Steel and Mana

Chapter 547 – Merlin’s Discovery

By the time I wrapped up the meeting with Seltana, my head felt like a spreadsheet that had been bloated to death, and having to scroll for ten minutes to get to the middle of it, just so you lose track of it and need to hunt it for another five... Well, that's logistics for you. Still, it was important, of course, because supply routes, construction timelines, troop rotations, and all that stuff are what win this thing for us. Kind of.

Seltana had left with new notes and maps tucked under her arm, already speaking into her comms when leaving, issuing my latest orders as the construction of the new railway between Avalon's and Markoth's Pass had begun. As for me, I stayed behind in the command room a bit longer, taking a breather, enjoying the fleeting sensation of nobody bothering me. Peace... mhm... I really will need that, hopefully years of it, after all this is done. Mhm... If we don't survive, I'll get eternal peace, so... A win-win situation?

Smiling to myself, knowing Sasha would take my head off for thinking like this, was when Sa’Ith walked in. She didn’t knock, of course, she didn’t. I think she believes we are psychic or something and can perceive her arrival.

“Sovereign,” she purred, already walking straight toward me with that slow, serpentine swinging of her waist, looking at me in a way that made me instinctively take half a step back. “I have finished compiling the data from our… communion.”

What the actual fuck are you talking about? Is what I wanted to say, but I hold it back, knowing she is simply teasing me... Under that face of hers, it seems she has a side that is a mix between Luna and Yuri. I wonder how freaky she is in bed... STOP. Stop it, Leon. Think with your head, not with your fishing pole. I had already caught enough fish for a lifetime... 

“Did Merlin get everything?” I asked, banishing all the previous thoughts, remaining calm, ignoring her looks.

“Yes,” she nodded. “I gave him every strand of what I extracted, what my blood recorded while we were... connected. Every impression, every resonance I could register, every shift your soul created both in me and in Sasha.” She paused, tilting her head, her eyes narrowing with a kind of fascinated desire. Since that day, she had become even more... pushy. “We should repeat it. Try to go... deeper.”

“That would probably be very dangerous,” I said quickly, “Especially for me.”

"Not really," She ignored that, drifting closer once again, “However… I must tell you something..." She said whisperingly... damn it, woman! Control yourself! "It may disappoint you.”

“I can deal with those...” I muttered, shaking my head, “Shoot. Tell me.”

“I cannot connect to you,” she said with a genuinely disappointed voice. Huh? What do you mean? I almost asked, but she continued, “I reviewed our session and tried to do it, but... I can't. At all. Not even on the level of a simple, sensory link, like what was established between Zah'Ratil and the Savior when he was born. The resonance that should have been there… Even with our blood connecting us... After directly connecting our souls... It is... Still missing.”

“What, nothing? Are you telling me you can't look around in my head or talk to me via dreams?” I asked, and honestly, I felt super relieved. Thank the approaching Gods! The last thing I need is for her to read that my dick is interested in her, while my mind is trying to tell me to stay sheathed.

“Nothing,” she repeated, dropping her shoulders, “As I said, Zah’Ratil could connect to Arthur because their blood is the same, even if his is pure and ours are tainted. His mind still vibrated at compatible frequencies, and even your wife shares one such resonance with us.”

"You mean Sasha?"

"Yes," She nodded, "With her, I have the basic link now, although I am not bothering her... she is clearly, hmmm... Jealous. Even though what you and I have between us is clearly physical, akin to feeling hungry or thirsty, not love."

"You do look thirsty..." I murmured, accidentally letting it slip.

"I am." She nodded, licking her lips, and her eyes glimmered with awe and longing, making a shiver run through my spine, “But you… I can see you share the same, but are holding back... Even if you could tear me down and use me like a beast..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, okay, that's enough!" I threw my hands up, "Let's not go there!"

"Yeah... this..." She sighed, biting her lips, "This is the resistance I am talking about." She shrugged, crossing her arms below he breasts, intentionally puffing them up towards me, "Inside your mind, it is even stronger. There is no point of contact between us at all. It is like trying to grasp sunlight with bare hands.”

“That’s poetic,” I sighed. “And worrying. Or...?”

“It is beautiful,” she nodded softly. “You embody your chosen title... Sovereign... I can't connect to you, but you have the ability to connect to me, any time you wish, and I wouldn't be able to say no. Not that I want to...”

"Are we talking about our mind or your body?" I asked, trying to maintain a deadpan expression.

"Both." She chuckled, "The only reason you can't push and dominate someone's mind is because you don't have the magic in you. That is why you need an intermediate source to activate it."

"Explain," I said, turning serious.

"You always did it in the presence of those who have magic. Be it your wife or your children... Your soul used their magic to do its exploration. Why do you think you began feeling the monsters? They also have their magic that you can tap into. You can't do it on your own, though... And because of that, your powers are still undeveloped and unfocused... But, your soul, being out of this world's laws... Can do whatever it wants."

“I guess... that is a problem... yes?”

“It is a problem.” She flicked her tongue thoughtfully behind her teeth. “It also means that you can't really train it, not as others can... Which makes it hard to control and focus, which in turn, makes it dangerous for you and everyone else, especially if it later grows in power."

I was about to answer and probably say something deeply stupid when the door slammed open, making me jump like a kid caught stealing panties from the neighbor's balcony. Leaning to the left, to see over Sa'Ith, I watched as Luna marched in like a tiny, furious guardian dog, finally finding the scent and her target... probably me.

“Step. Away. From. Husband.” She ordered, her fingers shooting out like a sword, aiming it at Sa'Ith with utter confidence... As an answer, she just looked at her, then slowly… like some wild cat… smiled.

“Oh?” she actually purred, turning toward Luna with an open, warm delight. “This one is adorable. I can see why you recruited her into your nest...”

Well... Apparently, my dear wife didn't expect such an answer after such a heavy entry, so Luna turned from a dog to a deer staring into the headlights of a truck honking exactly at her, driving towards her at full speed. Don't get iskaid, my dear deer...

“A–adorable?! OF COURSE I AM ADORABLE!” She snorted all of a sudden, “I am more than adorable! I am compact and can be held up like a sleeve when my dear husband uses me as he pleases! Which you will never experience...”

"Hmmm..." Sa’Ith leaned in, looking at her, almost towering over her now, “You are indeed more compact than any of the others,” She whispered. “I would love to see how you shiver and scream under your Sovereign's handling... Maybe I would grow a tail and join in.”

"Eh?" She trembled again, apparently surprised that her words simply bounced off Sa'Ith's defenses... Damn it, woman... This new Sect Leader of the Vasas has not only adapted to how we are, but she is also scarly good and taking hits and dishing them out. I guess if Luna fails here, the next weapon Sasha lets loose will be Yuri...

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I muttered, grabbing Luna by the back of her collar and hauling her away like she was a misbehaving kitten, “Okay, we are leaving. You," I pointed at Sa'Ith, "Stop seducing my wife when you fail to seduce me.”

“I was merely appreciating her form,” Sa’Ith said innocently, "I am showing that they don't need to worry about me conquering you. I am not here to take their place in the nest, I'm just here to lay an egg."

“Do you actually lay eggs?” I asked, so seriously that even Sa'Ith was taken aback.

“No,” She said with a shrug and a chuckle, “We are not that far gone. Although we do carry the child for much less than you do... About... half of that.”

"Do they come out with scales?" Luna asked while still held up by me, her arms and legs dangling in the air.

"Want to see?" Sa'Ith chuckled as an answer.

“Nope,” I said, dragging Luna further toward the door. “We’re done. N more questions! Meeting over. Goodbye. Don’t seduce my wives with whatever pheromone-mind-magic spell you’re doing. It may not work on me, but Luna is masochistic enough to get her bent over.”

"No I'm not!" She protested in my hand, "Only sometimes..."

“And I cast nothing sort of that,” Sa’Ith laughed. “I simply speak truth, as openly as possible.”

“Which is worse...” I groaned breathlessly as I pulled Luna out of the room, and before I shut the door, Sa’Ith called out after me one more time.

“Sovereign. Merlin will have results soon. And… do not worry. Even if I cannot connect to you, your soul remains… magnificent.”

“Stop complimenting my husband!” Luna shrieked, remembering why she was here, to keep her off me, probably on Sasha's orders.

After we were gone, and I put her down, Luna just slumped against me, face bright red, hiding under her hair.

“I hate her,” she whispered.

“Yeah? Really? You almost kissed her, no?” I asked back.

“That’s not true at all!” she hissed at me. “She’s… she’s weird and hot and scary, and Sasha warned me not to look her in the eyes or get dominated by some weird beastial mommy type.”

"She said that?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"Maybe Yuri said that." She added, pouting.

"Yeah, that sounds much more believable."  I sighed, “Still, you looked her in the eyes.”

“They were RIGHT THERE! Where should I have looked?! Her boobs?!”

"You also looked at those... Haaah..." I stopped teasing her, watching her rub her legs together, grabbing her wrist, and starting to pull her away.

"Hya?! Leon?"

"Come on, you little horny machine..." I chuckled, "Let your husband ease your fire a little..."

.............

A few hours later, just as I was exiting our room, leaving a heaving and half-conscious Luna on the bed, I ran into an officer telling me that Merlin was summoning me to his workshop inside the Camelot. Good... my mind is finally clear, my tank empty, I can focus on it, even if Sa'Ith is there. Plus... Sasha insisted on coming, naturally, taking a sniff at me when we met, nodding approvingly, that she smelled Luna on me and not Sa'Ith. Did she know I would feel horny and had sent her to get me because of it? Scary accurate. If Sa'Ith is unable to read me, then Sasha can read me better than anyone... Anyway... When we entered, I saw Merlin standing over a table overflowing with diagrams, hand-drawn runes, and magical resonance readings, along with three different coffee mugs he had clearly forgotten to drink from and had now gone cold...

“Leon,” he said without looking up. “Marvelous news!”

“Oh, good,” I flinched, “I hope?”

“He better not be thinking the same thing Sa’Ith was thinking.” Sasha leaned forward, whispering to me, narrowing her eyes at the woman who just ignored her with a smile.

Then, as an answer, he handed me a simple sheet of paper:

• the expected resonance,• the behavior between Vasa and Vasa linkage,• the mind-link stages that should have been present,• the blockage: → Leon’s soul absorbs the spell’s structure, → hijacking its direction, → rewriting the linkage, → and bypassing all natural pathways, overwriting with its own.

“This,” Merlin said, watching the report between my fingers as if it were the solution to everything, “is the best thing that could have happened.”

“Explain." Sasha grunted, "Before I assume the worst.”

“When Zah’Ratil contacted Arthur," Merlin began, walking up and down, waving his hand around, "they succeeded because their souls resonated within the same magical wavelength. Even the tiniest discrepancy would be an issue; that is why they needed years to properly tune to Arthur's mind and lose Leyla in the process. Even if they are twins... Leyla tuned herself away from them, unlike Arthur, who kept strengthening the sync on his end. Also... This is why Leyla and Arthur share that link they have... They did it naturally with each other!"

"Human radio..." I mumbled to myself.

"Kind of," He nodded, “It also has many of the same principles that the reincarnation method my first self built, how it always keeps the soul anchored to this world's laws and how the spell preserves the essence of it, passing it down but not overtaking the second, forming soul. But Leon… you can't do any of that.”

"Please speak clearly," I said as I crossed my arms. “I’m feeling both special and vaguely insulted at the same time.”

“Be both,” He chuckled, as he continued cheerfully. “The truth is simple: your soul does not belong to this world. Therefore, its pattern cannot be captured, duplicated, entered, influenced, replicated, passed down, or resonated with by anything native to this realm.”

"What does that actually mean...?" Sasha stiffened, next to me, “So he’s… immune to... what exactly?”

“I don't know,” Merlin said. "I am not about to test it by killing him..."

"Damn right you won't!" I laughed before Sasha could take his head off.

"But that is also why Sa’Ith failed." He continued, "That is why the link couldn't be completed and that is why Ignis, as far as I can tell, will never be able to dominate him.”

“Hey,” I muttered. “That's pretty good, isn't it?”

"Of course!" Merlin chuckled, "But I don't think you can dominate her either."

“So… what does that mean for us?” Sasha placed both hands on the desk and leaned forward, looking into his eyes.

“It means that I can build a mental shield if I can replicate Leon's uniqueness.”

“You can what now?” I asked, also leaning forward.

“The Gods' Formation,” he said, pacing rapidly, hands gesturing once again as he summoned floating diagrams that rearranged themselves. “I can replicate the effect of your soul, not the structure, by tracing the way your soul disrupted Sa’Ith’s magical link. You remember when we first took a look at the formation? That there were parts that made no sense? Those were runes that we couldn't understand? Yeah. That's it!” He said, his eyes glowing like lamps, "Those are from outside! It totally makes sense! I just need to use them, and you have the perfect diagram for it! Those are like... antithesis to our runes, so I can match them up and tadaaa! We have the perfect anti-magic spells of our world. No wonder the Vasas can't come back, that part blocks them out."

"Matter, anti-matter..." I whispered to myself, "Only in magic..."

“I don't know what that is, but by the names? Yes,” Merlin nodded, “I would call it that. And with what the kids back home had already come up with... I can stabilize their upgraded Trojan project! It has already come a long way, but they were struggling to make it work as we need it to... With this... we can have the protection against Ignis... all based on you."

“How long will this take?” Sa'Ith suddenly asked, looking at him.

“I will need three days to finalize the core structure." He tapped dozens of floating glyphs, dispelling them all, "Another week to test the layers and work it out with Galahad and the rest... Not more than a month, I think."

"That fast?!" Sa'Ith asked, and she was just as surprised as we were.

"Well," Merlin smiled, summoning the artifact that was inside of him, belonging to the God Wyland in the past... and I could swear, for a moment, I saw his old version, sitting at a table in the middle of a stuffed library, drafting and writing like some crazed old man... "I have all the knowledge... I just had to make it fit... Ahaha!"