Zaldizko - Chapter 36 Entering Leinards Ego Link

“Small Cap, you still with me!” I called out to my friend on my shoulder.

My heart raced with anticipation.

“Freend? Is Nestmate Freend okay?” His small voice came through.

“Thank heavens!” I sighed with relief. “He’s fine, but you should rest. You saved us Small Cap. I’m proud of you.”

I gently placed him in the belt pouch.

“Good. Me sleep now Freend.” He yawned, got cosy and eased into a peaceful sleep.

“Sleep well.” I warmly smiled at his slumbering form.

Penetrating stares compelled me look at the others with a dubious expression.

“What?”

“You, I’m in my body!” Death frowned.

“I know, you’re looking, um, human.”

“No, that’s not what I mean. How did you do this? Wait!” He became flustered as he tried to determine the reason behind the magical miracle. “I’m proud, grateful, but very confused. You’ve never had magic, let alone of this ability”

Death shook off the rest of his words to silence.

“What did you mean when you said Moralta made mistakes?” Brystagg pushed in with his burning question.

I surveyed the increasing mass of Zyon residents eager to tour Sol’s bountiful pleasures.

A lot of the agitated winged reptilians, flaming humanoids with two-heads and the shrouded human types were constantly bombarding Sol’s protective layer with all forms of magical attacks. For now, the layer was able to diffuse their efforts with grey electrostatic energy and hide part of their images behind grey clouds.

We had some respite.

“Death, you said the banshee had taken you. I don’t think you were wrong,” I said to him.

Death raised one of his brows with a strange expression.

“I think Moralta abandoned you, not realising your immediate potential. That was his mistake,” I blatantly explained.

He furrowed his brows.

I further explained on my hypothesis.

Moralta was used to living off the memories and magic a body held without the original ego. So, was probably under an assumption that he only needed Death’s body for the alchemy knowledge it preserved. He was not aware of Death being the holder for the Power of Preservation nor holding any other power he’d need later. How could he? This fact was only known when it was revealed in Minos.

Why was Death’s ego linked to a banshee? His ego was powerful enough to attract interest from the spider demon. I suspected Moralta had left Death’s ego behind when he was escaping the banshee, which had traversed into a tunnel with a time-link to twenty years in the past thanks to the residual magic of the dimension slip. It was fortunate Delphi had noticed this disruption. She was able to manoeuvre situations to our favour as much as possible.

Another mistake was when I rescued War. The juxtapositioner demon had been extracting knowledge of the Dark Grimoire from his mind under a belief that it was consuming knowledge from it, since War was now Gat Shiem’s library given his image bound memory. Neither demon had considered the fact that the Grimoire was not a book. Knowing a spell was different to being able to apply it successfully. Moralta could only achieve a carbon copy effort.

“I’m impressed.” Brystagg flashed a lopsided smile; a resemblance to Trix.

“It’s just a theory.” I failed to hold back my smugness at feeling clever.

“That’s a clever hypothesis, Baby Brother.” Death praised me yet still looking confused.

Colin reminded us of Trix and Leinard still withering within the gold coin tree. I groaned when I spied familiar links of blue light near the backs of the brothers.

“Ego links,” Colin signed. “Of a sophisticated level too. Breaking these won’t be easy.”

“I know.” I groaned again and heard Death gasp.

“I’m remembering that numbing heartache.” He shuddered at the sight of the links.

I held his trembling hand to steady it.

Brystagg cursed when his hand suffered a temporary burn from the gold light of the Primary Core’s trunk. Colin did the same thing and copped a painful burn. Neither men were able to get close to the Aueralius Brothers.

“You were able to come and go unharmed.” I faced Death.

Death pass his hand through the light without any problems.

“What does this mean?!” I frowned.

He let out a short breath and stepped into the trunk before the Brothers, careful not to disrupt any of the spinning coins and grabbed their ankles.

“No idea what I’m doing, but try to enter the light now.”

I tested a finger, drenching it in gold light and felt warm and calm. I peered at what was keeping Leinard suspended within the tree’s trunk. Fine blue lines were wrapped around various areas of his arms, legs and torso. A strong blue chain of light was protruding from his back; parts of it running into Trix’s.

What had these brothers experienced that kept them in a vegetated bind to the Lotus Bridge? How many were their regrets?

“I’ll continue to act as the insulator. Please, don’t take too long.” Death gulped with beads of sweat trickling down his face and neck. His skin was flushed.

“Break Leinard free, I’ll work on Trent.” Brystagg ordered me over his shoulder. He was facing Trix.

The Wisteria Garden Squad Captain had lost muscle tone in his arms, his cheeks were slightly sunken.

Colin explained that the primary energy core powered everything within the labyrinth; data feeds to maplinks, tunnels changes, direction and movements. It typically didn’t require an extra battery to run, but because of the abnormal amount of pressure used to change the labyrinth’s geography in a short span and being out of kilter with time, it was draining the brothers’ chi to function. He suspected that their minds and bodies were acting as the energy channels and filters. Once they were freed from the trunk, he would be able to correct the light and energy to the Lotus Core thanks to the unexpected information he had received earlier.

Death was able to slow down the direct currents that relied on Trix and Leinard. I wondered if it was by use of his new power.

“Wait, why do you think I could break the Colonel free?” I blurted to Brystagg.

“You love him, don’t you?” Brystagg answered.

“Heck no!” My voice and mouth reacted. “I m-mean, not in a perverted way, I mean”

I glanced to Colin and groaned at his cheesy smirk.

Brystagg’s eyes narrowed.

“Fine, don’t give me the small-eyes Sire.” I sighed.

I faced Leinard who appeared as a sleeping angel. He, too, had lost muscle tone making him rack-thin and almost scrawny. I felt angry at seeing his pathetic form held together by fine threads of blue light. Slight involuntary twitches to his fingers, cheeks, mouth made me realise the nightmare he was possibly facing. I calmed my anger.

I stepped into the trunk and next to Death.

“How we do this?” I was unsure where to start.

“Place your hand on his heart, but don’t touch the blue links.” Death answered for me.

I pressed my hand over the free space of Leinard’s heart.

“Famine.” I gasped when I felt Leinard’s voice strike my brain like a bolt of lightning. I recoiled my hand.

“Don’t let go! You’ll lose the connection and any hopes of saving him.” Death huffed, looking pasty.

I returned my hand to Leinard’s heart and screamed.

Fire and the pain of knives slashing my skin assaulted my senses. Insufferable agony made my vision spin out of control until all I saw was black.

“Famine. You’re here?” Leinard’s voice broke through the thick black. “Hold to me. Please don’t let go!”

I suffered the pain without resistance. It eventually eased to soothing relief. His true image became clear.