Supreme Magus novel Chapter 22

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, back on my world, being bonded for life with someone you would not have any intimacy was the joke definition of marriage."

"That’s funny." The voice chuckled. "And also kind of sad."

"Never mind the jokes. Let me get this straight: you once were a mighty artifact, full of treasures and knowledge. But now everything you had and knew is lost, and you are dimished to the size of a marble. Am I missing something?"

"No, all your statements are correct."

"Also, you did not pick me because of my talent or virtue, but simply because I possess, and I quote ’the bare minimum magical powers to sustain your life’. That makes me nothing more than an off-brand life support system."

"That is not exact. I am now bonded with you until your death do us part."

"That sounds more and more like marriage." Lith grunted.

"I am no parasite, you can see me as a symbiote. We will both benefit from our relationship."

"How? Are you saying that if you manage to get your strength back, you will also recover your memories and magical artifacts?"

"No, those are lost forever. I’m just like you. When you grow up, can you spit back the food you have eaten in the past to pass it on someone else? No. The same applies to me."

"Then what’s in for me? The pleasure of your company?"

"At the moment all I can offer you is a pocket dimension."

"Say what?"

"One moment, I’m looking at your memories to make it easier to understand. It works like a Dungeons & Looting’s Bag of Keeping."

"That’s interesting." Lith pondered. "An interdimensional space where I can store my stuff without being hindered by its weight. How big is this pocket dimension?"

"Ten cubic metres big. It can store anything that amounts up to such volume, no matter the weight, as long as it’s something inanimated."

A cruel intuition flashed in Lith’s eyes.

"Can it also store things like lightnings, fireballs or incoming arrows? If so, it would be an invaluable tool for both offense and defence."

"No." The voice killed Lith’s hopes. "The pocket dimension is outside space and time, so it rejects both life and kinetic energy." Feeling its host disappointment, the voice added quickly.

"This also means that whatever you store will not rot, cool down or warm up. A roasted blinker would be kept hot and tasty, frozen in the moment you finished cooking it."

"That barely qualifies as a silver lining." Despite their chat was quite long, it was only happening inside their minds. Barely a second had passed after Lith had accessed to the stone memories.

"Whatever. At least you save me from my current predicament. Now I know how to bring the boar back, I just need a decent excuse to explain how I managed it."

The stone mind-shrugged.

"Keep it simple. Drop it to the edge of the woods, and tell Selia that you managed to kite it to that spot before killing it. It should be easier to believe that the truth."

Lith nodded.

"Resourceful and smart. The fact that our minds are linked still creeps me out, but thanks to that I can see you have no malice or hidden agenda towards me. If you really are what you say to be, I’ll keep you. True loyalty is a too rare commodity to turn it down when you find it. So, until I am convinced of your good faith, consider yourself on probation."

Lith put the pouch back at his neck and the boar in the pocket dimension.

"By the way, I can’t keep calling ’you’ and ’stone’. Don’t you have a name?"

"No." The voice sounded really sad. "It’s lost, like everything else."

"Don’t be a pouter. A name is just a name. You can call me Derek, Lith, host, CZ DELTA, whatever. I’ll always be the same cynic, misanthropic, lying, cutthroat guy I have always been. Would you like me to name you?"

"Yes, please." Lith had it ready since he heard the tower core’s story.

"You are supposed to be a great artifact, so I’ll name you after the greatest, albeit fictional, magical forgemaster that I always admired when I was a kid. Solus."

"Thank you, Lith. I like how it sounds. And I really appreciate you named me after someone you loved, rather than give me a pet name like Happy or Lucky."

Lith had the odd feeling Solus was mind-blushing.

They spent all the time on the way back chatting. Lith was really interested in understanding the limits and use of his new partner skillset.

"You trust no one." Solus turned to a flat tone. _{freewёbn૦νeɭ.com}