Balance.
That was what Quies felt every time he entered Valerie's illusory realm.
Yet, everything felt… inverted.
Rather than peace, calm, and tranquility, the endless white expanse of Valerie's was imposing. It shrouded the sky with its impenetrable veil, yet only a soft glow radiated down.
The mirrorless black void beneath held a contrasting respite to the eerie white sky. Quies felt like he could take comfort in its simplicity.
It was like going from a scalding hot bath of water to jumping into a pile of snow.
He opened his eyes to the usual view of Valerie's domain.
"Agh, I think I gave this guy too high of a dose."
He turned to face Valerie. Now, it wasn't only him and Valerie in this realm, but also a random Etrean guard.
'How many people can she drag in here?'
Looking down at the guard, Valerie nudged him slightly with the tip of her shoe.
"Yep."
She sighed.
"He'll be up in a couple of minutes. Could you help me with something, Quies? Wait, actually, let me restrain this guy real quick."
"Uhh…"
Quies nodded his head slowly. He watched as Valerie manifested a pair of arm restraints and buckled them around the captor's wrists. It was weird to watch someone just… move around a limp body like that. He felt uneasy.
"Alright, ready?"
"Sure."
Valerie double checked to make sure the restraints were on properly, and stood up from her kneeled position. Walking towards Quies, she began to detail what she wanted him to do.
"This is, a bit experimental, but it's going to make the process much easier."
Her steps were even and calculated.
"You know how I can just, make stuff appear out of thin air?"
"Yeah, I just saw you do it."
"Well… I'm going to see if you can do it too. So, let me ask you a question, Quies."
Quies took a half step back, Valerie approached Quies, a little closer than arm's reach.
"Want to make a temporary Vow of Allegiance?"
"What's that?"
Quies stared at Valerie, waiting for an answer. However, she gave none. He hesitated and didn't answer, not knowing what this 'vow' would invoke.
"..."
"..."
Both didn't speak, but Valerie seemed to be gesturing to Quies to make a decision rather urgently. She gestured her hands in a spinning motion, and glaring him down.
"...sure."
Immediately after his response, Valerie let out a breath which she hadn't realized she had been holding. She gathered herself, and the-
Slap
"OW!"
The palm of her hand contacted Quies' cheek. The sound crackled across her domain.
Face screwed sideways, Quies covered the area of contact immediately.
"Why the depths did you make me wait that long?!"
"Maybe because I didn't know what a vow of allegiance does?!"
"Do you lack sentence comprehension? Because the word 'allegiance' clearly has a positive connotation!"
"Hah! I don't even know what a connotation is!"
Valerie groaned from Quies' lack of vocabulary. Recovering from the slap, he turned his head back towards Valerie, still holding onto the spot where she slapped him.
It stung like a thousand raging wasps. As the initial pain and shock resided, a duller, yet equally as painful sensation spread from it. If he could look at himself in the mirror right now, the entire left side of his face would be searing hot red. Using blood enhancement, he focused on that area hoping to lower the pain.
"Owh…"
Valerie sighed.
"Well, good news, it's working."
"What's working?"
"Oh. Ahh… umm… like, try to think of something already in your hand. You know, like a stick or something."
Quies was still mad that she slapped him across the face for a rather stupid reason, but he still followed her directions.
He closed his eyes and focused his mental presence on his hand. He imagined the particles of air flowing in between his fingertips, catching onto its grooves and edges. Then, he thought of what it felt like to hold a stick. The rough sensation of its bark, some parts being slightly sharp. Those parts jutted out and slightly pushed into his soft palms.
He opened his eyes and looked down.
There, a stick around the length of his forearm had suddenly appeared. Taken aback and slightly shocked, he recoiled slightly.
'Oh my… that is cool!'
He looked back at Valerie, who had a face that expressed success and pride.
"Okay, okay, it works. Great!"
Looking back down, he played with the stick as he listened to Valerie mumble to herself. He spun it around and tossed it from hand to hand. He contemplated just chucking it as far as he could, but that would be unwise.
'Well, I could just… generate another stick.'
However, he could let his thoughts wander for much longer.
"Ah crap, its wearing off already?"
Valerie was facing the subject which she had captured earlier. Moments before, he had laid on the pitch black ground, unmoving.
Now, however, he began to stir.