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The SOUL had been here before.
Kris could tell, in a thousand ways. When it hit the FIGHT box perfectly on the first try, when it seemed to know exactly where to go. The nail in the coffin was when it solved the card puzzle without going to the castle. The combination could have been brute forced– maybe– but between the sign saying there was no way you could know and the perfect solve– hmm. Spade, Heart, Club, Diamond, down to the swaps. Then it tore the key piece out of the chest like it owned it.
On some level, they weren’t entirely surprised. They knew the SOUL was a being that existed outside of timelines. In every timeline, it would come, and take control of a human to pilot. Just like in every timeline, Kris chose to accept it.
They had to. For her.
But it made them pause, looking back.
It did the basic battle system fight with Ralsei’s dummy, despite not needing to do it. Perhaps it just wanted to hug Ralsei, or the dummy, or something, and used Kris to do it. It had to have known it was an option. But then again, if it knew where the keys were–
It made them pause again at a spot, when the Diamonds were revolving. It made them nervous, even though they knew the damage was easy to tank. Like it was considering something. It had made them walk on darkness before, after the Bloxers, to get a Dice Brace. And no stars shone, in a straight line.
And then it made them run away, avoiding damage.
It knew where the key pieces were. It could have gotten them, made Kris get them without wasting time. But it– didn’t. It went the long way, talking to Seam, collecting the piece and hint from them, before then piloting Kris over to the dark hallway. Kris knew what they were doing now.
Why didn’t it do it before?
When the SOUL went to watch Susie, as Ralsei explained, Kris brought it up to him. Just to ease their mind.
His brow furrowed up, and his ears twitched. “Huh, that does sound…sort of odd.” Then he perked up, comfortable smile back in place. “Maybe it just wants to make sure you know what it’s doing too!”
At the time, Kris shook their head, and chalked it up to some weird plan of its.
The thought was bizarre, one that almost wormed its way into Kris’ head. Before Cyber World, before Tenna, before the Sanctuaries. Maybe it just wants to make sure that you know what it’s doing too.
The SOUL had created a vessel. It was supposed to be a perfect vessel, made to embody it. It had even named it after itself, because that was what the SOUL did. An extradimensional being, contacted to bring her back.
That was what this was for, her. All for her after all. Carol had made sure of that, assured Kris that the SOUL was impartial. Nothing but an experimenter wishing to explore. It would talk to everybody, look around every nook and cranny, and possibly.
Possibly.
Do other things.
Kris knew what those other things were, somewhere in their head. When they saw “Iceshock” listed along Noelle’s spells, an arrow of icy chill shot down their spine.
No. No, no no. Please don’t.
It began to go the other way. Noelle pointed it out, even. Somehow I’m already regretting this. It hurt in a way Kris didn’t ever consider.
The SOUL clicked it. Once. Defend, Iceshock. A strategy they knew, had to have done before. Or seen done before.
Maybe. Maybe.
But. It didn’t do it again.
Instead they made Kris tire the enemies out, Noelle defend, and then used Sleep Mist. The enemies melted away and the tension in Kris’ chest defrosted.
It hated the mouse puzzles, Kris could tell. It couldn’t remember how to do the tiles right, it tried every combination before landing on the right one. Kris’ movements grew jerky, frustrated, just like during Jevil. ILOVEMOUSE had Noelle fall three times, and Kris wondered, thought. The mechanisms were easily freezable, it could have just….
Proceed. The word popped into their head like ice cracked under pressure.
But it didn’t.
They fought the spammy little mailman with a practiced ease, reminding Kris of grinding for the clown fight in Dragon Blazers 2. It had been here before. It knew how to fight. They took the Dealmakers and placed them proudly on Susie’s face.
But they still went the long way. Patiently, letting Noelle and Susie chat and talk. They did the teacup, going up and down the stairs even though they knew it would only be balloons. They did the mouse catching puzzle, despite failing a few times.
It told Noelle, through Kris, that Susie would be happy to ride with her on the ferris wheel. It told Noelle, through Kris, that Susie was nice and liked to eat chalk. It gave Berdly, through Kris, that stupid plush of him, and didn’t freeze him when the time came. Despite how much his A plus storm attack threw them off.
They once again told Ralsei about it when they were alone. Saying that it had the chance to do what he’d warned them about. They’d tried it. They’d almost done it. But then just…didn’t do it. Kris didn’t understand.
At that, Ralsei had been quiet for longer. Scratched at his ears, adjusted his glasses. “Well,” he finally said. “Maybe they…like…or…respect you too much to do that to you?”
The SOUL. Respecting their vessel. Respecting the vessel’s world. Kris would have laughed at the thought a while back. The SOUL was an entity that exhausted every single option. Wrung every drop from the world, turned over every fucking stone until nothing was left. And then, then it left.
Kris looked into the black shards expecting to see carnage, Noelle got stronger, but still saw nothing. They had to have done it before. Defend, Iceshock. But they only saw the few experimental performances that happened in Cyber City.
Was it a power play? The SOUL letting them know that it could do it but wasn’t? It had to be, right? That’s why Kris still found it funny to mess with them. To pose with their knife, and open Dark Fountains in front of them, and shove them into their special birdcage. When did they start thinking of the red heart as “them”?
But it didn’t seem angry at them, it seemed almost apologetic. To know that the options were there, but refusing to take them. Playing Tenna’s games, even the secret games– they knew what they had to do to progress. They had done it before, it was so fucking obvious.
But after getting the sword, they still walked around. Exploring the city, watching Susie and Ralsei trail behind. Only then did they–
Kris looked back into the dark and saw nothing. No indication of what they wanted.
It walked up behind Susie. Kris saw them. They could have stabbed her, could have tried. But they just.
Didn’t.
Kris didn’t know what they wanted.
They wished they could talk to the thing, could make them fucking explain, could wring it out of it like one of Mom’s old towels. Why are you here? Why are you doing this? Why not take the easy options like Carol said it would?
It floated serenely, high above them, as they tried to reach it with that fucking hockey stick, desperate. Bubbling with anger and hatred and misplaced apologies, everything they wanted to spit at this heart, this reminder, this thing that they had to use as much as it used them. The way they glided through the air, the way they dipped down to activate the Santas, it dripped with the knowledge that it had been there, it had seen it, it could end it anytime.
But it still floated still. Let Kris listen to Noelle and Susie talk about them. Paused long enough to let them hear the words of kindness. Probably because they wanted to hear them too, for leverage, but--
But.
Kris stared at it for a split second, after the call ended. It seemed to stare back. They seemed to stare back. Whatever was inside it, above them. Able to see through walls and memorize puzzles and seemingly rewind the timeline whenever they wanted, just for their own enjoyment, and yet never seemed to take the final step.
Kris wished they could ask them what the hell they wanted, but. But. They didn’t say anything. They couldn’t. The SOUL just absorbed back into Kris’ body and bade them to continue. Peacefully. Always so peacefully. It paused for a few moments, after they fell.
It was respectful. Ralsei's voice echoed in their head. This SOUL was respectful with Kris, or trying to be. Even when they knew what Kris was doing. They checked the call history and saw it was erased. But they didn’t seem to hold any ill will towards them, not yet. They only got one egg room. They knew something was going on, but didn’t dig further.
They were patient enough to wait, maybe.
Kris straddled the window sill, and the call clicked off. They glanced, once, at the SOUL. Jittering back and forth in its cage. Thoughts still out of reach.
Kris nodded at it once, perhaps in thanks, perhaps in fear, perhaps in simple acknowledgement of the unknown, then let go of the sill.