on Rachel had solidified it. He needed to be the one to protect her. She was not the Milana; she was his Milana.
He took a knee before her and began speaking before she could stop him, startling both Rebecca and Smral.
"I am Antrunie. I have been forged to protect the Milana. I was born to this role, and I embrace it with all that I am."
"Stand up. You will travel with us. We will go to the abyss near Sibba continent. Get your things. Who do I need to talk to?"
"I have my things, and I already resigned from my post. There is no one to speak to about this."
"You do not need time with your family?"
He looked at her seriously. "You and the other Antrunie are my family."
Rachel only looked at him and did not respond.
She looked to all three of them. "Prepare. I will call Cramnal and Struns."
Allons, Rebecca, and Smral sat as one. Rebecca looked slowly at Allons, visibly impressed by his commitment, just as she closed her eyes.
Rachel sat in the middle. She breathed in and out deeply several times. Ethereal streams of magic formed, extending out to the three sitting with her. Her breathing echoed, becoming ethereal, and she called for Cramnal and Struns through their soul tethers.
Two more tethers appeared from empty areas, extending to Rachel. Once connected, Cramnal and Struns spoke as one.
'Rachel.'
Rachel nodded. 'Come and meet us at the Salmoon. We will first finish things we have committed to, and then we will address the Conglomerate and Shain.'
'The Conglomerate is experimenting on Trannisa residents. It seems some are volunteers, and some are not. None understand the fullness of the experiments. Which means I do not, as well. I know a bit more than the participants do, but only the White seems to know all.'
'We will have to see why Shain has manipulated things to get himself here.'
'He did what?!' Struns's voice was sharp.
'Calm yourself, Struns. She is our sister, too.'
'I know, Cramnal. I know. I apologize, Milana.'
'There is no need. I do not fully understand what Shain is doing either. We will allow it a bit longer before we pull him out.'
'All I can understand is that these people are being changed into people of light.'
She felt the stir in all of their souls, but Cramnal was the one to speak. 'They are creating Azmin?'
They all felt Rachel's nod. 'It would seem so. I think Smral was able to cause so much chaos and Trannisa was so confused because these other Azmin have actually thrown the realm into an odd, subtle imbalance.'
'It is like only the most instinctual parts of the realm understand that there is an imbalance, while the majority of the realm continues with something akin to a tumor growing in the brain.'
Cramnal and Struns nodded as one. 'Do you have a plan?'
'For now, we need to gather more information and understand any and all new changes within the realm.'
All the Antrunie nodded. 'Prepare, everyone. We meet at the Salmoon in one hour.'
'Do you believe it is time for your clone to come forth? You have been holding that back for a while,' Rebecca interjected.
'Rebecca is right, sister. We need all of your strength. It is said the Milana clone unlocks aspects of the Milana that are otherwise hidden.'
Rachel nodded. 'I will listen to the advice of my Antrunie and consider this.'
The Antrunie nodded as one, and the connections slowly faded. Rachel stood languidly, and the Antrunie with her followed suit, though a bit more slowly.
"Let's hurry to the abyss. I think this is infinitely more complicated than we can currently see."