>>30385424Cassandra thought for a few seconds, and made a decision. “Fruce, schizos resonate with our world in strange ways. This is how they can strike fear in even hardened warriors. It’s most significant in trolls and shamans, but even the most base schizo can make some small waves, if fully afflicted. Some of the fear you felt back then was genuine, natural, but they amplify those emotions.”
Citrora seemed interested by this concept. “Is that so?”
The Deadbeat agent continued. “Indeed. But in Moriji, and other places, I imagine, this power has been turned back against them. Our priestesses have developed schizolocation. A calm mind can separate the genuine fear from the encroaching influence of the schizo, and the latter can inform us on them.”
Some incredulousness made it to Citrora’s face. “Truly? This works?”
“Certainly. Our two schizos are two floors below us, about two-hundred meters in front and to the right. I think most people have the capability for this, but a sizeable amount of chuubanite is needed. For me and the Goddess Faithful, it’s in our bones. For you... Your armor has a lot of chuubanite, right? Try pressing... Ah, press your lips against your gauntlets while we walk. The lips are one of the most sensitive parts of the body.” Citrora smelled trickery.
“This sounds like a jape at my expense. You might have used the prison’s floor plan to locate the prisoners, no need for strange magicks.”
Cassandra just smiled. “Come on, you’re too curious not to try, are you not? Do it now while we’re a bit far.”
Citrora looked around, and saw no one besides them. The Rear Admiral had already gone down the stairs, and the walls of the hall were featureless. The Luknight felt incredibly silly doing so, but pressed her lips against the metal regardless, and waited.
Nothing.
“It *was* a jape! Damn you!”
The agent shook her head and insisted. “Keep doing it, and let’s keep walking towards them. Clear your mind of all distractions and focus on your fear. Because there is fear in your heart, is there not? Try to visualize its shape, it color, where it is. And look at how it changes as we walk.” Citrora dearly wanted to put a stop to this folly, but she couldn’t help herself. She did exactly as Cassandra said.
As they walked, she couldn’t notice anything. It was true, a tension was pulling at her heart, but it seemed like the natural apprehension of facing her enemy. But once they went down one set of stairs, and the next, there was... Something. Something growing. There was a fear and... More fear, identical, but additional. Unnatural. And as they got closer and closer to the cell, she could almost feels a shimmer on her lips from the gauntlet, as if the intrusion was vibrating its way in from there... It took all her focus, and it only came into effect within a few meters of the schizos, but there was the slightest hint of something there.
“It’s... It’s true. This is incredible.” Cassandra was beaming now, and clasped Citrora’s shoulder with her hand. “More practice will make it much more useful! And now, as long as you’ve got your armor, hopefully they won’t get the jump on you.”
The Luknight turned to Cassandra and bowed, in Moriji fashion. “This is a great gift you’ve made me, how can I repay you?”
She put her hands up, still smiling. “Oh, I just like helping. If anyone asks you how you learned to do this, tell them you came up with it, this is supposed to be a bit of a secret technique.” Cassandra stood straight once more and thanked her new friend one more time.
“Don’t worry about it... Now, what is our Rear Admiral up to?”
He’d been there for this entire exchange, seemingly unconcerned with any friendships, leakages of secret techniques, or anything besides the contents of the cell. He’d pulled out one of those Lunaito cigars, and was a third of the way through smoking it. That he was not coughing his life out was a tribute to the resilience of his lungs. “Trying to get anything out of those schizos, but they’re not playing ball. Mutes, or smart enough to keep their mouth shut. It’s good to see them, though... This musculature, and fur, these Arctic schizos undergo significant mutations. I wonder which country these guys came from in the first place...”
Cassandra took out a small notebook from her pocket and began jotting down notes on the creature’s physiology.
“Let’s get to work, Admiral.”
Citrora bursted out laughing while the two were seriously considering the task ahead. They turned to her, confused. “Fruce?”
“Hahaha, Admiral Magnus... They’re for eating, not smoking!”
“Eating? It’s a lump of sugar, why the hell would I eat that?”
“Why smoke it nanora?”
The two schizos remained stone-faced, as the laughter resounded around them.
3/3
