Noah floated in a sea of harsh white light and gentle shadow. Cracks stretched across his mindspace like the web of a particularly ambitious spider. It didn’t take a trained eye to see that the damage was bad.

But it had been worse.

The Fragment of Renewal had sealed the worst of the cracks already. Some of them had been approaching what could only be described as cavernous. Now, the majority were no thicker than the width of his forearm.

As extensive as the damage was, none of it was going to be immediately life-threatening. One more application of the Fragment of Renewal would probably be enough to do away with any remaining damage and pull him out of the coma.

At least, Noah was pretty sure this was a coma. It was always a bit hard to tell when one was on the inside. But he’d already managed to use the Fragment of Renewal four times — so at least 33 hours had passed.

Just under two days… I think that should be fine. Everyone else is still out there. Between Grim, Yoru, Moxie, and all the other professors, the kids should be well protected. That doesn’t mean I can just sit like this forever. I do really need to get myself out of here as soon as I can.

Noah wasn’t exactly sure how long it had been since his last application of the Fragment of Renewal. The damage had been bad enough that he’d zoned out for the first few uses.

Time was already painfully difficult for him to track normally. Tossing a bunch of confusion and exhaustion into the mix and removing all external stimulus was a great way to make sure he lost pretty much all basis of it.

Still, with all the Runes I cut up… damn. I’ve never used Sunder that much in my life. Didn’t think I had it in me, but it’s a hell of a lot easier to slice up runes than it is to carve apart people. I guess that’s because the runes generally don’t fight back.

The whole process was quite fuzzy. He’d lost track of the number of runes he’d cut apart, but there had definitely been a hell of a lot of them. Hopefully it would be enough to get everyone to the next Tier at the bare minimum.

They were all going to need that extra strength in the coming days. Nobody could say when Father would attack again, much less the noble families. That thought made his lips thin.

Some of the smarter families would get his message. They’d back off and leave Isabel and Todd alone. But there was never a shortage of idiots. At this point, Noah was convinced idiots were probably the Arbalest Empire’s prize crop.

“You know, sitting and staring isn’t going to get much accomplished.” A voice came from behind Noah. That was odd, as it was his voice — but it definitely hadn’t come out of his mouth.

He turned around. But, before Noah had even finished the motion, he already knew what he’d find. He was starting to get predictable.

“Noah-2,” Noah said. “We’re starting to make meeting a habit.”

“I feel like therapists everywhere would applaud us. Confronting ourselves. Seeking deeper truth. Talking things out. We’re the very model of a modern major… suicidal teacher?”

“You’re really reaching now,” Noah said. He paused for a moment. Something about Noah-2 was a bit… different. It was hard to say exactly what was tripping his senses. Noah-2 looked identical to him. He always did. But there was just something slightly off. Different, like someone had taken a picture but tweaked a tiny value that the conscious mind couldn’t quite pick up.

“Isn’t that always what we’ve done best?” Noah-2 asked. He yawned, then shook his head like a dog trying to rid itself of water on its fur. “You really put in some work. Been a long time since we got that much use out of Sunder. It’s too bad you couldn’t have done that before cutting apart the Rank 6. The damage we would have taken would have been far more manageable.”

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“Probably, but I think Grim was right about not letting that Rank 6 sit around in me any longer than it absolutely had to. It was making changes that I did not want,” Noah said with a grimace. “My brain was turning to mush.”

“Not mush,” Noah-2 said. “The thoughts were still flowing. It was just that the process was not the one you were used to. But I digress — it’s clear the rune was flawed. Preventing it from ascending was the right choice.”

“So why are you here? Or is it just to pat me on the back?”

“Have we ever been one to shy away from doing that?” Noah-2 asked. He arched an eyebrow.

“No,” Noah admitted. “But something tells me you’re here for more than that.”

Noah-2 crossed his hands behind his back and looked out over the cracks riddling their soul. He was silent for a few moments before speaking.

“Every time you do this,” Noah-2 said, gesturing to the damaged soul all around them. “The distance between us shrinks.”

“Please don’t tell me you’re about to ask me to buy you a ring,” Noah said. “I wouldn’t say I’ve got commitment issues, but I really don’t like the look of myself that much.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Noah-2 said, but a small grin flitted across his lips before he continued. “There’s a reason we’re here, talking to each other, instead of just thinking. A very good reason. And we should keep it that way.”

“Does this mean you’re breaking up with me?”

Noah-2’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not joking about—”

“I know,” Noah said, raising his hands. “Sorry. You know how we are. But what the hell is the reason? Aren’t we the same person? You’re like a manifestation of myself. That means we’re identical.”

“It is possible to be the same and not identical. You are, in spite of everything, still human. I am Noah Vines. All of him. Not just the parts that remain. Not just the surface of the iceberg. I am all of Noah Vines. Every single memory. Every single thought, desire, and fleeting intrusive thought. All at once.”

“Are you trying to imply that you’re more me than I am?”

“No. The concept of you is what you currently are. No adult still bears the thoughts they had as a small child. They do not remember the dream that graced their mind fifty years ago. To be human is to lose. It is to evolve and grow beyond what you once were. That is what you are — but it is not what I am.”

“You’re telling me you remember everything everything?” Noah asked, swallowing as he finally realized what Noah-2 was getting at. “Like…”

“Too much,” Noah-2 said with a nod.

“How are you even coherent?”

“Because this is only a little piece. The rest is buried,” Noah-2 replied, tapping the ground with his foot. “Down here. Where it needs to remain. Every time you take damage like this, the barrier weakens. We draw closer.”

“What happens if—”

“Trust me. We don’t want that.” Noah-2’s features went dark. “Not at all. That should be avoided unless no other option remains for us. There are some memories that need to be lost. Use them, weaponize them, but do not remember them. Leave them where they are, Pandora.”

Noah grunted. “Point taken. I don’t suppose you’ve got a rough idea of about how many more times I can blow my soul up before I — you — we? — come knocking?”

“With damage like this? Not many. Keep it to the normal amounts,” Noah-2 suggested. “I’m not delusional. We’re not going to avoid nasty fights. Especially not now. The others have to be protected, and our lives are the easiest to spend. Just remember that the damage we take, even when mended by the Fragment of Renewal, isn’t free. You aren’t protecting anyone if your mind gets cracked like an egg.”

“I will keep that in mind,” Noah said, any traces of amusement gone from his voice. “Would have appreciated a warning about this earlier.”

“Would it have changed anything?”

“No,” Noah admitted.

“Which is why I didn’t bother,” Noah-2 said. “The last thing we needed was more stuff to keep track of. We don’t do well when there are too many tasks to handle at once. That hasn’t changed. Focus on getting everyone out of this damned empire alive. And hell — if we can get to Rank 6, then all those nasty little memories get pushed a whole lot deeper. The mind can process much more as the soul expands. We won’t have to run from them forever.”

“Just for a bit longer, huh?” Noah asked.

“Just for a bit longer,” Noah-2 said with a nod. The two of them looked back out to the cracks riddling their soul. Then Noah-2 clapped Noah on the shoulder. “You might as well finish this up. The Fragment of Renewal is ready again. One last application should do the trick to get us all patched up — and I’m dying to see how everyone did with their advancements.”

“Yeah.” A smile crawled across Noah’s lips. “Let’s find out, shall we?”