Opening his eyes, Grey stared silently at the familiar ceiling.
He was in his room in the Embrace of Venus, but had no idea how he got there.
However, he did not find the situation strange. Since he and Senior had begun sharing one body, he had gradually grown used to waking up in the most varied places and under unexpected circumstances.
Today, however, his head felt slightly dizzy. His vision was somewhat blurred, and his body felt a little foreign. This "a little" was very uncomfortable. So much that he did not dare to get out of bed.
His chest itched. He reached out to relieve the annoying itch, but heard the rustle of paper rubbing against his skin.
"What is this?" Grey thought, still not fully awake.
A folded sheet of paper was in his hands, covered in familiar handwriting.
"Good morning, sleepyhead.
I hasten to inform you of extremely unpleasant news: you slept for two days. Not two hours. Not 'a little nap'. Two full days filled with events.
During this time, you somehow managed to miss the meeting with Lady Veronika, the reconciliation with Monica (yes, I handled that myself, you can stop hiding), as well as the formation of our own forces and their first training sessions.
I also allowed Sheril to take the beast essence and carry out the absorption ritual. I spent a bit of time flirting with Veronika and teasing the subordinates.
Honestly, I do not even know what to focus on first.
But this is all just lyrical digression.
Let us move on to the main issue, namely the condition of our body.
Seriously, we need to understand how exactly our mental connection works. We can no longer leave everything to chance and ignore deviations.
I am especially concerned about the periods of weakness, when one of us suddenly loses contact with reality, falls into deep dormancy, or, on the contrary, takes over most of the consciousness.
Here are the most notable and suspicious episodes I could recall:
First, the period when I first arrived in this world. You were completely inactive, no response, no resistance, a blank sheet. I truly do not understand how emotional trauma could lead to someone else, me, being able to take over your body.
Souls do not work like that. Even in your fantasy world.
Second, when Garen's group beat us up. You suddenly woke up and began fighting me for control over the body, and then 'erased' me in a soul battle. (I am not offended at all, just stating facts.)
For your information, after that experience I lost several months of life. I have no idea what you were doing in the slave camp. I only managed to wake up when you were in turmoil and could not decide whether to treat Lily.
I still deeply regret that we gave that girl such a valuable resource. What was I thinking? It could have saved our lives. I know it is wrong to think this way, but I cannot control it. Let us just say I did not know the true value of the Life Source.
But that is not the point right now.
Is it not strange that I managed to survive and reappear after being erased deep within the subconscious? Either you completely misunderstood how souls work, or there is something strange about us. (surprising, right?)
Third case, after the old man's death.
Both of us lack clear memories of the period when Sheril and Lily left the slave camp. Coincidence? Perhaps. But memory disruption is considered a very serious issue in normal practice. (Though who am I to complain, after losing my memories twice?)
It is difficult to analyze information when my memory of that period is extremely blurred and fragmented.
And finally, the panther battle.
After it, you were extremely sluggish and shut down for two whole days, while I took full control of the body. (a rather refreshing experience).
At present, this is all I can recall.
No matter how much I think about it, I cannot reach a definite conclusion. I can hardly even derive any patterns. And that worries me greatly.
The sample size is too small, and all situations seem completely unrelated, but I managed to find one common pattern.
Each time something extraordinary happens to our connection, we somehow come into contact with death.
(Do not deny it immediately. And do not throw away the paper. Think with me.)
My death. The death of your mother. The attempted 'erasure'. The old man's death. And the extremely risky battle with the panther.
Do you feel the connection?
It sounds very strange, absurd, and even a little forced. As if, when death is near, some switch in our mind triggers a random function.
And I admit I know nothing about the laws of this world, magic, or soul theory, but the logic holds. All that remains is to test the theory.
Seriously, we need to properly study this part of our life. Otherwise, we may lose our lives for the most absurd reasons, simply because we do not understand how our body works.
Would that not be embarrassing for you?
Therefore, I ask you: if you wake up and are reading this letter, describe your condition in detail while the memories are still fresh.
Physical: weakness, pain, sense of heaviness.
Mental: clarity of thought, memory gaps, sense of a 'foreign presence' (although that sounds particularly ironic).
Emotional: irritability, apathy, uncharacteristic reactions.
We need data. Without it, we are just two idiots in one body who periodically shut down without instructions.
If I am writing this to myself and you still have not woken up, then so be it. The experiment continues.
Methods to wake Junior from unconsciousness:
Call him a "wet raccoon, brat, and delicate little thing". (crossed out, does not work)
Announce that I am the leader forever now. (crossed out, does not work)
Tell Lily that he slept hugging her while she was sick. (crossed out, does not work)
Insult his mother. (crossed out, does not work)
Say that I miss him. (crossed out, does not work, how embarrassing…)
Kiss Lily…
Have sex…
End of letter…"
Junior's eyes narrowed. His breathing quickened, and his face cycled between deathly pale, green, and red.
"SENIOR, son of a troll, how dare you?!"
He did not even hold his voice back, shouting so loudly he could have woken everyone in the brothel.
A minute later, he heard someone running toward the door.
"Grey, what happened?" Monica asked worriedly, hurriedly tying her robe.
"N-nothing!" Grey quickly denied everything and hid the paper behind his back, praying to every known god that no one would see Senior's inappropriate handwriting.
"I just remembered I lent some money to one of the clients and he still hasn't paid it back… Everything's fine, don't worry. Aunt Monica, go back to bed, I'll make breakfast."
Monica gave him a strange look, noticing his lowered trousers and his hands hidden behind his back. She smiled knowingly and decided not to interfere in matters that were not her business.
"It's fine, I'm glad you're growing up."
Grey was embarrassed, but still nodded, not understanding what Monica meant.
A minute later, when the door slammed shut and he was left alone, his brows furrowed.
If he ignored Senior's inappropriate comments, there was something worth thinking about in his reasoning.
The theory he laid out contradicted all the magical postulates he had studied under the guidance of powerful experts in the Village of the Forsaken. But could the same not be said about their very existence?
Grey had never heard of anything so absurd, and yet… they did share one body between the two of them.
With these thoughts, he still decided to dig deeper. Were there similar situations in his childhood?
"A moment close to death… memory loss…"
Yes, that's right, I remember now. A strange, eerie gray space filled with shadows, when the priest destroyed my magic core. I thought it was just a simple nightmare, but what if… No, there were no memory gaps after that. I clearly remember the entire journey to the village.
Wait…
That's it!
What about Stormdale? When the first signs of Apollo's curse appeared…"
Grey tried hard to recall something, but his mind was empty.
"Strange… so much happened then. Meeting Simbad, saying goodbye to Kaguya, exchanging gifts, a relapse of an old injury… I should clearly remember that period, but I have no memory at all of how Grace and I ran off to the market when my skin started to glow strangely…"
Mother scolded me so many times, but I don't remember it at all…
Grey reflexively began rolling the beads on his bracelet, hoping to peer into the past, but it was all in vain.
"So if Senior's theory is correct, then I was exposed to mortal danger?"
His thoughts were cut off by an insistent knock at the door.
"Come in," Grey replied irritably.
A dangerously handsome blond man with blue eyes entered the room. He looked around as if assessing the situation, then nodded in approval and met Grey's gaze.
"Achilles, what are you doing here? Didn't I order you not to appear here without my invitation?" Grey asked calmly, as if discussing the weather. Not a single muscle on his face twitched as he stared at Achilles indifferently, waiting for an explanation.
Even though he had been absent for two full days, he was absolutely certain that Senior was cautious enough not to allow unverified individuals into his residence.
Achilles raised an eyebrow.
Grey's reaction felt strange and unnatural, as if he were speaking to a stranger.
The Grey he knew always smiled, shouted, or otherwise expressed his emotions toward those around him, while at the same time not caring in the slightest about their opinions.
But the one standing in front of him now showed almost no emotion at all, as if wearing a mask. And yet something in his eyes betrayed it… a sense of involvement Achilles could not get used to.
The first version of Grey frightened him far more, and yet the sense of danger from meeting a "equal opponent" came precisely from this Grey.
Achilles shook his head, brushing aside the unnecessary thoughts.
"How did you get in here?" Grey asked again, still waiting for an answer.
"Lily told me to ask Aunt Lydia. I did. She didn't ask anything and immediately let me in to see you."
'Of course! How could she not let such a handsome man in? I'm sure Lily foresaw this, otherwise she would have sent Sunny…'
"So what are you doing here?"
Achilles gave an awkward smile and began to explain.
"We have an emergency. Cultists are roaming not far from the estate. We were going to act first and eliminate them quietly, but Sunny insisted that only you can make such an important decision. To avoid missing the moment and to avoid conflict, we decided to send the fastest one. That is, me."
"Let's go. We need to get weapons," Grey acted very decisively.
Without waiting for a response, he left the room, grabbed a bag of weapons, and hurried toward the estate. Even though there was no extra time, he still decided to make a detour through the market, hoping to buy the missing equipment there.
Only a few days had passed since he rescued the teenagers, and he had not expected them to need weapons so urgently.
Achilles did not object and followed him.
"Maybe I did something to offend you?" he asked as they walked. "I noticed you didn't seem very pleased that I was the one who came to report the news."
"You're right. You should stay away from my residence."
Achilles raised his brows. He had not expected such a blunt answer.
"Why?"
"Trust issues," Grey replied simply and concisely, paying for a rusted sword.
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