We find our way back home shortly after three-thirty in the afternoon. Chloe goes to lie down and rest for a little while— understandable, considering that we just spent an entire afternoon doing things on my prerogative. I, meanwhile, eagerly get to work with the new artifact I have, trying to figure out how it works, to be that much better prepared for the challenges which await us in the morning.

Which proves difficult. I gaze at the metal hand in my hand, looking around for any signs of how I’m supposed to equip it or what I’m supposed to do with it. I built my old [Modular Blowgun] in such a way that I could switch between glyphs on the fly, and I inbuilt the same modularity with my [Mechanical Arm Cannon], but I never did stop to consider that I might need to upgrade the whole thing in pieces, with new, more advanced glyphs on the barrel, or major repairs to one of the subsystems contained within the device.

I suppose, in my shortsightedness and desire to reduce the number of potential failure points on my arm, I didn’t give myself as easy of an upgrade path as I might have preferred. As I look at the hand, though, I wonder. Is it really so simple as severing off this current hand and welding the new one in place?

Moreover… Can I even do so? The passive effect of [Cybernetic Body]— I suppose that’s part of [Angelic Form] now— allows me to treat my prosthetics and cybernetics as part of my body. Normally, that’s a good thing. I don’t have to worry about immune response, and I’m allowed to apply my [Vitality] to attacks made against them. However, if I really do need to cut off my own arm, I’m not sure if I have the ability to overcome my [Vitality]. My [Strength] is considerably weaker, and my [Mind] isn’t much stronger.

Then again, perhaps I can do something different, adjusting and suturing my body the way I did with my wings, moving them from an accessory to a part of one of my Skills. Once I’ve taken steps to reinforce the connection with my arm, perhaps I can better understand how I’m supposed to switch between my current configuration and the new option this hand represents.

In fact, I’m a bit surprised I’ve not done so already.

I did make a promise with Chloe, though, so I need to wait for her to awaken. In the interim, I have more than enough [Ether] manipulation exercises to work on for the next several hours. For the time being, more out of a flight of fancy than any immediate goal, I start wondering if it might be possible for me to fly even without manifesting my wings.

I like having my wings, and I like showing them off. But— especially before they became part of me— they can be a bit unwieldy. And they are distinctive enough to be problematic in cases where I may in the future need to keep my identity under wraps. I can also see a scenario where I can use the misdirection on the battlefield, letting my enemy think I’ve disabled my flight ability, only to reveal I have alternative means of doing so.

But, spending two hours of practice, I make no real progress toward any concrete leads on achieving that goal.

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“You want to do what, again?” Chloe asks. She and I are sitting on the largest couch in the downstairs living area, her hand in mine as we rest in the late afternoon.

“I think that if I bond my [Mechanical Arm Cannon] into my body, I’ll be better able to modify it with my Skills, and make better use of the hand that Nicholas gave me.”

“I– Seraphina Mortensen! Do you realize how absolutely asinine you sound right now? You want to bond your arm to your body… and then cut off your own hand? I– I don’t even have words for you right now! No! No! Absolutely not! As your girlfriend and your healer, I am setting my foot down!”

“But–”

“Don’t you even think about giving me the ‘But, Chloe’ crap! My answer is absolutely not, no way, no chance! Like, do not pass Go, do not collect $200, no kisses, no cuddles, no fun tonight!”

I lower my head in defeat. “Still, I sense that there’s hidden power in this hand, and I think it will be critical if we are to stand up to whatever forces will await us in the morning.”

“Well, what other options are there?” Chloe asks. “Certainly there ought to be a better way of experimentation and discovery than cutting your own hand off.”

I take a long breath to consider the options. I don’t have enough time to rebuild a new version of the [Mechanical Arm Cannon], and, considering Chloe’s words carefully, I don’t want to risk damaging it right now. That leaves two options. I could go through the bonding process, or I could study the glyphs on my gift and see if I can make any modifications between now and then. Of the two options, the first is the most promising. The glyph arrays on the [Mechanical Arm Cannon] are extremely elaborate— far more so than any I’ve ever Manifested in the midst of battle— and I cannot risk compromising the delicate structures by trying to introduce new glyphs. Even a small error can cause cataclysmic failure.

“I think bonding the arm is best, even if we agree not to then try to replace the hand afterwards.”

It’s Chloe’s turn to take a long breath. “Please, give me a moment to steel myself, okay? Even if I know you’re doing it with the best of intentions, it’s still hard for me whenever I see you in pain.”

I turn to Chloe and wrap my arms around her. “I know. And, I’m sorry. And I’ll wait as long as you need.” I also could use a moment to prepare my own mind. I hadn’t realized how painful the bonding process was the first time I’d done so, and for Chloe’s sake, I can’t show the true depths of the pain I will soon feel, tearing apart and rebuilding the [Ether] channels in my left shoulder and stump. She’ll still feel it through our bond, but I don’t need to make things even worse for her through my wails of agony.

We wait like that for a few minutes before Chloe, teary-eyed, moves away from me. She nods, not willing to speak or even telepathize the assent. But I understand the meaning, and begin.

I divert all of my focus away from the outside world, transfixed on the network of [Ether] channels coursing throughout my body. [Ether] flows through me like waves, approximately two pulses per second. One, the dominant pulse, about ninety percent of the total flow, is in perfect sync with my heartbeat. And the other, secondary pulse, ever so slightly faster, beats along with Chloe’s, the representation of [Angelic Bond] and its influence upon my body and magic alike.

I use my [Intermediate Ether Manipulation] and focus the flow toward my left shoulder blade, concentrating as much [Ether] as I can comfortably store between the outermost tips of my scapula and clavicle. Fourteen channels etched into the outer edges of my left arm, buttressing and locking my [Mechanical Arm Cannon] onto the rest of my body. And another forty-one channels on the stump of my arm, most of which would have eventually gone into my hands and then fingertips, where the concentration of [Ether] channel endings is densest.

I start with the ones on the inside, working my way out. First the one directly outward from the dead center of my shoulder socket. Pain fills my arm, causing me to wince, as I burst the [Ether] channel with a massive confluence of [Ether]. Then, with my [Intermediate Ether Manipulation], I keep the channel open, forming a thread of semisolid [Ether] that begins to stitch its way into the metal socket, reaching a small node among the array of sluices and runes that relay my mental commands into the movements of my prosthetic.

Chloe and I both grit our teeth in unison as I pop the second channel like a piece of used bubble wrap, the pain being like a mixture of pure capsaicin on the lips combined with having hydrogen peroxide or rubbing alcohol deposited into the muscles via hypodermic injection.

But I do not scream or cry out in pain, just as I had promised to myself earlier. I am beyond this. The fights in the Tower Gauntlet have toughened my mind and body alike. Having survived the near-death encounter against the Order of the Wilds, and binding the [Wings of Icarus] to my body, have both acclimated me to this pain.

It gets easier as time goes on; my pain receptors must’ve dulled at some point, fatigued from firing too often.

Throughout it all, though, Chloe has been sweating profusely. Despite this, she hasn’t left my side once, nor ever let go of my hand. Feeling our connection, physical and spiritual alike, I cast my [Angel’s Grace] upon her. I don’t know how much it will help, but I want to give her the warmth that she has always given to me, both with her magical healing, but also just with her presence and love and affection. It seems to help, at least a little bit.

It takes ninety minutes to complete the process. Unlike with my wings, the [Mechanical Arm Cannon] doesn’t disappear into my body, nor does it change in appearance. But I can feel the connection much, much stronger and sharper than before. I had thought that the lag between my thoughts and movements had been eliminated when I ascended to the [Mechanical Angel] class, and gained access to the [Cybernetic Body] Skill. But only now, having properly and completely bonded the prosthetic as a part of my body, I realize just how far I still had to go at the time.

[[Mechanical Arm Cannon] has upgraded to [Bonded Mechanical Arm Cannon]. [Attack] modifier increased from +105 to +165. [Ether] cost for [Ether Bullet] and [Ether Bullet Barrage] reduced by 50%.]

Such is the hidden inefficiency that I had to deal with, trying to use a weapon that I hadn’t properly synchronized with. Even with the array of sluices and the complex network of switches and logic gates carved into the structure, there were still numerous tiny losses in [Ether] efficiency and output due to manufacturing defects and the incomplete connection between the arm and my body. These limitations might not be fully eliminated even now, but I have taken another large step toward reducing both.

I turn to Chloe. She’s clinging to me tightly, clutching one arm around my waist and the other around my right arm. I turn to her, hugging her close, and letting her know through our bond that the procedure was a success.

We stay like that for a long time, feeling one another’s warmth and the softness of each other’s skin, occasionally drinking of the cool water that I fetched shortly after finishing. Tomorrow will bring its own challenges, but for now, I feel that much more confident. No matter what awaits us, no matter how hard the System pushes us and tries to break our bodies and minds and spirits, I remain fully convinced that, as long as Chloe and I are together and united, we will overcome everything that befalls us.

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We wake up early the following morning. With plenty of food and supplies stored away in my [Inventory], including some basic camping and outdoor survival gear, I feel confident that we will be well-equipped to handle even three days in the wilderness without worry. And with a countryside, and potentially much more than that, in potential peril, Chloe and I fly off, in search of this desolate marshland, and whatever fell sorcery lurks within.