inner chai

“Green-Eyed Chai”
Gender: Female
Race: Inner Self
Theme Song:
Appearance: White hair, green eyes, wears light blue with some blue and dark purple.
Likes: Tea, cats, sleeping, dreaming, helping other people
Job: Soulbinder
Personality:
Socially awkward, clumsy, smiles a lot, kinda blurts out unnecessary things at the wrong time, emotionally sensitive, afraid to show true feelings

Story:
-	Since little Chai was a child, she always been the underdog. Her short height didn’t help either. She didn’t really get much taller even when she hit puberty.
-	She didn’t had a lot of close friends, most drifted away, always feeling lost and lonely.
-	No one roots for her when she does something so she always feel demotivated at times wondering why no one does.
-	Chai sometimes sleeps a lot, and loves to drink tea. She tried all sorts of tea. It help made her life a little bit more fulfilling, even if it was small.
-	One day… She found a stray small black kitten on the street one day. She felt sad as everyone walked by ignoring him, as no one would even consider of helping him. But she decided to help him. She took in to take care of him, naming him “Jiji”. That kitten meowed and purred to her and she felt like it was her purpose to do something like this.
-	Jiji always stuck by Chai’s side, wherever she goes. So she started to feel less lonely and become motivated because of his presence. It was actually very literal though. Jiji stuck with Chai, wherever she went. Home, bed, school, outside, everywhere. Even in the bathroom. Even in the stalls. Chai didn’t mind though, since she felt happy whenever Jiji was so willingly to not leave Chai but always stuck by her side. Jiji was a “special” cat Chai would like to think to herself.
-	Jiji even sometimes like to lick some tea too. At the time, Chai didn’t know what health impacts this might have on a cat, but Jiji seem to be alright despite licking tea now and then. Another reason why Chai thought her cat was really “special”.
-	Chai decides to go to college, but couldn’t find what she was looking for. Most of the subjects seem like it was foreign to a place in Rainbow Palace (a grand city nearby that is filled with individualistic people), and she wanted to move to Rainbow Palace one day. So she left college.
-	So Chai and Jiji were sitting on the bench on day, while looking at the sunset and couldn’t figure out what she wanted to do with her life.
-	A guy came by and started to notice Chai and Jiji just sitting on the bench watching the sunset. He saw how pretty Chai was to him and was like, “WOAH.” in his mind. He was shy and thought about ignoring the two, but decided to give it a shot in talking to strangers since he needed to talk to someone.
Stranger: “Hi.”
Chai: “Hallo ~ ”
Jiji: “Meow ~ ”
Stranger: “Um… looks like the sun is setting.”
Chai: “xD Yup.”
Stranger: “Haha, that was obvious.”
Chai: “Mmhmm.”
Stranger: “…Ugh. I don’t know what to do.”
Chai: “owo?”
Stranger: “I just dropped out of college a few days ago. And I’m trying to think of what I want to do.”
Chai: “Oh wow ~ I’ve been out from college for a while x.x I’m just sitting here, letting time get killed. It’s like I’m expecting things to just fall onto my lap.”
Stranger: “Yeah… that doesn’t work out very often.”
Chai: “xD”
(He started to sit next to Chai, but with a bit of distance from her.)
Chai: “So what are your options? ;o;”
Stranger: “One of my biggest options is going to an esoteric school.”
Chai: “o.o? I’ve heard of that before but... I don’t really get what it is.”
Stranger: “Well, it’s not commonly mentioned in this mundane town. Basically it’s a school for far-out strange subjects… I can name a bunch of studies like… psychic abilities, lucid dreams, magic, occult, hypnosis and so many other things.”
Chai: “o.o’ Sounds really strange. Can you give me an example of what they do there?”
Stranger: “Well, if you’re skilled in something like… lucid dreams, you can control your dreams by being aware in them.”
Chai: “owo Woah, nice. Tell me more.”
Stranger: “Hmm… psychic abilities. Being able to see things that others can’t see. Or being able to sense anything that others can’t feel.”
Chai: “;o; I don’t get it though, how can this fit in the real world?”
Stranger: “Maybe not here. But in grand cities like Rainbow Palace, it is a possibility that majoring from an esoteric school will allow them to get there.”
Chai: “What about this hometown? =w=”
Stranger: “Possibly.”
Chai: “…Hmm, I should research about it then. But I don’t still see the point… I feel like learning those things wouldn’t be different than what I tried to learn in my old college.”
Stranger: “Yeah… I feel the same way. Those are just the general studies. There’s some more advanced and specialized subjects that are quite different though, which is changing my mind.”
Chai: “Like what? o:”
Stranger: “So many different advanced subjects. Dreamwalking, the advanced ability to enter the dream world and interact with other people’s dreams or outside realms.”
Chai: “qwq’ Wow. I could sleep and still be awake at the same time! xD”
(The stranger slides slightly closer to Chai.)
Stranger: “Reality selection, trying to manifest a certain changes in your life with only your mindset.”
Chai: “xD getting money by just thinking about it, nice.”
(The stranger slides slightly closer again.)
Stranger: “Channeling, trying to relay messages from the dream world or other people’s minds through you – like being a personal telephone.”
Chai: “QwQ guess one doesn’t need to pay the monthly plan anymore by having that!”
(The stranger slides a bit more closer.)
Stranger: “Precognition, the ability to download information in your mind from different possibilities in the future.”
Chai: “ooooooh ~ Sounds like… so many possibilities! xD ~ !”
(The stranger slides a tiiiiiiiiny bit closer.)
Stranger: “Soulbinding, the ability to send your mind into a person’s soul and help resolve their internal conflicts.”
Chai: “…? Huh? How does that work?”
Stranger: “Um… your mind just goes inside of a person, look at their memories, thoughts, feelings and everything… and kinda ‘nurse’ it in a way, like treating it with your own thoughts and feelings and stuff. Hard to explain unless you research about it.”
Chai: “…Huh… owo’ That sounds… deep.”
Stranger: “Uh... let’s see what else. Hmm… there’s all sorts of specialized subjects, but I can’t remember them all of the tip of my mind.”
Chai: “Woooow ~ thank you so much for sharing me that… it fills me with sooo much wonder xD I never knew esoteric schools were so… far-out.”
(The stranger slides a bit closer to the point where Chai notices he’s been subtly moving closer to her, she didn’t know what to make of it, she felt a bit shy considering he’s still a stranger. They had a bit of an awkward silence, until the stranger decides to break it.)
Stranger: “So what are you thinking about now?”
Chai: “xD I’m just thinking about the future so much. How much do these esoteric colleges generally cost compared to average colleges? And how do I get in one too?”
Stranger: “Well, they vary in cost like most average colleges. It’s not really an easy answer to say whether which one costs more or less. You’ll have to research about it, don’t take my advice because I’m just a stranger.”
Chai: “owo’ I see I see.”
Stranger: “And… getting in one. Well, most requires you have to go through personal tests that are not related to academia. They’re not cults, but they need to study how your mind works before you get into one. So you’ll have to take some tests on your background experiences with the unknown and how your mind interprets all of that.”
Chai: “x.x My life’s been pretty average so if that’s the case, I doubt I’ll be able to get in one.”
Stranger: “Most people who do get into one never had much background experience with strange experiences though. ‘Strange’ experiences merely helps the colleges understand where you’re coming from. They at least want to know if you’re open-minded.”
Chai: “Well, I am! owo It just makes me wonder so much about the future though. Before I was thinking of going back to regular college, but it would seem like I would be repeating the same pattern over and over. But this talk of an esoteric college might bring things that the past… could not deliver xD”
Stranger: “Yeah… The past is like... what’s already happened. The future… completely unknown.”
Chai: “I keep sitting here, worrying about what I did back then. I tried to take pride in it, but I didn’t even found what I was looking for x.x’ so I don’t know what to do.”
Stranger: “Meh, I’m getting tired of worrying about the past myself. I think we just got to keep moving forward regardless.”
Chai: “qwq Yeah. I want to see where life takes me ~ ”
(They looked at each other smiling and laughing, feeling like they’ve found the answer. Chai then out of nowhere, blurted it out.)
Chai: “I like you boy! xD”
(‘woooops o.o that was silly.’ Chai thought. The stranger was completely embarrassed, he felt touched but at the same time uncomfortable so he tried to switch out the topic, because he’s afraid of flirting with her directly.)
Stranger: “Uh… You sound like you’re considering an esoteric school.”
Chai: “xD Yep. Very likely will go to one after some research.”
Stranger: “As for me, I’ve made my decision. I’m going.”
Chai: “owo ~ what stopped you from deciding in the first place?”
Stranger: “Just a subject in esoteric school that I’m really interested in, but unsure if… things. Many reasons.”
Chai: “Ah… What’s the subject? Curious ~ ;o;”
Stranger: “Haha… I’m kinda uncomfortable talking about it, but since we’re talking about all of this… Well, I’ll tell you about the subject after you tell me which subject you like so far. I want to see which subject has your interest the most.”
(Chai stares out into the orange sky with wonder glinting in her eyes.)
Chai: “…I really, really love the sound of soulbinding. If I go to an esoteric school, I’ll definitely look into that first.”
(The stranger starts getting a really disturbed expression on his face. And starts sliding away from Chai. Chai looks at the stranger and notices he moved away from her.)
Chai: “Hmm? Something the matter? owo”
(The stranger gave out a sigh and then got up from the seat. And starts walking away.)
Stranger: “It’s getting late. I gotta go.”
Chai: “…Why are you leaving so suddenly? o.o’”
Stranger: “I just got to go. Important matters. See you later.”
Chai: “Wait! What’s your subject?”
Stranger: “Nevermind.”
Chai: “At least… tell me your name. o.o”
Stranger: “Um… my name… well, sharing my name will just ruin the fleeting moment.”
Chai: “...the hell is that supposed to mean? :\”
Stranger: “I’m sorry.”
Chai: “…What’s wrong? You’re not going to just get up and leave like that? Without even telling me your name? It’s easier for me to meet you again if I knew your name…”
(The stranger continues walking away with his back turned in silence, while Chai stares at his back.)
Chai: “Then at least know my name, it’s Chai!”
Stranger: “Thank you Chai, for the conversation. I’ll remember your name. Take care.”
(Chai looks at Jiji and Jiji looks at her. They both look at the stranger’s back. Chai just looks at the stranger’s back feeling a little bit confused. She just wonders why he suddenly leaves without even telling his name to her. She starts to realize that… it’s important to understand people first, to know why they would act like this. And how to deal with it when it comes down to it. She knew in her heart that this was the last time she would see this person.)
-	Later in her life, Chai decided to go to an esoteric school, due to being inspired of wanting to go Rainbow Palace one day. The esoteric school had many subjects that were far-out from her hometown: astral combat, psychic phenomenon, dreamwalking, occult magic, sex magic, and soulbinding (which she obviously chose).
-	She took the course on soulbinding as it fascinated her, even as she continues studying it. Soulbinding was apparently being a nurse for the inner self, the mind and soul. She felt compelled to continue studying it because she had this drive to help others and she felt like it would fit her.
-	Not a lot of people took the course for some reason, some did but left later on, so Chai was still very lonely and her main friend was still Jiji.
-	She did very well in her class, always motivated to learn and think about all of the people she could help from learning it.
-	She learned that soulbinding deals with a lot with a person’s feelings, inner motivation, attachments, psychological connections, and memories. She learned how to understand the psychological nature behind soul fragmentation (which is the parts where the person’s soul is hurt or missing).
-	She did a lot of nursing with objects with tulpas (manifested blobs of thoughts and emotions) and children, soulbinding them for smallest of pain. It was a pleasant experience.
-	Chai found her biggest fear when she learned from her soulbinding courses to never look into a soul of a twisted person.
-	She couldn’t sleep at night because of her constant mental obsession with what a twisted person’s soul may look like.
-	Jiji would try to console her while she had this constant paranoia with the thought of ever soulbinding evil.
-	Even though she had intense fear, she didn’t want to quit her soulbinding courses. She had this deep drive to help others and didn’t want to give up on it just because of personal fear.
-	She would usually soulbind the soul of young people (children and teenagers) and it helped her understand a lot of how most of them feel, relating to relationships, bullies, and other people.
-	Because most of her successes of being able to soulbind, she felt happier and more fulfilled. And more compassionate towards younger people.
-	Eventually she graduated with the major as a Soulbinder, having the ability to nurse souls, she aspired to help many people out in the real world to feel better about themselves.
-	There was an urgent look for a Soulbinder however, knowing how scarce the people with this major are – Chai was immediately requested and she ended up becoming a Soulbinder for a lightwarrior faction.
-	This small lightwarrior faction called was led by Spi, where they perform secret missions investigating various cases. They were known to have a very positive reputation.
-	When Chai and Jiji finally met the warrior group, she was with along with various groups of other people who were also hired to become part of the warrior group.
-	About 7 newbies (including Chai) were hired, and there were about 25 people in total.
-	Everyone else in the newbie group seem very important and intelligent to her, most having unique weapons and seem to wear lots of amazing clothes. She felt like she wasn’t anyone important because she didn’t know how to fight or investigate or solve any serious problems.
-	Then she met a short white fur canine-like humanoid (shorter than her) with light blue eyes and a pink nose, and yelled “Aw! Doggie! oAo” but everyone looked at her gasping. A lot of people told her to respect that person, because that is Spi, the leader of the faction.
-	Chai was embarrassed and immediately said sorry several times to Spi at a fast pace “sorrysorrysorrysorrysorry!!!”, but Spi didn’t mind and told everyone else to calm down.
-	Spi asked Chai what did she wanted most out of life, and she thinks about her cat, responding to Spi that she already has what she wanted most important to her. Spi was shocked saying that it’s not an easy question for most, and she answered it without difficulty.
-	Spi told Chai that part of being a warrior is to fight for peace and truth. And everyone in this faction is always tested by those convictions. Chai didn’t know what to make of it.
-	Spi shook hands with Chai and smiled saying if she’s the Soulbinder the faction was looking for.
-	Chai said yes, and a lot of people gasped out loud and started whispering to each other. Everyone stared at her with huge eyes.
-	Chai was confused at the reaction from the warrior group, not knowing why everyone reacted in such a way. She felt like she was in trouble, or there was some kind of problem. She felt insecure not knowing if she belonged here.
-	Spi helped her get away from the group and shown her around, and made her meet his right-hand man Mag. She was intimidated by Mag, who was a crystal blue reptilian-like humanoid several feet taller than her and muscular. Super manly. His shadow was glooming over. She thought he could easily squish her into a pulp.
-	But Mag was a very generous and kind person, despite how intimidating he looked like to Chai. Mag was going to be her main supervisor. Mag said “Yo.” and called her “little lady” when they greeted each other. Chai couldn’t help but to burst out laughing due to her fearful impression of Mag being thrown out the window.
-	So Mag shown her around and usually Chai and Jiji would follow him, learning about how the warrior group works and stuff. Their policies, their agenda, their services, and such. They sometimes have funny conversations:
Chai: “So… Mag, do you have a girlfriend? xD”
Mag: “Uh… nope.”
Chai: “Why not? owo”
Mag: “I… I have no time for that. I’m a man of honor. I got duty. I’m focused on many projects. I got huge goals for the future. I’m working hard. I don’t have time for relationships. I’m not that kind of man, maybe not right now. I got—“
Chai: “xD Mag, you sound like you need a soulbinder. Want me to help you? ~ “
Mag: “!? Woah woah woah woah… Noooo… haha, I’m—uh, well, the thing is… soulbinding is really personal, and I don’t really feel comfortable with someone to dive deep inside my soul and look at my memories, thoughts, feelings, and everything. Please, noooo thanks, haha, ah nononono… It’s not—“
Chai: “You know I was kidding, right? owo”
Mag: “Oh… Thank goodness. You soulbinders really scare me sometimes.”
Chai: “You’re so silly ~ C:”
Jiji: “Meow ~ ”
-	The warrior faction went on several different minor missions, giving service to many different duties and Chai tagged along with Mag’s group doing relatively easy work.
-	Most people nicknamed Chai “Green-Eyes” because she was the one most recognizable for her green eyes. She just tags along and stood in the background supporting people. While Jiji is right by her side or in her arms.
-	Or some cases where there would be these big ugly grotesque demons running around acting like rabid animals, they immediately got squashed and destroyed by the warriors. That was a really typical common case. Chai stood and watch.
-	There were some cases during missions where there was a crime robbery who used psychic abilities to get what they want, but the warriors would come by and stopped them. And they got arrested. Chai stood and watch.
-	Or really strange cases where the zoo gets released and all of these animals start stampeding out in a frenzy, and the warriors would plan ahead to capture these animals and return them back to the zoo… It was really strange, but again, Chai stood and watch.
-	Chai felt useless on all of the missions she went to. All she did was stood and watch, and any suggestion she gave didn’t help. Most of her comrades (even the newbies) were more experienced and knowledgeable on how to solve problems than her. She never felt like an underdog so strongly before, it was a lingering pain in her chest.
-	So one day, she couldn’t take it anymore and asked if she belonged in this faction to others in her group and everyone in Mag’s group started realizing it:
Warrior #1: “Of course you belong with us, Green-Eyes!”
Chai: “Hmmm…. you’re just saying that. :c”
Warrior #2: “Why did you ask that question in the first place? What’s wrong, Chai?”
Chai: “o.o It’s not obvious? Like I wasn’t there? You guys always do ALL of the work. I just stand by, doing nothing but WATCH you all.”
Jiji: “Meow ~ !”
Chai: (Chai looked at Jiji and smiled) “The only person that notices me, is my dear friend Jiji ~ ”
(Everyone around her started looking at each other confused by the name.)
Warrior #3: “You mean your cat?”
Chai: “...this proves it, you all don’t even know who Jiji is. OF COURSE, Jiji’s my cat. Him and me, we’re not noticed by any of you all during missions!”
Warrior #2: “Chai, we all do care about you, regardless of how we appear to you during the missions. It’s the heat of the moment, and we are busy solving problems, we can’t direct attention to you whenever we subjectively want to.”
Chai: “Well… It’s not just about being noticed. What I’m really asking is… do I even belong in this group if I don’t have any role at all? Any?”
Warrior #3: “Well… Chai. Sorry for the rude question earlier… but… That’s something you have to realize on your own. When we’re on our missions, we don’t fully know our roles until a situation pops up and we have something to input to solve that problem during that time. Some of us might be standing in the background just like you too in some cases.”
Chai: “No, that’s not true. I’m always there -- watching ALL of you guys, and ALL of you guys work together and talk to each other… Don’t you guys consider come up and ask me something regarding the mission, maybe?”
Warrior #1: “You sound insecure, Green-Eyes.”
(Chai felt like she was going to pull her hair after that comment)
Chai: “…you sound insensitive. Can anyone at least be honest with me instead of trying to lecture me?”
Mag: “Um… Chai. It’s not that we don’t notice you. It’s just that… we don’t want you to get hurt by being involved. Or at least, that’s how I see it.”
Chai: “!? Are you serious?”
(Everyone started to look away from Chai’s face after Mag said it. Jiji was staring at Chai wondering what had happened.)
Chai: “Um… why...? Can you tell me the reason, please? Mag?”
Mag: “…I… ugh. Please… someone.”
Warrior #2: “Chai. Please. Tell us about yourself.”
Chai: “Don’t change the subject!”
Warrior #2: “No I mean, your soulbinding experiences. Can you please tell us anything about it?”
Chai: “Um… o.o sorry… but if you’re looking for my personal experiences on soulbinding, I can’t tell you because I have to keep secrets after I soulbind a person… It’s not like it’s actually my story to share.”
(Everyone was intrigued by what Chai said.)
Warrior #3: “Then… can you tell us what you’ve learned from the experiences?”
Chai: “I… guess? Well… um… it seems that a lot of people go through very similar things. Especially teenagers and children, which are the only group of people I’ve soulbinded. ;x;”
Warrior #2: “What does it feel like when you see their painful memories and feelings? I’ve read books about it, and it seems really deep. Note, I’m not asking you to spill your secrets, just asking your reaction towards the pain you see in others…. Curious.”
Chai: “Oh, when that happens, I just try not to get emotionally involved with the feelings! qwq You just have to see it how as it is! It helps to keep a clear mind when trying to help the person… especially if you’re trying to “investigate” inside their soul xD you don’t want your thoughts and feelings to leak into it, it might cause a lot more problems than good x.x”
Warrior #2: “Wow, great answer. Kudos to you, Chai.”
Warrior #1: “Green-Eyes. What do you think about sexual thoughts and feelings?”
Chai: “o.o”
(Everyone immediately faced towards him and raised their eyebrows staring at Warrior #1, few of them started smiling and chuckling, some shook their head and rolled their eyes, Mag just tried to stifle any response.)
Warrior #1: “Welp. That was a dumb question.”
Chai: “Um, well, it’s not like it’s anything strange. I see them all of the time when soulbinding, and sometimes they do have relevance to a lot of emotional pain. They’re not a huge concern to me unless they’re linked to a source of pain, which is sadly often the case in teenagers ;-; I kinda get stressed binding souls together who have too much sexual tension or too much sexual repression, it makes me wonder why… I even choose to stick through it and try to solve it even if it gets really complex and aggravating! ugh xD”
Warrior #1: “You sure like to get your hands dirty.”
(Everyone started laughing out loud. Mag kept stifling a response… he must be trying to be a good supervisor and not get things personal.)
Chai: “xD!!”
Warrior #2: “Thank you Chai. It’s nice that we got to know a bit about you more. If you feel like you want to talk with us, don’t hold back. Sorry we held back. Please know this, we are all your friends. All of us.”
(Her comrades started to place their hands in front of each other, and put their palms on top of each other. Chai placed hers at the top. Mag couldn’t help but to smile at the sight.)
Jiji: “…Meow ~ !”
-	Chai felt more and more like she was making friends because everyone seem to recognize her, even though she didn’t do a lot during the missions. She still felt a useless underdog inside and didn’t want to admit it. It was strange to her how a lot of people recognizes her.
-	So Chai decided to meet Spi and personally talk about what her role means in being part of his faction:
Chai: “Um… Leader Spi? ;x;”
Spi: “Just call me Spi.”
Chai: “Really? Why does everyone call you Leader Spi then? o.o’”
Spi: “I’ve already told them they don’t have to, but some do it anyways. And they all get used to passing it around and saying it. I’m not in this for the glory. Also, Mag doesn’t call me Leader because we’ve known each other before I even started my faction.”
Chai: “oooh-ooh, I see I see ~ um, I have a question, what is my role for being part of this faction?”
Spi: “Hm, are you asking that question because of how people around you react and interact with you?”
Chai: “Huh? How do you know?”
Spi: “I don’t. I took a stupid guess.”
Chai: “o.o well… that was not stupid… actually, it was pretty accurate.”
(Spi shrugged while smiling)
Chai: “It is true, though! Ever since day one, everyone seems to treat me differently from other people. I am not sure if I’m their equal or their… bitch. qwq I don’t get it. I try to understand others, but so far I’m not entirely sure why everyone acts so… abnormal to me. Please =w= what is my role?”
Spi: “They’re just interested in you.”
Chai: “…but why? Interested for what reason? Because I’m a soulbinder? OH! In fact, it’s starting to make sense! Ever since the day you asked me that question, and I replied yes – everyone reacted to that!”
Spi: “Well, it’s more than just that.”
Chai: “o.o? More?”
Spi: “I don’t know for sure what your motivation is, but I have a feeling. It’s better I ask you so I don’t assume. Why did you chose to become a soulbinder?”
Chai: “Um… I don’t… I’m not entirely… =w= sure.”
Jiji: “Meow…”
Chai: “Oh! That’s right! To help other people!”
Spi: “That’s exactly the reason then. You probably don’t see it, but they believe in that you’re a potential lifesaver.”
Chai: “… But everyone in this faction is a lifesaver! My comrades are always kicking ass and savin’ people qwq and I’m… just standing there, doing nothing…”
Spi: “Well, your role is much different from others and unique. Everyone can directly fight, but you can directly heal and nurture someone. While everyone is capable of handling themselves, they just know that there will be a time where they need you the most. And they’re very protective of you and contemplative about it. Not everyone here is secure about themselves and their fate of being part of this faction. If their soul is in trouble, no one else can help them but a soulbinder.”
Chai: “Oh… it… now makes a whole lot of sense now. ;w; I feel so touched now ~ Why didn’t you tell me earlier, Spi?”
Spi: “There wasn’t any reason to, plus I didn’t want you to feel like there’s a huge cloud of expectation on your shoulders. Since you directly asked me about it, I guess that it was needed.”
Chai: “xD I’ve always felt like such an underdog though, I didn’t know all of this time!”
Spi: “Well, how do you feel about yourself now?”
Chai: “Much better. qwq’ Thank you Spi. You know, I once talked to a strange boy, and we found out this… How it’s important to not worry about where the past gotten someone, but what tomorrow will bring! xD I’m not sure how this is relevant to this conversation buuuuuuuuuut somehow it’s struck in my mind, do you feel? o;”
Spi: “Huh… I do. Really, thanks Chai! You’re a real eye-opener.”
(Spi turns his back looking at the window, scratching his head thinking)
-	Later, the warrior faction had a large meeting about a serious private case about investigating evil and figure out what they’re up to. Spi mention that they may have to deal with shadow inner selves, called the Scorpions, who were evil beings.
-	Chai felt a lot of fear rising in her, and pictures the Scorpions as gigantic mutated scorpion-like monsters with large stinging tails. But she believed that if they were monsters or demons, then her warrior comrades will be able to take care of them.
-	Spi asked if Chai wanted to be involved in this case, while everyone was silent. Chai didn’t want to leave out on everyone on such an important case as much as her imagination disturbs her.
-	So they all were about to begin the case, but Chai was still holding onto her cat Jiji. A lot of people came to her and question why she’s bringing her pet in this mission.
-	The word “pet” struck a nerve in Chai and she acted very defensive about her relationship with Jiji. But her comrades told if she cares about her cat so much, then she should leave him at home to protect him.
-	Chai has never been separated from Jiji, and was very attached to him. But Chai wanted to see if Jiji would agree, but she felt that Jiji himself did not want to leave.
-	Spi stepped in and defended Chai and Jiji, believing that it’s completely up to her and not them to decide what she wants to do. And that Chai must be protected at all cost by her comrades anyways, so why not Jiji?
-	Everyone decided it’s important to stay close to her and her cat. So Mag lead the group to the mission, and they all went to investigate the case.
-	However, at one point during the dangerous mission, an entire building exploded and was about to collapse. Everyone had to run out their own way, and Chai ended up becoming separated from Jiji in the frantic situation.
-	When Chai met everyone in Mag’s group, who were all safe, she realized Jiji was missing. Everyone told her to let Jiji go, but Chai felt that Jiji was still alive.
-	So Chai ran off looking for Jiji, even though everyone tried to stop her from going alone. She abandoned everyone because she felt like they didn’t understood her.
-	Eventually Chai found Jiji, but he was lying on the floor in pain. There was no blood or injuries, but Jiji was shaking. Chai looked behind Jiji and saw 4 dark figures.
-	She noticed how short the figures were, even shorter than Spi, and how they were completely black. They had round heads, wore black jumpsuits with high collars, very skinny and no sign of tail. However, she can’t help but to know that these were the enemies, the Scorpion entities.
-	Chai felt intense fear looking at their black almond shaped eyes, as if they were deep as an abyss… it felt like she was being sucked in as she was looking at them.
-	Chai frantically picked up Jiji and tried to console him from shaking and immobility, but Jiji didn’t respond. She didn’t know what had happened, but somewhere inside of her she knew.
Scorpion: “It is so beautiful to have the ability to stare deep into someone’s soul…”
Chai: “!?”
Scorpion: “Even more beautiful when you could take apart their soul after that. Exploit them, break them, twist them, and make their hearts surrender to your every will.”
(Even though Chai felt completely paralyzed with intense fear, something inside of her clicked and she couldn’t control herself from shouting.)
Chai: “NO, when you look deep inside of someone, you’re supposed to PIECE them together! You should make them whole and feel happy for who they really are!”
Scorpion: “This pleases us. You really are the current sole soulbinder of Spi’s faction after all.”
(Chai realizes that the Scorpions weren’t mere animalistic monsters like she pictured… to her, they are much worse… They were twisted people.)
Chai: “You’ve done something to Jiji. Did you do something to his soul? If so, why… why are you doing this? What’s the purpose in tormenting an innocent cat?”
Scorpion: “Yes… we’ve done something to your cherished one. Why? Because it is part of our ‘business’, a mere conversation will not make you understand the depths of our true nature alone.”
Chai: “…W-what did you do…?”
Scorpion: “…We didn’t intend to kill him. We merely dove into his small soul and made some configurations. Right now, he is in an intense state of shellshock, and his awareness is completely disconnected from his surroundings. But it won’t be long until our modifications will drain all life away from him… his body won’t die, but he’ll wake up as a hollow shell. You can still live with him after the process is complete, but he will just be a mere hollow shell of what he used to be.”
Chai: “…No…”
Scorpion: “And the best part is… you can never restore his soul after that.”
Chai: “No, no, no… No…”
(Chai had a strong feeling of helplessness thinking about it. A disturbing possibility that would continually drill a hole deep in her heart. She started pulling her hair and shed tears over Jiji.)
Scorpion: “Now go… Take your cherished one. Soulbind him before it’s too late… We anticipate you to. We won’t chase after you, we have no need to. But realize this… When you dive deep into his soul, realize the true meaning of… trauma.”
(From this, Chai knew why exactly they were called the Scorpions. It is not because they look like Scorpions or have stingers like them. But the fact they are able to inject ‘venom’ in everything they say or do. Chai didn’t want to ever look deep into their soul, nor did she even wanted to look at their deep abysmal eyes… She already knew enough that she must save Jiji at all cost.)
-	She screamed in fury, quickly turned and ran away, not looking back, she didn’t care where she ended up, she just wanted to run far away with Jiji and do whatever she can to bind his soul together.
-	So when she finally ran into her group, they asked what happened, but Chai didn’t answer. She stare into Jiji’s heart and dove into his soul in order to bind him together.
-	But once her mind was in there, she realized that she never have bind an animal’s soul before, considering how rare it is for animals to even have trauma. She was never taught by school or experience, and she was completely confused on what to do when she was in there.
-	More than that, she doesn’t know the real problem of what the Scorpions did to Jiji. In what way did they tampered with his soul? She looked deeper and deeper, being completely puzzled by the long black vines.
-	Then she saw at the core, a picture of her and a huge black parasite tulpa sucking life from the picture. The root parasite connected to the vines (making it grow) was going to make Jiji’s soul collapse onto itself if she doesn’t do something about it. She tried to understand what this meant, but life from Jiji’s soul was losing fast so she did all she could to bind his soul.
-	She tried to remove the parasite, but it was stuck real hard, and then she realized it is because Jiji was convinced that Chai died in the explosion, and that the Scorpions exploited this.
-	Chai tried to continually force the parasite off the image in many different ways, but it would not work. She tried many methods she learned from school, but they were no avail.
-	Chai tried to search through the memories of Jiji, hoping to detach the embedded root but she realized animal souls don’t have very clear memories like people, just mental pictures of what means something to them.
-	Jiji’s soul was dimming fast so she was in such a state of panic that she cried out in Jiji’s mind that she was there.
-	Jiji’s mind heard her voice, and the parasite lost grip due to the realization that Chai is still alive and well, which gave Chai the opportunity to detach the parasite tulpa and eliminate it.
-	Chai pulled off the soul parasite and destroyed it, which stopped the soul from collapsing onto itself. Chai was able to prevent Jiji from losing life. However, she had trouble trying to figure out how to remove the black vines that were spread all about in the mental space. She tried to remove them, but there was too many.
-	After being exhausted in trying to weed them out, Chai wanted to see how Jiji was doing from the outside, to make sure his soul at least remained intact after removing the root parasite.
-	Chai’s mind snapped back into her body and realized her cat regained consciousness. But he could barely move, he was still shaking and meowing to Chai. Chai could feel that Jiji was still “there” – weakened but not hollow.
-	Everyone tried to barrage her with questions on what had happened, but she was in such a state of shock and worry that she couldn’t pay attention to anyone else other than Jiji, who is in her arms trying to recuperate.
-	Mag then shouted to everyone that Spi is in trouble, he has been assaulted by the Scorpions and is in a coma.
-	Chai snapped out of her trance, holding Jiji in her arms and followed everyone, who were frantic with the situation.
-	When they reached Spi, everyone was surrounding Spi. Spi was lying on the floor unconscious with his eyes open. They could all feel his soul becoming darker and darker.
-	Everyone felt hopeless, saying that the Scorpions plan using the virus in Spi’s soul to turn him into one of them and not sure what would happen afterwards.
-	No one knew how to help Spi, but Chai ran to the center and everyone looked at her. Their eyes were filled with confusion, hopeless, and pain. Some people kept whispering and some people looked away, some people shut their eyes, some people started crying.
-	Chai realized that this was the dark side of soulbinding, the fact that a lot of people’s fate rested on her shoulders and if she fails from restoring a fragmented soul, and if that person’s life fades away, then everyone connected to that life will be affected by the trauma.
-	The whole faction would disband, everyone would separate, and many souls would eventually fall into despair. She didn’t want that.
-	So Chai dove into Spi’s soul and tried to solve the situation as fast as possible, before he turns into one of them.
-	She thought to herself it shouldn’t be hard to bind a person’s soul, since she’s done it with other people before but she realized it was much harder than she thought - she had to dig in deep. In doing so, she saw all kinds of memories and feelings.
-	People who were close with Spi and end up sacrificing themselves, people who Spi trusted end up betraying him, people who just left Spi and didn’t want to look back, all of the responsibilities of becoming and being a leader of a warrior faction. And some light of happiness too.
-	What shocked Chai the most was how many important soulbinders left or died in Spi’s faction, and how this caused so many people to be in pain and eventually decay. A lot of people loved soulbinders for restoring feeling into them, and the fact that the soulbinders ending in negative terms has emotionally crushed so many people. It felt like it was the biggest pain that Spi had.
-	His feelings, memories, tribulations, thoughts, connections were all very different, some were similar, but very different on a high magnitude from other people she worked with.
-	But she didn’t know what to bind, what to heal, it was all over the place and she was so confused, just like with Jiji’s case. She didn’t know where to start, or what to do, but she needs to know what is causing Spi’s soul to fade into a dark, sinister feeling.
-	She questioned herself why she even chose to become a soulbinder in the first place, but time was running out so she had no time for that.
-	So she stop digging through the random memories and see what went wrong, and saw his memories of interaction with the Scorpions.
-	From the information she collected, the Scorpions captured Spi and was doing a similar method to soulbinding, by going deep into his soul to find information. Spi resisted, but he couldn’t stop them. He barely escaped their hold only to have the virus implanted.
-	Then she realized what the problem was. Chai dove to the memory of when Spi defended her decision to keep Jiji to come along with the mission. And she traveled to the source, seeing a huge framework of guilt after realizing that Scorpions exploited this, by possessing Jiji.
-	She found the virus, it was a small spike jabbed onto the picture of Jiji. Even though she hasn’t been educated on this, she felt like she shouldn’t touch the virus as it might infect her too. Plus it was making Spi unconscious.
-	Behind the picture was black roots connected to all of the memories that had a framework of guilt. So what she did was forged a new memory behind Jiji, showing that Chai instead chose to leave Jiji at home.
-	Since the infected picture was not connected to the real memories, the screen memories disconnected its influence and Spi’s soul was starting to brighten up. However, Chai believed that he wasn’t going to regain consciousness with the stigma deep inside. The only problem left is her to figure out how to remove the virus on the picture without touching it.
-	She decided to act smart, she created a new picture of Jiji from her memories to replace the old picture’s position. Then created another picture of Jiji and linked it with the original picture, while dragging it out of the soul. As the virus’s dark energy kept spreading, she would create another picture linked to another and another.
-	Then she was able to extract the virus out from the deep depths of Spi’s soul, to the point where he was consciously aware of himself and burned the virus completely with his own thoughts.
-	Chai’s mind snapped back. And she was able to save Spi, but Spi woke up feeling unstable. He tried to get up but he was shaking, and he couldn’t speak. Mag came and carried Spi on his back, smiled and gave Chai a thumbs up.
-	Everyone was quiet and awe to see that it all went well. Everyone smiled, some sighed in relief, some whispered in joy, some kept mentioning her name, some tried to hold back tears but just couldn’t handle it -- everyone was so happy regardless.
-	The case wasn’t solved, but everyone went back to the base and everyone was congratulating her. She didn’t felt happy though, even realizing she wasn’t a mere underdog anymore. She was more worried about Jiji’s current state. She went to check on Spi and Jiji.
-	Spi was in his room, lying on his bed recovering while Mag sat next to him taking care of him. Mag smiled at Chai saying not to worry, he’ll take complete care of his close friend. Mag was sure that Spi was healed. He gave two thumbs up to Chai.
-	Chai looked over at Jiji by side of the bed, petted him and he purred weakly and then tried to soulbind him once again, but during her trip, there were too many vines and it was exhausting to get rid of them.
-	Hours and hours of spending time removing the vines, Chai then told Mag about the problem she had with Jiji and Mag said that she needs to take a break and that he’ll watch over Jiji in the meantime.
-	A while later, Chai didn’t continue the mission because she needed a break from all of this. She was sitting at the bench watching the sun set. Knowing Jiji wasn’t beside her anymore, she started pulling her hair and was about to go insane.
-	But then she heard a voice saying, “Hey.” And saw the white dog Spi standing in front her, with a sorrowful expression and his hands in his pocket.
-	They had a conversation:
Chai: “…Spi? You recovered so fast.”
Spi: “Thank you for everything. I really mean it.”
Chai: “Is Jiji alright!?”
Spi: “He’s still at the base trying to recover, he still has to stabilize from the trauma.”
Chai: “Spi… I’m sorry, but after all of this… I’m going to leave your faction, I’m not coming back. Sorry.”
Spi: “I had a feeling… you were going to say that. You also sound pretty serious, which is very different from your usual personality. But in the position you’re in… I understand. But is it okay we talk for a little bit?”
Chai: “…I don’t know if I can… I can’t stop thinking about Jiji. Do you know what will happen to him?”
Spi: “Mag told me everything. At first, I didn’t understand but you placed screen memories to save me. Also… everyone was so happy that you came through, but… What’s going to happen to Jiji is still unknown, because I never seen a cat go through something like this before… so I don’t know what will happen.”
Chai: “No one even cared about him. Only I did. Everyone just thought of him as a cat. They just don’t get it.”
Spi: “When I heard that you… answered my question, ‘What did you want most out of life?’ When you answered that you already had it… I had a feeling it was Jiji.”
Chai: “Jiji is the REASON why I felt inspired to BECOME a soulbinder, and more than just THAT, but to help others. He ALWAYS stuck by my side, no matter what. And the only time we were separated, is when it probably might be permanent…”
Spi: “I’m sorry. For everything.”
Chai: “Sorry? What for? o.o”
Spi: “I approved of your decision to tag Jiji along, and that resulted him in this situation. I can’t forgive myself for it.”
Chai: “Nononononono! It’s not your fault! Please don’t blame yourself, it’s not you.”
Spi: “Not just that… but also the fact that I had so much faith in you, I didn’t tell you the real side of the soulbinder’s fate when being part of this faction. You stared into my soul, so you probably already know about it, but haven’t thought of it this way…”
Chai: “That’s true… I see… hmm… Well, Spi, why didn’t you tell me the truth?”
Spi: “It’s hard… to explain. I don’t know. It’s too ugly.”
Chai: “But that doesn’t matter. Ugly or not. You should say it anyways. I thought you said being a warrior is a part of fighting for peace and TRUTH. Why did you had to hide me something so important?”
Spi: “Because I didn’t want you to leave and risk the faction for losing hope again and have another person’s soul fragmented and then… everyone becomes fragmented from it.”
Chai: “o.o if you had faith in me, then you should’ve told me the truth regardless. I know if I heard it, I’d still be part of your faction.”
Spi: “Ugh… I thought I believed in you so much that I guess I didn’t see the precaution behind it… and even if that isn’t so, then I didn’t even see the possibility of you staying… I don’t know. I’m a terrible leader. I’m a hypocrite of my own words.”
Chai: “I’m a terrible soulbinder. I told you that I wouldn’t worry about the past and hope for tomorrow. But since Jiji is in this state, I can’t stop thinking about him and no matter how hard I try, I don’t have ANY hope for tomorrow. I feel like a hypocrite TOO.”
Spi: “I believed in your words, though. I mean it.”
Chai: “But… how could you? I saw everything. How could you accept so much responsibility in being a leader yet agree with something like that?”
Spi: “…I don’t know how to explain it. They just felt real to me.”
Chai: “The past should be the past. Jiji is still recovering, but I can’t figure out how to remove the vines. I don’t understand the nature of the vines! School didn’t teach me anything about this. So I worry about what will happen in the future, and I can’t help but to expect the worst. The thought of Jiji being gone, then I can’t help but to feel a scar. Just a deep feeling of hollow. There would be nothing inside of me.”
Spi: “That’s not true.”
Chai: “Not… true?”
Spi: “I don’t believe that it’s all nothingness after a beloved one disappears or leaves. I’ve had plenty of them, gone, and they’ve left an imprint in me. And I’m still here, trying to do the best I can to help others.”
Chai: “Imprint? A scar?”
Spi: “No, the scar isn’t the thing that I’m talking about. It’s the thing that’s deep beneath it. It’s somewhere deep inside. Something that actually came before the scar. I don’t know how to soulbind but I’ve felt it enough to know this…There just lies something that will always be there, no matter what. A spark.”
Chai: “A spark… from other beloved ones? Are you saying… Jiji gave me that spark?”
Spi: (Spi’s voice was cracking up and his shut eyes shed tears.) “Jiji was the real reason why so many lives were saved, not just me, but everyone. I can’t help but to feel that spark too. It’s there. I’m living because of that spark. I won’t forget it.”
Chai: (Chai was surprised) “His spark is in everyone now. A lot of people don’t realize it, but we both can see this. Maybe… it’s better to have hope, rather than expecting the worst.”
Spi: “I can’t guarantee that everything will work out the way we want to. I’ve had a lot of miserable endings in my life, I wanted to forget about it even though I couldn’t due to feeling deep pain. But eventually I started to see where I end up, and I try to look forward to see what the future will bring. Something new happens, I meet new people and it brings a new spark.”
Chai: “So… that’s why you believed me. A spark…”
 (They both sighed from this moment, the serene feeling of silence.)
Chai: “But… Spi. What are you going to do about the case? It hasn’t been solved yet…”
Spi: “Personally, this isn’t about the case anymore. I’m more concerned about Jiji. When I fully recovered, my immediate intention was to help you and Jiji. Mag has been working on finding a solution to Jiji’s problem and we worked together in finding a solution.”
Chai: “What should we do?”
Spi: “Let’s go back to the base. It’s likely that she already arrived.”
Chai: “!? Who? O.o”
Spi: “Another soulbinder.”
-	So Chai and Spi quickly arrived to the main base. Some people was crowding around at the door behind Spi’s room, and Chai was very curious what the fuss was about.
-	People were talking back and forth about the issue at hand, how they were curious who that person that went into the base and everything. They saw Spi and crowded around him talking about the woman who came through the base.
-	Spi didn’t knew that her presence would be so alert, considering the fact that he tried to kept it a secret but people knew due to seeing such a strange woman holding a staff and that some said she radiated “a powerful yet exotic aura”. And why would she need to come into Spi’s room. Chai could hear them mentioning that this women wouldn’t talk to them, just walked by Mag with her eyes closed and maintained silence.
-	Spi told them to keep their voice down and whispered to them, which Chai was unable to hear. Everyone understood, and both Spi and Chai went in Spi’s room. Spi said only Spi, Chai, Mag, Jiji and that person can only be in his room and that no one should eavesdrop.
-	Chai went inside, and first thing she noticed was an aged woman with extremely long white wavy hair, a dark blue dress, and a cane next to her chair. She was sitting down solemnly looking out into space. Chai didn’t know what to make of it, but she immediately believed this was the soulbinder Spi mentioned:
Spi: “Chai, this is Lady Maelstrom. You already know that she’s the soulbinder I’ve mentioned.”
(Chai walked up in front of Lady Maelstrom and looked her eyes. Immediately, Chai noticed that Lady Maelstrom was blind.)
Lady Maelstrom: “Greetings.”
Chai: “Hallo! owo I’m Chai! Nice to meet you ~ ”
Lady Maelstrom: “It is good to meet you too, young Chai.”
(Chai wasn’t sure of what to say, she was a bit shy towards Lady Maelstrom. She felt like she should respect a fellow real soulbinder, because rarely she meets another one. Usually, other people who took soulbinding courses quit later on, but Chai was one of the few that graduated as one.)
Lady Maelstrom: “We need to take care of dear Jiji… I’m sure you want him to be well as soon as possible.”
(Chai looked over to Jiji, who was still trembling but was glad to see Chai was there.)
Chai: “Can… you heal him? Do you know how to?”
Lady Maelstrom: “I won’t be able to do it without your help. We will soulbind him, together.”
(This was completely unheard of to Chai. Two people soulbinding into one soul? It completely astonished Chai.)
Chai: “How is that possible?”
Lady Maelstrom: “Has school taught you any of this?”
Chai: “Mm… can’t say they have… ;x;”
Lady Maelstrom: “I see. It’s relatively simple. What is the way you normally dive into one’s soul?”
Chai: “My eyes! QwQ I look closely at the heart of their body, or deep into their eyes. Mmm ~ xD It doesn’t take long to enter them.”
Lady Maelstrom: “Most people have a different way of doing it. But I’m guessing it’s not well-known how to do soulbinding collaboration. Here, take my hand.”
(Lady Maelstrom got up, held her staff, then offered her hand to Chai. Chai held Lady Maelstrom’s hand and they walked towards Jiji.)
Lady Maelstrom: “I am blind, so I cannot do what you can do, Chai. However, the way how I enter a person’s soul is by either touching their forehead or heart. The idea here is to project yourself into them in any way, but you already know that a soulbinder can do this. However, since you do not know how to join soulbinding, please pay attention.”
(Chai listens intently and Lady Maelstrom could acknowledge that her silence is her way of listening.)
Lady Maelstrom: “Just place our palm on Jiji’s head or back. Then you must focus with the intention of coming along with me into Jiji, or else our consciousness won’t be in synch. If our consciousness is not In synch, then we can’t enter him.”
(Chai did what she said, feeling Jiji shivering and trembling beneath their palms. Chai closed her eyes, focusing on the intention and they both dove into Jiji’s soul.)
(So they were both in Jiji’s soul and Chai was looking around the mental space, covered with black vines.)
Chai: “That was easy enough! c:”
Lady Maelstrom: “So, you really do have green eyes like I imagined.”
Chai: (She looks over next to her, at Lady Maelstrom, whose eyes were not blind) “!? How can you see?”
Lady Maelstrom: “Have you ever heard of stories how blind people can dream? My body’s eyes cannot see, but my mind’s eye can.”
Chai: “Wow ~ that’s interesting!”
Lady Maelstrom: “Listen, we have to focus. We will talk later after this. Look at those vines. See them?”
Chai: “Of course. owo”
Lady Maelstrom: “Mag told me you struggled in trying to remove them, so show me how you do it.”
Chai: “yesmam!”
(So Chai just tried to ignite them with a fiery light, popping bits and pieces of the long vines. Chai looked over to Lady Maelstrom and she shook her head in disapproval. Chai tried a different method – looked at the vines, tried to grab it and tugged with her arm.”
Lady Maelstrom: “STOP. Stop that right now, this instant. Let go, NOW.”
(Chai immediately let go of the vines)
Chai: “W-What? What am I doing wrong? ;x;”
Lady Maelstrom: “Do you want to become blind like me?”
Chai: “!?”
Lady Maelstrom: “Think about what you’re touching. Those aren’t just normal vines. Those are parasites from Scorpions. You could get yourself infected. Come over here.”
Chai: “I’m sorry… x.x”
Lady Maelstrom: “Just don’t do it again. Look.”
(Lady Maelstrom starts to put her palm out and made a small but very focused and refined fire from her palm. Chai was shocked by the pure and intense heat.)
Lady Maelstrom: “Do you know your elements?”
Chai: “Yes! Of course, I can do that too! 8D” (Chai made a small blaze in the center of her palms.)
Lady Maelstrom: “No. You’ll need to do better than that. You’re not putting enough of your soul into it. It’s not going to help getting rid of this weed.”
Chai: “Mmm… I don’t get it x.x I’m trying my best to generate this fire!”
Lady Maelstrom: “Perhaps not actually. Look at the vines. Think about what impact they have on Jiji. Why do you think they are there?”
Chai: “…I don’t know. To drain his life?”
Lady Maelstrom: “No. You must know the intention behind the manipulator’s parasites. Think about what they’re trying to do to Jiji with these vines.”
Chai: “…I don’t know… if I want to… know what they’re thinking…”
Lady Maelstrom: “You have to, if you want to help Jiji. When solving certain problems like this, you cannot be ignorant to darkness. You must learn the truth and see how you can use it to your advantage. I’ll tell you what impact that these vines are having on Jiji’s soul.”
Chai: “owo?”
Lady Maelstrom: “Currently, Jiji’s soul isn’t being sucked. However, he has an intense fear of the Scorpions lingering in the depths of himself. These aren’t memories however, since he’s an animal soul, it’s mostly instinctual fear. Which makes it easy for the Scorpions or any manipulator to spread their parasites in such fashion. These vines are not trying to absorb him… these vines are here to control him, by pigeonholing him in a constant state of fear.”
Chai: “Oooooh, I see! I see! But… what can we do about it?”
Lady Maelstrom: “It’s all intention. Think about the intention you’re putting into your light or fire. What’s the intention?”
Chai: “Well, when I removed the root parasite, I exploded it with the intention of ‘die you stupid parasite!’ and for the vines, I intend ‘die you stupid vines!’ xD”
Lady Maelstrom: “This is where you went wrong. It may worked for a root parasite since it lost its meaning by losing its grip, but those igniting lights or small blaze is not going to effectively get rid of the web of vines… because why?”
Chai: “…Since you said I didn’t put my soul into it enough… I guess you’re saying my feelings about it aren’t very dynamic x.x”
Lady Maelstrom: “Exactly. So you better come up with a new purpose and emotion for your elements.”
Chai: “What’s your intention when making your powerful fire? qwq”
Lady Maelstrom: “My soul is different from yours. This is something only you can answer. And I’m not going to suggest any answers to you, you better figure it out yourself or else it won’t have much meaning. If we can’t do this, then we’ll have to come back later.”
Chai: “Okay ~ I’ll try to do my very best qwq”
(Chai tried to figure out how to “feel dynamic” but no matter how hard she tried, she was kind of… lacking it. She tried to study the intention, but the rational mind wouldn’t let her find the right feelings. She took long minutes trying to spark an intense fire, but she sighed whenever she couldn’t get a grip. She started to feel like she wanted to give up, considering she didn’t think she had any ‘dynamic’ drive within her to give it all she’s got.)
Lady Maelstrom: “Listen… Chai. I don’t think you get it. What matters to you the most?”
(Lady Maelstrom’s question struck deep in Chai. She remembers what Spi asked her ‘What do you want the most out of life?’ and she remembers how important Jiji is to her. She thinks about how Jiji has always been at her side, and that when they were separated, Jiji was cursed to be emotionally controlled by manipulators. She just felt pain thinking about it, thinking how she could’ve been there for Jiji and didn’t had to make him suffer like this. She started to resolve this by desiring to change that. This is when she was ready.)
Chai: “I’m going to do… whatever it takes… to free Jiji.”
(Lady Maelstrom smiled, Chai’s spark of fire became dynamic and flared with intense heat.)
Lady Maelstrom: “That’s enough. Do it now.”
Chai: “o.o Huh? It’s enough?”
(Suddenly, Chai’s fire shrunk and ceased to radiate a vibrant heat. It did not feel dynamic to Chai anymore. It vanished.)
Lady Maelstrom: “Chai, you’ve made another mistake. When you have something as pure as that, you DO NOT ask questions. You do NOT have doubt in yourself. It just gets in the way of the heat.”
Chai: “But I don’t understand! How can that be ‘enough’? o.o”
Lady Maelstrom: “I suspected this may happen. But the truth is, you’re trying to compare your fire to my own example. Also you assume that you need to ignite the vines over and over. You need to let go of those expectations, and when I said you could do it, you need to take this resolve and do it with absolute faith. Don’t question yourself.”
Chai: “S-sorry, Lady Maelstrom! ;x; …I’ll try to do it again!”
Lady Maelstrom: “No, it’s not going to be good enough. Dynamic feelings aren’t something you can just simply ‘drag’ out. At least, not for someone as new as you. You’ll have to search for another answer.”
Chai: “...But… how? ;x; This is so hard!”
Lady Maelstrom: “Why are you here?”
(The first thought popped up into Chai’s mind was the memory of her conversation with the strange boy. And memories of the pain of how she saw Jiji on the floor and the Scorpions taunting her with their deep abysmal black eyes, trying to enslave both of their futures. Memories of how Spi believed in those words she said to him. This wasn’t merely about removing the parasite from Jiji. She not only wanted to move forward herself, but to also help Jiji move forward. To let Jiji have his future and belong with her and EVERYONE ELSE.)
Chai: “…I’m… ready.”
(Chai’s fire was even more intense this time, even brighter and more vibrant than Lady Maelstrom’s example. It was so powerful that it radiated a really sharp high frequency noise.)
Lady Maelstrom: “…Like a phoenix rising out of the ash. Now do it, and see what happens.”
(Chai quickly ran and ignited the intense fire onto the black vines, exploding in impact and causing Chai to fly back. The vines were shrilling as if it was in pain, Chai watches as the fire just… spreads like a wildfire. This is what Lady Maelstrom meant by putting her soul into it. The fire did the work for her rather than her doing bit by bit, it spread on its own and intensified each second, burning everything evil in its path. It was a heavenly and awe-aspiring experience… each moment that Chai saw within her green-eyes, was as if she could capture the moment of what it meant to be a… soulbinder.)
Lady Maelstrom: “Our job is done. That’s all what we needed.”
(Everything was so… bright. The web of vines were erased in such an incredible short amount of time. The fire just purified Jiji’s soul completely. Chai just… sat and watched. Their minds both snapped back into their bodies. Chai flew back again and fell on the floor. Lady Maelstrom went to search for her seat and sat down. Jiji was still lying on his side, but he stopped shivering. Staring at the window, Spi looked over his shoulder smiling in silence, knowing that it was successful.)
Chai: “Holy shit xD!”
Mag: “Uh… what happened?”
Chai: “W-we had fun. That’s all ~ xD”
Mag: “Ummm…. Okay. Cool. Is Jiji alright?”
Lady Maelstrom: “Dear Jiji will be fine. His soul is currently stabilizing at the moment, it can take a while for him to get back on his feet and to his normal self. Let him rest for now, give him a day or so.”
Chai: “Lady Maelstrom, you said you needed my help… but, the truth was… you could’ve removed those vines yourself easily too. But your true intention… was to teach me. You wanted me to become a better soulbinder. You really knew a lot more than that. o.o’”
Lady Maelstrom: “Dear Chai… I said I needed your help so you don’t misinterpret me as being ‘superior’ as if I said I was going to teach you. We need to be on the same page to help Jiji, not for me to give you the false impression that I’m any higher than you.“
Chai: “You seem a bit strict during our training session though xD”
Lady Maelstrom: “I’m sorry that I came across that way. The truth is, I really do care about your sake and Jiji’s sake. I never thought critically of you, only appeared to be just for you to be serious. I had to be adamant so we can get results.”
Chai: “Ah ~ I see, of course, of course ~ I didn’t took it personally, though! I knew you were trying to help me all aloooong, haha xD”
Lady Maelstrom: “So I have many questions for you. Let’s start off with this, why did you chose to become a soulbinder?”
Chai: “xD You and Spi seem to always ask similar questions to me. I just wanted to help others, that’s all ~ ! owo”
Lady Maelstrom: “That’s the only real motivation that a soulbinder should have. To help other people. Really, I can’t think of one dedicated soulbinder who doesn’t believe that…”
Chai: “Um… but don’t mind me asking, but…”
Lady Maelstrom: “My blindness was the result of me being irresponsible.”
Chai: “o.o’ you knew what I was going to say?”
Lady Maelstrom: “Well, you felt unsure about asking since it seemed like a personal issue to you. It’s true though, I don’t talk about my past unless it’s only necessary. My eyes are one of my scars.”
Chai: “It… must be painful… not to be able to see…”
Lady Maelstrom: “It does feel painful at times when I can’t do something I want because of my disability. But I’ve learned to remain calm and self-controlled despite my defect. You see, you already know that I became blind because I foolishly touched a manipulator’s parasite during soulbinding. It is learning the hard way.”
Chai: “How is that possible? Isn’t all of that stuff supposed to only affect the soul…? I’ve never heard of physical ailments happening because of soulbinding in school… :\”
Lady Maelstrom: “I don’t understand how your college can not teach you any of this. Is it not researched in books and internet that there are rare cases like this? Chai, you actually didn’t make the same mistake as I did.”
Chai: “Hm?”
Lady Maelstrom: “I heard from Mag that you were able to revive Spi despite him having a dark resonance virus in his soul. If you touched it, it would have a huge negative impact on you and your body. So I believe you made the right choice, I don’t know how you were able to know at the time.”
Chai: “Oh dear o.o’ I… it wasn’t really a logical thing to me, I just felt fear touching it… I don’t know xD it was intuition, I guess x:”
Lady Maelstrom: “When I was around your age, I soulbinded this one person who was attacked by a soul manipulator, and that manipulator spiked a virus – which I first touched out of curiosity, not frantic and helplessness. It spread to my soul and I had to exit the host. I was sick, in the hospital, soulbinders came and did the same thing, and they got infected. It spread like a virus.”
Chai: “W-w-woah? Woah? The virus… spread? Is it continually spreading to this very day?”
Lady Maelstrom: “No, they were quarantined. We all didn’t had a spike from the virus which would turn their souls into evil, instead, the potent energy of the virus manifested various physical illnesses. Luckily, most didn’t became blind like I did. The potent energy would just disappear when the physical illness manifest, but I wasn’t… lucky. It took my eyes away from me and I lost all light from the physical world.”
Chai: “This… is so depressing… Q~Q Can I hug you?”
Lady Maelstrom: “I’m not in any pain. I’m just sharing you the story. Listen, Chai… you have to understand this. If you’ve never heard about this case from school, then there is something seriously wrong with the system of soulbinding education.”
Chai: “Nah xD I think it’s just my college, I doubt we could blame aaaaaaaaall the mystic education system for this.”
Lady Maelstrom: “I’ve lived long enough to say that your college is no different from many other colleges. The education does not teach you enough about the real and deeper side of soulbinding.”
Chai: “mmm… they did teach me not to look into a twisted person’s soul though QwQ”
Lady Maelstrom: “That sounds benign on paper, but truthfully… when you’ve been deep into soulbinding and had countless subjects, you will eventually find yourself inside of a manipulator’s soul. No one is purely good inside. Everyone has some evil in them, some more than others.”
Chai: “…I… didn’t really want to believe it. Even I did saw traces of… evil in children and teenagers. But I tried to disregard it, believing they were just young and innocent.”
Lady Maelstrom: “No… even the youth can be or have as much potential to have a lot of darkness in their hearts. Being a soulbinder, you will never find an escape in seeing another’s dark side. Which is why most people are afraid of being soulbinded, because they don’t want soulbinders to see that ‘side’ of them. And on the flip side, most people are afraid of becoming soulbinders to see that.”
Chai: “…Have you ever entered into the soul of a real manipulator?”
Lady Maelstrom: “I have. Number of times. Some people are unintentionally evil, others choose it and live it. I’ve seen a spectrum of dark desires from spectrums of different souls. I’ve been into some real manipulator’s soul, by accident or intention, but I’ve came out alright. I just know that when you go in, it’s very very unlikely you can change anything inside there.”
Chai: “Why does school educate not to look into the soul of a real manipulator?”
Lady Maelstrom: “Because they are afraid of teaching the traumatic side of soulbinding, when the cold truth is… soulbinding is the most sensitive and darkest form of spiritual teachings. Even sex magic is not a sensitive subject as this. Many people who choose to study soulbinding, eventually learn their fear on their own of soulbinding, because of all of the horrors they may see through another’s soul.”
Chai: “…Is it really that ugly?”
Lady Maelstrom: “Ugly… maybe not the right word. More like dark. It’s even darker than everyone else’s role in Spi’s faction. You have the darkest role in his whole faction, whether you realize it or not.”
Chai: “…I-I understand now… I can see why everyone was so worried about me…”
(Mag stood up from the bed and Chai looked at him in the eye)
Mag: “Chai, I… sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, I was kind of… I don’t know, ugh, I felt guilty trying to take care of you during our time. Because I don’t know how to handle soulbinders, it just takes too much… strength. I maybe big and muscular, but… that’s just me on the outside… I just… don’t have the strength. I didn’t want you to see me like that. A lot of us – don’t have the strength. We were also afraid you don’t either, but we still wanted to believe in you. For choosing such a road.”
(Chai kept silent, shifting her pupils back and forth, trying to contemplate on what was being discussed.)
Lady Maelstrom: “But… there is a light to it all.”
Chai: “Light…? o.o”
Lady Maelstrom: “Yes. When you heal someone through soulbinding, your own soul grows exponentially. It makes you closer to who you truly are.”
Chai: “…I’m not so sure… if you fail in healing someone, it’d probably just all go crumbling down…”
Lady Maelstrom: “I’ve failed to heal many people and yes, it can fuck a lot of lives up if you fail. Depending how deep the failure is. But I learned that my road is my choice alone, soulbinding is who I really am, and even if I go through such heavy failures and regret -- I may choose to leave the path one day, then to find myself come back to it in the future. Outside people may call this a very unhealthy relationship with soulbinding, but I call it how it is – my choice, my reality, my personal decisions. Sometimes the drive within me to soulbind can never cease to exist, it just continues in a transient way.”
Chai: “It’s hard for me to understand that when I’ve only done soulbinding for a few years. :\”
Lady Maelstrom: “I’m sorry, Chai. I believe I should approach you on a more relatable level.”
Chai: “o.o well, I didn’t say what you said wasn’t interesting… it’s very rare for me to actually talk with another soulbinder, especially an experienced one.”
Lady Maelstrom: “The light of soulbinding is hard to describe sometimes. It’s only explainable in experience. I’ve had so many lives saved because of my touch, even if it was just one person…”
Chai: “Come to think of it, Spi was the only one I’ve soulbinded in this faction… if I failed… I don’t know what would become of everyone x.x’ what a horrifying position it was. I’ve even told Spi that I would quit too… but maybe I was being too hasty… they need me.”
(Spi was still standing quietly looking out the window, Chai was looking at him and was wondering if he was actually listening. Spi shifted his head a bit and his eyes made contact with Chai. He shifts his head back to looking out the window. ‘Okay, he’s definitely listening’ – thought Chai.)
Lady Maelstrom: “Chai. I do not believe you belong here.”
Chai: “…Really?”
Lady Maelstrom: “You’ve only experienced soulbinding for a few years, and the only subjects you’ve soulbinded were the youth, if I heard correctly. I don’t believe you need to shoulder so much responsibility considering how there are cases in Spi’s factions that deal with soul manipulators like the Scorpion entities.”
Chai: “…I… don’t want to meet them again. They were the most… disgusting people I’ve ever met. How can anyone use soulbinding for such purposes? It’s so… sickening. How could they attempt in trying to turn an innocent cat into a zombie? How could they try to turn Spi into one of them? How can they try to seed trauma in so many people? W.. w-what’s WRONG with them?”
Lady Maelstrom: “They were not raised in Rainbow Palace or any average society. The Scorpions lived in a secret dark occult society where they studied perverted versions of the teachings we currently have in mystic education, only their research is deeper. They are not soulbinders, they actually have no clue how to repair souls, only hurt them. They are what I call ‘soultwisters’, or soul manipulators.”
Chai: “I don’t understand why they’re doing this. :\”
Lady Maelstrom: “It’s mostly about profit on the living souls. They feed off of soul suffering by diving into their target’s souls and taking feelings from them. Their agenda is much more sophisticated. Spi knows more about them than I do, actually.”
(Spi turns around.)
Spi: “And that is why I need to stop them. I have to go soon. I’m sorry I didn’t talk much, but I’m really glad that Jiji is alright. I’m really glad that you were able to pull through all of this, Chai.”
Chai: “Spi? You’re… really that serious about this case?”
Spi: “I have no position to not take this seriously. If everyone decides to be passive and not try to stop their constant harassment and manipulation on society and innocent lives, then it’d be worse than me just turning into one of them.”
(Chai was quiet, thinking about what Spi said. She was thinking to herself if she should still help Spi.)
Lady Maelstrom: “Chai. This is just what I believe. It’s entirely up to you. But. If you want my honest opinion -- you don’t belong with Spi’s faction. At least, not right now.”
Chai: “But… what can I do?”
Lady Maelstrom: “I offer you to join my secret faction of soulbinders.”
Chai: “You’re a leader of a faction of soulbinders!? QwQ”
Lady Maelstrom: “Yes… but most are isolated from the rest of society.”
Chai: “Oh… but how are you going to help others this way? ;x;”
Lady Maelstrom: “Society fears us, we are shunned as soulbinders because of our deep past. Many of us are actually wanted criminals, just for mistakes we’ve done by being part of society.”
Chai: “Criminals!? You’re a wanted criminal!? Why didn’t Spi’s faction arrested you? O.O’”
Lady Maelstrom: “Because Spi understands us, he researches us and talks with us personally – Spi is not lawfully stupid. You can say that Spi has a dark side, but he uses his dark side to fight evil, in a way, haha. He’s kind of a vigilante.”
Chai: “Oh dear… ;x; I-I am not sure if I want to be part of such an organization with a bad reputation. I’ve been working with tulpas to children to teenagers to Spi’s benevolent faction… all to end up in shady business x.x;”
Mag: “They aren’t actually criminals, Chai. They’re just casted people.”
Chai: “I know! I don’t want to misunderstand Lady Maelstrom and her faction! But reputation is important to me because I actually want to be part of great cities like Rainbow Palace! I don’t want to end up narrowing myself down v.v;”
Lady Maelstrom: “Then how about we make it like this way? You are an undercover agent connected to my faction, while you continue your regular job as a soulbinder in public. I can’t use the computer and internet, but you could always chat with my faction in a group chat on messenger.”
Chai: “owo Maybe I see where you’re going with this. You guys could teach me your ways ~”
Lady Maelstrom: “Yes. We don’t have a public contact, so we’re wondering if you have any ideas of what to do with what you learn from us.”
Chai: “xD So many possibilities. But since you mentioned that the education system is corrupted, maybe I cooooooooould… write about books and webpages that can change that? ~ xD!”
Lady Maelstrom: “Hmm… I’m not sure the outcome of that. Likely it may not change the system, because it’s so rigid. May depend what position you hold in society. I think you should start small at least, you can help others one at a time rather than trying to influence the world. Just that you’ll have more abilities and knowledge than the regular soulbinder out there and could pass down that whoever may need your help.”
Chai: ‘Ah owo even better! I actually miss being the underdog… if I met another underdog, I’d root for him/her all the way xD ~ ”
Lady Maelstrom: “One life can save many lives by saving one life. Even if they don’t have anything, one can bring life into others even by the smallest of things...”
(Suddenly Jiji got up and walked towards Chai who was sitting on the bed, Chai being completely startled by Jiji’s sudden affection and purring.)
Jjij: “Meoooow ~”
Chai: “JIJI!!!!!!!!!!! QWQ”
Lady Maelstrom: “Holy shit. Like a phoenix rising out of the ashes.”
Spi: “I can’t believe it…”
Mag: “What? I thought Lady Maelstrom said he wouldn’t be able to fully stabilize until tomorrow.”
Lady Maelstrom: “Life is just full of miracles, I swear.”
Chai: “o.o’ What are you talking about? Wasn’t Jiji fine after we soulbinded him?”
Lady Maelstrom: “He has no chance at all to wake up, purring and meowing this early. The animal soul takes a while to completely stabilize after the removal of a heavy parasite.”
Chai: “Was this because Jiji’s soul was just too strong? xD”
Lady Maelstrom: “No, this isn’t the soul. This is something more intangible.”
Chai: “owo? What is it? What?”
Lady Maelstrom: “This is what I call “spirit”. It’s completely unbridled, pure, and just. It can’t be binded or twisted. From what I’ve seen, the spirit only leaves if the soul loses enough life or the body dies. But the spirit never actually dies, it just continues onto a different lifeform. Sometimes, the spirit just wants to do whatever the fuck it wants, like wake up the creature or person even when the soul hasn’t fully recovered. I have no clue why or how one’s spirit can be so strong. Jiji has such a strong spark.”
(Chai and Spi just looked at each other with their eyes wide open from listening what Lady Maelstrom said. Makes them think about it.)
Jiji: “Meow ~ ”
Chai: “Awww ~ I’m so glad my Jiji’s spirit is stronger than the appearance of Mag’s muscles ~ ! 8D”
Mag: “…You just took a piece of my soul…”
Lady Maelstrom: “Well, Chai. Topic on hand. Will you think about my offer?”
Chai: “uuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmm….. qwq”
Spi: “Chai, talk to me about it outside. I’m going to leave, then you can come back and tell Lady Maelstrom once you made up your mind.”
Chai: “okiedokie owo”
Spi: “Thank you, Lady Maelstrom. For everything.”
Lady Maelstrom: “You’re a young little master, Spi.”
(Spi waves to Lady Maelstrom, leaves and shuts the door behind him. Chai, with her cat in her arms, stood next to Lady Maelstrom.)
Lady Maelstrom: “I can’t help but to keep noticing it. But it’s been distracting a part of me, all of this time. It gets on my goddamn nerves. Made it hard to focus on the conversation.”
Chai: “? What is it? o.o”
Lady Maelstrom: “Spi.”
Chai: “xD What about him? He’s been quiet this whole time!”
Lady Maelstrom: “Not that. I can feel everyone’s soul in my area. I don’t even need to soulbind to feel what another person’s soul is like. Each of Spi’s heartbeat just beats with faith brimming with vitality and hope. It’s hard to define it. I mean, like, how should I describe this… His faith is ‘white hot’. White hot faith. This is why I called him a young little master. Do you agree, Mag?”
Mag: “Ummmm…. I don’t know. Sorry Lady Maelstrom. I can’t feel heartbeats.”
Chai: “xD Nah, Spi is just Spi. That’s how he wants other people to see him as!”
Lady Maelstrom: “That maybe so, but I know a little master when I can feel it. I can call you a little master someday if I feel it within you too.”
Chai: “o.o”
Lady Maelstrom: “Hell, I can call whoever the fuck I want a little master especially if their heartbeat just beats like it’s going to burn down an entire forest.”
(Chai couldn’t understand if Lady Maelstrom was being deep… or just plain crazy at this point.)
Chai: “I don’t get it xD”
Lady Maelstrom: “Never mind that. Just talk to Spi and come back. It’s best that you make your decision before he goes onto his mission. Make your decision today. It’s a big one. And once you get back, I have something for you. ;)”
-	So Chai and Jiji went outside of the room, and smiled to everyone that she passed by. All of the warriors in the base recognized her, and they immediately smile whenever they see her and Jiji doing fine. Chai couldn’t help but to take it all in, because she couldn’t recognize it at first. She used to be so busy wrapped in worry when Jiji was hurt, that she ignored how everyone in Spi’s faction cared about her. Well, she’s realizing it as she walks by and all her responses is waving, smiling, and walking forward. There wasn’t any exchange of conversations, just smiles and waves.
-	She walked outside and the beautiful rays of sunlight gleamed over. Spi, the doggie shorty, was standing with his back, his hands in his pockets. He was looking above the sky. Chai moved and Spi turned around.
Spi: “How do you feel about yourself now, Chai?”
Chai: “xD better… actually much much better! Never been felt so alive, I guess. qwq”
Spi: “Really? The conversation we had back there was pretty dark… you still don’t let it make you give up in being a soulbinder, though right?”
Chai: “haha xD I didn’t even think of it. The truth is the truth, no matter how ugly. I’ve already soulbinded enough to know that this makes a lot of sense already.”
Spi: “So… what are you planning to do with your future?”
Chai: “x.x Can you take it easy with all of these big questions, Spi? It’s not like I can pull all of the right answers out of my ass! xD”
Spi: “Er… yeah, I think I need to settle the hell down.”
Jiji: “Meow ~ “
Chai: “xD Even Jiji agrees.”
(Spi didn’t know what to say, he was silent and looking over at the edge with an uncertain smirk on his face. Chai thought of a question, to see if she could understand him better.)
Chai: “Um… o.o Spi. If you’re the leader of your entire faction… what powers do you have? I never got to see you fight.”
Spi: “I don’t have any powers.”
Chai: “Huh?”
Spi: “I just watch over my people and guide them and motivate them.”
Chai: “qwq But you gotta know how to fight too! You’re the leader of a great warrior faction!”
Spi: “I do, but fighting isn’t everything. Helping others is usually what I’m doing, not fighting. If I was a good fighter, I would squash those bastard bugs before they peeked into my soul.”
Chai: “xD You’re hiding something.”
Spi: “I have a lot of secrets, but in this very moment, I’m being honest.”
Chai: “If you want to help others, why not become a soulbinder? xD”
Spi: “Helping others isn’t always expressed in one form or another. Everyone has a different way of helping others, in certain ways. I’m not very smart with soulbinding, but I’m very smart with finding connections and working together with people I care about.”
Chai: “owo So you’ve tried soulbinding before?”
Spi: “Yes…”
Chai: “What did you think of it?”
Spi: “I know this sounds… odd… but… It seems like something I would get addicted to doing.”
Chai: “o.o You said you weren’t smart with soulbinding though…?”
Spi: “As in, not knowing my limits in doing it. I have a tendency of wanting to understand others so passionately, that it can get unhealthy. I know I would love soulbinding, but I have other roles I need to fulfill. Plus a lot of people don’t want me to soulbind because they’re afraid I would get lost in it. And I’ve had my share of experiences where I almost did, and it ended up hurting more people than saving them…”
Chai: “Awww… Even with motivation, I guess it’s not for everyone.”
Spi: “Plus… many soulbinders I used to know don’t like me.”
Chai: “Q~Q Aaaaaawwwwww…. There must be a soulbinder that do appreciate you out there! xD”
Spi: “Um, well, so did you make your decision yet?”
Chai: “Wait. o.o We have to clarify things first. If I leave your faction, what are you going to do? I’m your faction’s only soulbinder. Do you have back up plans?”
Spi: “…I am not sure. Sometimes the faction goes on with a long period of no soulbinder. We’re still recruiting more, but they’re very hard to find. I won’t be the one soulbinding because of many reasons.”
Chai: “If I plan on leaving to find my own position and Lady Maelstrom helping me… Could I stay then to help your faction until you find a replacement soulbinder? ;o;”
Spi: “That’s completely up to you. But if you plan on going to leave anyways, it’s a better idea to just take Lady Maelstrom’s advice, you probably do not want to stay here at all.”
Chai: “Oh yeah =w= I have an idea ~ ! What about Lady Maelstrom’s faction? You can be connected to them! ;w;”
Spi: “No… I’ve only recently learned about them but I can tell that it’s very risky to get their faction involved with my missions. Not everyone who is connected to me and my faction can keep secrets. If something, even the smallest of things, go wrong – then likely, something negative might happen to my faction, her faction, and other people related to it. Whether if it is law, conspiracy, or danger.”
Chai: “But you keep a lot of your faction’s missions secret! What’s wrong with keeping this a secret? ;x;”
Spi: “Yes, but a popular faction connected to wanted soulbinders can paint a huge target on everyone’s head. I only keep my missions secret to protect the innocent. Affiliating with wanted soulbinders is not a mission. Even though it could saves lives, in the long term, it’s not a good idea.”
Chai: “It’s hard for me to understand how you could manage all of this and think this through, Spi… What did you went through to make you think like this?”
Spi: “It’s not just my own experience. I’ve been affiliated with other known factions who did similar things. And I’ve seen what mistakes they made and how they ended up. I’ve only called Lady Maelstrom because this is a special case. Doing this already alerted many of my people, and I have to take care of the unforeseen consequences that happens afterwards.”
Chai: “…Really? Saving Jiji was that important to you?”
Spi: “Yes. You two didn’t just save my life, but everyone else’s. I didn’t told Lady Maelstrom to come, I asked her and told her about my situation. It was completely up to her, I mean, she could send anybody to help me from her faction… but instead, she chose to personally come herself. Risking everything. We risked everything for this to happen.”
Chai: “Spi. o.o How do you do it?”
Spi: “Hm? Do what?”
Chai: “Stay alive throughout all of this. Without me, you could’ve been completely gone. ;x; Just a horrid thought at the time, you know? x;”
Spi: “I’ve been in many situations like that. The only reason why I can continue is because I had people who cared about me, and I care about them.”
Chai: “xD damn you really are a warrior of tooth and nail. Your road is filled with blood, sweat, and tears. I just worry about if it’ll all end dramatically soon in a negative way.”
Spi: “If so, that’s how it’ll end and how it is.”
Chai: “I just wonder if all of this bullshit is putting so much baggage inside your soul o.o you probably need some soulbinding support to get that shit fixed. xD Chai’s just being real about it”
Spi: “No… that’s a bad idea.”
Chai: “Eh? owo”
Spi: “I’ve had plenty of soulbinders who did daily checkups on me. Very bad idea. They grew so close to me that it was starting to become a problem. While they helped manage my soul together, the closer I got to them, the more pain we felt.”
Chai: “Huh? I… don’t understand. Daily checkups sounds pretty smart. How can healthy soulbinding bring pain?”
Spi: “It’s not healthy if you soulbind a person constantly and always fix them up on every emotional issue they have. Sometimes, people need to figure out problems for themselves. This is why Lady Maelstrom didn’t advice you to do daily checkups, because soulbinding is a total invasion of privacy. More than just that, the soulbinding can also become to the point of soultwisting if it’s compulsively done. We need to have space from other people.”
Chai: “I don’t know, I just felt like saying that because I thought you had a lot of stuff going in you when I was in there. x.x I won’t mention what I saw, but can I at least help?”
Spi: “No… don’t learn this the hard way. I want it to be like this. If you bind my soul when I don’t need it, you’ll end up hating me. Just like most other soulbinders before you in this faction. It’s best we leave certain things untouched.”
Chai: “q~q ugh, well, if you say so.”
Spi: “I’m… perfect the way I am. As much I might regret those words in the future. I… don’t care.”
Chai: “…Really?”
Spi: “I’m happy for others who are doing well. That happiness is what gives me life. Seeing other people happy for where they go in life, even if it doesn’t go my way. This is why I have to continue doing what I need to do. I got to keep moving forward.”
Chai: “If that’s what makes you happy… Then I root for you, Spi! QwQ”
(Spi smiles and gives a thumbs up towards Chai.)
Chai: “So… I… I’ll go with Lady Maelstrom. Deciding to go with her is not only the most reasonable, but the most meaningful.”
Spi: “Meaningful? What’s the meaning about it?”
Chai: “I could always do more than just soulbind each person I meet as a regular job as a soulbinder. It would be nice to have some peace =w= Maybe make the youth generation a lot better than it used to be! Aaaand what you’ve said to me is gonna help! qwq I’m not really a huge risk taker so maybe soulbinding in your faction is just a bad idea, sorry, just being truthful…”
Spi: “Ah. Don’t worry – I don’t take any of those words personal. You’re right. Completely right.”
(Chai couldn’t help but to think she shouldn’t have said that. ‘Bad idea? Sorry? Truthful? What’s wrong with me? I hope I didn’t seed something vicious into him.’ – thought Chai)
Spi: “I’m so happy that you’ve got a happy ending. A lot of soulbinders I used to know… did not. You’re making your own choices, rather than being hired. Really, I’ll root for you in spirit.”
(Spi turns away and his back is towards Chai. He walks on forward with the sunlight beaming down on him. Chai just stares at him, thinking this might be the last time she sees him. She had no thoughts in her mind after that, just feels completely off about it. Jiji looked at Chai and Chai looked at Jiji. Chai looked at Spi’s back once again. She couldn’t help but to blurt it out.)
Chai: “SPI.”
(Spi stopped for a moment. He was just standing still there. Chai didn’t know what to make of it. She barely heard him weeping, but he didn’t turn around. She could hear his cracked voice.)
Spi: “Yes, Chai?”
Chai: “Woah woah! What’s wrong!!? Q~Q”
(She and Jiji quickly ran up to Spi. And Spi looked up into the sky and his voice was serenely quiet.)
Spi: “…I don’t know.”
Chai: “W-WE’RE GOING TO MISS YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!! Q~Q”
Spi: “XD Damn, I guess that’s it!”
(They hugged each other crying out loud and Spi’s puppy nose was leaking with snot and Chai was laughing and tearing at the same time. Jiji was meowing the whole time those two were being noisy as fuck. It was a bit until they were all happy with the fleeting moment.)
Spi: “You really did show me the true meaning of soulbinder. And Jiji. Shown me the true meaning of spark. No… not just that. The true meaning of who you two are. Chai and Jiji. That’s it.”
(Spi stood back and made a camera angle with his two hands, closing one eye and looking at the white haired Chai standing next to the black cat Jiji.)
Spi: “You two… together… always reminded me of my most favorite song. Black Cat and White Flower.”
(They smiled and laughed.)
-	It was time for Chai to come talk to Lady Maelstrom. She and Jiji quietly went in the room and Lady Maelstrom smiled knowing Chai and Jiji came in, while blindly staring into space. Mag was just lying on the bed with his eyes closed and hands behind his head, but he wasn’t asleep. The sunlight from the window was beaming into the room with intensity. Chai notices that there was a teapot and tea cups on the table.
Chai: “Tea ~ ! QwQ I haven’t tea in a while ~ ”
Lady Maelstrom: “Go ahead, Chai. Help yourself. I made it for you.”
Chai: “How did you knew I LOVE tea!? QwQ”
Lady Maelstrom: (shrugs) “I don’t. I took a stupid guess.”
Chai: “xD Someone said that to me once.”
(Chai got herself a cup of tea, and sat down on the bed in front of Lady Maelstrom. She held the tea cup on a small plate in her hands, waiting for it to cool down.)
Lady Maelstrom: “This sunlight is extremely bright. I can’t see it but I can definitely feel it.”
Chai: “Do you want me to blind the windows?”
Lady Maelstrom: “No… Please leave it.”
Chai: “Okay! ;w; So… I’ve made up my mind. Before, I didn’t know where I was going to go after leaving Spi’s faction… but you’ve gave me a clear vision of the future! xD”
Lady Maelstrom: “I’m glad. I didn’t mind any decision you would make or will make in the future, but I feel like we could relate to each other on a fundamental level. The fact that we have goals and interests aligning in the future… and that we both have the same motivation as soulbinders. We’re still open to many possibilities. I’m here to help you along the way, in secrecy.”
Chai: “I’m glad I’ve met you, Lady Maelstrom! 8D You’re one of a kind!”
Lady Maelstrom: “And I’m glad I’ve met you, Chai. You, yourself, have a lot of potential as a soulbinder and a good person. I always felt you had a lot of purity inside, ever since you first came into this room and saw me.”
Chai: “I once said I was a terrible soulbinder… why do you think I do have potential? ;w;”
Lady Maelstrom: “Even before I met you, Spi and Mag told me about you and that’s all I needed to hear.”
Chai: “Can you be a bit more indepth? =w= please?”
Lady Maelstrom: “I will. Most new soulbinders actually don’t know how to save people from soultwisting parasites and soultwisters themselves, just merely solve people’s feelings. But you solved one of the most dangerous case of soultwisting without having any background on it, and did not even get injured in the process. You’re the reason why I chose to be here myself, not anyone else from my faction. So I can see what you’re like in person.”
Chai: “Aaaaand were you satisfied once you met me? xD I made a lot of mistakes during when you were teaching me.”
Lady Maelstrom: “I didn’t expect you to be perfect.”
Chai: “I see I see ~ 8D Awesome! So I’m not a terrible soulbinder after all…! Lady Maelstrom… If I leave here… do you think I’ll be able to see Spi and others again?”
Lady Maelstrom: “I cannot answer that. I can’t see into the future. If you want to visit him, then that’s your decision. It wouldn’t hurt to come back and say hi.”
Chai: “Oh boy owo’ We kind of cried over it like we would never see each other again, now realizing this… it seems so silly xD”
Lady Maelstrom: “That doesn’t make it meaningless.”
Chai: “xD I also forgot we live in the era of the internet.”
Lady Maelstrom: “My point still stands, Chai. There’s nothing wrong with these kind of moments. It’s just precious to us. That’s all there is to it. People like Spi are always risking their life, he may need that memory in times of his struggle. You may never know.”
Chai: “qwq Yeah, you’re right! Every moment is precious.”
Lady Maelstrom: “I’m really hopeful to live through what will happen in the future though. It’s very rare that I get to connect with someone new. Personally over many years, I’ve changed appearances, dyed and grown out my hair, wore different clothes to prevent people from knowing who I really am, but people still notice me like I stick out like a sore thumb. I try to change identities all of the time.”
Chai: “o.o Yeah, you’re not an easy person to ignore. Is Lady Maelstrom your real name? I won’t tell anyone else, I promise!”
Lady Maelstrom: “It’s one of my main titles that people who are in touch with my faction call me. Sadly, I’m always using something like a cane because my blindness inhibits me from not using it. If people see me with a cane, they know that I’m someone different.”
Chai: “Do you have any regrets from soulbinding? Is your eye problem the biggest one…? ;x;”
Lady Maelstrom: “Of course I do. My blindness being my biggest regret…? No, it’s not. Regrets get old overtime. Especially when something new happens.”
Chai: “owo’ So what do you hope for since you have me now?”
Lady Maelstrom: “A new beginning.”
(Chai then looks out at the window, seeing the glaring sunlight beaming through. Mag is snoring out loud, completely asleep even though the room is fucking bright. Jiji yawns quietly. Lady Maelstrom got her tea and starts sipping it. Chai then looks at her tea, believing it cooled down enough and takes a sip.)
Chai: “Q~Q This tea… it’s so… good ~ !”
Lady Maelstrom: “I’m glad you like it. I made it myself.”
Chai: “Please… tell me what kind of TEA THIS IS ~ ! QwQ”
Lady Maelstrom: “It’s a secret.”
Chai: “Nuuuuuuuuu ~ why do you have to be like that, Lady Maelstrom? ;x;”
Lady Maelstrom: “Okay. I’ll tell you what kind of tea it is. But keep it a secret. Okay?”
(Chai opens her green eyes widely and intensely, listening to what Lady Maelstrom would say… Jiji looked face up staring at Lady Maelstrom intently too.)
Lady Maelstrom: “It’s the kind of tea that can touch one’s spirit. ;)”
…
(The scene starts brightening up, casting everything in intense white light… Chai and Lady Maelstrom both start laughing out loud together and the laughter fades as the light continues to brighten...)

This is not the ending, but a new beginning…