I checked my pseudo domain for any threats. I was the only life inside my realm. I pushed my senses further out, relying on water's connection to life to track outside my fog. I could not sense any spirit beasts within two miles. This was my chance to reap what I had sown.

  Asked the flayen, his voice only audible within my mind.

  In my head I pictured his bearded tentacles raised in a questioning gesture. It wasn’t a pleasant sight.

  The tentacle face said.

  I said.

  That was only sorta true. Instead of the task getting more challenging with each trip, it became easier. My connection with water allowed me to glide on the icy surface. I discovered if I invested energy on the soles of my feet I could use that to pull me across the surface.

  Water longed to connect with another source—its nature was to gather. This would not have worked if it had just been a body of water. I would've sunk or, at the very best, stayed rooted. Ice was a bit different. Each crystal had its own structure. It was content to just be, to remain as is.

  I simply pictured an ice crystal ahead of me and commanded my mana-endowed feet to obey. I tripped more than once, and downhill was much easier than uphill, which took more convincing, mana, and willpower. I could not just picture the ice crystal. I had to know it was there and that my mana could become one with it. After trial and error, I developed a competent level of ice sliding.

  I wasn't sure if the new skill would be practical in a fight yet—maybe if I was retreating. Realistically, it would take more practice and experience before I was comfortable mixing it into a fight. I wasn't working on being a realist at the moment. If I could develop the skill now, it would add a new element to my fighting. I was already fast on my feet, but this would increase my movement by two or threefold.

  the flayen said.

  Tentacles said. I sensed an intense amount of frustration coming from him. Which was a bit off script…

  It's not that I didn't completely trust Calamari. It would be nice if I knew his real name and intentions or understood what he was doing in my mind. OK, I didn't trust Cal. Possession without consent was a glaring red flag, and I could not shake my gut, feeling that the guy did not have my best interest at stake

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  Face tentacles were aggressively shrugging. I shuddered at the thought.

  I said.

  Tenty's words slammed into my mind with the intensity of a banshee screaming. A sharp pain erupted behind my eyes. It caused me to lose focus on my ice crystal. I slowed from a fast sprint to a standstill and began slipping down the hill.

  As soon as I regained focus, I created a new anchor point. What the hell?

  the squid said, tentacles chiding me like a parent would a child.

  I countered. The flayen’s words clouded my mind with a haze of doubt. It urged me to wait. Listen. Obey. I pushed forward

  Tents said.

  I asked.

  I asked.

  The flayen said.

  I asked. It was pretty clear from conversations the squid disdained my people. In his eyes, we were inferior.

  I disagreed.

  If we were so weak, why was he dead? Why was he now relying on me? The truth of the matter was Calamari quit. He couldn't accomplish whatever task he was sent to achieve, and he had the power of recursion backing him. He tried to accomplish things his way, with all his mind powers, and failed. According to him, my mind was already tainted… I had already cultivated body essences. There was no way I would reach the level he was on. So why try to follow a path I couldn’t follow? A path that led to failure.

  I would've argued with Cal about all of this, but the squid split mid-conversation. It's not like he had anywhere to go. He was in my mind. I've been there. It's a dark void brimming with emptiness.

  The mind invader did save me during the fight, though. He called to me when I was caged in fear, breaking me out of the wolfbears' trance.

  Trust was a silly thing.

  I reached the top of the hill shortly after the mental conversation ended. I placed my hand over the ice dome and created a door to walk through. I kept the door open as I made the rest of my preparations. My stomach rumbled, my body aching for nourishment. Even if I wanted to spend the rest of my life pursuing the path of the mind, I couldn’t ignore my need to eat.

  It was a bit odd to think I still craved food or that I hungered. I was no longer in my real body. The clone I inhabited was made of ice, runes, and mana. Yet it was as real as flesh. I felt pain, hunger, thirst… I needed air to breathe.

  On the surface it made no sense. However, the body was just as much an essence of the soul as was the mind and spirit. So in a way it made sense that base needs were still met. My soul needed it.

  My thoughts branched in several directions from that point. I contemplated humanity and the essence of being while I worked.

  I skated down the hill one last time and walked to the forest's edge. The trees were much too large for me to use. It would take me hours of labor to cut down and process them. That was energy I didn't have. My focus was on the ground. During the battle of mages these massive trees were used like ordinary weapons. They were thrown, speared, morphed, and exploded. There were bound to be remnants of the mighty battle trees left behind.