Broken Chains

After breakfast, accompanied by Scarlet’s usual lecturing, it was time to tend to their wounds again.

For Scarlet, the focus was mostly on the injury along her back. As Puck carefully helped her remove the bandages with his left arm, he could only stare in awe at her terrifying recuperative abilities. What had been a deep, ugly scar less than 24 hours ago was now only a red-rimmed line, looking like a wound that had healed weeks, if not months, ago. Scarlet’s physical superiority clearly extended beyond mere strength and speed—she also healed far more quickly than normal.

Puck, however, was not so fortunate. When they inspected his many injuries, there was no miraculous healing. At least Gremlins were highly resilient against infections, and even the creatures of the Heart of Darkness hadn’t managed to infect him with anything. But at this rate, most of Puck’s wounds would take at least a few weeks to heal satisfactorily, while the deep cut along his right arm could require months.

Asking Zephyrian for assistance, Puck was told it would be at least another week before he could safely use his might again without causing further harm. Could they really afford to wait that long? Did they even have the resources to do so? Or should Scarlet go on alone? It would be much safer in many ways.

Puck was unsure of what they should do, and Scarlet seemed equally undecided as she inspected Puck’s injuries. Should she venture into the Heart of Darkness alone, or should they simply leave the Heart alone?

Taking some time to plan, it became clear that both of them wanted to slay the evil creature before moving on. But could they wait months for Puck’s recovery? Likely not.

There was one other option to try before giving up. In theory, Puck should be able to heal himself using his ideal of freedom. He just needed to find the right application and have enough time to practice and train with his power. The question was how much time he would need.

As Scarlet gestured for him to sit down, Puck carefully lowered himself, grimacing from the pain.

“You’ve called upon your ideal more than once already,” Scarlet began, “but only in its most basic form and only in one of its specific facets, the wind. To help yourself heal, you first need to find the place in your soul where your ideal is located. Then you need to find a new approach to connecting with it. But before you can even search your soul, you need to find an entrance to it. Zephyrian can guide you better than I can in this regard.”

Sensing that Scarlet had finished speaking, Puck listened to what Zephyrian had to say.

“One simple question,” Zephyrian began, „from where are you hearing my voice right now?”

Puck almost answered that he wasn’t hearing Zephyrian’s voice, just a version of his thoughts, but then he stopped himself. Wasn’t that the key? What had Zephyrian told him about where he was located when he vanished? In his soul.

Trying to feel for the connection of thoughts to Zephyrian that he vaguely sensed at all times, Puck struggled to grasp anything tangible. Yes, there was this mysterious feeling, and obviously, they could talk at any time, but how did that even work? What was the difference between his mind and his soul? Grasping at the connection, Puck send his questions over.

“There are many different models for the constellation and position of the different parts of a being. Most theories agree on one thing: A being is made up of four components: The mind, the spirit, the body, and the soul. The body is self-explanatory, but the mind already reaches beyond the physical while it still being rooted in your brain. It is intertwined with something most models describe as the fourth component, the spirit. The spirit is entirely ethereal and without a physical counterpart, but through its close connection to the mind, it is something a being can easily access. Through our spirit, we have the ability to connect with our soul and feel things beyond the physical. The soul, however, is not a conscious part of us, it is the very foundation of our being, and it is the part that gets reborn if we die. Through the soul, it is possible not only to sense but also to connect with ideals and make them a true part of your being. In this and any other instance, your soul isn’t the part of you that acts. It simply exists. It is both the most important and the most isolated part of your being. Few ever manage to touch upon it. It was through the treasure Scarlet provided to heal you that you managed to touch upon it when you found your ideal. But that was a shortcut. Now, you must do it both manually and consciously. Think about it, how do you respond to me when you talk to me? What is your mind or spirit doing at that moment?”

Understanding only bits and pieces of what Zephyrian was explaining, Puck still tried to feel for his connection to Zephyrian again while humming through it to have something to focus on. Sensing Zephyrian’s annoyance, Puck felt like this could be fun.

Slowly and methodically, he began to test and stretch what he believed was his spirit as he attempted to crawl up his connection to Zephyrian in a bid to reach his own soul.

While Puck began his exercises, Scarlet sat only a few feet in front of him, wrestling with her own internal struggles. Before she lost her friends, she had been more than capable of helping others recover. Through her ideals of curiosity and empathy, she had helped bring her companions back from mortal danger more than once.

But then, on that fateful day, all her abilities and willingness to help had become irrelevant, and her belief in herself and her ideals had shattered. But was she really incapable of recovering herself? Shouldn’t she try again now that her student did too?