Alchemised

by SenLinYu

Why would Kaine tell her this? Why would he care about her guilt?

Cuz you have him enthralled

“I didn’t know that was something vivimancers could do,” she said, trying to get her thoughts straight. “I don’t think that most can,” Kaine said, straightening. “It’s something only animancers are capable of.”

Sneaky

Kaine scoffed, his lip curling. “With fire. Get a better knife.”

She returned with the same knife.

This man gonna pop a blood vessel

What was it he’d said about the array? That it didn’t countermand his behaviour but wrote in new aspects. That it was easier for him to be ruthless, and harder to resist impulses and what he wanted.

Trying to protect his heart

“I’m not—” she started, and then paused. She twisted at the ring around her finger. “I think he’s lonely.” Ilva straightened, rising several inches in her seat. “I hope you’re not getting attached, Helena. The Eternal Flame is depending on you to stay on mission. If you’re compromised, you should say so.”

Ya'll brought this upon yourselves

“You know,” she said slowly, “I can only keep Luc and his unit away from the worst fights if we know which ones they’ll be.” Helena’s heart slammed into her throat. “I know.”

Dangling Lucs life in her face to make her compliant

“You know, I just realised, if I succeed, you’ll control Ferron the same way you use Luc to control me. It makes me feel rather sorry for him.”

Aware of it and yet allow it

She fixed the severed nerve along with the broken elbow.

I bet he will be very ungrateful if he recovers his arm

“Recovering,” Pace said in a tart voice. “Quite a miracle that she survived. All thanks to the recovery team’s quick thinking and daring rescue.” She cleared her throat. “They’ll all be medalled for bravery, and there were several Ember Services called, to devote prayers of thanks to Sol for his—grace in saving her.”

AND WHAT ABOUT HER??? DOES SHE GET RECOGNIZED???

“Lila Bayard is not the only person that the Resistance would suffer greatly for losing. I’ve told Ilva, Crowther, and Matias as much time and again, though I can’t say they listen, but maybe you will. There are rare talents that shouldn’t be squandered even if they are overlooked.”

She literally has 2 people who give a shit about her

“I understand that I have you to thank for this.”

Surprised pikachu face* Didn't know he knew how to say thank you

“This is mo’lian’shi fused with lumithium. The simultaneous effect of both together creates a resonance haze.”

Soemthing tells me it was Shiseo who perfected it...

Helena felt as though she stood upon a political landmine. In their hands was proof of a deal not merely between Morrough and another country, but of a treachery between a ruler and his own empire.

“Don’t die, Kaine,” she said. The line he walked frightened her. If the array was the punishment for a failure, what would the price of betrayal be? A smirk twisted his mouth as he looked at her. “There are far worse fates than dying, Marino.” She nodded. “I know. But that one you don’t come back from.” He gave a bitter laugh. “All right, then, but only because you asked.”

UGH </3

Her heart was beating even harder now, remembering his fingers in her hair, pulling her towards him. When she was alone, she often went back to that memory, wondering what could have happened.

Smitten with the bad boy

She drew a shivering breath and reached up, her fingers wrapping around his wrist. “I can’t let you die.”

She squeezed his wrist tighter. “Are they—is Bennet still experimenting on you? I thought if you survived the array, then he couldn’t—” He pulled his hand free. “I have this habit of surviving against all odds. Deserves to be studied, apparently.”

Nooooooooooo this poor man

“Why would that have mattered? We already hated you. It would have cost the Holdfasts a pittance to find your father some menial job, but if you’d ever been able to stop struggling, you might have realised what a web they had you trapped in. I hear Ilva Holdfast was particularly talented at that kind of thing. Always knew just how much pressure a person could take.”

You know its messed up when the villain makes fucking sense

What a grotesque and pathetic creature she was. Property. No, not even that. She was a trinket. Something he’d thrown into his demands. So insignificant that Ilva and Crowther had looked at her and seen no reason to refuse.

YOU KNEW IT AND YET ALLOWED IT

Women were always defined by the lowliest thing they could be called.

FEMININE RAGE

“No, I broke it. I needed tools for surgery when you wouldn’t wake up. So I made them.” She risked glancing up then to gauge his expression, and rather enjoyed the stupefied look on his face. “I’ll get a new one,” she added hurriedly. “There’s just some—logistical delays. Anyway, I brought you a present,” she said, forcing her voice to be bright.

“It’s—it’s an, um—it’s an emergency healing kit,” she said, trying to explain herself quickly before he could refuse it. “I made it with things that will work with your regeneration.”

Nobody deserves her

“Eyes are awful. I mean, hopefully if you ever lost one, it would just grow back, but if not…” She exhaled. “The tissue doesn’t matrice the same way. It’s very tedious work, and nerve-racking. You should—probably come to me for that. Well, I mean—”

And he did

“Well, that’s the basics. If there’s anything you’d want added to the kit, or ideas you have, I can try to make them.” “The basics?” He pulled a watch out of his pocket. “You’ve been talking for over an hour.”

And he stood there listening

“I have—something for you,” he finally said, as if having a tooth extracted.

Inside lay a set of beautiful daggers, sheathed in mesh holsters.

Love it when a man gives his girl weapons

“I must say, Marino, you’ve ended up being quite expensive.”

Typical boyfriend line

The Council had named the lumithium-mo’lian’shi alloy nullium for the sake of convenience. While the knowledge of the alloy was not widespread, several metallurgists and chymists were all experimenting with it.

God I have a feeling theyre going to betray her and use the prototype on her

Given the alloy’s behaviour and how resonance is used, making it into a weapon or injecting nullium into the blood is less effective than simply targeting the limbs with it. If that kind of interference was focused near the hands, it would be almost impossible for an alchemist to accurately sense their resonance.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck and you helped develop them

“You know, Ferron’s not our only spy,” Ilva said. “We have a number of informants. Based on their reports, following the recovery of the ports, he was punished. Extensively. He was dying. I was assured of that.” “You knew?”

“We were losing, and it was only because of him that we could retake the ports. He did that for us. You didn’t see him the day I went back. He knew he’d be punished; he expected to die.” She gave a panicked breath. “If you wanted him dead, you should have told me. Crowther said to do what I could.”

“You have to tell Luc the truth. You can’t keep doing this to him.” “And what do you think would happen if he knows that no help is coming? What will he have then?” Ilva glared at her. “That is too great a risk, but now thanks to you, I am left with nothing but terrible choices.”

HOW IS THIS HER FAULT?? YALL DIDNT TELL HER HOW IMPORTANT THE AMMULET WAS

I remembered your face when I first put it on you. I thought you treasured it enough to have sense. You stupid, stupid girl.”

Hate heeeeeeer

“You don’t get to lie to me and then get angry when I make the mistake of believing you,” Helena said.

!!!!!!!

you of all people had it. You could have done anything, and you healed Ferron with it.” “So sorry I wasn’t the puppet you wanted,”

“In the future, perhaps tell me what you want instead of expecting me to fail

FINALLY SHE STANDS FOR HERSELF (But I worry she will be treated as a traitor now)

“But very well, you’re welcome to refuse; it doesn’t matter, we have more than enough evidence of his treachery. Jan has been assembling a comprehensive package. It would be a trivial matter to send along to the Undying. I suppose you could say the case is ironclad. Do you prefer that? Do you think they’ll kill him this time?”

These back stabbing bitches

Ilva was losing her touch. Or perhaps Helena was finally getting wise to her.

Im hoping fo the latter

The signs of their access to the ports and river trade were everywhere, but all she could think was Kaine did this,

He's the MAIN reason they're doing well

“Why is everyone so happy?” Penny blinked with surprise. “We’re happy because the war’s almost over.” Helena stared at her in bewilderment. The war wasn’t almost over. They didn’t even have a plan to win. Six years of fighting for survival while waiting for a miracle that would never come.

Think about it. A year ago, we were hemmed in around Headquarters, no supplies, barely enough rations to keep fighting, and now we’ve retaken the entire East Island. The ports. All because we had faith.”

This is not whyyyyyyyyy you bunch of fanatics!!

They thought the war was being won because her proposal of necromancy had been so sharply reprimanded that the Resistance passed some final spiritual test, and all the success of the last year was a reward for it?

Raaaaaaaaaaaaaa

No matter what happened now, no one would ever listen to her. She was cast forever into the role of doubter, of tempter.

Completely and utterly alone...

No wonder Ilva had told her the truth about Orion. She knew that no one would ever believe Helena’s claims. Now Ilva wanted one last trick. Kill Kaine. Bury the evidence, the true means of their success. Create one more miracle.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand this is why the ternal flame went Kaput DESERVED

She looked at him and realised that she was being forced to choose. Luc or Kaine? She could only save one. She had to choose Luc, but it was going to kill her to do it.

Should of chosen the one and only who gave a SHIT about her

The beacon of the Eternal Flame burned overhead. She turned, putting her back to it, wandering without destination. There was nowhere to go. Her life was so small. Beyond the gates of the Institute, she was homeless.

God I want to hug her

A lie. All of it a lie, the celestial emblems that decorated the island, all those murals and paintings of the Holdfasts, the sun always rising with them. All lies.

!!!!!!!!!

In combat, there’s no difference between an angry person and a stupid one.”

Poetry

She kept twisting and bucking her hips to try to break free. Kaine abruptly let go of her, shoving himself off. The muscle in his jaw rippled, and his eyes were dark as he stood up, breathing heavily, a low flush in his cheeks. “If you’re ever pinned down like that, I would not recommend trying to escape that way,” he said in a tight voice, turning as if catching his breath.

Got a stiffy Ferron? xD