Linked. Yes, they're bound. I can't move my hands... Or rather, my sister can't move them. It was as if I'd lived through this scene before. Especially as the places where my apostle's body had been restricted in its movements were exactly the same as before. The only difference was that I didn't wake up in abominable pain.

 

Incidentally, this also was the case for my apostle since she moved only slightly. At least she'd woken up; that was something. On the other hand, now that I think about it, it has already been a while since we regained consciousness. Yet I could see nothing of the surroundings on the physical plane. I shuddered at this incoherence.

 

I hurried to recheck my connection to my apostle's sensations. Strangely, I found no anomaly. Nothing could justify this contradiction. Indeed, it wasn't as if she was closing her eyes, for they were well and truly open at the moment... according to the algorithms that managed the sending of part of my sister's bodily sensations to me.

 

No matter how hard I examined the algorithms, I couldn't detect any malfunction in the calculations. So it seemed Systalia's eyes were open, but she couldn't see anything. My etheric face turned livid at this simple thought, which changed everything. I really hoped she hadn't gone blind, otherwise... Since all her ills had come from me in the first place... No! It wasn't that!

 

My opening of the Status had yielded nothing. I had no new debuff. On the one hand, this was reassuring. On the other hand, it made the search for the origin of this affliction that much more complicated. The only conjectures I could come up with were that either my sister had gained debuff on her own without warning me or some external object was simply blocking her view.

 

I found the second hypothesis much more realistic. Even if I couldn't decently rule out my first assumption. In any case, all I had to do was talk to my sister, who seemed to be opening her mouth unusually wide. A faint sound began to emanate from Systalia as I prepared to whisper in her ear.

 

Unfortunately, something had to happen to interrupt our conversation before it had even begun. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed throughout the room, which seemed to be tiny in both surface area and volume. At least, that's what I intuitively thought, given the way the sound was coming at us. An abominable screech reached my sister's poor ears as if the sound wasn't enough to distress us.

 

Worst of all, the horrifying noise lasted for several seconds, as if the person entering the room had deliberately made the sound last. I asserted that the unknown person was entering the room because the noise sounded like bars. Except that, at the time, the sound was much fainter. The bars had undoubtedly been in better condition. But that's not important.

 

What was more important was that the person was slowly approaching us. I felt my apostle try to move and free herself from her chains. I could see an expression of anguish on her face. But I could also know that she hadn't entirely given in to her distress. Indeed, she held back from bursting into tears while pursing her lips, surely not to let her anxiety show any further.

 

For once, I felt calm despite the desperate situation in which we now found ourselves. My only regret had been my decision to come to the Academy, against my sister's advice. Of course, I'd have to pay for my overconfidence sooner or later. I just wished it wasn't now. Even if the situation didn't comfort me in this meager hope.

 

Indeed, up until now, we'd been in danger countless times. But we'd always had at least one option. Certainly, that cost us enormously, but the possibilities are all the same. Moreover, our freedom had never been restricted in any way... at least, not entirely. But this time, it was undeniably different.

 

We no longer had any freedom. We were wholly at the mercy of our adversaries. That's why I deeply regretted my stupidity. I would have liked to go back and change events so much. But we had to face the facts. Firstly, such a feat would have been impossible. Secondly, such an action would have been meaningless. After all, our capture by the mysterious organization hunting us down was bound to be successful.

 

Even if I hadn't decided to go to the Academy today, there's no doubt I would have ended up inexorably crossing paths with this group of Academicians. With a few more years or even a decade, if I wanted to be optimistic, I'd have had a superior amount and control of mana. Nevertheless, I could never have had as much mana as those with an Apprentice Class.

 

Indeed, my mana increase through spell training was becoming increasingly complex. Each mana addition required more time than the previous one, so even if I'd had an extra decade, my mana could only have slightly exceeded the average for humans with an Apprentice Class.

 

Knowing that most Academicians had better statistics than most people in the Apprentice Class, it was logical to consider that they held more mana than the average human in this Kingdom. This was obvious when you thought about it carefully, as Academicians could be regarded as the elite of this Kingdom.

 

Even if some Academicians had less mana than me, they could compensate with other faculties. After all, if they'd managed to get into the Academy, they must have managed to pay for their weaknesses somehow. In fact, I even had to consider people with inferior stats as the most dangerous in actual combat.

 

After all, to be able to counterbalance their weaknesses, you had to be clever or cunning enough to manage to be an Academician despite everything. In other words, this type of person had to know their strengths, weaknesses, and limits and be able to analyze their opponent. In short, our worst enemy. Suddenly, I realized how lucky we'd been in our fights so far.

 

We'd always met people who underestimated us, if only a little, and didn't use their strengths to their full potential. So we'd never come across the genuinely strategic type of enemy. We'd only come up against opponents who relied on their raw strength and were occasionally a little cunning. In fact, it was highly likely that we were currently up against people of the rather strategic type.

 

Indeed, I had no doubts about their intelligence and prudence. Despite having captured us, they hadn't shown themselves to us. What's more, they were testing us. The torrent of water, the majority of objects with the same characteristics, and the constant surveillance continually oppressed us: everything pointed to a deliberate chain of events.

 

Someone had placed us somewhere, no doubt, to test some of our abilities. But why? Why go to such lengths for us? All this meticulous preparation was nothing more than an admission of guilt on the part of the organization. They already knew certain things about us. At least enough not to consider us worthless.

 

On the one hand, I was afraid to find out how much they knew about us. Mostly, I wanted to see if they learned about the Void. On the other hand, since the organization had some information about us, they must have known something about my past. As we were already at the enemy's, with no immediate way of returning to the Refuge, we could make the most of it!

 

A faint smile appeared on my face as it lost its pallor. Of course, I hadn't lost my earlier fear. I was simply in denial. Even though I was aware of it, I couldn't do otherwise. After all, I had to stay focused on the current situation, watching for the slightest opportunity to turn the tide in our favor.

 

I'd have plenty of time to weep over the events that had just taken place. At least, that's what I tried so hard to convince myself. As for Systalia... I scrutinized her bodily sensations and the expression on her face... She was able to take care of herself. I sometimes forgot that she was a little more emotionally solid than me... except in a few cases.

 

Having finished my thought, I turned my attention back to the surroundings. In any case, I had no choice, as the person would stay in the room longer this time. Indeed, the creaking noise I'd heard a few seconds earlier could only belong to a chair that has to bear a much greater weight than it usually does.

 

Or the chair was too old to be used. Poor thing, I feel so sorry for it... If only I'd had the means to save her back then, I would have... But anyway, I'm getting a little off track here... Sorry. In fact, during my previous long reflection, the person's footsteps had first seemed to approach before moving away.

 

In the meantime, there had been a few tens of seconds when the person didn't seem to have moved from his position. The mere thought that this enemy had scrutinized us for that long time was irritating. Then he returned a second time and obviously sat on a chair. I wondered what the Academician, presumably opposite us, was waiting for to talk to us.

 

Let's face it, he wouldn't stand next to us just to admire my apostle's body. Strangely enough, I didn't appreciate being stared at. In fact, I was even a tad jealous of this human's ability to observe her. Even though I was far from aware of it then, I already considered Systalia aesthetically beautiful.

 

However, I don't have strong feelings for her yet, even though I know full well that I'm rather incompetent to understand my feelings and detect their true meaning. Otherwise, I'd never have had many problems with my Desire, Identity, and singular relationship with the Void. However, I have no regrets about being born with such handicaps.

 

In fact, I was proud to have them, for they had enabled me to have an exciting life full of twists and turns... if I do say so myself. Above all, I would never have been here right now, writing my Memoirs so that my Successor could make a choice. This may shock you, but I know perfectly well what a difficult choice you're facing.

 

If you're wondering, by reading this book, you could be led to reconsider your current choice. So you're free to read on or not. In fact, if you have a virtuous choice to propose to the World, I strongly advise you to stop reading this book. Especially as you're still at the beginning of my story. This way, it will remain the far-reaching sentence you're about to pronounce.

 

In that case, the task will be deferred to my next successor, and you can live peacefully alone. At least as peacefully as possible, given the circumstances in which you've been trapped since birth. But anyway, I'd better end this aside before I ramble any further. So, let's get on with it!

 

"Fascinating... Really fascinating..."

 

So those were our enemy's first words! To tell the truth, I was a little disappointed. I'd expected a more terrifying or frightening line. I'd misjudged our enemies' personalities, after all. In any case, the first words were more explicit. But then again, our adversaries weren't here to tell us their plans either, so it was only natural that I should be at a loss to understand their gibberish.

 

Even if I secretly hoped I could extract some information from these organization stooges. There was a chance we'd be in front of the boss, but I highly doubted it. I said, but Systalia had the incredible task of talking to our enemies. I could understand why this idea made her break out into a cold sweat and her face tense up as I told her of my current intention.

 

I could only encourage my sister in this rather stressful mission. It was bad enough that conversing with enemies under normal circumstances called for caution in the choice of words, but in the current conditions, it was hazardous. Indeed, unlike other times, we couldn't adapt how we addressed our opponents by knowing their strengths since we could not perceive them.

 

To my great sorrow, I could only use the skill of evaluation by looking at people through my apostle's eyes and only through this sense. If this flaw had yet to bother me up to now, it had become more than problematic... All this is to say that I had to think about perceiving the environment by means other than the traditional senses.

 

I would like to maximize my chances of obtaining valuable information about the enemy. With the unknown strength of our adversary, my apostle had to be very careful how she addressed the person in front of us. Especially as she seemed decently intelligent from her first words.

 

Extorting information from her was difficult, so my intuition told me. I prayed one last time for my sister, who remained mute for the moment, waiting for the human to continue his obscure remarks. Fortunately, his next words turned out to be very satisfying. Some people didn't need our help to be unnecessarily talkative.

 

"I can see why the chief is so intensely interested in you. You really are one of a kind. At least, your power is. You can heal your entire body, so much so that if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I'd never have believed you even received injuries in the first place. In fact, the healing phenomenon is quite disturbing. It's as if your body hadn't simply been healed but had been entirely regenerated. As if it were a whole new body... At any rate, that's the chief's theory, and I agree with it."

 

I was stunned by what we heard... and it appeared that my sister was too. I could understand her wide eyes and wide-open mouth. This information was worrying, to say the least. Unfortunately, the organization's assumptions about our healing powers were proving to be relatively accurate. I hoped they hadn't discovered any more of our secrets. I swallowed instinctively at the thought.

 

However, I had a bad feeling about my previous assertion. I had a feeling I'd soon regret having dared to hope. Above all, I was puzzled by an intriguing detail in his last sentence: "Just about." Why had he said that? Had we unwittingly revealed another Truth about ourselves? Yet it doesn't seem like it to me, no matter how I review today's events.

 

Wait... But yes! How stupid of me! I couldn't help thinking how careless I'd been. However, I didn't regret this monumental error, as we had no alternative communication method. Besides, I was sure that our charming enemy would soon tell us. So, my anxiety subsided as I simply waited for the fateful words.

 

My only remaining hope was that the Academician could not communicate his discovery of one of our secrets from a distance. However, this hope would only prevail if our enemies had not overheard our conversation beforehand, for example, during our imprisonment in a dungeon or just before we were swept away by the torrent of water.

 

In fact, I hoped that the cameras didn't pick up details such as moving lips, or that their locations prevented me from observing my apostle from the front or in profile when she conversed with me. Moreover, there was still a tiny chance that the person who insisted on talking to us had never related these facts to her superiors. At least, I wanted to assume so, even if I knew it was a vain hope.

 

"However, I don't entirely agree with the chief's theory. Regarding the presence of a healing power, I have no problem. However, I disagree with the chief's interpretation of this disturbing information."

 

With a loud creak, the human seemed to rise from his chair. The slow but increasingly loud steps sent tremors through my apostle's body. We both held our breath. His footsteps stopped, and his breath could be felt on my sister's neck. She desperately refrained from uttering a sound despite her growing anxiety.

 

"Indeed, he thinks this power is some kind of magic. But it's strange... I have the impression that the nature of this power is totally different from magic or a skill... Moreover, does this power really belong to you?"

 

My sister's eyes widened in astonishment. As if satisfied by her reaction, the Academician moved away from her. The purpose of these whispers was to gauge my apostle's response. Moreover, the latter seemed to have reached the same conclusion as me as she frantically clamped her teeth with her lips. But, of course, there were more worrying elements in our enemy's conversation.

 

I didn't know why he was sharing his thoughts with us when it would be better to let as little information as possible slip out, even to people you completely dominate. At least, that's what I would have done in the organization's place. Even though I understood that the actions of this group of Academicians certainly had a meaning that I didn't yet perceive.

 

I thought that, but I had yet to obtain undeniable proof that the organization that had captured us today was the same one that had been trying to catch us for decades. Nor, for that matter, did I know what would become of us at the end of the day. This was the most essential information missing from our enemies' actions.

 

Unfortunately, my intuition informed me that the current conversation would not allow me to obtain this information. In any case, the last sentence answered the questions I'd been asking myself. Indeed, the human knew that Systalia was talking to someone else. Even if I had held out a slim hope that he would conclude that she was speaking to herself.

 

After all, that would have been a much more reasonable thought. Unfortunately, our enemy seemed simply too perceptive. From now on, we had to find out exactly what she meant. Indeed, there was little chance of him knowing that the Void and I were clinging to my apostle's Soul. So, I could only wonder about the true meaning of his question.

 

In any case, I would soon know the answer. Indeed, the human seemed determined to put these questions to us, even though I doubted more and more the usefulness of his action for the organization's objective. After all, he wasn't questioning us vehemently, even though I had to admit I was emotionally uncomfortable.

 

The present situation had to be a different kind of torture from what I'd endured so far, I thought wearily. At that moment, I'd much rather be swept away by a torrent of water and feel excruciating physical pain than be in the presence of this Academician any longer. Much to my chagrin, our psychic suffering was not over, for, after more than sixty seconds, he resumed the conversion as he appeared to sit back in his chair.

 

"You really are an amazing being, you know. At least, that's what anyone would think at first glance. But I know the Truth, you see. Your dark, inescapable Truth."

 

The Academician spoke his last words so slowly and distinctly that my sister's body instinctively shuddered. I felt as if these words were entering my very soul. In fact, it was an utterly disconcerting experience. It was as if he was deliberately trying to frighten us. However, if that was his aim, what could this maneuver do for the organization?

 

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't figure it out. All I could do was listen to this human's words and pray that our future would not be too painful. Why were we in such a situation? Even more than on other days, this question haunted me? Each time, it sent me back to my amnesia, to my lack of knowledge of my life during my first hundred years.

 

I was so helpless that I couldn't stop the tears from my etheric eyes. I was so powerless that I was now in a situation where there seemed to be no way out. I was so impotent that I was unable to discover my own past. I was so powerless that I couldn't grasp the Void's true nature. The Void...

 

Come to think of it, you were there with me all along, weren't you? I stared absently at my Void. Even though I knew my intuition wasn't based on concrete evidence, I was confident that the Void had always been by my side. Ever since I was born... No, even before that, the Void must have been with me. I was so stubbornly convinced that nothing could have changed my mind.

 

At least, there were elements of my existence and my relationship with the Void that I held to be true. However, the absence of proof to back up these truths could only make me uncomfortable. However, if I were to compare it to when I first woke up, I'd evolved quite well, even if I knew I'd only made the journey's beginning. I still had so many Truths to learn about myself and about you. Isn't that so, my dear Void?

 

I finished my statement no sooner than I felt the Void answer me. Yes... Nothing was lost yet. The sight of my warm Void had given me hope that a solution existed. No, it wasn't that I doubted the existence of the solution until now, but that I dreaded the effects of its application and the possibility of its realization. After all, I wasn't sure I had enough Will within me...

 

I came out of my reflection uncertain as to what action to take. Moreover, the heavy silence in the room dampened my mood, which had only stabilized. I didn't know what the Academician was thinking, but I was dreading his following words. I was indeed right to be apprehensive about his words. Although I was wrong about the cause of the fear. After all, his words turned out to be far more mysterious than I'd imagined.

 

"At first, I was just a little curious about you, nothing more. But now I've become fully in awe of your frail yet coveted existence... Although... Are you really as weak as you claim? You don't need to answer. After all, thanks to this meeting, I've seen that you're not... You're both actually among the strongest in the World... Besides, are there really two of you in reality?"

 

What was that last sentence! He had mumbled this astounding statement so softly that a light breeze would have made more noise. My apostle's face turned livid as she couldn't stop her mouth from opening and closing several times. Needless to say, her eyes widened again. It was becoming a habit. Although it was doubtful whether this was a positive thing.

 

In any case, my sister's expression hardly escaped the strange human's notice, who took the opportunity to burst out laughing. He must have seen an admission of guilt on her face, or our reaction was far too hilarious for him. Who could claim to know what was in the mind of this strange human? True, I no longer considered him simply an Academician. Was he even one in the first place?

 

Ever since our encounter with this human, I'd sensed something was wrong, even if I didn't know what. Now, I finally understood the source of my unease. I didn't know who his boss was, but he certainly wasn't the head of the organization that was targeting us. What's more, he didn't seem hostile towards us. In fact, he appeared rather observant and aloof from current events.

 

At least, that's how I perceived his attitude towards us. "In any case, throughout this whole conversation, he's really given us the creeps with his turns of phrase and the sound of his footsteps.", I thought, exhaling calmly. At this moment, I discovered my inability to cope with the lack of vision in my environment. It wasn't the dark that terrified me but the lack of sensation.

 

That was probably why I was so afraid of the ceiling... No, that couldn't explain it. So, I dismissed this justification as nonsense and refocused my thoughts on the human's true identity. In any case, it was fortunate that I had become aware of this weakness at that moment and not at a more perilous time... But then, I couldn't have understood my luck at the time.

 

I had implied earlier that the conversation was over because the human's footsteps seemed to move away from us as if he were about to leave the room. However, I wasn't about to let him get away... at least, not just yet. I still had a few questions to ask him. So I began to converse with my sister until...

 

"Ah!"

 

The human's footsteps stopped abruptly, and he exclaimed as if he'd forgotten to tell us something important. All I could do was wait in anguish for a few interminable seconds for those words that could change everything. Only the following words had everything to disappoint me.

 

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't ask me questions I couldn't answer anyway."

 

He had undoubtedly picked up on the significance of the conversation between me and my apostle and acted accordingly even before we could ask him any questions. Yet even with this warning, we still had to ask him a question, the most important one if we were to see him again. So I quickly ordered my sister to speak a single sentence as soon as possible so he wouldn't have time to leave the room.

 

"Um... Say... Um... Tell me, by what pseudonym should I call you, dearest stranger? I must have a name for our next meeting. Am I right?"

 

The strange human paused one last time. Nearly a minute passed while he seemed to be deep in thought. Nevertheless, it was so long that I feared he had used magic to muffle the sound of his footsteps and had long since left the room. To my relief, however, I was wrong, for it wasn't long before his voice finally rang out.

 

"A pseudonym and a next meeting, eh... So, my subterfuge didn't work... I'd indeed left obvious clues, but such quick-wittedness is pretty spectacular. You've kept a cool head enough to analyze my words, even under such trying circumstances. It doesn't matter though... It doesn't change anything after all. It's even good for me when I think about it. I'm actually part of the organization that captured you. Although, indeed, it's not the only organization I'm affiliated with. Consider this information a gift for impressing me so much today. Nevertheless, let's get back to the pseudonym... Hmm... Complicated... But I did manage to make up my mind in the end. I must warn you, however, that I could improve at names. So, you can call me…"

 

The human paused for a few seconds while my sister and I squinted before finally uttering just one word, the meaning of which turned out to be more obscure than expected.

 

"Ælyana"

 

Although my first thought should have been to analyze this name to understand its meaning, I had been challenged by a far more trivial and shocking fact. Indeed, I couldn't help thinking that this pseudonym was quite close to the public name Systalia and I had chosen: "Ælia", which we had already used when we met Nalys in the first city we had once visited.

 

Incidentally, I wasn't the only one intrigued by this surprising fact, as a slight look of astonishment appeared on my sister's face. Fortunately, it seemed that the mysterious human had already left the room by the time she noticed her expression. In any case, we now knew what to call him: Ælyana. A beautiful name, if I say so myself...and somewhat strangely nostalgic.

 

Indeed, I felt as if I'd heard the name somewhere before, even if I couldn't discern the emotions associated with it as they seemed so numerous. What's more, I had the unpleasant sensation of having mistaken his gender or somewhat her gender. Next time, I hoped to see him, or rather her, with my own eyes, or rather with the eyes of my apostle, to confirm or deny this fact.

 

And so we met a mysterious person, far more connected to my past and that of Systalia than I could ever have believed at the time... and far more significant in the eyes of the World than I could ever have imagined.