[Author’s Note: We've returned to Rin's encounter with Karkov, right after the events of episodes 71-74.]
So Rin really didn’t remember his protections. It had not been easy for Karkov to hide his astonishment and play the necessary role. In retrospect, he felt he had overplayed it a bit. In fact, some of the drama was downright embarrassing. He never had this problem around anybody else, just Rin — back then, and apparently still now. There was something about her which threw him off his game. He had anticipated this — which was why so much planning and practice had gone into their meeting — but he had underestimated the extent of it.
The lie itself had been a calculated gamble, one he did not expect to win. The main obstacle was his ignorance of the protections possessed by other immortals. For his plan to work, Karkov needed to know at least a few beyond his own — and they had to be the right few. Unfortunately, coming by any was no easy task. Rin apparently had been quite parsimonious with such information.
During his lifetime, Karkov had spoken with many — perhaps all — of the immortals. To his knowledge, none had been told any protections except their own. Even those to whom Rin offered a choice were given vague descriptions of the alternatives. Only when they actually became immortal did she divulge the details.
To his recollection, Rin hadn’t even revealed any when they shared a bed. She had been forthcoming about so much else, so why not this? Maybe she had told him and he just didn’t remember. Karkov was furious with himself for not having paid closer attention back then. He had assumed their time together would last forever and that anything she said would be repeated whenever desired. There had been no need to pay close attention. When he was forced to end their time together, it happened too quickly and painfully to allow careful forethought. If only he had written it all down.
Twos and most Fours were well-nigh useless. They almost all had the same protections, which he possessed as well. The few exceptions were understandably reticent about the details. Karkov merely was curious at the time and had refrained from pressing the matter. If he had anticipated the importance of such knowledge, he would have asked hard.
He had the most success with Eights. They certainly offered more fertile ground, but he had expected them to be correspondingly tight-lipped and was surprised how forthcoming they actually were. Karkov still was unclear why. Perhaps they feared him as a Sixteen or wished to curry favor, while the Fours simply assumed they were beneath his notice. Or maybe he just had been lucky with these particular individuals.
The specifics of his approach differed with each personality. One was a coward, so Karkov professed general concern for his well-being. How could he protect the man unless he knew what to protect him from?
Another had been a past advisor and confidant. She required no subterfuge, just some … persuasion. Karkov simply wondered aloud how Rin would react to learning of her role in the imprisonment. The threat felt heavy-handed, but the woman in question would have been insulted if he didn’t try to coerce her.
The third was Sree, whom Karkov genuinely befriended. She displayed no concern that he would use such information against her. In fact, she had been amused by his attempt to maneuver her into revealing her protections. “Why not just ask?” she laughed. And to his shock, she told him.
Of course, the Eights could have been lying. It would have been a convenient way to deflect Karkov’s inquiries without risking trouble. Nonetheless, he suspected all three had told the truth. What they said was plausible enough, and their descriptions were consistent.
Whatever Rin was doing to encumber immortals clearly required a careful reworking of their existing protections. Otherwise, she would have moved much more quickly and effectively. It was Karkov’s hope that the process was highly sensitive to the precise protections involved. Without knowing those, she probably could accomplish nothing. All he needed to do was substitute similar protections for his true ones in Rin’s mind.
As it happened, the handful of other protections Karkov had managed to identify sufficed for this purpose. Two were slightly weaker variants of ones he had and would serve admirably, though he wished he had more to work with.
Even if Rin actually remembered his protections, it was quite possible that her memory could be muddied a little by mentioning similar ones. Sure it could be a lie, but why use such a tame one? Most likely, she would decide he was right.
The ploy’s prospects depended heavily on the nature of Rin’s memory. As far as Karkov could tell, whether or not her talent as Crafter was indeed a gift from the gods, it was unique in the world. As such, it resided outside the realm of anyone else’s experience and resisted ordinary reasoning. It was quite possible that the ability to recall everyone’s exact protections was as innate as her knowledge of how to craft the spheres themselves. Perhaps such knowledge intrinsically was resilient.
Even if that wasn’t the case, the issue was far from certain. Karkov had concluded long ago that the act of crafting was no easy task — especially where the higher numbers were concerned. It stood to reason that such an ordeal would imprint itself firmly in her memory.
The plan only had a chance of working if he managed to sell the lie and if Rin’s memory wasn’t magically protected and if encumberment was sensitive to the exact protections. Those were a lot of if’s, but if’s were all Karkov had.
On the other hand, he had no reason not to try. There only was upside, and that upside could prove eternal if he played his cards right. At worst he would gain nothing, and at best there was a small but finite chance he would dissuade Rin altogether. Most likely he just would win a brief reprieve, but even a brief reprieve could be enough.
Of course, the lie had to be subtle and convincingly peddled. Assuming he had the opportunity to peddle it at all. It was possible that Rin would try to encumber him by surprise, as she apparently had done to Sree. Even the best lie would be worthless if never spoken.
However, if what Daryl said was true she probably considered surprising Sree a mercy. Karkov was confident Rin would not vouchsafe him the same courtesy. She probably intended to gloat and mock him first, but there was no reason to risk it.
Karkov decided the cabin would be a safe choice. He already was familiar with it from his meeting with Daryl, and she wouldn’t be able to sneak up on him there. Besides, what better place to celebrate their reunion?
Unfortunately, his preparations removed only a small fraction of Karkov’s uncertainty. Setting the stage in his favor did not guarantee he would like the show. A conversation was inherently unpredictable, and a conversation with an ancient, angry ex even more so. Ultimately, the best he could do was try to stay afloat long enough to sow some seeds. This meant keeping things interesting for Rin.
Karkov supposed he could use Daryl as fodder. But he had to be careful with such tactics. There was a chance, albeit a small one, that Rin actually could encumber him but did not intend to. In that case, he needed to avoid changing her mind. Insults and lies and general manipulation wouldn’t do it, but there were certain things which potentially could.
Playing the Daryl card was a risk, but a small one. He would be fine if he treaded lightly there. The bigger problem was the lie itself. It wasn’t just another lie. Someone who could manipulate Rin into misremembering things would be a threat. At the very least, he would lose ground toward his ultimate goal. Though there never would be trust between the two of them, certain types of distrust were heavier than others.
Karkov saw no reason it should come to that, though. If Rin did remember his exact protections and called out his lie, he would claim it was unintentional. Why would he falsify only two protections, and in such a small way? Surely, the discrepancy resulted from their imprecise translation into a human language. Even if it was implausible that he forgot his own protections, it was quite plausible that he erred on their particular wording in some long-obsolete language.
However, all such concerns had turned out to be misplaced. The conversation had gone more smoothly than Karkov anticipated. In fact, it had gone so smoothly that Karkov was left wondering what Rin’s real intentions were. There was one brief moment of panic when he thought she had spotted the lie, but instead she thanked him. He almost felt ashamed.
Now that he had a clearer picture of the crafting process, it was unclear what Karkov’s deception actually had bought him. Two weaker versions of his real protections could sabotage her efforts, but that was far from certain.
Rin had claimed that a rebinding sphere must subsume the protections from the original one. If this was strictly true, then any sphere based on other protections — however similar — would fail to bind him. But even if she wasn’t lying, there was a chance she could be wrong. Had she ever tried rebinding someone using similar protections instead of exact ones? Maybe it would work.
Nonetheless, there was good reason to be optimistic. If everything went as Karkov hoped, Rin wouldn’t know until the moment of truth. A failure could convince her that the task was impossible, or at least lead her to dismiss a viable combination as ineffective.
If nothing else, it would damage her confidence. Karkov was pretty sure that Rin was a Sixteen. Otherwise, she would have lorded it over him. That being the case, this probably would be her first attempt at a sphere of such complexity. If it didn’t work, she would begin to question her own ability. For the undefeated, nothing was so disorienting as a first taste of failure.
Most important, Karkov finally had started down the path toward his long-held dream. He was one step closer to winning back Rin. For many centuries, the opportunity had not arisen. After what he had done to her, he had no choice but to wait until she made the first move.
He had been terribly disappointed when he missed her first foray into the Capital, but it had turned out for the best. Despite her omnipresence in his thoughts, Karkov had been ill-prepared at the time for an actual reunion with Rin. Even before today’s meeting, he had misgivings. In fact, he doubted he ever would have felt fully prepared for that first step.
That was why he had to close his eyes and take it, fully prepared or not. To regain Rin, he had to risk everything. That was the nature of love. It would have been easy to elude her for as long as he wished to, but he did not wish to. What was the point of being immortal if he had to do it alone?
And now, somehow, he had survived the encounter. Had she spared him, or had she been bluffing the whole time? Maybe she couldn’t destroy him yet but genuinely was laying the groundwork. Or maybe she never intended to and just missed him. It didn’t matter. He had gained what he wanted: some time and some hope. Even the most stubborn woman in the world could be convinced, given enough time and hope.
Karkov looked around the empty cabin. Once again, he felt very alone.