Inside & Out Ch 13: The Pleading Voice!

Charlotte stared at her hands, both palms glowing with a soft, pulsing blue light that lit up the corners of her bedroom. The glow shimmered slightly, like liquid light dancing beneath her skin. She turned her hands slowly, studying the way it spilled across her knuckles and between her fingers, glowing brightest in the creases of her palms. A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth—half disbelief, half awe.

"Charlotte! That was amazing!" Lina shouted, practically bouncing off the floor.

"I didn't know you could do that!" Finn added, wide-eyed and grinning. "That was like—actual power! Real, glowing, sentinel stuff!"

They crowded in closer, Lina sitting on the floor beside her and Finn leaning against the edge of the bed, still giddy from the display. Their excitement filled the room like static, but Charlotte hardly noticed. Her gaze was locked on the faint blue aura flickering from her skin, the soft buzz of something alive humming just under the surface.

It wasn't as strong as before. Not like that first time, when her entire body had thrummed with it—raw, uncontrolled. Back then, it had felt like something was pouring through her veins, limitless and bright, like she was standing at the edge of something enormous. Now... it was dimmer. Weaker. Fading.

She blinked, brows furrowing slightly. "It's... it's not the same," she said aloud, more to herself than them.

Lina turned toward her, smile faltering just a bit. "What do you mean?"

Charlotte flexed her fingers and shook her head. "It's weaker now. A lot weaker. I barely feel it. It's like... I opened something, but I can't hold onto it."

Finn leaned forward, curious. "Why? I mean, shouldn't it get stronger? You said it was intense the first time, right?"

Charlotte didn't answer right away. She could feel the power slipping, the light already draining from her hands, fading like the last light of dusk. She clenched her fists and closed her eyes. She needed to understand this—needed to see him again. That strange boy in the void. The one who had called her.

Her heartbeat slowed as she focused inward, just like the book had taught her. Breathe deep. Feel the threads. Seek the Zeyvari within. She tried not to think of her friends beside her, or the flickering light, or the way her body felt heavier by the second. Instead, she reached deeper, further.

Darkness met her.

Quiet.

Then a sound—soft at first, like wind. No, not wind. A whisper.

She followed it, reaching through the stillness with the part of herself that wasn't physical. The power in her stirred, responding to her focus. She felt it curling through her chest, up into her head, rising like a tide until it moved toward her right ear.

And then—

"Stop."

A voice. Sharp and sudden. Not angry—but clear. Commanding. It echoed through her skull like a bell tolling through a canyon.

Charlotte gasped, eyes snapping open. The glow was gone now. Her hands were just hands again—pale, ordinary, unmoving.

"Charlotte?" Lina asked, concern creeping into her voice. "What happened?"

"I... I heard something," Charlotte whispered.

Finn leaned forward. "Heard what?"

"A voice. It told me to stop."

Both of her friends stared at her now, the room falling still. The tension in Charlotte's chest tightened like a knot. She could still feel the lingering warmth in her right ear. That strange, almost soothing sensation. Something—someone—was there.

***

(Kael)

Kael ran.

He didn't know where exactly he was going—only that he had to move. The soft, spongy ground beneath his boots vibrated with every step as he pushed deeper into the inner folds of the goddess's ear canal. The walls shimmered with faint moisture, lined with ridges and curls of cartilage, and the scent of warm salt filled the air. It was normally quiet in here, the kind of place where a Blue could scrape wax in peace. But now? Now it was humming.

Or maybe that was just him.

His body pulsed with a steady blue light, throbbing in sync with his heartbeat. It poured out of him with every breath, every movement—wrapping around his limbs like smoke, crawling up his neck and face like vines of flame. It wasn't painful. But it was... too much. Like trying to hold a storm inside a bucket.

He stumbled to a stop and braced himself against the canal wall, one hand sinking slightly into the soft membrane. He was sweating. Breathing too fast. Every attempt to force the glow back down only made his vision blur and his chest tighten.

This is the goddess, he thought. She's reaching out again.

He didn't know how he knew. He just did. The feeling was unmistakable—the same presence that had brushed against his thoughts in dreams, in moments he tried to write off. Now it was like she was pressing on him, probing deeper, almost... curious.

A dizzying wave of heat crashed over him, and he swore the wall itself was leaning into him. Kael grit his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut, willing the connection to fade.

"Kael?"

His eyes snapped open. He turned his head to see someone standing just a few paces behind him, backlit by the faint glow of the biolamps embedded along the canal's ceiling.

Breno.

The younger Blue looked concerned, his hands fidgeting at his sides. "I—I noticed you weren't in your usual spot. And you were acting kind of weird earlier, so I thought maybe I should—"

Breno stopped mid-sentence.

His eyes widened. Jaw slackened. He took a slow step backward.

Kael blinked, confused. "What is it?"

Breno stared at him, voice soft, almost afraid. "You're glowing."

Kael looked down at himself. The light was no longer subtle—it poured from every inch of him now, painting the walls in pulsing blue hues. His veins looked like glowing wires beneath his skin.

Breno's lips parted again. "...It's you," he said. "You're the Munari."

The words echoed in Kael's head, but he couldn't answer. A new feeling was creeping into his mind. A low buzzing, like static over water. Thoughts that weren't his own brushed against the edges of his consciousness—fragments of language, of emotion. The vast, echoing mind of the goddess herself was reaching toward him.

Kael's breath caught in his throat.

The same voice that had whispered through Charlotte's mind—the one that told her to stop—was now filling Kael's skull.

Her curiosity was suffocating.

"No," he said through gritted teeth. "Stop—stop this!"

He clenched his fists, summoning every ounce of willpower to force the connection closed. "Stop!"

The voice recoiled.

And just like that—the glow died.

The light flickered, then vanished completely, leaving only the low, amber glow of the biolamps behind. The heat faded from his chest, and his knees nearly buckled with relief.

He gasped, leaning against the wall again, now cool and steady beneath his palm.

"Thank the goddess," Kael muttered, panting.

Behind him, Breno was still staring, frozen.

But Kael didn't say anything more.