The Court of Souls? - Chapter 36: ~Next Steps.~

“Level III: Many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics

Hugh Everett’s many-worlds interpretation (MWI) is one of several mainstream interpretations of quantum mechanics.

In brief, one aspect of quantum mechanics is that certain observations cannot be predicted absolutely. Instead, there is a range of possible observations, each with a different probability. According to the MWI, each of these possible observations corresponds to a different universe. Suppose a six-sided die is thrown and that the result of the throw corresponds to a quantum mechanics observable. All six possible ways the die can fall correspond to six different universes.”

– The Journey to the Afterlife

***Dedessia, the Sea of Souls, Semper Fidelis***

***Shade***

“Oh, come on. Stop brooding over the past,” Elona tugs at my arm, trying to gain my attention. But I am too concerned about the implications of the creature’s words. The rakshasa’s revelation will have far reaching consequences. Of that I am sure.

We relocated to the throne room to have a word about the five rakshasas whose corpses are laid out on the ground. Distributed throughout the throne room are all the higher immortals who are present in the city.

I’ve taken my place on my favourite chair, which happens to be the throne. In this world it is a real luxury item. Ergonomically carved with the finest and most delicate beat gold workings I have ever seen. Decorating something with beat gold doesn’t take much in terms of resources. What’s the more impressing part, is the amount of craftsmanship which went into this item.

Even more interesting is Elona’s chair, which materialized out of nothing inside the throne room. It doesn’t lag behind in size or craftsmanship. It has a similar design, but is a little smaller and matches her size. When she first entered the room, she took a single look at the throne and stormed out again, returning with that thing. No idea from where she got that in such a short amount of time. I don’t remember seeing it anywhere in the palace.

Does it have a special meaning for her to claim a seat right next to me?

Elona thinks that I am affronted by the fact that she threw herself in danger without a second thought. And I must admit that I am! Which pregnant woman jumps right into a group of enemies, leaving her guy behind to watch like an oaf? She could have at least given me the chance to soften up the enemies with a few ranged attacks.

‘And look at what you’ve done to the city! Look at the wall.’ The words she said float to my mind. And who cares about the city? Especially that stupid wall. As if a pile of stone bricks could stop any of the really dangerous creatures from entering the city.

But what I’ve been worrying about since a while ago, has nothing to do with that. My concerns are directed at the last words of the rakshasa. If the creature didn’t mean the weather, which I’m pretty sure of, then it can have only meant the mana storms.

I have heard about those zones where the magical energies of this world run rampant, but I have never seen them. According to Ishaan’s stories, most of the big spirits are definitely emerging from those storms.

There is no other way. I have to get a really good look at one of those storms as soon as I get the opportunity.

“You haven’t said anything for a while now. Come on, I’ll even give you my tail for safekeeping. I know that you like to ~play~ with it.” Elona presses her tail into my hands. The entire action has the feeling of an annoyed parent forcing a toy onto a stubborn child.

I sigh and look at her. “I was just thinking about our next steps. It is clear that we have to investigate the mana storms as soon as we can afford it. That means that I am going on a little trip once Carissimi arrives and this safe zone is protected by a respectable force.”

“You can’t investigate the mana storms!” Doreen complains. “Do you have any idea how dangerous those areas are? Not to forget the unpredictability of the storms, but there are a lot more spirits in those regions…” She continues her tirade about the dangers.

Apparently the storms vary in size and strength. One moment you are looking at a small and unremarkable tornado, the next it suddenly starts growing to the size of a hurricane in a matter of minutes. It wouldn’t be so dangerous if you could teleport away as soon as the situation turns threatening. But the chaotic energies thwart any attempt at aiming the teleport spell, making any attempt at teleportation highly unreliable and dangerous.

There is a saying that one might walk into a storm zone upright, but he certainly walks out twisted and broken. My grandmother in law continues her rant with another story from her time with the nomadic clans. Once they accidentally entered the fringe of a storm zone. They didn’t realize it because the storm had entered a very calm state. And then, from one moment to the next, all hell broke loose. One of their leviathans got caught in the rapidly growing storm.

The animal and its entire crew got shredded to pieces and all Doreen could do was watch them disappear inside the swirling energies.

I let her talk, but it doesn’t change my decision. When she is done, I point Elona’s tail at Doreen to make my point. “I understand all of your concerns. But to be clear on that point, we need to catch up to our enemy’s plans. We are still in a situation in which we can’t do much more than react to their moves. To win, we have to break out of that cycle. The spirit gave us an important hint on where to search next.”

I gesture at the corpses. “If we think that these things were really sent and didn’t spawn randomly inside our city, then why should we assume that our opponent can’t repeat this form of attack? We have five spirits of the same type. According to everything you told me about rakshasas, they operate alone under normal circumstances. That makes the whole situation even more suspicious. I already voiced my doubts about the timing of this incident.”

Agreeing muttering erupts throughout the throne room and Doreen finally backs down, seeing that my decision is final. “Just make sure that you don’t go too close to the storms. Even watching them from afar poses a risk.”

We continue the discussion for a while and let the others voice their opinions. Some have nice ideas on how to search for information by using old friends from other clans. By the end of the day I am a little happier about commanding this ragtag bunch of former slaves. Their different origins result in having ties and friends among a long list of clans.

In the end the gathering slowly dissolves until only Elona, Doreen, Aswang, Manti and I are left in the room. The stinking corpses were already taken away long before that.

It is clear that Aswang and Manti have something to talk about. Manti was eyeing me and Elona during the entire discussion. It lets me believe that there is something on her mind.

Aswang on the other hand was more concerned with Manti and her glaring gaze. Maybe he doesn’t want to get involved.

Neither Elona, nor I are inclined to start the discussion.

Finally Manti decides to fire the first shot. “I heard about what happened between you and Legna.” She glares at me with unmistakable contempt. “And about what you did to her afterwards.” Her eyes wander to Elona’s belly. “Don’t you think that she has a right to have a word in this misadventure of yours?”

It is Elona who speaks first. “I understand your point of view, but I am sure that it will work out. I think you already heard that Shade and I share a soulbond. Well, Legna shares the same bond. Even if we free her soul, or revive her in another way, she will find her way back to us sooner or later. The bond forges the three of us together.”

Doreen raises her eyebrows. “Why did you never mention that you are a triplet deity!?”

“It never came up.” And with that I sweep the matter under the carpet.

Manti shakes her head, she was always more on the emotional side. “And that’s it? There is nothing wrong? She is bound to you, so it is fine? You know that Legna-”

“-is dead,” Elona ends Manti’s sentence. “I know that she is your childhood friend. But I have more memories of the entity you call Legna, than you will ever have. Know that she is my daughter and there is no point in thinking about what might have been. Even if we ask her soul right now, what could we possibly say to make the situation any better? Isn’t it much easier for her to remember everything later on, once she’s had a nice life to watch her memories from a more detached viewpoint.”

Manti snorts. “Yeah, right. Nice life. In this world.”

Elona shrugs. “I have every intention of giving her that. Of course I will have to take some educational measures. My memories tell me that she can be quite a burden if there are no restrictions on her behaviour.”

Manti grinds her teeth. “Legna was never a troublemaker.”

“Yeah, right. You were-” Aswang doesn’t manage to finish the sentence, as Manti elbows him with enough force to make him cough.

My childhood friend settles down a little. “I see that your minds are made up.” And with that the discussion seems to be over. At least from her side.

It is clear that it will take a little more time for Manti to digest the situation.

Doreen is the only one who still has questions on her heart. “If you really are a triplet deity, then what is Legna? What is fathered by chaos and born by order? You already cover the two sides of the coin. Wouldn’t a triad have to be something like… I don’t know… Past, Present and Future?”

Elona chuckles. “My daughter isn’t something so trivial. She is the goddess of life-”

“-and death,” I add to make sure that her most important feature isn’t forgotten.

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