Shades of the New World

Flooded in the memories of the past, Evin was reminded of his time with Kena, where he sat in silence as he tried his best to sort his memories into two parts: informative and personal. But compared to that time, Evin didn't really have much to do at the moment. Thus, he could truly savor the emotions he felt during these moments in his past. 

Something told Evin that he would probably start crying if things went on like this, but honestly a good cry here and there wasn't even a bad thing in his opinion. And the Vulpine Mother's tails were obstructing the view so no one would really know that he was crying inside the mass of darkness.

'But I'd feel bad if I paint her fur in my tears and snot. Eh, I'll just enjoy the comfiness for the time being. Who even needs to cry? I sure don't. I'm a big boy, after all,' Evin thought as he snuggled deeper into the fox's fur.

The two stayed in silence for a bit before the World Sprite started to speak.

"I know I said that we can start merging if you become a decent enough half-core, but the process is still very dangerous for you, even though we're probably the most compatible now," she said with a sigh, "Honestly, even I don't really know much about the process. After all, I've never experienced the process of merging with another. The only thing that's guiding me in this process is this instinct inside me telling me what to do. Although it might seem a bit flimsy to you, it told me that you were probably the most compatible person I've met in my life the moment I saw you, and so far, it's been correct."

Evin could feel the grip of the tails becoming stronger.

"And it isn't that I have a hobby of hugging underage boys, it's just my instincts telling me that I should make physical contact with you more so we sync together better," the World Sprite said with a smile, "It's also telling me that I should express my thoughts more often when I speak with you."

"Thankfully, I'm quite the intuitive and imaginative person, so I don't really have problems babbling on and on about whatever I'm thinking inside my head. I also think that it's very good for you, since you don't have to play a game where you try to guess what I'm thinking, like we're some kind of teenage couple who are experiencing their first relationships."

'Weird excuse, but okay.'

"Also, I feel that I should properly introduce myself now. Although I call myself the Vulpine Mother, before that point, I was called Kyune. A bit of a cutesy name, for sure, but it's one that I've kept for all these years, so I'd appreciate it if you refer to me as such. But… don't say it to others so wantonly, alright?"

The World Sprite spoke more and more, slowly revealing to Evin about what kind of person was the Vulpine Mother, or rather, Kyune was. After listening for a while, Evin started to realize just how similar the two of them thought.

Evin firmly believed that there were no two lives that were completely identical, since in that case, there had to be some kind of spirit wandering through Earth like himself. But thematically, a lot of lives could be called extremely similar if one generalized happiness and suffering. 

Losing one's parents and losing one's lover could both be considered a similar experience. In both cases, someone's going through loss. Likewise, winning a lottery and marrying a rich could also be considered similar experiences. In both cases, someone's getting a lot of money even though they really didn't do much to earn it. 

By this logic, Evin's life was extremely alike to the Vulpine Mother's – the long period spent alone, the need for something external to change the situation and the wait for it, the way they both decided to use humor to find some light in their darker situation.

Even their fake power over others could be called very similar. Evin could literally impose himself on everyone else's lives, except that none of those people would know about it, while the Vulpine Mother could easily become one of the most powerful beings in the World, except that everyone could just choose to ignore her they just wished to.

"Now, you must be wondering why I'm so freely narrating my life experiences to you, but I'm very adamant about not teaching you any of my magic," Kyune spoke.

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't interested in that, yes," Evin said.

"Well, after thinking about the merging process for a bit, I've concluded that the process could be compared to a game. A simple game of control, where whoever gets to exert more control over the other ultimately wins. A game where if you manage to win, it can be considered a win for me as well, but if I somehow win, we both lose and the punishment is to be eternally chained to this spot right here."

"So naturally, I will be trying my hardest to lose, and you will be trying your hardest to win. For these reasons, I would also be telling you my every move and helping you to snatch a win from me with my best capabilities. With the odds so stacked on your side, you must feel that it's impossible for you to lose, right? After all, you're not without accomplishments as well," Kyune said as the World Sprite grinned widely.

Evin really didn't know how to feel about it all. After all, the Vulpine Mother was basically implying that even with all these advantages, it was probably so hard for him to win, that they even had to hold a pre-match meeting to get things in order.

"I'm guessing it's still more likely that I'll end up losing…" Evin answered.

"It is as you say. I've made some simulations about the process through a World of Thoughts method, and the times you've won only amount to about once in 30. You might think that it's a sad thing, but in my judgement, 3% against a Beast Lord is quite impressive for a half-core…" Kyune said with a genuinely impressed tone.

"Would things change if I become stronger?" Evin asked.

"It will, but our compatibility might drop significantly. I'm fairly sure that we're at our peak in that regard, but after this, we'll just continue to drop in compatibility until it's impossible for us to merge together. Obviously, there's a chance that we can further increase our compatibility if you start consciously make decisions you think that I might make, but something tells me that the results won't be so great."

The Vulpine Mother paused a bit to think about something, before continuing.