my blade arm met the lioness’s sword, sparks rising as we exchanged several blows. with my strength back, i was able to more than keep my own. i still suffered from some of the problems i had always suffered from though. i had always learned to fight with quick and vicious attacks, while alysia typically delivered slow and brutal attacks. alysia and i had fought alongside each other for a bit now, and we were slowly learning to match each other’s fighting style. i had thought that soul merging would close the gap between these differences, but rather it seemed to only magnify them.


    while soul bonded, i possessed the knowledge of her fighting forms and skills. this wasn’t like just the general advantage of my status combined with hers, but something entirely different. it was a blending of ourselves, creating something new. unfortunately, what she had didn’t quite match my style, and i frequently found them at ends with what i wanted to do. when i tried to pull one, i didn’t feel quite like i grasped it. it was like i could read the words, but i was dyslexic and kept mixing them up. as a result, i felt somewhat stiff with my movements.


    it was only for this reason that i wasn’t able to defeat the lioness quickly. i was shocked by my power increase joining with alysia. it was clear that we were more than the sum of the parts. by blending, our power created an additive effect that pushed the lioness back again and again. where was alysia’s consciousness? it seemed to have gone dormant, or perhaps it was better to say it was intricately interwoven throughout my thoughts. that was some of the reason i was stiff, as her thoughts would try to move my body in ways i wasn’t used to moving.


    i struck out, but the slugginess hit me like a meteorite. before i could even realize what was happening, i was flying back. i slammed into the ground a fair distance away, nearly returning to where i had started.


    “master!” i heard one of the girls cry, but they all became too consumed to do anything more.


    i heard the clatter of a sword, and i looked to the side to see my sword arm land a distance away. it wasn’t just my sword arm... it was my sword. she had cut off my arm, and alysia along with it!