78 Measures of Deception

"So, was it true when you said that you'll find another way to disrupt the summoning ritual?"

"It was a lie, of course, a bluff. So long as there is a possibility that I might scatter her Champions all over the place a make a big mess of things like our current situation, the Grand Keeper would be hesitant to summon more, or at the very least, keep to just summoning a few. That's what you're hoping from me right, to scare her from summoning more."

"More or less, yes, I'm surprised you caught on."

"Well, I have been watching you."

"Yes, that you have..."

I don't like it, the fact that Nine is using the princess' face and voice to talk to me. Then again, perhaps he was the princess from the start. Perhaps the princess I knew never existed in the first place.

"I'm also surprised that you agreed to my terms so easily. Aren't things going well for you up till this point?"

"Everything is going according to plan, or at least, that's what I'd like to say. However, the truth is, I panicked when I heard that the remnants of Mankind are attacking the Dragonbroods. That was unexpected and more importantly, if anyone other than you or I or anyone within our 'party', as you would put it, were to slay a Keeper, then their [contracts] won't appear and they'll be lost to us till the next one is born."

"So wait, it doesn't just drop?"

"No, it only appears when the one with the Power of Covenants or those within our 'parties' defeat them."

In other words, the item doesn't drop unless the party comes with a Summoner.

"I guess you and Seven are both in a pinch then, huh. Like bother like sister I suppose."

The 'princess' looks towards me with surprise. This is the second time within the hour.

"How did you know?"

"Zero told me."

"Zero? Why do you..."

The 'princess' looks up at the tree and then back down at me. Gradually, the shock in her eyes shifts into realization.

"I see, you've gained access to the memories somehow, with just the rights of one Keeper no less. Must be a glitch of some sort. Wait... could you be, Mr. Phantom?"

"It wasn't me, is what I would like to say, but yes, it was. You have the same power as I have, which is a given since your current body is molded from mine, so I have to make sure that you'll be, well, loyal. Still, I didn't expect it to work so well. I mean, you've gotten completely attached to the princess after that didn't you?"

I click my tongue, making it loud enough so that everyone in my vicinity can hear. If there's one thing I remember from back then, it was the carnage, the town on fire and the smell of burning flesh. For it to be addressed so flippantly in front of me, it pisses me off.

Seeing that I'm getting rather agitated, the 'princess' takes on a more somber expression as she continues to address the event.

"Well, if it's any comfort, the princess has no idea I have done that."

"She doesn't?"

"She's not conscious when I take over her body. Even now, she's fast asleep. She may have vague memories afterwards, but it'll be like a dream."

Is that true? Are the princess and Nine separate entities? I hesitate to believe that. For all I know, the princess I've known could have been Nine all along. I would like to believe that it is true, what Nine had said, but precisely because that is what I want to believe, I shouldn't. It'll be all too easy for a person to believe in something he or she wants to after all, even when that something is ultimately not the truth.

"How did you get that form anyways? I thought you were sealed."

I change the subject. If I talk about whether the princess is real or not, I'll just keep going in circles, hesitant or whether to believe or not and never coming to a conclusion. There's just no proof supporting either cases and I doubt I'll be able to get any.

"It's a long story."

"I still have some time and I have nothing better to do."

The 'princess' shrugs.

"Suit yourself."

***

According to Nine, the threat of [Corruption] and the decline of the Beastkin population had the princess seeking out alternative solutions to the problems of her people, solutions that do not involve the Keepers of which the affairs of Elgardia so heavily revolves around. To do so, she had to go beyond the confines of this world's system.

Having studied ancient records, she knew that there had to be other worlds, words outside of this one, and to find the keys to the other words, she sought out ruins, ruins that had been said to be here since the very beginning. There, the princess thought, might be where the secrets of the other words can be found.

She gathered her men, soldiers, knights, mages, and the most brilliant of scholars to delve into these ruins, some of which had been forbidden to enter. The princess did not care, they might have the answer to her people's plight after all. This made her unpopular amongst the ruling class, and as her expeditions get more and more taxing on their resources, the annoyance of the noblemen grew.

Then, one day, she came upon ruin deeper than any other, one that seemed to stretch downwards forever with its near countless floors. Many were lost to the creatures who stood in their way, but the princess kept going. She felt that the deeper she went, the closer she was getting to the truth. Before she knew it, rather than descending, she was heading upwards. At first, she thought that she might have been turned around, but the paths were different from the path she had taken to get there, and before she could consider turning back down, she saw a light, a dim light, like that of the moon's, coming through a doorway up ahead.

Without hesitation, she moved towards the door, walking through it, and there she found a night sky. She had wound up outside. She and her remaining men made camp, and when day came, they quickly realized that this was not where they had started. Their surroundings were completely different. It was as if the ruins had led them to another world. In truth though, it was still Elgardia, they had simply exited from the other side, the underside of Elgardia.

They explored the place and soon found what appeared to be a temple. Hoping that it would lead them to the answers they so desperately sought after, the princess led her men up the stairs of the old structure.

At the very top, there was a seal, and though the seal was powerful, the years had worn it down and so a voice of what was inside slipped through. The voice beaconed the princess over, whispering sweet promises, promises of salvation and a newer, better world.

The princess, having come so long a way and lost so many people, could not afford to return empty-handed, and so, pressured by the need to succeed and tempted by the promise of salvation, the princess made a covenant with the being within the seal. Ever since then, she was bound to it, the one within the seal, the one known as the Betrayer, the former Psionic solder and then fallen Champion, the one called Nine.

***

"I was the one who taught her how to hijack the summoning ritual and gain a Champion of our own, the one who was to be summoned into a body with mine as a base. As a bonus, it caused the other Champions to scatter all over as well, adding to the chaos."

I should be mad, I really should. He was the one who screwed us over after all. However, I believe I had passed that point a while ago, or rather, I was always angry over it, I simply recognized that there was no point in getting upset. Now that I am so close to getting the others home, there's no point throwing a tantrum. It'll be over soon, once I see this through, it'll all be done. I can only keep telling myself that.

"So you have the princess' body and I see that you kept your powers... What was it, the Power of Covenants? What do you need this body for then?"

I'll work with him, that is what we agreed upon, but there's no guarantee that he won't try to take this body. He's probably trying to get his allies back together with the bodies of the Champions that we now use as our avatars. Of course, I have no intention of letting him take this body. If my soul has no body to anchor to, according to Oro, it'll just try to get back to its original body and due to how we're summoned, it might get lost in the process. That'd be bad.

"This body, the princess, she has her limits you see."

The 'princess' brushes her hair to emphasis it, the golden hair that had turned white due to mana drain. It takes quite a lot to summon one of the Celestial Beasts after all, so I can't say I'm surprised that someone that's not a Champion would immediately be drained of their mana when they try to summon the likes of Aras or Fredericka.

"And how do you plan to take this body. I understand that even if it used to be yours, you can't just take it, can you? If you could, you would have done so a while ago."

"My, my, you really are digging for all my secrets, aren't you?"

"We're going to be working together after all. We should get to know each other better?"

"If you say so, not that you'll be able to do anything about it. Only the one who placed the 'link' on you can remove it, after all, and she's gone now."

"What are you talking about?"

"The [Soul Bond], remember that?"

[Soul Bond]... That's the passive buff both the princess and I received during the marriage ceremony wasn't it? Wait, 'soul bond'... That means-

"So that's how it was... I thought that proposal came out of nowhere!"

And it was the Holy Beast who gave us that blessing too, meaning there's really no way to remove it... Or is there? Maybe the Grand Keeper could do something about it. I'll check with her on a later date. She probably wouldn't want Nine getting his body back either.

"If it makes you feel better, I was the one who suggested to Merida that it would be a good idea while in the princess' body. And being the loyal subject she was, she went and got you to agree. By the time she brought back the good news, the princess, who had no idea, was positively ecstatic. She was confused, yes, but ecstatic nonetheless."

"Uh-huh... Sure she was."

"You sound unconvinced. The princess will be sad if she hears that, you know."

"If what you said was true, IF it was true, then she wouldn't remember this conversation, would she? In that case, there's no problem."

"You're cold, you know that, Mr. Phantom."

"Not as much as you're a scum, Nine."

The 'princess' shrugs and shakes her head.

"I see that your fatigue is affecting your temper, so I'll leave it here for today. I'll be tucking the princess back to her bed."

"Wait! What are you planning to do about the Diablos? You're not just going to leave them here, are you?"

I speak of the Diablos that had been standing as still as gargoyles around the 'princess' during our conversation. Without command, it seems like they won't even move.

"Don't worry, I have no plans to just leave them like this."

The 'princess' pulls out the book she had materialized, a grimoire with a cover made of gold decorated with a red gem embedded in the middle of the front cover.

"[Rollback]."

With that command, the Diablos returned to being Beastkins and the [contract] fused with them separate from their bodies and return to the grimoire. However, though they're transformed back, the ones who had been cut down by Seven remain cut down while those still alive are unconscious.

"I'll leave the cleaning up and explaining to you, Aurelius."

With that, the 'princess' left. It's as if 'she' doesn't even care about the fallen Beastkins. I know it's Nine in there, but 'she' sounds and looks just like the 'princess'. When I'm talking to 'her' my distaste for Nine and my affection for the princess mixes together, giving birth to a feeling of disgust. Disgust towards what? I don't know. Maybe towards Nine, who appears to care for nothing in his fight to reach Zero. Or maybe it is towards myself, who couldn't put aside my attachment towards the princess in spite of the possibility that it may all been a trick to get me to become Nine's unwitting pawn. Well whatever, what I need to do hasn't changed. I'll let Nine use me to his heart's content. In exchange, I'll just use him as much if not even more.

***