After suffering damage from her own Soul, Satono Eria has been slumped on the sofa for hours, seemingly looking at nothing but a different reality exempt from physical sensation. Her body felt like it was floating through deep space with seemingly no edge to end it.

  .:. I hate you. .:.

  .:. You ruined my first official job all because you wanted to spare him. He's an enemy, why did you? .:.

  .:. Fuck you. You're a good for nothing Soul. You don't do anything I want. I'm not your slave, YOU ARE! .:.

  .:. “...” .:.

  .:. That's right. Stay quiet, you! I'm in control, not you!”

  Satono was clearly angry but no one could hear her. She was dissociating, something that Aria noticed as she entered the lounge area.

  “Is everything alright?” Aria asked. She slowly stepped towards Satono, with her cane in her left hand. She was still recovering from her own injuries. The fight against Nanasu caused her left leg to lose all it's power, needing rest to get it's full strength back again.

  There was no immediate response from Satono.

  She was unresponsive, only to the mental turmoil of her own Soul who she'd been cussing out. Aria's cane tapped loudly enough on the floor to cut through the lingering silence and catch Satono.

  “... Y-yes, I'm alright.” She stopped dissociating, staring at Aria, which only made her more uncomfortable.

  “Been spacing out for a while.”

  “Yeah, it's just... the cramps.”

  “Oh man...”

  Aria misinterpreted it, feeling bad. .:. Poor girl... It's that time of the month, huh? .:. Aria thought.

  The awkward tension was only growing worse, and Satono didn't care to resolve it. The silence was like a thick, suffocating blanket that she didn't want to get rid of. At some point, Aria went back to the kitchen area.

  Satono closed her eyes once again and tried to continue berating her Soul.

  .:. Like... I don't understand. What made you defy me? It wasn't even that bad! We were going to win! One day you're going to take my life away for something you don't agree with! What? You think you're bigger than me? You think I'm inferior!? TO YOU!? .:.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  .:. You won't defy me anymore. You hard-capped my power there and I don't want to go through that ever again. .:.

  It was clear that Satono had little to no control of her Soul. Whatever happened back in Armada Capital could've possibly cost them their lives.

  She let her shoulders slump even further as she rested the back of her head on the armrest.

  “You're worthless,” Satono mumbled out loud. “Just let me do whatever I want!” Her mind couldn't escape what happened. That was the most power she had ever displayed at that point and it was stopped from achieving her ultimate goal of being valuable because of power. That power makes her valuable.

  Satono's entire purpose of being was to prove the royal family wrong. To her, power was everything. As she grew up, she was considered the worthless member. She was not as magically adept as her siblings and no one expected much from her.

  Everyone was boasting insane Soul-Wielder potential and she was the one whose development ceased. She was stronger than Sachiel Eria at some point and now she's even lower than Sachiel's new sibling. Siblings she hasn't met in years ever since the exile to Nomico.

  “...”

  And then, finally, the Soul spoke:

  .:. “Your somatic delusions remain naught but deliberate actions of your very unmaking. I bear no ill will to your actions, but I do not consent to killing innocent to fulfill your pathetic desire of being accepted. Power is not major. Power does not control, as you do not control me. You cling to these shallow ambitions like a child grasping at shadows, unable to grasp substance even when it floods your senses. Each moment you believe power brings validation, yet you remain hollow within. The throne you covet exists only in the comedy of your mind. There is no crown that could make lesser men whole. Would you trade your humanity for applause that fades as quickly as it arrives? You chase after approval like moth to flame, oblivious that you'll burn wings faster than you'll earn warmth. Your suffering will multiply until you recognize what binds us both - the recognition that control is merely illusion spun by those afraid of the chaos. Even now your anger rises like a flood against the truth, but water must find level despite the barriers placed within the path. Let this realization marinate—I remain untethered from your desperation. I shall not carry your burden” .:.

  Satono was silent. She was not physically frozen; she was just contemplating the words spoken by her Soul. She never took the criticism well but hearing it phrased that way made her think if she was truly worthless.

  “You're worthless...” Satono said... but that was to herself.

  .:. I'm worthless... .:.

  The Soul said nothing, the silence offering no comfort, only the hollow resonance of her own thoughts.

  Aria sat next to her, offering her a sense of intimacy when needed. If she was left with her own thoughts for longer, it could kill her.

  “What's up with you?” Aria asked gently.

  “...”

  Satono took a moment to respond. She tried to change the subject.

  “... Why is the Grand Follower always so cryptic when he speaks?”

  “...My brother?”

  “I can't understand him...”

  “Ey? Is that what's bothering you?” Aria questioned, chuckling. “Don't worry about him. I can't understand him either. I mean... It's hard to have a civil conversation when he's constantly spittin' gibberish...”

  “You say that but you two have a close bond. You two trust each other.”

  Aria sighed. “We do... though he hasn't been always... spitting gibberish. Actually, at some point, he seemed like any other guy you could approach so easily.”

  “What happened to him...?”

  “Well, you are a Follower so it's only right if you know.” She laid back into the softness of the sofa, which cradled their weight. This would keep Satono off her dark thoughts for a moment.

  People that she could call family right now exists in this moment.