He had established that small fragments weren't enough. James needed to test full affinity separation, a complete magical signature temporarily removed and stored. The difference between moving a cup of water and draining a lake.
Which brought him to his current problem: he needed a test subject.
"Absolutely not," Miranda said when he explained his plan. "You are not grabbing some rando off the street to use as a test subject."
"I need a controlled test environment with a subject I can monitor. Someone whose soul I can examine, separate, and reintegrate without permanent consequences," James insisted.
"Where are we getting a test subject? It's not like we can put up a sign: 'Wanted: Person willing to have soul temporarily removed by eight-year-old.'"
"Ten," James corrected. "I'm ten now."
"Whatever."
James then grabbed his note and showed it to her. "I've been tracking someone. Three someones, actually. Remember the factory district? Two years ago?"
Miranda's expression shifted. "The vagrants with the knife? Yeah, scary times."
"Yes, them. I memorized their faces. Stored them in perfect detail." James tapped his temple. "Been tracking them telepathically ever since. Passive monitoring, nothing active. Just... keeping tabs on their locations."
"For two years."
"They laughed at me."
"I laugh at you the time." Miranda crossed her arms. "So what, you're going to kidnap one of them?"
"Kidnap is such an ugly word. I prefer 'involuntary recruitment for scientific testing.'" James pulled out a map of Blüthaven with three locations marked. "They're still in the area. One of them, the one with the knife, frequents the tavern district most evenings. Drinks himself unconscious regularly. Very convenient for us."
"This is insane."
"This is necessary. I need to test full soul separation on a living subject before attempting it on myself. These men threatened you, threatened us, and deserve significantly worse than a few minutes of temporary discomfort." James met her eyes. "Besides, you've made it clear that we can't grab some rando off the street. At least these three earned their participation."
Miranda was quiet for a long moment. "You've really been tracking them for two years? Just... waiting?"
"Did they think I would simply forget? That there wouldn't be consequences? I never forget, Miranda. Ever."
—he's serious, this is the part of him that scares me a little—
James rolled up his map. "I'm doing it this Sunday evening. You can help or not, but I'm doing it regardless."
---
Sunday evening. The mill.
James arrived first, having already acquired their test subject. The man lay unconscious in the corner, teleported from a tavern alley, still reeking of cheap alcohol.
Miranda arrived minutes later, saw the unconscious vagrant, and stopped in the doorway. "You actually did it."
"I said I would." James was setting up the Soul Splitter in the center of the mill, arranging components with precise care. "Help me position him in the activation circle."
They dragged the man. He was heavier than expected, a dead weight of intoxication. With their small hands, they pulled him into the copper wire circle where James bound his hands and feet with rope, more to prevent flailing than actual restraint. If this went wrong and the man woke up aggressive, James could teleport them both away instantly.
The vagrant stirred as they finished positioning him. He groaned and opened his bloodshot eyes.
"Wha... where..." He blinked, trying to focus. Saw James and Miranda. His expression shifted from confusion to vague recognition to sudden, clear fear. "Wait. Wait, you're—you're that kid. From the factory. Two years ago."
"Good memory," James said coldly. "Better late than never."
"Look, I'm sorry, alright? We didn't hurt nobody. Just trying to scare her off. Didn't mean nothing by it." The man tried to sit up, found himself bound and began struggling. "What is this? What are you doing?"
"Science," James said.
"You can't—this is illegal! I'll report you! I'll—"
"To whom?" James asked, genuinely curious. "The territorial guard? 'Hello officers, an eight-year-old child kidnapped me for mysterious purposes.' Do you understand how that sounds?"
"Ten," Miranda corrected quietly. "He's ten now," she said innocently to the tied up man who definitely didn't give a shit about their age.
"Thank you Miranda." James turned back to the vagrant. "No one will believe you. No one will care. You're a drunk vagrant with a history of threatening children. I'm a gifted student from a respectable family. Who do you think they'll listen to?"
The man's struggling intensified. "Please. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. Whatever you're planning, just—"
"Just what? You chose to threaten her on that day for no reason except opportunity and perceived weakness." James stood, brushing dust from his clothes. "To threaten my partner is to threaten me. And to threaten me is to threaten yourself."
"I said I'm sorry!"
"I know. I don't care." James activated the Soul Splitter.
The device hummed to life, crystals beginning to glow with stored mana. The copper wire circles pulsed with energy. The vagrant's eyes went wide with terror as he felt something pulling at his chest.
"What is that?! What's happening?!"
"Soul separation," James said clinically, monitoring the device's readings. "Temporary removal of your magical signature... or in your case, your essential life force since you have no affinity. Don't worry. Probably won't kill you. Ninety percent sure."
"Ninety?!"
"Eighty-five."
The man screamed as the device pulled harder. James watched the primary crystal begin to glow brighter, it was working. The soul fragment was transferring, leaving the body, entering storage.
Five seconds.Ten. Fifteen.
The vagrant went silent, eyes rolling back. He wasn't dead, James could sense his life force still present, just... separated. His soul temporarily housed in the crystal array while his body remained alive but empty.
"It's working," James took a deep breath. "Miranda, look. Complete separation. Storage is stable. He's still breathing, heartbeat steady. The body survives without the soul present."
Miranda looked like she might be sick. "James, this is—"
"Revolutionary. Unprecedented. Proof that consciousness and biology can be temporarily decoupled." James let the separation hold for thirty seconds, monitoring every metric. Then he reversed the process.
The soul fragment flowed back into the vagrant's body. The man gasped, eyes snapping open, gulping air like he'd been drowning.
"What—what did you—I felt—" He couldn't form coherent words, just stared at James with absolute terror.
"Successful test," James noted, making mental calculations. "Subject survived. No apparent permanent damage. Reintegration clean. This confirms the device works on full souls, not just mana fragments."
"Please," the vagrant whispered. "Please just let me go. I won't tell nobody. I swear. I'll leave town. You'll never see me again."
"Oh, I know I won't see you again," James said. He placed his hands on either side of the man's head. "Because you won't remember seeing me."
"What are you—"
James pushed into the man's mind with telepathy, and he did so with the blunt force of someone who'd been practicing mind-reading for two years but never formal memory manipulation.
This meant that it hurt both of them. The vagrant screamed. James gritted his teeth and kept pushing, finding the memories—the factory, Miranda's face, his own face, the mill, the Soul Splitter. Grabbed them like files on a desk and shredded them.
The vagrant went limp and James released him, stumbling back with a nosebleed and splitting headache.
"James!" Miranda caught him before he fell. "Are you okay?"
"Fine. Just... harder than it looks." James wiped his nose, smearing blood. "But it's done. He won't remember our faces. Won't remember this place. Won't remember anything about us or what happened."
"How are you sure it worked?"
James looked at the unconscious vagrant, now missing crucial memories, and allowed himself a cold smile. "Even if it didn't, who's going to believe someone like that?"
They teleported the man back to the alley where James had found him. He'd wake up confused, with a gap in his memory and a vague sense of terror he couldn't explain. Would probably blame the alcohol.
Back at the mill, James cleaned up the equipment while Miranda watched him with an expression he couldn't quite read.
"You're afraid of me now," he observed.
"A little," she admitted. "That was... intense. The way you talked to him. The memory thing. That wasn't just some scientific testing, James. That felt personal."
"Yes. It was." James didn't apologize. "Those men threatened you and thought there would be no consequences. Now there have been consequences. And if anyone ever threatens you again—"
"I get it." Miranda sat down to process what just happened."So the device works. On full souls. You can actually do this."
"Yes. But I still need one final testing."
—I still want to help him why do I still want to help him—
It was time for the real test, the final test on himself.
"Are you sure about this?" Miranda asked, watching him prepare.
"More certain now thanks to our guinea pig." James positioned himself within the device's activation circle.
He took a breath, focused, and activated the Soul Splitter.
There was immediate and overwhelming pain. Like someone was reaching into his chest and pulling out pieces of his identity. His ice magic separated, flowing into the device. The sensation of cold left him, replaced by hollow emptiness.
Five seconds. Ten. Fifteen.
James deactivated the device and his ice magic returned instantly, slamming back into place with force that left him gasping.
"It works," he panted.
"You look like you're going to vomit."
"Possibly." James stood shakily. "But it works. The transfer is clean. Storage is stable. Reintegration is complete. I can actually do this."
James looked at the Soul Splitter, still humming faintly. "We did it, Miranda."
"Eighteen months," Miranda said. "Eighteen months and you'll need to split your soul in front of the entire testing administration without anyone noticing."
"I'm aware."
"This is crazy James."
"Yes." James grinned despite the lingering pain.
"But even James's insanity is genius."
---
That night, he made his final journal entry before the countdown began in earnest:
Affinity testing date: 18 months
Soul Splitter: COMPLETE AND FUNCTIONAL
Capabilities confirmed:
- Can temporarily store soul fragments
- Storage duration: Stable for 30+ minutes
- Reintegration: Clean, no degradation
- Pain level: Significant but manageable
Plan:
- Continue refining device
- Practice transfers until reflexive
- Maintain cover of normalcy
- Survive territorial government scrutiny
- Pass test as single-affinity mage
- Enroll in academy
- Learn everything
Miranda manifested Eldritch affinity. Training proceeding well. She shouldn't be able to mould mana effectively in the neutral zone. Doing so, no matter how crude shows genuine skill. Might be useful beyond simple assistance.
Territorial government surveillance increasing. Unknown why. Must monitor closely.
James closed the journal, looked at the Soul Splitter humming softly on his workbench, and allowed himself one moment of satisfaction.
He'd done it. Built something no one else could build.
Now he just had to survive using it when it actually mattered.