Saving Soul

"The one who owns our hearts now," Adair clarified. "She's a phoenix, a demon firebird. Anyway, she's protective of us. She loses power if either of us die, for one. Demons get power from hearts, but if the original owner dies then the heart dies too...Does this make sense?"

"Um... A little." Anja replied. "So you're a changling, that's what you said before right?"

"Yeah," Adair answered. "In exchange for giving away one's heart, and I mean whole heart and not just heart pieces, you gain powers from the demon. You don't become a demon yourself exactly, but you have demonic energy running through you all the time. If you abuse it, it can take a toll on your body pretty quick since the human body isn't made to use demonic energy."

"Like when you do the thing with the black and white flames?" Anja asked

"No, that's something different," Adair answered. "It's more like the demonic energy builds up in your system and it starts making you sick. If it gets really bad, you could be forced to become a demon."

"oh..." Anja mumbled. "So its dangerous"

(might not be on much this weekend)

"Well of course it is. Dealing with demons in any way is dangerous," Adair answered. "Your summons, are they demons?"

"No. They're cryptids." Anja replied "Mythical creatures more ancient than humans"

"A lot of things are more ancient than humans," Adair mused. "I haven't heard of these cryptids though. What are they exactly?"

"They're a sort of elemental. They have souls, but no heart, kind of like demons, but they don't take hearts, They pledge their souls to a human summoner."

(question: how do I change my email on my profile? I tried entering my password, but it didn't work.)

"Huh. That's interesting," Adair answered, thinking of how the demons he knew were mostly soul and delusion. "Why are they willing to pledge their souls to humans though? What do they get out of it?"

(dunno. Let me check and I'll pm you)

"Power. They draw their power from the power of their summoner's soul. When they pledge their soul, it becomes one with the summoner's and makes both them and the cryptids stronger." Anja explained

(k)

"So that's how it works," Adair replied, not really liking the sound of that. "...Does that make you schitzophrentic, having all of them mixed into your soul like that?"

"Not at all. Our personalities stay separate, but our souls merge for strength. Its nothing like being schizophrenic, rather, it allows the summoner to know how the summons feel so they can better utilise them to the fullest"

"Oh, so it works similiar to a heart system then," remarked Adiar, before realizing he needed to explain himself. "Heart systems are what spiritual connections are formed between familiar and its changelings. The connections are used to boost or draw from the others involved. So I could draw or offer power to either Ava or 'Taire."

He sighed, now remembering how this conversation started in the first place.

"When my heart stops during Chiaroscuro, 'Taire's heart has to beat for both of us. If that wasn't the case...well, I already explained."

Anja nodded, showing she understood. "I'm sorry to hear that" She murmured

"Don't be. It's not your fault," Adair answered, as he felt himself finally drifting to sleep. "It's...I don't know. Just complicated, that's all."

"Life is complicated. You are born, must learn to do the impossible to survive, then you die, none the wiser, just to be reborn to start the process all over again.

"Reincarnation doesn't sound bad, actually," stated Adair. "Utter oblivion after death, that you can only do life once...now that's scary."

"Its pointless. Every time you're reborn, you have to start all over again" Anja stated

"But that's the thing. You get to start over," replied Adair, rolling over to look up at the cave ceiling. "If it doesn't go so well this time then maybe it'll be better next time."

Anja sighed. "Maybe..."

"Everything's part of a natural cycle," Adair went on. "If that cycle was stopped, or if you were removed from that cycle, then there's no moving forward and no moving back. You're just trapped."

"You're putting too much thought into this" Anja stated.

"Probably," Adair answered. "Just saying."