Mistwoven Healer

"And… how well do you know this guy?" Asumi asks, peering over my shoulder at my phone.

We're looking at directions to the place we're supposed to meet with "The Architect" today to get started on a proper revival method for fallen sentinels, but the destination is a bit… odd. It isn't a building I've ever been to before, which is unusual for a meeting with a member of the A Rank Council. I expected to meet him at the GDF or perhaps the Sanctum Collective after signing my deal with Nightsong… Kyra, whatever. However, the map on my phone is directing us to a rather nice-looking building full of various stores, restaurants, and the like.

"I don't," I say, pinching my nose as someone with a particularly bad smell passes us on the skyway.

Asumi mutters something, but I can't quite catch what it is, even with my magically enhanced hearing. The skyways are packed today, and the glass-enclosed tunnels are loud. It's been a problem for a while, but one that I've been expertly pushing to the back of my mind. With the Volcora pushing in harder and harder every day, the people from rural towns like Shirakaze don't have anywhere to go but to the protected city. However, unlike the people native to Shinara, they… well, they haven't quite figured out that living in the upper city costs more money than they have yet. Especially now.

At the moment, almost every hotel in Shinara is fully booked with refugees who come out during the day to roam the skyway in hopes of being able to find permanent housing and stop bleeding money on expensive hotel rooms. My heart bleeds for these people, but… there really isn't anything I can do for them. Even as a sentinel, the best I can do is offer healing and physical aid, but even then, I could only help a few individuals at most. Part of me longs to open up my massive apartment to some refugees, but my security team told me in no uncertain terms that wouldn't be happening. Things will have to get slightly worse than they are now for me to overrule them on that, although that's likely coming soon.

For now, the best I can do is hope these people can find places where the smog and Volcora danger isn't too bad while they ride out the storm. If… when we can find our sentinel revival method, the surge of new manpower will hopefully be enough to retake much of Japan, giving these people their homes back.

Deciding to focus on problems I might actually be able to fix, I refocus my attention on navigating us through the crowds to make our way toward the meeting place with the Architect. Getting through the hordes of people isn't the easiest thing in the world, but luckily, we have both Lucas and Asumi's father — who decided to walk us to our meeting today — as shields against the human tide. I feel bad for the poor souls who are going to need to clean out the skyway after this is done. With the new surge of people also came a new surge of trash and various awful smells.

It takes a while to force our way through the crowds and to the correct building, mostly because we came from the docks instead of the Sanctum Collective. I very much appreciate Florina for her help, but it's a touch inconvenient to need to visit the gigantic tree every day.

Stars, I should just hire someone to fly me places, it's not like I can't afford it. I'm just so used to the idea that I should walk everywhere I go, it saves money, and is usually good for staying fit and healthy. Also, there is a mindset people get when they always fly above the crowds and never walk among them. They start to view the people below as lesser, and that is a point of view I've been working for years to counteract in myself. No matter where I end up in society, I need to remember being that sheltered nobody of a girl living in the slums with only my father to look after me.

Finally arriving at the correct skyway bridge, I let my eyes drift up at the building before us. Oddly, I could see several workers, both on the building itself and in the skyway, removing advertisements for the various companies that operated within. Curious. What did this A Ranker do? Buy the whole building?

Moving down the tunnel, I quickly spot a group of four GDF guards equipped in gear that seems like the best of the best. Sleek black armor, large assault rifles, and dark helmets with glowy bits on them. If it weren't for the GDF logo on their shoulders, I wouldn't even know for sure that they worked for the military.

Raising an eyebrow, I turned to look at Lucas trailing me like a large, protective shadow. "What do you think of their armor? Should I get you something like that?"

Lucas shrugs, "I'm quite capable of doing my job as is, Miss Serena. Please don't feel the need to spend your hard-earned money on me."

I laugh, "Lucas, by this point, I'm quite sure you were sent by the stars. I don't even know what I would do without you. Besides, don't you want some cool new toys?"

Lucas's eyes flick to the power armor and weaponry. He manages not to say anything, but the look of desire in his eyes tells me everything I need to know. Besides, he's been doing so much for me for so long. Yes, he's been getting paid by the GDF to look after me, but it's high time I did something nice for him.

While I was talking with Lucas, Asumi has been speaking with her father, who looks like he's about to head to his work. "You girls will be safe without me until I come back to pick you up?" he questions.

Asumi nods, grinning. "Of course, we have Lucas, and we can look out for each other, too."

Her father nods, looking just slightly hesitant at the sight of the heavily armed soldiers not too far away, but he has a restaurant to run and a living to make. There are plenty of people around who just need something to eat as well. With a final smile and a wave, he heads back out into the crowds.

"Well," Asumi says, looking at the armed guards with just a touch of nerves, "I do hope you aren't planning on abandoning me again. I think I would worry myself sick on my own."

I huff a small sigh; I didn't plan to abandon her in the first place. Kyra is a bit of a wrecking ball like that. Wherever she goes, others are forced to either get out of the way or they're coming with.

"I'm sorry again about that," I say, wrapping an arm around Asumi. Her skin feels cold and clammy, and if I didn't know about her condition, I would have rushed her to a hospital for hypothermia. But, for Asumi, this is just standard. I'm still excited to explore how far she might be able to stretch the ability. However, that's a task for another day.

Together, Asumi and I make our way toward the armored guards, none of whom appear particularly agitated by our approach. Right after I became a sentinel, these guards likely would have intimidated me quite a lot. Now though, even in my weakened state, I find myself unafraid of anyone wearing a GDF Logo… which is probably a mistake. The GDF team that attacked us in the incursion zone means that there could be traitors within the organization. A lot of them even. Best to keep my circle of trust to individuals, rather than groups. I trust Lucas, and to a lesser degree, Karma and Prof. That will be enough for now.

Arriving before the guards, I meet their eyes — or… glowy helmets — and allow just a bit of my mist to leak out and swirl around me. This is something I've been learning to do more now that I can't access my assault state safely. For a sentinel in their rest state, it's still easy to call upon a limited amount of magic, just not to do any of the really big stuff. The problem is that it's our assault states that get people to recognize us for what we are, especially if our familiars are hiding at the moment. As such, a casual display of magic, often called a flair, allows me to signal what I am without needing to shift or explain myself.

In response to my flair, one guard nods. "The Architect is waiting for you inside. Please, take a seat in the lobby, and Maria will come down to show you to the lab."

Shrugging, I just say, "Thanks!" and make my way past the guard into the building. The building, which… is kinda funky on the inside.

In the same way that the advertisements are being taken down outside, the interior of the building looks like this used to be the lobby of some kind of multi-story shopping complex. Like the one I visited to buy the majority of my non-magical supplies before heading to Shirakaze. However, this one is a bit… destroyed. While the lobby is mostly intact, dozens of workers are moving around the space, clearing out the few shops directly attached to the entry area.

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"What on Earth is even going on here?" Asumi asks, taking one of the plastic seats to wait as she watches the workers.

I sit beside her, Lucas taking a guard position standing behind us.

"If I had to guess," I murmur, watching the contents of the former's stores being packed away, "this Architect guy bought the whole building."

Honestly, if you have the capital, buying a building isn't a terrible investment. If I ever make enough money, I might consider buying out my old apartment complex, fixing some of the issues, and making it into a nice stopover point for people coming up from the slums to have nice housing while they look for a job up above. I don't really see myself moving out of my current space, though, so it might be better to instead buy the rest of that building. However, while I'm admittedly pretty wealthy, I'm not that wealthy. Still… I have visions for the future after I've revived Akari.

I don't want to fight, not anymore. That might mean that my progress as a sentinel might stall out a bit, but I don't think it would stall too much. All sentinels really need is to overcome challenges to grow; fighting is the easiest way to find those challenges, but things like founding a successful clinic could also be challenging and lead to advancement. Also, who cares if it takes a long time? It's like Kyra said, if we can revive sentinels, then it will become a lot easier to progress through the ranks. Especially given that we don't really age much.

Yes… I can see what I want to do. Using my talents for good, helping clean up the slums, stars, maybe I can even fix the smog problem, so people stop getting so many lung issues. With infinite time and Akari by my side, there's no problem we can't solve. I just have to do the impossible first.

For the first time in a while, my thoughts are pleasant as we wait. With the support of Florina and the A Rank Council, it's finally starting to appear as if my vision for the future can become reality. I don't really trust either, but for now, they are just a means to an end. I would love to continue working with them in the future and build proper trust; however, I only really see that working for Florina. The second I get Akari back, the A Rank Council stepping on my toes could mean the end of any partnership between us. Also, Celeste still wants to restore our connection to her mother, but that's its own problem entirely.

Ultimately, it doesn't take too long before the lobby elevator dings and a woman in a sharp business suit strides out. She's tall and athletic with blonde hair and American features — an oddity in Shinara, but not too much. She also seems to care very little about my sentinel status as she marches up to us.

"You are Miss Serena and Miss Asumi, correct?" the woman asks, pausing her rapid stride with one resounding click of her heels.

I stand, offering the woman a smile. "Yes, we are here to meet with the Architect."

"Good," she snaps, turning back to the elevator. "Follow me, Felix has already started work on the project, and he is… impatient."

The Architect, or Felix, is a small, mostly unassuming-looking man, even in his assault state. As Asumi and I enter his "lab," which is really just a collection of couches, tables, and more computers and monitors than any one person could ever need, we find the sentinel writing furiously in a notepad as he watches the near incomprehensible output on a display.

Honestly, the thing that surprises me most isn't Felix's lab or appearance — a lot of sentinels are eccentric — but instead, the fact that he's clearly a blue sentinel. Felix's assault state is primarily blue, with a long lab coat over what seems to be sleek, militaristic body armor. He has a visor over his eyes that flickers with lights, likely adding even more chaos to the overwhelming amount of visual input in the room.

As I'm taking him in, though, Asumi nudges me with her elbow. "Serena… why does he have fox ears… and a tail?" she whispers.

I blink, looking over the appendages, then shrug. "Lots of sentinels have things like that in their assault state. It's not so common, but you see it often enough," I whisper back.

The animal aesthetic isn't something I'm particularly interested in, although I have to say that I would love a pair of wings like Audrey's. Although Celeste should get big enough to ride on after my next major rank-up. Having a familiar who can do the flying for me would also be just fine.

"Are you two just going to stand there talking about me, or are you going to help?" the sentinel asks from his position on a large couch before half a dozen monitors. He doesn't even look over at us.

Asumi and I glance at each other, then shrug. Together, we move to go sit beside this "Architect" and see what's going on.

The moment we sit on the couch, some of the monitors before us shift their displays away from data readouts to some kind of visual representation of a simulation. Oddly, Felix doesn't seem to have a keyboard to make the change, but if he's specialized in tech, it's likely he could control this using his powers. In fact, that's probably why he's in his assault state, as all this would be a lot even for an A Rank in his rest state.

For the first time, Felix glances toward us, his eyes flicking from place to place under his semi-transparent visor. "Look at the simulation," he commands, "what do you see?"

Raising an eyebrow, I turn my attention to where he indicated. Honestly, I kind of like his style. Push past the noise and the introductions and just get straight into work.

The monitor he indicated shows two different pools of what I assume is energy, or perhaps mana, separated by a black line. One pool of energy is bright, vivid blue, and the other is a dull green. As I watch, some of the blue energy flickers before appearing on the other side of the barrier within the green energy, which immediately consumes it, the blue vanishing and the green becoming slightly brighter.

Beside me, Asumi frowns. "It's showing energy teleporting across a barrier," she asks, sounding a touch confused.

Honestly, so am I… except. "No… it's showing mana teleporting inside a soul gem. But… the mana is just being instantly subsumed into the soul gem?"

Felix snaps his fingers, "That!" he exclaims, "Is the second reason it is so hard to revive sentinels! Plenty of sentinels, Nightsong included, can teleport not just their person but their power. We have blue sentinels who can do it too, some forms of healing without touch operate by teleporting mana from one place to another. Yet, any new mana that enters a soul gem becomes the mana of the soul's holding dominion within."

"So, it's so hard because you can't break open the soul gem without killing the person," Asumi says, trying to work it out in her head, "and… if you teleport healing magic inside the soul gem, the gem just… eats it?"

"That makes sense," I add, nodding. "Souls in a soul gem are mana-starved without their body. They just consume healing mana without even thinking about it. That's why the green pool is growing more vivid. If you funnel enough mana into a soul gem, can it create a new body for itself? Like how mana spreads out into the body after bonding with your familiar?"

"Good thought," Felix says, flopping back on the couch. His little fox ears twitch adorably, and I have to resist a sudden urge to scratch them. "I thought that too. The soul gem explodes, rather violently, too. My assault state barrier took the hit, but my entire research team died."

Oh… I suddenly no longer find anything about Felix cute. He stated that so matter-of-factly that it's more than a little horrifying.

"Remind me not to be in the building when you try something else," I mutter, Asumi nodding franticly in agreement.

"Noted," Felix says, the screen shifting again. "I have remote drones that you can observe through. Now, you understand why the two approaches to revival always fail. Breaching a soul gem always leads to the permanent end to the souls within, and teleporting mana into a soul gem does not function. As such, we need another method. Right now, I am experimenting with cloning an entire human body to put the soul gem inside of. Maybe if I attach threads of mana to the gem, it could take control of the body like its old one…"

The sentinel trails off, more screens flickering around. One shifts to show camera footage of what looks like a three-dimensional printer… but instead of plastic, it's printing… oh stars! I force myself to look away from that image.

Besides, I don't think that idea will work. As sentinels advance, their body becomes more and more a representation of their souls. You can't just pop a soul gem into a new body and expect it to take over. At least, I don't think you can. Maybe you could do that, then apply a massive amount of healing magic to the body to allow it to reshape itself back into its original form. Healing magic mostly heals using the soul as a template… kind of, so if the body is wrong, healing magic would view that as an injury and attempt to heal it away. The hard part would be connecting all those little intricate nodes of light back up to the soul gem at the center. Maybe…

"Why don't you just tell the person in the soul gem not to consume the healing mana?" Asumi asks, still staring at the monitor the simulation used to be on.

Felix and I both pause, turning to look at her.

I meet the older sentinel's eyes and shrug, "It's worth a shot. If we could establish proper contact with a person in a soul gem, we could learn a lot about what happens when a sentinel dies. Even if the idea doesn't work."

Felix nods, "Indeed, but there is no way to establish that kind of contact. We've tried that already, although not as extensively."

"I mean… we have points of power now who have combined mana," I say, pondering. "Florina, the big tree by the docks, can establish mental contact with people touching her trunk. She might be able to connect to someone within a soul gem somehow."

Turning, I gave Asumi a quick hug. "Good idea!"

Felix shrugs, "Go and test your hypothesis, then return here with the results. I will continue pursuing other avenues."

Oh… okay then. With that… less than five minutes after we arrived, Asumi and I head off to go test out her idea.