"What do you mean?" asked Mori.
Her hand was playing on his face, her finger tracing a line from his forehead to his lips.
It was unsettling, yet a feeling he didn't dislike.
She was kind of like him, or what he wanted to be.
Someone who didn't care and did whatever they wanted.
"What's your name?" asked Mori.
"Maël."
Her expression was neutral at all times, besides when she toyed with him. A snide smile would then appear on her face.
"Isn't that a guy's name?"
"Short for Maëlstrom."
"Who names their kid Maëlstrom?"
"Who names their kid Memento Mori?"
Mori eyebrows were all the way up.
What is happening?
Mori's face was red, yet he sustained her stare the best he could.
"So, why Maëlstrom?"
"That's what humans used to call me, back then. I don't recall my name."
"You don't remember your own name?"
"What is it? Maybe you want to name me? Give me a cute little name?"
"Maël. Couldn't care less."
Mori's mind could not keep up with her.
She was 'undoing' him. Her attitude and personality were attractive, but it ultimately clashed with his.
He felt like a kid in highschool, the one with a silver tongue who finally met his match.
He was suddenly self-aware, trying to not stutter on words or say stupid things.
For a moment, he realized she was in control.
Mori frowned, grabbing her shoulder, trying to push her off him while standing up.
She didn't budge; she was like a stone wall.
"What..." he muttered
"I'm the one in control here."
Her smile was starting to annoy him.
"How? Isn't this my mind?"
He couldn't see her anymore. He couldn't even know how or where she died. What killed her. Even revenge.
How would he even get revenge? Right this wrong? Kill the cat?
The Unkindled had been upfront with the risks, and accepted the blame of pulling them in.
Based on that blame, he could kill him. But that cat was only 'one of them'. There was an Unkindled cat in everyone's [0-0] room.
Like tendrils extending in the dungeon, he was everywhere and nowhere.
At the end of the day, he just would've killed a husk, an empty shell. Whatever was in that cat would probably just go into another one, somewhere else.
Killing Maël was also not possible. How would he do it?
She was inside him.
She had no intentions to move, and he was the one who let her win.
"Interesting."
Mori's fiery eyes snapped on Maël.
"Are you reading my thoughts?"
"No, the Unkindled is doing that — but not in here, though. I don't like being spied on. It's more like feeling your thoughts. Don't think I'll ever let you take your own life."
"I wouldn't."
"Huh?"
Mori stood up.
"Don't underestimate me. I have only one goal, and until it's achieved, nothing else matters."
"That's why I like you."
She stopped pacing, sitting down in the armchair again, slowly crossing her legs.
"I can't recall what place I missed. Tell me."
"Please."
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"Good boy."
She re-crossed her legs, taking her time to answer.
"The place you've forgotten is the place you recently started to mess with. The one through which you've let a lot of us out. Like me."
Mori's round eyes were staring into oblivion.
He never thought about it. It had never even been an option.
Who knew what was on the other side? That's where those eldritch beings came from. What would ever be the point of going there, besides being mobbed by a bunch of them?
"Going there isn't as dangerous as you think. Especially for you, our 'Sovereign'."
She re-crossed her legs.
"But... there is a hierarchy, like I said earlier. Since your Mana will be recovering, maybe we try not to make big waves when we get there."