Chapter 465: Choosing to Participate

Orven and Saela left Mirath two days later.

Damon expected a simple farewell.

Naturally, Orven appeared carrying a box that looked far too heavy for someone who had spent most of the visit surrounded by paper.

"Is all of that yours?"

"Notes."

Damon looked at the box.

"You were here for less than a week."

"I work fast."

Aria appeared behind him carrying another one.

Damon looked at her.

"No."

"No what?"

"You’re not going to start."

"Start what?"

"A competition."

Orven looked interested.

"Does she produce more notes than I do?"

Aria straightened her posture.

"Depends on the subject."

Damon pointed at both of them.

"Exactly that."

Saela walked between them carrying a single bag.

"That’s why I prefer instruments."

Damon looked at her.

"Are you taking any of the marks?"

"No. I made copies of the diagrams. The original pieces remain here, as agreed."

"Good."

Jian Yue was near the gate, while Aurelia handed Orven the last authorized documents. No records about Eir’s internal structure would be taken. No medical information about Neria would leave Mirath. The Arvell records would remain available only as historical reference.

Saela placed the bag over her shoulder.

"I’m going to recommend the complete removal of the third layer of the marks."

"Will Varos be able to approve that?"

"It doesn’t depend only on him."

"I know."

"The council has already agreed to begin tests on volunteers."

Damon raised an eyebrow.

"Real volunteers?"

"Yes."

"They asked first?"

"Yes."

"They explained the risk?"

Saela stared at him.

"Yes."

"I’m just checking."

"I noticed."

Orven closed the box.

"And the records about Arvell?"

Damon understood the question.

"They stay archived."

"No search?"

"No."

"Even if a more precise location appears?"

"If it comes from old records, no."

"And if they appear?"

"Then we talk."

Orven nodded.

"That’s what I expected."

Damon narrowed his eyes.

"You keep doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Looking satisfied when I make decisions you already expected."

"Maybe I’m updating my assessment of you."

"That sounds worse."

Saela started walking.

"Let’s go before he turns this into an argument."

Damon liked her.

Maybe precisely because she also seemed tired of Orven.

Before entering the Transfer area, Saela stopped.

"One last thing."

Damon sighed.

"Naturally."

"When your shoulder injury disappears, observe whether the motor compensation disappears too."

"Without provoking it."

"Without provoking it."

"No repetitive testing."

"No repetitive testing."

"No instruments."

"I didn’t even bring any for that."

He nodded.

"Leave it to me."

Saela gave a small bow.

"Then until next time."

"Preferably without internal investigations, prisons, or murderous marks."

"That would be pleasant."

Aria activated Transfer.

The two disappeared.

Damon stared at the empty space.

"Surprisingly normal visit."

Aurelia replied:

"You look disappointed."

"I’m suspicious."

"That’s more familiar."

Ester and Mu Qing returned from the Valley at the end of that afternoon.

Damon knew before he even saw them because the black tablet vibrated on the table.

A message appeared.

SHE CAME BACK.

Damon read it.

"Who?"

Another appeared.

ESTER.

"I figured."

The third:

SHE’S ANGRY.

Damon became serious.

"At me?"

NERIA.

He relaxed.

"Great."

The door opened.

Ester entered.

Mu Qing came behind her carrying two bags.

Damon looked at the healer’s face.

"You really are angry."

"Seventy-four."

"Steps?"

"Yes."

"How many were authorized?"

"Forty."

Damon fell silent.

Mu Qing placed the bags on the floor.

"She said she felt fine."

"That doesn’t turn forty into seventy-four."

"Technically it does if she keeps walking," Damon replied.

Ester slowly turned toward him.

"Do you want to help your own recovery or not?"

"I take it back."

Mu Qing smiled.

Damon became more serious.

"And the filaments?"

"We removed eleven."

"Problems?"

"Nothing serious. Two areas bled more than I expected, but Eir managed to sustain the nearby plant structures without restoring old tissue."

"Did she respect the limits?"

"All of them."

Damon smiled.

"Good."

Ester sat down.

"We also identified three more modifications Neria wants to keep."

"Autonomy?"

"Two of them. The third regulates the amount of energy she absorbs from Eir when she establishes contact."

Damon frowned.

"Was that made by the Order?"

"Yes."

"And she wants to keep it?"

"She does."

"Why?"

"Because before, she depended on distance itself to control how much she received. Now she can remain close to Eir without absorbing too much."

Damon understood.

"So it’s useful."

"Very."

"How did Eir react?"

Ester smiled.

"She didn’t like it."

"But?"

"She said Neria chooses."

Damon nodded.

"Still learning."

Mu Qing opened one of the bags.

"Neria also sent this."

She took out a small container filled with the red fruits Eir had offered before.

Damon looked.

"Is this a bribe?"

"A gift."

"From Neria?"

Mu Qing paused.

"From Liora."

Damon took one.

"She sent food?"

"She said they were hers."

Damon stared at the fruit.

"Then this is definitely significant."

Ester took another.

"She probably found more."

"Don’t ruin the moment."

The next morning, Ester examined Damon again.

He remained seated without complaining.

For approximately three minutes.

"Finished?"

"No."

"You already checked the ribs."

"Now the shoulder."

"It’s working."

"That doesn’t mean it finished healing."

Ester slowly lifted his arm.

No pain.

Higher.

Still nothing.

Then she rotated it.

A slight pressure appeared in the back.

Damon made a small grimace.

"There."

"I know."

"Then why did you keep going?"

"To find out where."

"You have questionable methods."

"And you have questionable habits. We’re even."

She released his arm.

"Ribs practically consolidated."

Damon smiled.

"Practically."

"Don’t start."

"And the shoulder?"

"A few more days before real impact."

"How many?"

"Four."

"Two."

"Five."

"You increased it."

"Six."

Damon closed his mouth.

"Excellent decision."

She stepped away to put the instruments away.

Damon looked at his own hand.

"I want to test something."

Ester immediately turned.

"No."

"You don’t even know what."

"With you, it saves time."

"I want to make a single movement with a sword. Slowly."

"Why?"

"I want to know if the compensation still appears."

Ester thought.

"Once."

"Great."

"With me watching."

"Naturally."

They went to the courtyard.

Damon picked up the sword.

Jian Yue was there.

She noticed Ester.

Then Damon.

"Authorized?"

"Once," Ester replied.

Jian Yue immediately approached.

Damon looked at her.

"You weren’t invited."

"I’ll stay quiet."

"That never happens."

She ignored him.

Damon took position.

He performed the movement slowly.

The shoulder rotated.

No pain.

The connection near his heart remained cold.

He completed the cut exactly as intended.

Stopped.

Ester watched the circulation.

"Not again."

"I know."

Damon lowered the sword.

Jian Yue asked:

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

Aurelia had explained that this would probably happen.

Even so, seeing it confirmed something important.

The ancestral structure was not trying to permanently replace his patterns.

It had only offered an alternative while the limitation existed.

Now that the shoulder could perform the movement, the alternative did not appear.

Damon smiled.

Ester noticed.

"You’re satisfied."

"Very."

"Why?"

"Because it disappeared."

Jian Yue tilted her head.

"Most people would be disappointed about losing an ability."

"I didn’t lose anything."

He sheathed the sword.

"My body solved a temporary problem and then stopped interfering."

Ester nodded.

"That’s better."

"Yes."

A week earlier, Damon probably would have tried to preserve the compensation. Maybe train until he could make it conscious. Maybe turn a circumstantial response into a permanent technique simply because it was available.

Now he felt no need.

If he ever needed it again, maybe it would return.

If not, that was fine.

Two days later, a message arrived from Varos.

Damon was eating when Aria entered.

"Report."

He pointed to the plate.

"Can it wait?"

"It can."

Damon stopped.

"Really?"

"Yes."

He looked at Jian Li.

"This is getting scary."

She continued eating.

Aria sat down.

Waited.

Damon deliberately finished the meal more slowly just to test her.

Aria said nothing.

"You’re doing this on purpose."

"Doing what?"

"Being patient."

"I learned from you."

"That’s a lie."

"Yes."

She handed him the tablet.

The report was extensive, but the summary mattered.

The experimental removal of the third layer of the marks had been performed on twenty-four volunteers.

All still had functional authentication.

No execution response remained.

No communication blocking had been detected.

Damon read it again.

"Twenty-four."

"Yes."

"No complications?"

"Two marks developed local inflammation. No serious consequences."

"Saela?"

"Supervised."

Damon moved to the next part.

The council had approved gradual expansion of the procedure.

Serik remained detained.

But now there was a formal discussion about what to do with the protocol itself when the current host died.

Damon became serious.

"Finally."

Jian Li looked over.

"What?"

"Transfer."

Aria nodded.

"The Order never established an external mechanism to interrupt succession."

"Because Serik controlled the succession."

"Yes."

"And now?"

"Varos proposes not transferring it."

Damon continued reading.

The proposal was simple in theory.

Keep the current host alive normally.

Preserve the historical records outside the protocol.

When he died, no structure would be installed in another organism.

Serik would end there.

Jian Yue, who had just entered, heard them.

"And the accumulated knowledge?"

"Copied," Aria replied. "Separated from execution capability."

Aurelia approached.

"That’s important."

Damon nodded.

"Information continues. Automatic authority ends."

"Exactly."

"Did Serik accept?"

Aria made a face.

"No."

"Naturally."

The report included a short transcript.

Serik had argued that his continuity was necessary because no human generation could maintain preservation objectives for sufficiently long periods.

The council had replied that longevity of purpose did not justify permanent authority.

Damon read it twice.

"Who wrote that?"

"One of the supervisors."

"I want to meet that person someday."

Jian Li smiled.

"You’re starting to like institutions."

"Don’t exaggerate."

Aria continued.

"There’s resistance."

"How much?"

"Three divisions still defend preserving Serik."

"Why?"

"They’re afraid of losing scientific continuity."

Aurelia replied:

"A legitimate concern, again."

Damon looked over.

"You too?"

"Knowledge accumulated over thousands of years can disappear if it’s transferred badly."

"Then preserve the knowledge."

"Yes. Without preserving the authority."

"We agree."

"Yes."

Damon looked around.

"Strange day."

That afternoon, another message arrived.

This time from Neria.

There was no step count.

Damon noticed immediately.

I WANT TO GO TO MIRATH WHEN ESTER ALLOWS IT.

He read it again.

Ester was on the other side of the room.

"Did you allow it?"

"She asked."

"That doesn’t answer."

"I said that if she remains stable for four more days, she can travel."

Damon looked at the message.

"Eir?"

"Agreed."

"Really?"

Ester nodded.

"Neria wants to test how long she can remain away without Vermillion’s equipment."

"That seems useful."

"And she wants to see Mirath."

"Also."

Another message appeared.

LIORA IS COMING TOO.

Damon smiled.

"Naturally."

Ester crossed her arms.

"Prepare food."

"How much?"

"More."

"That’s not an amount."

"For Liora it is."

Damon replied:

COME.

The response arrived quickly.

MOM WANTS TO KNOW IF SHE CAN TOO.

Damon froze.

Looked at Ester.

She saw it.

"What?"

He showed her.

Ester read it.

Then read it again.

"How exactly does Eir intend to come to Mirath?"

Good question.

Damon wrote:

HOW?

It took a while.

Then:

SMALL.

He stared.

"I don’t like that word without context."

Aurelia approached.

"Ask."

Damon typed:

SMALL HOW?

The reply came from Liora.

SHE CAN MAKE A BODY.

Silence spread through the room.

Aria appeared as if summoned by the mere existence of new information.

"What?"

Damon showed her.

She opened the notebook.

"No."

"I’m just going to write it down."

"First we understand."

Aurelia became serious.

"Eir never mentioned being capable of producing a mobile manifestation."

Ester crossed her arms.

"She produced Liora."

"That’s not the same thing," Aurelia replied. "Liora is autonomous."

Another message arrived.

NOT A DAUGHTER.

Damon looked at the tablet.

"She’s listening."

YES.

He sighed.

"Naturally."

Damon wrote:

IS IT YOU?

The answer took longer.

PART.

Aurelia moved even closer.

"Ask if there is independent consciousness."

Damon wrote.

DOES THAT BODY THINK ON ITS OWN?

NO. ME.

Aria became serious.

"An extension."

"Probably," Aurelia replied.

Ester asked:

"How much of the forest would she need to use?"

Damon transmitted the question.

LITTLE.

"That’s still vague."

New message.

LIORA-SIZED.

Damon ran a hand over his face.

"A portable Eir."

Jian Li started laughing.

"Don’t call her that when she arrives."

"I don’t intend to."

Ester remained practical.

"Can she survive away from the territory?"

The answer:

DAYS.

"How many?"

THREE. MAYBE FOUR.

Aurelia thought.

"That makes sense. If it’s an extension, it should carry limited reserves."

Damon looked at Ester.

"Is it safe?"

"For whom?"

"Excellent question."

Aria wrote something down.

Damon pointed.

"You’re not helping."

Ester returned her attention to the tablet.

"Ask if the manifestation can restore people."

Damon did.

The answer came almost immediately.

A LITTLE. DON’T WANT TO.

He looked at Ester.

"She learned to anticipate you."

"Good."

Another message appeared.

I WANT TO SEE MIRATH.

Damon fell silent.

Eir had never truly left the region.

Not as a conscious entity.

Even Liora was another person.

Neria had described Eir as something territorial since before standardization.

Now she wanted to create an extension simply to see a place outside herself.

Damon typed:

WHY?

The answer took a while.

YOU COME BACK DIFFERENT.

He frowned.

Another line.

LIORA TALKS ABOUT MIRATH.

Another one.

NERIA WANTS TO GO.

And then:

I WANT TO CHOOSE TO GO TOO.

Damon stared.

Aurelia read over his shoulder.

No one spoke for a few seconds.

Then Damon replied:

THEN COME.

The tablet remained quiet.

For almost a minute.

Then appeared:

YES.

Damon handed the tablet to Ester.

"Four days."

She nodded.

"If Neria remains stable."

"Naturally."

Aria was already writing.

Jian Li looked at Damon.

"You realize you’re going to have a forest visiting you."

"A part of one."

"Liora-sized."

"Yes."

"And you’re calm."

Damon thought about it.

"No."

"Better."

He looked toward the courtyard.

Four days.

Neria would come.

Liora too.

And apparently Eir had decided to try something she had never done before.

Not because anyone needed her.

Not because there was danger.

Not because she was trying to fix anything.

Only because she wanted to see.

Damon realized that perhaps this was the clearest sign of change Eir had shown so far.

She was not reacting to the world.

She was beginning to choose to participate in it.