Tanya read through the Ability again, brow furrowed. She could feel her mouth twitching with quiet concentration.

• • •

Mnemonic Etching Level 1 You can store a single memory within a tattoo. When activated, it imprints that memory onto the Wielder's mind—whether it's a tactical lesson, an emotional moment, or even a warning from the past.

• • •

She focused on the words more intently, as if daring it to reveal more. It didn't. Just those crisp, neat lines in that uncanny serif font the Ability pages always used.

She could have done it during the tattoo's creation. That was what gnawed at her now. It hadn't even come to her when tattooing with the chaos of it all. Although even now, the thought of trying to shove a memory into the ink while also focusing on a design that added to her Class without using Vitality, and also executing the design perfectly—that was too much. Would adding a memory into a tattoo before it had formed make it stronger? Probably. But the System's magic was always a double-edged sword, so she bet it going wrong or even differently could have changed the design entirely.

Even now, it made her temples tighten to imagine it: one wrong curve, and she might've carved a panic attack into the poor woman's nervous system. No, she'd made the right call. But the wording didn't say it had to be done during the process. So hopefully it could work now too.

System, how do I use Mnemonic Etching?

Insufficient Ability to perform inspection.

Ugh. Of course.

Is it dangerous if it goes wrong?

Insufficient Ability to perform inspection.

Can you give me any information 'bout this Ability?

Error: Question not found.

"I have an Ability that lets me put memories into somethin'," Tanya said at last, not looking up.

"Memories?" Ishita's voice was warm but laced with wary curiosity. That curious blend she always had when something magical brushed too close to her skin. Tanya understood. If her magic ripped her life away, she'd feel that way too.

Tanya clenched and unclenched her fists, skin whispering against calloused knuckles. Her brain was trying to grip something that had no handles. "Yeah, well, I'm hopin' I can put muscle memory in it—or anythin' that helps ya connect better."

"Hmm." Ishita's gaze drifted somewhere past her, eyes distant. Then she blinked, wiped her hand on a marginally cleaner cloth, and gave a firm nod. "Well, it sounds worth a try."

Tanya held her hands up. "My warning is I don't know how it works or nothin'. Still wanna?"

Ishita thought then nodded. "I need it to be useful." Her voice grew quieter. "I'm already behind you and Mrs Eceer."

Tanya could see the determination in her eyes.

Tanya nodded, distracted. Her heart picked up a beat, though she tried to ignore it. She hated not knowing where to begin. Her whole craft was built on practice—sketching designs, testing them on fake skin, and only then moving on to real people. Even then, it took years to learn how to give clients exactly what they wanted, to adapt when things went wrong—let alone when it came to cover-ups.

Now she had to navigate this strange space where it was still the art she'd always known, but she was brand new all over again.

At least creatin' summons actually uses me normal bleedin' process.

She scratched the back of her neck. "Right, so… I guess I need access to the Summon."

Ishita offered her arm out. She bit her lip, the nerves rubbing off on Tanya.

Tanya took the arm gently, her fingers resting against the cool skin where the prosthetic and arm faded together. It felt no different than any other client's skin. Maybe a little drier, maybe a little cooler. Maybe that was Ishita's nerves. Or maybe it was Tanya's.

It needs activation', eh?

"I think… Can ya unsummon it?" Tanya asked.

Ishita looked down, and without a word, the prosthetic vanished. The hand retreated, lines bleeding backwards, disappearing into her wrist. The tattoo faded back into existence on her shoulder bit by bit like a photo developing.

Tanya blinked. She didn't mean to. She tried to keep it subtle. But she hadn't expected it to go so… smoothly. Assistant and Phantom Brand hadn't done that. Assistant sort of crawled back in, and Tanya realised she hadn't ever seen Phantom Brand be unsummoned. It had just vanished as she slept.

God, do I not know what I'm doin'.

She shoved the thought aside, burying her reaction. No point spooking Ishita with wide eyes and a mouth full of "oh wow."

Maybe a new angle?

She ran her hand slowly up Ishita's arm until her palm rested just below the shoulder. Up here, the orientation of the tattoo changed. It was a subtle shift, but it altered the whole energy of the piece. What had once looked like a hand resting peacefully now looked like a hand reaching out—yearning, maybe, or offering. Tanya had often noticed things like that back in her Apprentice days when she was spectating for so long each day. Skin was never flat, and tattoos never just sat still.

She didn't speak for a while—just stared at the design, fingers hovering a few millimetres above it. Like maybe, her blank brain would start working and she'd know how this Ability worked.

Now what memory…

That was the question, wasn't it? She wasn't just choosing a moment. She was choosing something to share. And that felt different than just reminiscing.

A creak of the floorboard made her glance sideways. Fahad had shifted his weight where he was crouched nearby, eyes wide and glittering, watching them with that breath-held fascination only children could manage.

He'd been quiet—respectfully so—but Tanya could tell he was itching to ask a hundred things. The kid was always like a matchstick half-lit: not quite fire, but almost. If she let him, he'd ask what it felt like to have a magic arm, or whether the memory would be like a dream, a movie, a feeling, or maybe all three. She liked him for that. He reminded her of herself at eight. Except she'd had far less self-constraint and far fewer adults who answered questions.

Assistant was perched on his shoulder.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Tanya twitched an eyebrow and Assistant twitched a finger in response. It didn't have any ideas either.

Mrs Eceer sat further back. She was pretending to read, but Tanya knew better. That woman was always listening when magic was involved. She'd been hovering around ever since Tanya had first mentioned helping. All "curiosity and scholarly interest," of course. But Tanya could feel the hunger in her glances.

Tanya shifted her body slightly, cutting off Eceer's view. Then turned her attention fully back to the tattoo.

What kind of memory would help Ishita connect more deeply to the prosthesis? A technical moment? A time when Tanya had figured something out? A stretch of precise, practised movement?

Assistant was the first to come to mind. It was the first Summon she'd created and it had been developing its muscle memory. Still, Tanya hesitated. Not only did she not know what could go wrong with that, she also wasn't sure how well Assistant's experiences would translate to a human mind. It wasn't like Prosthetic was Sentient after all; it was a Tool.

Could it even give its memory over through her Ability?

The thought made her frown. She didn't know what would happen if she tried to pull memory from something not human. What would that do to Ishita, receiving it? What if it warped in translation? She pictured Ishita jolting upright, eyes wide, seeing the world through a lens she couldn't understand—like adapting to a new Interface overlay but worse, because it was incompatible.

No. That wasn't worth the risk.

That meant the closest thing to her Summons was Phantom Brand—not that she had many choices. It wasn't a tool but…

It could store memories of moves.

She closed her eyes and thought back to the first fight.

Each stab was more controlled than the last. Her hands adjusted themselves without her even thinking. Whenever she'd miss, the next time she felt slightly closer. She remembered half a dozen stabs into a monster's head as it attacked, and her awareness as she barely missed its claws. The moment that stuck with her was at the end.

A monster lunged. She couldn't even turn before it was on her. Darkness spread through her vision and she raised her sword but even as she swung her head from side to side, she couldn't make it out in the blur.

But her body had moved on its own.

It was only for a moment. A single sidestep saved her from its clutches and she stabbed it in the same movement. The next she saw was the blade through its eye socket.

The awareness was gone immediately. She didn't know how to pull the blade out with it stuck so far and she felt shaky again. But just for a moment, she had the muscle memory of practice. That's what she wanted to give Ishita.

Fahad and Mrs Eceer were both staring—eyes wide, mouths slightly agape. Tanya's awareness snapped back to the room in an instant, like someone had turned the lights up too fast.

She followed their gaze to Ishita.

Her breath caught.

Ishita's mouth was slightly open, a faint "o" of wonder—or shock. Her eyes were no longer the familiar dark-on-white. They had gone a misty, uniform grey, like weathered slate. But there was more to it. As Tanya leaned closer, she caught the shimmer—the dark pattern. It was the same pattern as the Henna on Prosthetic.

It had already happened.

Tanya's brow furrowed. Had she activated it without meaning to?

Don't I need to be touchin' it to—

She looked down. Her thumb was resting against Ishita's arm, nestled into the crook of muscle just above the design. She pulled it back slowly, and there it was—clear as day.

The inked nail was nestled in the skin like it had been drawn there yesterday.

She had been touching it.

A breath hitched in Ishita's throat.

She inhaled sharply, like surfacing from deep water, and her eyes flickered—first white, then black, then the familiar warmth of her usual gaze.

Tanya pulled her hand back instinctively. "I'm so sorry—" she started.

"No—no—wow…" Ishita whispered, brushing her hair behind one ear with a trembling hand. "It was so vivid. So—"

Her eyes met Tanya's and Tanya's apology dispersed into the air. They felt so connected.

"You saw it?" Tanya asked, her eyes not leaving Ishita's.

Ishita shook her head. "Saw it? I lived it."

Tanya tore her eyes away from the depths of Ishita's, staring down at the tattoo. "How's it feel?"

Ishita stretched her arms with the fervour of someone who had just woken up. She bent her arm and summoned Prosthetic. It slotted onto her wrist like before.

It looked the same—same gleaming digits, same alien smoothness. Ishita flexed the fingers. They still stuttered like they were learning the language of movement from scratch.

"It's the same," Ishita said softly, "but I can imagine what it would feel like now. Before, I was treating it like my other hand. But it isn't one." Her voice took on a new edge—focused, clear. "It's different."

Tanya nodded, lips pressed together.

Then, with a quiet resolve, Ishita reached down. She opened the strange hand with care, fingers spreading more confidently this time, and closed it again around a cloth.

She straightened her spine. Her face shifted—some invisible switch flipped. Tanya hadn't seen that look since she was protecting Fahad mid-fight: determined, sharp, and utterly in control.

Ishita clicked her neck once, then dropped to her knees and began to scrub the black muck off the floor with the stiff, twitching movements of someone learning to dance with a new partner.

Tanya watched for a moment, then stood up.

"Can I have one—a magic memory for my lantern?" Fahad breathed, suddenly right behind her.

Tanya jolted. "Ah! Blimey." She turned, clutching her chest. "Feels like you teleported, little man."

He grinned. "I did!"

"You what?" Ishita turned sharply, eyes wide, already halfway toward him.

"Oh yeah, I kinda fell into the wall again. Or maybe the floor? Hard to tell. But Assistant pulled me out. No biggie."

"No biggie? Fahad!" Ishita rushed over, dropping to her knees and patting him down like he might have left pieces of himself behind.

"I'm fine, Mum," he muttered with a squirm and a grin, "I promise."

"How did you avoid getting trapped like before?" Mrs Eceer asked. She stayed where she was but leaned forward slightly, watching him like a puzzle. It would have annoyed Tanya before she knew Mrs Eceer better. Understanding was how she kept people safe.

"Uhh…" Fahad tilted his head. "I dunno. I think I just wanted it really bad? Like before, in my room—the light hurt and I wanted to leave. But this time I was trying to reach Assistant. It's like I thought about it and—whoosh—I was there."

Tanya made eye contact with her. "That sounds like Will casting, don't it?"

"We definitely can't rule it out," Mrs Eceer replied.

"I'm gonna try again!" Fahad shouted, then bolted toward the wall.

"Wait—!" Ishita cried, reaching for him. Even Tanya flinched, her hand halfway up—

And then he was gone.

It wasn't even a blink. He vanished into the wall as it swallowed him whole.

It was like a strange trick of the eye. One second he was facing them—a shadow boy within the wall—and the next he was a different way up as his feet pressed towards them. He ran up the wall at a 90-degree angle until their necks were craned up to look at his shoes. With the lack of lines, it was a strange silhouette, that only made sense from how he continued to move.

Then he was upside down, along the ceiling, his silhouette jerking slightly with every footstep.

"Woah," Tanya breathed.

He reached the centre of the ceiling, paused for a breathless moment—and dropped.

Shoes came first. Then socks, one loose around the ankle. Then his gangly legs and long denim shorts. The yelling was last, erupting the moment his head slipped out of the shadows.

Ishita and Tanya stumbled to catch him, but Mrs Eceer got there first. With her height, she simply looked up and stuck her arms out, grabbing him by each shoulder and lowering him down.

"Goodness, child," she said. "You must warn us before doing that."

"Sorry," Fahad said sheepishly. "I didn't realise I'd land on the ceiling."

Mrs Eceer smiled and set him down, her hands lingering for a second to make sure he was steady. "Well. You landed on me, fortunately."

He stared upwards. "I didn't realise it was the ceiling. It doesn't look like this in there. It's like when you make a box out of cardboard and it looks weird with sticky-out bits flat."

Ishita knelt again beside him, one hand still clutching his sleeve. Her voice trembled slightly. "Fahad… Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm okay, Mum." He leaned into her, like he knew she needed the contact more than he did. "It's getting easier."

She blinked fast and gave him a tight, relieved hug. "You scared me." Her voice cracked just slightly. "But I'm so proud of you."

Fahad gave a little grin, face half in her shoulder. "I didn't even get stuck this time."

Tanya folded her arms, a soft smile tugging at her mouth. "You're gettin' the hang of it, shadow boy."

"Oh! Wait!" Fahad stepped back and spun around, eyes wide. "It says my darkness thing is level three now!"

"You levelled?" Tanya exclaimed, mirroring his enthusiasm.

Fahad nodded, bouncing slightly. "Yeah! And look—look, I got a Boon! That's so cool!"

"What's it do?" Mrs Eceer asked.

He turned, stammering over the invisible words only he could see. "Uhh—it can be controlled with Will and I can see it coming better."

"Sounds like it'll keep you safer," Mrs Eceer said with a slow, approving nod.

Tanya let out a low whistle. "Well, that's useful. Especially for someone who keeps tryin' to body slam the walls."

"I didn't slam them," Fahad said with a cheeky grin. "I melded. That's different."

"Right." Tanya rolled her eyes and looked down at the goopy floor, now smeared with sticky footprints in every direction. Hers included. "We're all trackin' this muck everywhere now."

Fahad peered at his soles. "Oops."

"Not long until Olena is here again, I'd imagine," Ishita said.

"Alright," Tanya said, more to herself than anyone. "While you lot are breakin' the laws of physics, I'm gonna actually clean somethin'."

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