"Allow me to demonstrate what ’unwilling cooperation’ truly means."
I had a strong sense of foreboding and turned my gaze toward Zephyr.
Suddenly, his body went rigid. A sharp, broken gasp tore from his throat - the first sound he’d made since being frozen. His vacant eyes remained unfocused, but they now glistened with tears that hadn’t been there before.
"I’m not simply holding him in stasis," Ossian explained conversationally, as if discussing the weather while my friend suffered. "I’m currently wandering through his mindscape. Right now, I’m showing him a very particular memory - the memory of his greatest failure - the death of his family."
Zephyr’s lips moved soundlessly, forming what looked like the word ’sorry’ over and over again.
"The beautiful thing about mental manipulation," Ossian continued with academic interest, "is that I can stretch his perception of time within that memory. Every second of watching those flames consume her becomes an hour of crystallized agony. Every moment of his failure expands into an eternity of self-loathing."
A thin trickle of blood began to seep from Zephyr’s nose as his body trembled.
"His mind is trying to reject the experience, but I’m forcing him to live it repeatedly, each time with perfect, inescapable clarity. The smell of smoke, the sound of their screams, the weight of knowing he could have saved them if he’d just been a little faster, a little braver..."
Zephyr let out a small, broken whimper.
"Stop!" The word left my mouth before I could think.
Ossian’s violet eyes gleamed with satisfaction. "Ah, there we are. So much for your clever negotiations, little mouse."
But he kept torturing Zephyr.
Gritting my teeth, I shouted loudly. "I-I agree."
Ossian’s skeletal features relaxed, and immediately the oppressive mental pressure around Zephyr lifted. His rigid posture collapsed as he gasped desperately for air, his whole body shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. The vacant stare was gone, replaced by the wild, panicked eyes of someone who’d just lived through hell.
I rushed to his side, catching him as his knees buckled.
"I’m sorry," I whispered, supporting his trembling form. "I’m so sorry. This is all because of me..."
"N-no..." Zephyr’s voice came out as a broken rasp, barely audible.
His hand weakly gripped my arm, and I could feel him trying to focus on my face through the lingering trauma.
...Tch, I can’t use Mender’s Paradox.
"Don’t speak," I said quickly, reaching into my storage ring.
My fingers found one of the high-grade healing potions. I uncorked it with shaking hands and carefully helped him drink it, watching as some color returned to his pale face and the nosebleed finally stopped.
The healing magic worked to repair the damage, but I could still see the haunted look in his eyes. Some wounds went deeper than any potion could reach.
I gritted my teeth and turned back to face Ossian, my gaze burning with barely contained killing intent.
"I agree to your terms," I said, my voice low and deadly. "But let him out of here first. Send him somewhere safe, away from this place, away from you. Then we’ll discuss my... cooperation."
Ossian’s violet eyes danced with amusement at my protective fury.
"My, my. Such fire in those eyes. Very well, little mouse. I am nothing if not reasonable."
Ossian raised his skeletal claw, and the air shimmered before tearing open to reveal a familiar landscape. The Wastelands - barren but safe, far from any immediate danger. The portal’s edges crackled with violet energy, but the view beyond was clear.
"There," he said with mock generosity. "A safe distance from our little arrangement."
I helped Zephyr to his feet, his weight leaning heavily against me as we made our way to the portal. His breathing was still ragged, but the healing potion had done its work - the physical damage was mending.
"Come on," I murmured, guiding him through the portal.
The moment we crossed into the wasteland’s familiar grey dust and ash-filled air, I quickly extended my aura and activated Mender’s Paradox. The gentle healing energy flowed between us, targeting the lingering mental fractures that even the high-grade potion couldn’t fully address. I felt the jagged edges of his psyche smoothing slightly, the raw terror ebbing to manageable levels.
Then, I quickly used Pulse of the Unseen, scanning our surroundings. Empty wasteland in all directions - no immediate threats, no monsters. Just the endless expanse of grey ash and obsidian ground that stretched to the horizon.
"Listen to me," I said quietly, gripping his shoulders. "I’ll be back soon. Just... stay here. Stay safe."
Zephyr’s eyes focused on mine, still clouded but more present than before. "Lu-Lumin, don’t—"
The portal snapped shut behind me with a sound like breaking glass, cutting off his words mid-sentence. I was back in the bone chamber, alone with the monster wearing a guardian’s mask.
I couldn’t gamble with Zephyr’s life. Not when I’d already seen what this creature was capable of.
Ossian’s violet gaze followed me as I turned to face him, the shadows in the chamber seeming to press closer now that my anchor to hope was gone.
"Now then," he purred, settling back into his throne of bones. "Shall we discuss the terms of your service, little mouse?"
"There’s no need," I muttered, my expression carefully neutral.
Without another word, I started walking toward the pedestal where the Nexus Stone pulsed with its hypnotic blue light.
But there was a problem - the pedestal was at the center of the deep, shadowy pool, with no obvious way to reach it.
I glanced meaningfully at Ossian, who caught my look and burst into delighted laughter.
"Oh, how thoughtless of me," he said with mock concern. "Here, allow me to assist my little herald."
With a casual gesture, bones from the chamber walls began flowing like liquid, reshaping themselves into an elegant bridge that spanned the gap to the pedestal.
The bone construction solidified with a sound like settling masonry, creating a sturdy path directly to the relic.
I crossed quickly, my footsteps echoing on the makeshift bridge. The Nexus Stone grew larger as I approached, its pulsing light casting shifting shadows across my face.
The power emanating from it was intoxicating - I could feel it calling to something deep within me, promising strength beyond imagination.
But before I reached for the relic, I stopped and turned back to face Ossian.
"You know what," I said, tilting my head thoughtfully, "I thought of another path just now. Want to hear it out?"
Ossian’s chuckle rippled through the chamber, rich with the confidence of a predator who believed his prey was already caught.
"Oh? And what brilliant alternative has that clever mind of yours concocted now, little mouse? I’m all ears."
The amusement in his voice suggested he thought this was just another desperate attempt at negotiation - the final thrashing of someone who’d already accepted defeat. But...
He had no idea what was coming.