Now angry at her disinterest, Yen focused harder on penetrating her thoughts. Crowning around her head, a soft white halo appeared in his vision moments before he plummeted back into the white landscape. Startled, Yen leapt to his feet in the white world, searching wildly for something on which to take out his frustration. Feeling irritated at his inability to break into her memory, Yen close his eyes and released his probe. Opening his eyes again, he was stunned to find himself still trapped within the white realm.
“How?” Yen asked, unable to formulate the questions he really wanted to ask.
Yen shook with anger. He now knew the answer that had eluded him before. Something had happened while Keryn was gone: some other entity was in Keryn’s mind. It was not unheard of with exploration into the unknown space. Parasites existed that could share a person’s body and subtly alter their moods and interactions with others. Her behavior changes and seemingly distant attitude toward him now made more sense. It was now Yen’s mission to free Keryn of whatever entity had taken possession of her. In order to set her free, however, he needed to get free himself. That meant confronting whatever now shared her mind.
Manifesting his powers, Yen searched the ground and air for exits from his prison. The white world, however, held against his intrusions. Throwing his hands skyward, Yen yelled into the oblivion. “How are you keeping me here? Who is doing this to me?”
“I am,” came a familiar feminine voice.
The white landscape in front of Yen began to ripple as first a tanned leg, then a tanned arm, emerged from the nothing. The rest of her body quickly followed, pulling itself free from the ether. With a final shake, the white landscape reasserted itself. Before Yen, a personification of Keryn stood naked, her silver hair flowing freely over her shoulders. Yen’s eyes drifted over her body, which stood in sharp distinction to the white background. He quickly pulled his eyes away before he fell into the trap of thinking the figure before him was truly his lost love.
“You’re not Keryn,” he stated, matter-of-factly.
“Keryn is…,” she replied, pausing as she sought the right words, “unavailable right now.”
“What are you?” he asked threateningly. “Are you a parasite? An insect?”
“No, no,” she answered, shaking her head. “I’m very much a part of the whole. Consider me a vizier for Keryn’s decision making process.”
Yen turned away from her, not wanting the temptation of looking at her. “You’re talking in riddles!” he yelled. “You’re playing with my mind, showing me her body. I don’t even want to look at you.”
After a pause, she spoke. “Is this better?” she asked coyly. When Yen still refused to turn, she continued. “I promise I’m not naked anymore.”
Yen turned and, true to her word, she was no longer naked. A white robe clung to her body now, revealing only the plunging neckline, face, and hands. “Why do you keep me prisoner here? Why can’t I leave?”
“You’re here because you need to know the truth,” she answered. “No, more importantly, you need to accept the truth.”
“What would a succubus know about the truth?” he sneered.
“I know what lies in Keryn’s heart,” she said softly, before her voice took a hard edge, “and you’re no longer in it. You’ve been replaced.”
“I don’t believe you,” Yen said, stepping dangerously toward her. “What do you want from me? Answer me, damn you!”
“I want you to accept the fact that she has moved on with her life,” she said, not backing away from his threat. “It’s time you moved on with yours.”
“The only reason she would keep me from her heart is if you told her to forget about me. That’s what parasites do!”
“You silly, little man,” she said, tilting her head back as she laughed. “I didn’t tell her that she didn’t love you. She told me. And I could no sooner remove myself from her than I could remove her lungs. I’m very much a part of her.”
Yen lost the words of his sharp retort as the realization dawned on him. “You’re her Voice,” he said, dumbfounded. He had been so very wrong about Keryn. It wasn’t that something had invaded Keryn’s mind; Keryn had invaded her own mind.
“I don’t know what she ever saw in you, honestly,” the Voice replied. “You’re arrogant and conceited and, as we just witnessed, not very bright.”
“Don’t threaten me, woman,” Yen growled, feeling his power bristling along his spines. “It would not be a very wise move to upset me.” From his back, dozens of small, sharp tendrils protruded, floating in the air above his head.
“You don’t threaten me, child!” the Voice yelled. Wind began whipping her hair and robe as she grew angry.
“I do whatever I want, witch,” Yen replied calmly before sending all his small blades toward her chest. With little effort, the Voice raised her hand, facing her palm toward the oncoming blades. Instantly, they all stopped in mid air, frozen by her powers. Yen strained to drive them forward, but to no avail. The Voice had them under her control.
“You made a poor decision there, Yen,” she explained. “We’re not in the real world. Your powers are simply a personification of your own mind here. But this is Keryn’s mindscape and, in turn, my realm. My powers are absolute here. And, though this may not be the first time you’ve heard this comment, I’ve left you impotent.”
Yen howled in rage, feeling helpless against her mental control. “Let go of me at once!”
“Only after I’m sure that you understand that if you ever return, I’ll destroy your mind once and for all. It’s a point I’d really like to…” she paused as she twisted her wrist, turning the blades away from her and pointing them at Yen, “drive home.”
Flicking her fingers at him, the blades drove back toward Yen. He threw up his arms defensively, but the blades pierced through his skin. Pain lanced through his body as dozens of blades slipped into his body. He screamed as the white world slowly melted away.
Lowering his arms, he looked around at the now silent and surprised Captains, all of who watched him curiously from their seats. Tentatively, he touched his chest and was relieved to find that he was not injured.
“Sorry,” he mumbled to the gathered Captains, “my mind was elsewhere. What were we discussing?”
Keryn turned toward him, a fire burning behind her violet eyes. “I was just explaining that the Ballistae was going to conduct the research on the Deplitoxide. I just informed the Captains that you would support my decision one hundred percent. Isn’t that true, Captain Xiao?”
Yen locked eyes with her and knew immediately that he spoke to the Voice once more. A nervous spasm rolled up his back.
“Yes, I support their decision,” Yen added, struggling with the words. He was not used to being on the defensive. “The Ballistae will conduct the research while we’re in transit to Arcendor.”
Before any responses could be mustered, Yen quickly added, “If there are no other issues, I would like to bid you all adieu and good luck. This meeting is adjourned.”
Perplexed, the other Captains were slow to rise as they made their way out of the room. Keryn and Alcent stood and left without a word, which Yen considered a small consolation. When everyone was gone, Yen sat alone in the relative darkness of the War Room and fumed about the turn of events. She no longer loved him. He had trouble accepting the truth, but knew that the Voice wouldn’t blatantly lie to him. The Voice was merely an extension of Keryn’s own mind. Still, she had said something he couldn’t forget: