Stitching the fragmented soul up, Percy was a little worried. The shards felt dull and inactive, his host’s will absent – save for a few scattered memories he figured he could tap into if he really needed them.
At first, he thought this person had taken more damage than expected, though it soon became apparent that wasn’t the case. The pieces of his soul weren’t really in that bad a shape. A good thing too, since Percy wasn’t sure he could fix a Yellow soul with his limited stash of mana if it was too far gone.
‘I suppose it’s just the guy’s mind that’s been wiped clean, for some reason…’
Coming to his senses, Percy found himself on a bed. A rather soft one at that. The mattress smelled of all sorts of aromatic herbs – probably an indication that it had been washed recently. He had a ton of questions already, though he shoved them all aside for now, examining his body.
‘Only two arms. No beak either…’ he frowned. ‘I guess I was too optimistic, hoping to reach Huehue on the first attempt.’
Technically, it was still possible this was Huehue, even if his host wasn’t one of Micky’s people. However, that ship sailed for good once he spotted the two yellow suns shining outside the window.
‘Oh well. I’ll just keep doing this with all my future clones until I get lucky.’ he shrugged.
Either way, he wasn’t too disappointed. He’d known it was a long shot from the start, but it didn’t mean the trip was a waste. Far from it. His host was sapient and at a decent grade. The body was in good shape too. At least, Percy failed to find any serious injuries after a quick examination. He still had no idea what had killed the poor guy, but it hadn’t left any physical marks as far as he could tell.
The place itself seemed quite promising too. He wasn’t underwater, nor underground. He hadn’t died in the wilderness either, nor in some deadly challenge or a damp cell. Just a regular bedroom.
It was larger than even Elaine’s room on Remior, full of fancy furniture and enchanted appliances, each adorned with all sorts of intricate runes. Not quite on the Vault’s level, nor at the Moirais’, but more advanced than anywhere else he’d been to.
Getting up, he winced in pain, the shift having shaken his brain a touch. He hadn’t even noticed the headache until just now, used to experiencing such things. This was the first sign of damage other than his host’s curious absence. On closer inspection, he was drenched in sweat, as were his clothes and his bedsheets.
‘Did this guy die from an illness or something?’
Shrugging, he walked up to a mirror, scrutinizing his appearance. He was dressed in silken robes no less dazzling than what the Divine Root wore, though the style was a little different. A vertical line of buttons adorned his chest, his collar jutting upwards in a funny manner. Slightly over the top for Percy’s taste, but the locals’ fashion was the last thing on his mind right now.
His host was a bipedal humanoid, closely resembling a human. His proportions were off, being a little shorter than he’d expect. Maybe he was just a kid? Either way, the boy was way hairier than a teenager should be. Or even a grown man, for that matter. His skin was covered in what he could only describe as fur – a light brown colour. Same shade as his hair, though that was longer, flaring outwards like a lion’s mane, splashing down on his shoulders. His ears were large and pointy, barely sticking out. He had some facial hair too, though it was quite strange. A bunch of long hairs scarcely adorned the space between his nose and upper lip. Not really a moustache. More like… whiskers? His golden eyes were split down the middle by sharp, vertical pupils. Four long canines jutted out of the boy’s mouth too, giving him an almost feral appearance. As for his digits… They ended in sharp fingernails, curving a little like claws.
‘Oh well, who cares? Let’s see what I’m really dealing with here.’
Turning his senses inwards, Percy stirred the mana in his sternum a little, cracking a smile as he recognized the familiar affinity. Air. Not the best, but not far off either. He’d used it enough to feel comfortable with it.
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There was something else too, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. This clone felt different than all the others, somehow. Not that there was anything wrong per se… Just… something out of place. But he couldn’t tell exactly what it was. Perhaps his Status would hold the answer…
Leo (Percival’s clone)
‘Nope. Nothing there.’
Well… whatever it was, he’d figure it out at some point. What concerned him more was the situation here. There didn’t seem to be any global Decree in place, but a civilization this advanced ought to have at least something worthwhile.
Over the next few minutes, Percy took his sweet time searching around the room, looking for anything of interest. Though he did take lots of small breaks too, to fiddle around with the appliances. Neither the heater nor the night lamps were anything special, but he wanted to examine their enchantments, to see if they were any good.
‘Hmmm… A little better than what we have back home, but still trash compared to mine…’
Overall, the boy had lots of useless possessions for him to sift through. Clothes, shoes and even sealed satchels filled with snacks. Not that strange, in hindsight. This was just a teenager’s room after all – not a king’s treasury…
But he did find a few things of note, gathering them into a pile on his host’s desk. Most of them were books. Or well… On closer inspection, the majority were notebooks filled with scribbles. He’d check them out later, if he got a chance. The good news was that there seemed to be enough of Leo’s mind left to let him understand the language.
‘Huh? This one’s a diary!’
An excellent development! Whether this was Leo’s home or some other facility, people would seek the boy out sooner or later. Going through the kid’s diary was a priority. Coupled with the lingering memories, it might teach Percy enough about his host to avoid exposing himself.
Placing the diary on the top of the stack, his gaze shifted to the other two noteworthy objects he’d found. Both were medium-sized jars made of glass. They were sealed, but opening them was as simple as twisting the lids.
Still, Percy couldn’t help but furrow his brow as he looked at their contents. Both jars were filled with pills, each containing a different type. The first, a vibrant amber colour. The other a deep red. He could already harbour a guess as to the mana types involved, but he was still grateful for the – rather informative – labels confirming his suspicions.
‘Core-cleansing pills’
No huge surprises there. Though the labels did contain some additional information – mostly warnings and recommended dosage. The amber ones were supposed to be consumed once every two days, lest one caused permanent damage to their core. Pretty much on par with the elixirs they had on Remior. Percy fully intended to consume one later – as soon as he figured out how long a day was in this place – though he wasn’t in a rush. The boy’s core still burned a little, so it couldn’t have been long since his last dose. Not that he expected to advance in any reasonable timeframe, but there might be some insight to be gained from the local brews.
Next, Percy’s eyes landed on the other jar, this time some surprise finding its way into his expression.
‘For the short-term relief of insomnia. Recommended use: Take no more than a single pill every two days. WARNING: Exceeding the recommended dosage can result in serious mental damage.’
‘Wow. This is some potent stuff the kid was on…’ he frowned.
He wouldn’t be certain until he dove into the diary, but it appeared he’d just found the culprit behind the boy’s untimely demise. Anyway, he’d better get on that, before somebody came looking.
Grabbing the notebook from the stack, he plopped down on the bed, flipping through the first couple of pages for some answers.
There was a lot he wanted to understand, both about his host and this world, but one thing took precedence: He needed to know what this place was. Luckily, it didn’t take him long to stumble upon the answer.
‘…Proudheart Academy…’