Tidal Florette - A Painted Soul I

Kaiya - 34

The journey ahead through the cavernous cove has been quiet and calm. Inei has been restrained in the front of the row boat, hands bound together and a torn strip of his robe stuffed in his mouth after Kaiya couldn't tolerate his whining any longer. Kaiya looks down at the divine blade at her side and wonders all the possibilities that could come from a sword that could kill Sensei Jin with an arrow of light, shine to illuminate the dark void of this cavern, and command the high priest of the Ignited Temple to submit to her will. Could Michi be right? Is this enough that we could just take over the world together? It has to have limits, right? Saito would have abused its power to have his way with the world by now...

She then realizes he may have been doing that already. The relief she observed in Michi and Thyra with Saito subdued made it seem as though the two of them were completely different from the secretive handmaidens whispering with her in her cabin. If she just starts commanding the world to mold to her wishes, what would really separate her from the years Saito has spent violating women. Looking over at Michi, she nervously makes a choice in how to proceed. "I... I'm not sure I want to use the sword's power..."

Michi looks confused and anxious. "But... we can have whatever we want if you..."

"If I become just like him."

Michi looks at Saito, who strained to turn with surprise and listen in. Her face darkens as she seems to understand Kaiya's line of thinking. "I see... What do you think we'll do with it then?"

Thyra chimes in. "Toss wretched thing into the sea and watch this priest blubber like baby."

Kaiya laughs, "Entertaining though that could be, I'm still going to use it. I just want to be careful we don't abuse it and put us in more danger... Or make us like him..."

Michi scoffs, "You don't have any need to use it the way he did..."

"You're right, we're going to make sure no one uses it like that again. But that's not what I mean. We can't just sail back to the mainland and wave this around until every single citizen is under our control."

Michi shifts nervously in her seat. "I guess that's true... so what are we going to do? The temple will kill us for what we did today."

Thyra grumbles under her breath. "This why we chop priest to teeny tiny pieces to give to fish ladies. Can't tell council anything if he is gone for good."

Inei whines in protest, muffled by the cloth gag, but quickly silenced with a light kick from Kaiya's boot. "He won't be telling them anything. We're going to earn our place in this world and it won't be by making them submit to this sword. They'd figure out what we were doing and overwhelm us before we had any chance... I won't lead us into getting killed and everything going back to how things have always been with this asshole in charge."

Michi's anxiety seems to be fading with a sparkle of hope in her eyes. "So... do you have a plan?"

Kaiya motions towards Inei. "We use the blade to make him our puppet. He can tell us what the plan was here and use that to our advantage. He won't be a threat to us if we rewrite his mind to our purposes. Then... hopefully we never have to use it on anyone else again."

Thyra laughs. "This is good plan, we could have much fun with this."

Kaiya smiles and reaches back to place her hand calmly on Thyra's leg. "We're going to make sure he pays for what he did, I promise you. Let's figure out if the sword has limits before we get too carried away." She looks back at Inei and takes hold of the sword, the gem in the hilt ignites as she speaks. "You will be honest with us."

His eyes flash with the blades crimson and a surrendered shame deflates his composure. Kaiya takes a breath and then asks. "Is there a limit to the commands you can place on someone?"