The Great Core's Paradox

Elara sighed, the heavy breath warping into something decidedly more ominous as it met her helmet’s closed face. It was hot, and more than a little sweaty, but she had already learned that people took her more seriously when the helmet was closed. Which wasn’t really surprising; a faceless armored figure was significantly more intimidating than the notably young woman inside of that armor. Plus, she could always ignore the heat, plucking at her body’s strings and removing her sense of temperature.

The sweating, though, she chose not to stop. Whether she allowed herself to feel it or not, heat could be a problem, and sweating helped to cool her body down enough so that the heat didn’t turn into a problem. Not for the first time, she wished that there was a Guardian Statue close enough that she could feel its effects.

Elara wouldn’t have to worry about mundane things like needing to sweat if any problems were immediately wiped away by the healing given off by her [Little Guardian’s Totem]. It was something that she had grown to appreciate - the way that the Guardian Statues tidied up so many little issues before they became something more.

Not to mention, she continued to hold out hope that consistent exposure to healing would fix her still-crippled arm. It wasn’t likely; if it was going to be fixed that easily, it probably would have already been healed. Still, she would have preferred to feel the warmth of an active [Little Guardian’s Totem] against her chest, its power wrapped around her like a comforting blanket. Hopefully an agreement could be reached soon, and a Guardian Statue made in the area.

As long as they found where the Little Guardian went.

He was probably fine, but…Elara knew that the world was dangerous. One moment everything could be fine, and the next you could find yourself trapped inside your own body, turned into a puppet by a monster that you hadn’t even realized was a threat.

And so she’d keep looking. Just in case. So far, none of the people Elara and the others had managed to talk to had claimed to see the little guy. They were willing to trust that; he would’ve been blocked by the pools of null-water that surrounded the many Towers, only able to get across by boat. And most of the Towers that they had visited so far hadn’t had any boats skim across their pools recently. They could have been lying, sure, but Elara didn’t think it was likely.

If anyone tried to take the Little Guardian by force, there would be more than a little destruction involved. There hadn’t been any signs of that, and so she trusted that they were telling the truth.

She stepped forward, trailing behind Erik and Doran as they moved towards the next group of Towers. This one was significantly more opulent than the rest. Each member of the clustered group of towers was a giant thing, a monument to wealth and power. Together, it was as if they formed a hand reaching for the sky, each tower a marble finger that stretched towards the cavern’s ceiling as if preparing to pull it down. Their sides were lined with mana-lit metals that cast shimmering lights across the polished white of the towers themselves, turning each of the interconnected white marble towers into a near-blinding beacon.

Elara pointedly reduced her eyes’ sensitivity. The White Towers were way too bright. Did they even care about how much that must have annoyed their neighbors?

Probably not.

Sighing again, Elara continued to follow the others, preparing herself for what was likely to be a supremely annoying meeting.

Stolen ; please report.

The White Towers only grew more blinding as they approached. Erik and Doran had turned to shielding their eyes with one hand as they walked when squinting had proven insufficient. Kala had gone back to check in with Valera a while ago; her mana-enhanced vision made the horrible brightness of the White Towers more than a little painful, and it was decided that her time would be better served elsewhere. Elara, of course, wasn’t bothered. Her pupils had long-since been forcibly adjusted to constrict as far as they would go. It was extreme enough a change that it had become difficult to see when she glanced in any other direction.

A dangerous situation to be in, even in an area that seemed safe.

Elara tried something new, hoping to fix that. Her attention wandered as she walked, focusing inward. Specifically, on her ears.

She stomped her foot. The ground vibrated underneath her, and a part of her ears vibrated with it, moving from one place to three. Those three parts of the ear amplified the vibrations, and then sent them plunging towards a fluid-filled section of her ear. The fluid rippled under their touch. Tiny hairs rode the waves, and eventually led to the release of something - Elara didn’t have a name for it, but it sent a jolt of lightning through her body.

Her brain caught that lightning.

It sounded like the stomping of feet.

She did it again and again, earning odd looks from Doran and Erik as they walked. Elara was too busy to explain, pulling at her body’s strings with each and every stomp, trying to make it do what she wanted.

Until, finally, a stomp came down with a sound like cracking stone. Elara nearly jumped out of her skin, reflexively throwing herself into her armor’s shadow-state to avoid the danger. She stayed inside of it for a little while, freezing in place and holding still. Her single working hand grasped the hilt of her sword, ready to pull it from its sheath.

It didn’t take Elara long to realize that she had just scared herself, but she refused to feel embarrassed for her reaction. Elara pushed the emotion away the moment that it appeared. That could have been something dangerous, she reasoned to herself, and she hadn’t expected to get the amplified sense of hearing right so quickly. Even with her mana-given ability to sense and control her own body, the body was complicated - formed of so many little things that nobody that wasn’t like her even knew about.

“Everything alright?” Erik asked. His voice came down like a hammer blow, and Elara almost jumped again. It was much louder than the stomp before it, but she was a little more ready for it, already beginning to adjust to the changes in her hearing sensitivity.

“Just experimenting,” she answered. Her voice was like a rushing river in her ears before she tamped it down, quickly running through a few more adjustments. “Okay, say something again,” she said.

“Something again,” Erik answered. His voice was still loud, but it wasn’t overbearing. She grinned, a sense of accomplishment surging through her body, making it feel lighter than air - and even if she knew what strings to pull to force herself to have that same feeling, it was so much better when it came naturally.

When it was earned.

“Okay, so what’s got you so happy now?” Doran cut in with an amused tone. “His voice isn’t that nice to listen to.”

Elara didn’t answer right away, closing her eyes and listening to all of the sounds that she could never hear before. Doran’s breath puffing lightly through his lips. The light lapping of null-water against the nearest pond’s shoreline. The distraught conversation between two men in the distance, the sound quiet even to Elara’s newly-enhanced hearing.

Elara opened her eyes and held a finger to her lips, warning the two Seekers to be quiet. It was a long shot, but they sounded panicked. Maybe it had something to do with the Little Guardian. She pushed her hearing harder, tuning up the sensitivity and strength of every little part - from the catch of the initial vibrations to the little lightning that launched itself towards her brain.

Words formed.

“...the fuck is a Virtun shadowguard doing out there? The tithe isn’t due for another two weeks. They’re never this damn early!”

Elara stilled.

That wasn’t about the Little Guardian at all.