The wind that howled through the tower's shattered summit was cold, but for the first time in centuries, Bazren felt it on skin. It was an unnerving, exhilarating sensation. She stood at the precipice of the broken wall, a silhouette against the vast, star-dusted canvas of the night sky, her new, dark hair whipping around a face that she had not yet grown accustomed to.

  Bazren: "The prize..."

  Her voice was a low whisper, almost stolen by the wind. She turned, a slow, deliberate movement, a predatory grin spreading across her features.

  

  

  Bazren: "In the Eluvian Ocean."

  Xayn stood near the center of the ruined study, arms crossed, his gaze fixed on the moon hanging cold and serene above them. He looked like a brooding lord from a forgotten tale, the new flesh a strange and ill-fitting costume for his ancient spirit.

  Xayn: "Our only lead... a sorceress, now somehow possessed by a soul that should have been scoured from existence."

  Bazren's grin tightened, her gaze dropping to the darkness below the tower.

  Bazren: "If Tentoria wasn't destroyed... then..."

  The theory hung unfinished in the air, a poisonous seed.

  Xayn: "Then none of this happened by chance. I refuse to believe that."

  Bazren bit the inside of her new cheek, the faint coppery taste a startling reminder of the life she now wore. She paced the length of the broken wall, a caged animal testing the limits of its new form.

  Bazren: "Is she just using us...?"

  Xayn let out a sigh, the sound strangely soft without the rasp of a decaying throat.

  Xayn: "Perhaps. Be it as it may, it would seem our goals align. We both seek whatever lies dormant in that ocean. And Tentoria... she has always been helpful to us."

  Bazren spun around, one perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised in challenge.

  Bazren: "Sure... but that was before she had her memories back. Even when she was our ally, we knew precious little of her past. And what little we do know is... alarming, to put it lightly."

  Xayn's hands, so deceptively human, clenched into fists at his sides.

  Xayn: "I won't have us overthink this and risk paralysis, Bazren. Not when we're this *close*."

  The pink wind rose in her irises flared with a dangerous light.

  Bazren: "What's that supposed to mean...? Are you suggesting we just ignore her motives and press on, business as usual?"

  Xayn shook his head, the movement causing his long, dark hair to shift on his shoulders.

  Xayn: "I'm saying she is our best lead. Like it or not, we must cooperate... At least until we have answers. After that, we can leave the sorceress behind. And Tentoria with her, if need be."

  Bazren: "Tch. Awfully certain of that, aren't you?"

  She crossed her arms, unconvinced, the posture feeling solid and unfamiliar with the added weight of flesh and muscle.

  Bazren: "Back when I tried to strike Mola down... did you not feel how she stopped me in my tracks? How easily she seized control of our minds? Getting rid of her may not be so simple."

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  Xayn: "She needs the 'vessel', as she so put it. And it is true, we seem unable to bring it to harm by our own hands..."

  He brought a hand to his chin, the scrape of his new beard another alien texture. His cyan eyes narrowed in thought.

  Xayn: "But that does not mean she cannot be killed. We would simply need to find someone to do it for us."

  A low, wicked chuckle escaped Bazren's throat.

  Bazren: "Well, well... Listen to you! Finding loopholes in your own conscience already. I didn't think you'd consider hiring a murderer so nonchalantly."

  Xayn's expression hardened.

  Xayn: "Like it or not, Mola is an abomination. Even before Tentoria's influence, she dabbled in the dark arts, slaughtered innocents for the sake of her own ego... We would be doing this world a service by putting her down."

  Bazren laughed, a sharp, clear sound that echoed in the ruin.

  Bazren: "Ah... So that's how your little moral compass keeps from shattering. Xayn, Xayn, Xayn... Whatever helps you rest at night, I suppose."

  Her gaze drifted towards the staircase, her expression turning to one of cold contempt.

  Bazren: "As far as I'm concerned, she should have *died* the moment we laid eyes on her."

  Before Xayn could reply, she held up a hand, a single finger extended to stop him.

  Bazren: "And yes, I know *I* spared her. I couldn't help it, alright...? She reminded me of... her."

  The admission was a crack in her hardened facade.

  Xayn: "... Of Tentoria."

  Bazren nodded, her gaze distant.

  Bazren: "She was the only other soul we ever knew who could command black magic like that... Couple that with her strange connection to Mortmundus, and I just couldn't bring myself to end her. It hit a bit too close to home for my liking."

  Xayn's voice was quiet, probing.

  Xayn: "... Yet now, you would kill her?"

  Bazren: "Of course I would! "

  Hers was sharp, brutal.

  Bazren: "She may wield powers that extend far beyond what any mortal should... but her spirit is weak. Her soul is absolute filth."

  Xayn's new lips tensed into a thin line.

  Bazren: "At least Tentoria seemed decent. Sure, her power was just as frightening as Mola's... But not once did she harbor evil intent. Heck, she wanted to save everyone, just as much as we did...!"

  She took a deep breath, the feeling of her lungs not moving a constant, chilling reminder.

  Bazren: "... Just as much as we *do*."

  Xayn: "And do you think that is still what she wants...?"

  Bazren's hands clenched so tightly her new knuckles turned white.

  Bazren: "I think we can't trust her anymore, that's what. There is no way she isn't hiding something. Several lifetimes' worth of memories flood back into her, and yet she tells us *nothing*? Something's wrong here. Call me paranoid... but I won't dare assume the Tentoria we knew is the same one speaking to us now."

  Xayn: "You think her memories changed her...?"

  Bazren shook her head, a vehement, sharp motion.

  Bazren: "I think losing them changed her. Now that she has them back... she's her normal self again. Except we are meeting that self for the first time now. We must be careful. The Tentoria we knew would never call a living, breathing human being her 'vessel', no matter how fickle the person."

  Xayn's expression soured with the memory.

  Xayn: "Luckily, the meaning of that was lost on Mola. But yes, I found it... inappropriate, too. As if the girl is some discarded puppet, like the carcasses that littered the ashen deserts of Mortmundus..."

  Bazren: "It's not right. I will say it again -- I don't. Trust. Her."

  Xayn couldn't help but release a short, humorless chuckle.

  Xayn: "Funnily enough, it could very well be thanks to her we were granted these new bodies..."

  Bazren: "Ugh, don't get me started on that... Wasn't the girl's Master supposed to be so kind? Willing to 'help those in need' or whatever? She seemed far too eager to treat us like lab rats..."

  Xayn: "I believe there was something stranger still about her. Mola insisted she despised dark magic, yet she seemed awfully adept at manipulating it. As wise and powerful as a mage may be, that does not automatically make one a master of all magic... especially not if that magic is forbidden."

  Bazren: "Pfft! It wouldn't surprise me if that little weasel lied to us, just so we'd stop poking holes in her pathetic plan,"

  Xayn: "Perhaps. But Mola seemed genuinely terrified that her master would discover what she'd done. Not to mention she expelled her pupil in front of our very eyes. So either she was tremendously hypocritical... or there are quite a few puzzle pieces still missing."

  Bazren sighed, running her hands through her new hair in frustration.

  Bazren: "Missing pieces is the name of this goddamn game... Feels like every answer we get just multiplies the questions."

  Xayn: "Luckily for us, dying of old age is no longer a concern. The thread cannot be infinite... we will follow it to the end, however long it takes. The people of Mortmundus will walk this earth once more."

  Bazren nodded, her fire momentarily banked by a familiar, shared resolve.

  Bazren: "But not if we don't get some rest. Come on... I think that's enough for one night. We'll talk more in the morning, when that ticking time bomb in human skin finally wakes up. I want to hear what she has to say."

  Xayn: "After you."

  They silently made their way back to the relative shelter of Mola's room, two shadows descending the spiral staircase, leaving the cold moon and the endless questions behind them as they resumed their vigil for the night.