“I thought you said we couldn’t go in,” Emi said to her mother. She was arm-deep in the shadow gate.
“It wasn’t working for us,” Erika said, reaching out herself. Her hand was stopped dead on reaching the darkness filling the arch.
“That’s weird,” Emi said. “Farrah, let’s go find Uncle Jason.”
Emi stepped through the arch, dragging Farrah through behind her. After they vanished, Asya stepped up next to Erika and likewise put her hand up against the darkness. It felt like cool, heavy crystal under her hand, completely unyielding.
“I don’t suppose you can tell me what’s going on?” Asya asked Erika.
“I think it might be better to watch Jason’s recordings from while he was away,” Erika said. “I don’t think he’d mind you seeing them.”
Jason was continuing to explore his new, densely packed garden.
“Mr Asano,” Shade said. “I believe that something unexpected is about to happen.”
“Oh?”
[Emi Evans-Asano] has entered your [Spirit Vault].
[Farrah Hurin] has entered your [Spirit Vault].
“What?” Jason exclaimed. “That shouldn’t be possible.”
He was suddenly reminded of the moment he accepted the blessing from the World-Phoenix. At the time, his only concern had been getting to Farrah and he had closed his interface without looking at it. He wondered if there was a message log and his interface promptly supplied one, allowing him to find the discarded message.
Ability [Nirvanic Transfiguration] has amalgamated your body and soul into a state that is both physical and spiritual. This state has altered your [Spirit Vault] ability to be a physical space that others can enter.
Only those who implicitly trust you will be able to enter your spiritual vault. Anything short of complete trust will prevent them from entering. You may seal the vault against any or all individuals. It is not possible to break into the spiritual vault by anyone without existing access to your soul, such as through a star seed or divinely granted essence ability.
Anyone in your spiritual vault is under your power. They cannot use abilities or affect anything within the vault, including you and each other, with limited exceptions.
You and your familiars can affect people within your vault in almost any way, except for violating their souls, although you can attack their souls. They may be protected from your influence through a connection to a foreign element in your soul, if present, such as a star seed or divinely granted essence ability.
You can expel or trap anyone within your spiritual vault, although individuals with a significantly greater soul sense than you may be able to force their way out. Individuals may resist expulsion through a connection to a foreign element in your soul.
“Damn.”
In his astral space, the normal rules of reality didn’t apply and he controlled it all. He closed his eyes and the pavilion came into view, with Emi and Farrah looking around in surprise. Farrah looked much improved; the simple change of brushing her hair made a huge difference. She was still haggard but much more like her old self. That was a startling turnaround in just a day and one he didn’t put much stock in. He knew that her ordeal wasn’t something to simply brush off.
Jason vanished from where he was standing to appear in front of Emi and Farrah.
“Ladies,” he greeted. “I’m a little surprised to see you here.”
“What is this place?” Farrah asked as Emi goggled at Jason’s teleportation. “I’ve been in dimensional spaces created by essence abilities before, and this isn’t that. My aura and magic senses aren’t even working. Is this some spatial treasure the Order of the Reaper left behind?”
“No,” Jason said. “This is the inside of my soul.”
“That shouldn’t be possible,” Farrah said, then shrugged. “I suppose that’s never stopped you before.”
Jason threw her a grin.
“I see this one dug you out,” Jason said, ruffling Emi’s hair as she crankily pushed his hand away. “How are you doing?”
“Not the best I’ve ever been,” she admitted. “You?”
“I'm not going to complain, with everything you've just been through,” Jason said. “Who am I kidding? Of course I am, but that can wait. You have no idea how happy I am to have you here.”
“Can you show us around, Uncle Jason?” Emi asked.
“Sure, although this is quite new to me,” Jason said. “I've been experiencing a lot of changes lately, and this place changes with me. How about we take a look around together?”
Emi slipped her hand into Jason’s and the trio started walking around the garden.
“So, this is what your soul looks like,” Farrah said. “It’s oddly tranquil. I would have expected something a little more erratic.”
“I can't imagine why,” Jason said. “I’m a beacon of peace and harmony.”
They wandered the garden, Jason and Farrah keeping the topics light due to Emi's presence. He thought back to the description of why they had accessed his spirit vault. The realisation that they trusted him to that degree filled him with warmth, soothing the raw nerves that had led to him hauling off on his family.
Emi delighted at every new sight, and Jason saved the best for last. He finished the garden tour at the fairy grotto, then took them into the bottom floor of the pagoda to look out into the universe.
“It might be more impressive if your boxer shorts weren’t floating past,” Farrah said.
Jason made a downward gesture and his inventory items dropped out of sight.
“I really needed this,” he said, squeezing Emi’s hand. “Emi, can you go tell your mum that I’ve calmed down and I’ll be out in a while?”
“Okay,” she said cheerily, skipping out of the pagoda. The archways for his familiars and the vault doorway were still present in the pavilion. Once she was gone, Jason let his true weariness be revealed on his face.
“Something to eat?” he offered Farrah.
“Is it actual food, or will I be nibbling on bits of your soul?”
“It’s food,” Jason said. “My personal storage space is wrapped up in here.”
They took the elevating platform up to the sitting area and settled into chairs that looked like bamboo but had the soft comfort of cloud furniture. The elevating platform descended and a tray of sandwiches came sailing up through the hole, settling onto the table in front of them.
“I’m surprised you’re out and about,” Jason said. “If it were me, I’d be hiding in my room for weeks. I know because that’s what I did do when it was me.”
“I’m not you,” Farrah said. “I want to take control back. Get productive, do some good. That’s not so easy in a world you don’t know.”
“Tell me about it,” Jason said. “It was bad enough in your world, only for me to come back and discover I never really knew my own.”