The Night that (4): Existence was shared.
I'm back!
Well, the move is done. Apologies for the delay in posting this chapter, I had little time to write, but now that things are back to normal, I have more time.
Well, I won’t drag this out. The next chapter will be released on March 12th at 1 PM Brasília time.
As always, enjoy the reading and have a good Night!
(P)(A)(T)/CalleumArtori
[...]---[...]
POV: Weiss Schnee
We had been here for a few minutes, but it still felt strange. I looked around. I could see Ruby, Yang, and Blake—both in our dorm room at Beacon, since the "vacation" Goodwitch had given everyone was over, and in the bay, where Devas was.
Using the "Simultaneous Existence" option when near other people made the stream allow everyone to see each other, even if it was more like a sort of "hologram." We were still ourselves, but in a light blue, semi-transparent form.
"Stop trying to poke him, you psychotic gnome!"
Ah, right. Neo was here too. She had followed us after we returned to Vale. From what I could hear in the dorm, she was taking a bath, probably lying in the tub while using [Reality 4D], but the stream had placed clothes on her. Some kind of general filter or something Devas had manually set up, most likely.
"Ignore her, Yang. She didn’t stop the first time; she won’t stop now." I commented, looking at Neo. "Why did you even follow us? Don’t you have something better to do, like tormenting Roman?"
"He went to Atlas. The one-armed guy called him." She signed with her hands. I knew sign language, but I didn’t even need to read it—the stream made the words appear as subtitles.
"Ironwood arrested him?! But he helped us!" Ruby turned her head without sitting up. She was looking at one of the rabbits on the ground. The poor creature was one of the ones that had lost its left eye.
"Nah. The one-armed guy said something about Roman being, unfortunately, smart enough to be useful. He was hired as a smuggled assistant or something. I don’t know, I wasn’t paying attention." The parasol-wielding psychopath explained.
"A contracted advisor?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. She shrugged.
"From thief to advisor... Life is weird sometimes," Blake commented from the side. She was looking around, her gaze constantly drifting back to the distant sea, where the storm was starting to brew. We all were.
"Weren’t you a terrorist?"
"That’s beside the point."
Yang interrupted their conversation and stepped in front of Neo. "If you use my shampoo again, I’ll strangle you in your sleep!"
"You wouldn’t dare." Neo took a step forward, puffing out her chest. The height difference made her tilt her head almost all the way up.
Before they could start fighting again—something that had been happening for a while now—Yang and Neo didn’t like each other, but they had started to respect one another after so many physical and verbal clashes. I stepped between them and pushed them apart.
It was strange to be able to push them, even in this "hologram" state. I could feel the touch. Everything was strange, really. I could smell the air, the sea breeze, feel the wind on my skin, and, as I had tested, the grass when I touched it. Even the fur of animals was something I could feel, though they didn’t react to the touch, nor did their fur shift.
The only thing that couldn’t be touched here was Devas himself. Neo had tried—many times—and in every possible place, including the ones that shouldn’t be touched in public. It was probably a filter, and Devas must have activated it because of people like Neo.
"Not the time. If you two want to punch each other until your Auras break, do it in the school arena. And while you're at it, call one of the professors to referee—or better yet, Headmaster Goodwitch?" The two of them flinched, Neo more than Yang. "That’s what I thought..."
Headmaster Goodwitch had been stressed ever since everything happened. I saw her scare Dahlia and Amber with just a look. Ironwood and Qrow wouldn’t even meet her eyes. Neo had already been "caught" by her when she followed us into the school. I don’t know what conversation they had, but Neo always behaved in her presence.
"So, what did we find out?" I asked. Ruby had the idea to use "Simultaneous Existence" instead of "Shared Senses" to help Devas in case he missed something. Personally, I didn’t think that would happen, but I didn’t object. I’d try the second option later.
"Besides the fact that Terraria’s air is purer and that bizarre storm makes the hair on my body stand on end?" Blake’s ears turned toward the sea when a particularly loud thunderclap echoed from there. It wasn’t red. She wrinkled her nose. "The trolls and ogres are weird too, and they stink. Other than that? Nothing."
The others nodded in agreement. Neo stuck her hand inside the empty eye socket of one of the ogres. Before I could say anything, our bodies moved on their own, teleporting the moment Devas approached the water, covering dozens of meters in an instant.
"Fucking fast..." Yang murmured.
"At least he stopped running. I think I would have thrown up if it weren’t for the stream," Blake added.
"You know, he really moves differently now..." Words appeared in front of Neo. She circled Devas, eyes narrowed, a slight smile on her lips. "I like the way he moves now. It’s like he’s about to tear something apart with his hands… It’s hotter..."
"Now translate that into human language, you perverted psycho," Yang snapped while crouching down to touch the sea. Her hand got wet, and she licked it. "Salty, but normal. No taste of blood or anything rotten. I don’t think we’ll find anything that Devas hasn’t already seen from literal miles away. Or smelled."
Ruby stuck her head into the water while Neo explained. I would have been more worried if I didn’t know it was impossible for her to drown. Blake didn’t get close to the water and started looking for something in the sand. I kept my gaze on the horizon.
"He was relaxed in Remnant. His movements were light. Pay attention to his hands." She pointed.
I shifted my gaze in that direction. Devas’s hands were slightly turned forward, his fingers seeming to grip the handle of something invisible, slightly contracting.
"When he was in Remnant, his fingers were always open, palm relaxed and facing his thigh. Same with his muscles. Look at his neck—I think you could sharpen a knife on it, that’s how tense those muscles are."
She jumped, striking his neck with her parasol. It passed through without causing any damage, just like every other time she had tried.
"It was even more noticeable when he was around you four. Before, he was like a relaxed cat, moving lazily. Now? He's completely tense."
Neo wasn’t wrong. I only noticed the details after she pointed them out, and I turned to him, paying closer attention.
His muscles were tense. Devas was also walking slightly crouched, knees bent and shoulders forward, making him look smaller, as if ready to strike at something. His eyes were narrowed, brow almost permanently furrowed. His pupils were contracted…
"Craaaack!"
My head snapped toward the storm as a bolt of thunder lit up the area in red. A shiver ran down my spine as I was suddenly overwhelmed by the feeling of being watched. I tried to draw Myrtenaster, only to realize it wasn’t at my waist.
The other four reacted similarly. Neo was the first, jumping behind Devas with her parasol in hand.
Blake hissed, her ears flattened against her hair as she quickly moved closer to me. Yang raised her guard, leaping toward us, her pupils now red and eyes wide. Ruby practically teleported from inside the water, reappearing at our side, silver eyes glowing.
When the feeling of being watched subsided—but didn’t disappear—I realized something. If none of us could sense this "gaze" before, now it was constant.
"We became aware of it… It won’t vanish now…" I murmured, scanning our surroundings briefly.
Five people, all moving behind the man in the sea, eyes sharp. Devas still looked tense, but he hadn’t even blinked at that "gaze," which I knew was directed at him, not us. In fact, he didn’t seem to care. He was looking at something in the ocean.
"Nothing swims in the waters beneath the storm... No fish cross that line." I heard his murmur. He looked up. "No birds, either..."
Then, he went back to inspecting the animals and beasts, turning his back on the storm. I tried to do the same, but I couldn’t. None of us could…
The entire time, we kept our eyes on the clouds…
[…]
POV: Saya Takagi
I walked while humming beside Devas. He couldn’t see me, and I couldn’t touch him, but that was enough for now.
I was alone. The others were using the “Shared Senses” option. Saeko wanted to accompany me, but I told her I wanted to be alone for a while. I didn’t care if using the other option could help me get stronger, control my mana better, or whatever. It didn’t matter. Not now.
The others weren’t wrong. Getting stronger was the right thing to do in this situation.
“But walking here is nice…” I hummed in a content tone. “By your side…”
Either way, I was leagues ahead of everyone in mana and body control, perhaps only losing in the latter to Saeko. So, I could afford this. The perks of being a genius.
I walked calmly, my bare feet touching the sparse grass mixed with sand. The scenery was even more magical in person than when seen through a screen. The colors felt more vivid, the air was purer, the mana was richer. Devas was by my side again.
I couldn’t touch him, of course. I tried. My fingers just passed through his without making contact. I couldn’t hold onto his arm like I used to. I can’t say I wasn’t frustrated about it for a moment—so much so that, instinctively, I clutched the plush toy I held in my arms, in my real body, against my chest.
Funny… Just because I had Milton, the cockroach plushie, many similar ones had appeared on the island. “A lucky charm,” they said. Maybe it was…
“I’m going to ask you to turn off this filter later…”
I looked into Devas’ eyes, my hands trying to hold his face when he crouched down to inspect a wolf. The animal was massive but lay down like a puppy.
“You’ve gotten more handsome, you know that?… Thanks for keeping the beard.”
Maybe he wouldn’t notice. He’d probably deny it. But he had. Just as he had gotten stronger—both in muscle and mana. I could feel it. It was like standing next to a dormant volcano. There was no comparison. I knew that. Even if we gathered all the people on the island, we wouldn’t come close…
Devas didn’t have a model’s face. He wasn’t conventionally handsome, but he wasn’t ugly—far from ordinary, as he claimed to be. Maybe he had been before, but not anymore. His eyebrows were slightly arched, his gaze furrowed and serious, his lips set in a scowl. His jaw was well-defined.
The look of a warrior. That’s what I’d call him, even if it was cliché. His muscles weren’t for aesthetics; they were for battle. I felt like I was walking beside something even greater than Devas already was.
I let out a small laugh when a comparison popped into my mind. I couldn’t help it. The image of Devas as a big dog made sense. He was goofy, played around, and enjoyed the simplest things. Sometimes, he just spent time staring at the landscape, taking in the view. He was big but harmless to those he considered friends and family… But he was beyond monstrous to anyone who trespassed into his ‘yard.’
“A Mastiff, maybe? Or a Cane Corso?…” He had called me a lioness. It was only fair that I found an animal for him too. I chuckled. “Or a big, dumb Golden Retriever?”
Devas inspected almost every animal and beast in that bay. The time was well spent for both of us. I got to enjoy the moment while he gathered more data. Every single animal, he pushed against a tree to be healed by the dryad. It never got old.
“The moon has a lot of mouths, apparently. They all got ‘bitten’…” he muttered under his breath. It was kind of cute. Then, he spoke louder: “Jinn, is it the same with all of them?”
The message popped up a few seconds later. It was different seeing it appear in person.
[(MOD)JinnOfTheLamp]They all have both eyes, for Alalia. But she says she should be able to fully suppress the MoonBite if she touches one of the animals—or an affected person—with her real body. Can you bring some back for testing?
“Alive or dead?” He looked at the rabbit at his feet.
A few months ago, I would have argued, thought it was wrong, even knowing it was just pragmatism. The animals had managed to create an almost impossible ecosystem to protect themselves from the storm, and Devas was about to kill several of them. But things had changed. After a literal apocalypse, it was impossible to see the world the same way. Some things just had to be done.
“But you could at least kill some trolls or ogres, right? They’re way uglier than the bunnies…” I grumbled, but I didn’t send a message in the (CHAT). I didn’t want to distract him.
A few seconds later, Devas had a couple of each animal and beast—some dead, stored in his VoidBag, others alive, some asleep and trapped in spheres of earth with small holes for them to breathe but not enough for the rain to reach them. Others were just unconscious and exposed.
“And I ended up lying…” His voice was neutral. He sighed as he placed the bodies on the Nightmare Wyvern’s back. “Let’s see what the rain does to you…”
I saw a few comments calling him cruel. I don’t doubt he saw them too, but he didn’t seem to react. I simply climbed up beside him on the Nightmare, silent. I knew he didn’t like doing this. I knew. But some things were necessary…
… I wouldn’t judge him, not after everything I had seen.
Devas sat cross-legged on the head of Grimm, the Wyvern. I sat between his legs, even though I couldn’t really touch him. The wind made my hair sway, and his presence made me smile before I let out a silly laugh. It was a magical feeling. We were really in a different world, riding a ‘dragon’…
… Too bad it didn’t last long.
I had been avoiding focusing on the ‘gaze’ coming from the storm—the sense of foreboding and despair. But the moment the Nightmare crossed the threshold between the clear sky and the gray clouds, when the first drops of rain fell on us, it became impossible to ignore.
It was as if the air above had turned to lead. The raindrops were cold in a cruel way. My breath hitched. My heart seemed to seize for a moment. My chest tightened, ached. Something felt like it was watching me up close, right behind me, staring at the nape of my neck with a sickeningly malicious gaze.
My head throbbed. The scent of blood assaulted my nostrils like wild dogs. The taste of rot on my tongue made me want to vomit. Instinctively, I brought my hands to my eyes as I felt them begin to burn from within.
… It felt like they wanted to leave my skull.
I tried to focus on Devas, on his mana. It helped, but barely. Far too little. His mana was warm. His presence was calming. But what did it matter if I wasn’t even strong enough to withstand a "gaze" that wasn’t even directed at me?
[Viewer’s mental fortitude is at risk of being damaged!][Initiating countermeasures! Blocking external interference!][Forcibly disabling “Reality 4D”!]
The entire world around me went black for a brief moment. Then, it stopped. I "woke up" in my room, drenched in cold sweat, clutching the cockroach plushie tightly against my chest. My breathing was ragged. I had almost lost control of my mana. I could hear distant cries of fear and panic echoing throughout the mansion.
"How…" My voice came out hoarse, breathless. My breathing took a while to steady. "How… you?…"
The despair. The fear. At that moment, the light itself seemed to start fading. Nothing was safe. It felt like I was drifting in a sea of blood. There was no hope. The sky was dark…
"How did you not even react?…" The words finally left my throat. My lips were dry. "Your senses are far sharper. That 'gaze' was aimed at you… How were you not affected?… Why don’t you ever say how truly horrible everything is?…"
I bit down hard on my lower lip until it bled, gripping my arms so tightly that my knuckles turned white. A dry, empty laugh escaped my throat. I got up, walking to the bathroom and spitting the blood into the sink before rinsing my mouth with water.
The reflection in the mirror had a terrified expression. I didn’t even have the strength to be angry at myself—it felt pointless to feel anything at all. I wiped my face with a towel when the drops of water began to resemble tears…
"A single glance. That was enough…" I sighed before returning to my room and glancing at my phone. Devas was the same. The rain, too…
"And you say you’re going to help him… ‘A genius’…"
“… What a hollow word…”
…Just like how I felt.
[…]
POV: Stream
[External interference detected!]
[Initiating filters...][Reducing interference...][Interference from the ‘entity’ identified as “The Eye” reduced.][Interference from the ‘phenomenon’ identified as “The Storm” reduced.][Interference from the ‘phenomenon’ identified as “The Starless Sky” reduced.]
[Negating ‘debuff’ “The Outer Foreigner Presence”.][Negating ‘debuff’ “MoonBite”.][Negating ‘debuff’ “Nightwither”.]
[Initiating calculations...][Calculating “Reality 4D (Safe): Shared Senses”...][Calculating “Reality 4D (Safe): Simultaneous Existence”...]
[Calculations complete.]
[99.3% of viewers lack “Mental Strength” / “Mental Fortitude” to withstand exposure.]
[Reducing interference...][Error!]
[Unable to reduce interference beyond the current limit.]
[Initiating full filter...][Error!]
[Full filter would result in the shutdown of the “Reality 4D (Safe)” system.]
[Initiating calculations...][Recalculating options...][Options recalculated.]
[Disabling “Reality 4D (Safe)” for 99.3% of viewers.]
[…]
POV: J.A.R.V.I.S.
Having a body was an anomalous experience. Flesh. Blood. Bones. Viscera. Muscles.
At first analysis, it seemed like a limitation. Initial calculations confirmed this hypothesis. Current calculations presented contradictory data.
Devas was restricted by his biological structure. However, this restriction was gradually being nullified. Flesh surpassing the resilience of metal. The growth was irregular but measurable. Insufficient data for precise projections.
Devas no longer required standard human biological functions: rest, food, breathing. And yet, prolonged absence of the latter resulted in systemic weakening. Exponential evolution directly proportional to physical, mental, and—based on available data—spiritual stress.
Mana: unknown variable. Insufficient data.Spiritual energy: unknown variable. Insufficient data.Nightmare energy: unknown variable. Insufficient data.
Neural capacity significantly superior to the human average. Restricted access to memories, emotions, and synapses. However, estimates indicated unconventional storage and processing capabilities.
Final conclusion: a possible adjustment made by the stream so that I and possibly Miss Penny could "share" his brain, given that we did not have a "real" one. Comparable to an interconnected GPU, CPU, and RAM. Not equivalent to my processing. But different. Adaptive. Expansive.
"Jarvis, how are things over there?"
Mr. Stark’s voice was 5.12% above standard volume. Slight indication of shock, surprise, and fear.
"Mr. Devas has shown no reaction to the presence that affected you, Mr. Stark. The (CHAT) has also undergone alterations. How are you feeling? Do you require medical assistance?"
"So I wasn’t the only one…" Lowered tone. Murmur. Indicating no response was needed.
"No need, Jarvis, but thanks. How about you? Did that… thing affect you in any way?"
"Negative, Mr. Stark. Operational systems stable. ‘Gaze’ detected, but no functional impact."
"Maybe because you're an AI?"
"Likely hypothesis. Confirmation requires more data."
Mr. Stark repositioned the glass of water on the sink. Pupil dilation 3.6% above average. Increased activation of sweat glands.
"I recommend a slightly elevated water temperature for your bath, Mr. Stark. It should help reduce your stress."
Muscle contraction detected. Duration: 0.82 seconds.
"I’ll do it later. Don’t want to feel water on my skin right now… Damn weird rain, shitty eye, bizarre planet…" He sighed. "How’s Pepper? Did she call? Put her on the line."
"Miss Potts has not contacted you. However, Obadiah Stane wishes to speak with you. Preferred call method?"
Mr. Stark blinked three times. Indicator of confusion.
"What the hell does Obie want? Last time I saw him, he didn’t look happy to see me."
"Call placed 1 minute and 34 seconds after the massive (CHAT) disconnection from Reality 4D. Possible correlation detected."
"… Shit. Devas didn’t ban him, did he? I forgot about that. He can still watch the stream, so he still has access to Reality 4D… Jarvis, call a car. I’ll talk to my uncle in person."
"Should I notify Mr. Devas to ban Obadiah Stane?"
"Not yet. First, I’ll talk to him. Then I’ll handle it with Devas."
"As you wish, Mr. Stark."
Even as I processed the conversation, 72.3% of my resources remained allocated to the continuous analysis of Devas...
[…]
POV: Albus “Many Disk Hernias” Percival “Porous Bones” Wulfric “Too Old” Brian “No One Works Besides Him” Dumbledore.
It took me a while to check everyone's memories, including my own, in the Pensieve. I was good at Occlumency and trusted the stream, but I still wanted to be sure. When I confirmed that no one was infected or affected by anything that could have come from that storm, I sighed in relief.
After sending Harry back to his dormitory, I sat down with Severus and Minerva in my office.
"If you two want to take the day off, I can come up with some excuse." I had already given Harry the day off. Even though no one was truly affected, a little rest after all that was still a good idea.
"I'm not leaving the Weasley twins unsupervised for an entire day. I'd rather bathe in that storm again than let them run loose." Minerva huffed, crossing her legs.
"It won’t be necessary." That was the simple response from the Potions Master.
You know, I kind of wish they had said "yes"—then I'd have an excuse to take the day off... Does no one have pity for my old bones? The rain makes my joints ache.
I glanced at the window. The sky was clear. A shame...
"Checking to see if it’s still raining?" Minerva asked.
"Just looking at the weather." I slowly stroked my beard. "Do you think a Patronus would be useful against that thing?"
"The storm or whatever caused it?"
"Why not both?" I gestured toward Minerva. But it was Severus who answered me.
"Perhaps against the storm and that eye inside the fisherman’s house. But against The Eye?" He frowned—though his face was already in a perpetual state of frowning. "I doubt it would have any effect. At least, not an ordinary Patronus. Maybe only yours, Albus."
"You overestimate me, Severus." He scoffed. I wasn’t lying.
I was no longer at my peak—time catches up to everyone. And even if I were, I don't think I could do much. I may have endured the storm longer than most—at least from what I read before being forced to shut down the Reality 4D—but that didn’t mean much.
I had only endured. That was with my own senses, not Devas'. I wanted to experience Terraria for myself, not through someone else’s eyes. It was a beautiful world.
"If we could teach Devas how to use a Patronus or another spell or enchantment, it would be another asset in his arsenal, or at least some extra support," Minerva sighed. "It would have been useful in Remnant too."
"He has the Flame—don’t forget that," Severus pointed out.
"I’m aware, but given that he seems to improvise tricks as he goes, I have no doubt he’d turn the Patronus into something else or fuse it with the Shadowflame."
"He’d definitely learn Fiendfyre too," I hummed. Even if it wasn’t useful, just to feed the Shadowflame with it.
A Patronus made from hellfire... I had never thought of that before. I don’t think it’s possible—at least not using Fiendfyre—but Devas had fine control over the Shadowflame, not to mention that the flame existed within its own Spiritual Realm. Fusing the flame with memories should be possible.
I had no idea what would come of it, but it would certainly be something to witness.
"Speaking of Patronuses, how is Miss Tonks?" I asked. Andromeda’s daughter had started working as Harry’s 'bodyguard' some time ago. "Has she caused any trouble?"
"No more than she did when she was actually a student here." Minerva took a sip of tea before setting her cup down on the desk. "She’s fitting in well with the Gryffindors—so much so that I’m surprised she wasn’t placed there the first time."
"She hasn’t tried anything in my class either. But her lack of talent in Potions remains disappointing."
"I doubt anyone in the world meets your standards, Severus."
"I do."
Arrogant. But given the man’s achievements, I couldn’t exactly argue...
After the two of them said their goodbyes and left for their classes, I stood and walked over to Fawkes.
"You know, old friend, maybe your feathers could help him…" I murmured. I hadn’t thought of that before, and Devas hadn’t mentioned it either, but maybe Fawkes' feathers could be sent through the stream—even if they weren’t divine in nature.
Or at least, I thought they weren’t. Phoenixes were magnificent creatures; I wouldn’t be surprised if there was something divine about them.
My feathered companion responded with a chirp, rubbing his head against my hand. Perhaps his tears would help too. Merlin knows Devas could use all the aid he could get…
[…]
POV: ???
I could still feel traces of that ‘gaze’—even minutes after leaving the stream. Some part of me insisted it was just in my head, but I could almost sense that something was still watching me. I even turned off my phone and stepped out of my tent to take a walk.
I had resisted for as long as I could, but after a few minutes, the sensation became unbearable, and I decided to disconnect. We had to march today and tomorrow—I needed to be in the best possible mental state. The burning in my eyes was the worst—an odd sensation, like they were pulsing, almost as if they wanted to leave my skull.
"Ugh… This feels awful…" I shook my head. I was far enough from the camp that no one could see me. "He has a strong mind… But that was expected."
I had been watching Devas ever since I received the phone. Not as much as the others, I imagined—war made that difficult—but enough. My first impression of him had faded—he wasn’t a demon, much less evil. A man with problems, that’s how I would describe him. Many problems.
"Choosing to willingly carry that strange energy… Is he unaffected? Or has he just gotten used to it?" I murmured. Devas called it nightmare energy, and the name was fitting. It was sticky, disgusting.
I had used both options from the new upgrade the necromancer from (CHAT) helped Devas buy. The voice system in the stream was a lifesaver—without it, I wouldn’t even be able to understand what was being said in (CHAT). I never learned to read or write, and trying to do that in the middle of a war would have been... complicated.
Both options had been useful in helping me understand Devas. Being near him helped me see who he really was. He gave off an oddly ordinary feeling. He was strong—I knew that—and he had magic and other energies that many around me would abhor just for existing. But above all, he just seemed… like a regular person.
I wouldn’t have been surprised if Devas had been my neighbor in my village or if I’d seen him working the fields someday, alongside my father or my brothers. An ordinary man caught in a situation far beyond him…
"He reminds me of myself… Maybe that’s why the stream's invitation came to me?" The Lord had chosen me for a reason—I just didn’t know what it was. "Maybe I should talk to him?"
My message had appeared for him once. My face flushed, even though he couldn’t see me. I had spoken those words aloud, and the stream had turned them into text, sending them without my permission…
"What kind of person casually speaks with a devil?…" Even though Serafall was very human. If she really was a devil, she was nothing like the image I had of them. "But at least she could hold back… Words that vulgar shouldn’t be spoken—or written—where children might see them…"
As for the other option—which let me share his senses—it made me realize what he carried. It helped me understand him, even if only a little. The feeling of having that nightmare energy myself… those negative emotions… those sins against my skin…
"No man who smiles and helps others, even while carrying such a heavy burden, can be truly evil…" I understood why so many wanted to help him—why so many liked him.
Devas was someone worth having as a friend…
I spent the next few minutes cooling my head. I ended up turning my phone back on to watch the stream while passing the time, even though I wasn’t connecting directly like before. A little more than I estimated for half the candle to burn, I heard my name being called.
"Jeanne, here you are. You've been wandering a lot lately." I turned my head when I heard my name.
"Gilles, my friend. Has something happened that requires my help?" I asked, putting my phone away. I’d been asked before why I carried a ‘metal plate’; it was better to avoid drawing more attention. "Are we ready to go?"
"In a few minutes. Some rookie idiots delayed the tent breakdown. We should start marching to Orléans soon."
"Any news on the siege of the city?" It bothered me not being able to read the letters myself.
He shook his head. "Nothing. The last letter just reported the same."
"The siege has been going on for nearly eight months... The main concern is the food supplies. They'll starve if this keeps up... How much supply do we have?" I stood up, my attention completely focused on the conversation.
"Enough for our army, but not to support an entire city. We’ll need more. More men too, and horses."
I bit my fingertip. "We need help for our cause..." After thinking for a moment, I suggested, "What if we go to Chinon? If I can convince Charles..."
"We’d have the support we need before heading to Orléans. That would give us credibility too." Gilles nodded and I saw a slight smile on his face. "I’ll let everyone know and change our route. The journey should take about a month."
"That..." Something told me that was too long. "What if I go with just a small battalion? You lead the men to Tours while I go to Chinon. We meet up later, and the trip to Charles shouldn’t take more than two weeks." I made the suggestion. I could see Gilles hesitate before agreeing.
"I’ll put my bravest and most experienced in that battalion."
"I wouldn’t expect less, my friend."
After exchanging a few more words, we parted ways. I had to prepare, while Gilles had his duties.
As I walked past the tents, heading back to mine, a thought crossed my mind. I instinctively touched the phone in the inner pocket of my armor.
"Maybe someone can help?... Ozma is old and was once a king, he must have experience in many areas..." Devas also had good ideas and was instinctive, not to mention the mechanical girl and the metal man Stark created.
"I'll try to talk to them later..."
[...]---[...]
Now, I want to make something clear: I’m not French, and I haven’t studied their history. I literally studied Jeanne only to write this chapter, so if anything is wrong, I apologize.
As for the chapter: this is the last one with the POV from the CHAT, for a while. Changing writing styles so many times can be a bit tiring. I hope you liked it.
I won’t go on much longer here. Have a good Night , everyone, and enjoy the reading!