Well, Ai? What's the verdict?

<Thanks to synchronizing with her when you were both hit by Demonization, there was close to a seventy percent chance of success>

<But now, after swapping bodies, that synchronization has grown much greater, so there is a near-hundred percent chance of success>

"A hundred percent chance of success of what?" Inquired Aria.

"It's regarding this weapon, you're-...huh? Wait, back up a sec...did you just hear that?" I responded in bewilderment.

"Yeah, kinda...it was a bit quiet, though. And it feels like I can hear it because I'm holding your hand, I don't think I would've heard anything if I wasn't," She replied, a bemused look on her face.

<Hm, this is quite unexpected>

<It's likely because of the increased synchronization between you two>

What exactly is this synchronization thing, anyway?

<I'm not quite sure how to properly explain it, but basically, there's now a fairly strong link between your souls>

<I don't know what exactly that entails, but if nothing else, it's unlikely to affect you in your day to day lives>

Uh, I see. Wait...can you hear my thoughts too, Aria?

"Huh, that's pretty cool...it's kinda romantic," Smiled Aria bashfully.

Okay, seems she can hear Ai but not my thoughts.

"Mhm, it sure is. Now, then, let me explain what I was discussing with Ai...it's about this," I remarked, before nodding at the object that had caught my eye...the Personalis Arma that Acedia had wielded.

"Hm? That's the weapon the Dragon used to switch our bodies, right? Wait, hold on...am I about to get a weapon like yours?" She responded as the realization hit her, her eyes widening.

"Mhm, yeah. Normally, it'd be way too dangerous. But since we've got this synchronization thing, Ai will be able to stabilize and link you to the weapon through me," I informed me.

"Cool! How does that work?"

"Well, uh...Ai, how does it work?"

<Just keep holding her hand, I'm ready to start as soon as she picks it up>

"Got it. Here I go," Nodded Aria, tightening her grip on my hand before reaching for the black rod that the staff had reverted back to.

<Personalis Arma Recognized>

<Initiating Routing of Ownership Status to Ariella Velle>

<Processing>

<Ownership Link Established>

<Securing Link>

<Processing>

<Link Secured>

The rod tranformed, glowing brightly before the glow suddenly split in half, engulfing Aria's forearms and wrapping around them, her gauntlets getting split in half and falling off her arms.

The glow began to settle, a pair of new, dark red gauntlets on her arms. They had a faint, fiery glow to them, consisting of jagged armored plates.

A screen popped up in front of Aria, though based on her non-reaction, she can't see it:

Name: [ ]

[+15% Boost to All Stats While Equipped]

[+25% Blunt Force Damage]

[Flame to MP Transfer]

[Crimson Flame Generation]

<Please Designate a Name for Your New Weapon>

"Nice, a fifteen percent boost to all your stats, your strikes with be twenty-five percent stronger, and you've got a couple of other abilities too, I think one lets you absorb flames and turn them into Mana, maybe? And the other seems to be one that lets you create crimson flames, whatever those are. So, Aria, got a name for them?" I prompted her.

"Huh? I need to name them? Okay, let me think...you said crimson flames, right? And they make my strikes stronger, so...alright, I think I want to go with a two-word name, the second should be Impact. What's a good first word? Incendiary? Nah, too long. Maybe Hellfire? No, too edgy. Oh, I think I'll go with Pyro Impact!" She decided with a grin.

"Sounds good, I like it," I smiled, patting her head before leaning in and giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"Heh, thanks, Kai."

Oh, yeah, I wonder how many points I got after consuming the Dragon's corpse?

Meh, I'll check and distribute them once I'm back home, I'm completely and utterly exhausted.

Hm, the others should've switched back to their own bodies at the same time we did, we should head back and-...

"Woah!" Exclaimed Aria, as bright red flames erupted around her gauntlets, before she added, "I just channeled a tiny bit of Mana into them and this happened!"

"I can feel some serious heat coming off those flames, they're definitely hotter than your regular flames. Let's test them out later," I suggested, as the flames dissipated.

"Yeah, sounds good! By the way, I wonder why the others haven't come back yet?" She mused in response.

"Well, Shuffle wearing off doesn't guarantee that we defeated the Dragon, just that the time limit ran out. For all they know, we were defeated," I pointed out.

"Oh, right...I didn't even realize that. We should get back before they leave to get backup or something," Replied Aria wryly.

"Yeah, and since the Guildmaster can just teleport them out, there's no way we can catch up once they leave," I nodded, stretching my arms up with a weary sigh.

"On another note, Regeneration is awesome. That was such a rough battle, but we haven't got so much a scratch left on us," She sighed in relief, as we headed for the tunnel.

"Mhm, we almost definitely would've died if we weren't able to regenerate. That Shuffle ability is a lot more dangerous than I'd have assumed," I mused warily.

"Yeah, if I didn't give control of your body over to Ai, I doubt we could've won. I've never fought with a blade, so I wouldn't have been able to make proper use of Desecrator, not to mention that I couldn't use your Skills."

"That was definitely a game changer, I had no idea she could even do that."

On that note, Ai, I gotta say, your fighting style was kinda monotonous and straightforward. Your attacks were pretty easy to read.

<Lay off>

<In my defense, I've never experienced having a physical body before, I had to make do by using your muscle memory as a reference>

<With that in mind, I believe I did fairly well>

Yeah, fair enough.

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