Div and En were stunned. Their name had first changed when Diven was exiled and lost his clan’s name. And now it changed again to ‘Div and En’.
(This is bad. With what we just learned about Inspect, everyone we saw in Camboaci has seen ‘Div and En’ in our status.)
[I know… I don't like this. But it’s more accurate.]
(More accurate?)
[Yes, I’ve been thinking about myself as Div, you’ve done the same as En. Even when we act together, we are not really one. We are Div and En.]
(Good for you to have insisted on taking Div as a name. I guess you’ll always come first. ‘En and Div’ doesn’t have the same ring to it.)
[You’re right, it doesn’t.]
(Anyway, we should answer Theaphilia.)
“I don’t know how that happened,” Div and En said. “But I apologize for hiding it. Sundered Mind is a mind-splitting skill.”
“So, am I speaking to Div or to En?” She asked.
“You’re speaking to both,” Div and En said.
“How does that work?”
“We agree on what to answer before speaking.”
“I see,” Theaphilia said, nodding her head. “What if you disagree?”
“Then that’s a problem.”
Theahphilia stood up and started pacing around the room as Div and En watched her. They didn’t know what the woman was thinking, but she didn’t seem shocked or disturbed by their revelations.
After some time, she stopped and said, “Well, Div, En, you’re in luck. I’m one of the rare experts on mind magic and skills in this corner of the world.”
“Can you help us?” Div and En asked.
“I need to understand what happened to you first,” She said. “But for today, I will explain some generalities about mind-related abilities.”
Div and En agreed to listen. There was nothing to lose.
Theaphilia took her time to gather her thoughts before she began to speak. “I’ve studied every text about the mind I could get my hands on. I went to Ameia proper and visited the libraries of every city, including some reserved for the most powerful clans there. I even went further east and visited the great library of Hyepsut. I dedicated decades to this study.”
She paused, making sure Div and En understood.
“It wasn’t easy. Mind magic is taboo in Ameian cities, less so in Hyepsut, but still rare. But if there is one thing all treatises on the mind agree on, it’s that mind-splitting skills are a bad idea.”
“Why?” Div and En asked.
“They say that the human mind is just not capable of accepting sharing a body with someone else. Even if that someone else is another version of themselves.”
“But aren’t skills supposed to always be beneficial?”
“That’s true,” Theaphilia said. “But that’s only true if the user is in control. I’m sure you can imagine a fire mage burning himself with a spell. The same concept applies here.”
“So you think we are hurting ourselves with Sundered Mind?”
“When one mind is split into several, it is only a matter of time before each newly created mind diverges from the others. I don’t know how your skill works, but it would happen even with a skill that created identical minds. The mind can think for itself, thus it can change and evolve over time.”
“So divergence is inevitable…” Div and En said.
“No,” Theaphilia said, correcting them. “There is a solution. I don’t know if it’s applicable to you, but some skills let their owner merge back their minds from time to time. Then they can start again from a clean slate.”
(We’re not doing that. I don’t want to start liking rot.)
[I don’t like rot! I just think it’s powerful… But I agree, I don’t want to disappear.]
(Let’s tell her.)
“We don’t think it will work on us.”
“Then I’ll need to meet each one of you separately,” Theaphilia said. “But not now. It’s getting late, I’ll take you to Belilamos’ place. He’s expecting you.”
“Why? We can talk now.”
“No,” Theaphilia said. “There is no point in rushing. You two think over what you learned today and relax for the evening. You must be hungry and tired.”
Just hearing her say it was enough to bring back all the exhaustion. Div and En had not rested since they had left the rift, and their time inside it had not been without hardships.
They needed to sleep. They needed to eat. They needed to recover.
“Fine,” they said.
“Good. But make sure you behave as Diven there. Not everyone can make sense of your condition.”Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
Div and En had already been planning on doing that. They already had a lot of work to do to integrate into the village—there was no need to add more complications.
Theaphilia took them to Belilamos’ house. It was already late, so he didn’t see much of the exterior. Instead, he was ushered in by an excited Belilamos who clamored about Diven meeting his wife and son. Or was it sons?
They would know soon.
His wife was called Carmeta. She was a bubbly woman who immediately made Div and En comfortable.
“Husband told much about you,” she said as she welcomed Div and En into her home. “So sad. You stay here long.”
Div and En’s Lienien was still rough. They had gotten used to it over the day, but it took a lot longer to learn a language. At least, they were able to make out most of the words, even if they didn’t understand them.
“Brigaseta meeting go well?” Belilamos asked, pushing Diven into their living room.
“Yes, Brigaseta speak Ameian. Can communicate well.”
“Good. Good. Sorry we don’t speak it,” the hunter said.
“No. No. Sorry I don’t speak Lienien better!” Div and En said. “And thank you.”
“Normal,” Carmeta said. “But Diven wash. Smell.”
“Sorry,” Div and En said. They were embarrassed, but they didn’t refuse.
They were dirty. While they had long been accustomed to it, they didn’t want to sully the home of the two people who so warmly welcomed them.
Carmeta and Belilamos pushed Div and En into a closed room where they had heated a large basin of water. It was big enough for their body to fit entirely.
Then, Belilamos handed him fresh clothes. “From Martos. Good Tailor.”
Once again, Div and En thanked the hunter. Left alone, they undressed and plunged their body into the wooden basin.
It was warm.
[That’s nice.]
(I could stay here forever.)
[See, I told you it was a good idea to follow Belilamos.]
Unwilling to bicker, En let it go. They relaxed for a moment before starting to work on the grime covering their body. Dried blood, mud, and other unpleasant residues covered every inch of their body. As they slowly scraped it off, it revealed all the scars they had accumulated over the past few months.
Largest among them were the two massive gash Dog and Feline’s claws had dug into their sides. They might fade with time, but they would never fully disappear.
(I don’t know… What are we doing here?)
[We’re bathing. Why?]
(We’re bathing in the house of a man we met a few hours ago, right after we exited a rift where we fought against three Evolved Rank monsters. We spent months there completing three facets. When we came in, we were Diven, now we’re two minds stuck in the same body. Most of our skills have been contaminated by rot, our body is in tatters, and we still can’t return home.)
[When you put it like this…]
(I know people have been welcoming here. But being stuck in a foreign land where the only people who can understand us are Bregasita and Theaphilia… I don’t know…)
[We’ll make it work.]
Div and En got dressed before returning to the living room where Belilamos, Carmeta, and a little boy waited for them.
“Diven!” Belilamos exclaimed. “Look good without filth!”
“Yes,” Carmeta said. “Much better.”
“Meet son,” Belilamos continued. “Name is Dubnonamos.”
[So it was a four-year-old son, not four sons.]
“Hello, Dubnonamos. Me Diven.”
“Hello,” the boy answered. “Why speak weird?”
“Dubno!” Carmeta said. “Don’t rude. Diven from far away.”
“No rude,” Dubnonamos insisted, nodding sagely. “Speak weird.”
Carmeta and Belilamos looked very uncomfortable so Div and En wanted to reassure them. “No worry. Dubnonamos is right. I speak weird.”
Belilamos laughed. “Not for long. Not for long. You learn Lienien fast.”
But Dubnonamos wasn’t done with his remarks.
“What this?” he said, coming closer to Div and En and pointing at a long scar on their forearm.
“This…” Div an En started.
[What’s the word for scar?]
(I don’t know. But Belilamos and Carmeta seem uneasy again.)
[It’s really not a big deal. I hope they don’t think we don’t want to share. Unless this is the case for you?]
(No. I don’t like those scars. But they’re here so I don’t mind explaining.)
Div and En found the words to communicate that they didn’t have an issue with telling them how they received their scars. It was just that they didn’t know how to do so in Lienien.
Belilamos came to their rescue and told Dubnonamos how Diven accidentally entered a rift. He emphasized how dangerous rifts were and made Dubnonamos promise not to enter one until he reached the Evolved Rank.
Truth be told, Div and En didn’t even remember how they got this specific scar. There were so many of them.
“Many rifts nowadays,” Carmeta said. “Teenagers want in. But no.”
“We same when their age,” Belilamos added. “But no good. Rift dangerous.”
“Now, adults go rift often?” Div and En asked.
“Yes,” Belilamos answered. “Elenvind passed. Many resources in rifts. Dangerous but need to clear before others arrive.”
Clearing a rift meant permanently closing it. It generally involved slaying the most powerful monsters inside. Div and En didn’t know why, but the tear in the veil closed itself in that case.
“Others?” They asked.
“Other tribes,” Carmeta said. “Other people. Kheiron explorers too. Want resources from rift. Bring conflict.”
Div and En were embarrassed to only make the connection now, but it made sense. He had a good opinion of the explorers ranging from the city, but it was a fact that they hunted and searched for rifts in the lands inhabited by the Lienien Barbarians. The city leadership was never happy when marauders came to loot their countryside, how was this any different?
They weren't under the illusion that explorers would be nice to locals. Although, for Camboaci, there was Brigaseta to protect them. Furthermore, it was really far from the coast, so they should be relatively safe.
As if sensing Div and En were uncomfortable with the subject, Belilamos and Carmeta invited him to sit down at the table.
“Today menu is artigoat!” Belilamos said.
“We know you hunt artigoat, dear,” Carmeta said. “Good job.”
“Artigoat!” Dubnonamos added.
Unlike the leaf he tasted in the forest, this meal was made of cooked artigoat. It was cooked into a stew with a few vegetables and spices. It was warm, the taste was deep and pleasant.
[I don’t know what they put in this, but I like it]
(Me too, we should ask for a recipe when we get better at Lienien.)
It was different from the fresh and light food typical of Kheiron. But in the rainy weather of the Wildlands, it was perfect. The non-meaty part of the artigoat leaf was actually edible once it was cooked. It tasted like cabbage.
With a full stomach, a clean body, and a warm heart, Div and En went to sleep in a real bed for the first time since their exile.
(I don’t regret coming here.)
[Me neither.]
Lulled by the soft bed beneath their backs, they closed their eyes and fell asleep instantly.
It was the best night of their life.