Irwin's Journey 432: I can sense you!

"Good, good. No pain is good," Ambraz said. "Now, as we continue, the distance and time dilation will increase."

Irwin didn't answer, thinking back to the long discussions they had over the last few hours.

How we didn't think about just trying it here first… he thought, shaking his head.

It was a good thing Daubutim had eventually decided on an experiment and suggested a few approaches. Not that that was the end of the conversation. After that, they discussed what to do if things went wrong. In this case, Greldo stood next to the exit portal, ready to jump in if Irwin woke his other body and began shouting.

Hours passed, and as they did, his sense of his other body became increasingly fuzzy. When they finally reached the end, it felt faint and distant.

"Alright, I'll go back," Greldo said. "Get ready!"

Irwin nodded, feeling Greldo jump into his soulscape beside one of Coal's shadow clones. The hound was still lying quietly on the floor of his smithy, showing no issues so far. 

He watched the end of the drop approach and blinked as he hit. The next moment, he stood in the heavily guarded and fortified room back on Eluathar, taking two steps forward and waiting. 

His other body felt no different from the moment just before he hit it, which he knew would make Daubutim happy. According to Daubutim, that would mean the distance between the end of the portal and the world was very close, and the portal was merely a door to get into the world. 

"Cardsmith Irwin?"

Irwin glanced at a guard looking at him and waved him off. "I'm fine. I'll explain later."

The guard hesitantly nodded but stayed back.

Irwin focused on his giantself, sensing it starting to talk with Ambraz, quickly explaining everything seemed alright.

Good, now let's see if this works, Irwin thought.

He took a few steps to the side and sat down. The guards muttered but didn't react as he closed his eyes and focused on his body within Greldo's shadowrealm. As he focused on it, he felt an immediate drain on his soulforce, like it was leaking away or stretching over an incredibly vast distance. The sensation lasted for only a second; then, he was in a dark, shadowy room. 

His mind felt… split. More so than in any other situation, and it wasn't his latest card that did it. The feeling came from his second soulcard, his Ethereal Nascent Soul Clone. Unlike every time before, where his thoughts and memories were added simultaneously to what he thought of as his single true mind, the place where they all came together, his memories still moved like that. Those from his other Soul Clone felt slow as if someone was deliberately talking in slow motion.

He hesitated, then moved into his soulscape. The sensation instantly faded, but the drain on his soulforce increased for a moment, going from a trickle to a steady stream before fading entirely. Even the higher stream hadn't been troublesome, still less than his soulforce generation gave him, but what had caused it? The trickle is probably from the distance or the time dilation, but what about the sudden increase?

"Everything alright on that end?" Ambraz asked. 

"Yes," Irwin said as both his selves connected back in sync. 

From his other soul's point of view, things had been the other way around. It had felt as if information was rapidly being shoved into wherever his shared mind or memory was. Still, from this end, the drain on his soulforce had felt the same.

"Alright, so far, everything is fine," he said. "I'm going back into that body and see what happens if I start moving around and acting."

He stepped out, letting Ambraz speak with his otherself.

Back in the dark room, the fuzzy and distant sensation returned, together with the drain on his soulforce. When nothing else happened, he used his one arm to push himself upright, hearing a sigh of relief from the side.

"So, it's working?" Greldo asked, standing beside the bed.

"Yes, but it seems to drain soulforce," Irwin said as he got up and began walking around. "Also, having memories from two different time dilations feels… really weird."

"Bad weird?" Greldo asked worriedly.

"No," Irwin said. "Alright, take me outside so I can talk with Daubutim.

The world around him blurred for a moment; then he felt himself being moved through the shadows to reappear within the portal room he'd been in hours ago.

"Alright, this is definitely interesting," he said, looking at the portal. 

He sensed how his otherself very slowly took control over the other small body. A sense of wonder came to him as his one-armed body stared at one end and his other body at the other.

"You are right," he said, turning to Daubutim, who had been watching from a short distance. "There was no difference between the  moment I reached the end of the portal and when I went through that portal."

"Good. That means that wherever our worlds really are, the corridor that connects the two exit portals is the thing that bridges the distance, and the portals just allow us to go from one space to the other," Daubutim said, walking closer. "How is the sensation?"

"Weird," Irwin said, repeating what he'd told Greldo. "It feels like part of my memories are being added in slow motion, while to my otherself, it feels like the memories are coming in too fast."

Daubutim nodded, his lightning eyes crackling for a few moments as he likely rapidly thought over the issue.

"Alright, now let's try a few things," the tall noble said, bringing him a leather bag. "What happens if you move that into your soulscape?"

Irwin took the leather bag and pulled it into his soulscape. As soon as he did, the soulforce trickle grew to a stream that exceeded his soulforce generation. It only lasted for a moment, as the object appeared in his otherself's hand, who then moved it to the body on Eluathar, causing another stream of soulforce from leaking away.

-- Eluathar Soulclone --

Okay, that's not good, Irwin thought, looking at the small bag. 

If moving anything into his soulscape would cost soulforce from now on, that meant he was going to have to be far more careful. With a frown, he returned the bag to his soulscape, another stream of soulforce draining away.

-- Portal Gallery Soulclone --

"It costs soulforce to move something from here to my soulscape and again to move it from my soulscape back into the world," Irwin said, looking at Daubutim.

"That sadly makes sense," his friend said, nodding slowly. "It also increases the likelihood that one of my theories is correct."

"Which is?" Greldo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I think our soulscapes are within the same realm as where we go when we enter those,"  Daubutim said, pointing at the exit portal. "Somewhere in between the portal gallery and the worlds."

Irwin and Greldo shared a glance before turning to their friend.

"Why does that make sense?" Irwin asked.

"Before I answer that, what happens if you move your soulclone into your soulscape? Does the drain remain, or does it vanish?"

"It seems to vanish," Irwin said. 

"From both ends?"

Irwin blinked, then sensed how his otherself slowly reacted and reappeared inside his soulscape, leaving his other body behind. The drain instantly dissipated, but that wasn't all. The odd sense of his mind running at different times vanished. 

"It's gone," he said. "And the fuzzy, slowing sensation is gone."

"Alright, one more question," Daubutim said. "If you move that bag from your soulscape here now, how is the drain?"

Irwin did as asked, and a faint idea of what Daubutim was getting at grew.  

"Still there," he said, curious if he was right.

"Alright, this is a bit hard to explain, but if moving something costs an equal amount of soulforce based on the distance between your bodies, that means your soulscape has to be connected to your bodies, and it is now in between where your bodies are," Daubutim said, as he moved to the table and grabbed two cups and the water carafe. 

"Look at it like this," he said, moving the two cups near the carafe. "This is how it usually is. Your soulscape is the carafe, and the cups are your bodies. They are close, so there is no issue if you pour the water into one of the other. However-" Daubutim moved one cup away, and as he did, he also moved the carafe, keeping it exactly in the middle between the two cups. "-as one of your bodies moves further away, it costs more effort to pour the water in either as the distance between each increases."

"Wait, you mean Irwin's soulscape is somewhere in between his two bodies now?" Greldo asked, his eyes widening. 

"Yes," Daubutim said with a nod. "We all know there's something outside our soulscapes. Sometimes, you also see things moving there, right?"

Irwin hummed thoughtfully. He vividly recalled the first time he'd gone into his soulscape when the barrier hadn't been fuzzy, but he could see through it clearly to see the primordial chaos beyond. There had been clouds of chaotic soulforce, just like there were beyond the Portal Gallery barriers.

But there wasn't any storm outside our soulscapes back when the storm was there, he thought.

"What about the time dilation thing he talked about?" Greldo asked.

"I think my soulscape has its own time dilation," Irwin said before Daubutim could. "It's probably moving at its own speed, and when one of my selves is outside, the other inside, it moves at that speed, which makes it feel synchronized. When both are outside, they have to adhere to whatever time dilation the body is in."

"Exactly," Daubutim said, his eyes gleaming. "And if that is true, we really have to get your body into Scour. At least for a short while."

"What? Why?" Greldo grunted, seeming highly confused.

"Because it means that I could have one of my selves inside my soulscape and the other on scour, and both would experience the time dilation," Irwin whispered, feeling a shiver run through him as he turned to Daubutim. "If the drain is based on range, I won't be able to move anything into my soulscape until my body returns here, but… if it's because of the time dilation, I would only be limited for as long as this body is on Scour."

"Yes, and if that is true, you can move people to Scour's portal harbor," Daubutim said, rising and looking back. "If this works, we need to prepare. We need to gather as many people who are willing to move to Scour to use that time dilation to train, become stronger,r and have children."

"And how do we move them back?" Greldo asked. "Even if it's just the time dilation that causes the drain, as you said, will Irwin be able to move, what… thousands? Hundreds of thousands of people back here? And where would they live? There are not enough houses."

Daubutim nodded as he began pacing. "Yes, but those are problems we can plan for. If we have to, Irwin can move them into his soulscape, one group at a time, and you can bring them back. We can start building houses right away. Better would be if they build Portal Gallery ships on Scour, and some have soulscapes large enough to hold those. That way, they can fly here, and we will have a vastly larger fleet."

"There is one problem," Irwin said, causing his friend to stop and look at him. "If they have lived on Scour for generations, why would they want to return here? Would they not see Scour as their homeworld?"

Daubutim's face went slack, his eyes turning to swirling pools of lightning. 

It took almost a minute before he shivered and looked back at Irwin.

"There are a few things we can do, but even then, it might be a risk we will have to accept," he said. "In the best case, it might be tens of years before the Guidar find us here. In the first worst case, they could be here tomorrow. That means we need to try everything we can."

He's right, Irwin thought, as he glanced at his hands. Like many years ago, he was once again limited by time. Time to learn to prepare for the Guidar. And like many years ago, Scour again seemed the best option.

Irwin shared a look with Greldo, who rolled his eyes.

"Great, so, am I still going to Mudball and Granvox, or…?"

"You are," Daubutim said calmly, turning to Irwin. "Can you put one of the ships in your soulscape? You might have to return here on your own."

"I can try," Irwin said, wondering how much soulforce that would cost.

“Good,” Daubutim said, turning to Greldo. "As soon as he is done, you can go whenever you are ready. Head straight for Scour. As soon as you are there, we will have to see how things go."

Greldo stared at Daubutim before walking forward, hand outstretched. Daubutim didn't hesitate to grab it, though he looked curious.

"I'll see you when I'm back," Greldo said. "Keep this place safe, alright? I would like to have a very long, very quiet rest after this."

"I will," Daubutim said. "Stay safe."

Greldo nodded and walked to the exit, leaving Irwin and Daubutim there.

"I'll see you on the other side," Daubutim said with a nod before walking to the portal and stepping through.

Yeah, see you on the other side, Irwin thought as he turned and ran after Greldo.

-- Portal Gallery --

Irwin quietly watched Eluathar Harbor vanishing in the distance as the Nocturna flew away. Greldo stood behind the helm, explaining steering a ship to a curious Koudi. The older woman had shown interest in learning how to as soon as they had boarded.

"Still feeling alright?" Dahlia asked from beside him.

"Same as before," he replied. "I think the distance isn't enough to be noticeable."

"I was going to talk to you before," Dahlia said, drawing his attention. "You should probably not slot any cards while you are not in the same time dilation. There's no saying what that might do."

"Ambraz said the same thing," Irwin said, and as he did, he felt odd. On the one hand, Ambraz was far away, on Eluathar together with his other self, heading home to have Silv'am and Zannia meet. At the same time, he felt close as he could still sense his bond through their connection.

Well, at least I'll be able to communicate for a while yet, he thought.

"I'm going to ask Greldo to put me in his shadow realm," he said. "If my connection breaks due to distance or something else happens, it will be the best place to be."

Besides, if we need to use the emergency measures, that will give him the ability to actually do that, he thought, feeling a slight worry at the prospect of having his body destroyed in case of absolute emergency.

"Alright, sleep well," Dahlia said. "Maybe when you wake up, your arm will be back."

Irwin grinned as he walked away.

-- Eluathar --

Irwin felt his otherself return to his soulscape, the constant barrage of information finally stopping.

"Greldo pulled them into the shadowrealm," he said, walking through Portal Keep.

"Good," Ambraz said. "That means we have somewhere between two months and three months of relative quiet."

Sure, Irwin thought. I just have to reforge cards for the Yuurindi that will change them into a sub-species, prepare for either my body needing to be destroyed or living on Scour for who knows how long.

More things he had to do floated through his mind, and as they did, he felt a tiny flare of anger at the Guidar. Why couldn't they just leave the Galadin alone? Leave everyone alone?

"Kid, don't get so worked up," Ambraz grunted. "We have time, and those Guidar have no idea who they are messing with. They might have a million times more people and who knows how many ships, but none of those truly want to work for them. Besides freeing some to add to our own defense, we have the best Cardsmith and Ganvil duo in the entire Portal Gallery."

Irwin snorted while he heard Silv'am laugh from his other shoulder.

"Progenitor, Zan and I haven't even met yet. We might not be as good as you are saying," she said, her voice bubbling with barely contained hilarity.

"Nice try, brat," Ambraz snapped. "Unless we move you two to a time-dilation-heavy world, you are going to have to find your own world-shattering enemy to conquer sometime in the future. This one's ours."

"Yes, Progenitor," Silv'am replied in such a tone that it was clear she doubted it, or atleast made it sound like she did.

"Ugh, children are all brats," Ambraz grunted.

Irwin grinned as he listened to their banter for a while. When he reached the square outside, he saw Clarish's familiar face waiting.

"Ah, there you are," the teleporter said, walking to him. "Let's get you to New Malorin quickly. I've got a ton of people that need to be moved to the new worlds."

"Then thank you for taking the time," Irwin said.

"No problem. You can pay me back by getting me more teleporter cards for the Teleporter Guild."

"I'll see what I can do," Irwin said just as the world turned into a swirling mist.

A moment later, he reappeared on the main square of New Mallorin, a bustling place with market stalls and a milling mass of people. He'd not realized it before, but it was early morning. The familiar shouts from merchants and the constant cacophony of chatter made him stand still and look around.

People moved around, most roughly normal, though he saw more than a few people with oddities, fur or scales, eyes that glowed from within, or had odd pupils. The influence of the Volcano Academy was already showing as a larger-than-average number of cards was starting to spread.

A young mother with hair that left a trail of mist ushered two dark-haired boys forward while a slightly older girl followed, her nose in a book. 

Two elderly men with graying hair carried thick wooden beams over their shoulders, calling out for people to get out of the way, showing little effort as they moved what was to be a few hundred pounds.

A scattering of tables stood to the side, people sitting there, drinking and chatting, while a pale-skirted, fiery-haired Ignitzan brought around filled glasses, laughing with the customers.

Irwin recognized her faintly as one of those who had come with Scintilla. Curious, he scanned her cards, finding an interesting one that seemed to give her the ability to cover herself in a thin veil of heat that she pulled from the surrounding air.

Slowly, a sense of normalcy returned to him. 

"You alright?"

Irwin turned to see a worried Clarish examining him closely.

"Fine, just realizing why I'm doing the things I do," he said.

"You should get out more," Clarish replied, shaking her head. "You were back for months and just stayed cooped up in the Academy."

"Yes. I will. Now, did you want to say hi to everyone, or-"

"No, I've gotta head out," Clarish said. "I would have brought you closer, but this was easier and faster."

"It's fine," Irwin said, waving at her as he saw her gather a mass of soulforce, a blue glow gathering around her feet with trickles of smoke rising up.

"Good. I'll come and see you in a few months," Clarish said before vanishing in a ten-foot column of smoke that lingered for a moment before being blown away by the cool morning breeze.

Irwin breathed in the clear air, ignoring a few curious glances and some chatter of people who had recognized him. 

The snow will be here in a month, he thought as he walked along the square, glancing at the stalls.

He picked up a smattering of conversations from the people, a few rumors about the war outside, but mainly about some new portal that had been found, and talks about how the Yuurindi would be leaving for an adjacent world. The general sense he got was that people were curious and happy.

He lost a few minutes as he picked up some fresh Charred Tubers, a local finger-sized vegetable that tasted like slightly burned flesh and was his children's favorite.

When he walked onto the quiet road towards his house, he saw three figures running along the side of a roof, their happy cries as they chased each other echoing from the walls. Their red hair would have been enough, but an annoyed voice came from a roof behind them.

"Soot, that's cheating!"

"Not! You said, when you say go and go is in that sentence, so I went!"

Irwin grinned as he saw his cheeky son at the front, closely followed by Mia and Flux. A moment later, Glow came into view, swinging his body sideways along the wall, making a cartwheel on the ground as he landed before, rushing after the other three.

Irwin shoved the Charred Tubers into his soulscape and grinned as he snapped his fingers, flickering across the sound waves.

He reappeared right in the path of Soot, Mia, and Flux, arms spread out, making sure they would have plenty of time to react.

"Boo!"

There was a set of startled cries, then three sets of happy screams of the same word.

"Dad!"

A moment later, three tiny projectiles slammed into his arms, using them to swing around and climb onto his shoulder. Arms wrapped around his neck as happy voices cried too close to his ears.

"You're back!" Glow shouted, slamming into him and joining his siblings.

Irwin grinned as he tried hugging them back without hurting them. 

"Is everything alright?"

"Did we win?"

"What happened to Uncle Greldo?"

"Wait! Who's that!"

The excited shouting dimmed as they all looked at the top of Irwin's head. Ambraz and Silv'am had moved there as he was ganged and were now quietly watching.

"Uncle Ambraz!"

The children began chattering excitedly, raining questions on him.

"Is that your girlfriend?"

"That might not be a girl!"

"Why not? She's silver!"

"Quiet, quiet," Ambraz shouted. "No, this isn't my girlfriend, she's my… well, you can just say daughter, but it's way more complicated than that."

Irwin saw Mia's frown deepen from the corner of his eyes; one arm still wrapped around him.

"Wait, if she's your daughter, who's her heatmom?"

"She doesn't have one," Ambraz said.

"Irwin," Silv'am said at the same time.

"What?!" the tiny Ignitzians shouted, and for the next minute, Irwin couldn't get a single word in as they continued asking questions. 

When he finally got them to quiet down, he grinned.

"Ambraz made her from his purified soulforce," he said. "But technically, she was made inside my soulscape, so…"

"Boooo," Soot said, shaking his head. "That's not a mother."

Flux nodded, seeming to fully agree.

"I'll explain how small Ganvils are made later," Ambraz snapped, sounding exasperated. "Now, let's go and find Zan."

"Wait… is she going to bond with Zannia?" Mia asked, her eyes widening. 

"Well, if you are quiet and tell me where she is, we can find out," Irwin said.

"She's with Mom and Ti, cooking something with Grandmother!"

Irwin grinned as he held his children, clicked his tongue, and moved them with him through the sound waves. As they reappeared on the street, Mia made a gagging noise.

"I don't like that movement," she grunted, but she didn't let him go.

"Dad, are you staying?"

"Yes, Flux, I'll be staying for a while, though. Can you keep a secret?"

All of his children went quiet in a heartbeat, staring at him with gleaming eyes.

"I'm also currently traveling through the Portal Gallery with Greldo," Irwin whispered, widening his eyes.

There was a moment of confused quiet, and then Soot's eyes widened.

"Did you leave your giant body with Uncle Greldo?"

"Close," Irwin said, somewhat impressed at how fast his most rebellious child had gotten to the heart of the matter. "I left another body with him."

"You can make more bodies now?" Glow and Mia asked at the same time before glaring at each other.

"One extra of each," Irwin said. "I left the one which lost an arm with Greldo."

"Lost an arm?"

"How?"

"Tell us!"

Irwin grinned as he walked to the door of his house, finding it was unlocked and pulling it open.

"I'll tell that story if you are quiet while I talk with your mother, alright?"

A chorus of agreement followed as he walked through the spacious, high-ceilinged hallway. The entire house was made with his height and size in mind, as were the door openings. He was almost at the kitchen door when it was pushed open, and his mother walked out.

As soon as she saw him, she smiled widely.

"I was wondering when you would return," she said, walking forward and giving him a quick hug. "We are still preparing the meal for tonight. I'll add enough for you and a party."

"Party!" Soot shouted, raising his arms.

Rapid running feet came from the kitchen, and a moment later, two other small Igntizians shouted 'Dad' before they ran to his legs and climbed up, trying to find a spot to hug him.

Zan was the last up, and she'd barely hugged him when she froze, her eyes locked on the top of his head.

"... I can sense you…" she whispered.

"Hold that thought," Irwin said as he walked into the kitchen where Scintilla was stirring a massive pot, looking back at him.

"Hotstuff!" 

Her shout was almost as excited as those of the kids, and she quickly gave the ladle to Irwin's mother, racing over.

With the final part of his family wrapping around his chest, Irwin closed his eyes for a moment, relishing in the moment. Then he felt something poke his cheek. Looking to the side, he saw Zannia stare at him, eyes wide and almost begging.

"Right," Irwin said as he half-carried everyone to the kitchen table. "Remember our deal. Sit and wait quietly."

Four of his children slid down and dashed to their chairs, quickly followed by Ti, who was always quick on the update. 

Left with a curious Scintilla, Irwin shook his head slightly. Ambraz got the hint and flitted off, followed by a much more reluctant Silv'am. The two landed on the table, Zan rushing after them. She placed her hands on the table, leaned her chin on them, and kept her gaze glued to Silv'am.

"Scin, this is Silv'am," Irwin said, glancing at Scintilla. "She is a progeny of Ambraz, his first, and-"

"She's going to bond with Zan!" Mia shouted.

Irwin rolled his eyes before staring at his daughter, who quietly deflated.

"Really?" Zan asked softly, her eyes gleaming with a deep light. "Is that why I can sense you?"

"I think so… I can sense you too," Silv'am said.

"That's normal," Ambraz grunted. "I made you while thinking about Zannia, and because she's still very close to Irwin's soulforce resonance and I have her resonance memorized, the connection should be fairly strong."

Could have warned me, Irwin thought, before looking at Scintilla to see how she would react.

He didn't expect her to have a problem with it, and she didn't disappoint him.

"Well, I guess that means we have more than one reason for a party tonight," she said, leaning into Irwin's arm. "So, how do they bond?"

"That's easy," Silv'am said, sounding incredibly excited. "We just have to reforge cards!"

"She's right," Irwin said, while Ambraz grunted in agreement. "So, how about you show me how much you have improved?"

Zan's smile widened so far he feared she would pull a muscle, but that was nothing compared to the glowing joy she showed when Silv'am flew up and landed on her head. Her eyes rolled up to follow the little Ganvil, and for a moment, Irwin feared she was going to fall unconscious from joy.

Then Zan turned to him, eyes filled with joy and a somewhat surprising resolve.

"Let's go!"

She turned and ran out of the kitchen, followed by a shout from Irwin's mother.

"No running in the house!"