NOVEL NEXT 59 - One Body, Two Minds, Three Friends
Div and En stomped through the forest, paying little attention to their path as they headed in the general direction of Camboaci.
They were pissed.
Why couldn't they catch a break?
First it was Theaphilia, then Vedovessa, and now even Brigaseta was telling them to come clean about that.
They didn't bother hiding from the monsters living in the forest. Frustration thudded through each step as they walked away from the two Ascended Ranks.
And En was still shutting himself out, which only made Div even angrier.
They were sharing their body, En couldn't just bail on him like that. Especially when Div had volunteered to take on the most problematic parts of their being in the separation.
[En! If you don't stop hiding I'm going to tell them everything. I swear I'm going to.]
(No you won't.)
[Don't tempt me.]
(Fine, what do you want?)
[What do I want?! Are you kidding me?]
If Div had full control of his body, he would have clenched his fists, he would have hit a tree. He needed an outlet for his frustration. But he couldn't.
(Yes, why are you angry at me? I should be the one that's mad at you.)
[What? Why?]
Div was fuming.
He wondered how it was possible that he and En had been part of the same person in the past. Diven had to have been completely dysfunctional, there was no other possibility.
(You're the reason why we're in this situation. If you hadn't taken Facets of the Self, it wouldn't have happened.)
[What are you talking about? It wasn't me! It was Diven! And he didn't exactly have a choice. He was being threatened by Bird.]
(What's the difference? You were Diven at the time.)
[You too!]
En paused, processing Div's accusation. Right—they both had been Diven. It didn't feel like it nowadays.
(That's weird. I feel detached from our time as Diven. Not fully, I still care about some of the things he cared about. Kheiron, our parents, Seb…)
[We are not Diven anymore. That's fine. We already knew that. But En, we share the same body, you can't just hide when things are not going your way.]
The argument faded, but silence lingered, looming, weighing on their souls. Camboaci's walls appeared before them faster than either would've liked. The trees parted to let them in and they made their way to Belilamos and Carmeta's house.
The couple was still awake waiting for them.
"Diven, where were you?" Carmeta demanded as soon as they entered.
"You can't just disappear in the middle of the night like that," Belilamos said.
[I feel bad hiding it from them.]
(They already know.)
The words made Div's metaphorical chest tighten. Not with fear—but with something closer to… relief?
[Maybe we should…]
(Absolutely not.)
[What's the point? As you said, they already know.]
(I… Then they have to keep it a secret.)
[They're already doing that.]
"Theaphilia wanted us to take her to the rift," they said.
"Us?" Belilamos asked.
"Yes, us. Div and En."
"Are you done hiding?" Belilamos asked.
"Only from those who already know."
"That's a start," Carmeta said. "Take your time. Now go to bed, you have school tomorrow. I'll talk some sense into Theaphilia. Who takes kids into a rift at night? Seriously…"
"She had good reasons!" Div and En said.
"Something that couldn't wait until tomorrow? I doubt it," Carmeta said. "Now go to bed."
Div and En had slept a short night, but they had grown accustomed to it during their time alone. In the morning, they had a large breakfast to compensate for the dinner they didn't eat.
As promised the day before, Vedovessa took the class outside to gather wild aretras once more. With their experience, finding one for each student was considerably easier. It only took them an hour this time.
Once again, Gennorina found the most flowers. She was still denying that her druidic powers were any help, but Div and En were starting to get suspicious.
When asked how she did it, she said, "I don't know. I guess I'm just lucky. Anyway, Diven, are you ready?"
"Of course, I am."
"Today," Vedovessa said. "You'll have more time to practice your skills. But I want to mix things up. Pick a different partner than yesterday."
The students were left scrambling to reorganize themselves.
"How about I go with Diven today?" Segorix asked.
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Div and En were fine with that. They had hoped to be paired with Gennorina again, but they liked Segorix too.
"No," Lugsellos said. "I'm with Diven."
"Lug?" Ambisena asked. "Are you sure?"
Everyone blinked. Since when did Lugsellos volunteer for anything?
"What do you think, Diven?" Segorix asked.
"I'm fine with that."
While they didn't talk to Lugsellos a lot, they had nothing against him.
"Then Seg and Ambi come with me," Gennorina said.
"Not so fast, Segorix, Ambisena," Vedovessa said. "You two grouped up together yesterday, you need to find another group."
"I'll go with Tistal and Ortens, then," Ambisena said, leaving Gennorina and Segorix together.
After eating one aretra each to benefit from the increased level up chance on their skills, each group scattered into the forest.
This time, Div, En and Lugsellos were sent toward the Lien River.
"Lugsellos has already completed his Facet of the Veil," Vedovessa explained. "The river shore is ideal to practice his new facet."
Their path took them toward a navigable section of the river. Not far from where Diven had set up his first encampment, only on the other shore.
"So," Div and En started, trying to break the awkward silence that had settled in. "What's your new facet?"
"You can inspect me," Lugsellos said. "You'll know when you break through my concealment."
"Ugh. There's no way I can do that."
Indeed, they had already tried and Lugsellos' barrier around his status was not only sturdier than any of their classmates, it was also hard to grasp. Sometimes it would slip under their senses, as if it never existed, forcing Div and En to restart their inspection.
"Fine, I'll tell you. It's Facet of the ******."
"I don't know this word," Div and En said.
Maybe they'd understand it in Ameian. But it was the first time they heard the word in Lienien.
"Ah," Lugsellos said. "Well, I can't translate it for you. Break through my concealment, that's the only way."
"You could tell me your skill."
"No, that would ruin all the fun."
"Why are you so talkative now?" Div and En asked, frustrated.
"It's easier one-on-one," Lugsellos shrugged. A hint of a smile formed on his lips. "Anyway, continue to use Inspect on me. It's what I need to work on my skills."
"Shouldn't we be looking for monsters?"
"We are unlikely to find one with a better Conceal than mine. It's level 5 already!"
Div and En paused, it was high. That was shockingly high—how had Lugsellos reached that level?
Regardless, it was good practice. And if Lugsellos was also benefiting from it, there was no reason for them to refuse.
They trained until both their and Lug's stomachs started gurgling.
Skill leveled up: Inspect Lv1 -> Lv2
It hadn't been enough to break through the boy's defenses, but they were making progress.
Enough for them to deserve a lunch break.
Since they were starting earlier than yesterday, Vedovessa had distributed their rations along with the aretras. As usual, it was dried fish.
Lugsellos made a face, "We're so close to the village, they could give us something normal."
"Right—I guess the point is to get us used to the taste."
"Still, this is gross."
"It's not that bad…" Div and En said. "I could catch a fresh fish if you prefer."
"Don't waste your time," Lugsellos said, shaking his head. "We're not here to practice fishing."
The duo ate their ration and returned to their practice. It was monotonous, but they had to admit the aretras were very effective.
Skill leveled up: Inspect Lv2 -> Lv3
"How many levels to complete the facet, Lug?" Div and En asked.
"Level 5 in Conceal, level 3 in Inspect. At least, that's what it was for me."
"So a total of eight…"
(We're still far from it.)
[Not that much, we're only missing three levels. We got that in two days.]
(When you look at it like that, it's true. But it's only going to get harder.)
[I guess. We were warned the aretras lose their potency if we eat too many.]
"You leveled up?" Lugsellos asked.
"Yes."
"Nice, try breaking past my concealment again."
Div and En did as asked and deployed their mana sense toward Lugsellos. Immediately, they noticed something was different. It was as if the boy was helping them. There was the mana equivalent of a sign showing them the way to reach his status. Like a glowing thread leading them in.
[Is this a trap?]
(Trap Detection isn't activating.)
[Would it activate? Even if it's a misdirection, I don't think Lugsellos would try to hurt us.]
(I'm not sure. Maybe it would activate?)
Curious, they decided to follow Lugsellos' lead. Surprisingly, it wasn't an ingenious way to make them miss his status. Instead, it was him voluntarily showing them his new facet and skill.
Name: Lugsellos of Camboaci
Bloodline: ……
Current Facet: Facet of the Empath
Previous Facets: ……
Skills:
Sense Emotions - Basic - Lv2
……
[That has to be his new facet.]
(Sense Emotions… What a weird skill.)
[Don't you think it was a little too easy?]
"Why are you doing that?" Div and En asked. "Did you give up?"
Lugsellos shook his head, "No, I wanted to share this with you. With you two."
Div and En froze.
He knew.
(What do we do?)
[I don't know.]
(We have to deny it.)
[En, he knows.]
"Don't worry," Lug said. "I won't tell anyone. Div, En. I also don't want my new skill to be revealed, so keep it a secret."
"Why tell me then?" Div and En asked.
(We can't trust him. We need to find a solution. Div!)
[Then find one! Stop relying on me for everything.]
(Who's relying on who?)
[You. On me. Listen, once again we don't have a choice.]
"Since I received the skill, I understood your condition," Lugsellos said, looking straight into Div and En's eyes. "I can feel your fears, your doubts, your angers, they do not belong to a single person. But I get it, I'm also afraid of how people would see me because of my skill. This facet has been available to me since I awakened, but I only took it after I was confident in my Conceal."
"This doesn't tell us why you chose to open up to me."
"Keeping a secret is hard," Lugsellos said. "I thought that we could support each other. What do you think?"
(I think we're done. It's over. He can't even keep his secret, what about ours.)
[You're exhausting, En.]
"You promise you won't tell anyone?"
"Yes, I promise. You too?"
[Come on En. Have a little trust. I know you have it in you.]
(Fine. It will all come crashing down when we separate anyway.)
Div sighed. At least, En was on board with Lugsellos now. That was one less problem to fix.
"We promise," Div and En said.
"Thank you," Lugsellos said, smiling. "So, how did you two come to be?"
He already knew. But saying it out loud—sharing it—might still make it real.
Div and En's mind touched each other. They'd faced monsters. But this was scarier.
Still, they gathered their courage and recounted their adventures to Lugsellos. He came out of the retelling with the belief that Diven had been incredibly reckless all the way through.
Div and En were forced to agree.
If only Diven used his head a little more.
However, they knew he did his best. It was in the past, there was no point in dwelling on it.
"We plan to evolve the skill that created us so we can both live independently," Div and En told Lugsellos.
"And you think this will work?"
"Theaphilia seems to think so," they shrugged. "It's our best chance, we have to believe in it."
"I'll cheer for you, Div, En."
"Thank you, Lug."