Bite of the Poisoned Fruit

(Lina POV)

She could feel the ice on her heart as she was left alone in the room. The heavy door sealed the room shut, and she knew her mentor was guarding the room while she tried to gain an inheritance. She wanted to be happy. She'd gotten what she wanted, she had a chance at being independent from the Lidans. However, something about the situation felt off. Like there was a hidden trap. Perhaps, she had become a bit paranoid. Ever since she had touched the crystal, her heart was unwilling to budge, as if she had become different. No. Perhaps, that had come about even earlier, and she just hadn't been aware of it.

She sits in front of the stone in the corner, and slowly takes a breath, calming herself further. Unlike a year ago, when she tried to focus on her studies, she found herself cooling off immediately. It was like her very soul was icy, enabling her to easily focus. But at the same time, it felt like it lacked. Like it was unable to be distracted by inspiration.

Finally, she reaches out her small, pale hand to the stone. As soon as she does, she feels herself being covered in energy it washes over her soul, and she feels herself being sucked into the stone. Immediately, she goes into a mysterious, trance-like state.

…

Before her, is an endless white space, which she quickly recognized as her own soul. Feeling something foreign, she looks up, spotting a white, angelic figure. "Another seeks my power?" a cold voice speaks, and it almost freezes her very soul.

"Yes," is the only word she can squeeze out, but it seems to make the figure happy. Despite that, her expression and don't change. If not for the fact she felt as cold as that figure, she wouldn't even be able to tell the difference.

"My power is great. I can even adapt it. But, my Untouchable Ice Technique has a fatal flaw. It's incredibly slow to cultivate, and you can never feel the warmth of others again. With one exception. When I made this technique, I was engaged to someone I cared deeply for. With that as my inspiration, I formed the technique around him, letting only him into my heart. If he touched me, it was fine though he always complained I was cold, we were happy. I didn't realize how powerful my technique was at first, until someone tried laying hands on me. I couldn't do anything before they did, and I found out, I didn't have to. They froze solid, never to move again," the figure speaks.

Such a thing was exactly what she wanted. She could almost imagine Marth dying as soon as he tried to touch her. All of the Lidans, for that matter. Only then could she feel safe.

"I also discovered I would never be able to have children, as they required a certain warmth."

She had no worries about that, she had no plans on having children, anyway.

"After many years of happiness, I was vastly more powerful than my spouse. He eventually passed away on one of our adventures, after many years of being protected. I quickly found my very cultivation speed frozen. Finally, I left a fragment of my soul here, to pass on my technique to others. However, I must caution you. No matter what, you must be very careful to choose someone powerful, who you care deeply about, before starting this technique. The more you care, the faster you will grow. If that person every inspires your hatred, I can't imagine what would happen," the spirit finishes, before looking, with some expectation, down at Lina.

"Before you respond, understand you have the ability to decline this life. Many people are willing to offer you their inheritance. But, I'm the strongest, so I got to you first. If you accept...I'll still let you talk to those whose inheritance I think is compatible, but, you will lose out on the vast majority of those opportunities.

Lina thought for a moment. This technique embodies the solitude she felt, but, it had the fatal flaw of requiring someone to devote the technique to. If that person died, her technique would fail. She couldn't use her family, she didn't dare use her mentor, and she didn't know anyone else she liked. No. She had one more person who cared about her who was out there. Someone she couldn't be more familiar with.

(Prol POV)

Something flooded over his soul- every single one of the countless ports he made had someone trying to get in. And every single one was different. "What the hell is this?!" he asks, but of course, Rin didn't have a better idea than he did. He had made so many ports, as he didn't know how souls normally connected. But it seems like they'd connect in any way they could. He waited a moment, wondering if they'd go away- but they didn't. They didn't seem to be trying to force their way in, either, but instead patiently waited.

Unwilling to take any risks, Prol orders "Find the weakest one, and make an instance. Let it in," he orders.

[Of course, my beloved Master]

With a smile at the familiar words, Prol fully connects himself to the instance. Even if he died, even if his soul was destroyed- it was fine, this was just one instance of it.

Opening his eyes, he's in an endless black space. In the middle of it is a small koi pond, and next to it, a table and chairs. Sitting in one chair, is Prol, sipping on some tea. The entire thing was a bit meaningless, but an empty soul tended to arouse suspicion. Well, an empty computer instance would, and he treated this the same way. After a moment, across from him, a black, shadowy figure appeared. It stretched out, eclipsing the tea, before withdrawing. The tea had gone down ever so slightly.

Prol kept a straight face, but inwardly, he was deeply confused. ("Did a shadow just drink tea? So politely? Such elegant, small sips. What the hell…") After a moment, he got himself back together. ("So the connections are all people, of some sort. But how did they find me, and what do they want?")

Similar to the last time he found himself in an unknown situation, he held his silence, and slowly took a sip of tea even smaller than the shadow's.

"You're beautiful," the shadow says, in the voice of a dreamy school girl. He might have felt complimented, but he could easily identify the voice's was that of an old man acting like a school girl in love. He almost spit his tea at the figure. ("What the fuck kind of pervert did I let into my soul?!")

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, old man," he says coldly, his gruff voice filled with a sense of rejection.

"Oh? You can see through my technique? Interesting. My inheritance is one of the mask. Darkness energy is frequently thought of as evil. Truly, it can be, when used in dark rituals. However, pure darkness energy is without alignment. My technique is one of pure darkness which you have a great affinity in. The Shadow Mask technique is one of disguise. With it, you can become anyone, anything. Make anyone or anything at least for a while. As the first one you have talked to, I am confident I have the best compatibility with you. In your quest for an inheritance, you should definitely take mine, as it is most compatible with any other inheritance," the shadow explains, as it fluctuates in an excited manner.

Prol couldn't deny his affinity with disguises, nor an interest in the technique. Even if the shadow was a somewhat questionable person, like he said, a technique was not necessarily good or even, yes? Though he was convinced the person was definitely a strange pervert, it should be okay to see what he had to offer.

"I accept," Prol says, having no idea what was going on but hey, he was just an instance, what could go wrong?

[Master, information is being fed into the port. I will analyze it for you.]

"Interesting," Prol says, though the being shudders with delight.

"Isn't it? Isn't it? Use the technique wisely, my disciple," the shadow says, before vanishing. A moment later, another being is attempting to connect to that port. ("How many of these guys are there?! Did every old man in the universe decide to make me their disciple?") he questions. Clearly, something was going on he wasn't understanding.

[The technique is as he said, Master. Though I removed some more questionable advice...Truly a person of perverted tastes] Rin says with a bit of disgust in her voice.

("Mm. Interesting. It appears the information is coming to me. It'd be foolish to decline. Run on all cores, maximum instances. We'll take these old foggies for everything they have!")

An evil laugh rings out through his soul, but a moment later, something laughs back.