Expeg Li's excitement, Aira prepared breakfast early in the m so that it would be ready right when her panion woke up. Li came out of her quarters, almost jumping with excitement. "So, are we ready for the test?"

  With gestures, Aira invited her to the kit and passed her a note: "I really hope it works out. If it isn't, we'll have to find other ways to secure the area. And this may be tricky."

  After breakfast, two womehe kit ao the room they designated as their battery bank.

  "Alrighty, it's the moment of truth," Li said, her voice tinged with nervous excitement. "Let's see if all this sweat was worth it—or if we're stu sap again."

  Aira flipped the switch, and momentarily, the maery started to hum faintly as the batteries began to fill with the energy. Aira felt a strange sensation unlike any old magic she had ever experiehanks to her Energy Manipution skill, she perceived the currents flowing through the power lines. But this feeling was also new pared to her ret experiences with gadgets. Before, she only had a ce to feel the smaller circuits of those devices. And this was so much more intense.

  The first thing Aira and Li did was charge their gadgets from a tech power source for the first time sihey left Mountain View. Before, they had to rely solely on Aira's Energy Manipution skill, using it sparingly to not overtax her. And now, with a stable energy source at their disposal, the panio a renewed sense of purpose aement. The possibilities seemed endless. They po start with the security measures for the bunker, but their priority was improving unication. There was something Aira found in the a books that she was excited to test.

  However, it seemed that Li had other priorities. After taking a brief moment to ensure everything worked as intended, she grabbed Aira's hand and walked her back to the bunker entrahe journey was a bit awkward, as Aira didn't have an opportunity to ask what was happening and Li didn't hurry to expin herself.

  When they reached the massive door, Li pced the undead woman directly in front of it and stepped back to stand nearby expetly.

  Finally, not being dragged in an unknown dire, Aira had a ce to scribble something in her journal and show it to Li: "What?!?"

  "But why," said Li. "Didn't we do all of that so that we could secure this door? And not suck every si of power out of you every time we o open or close the door?"

  Aira issued a shrowl as she wao try something else and didn't see the y the dht away. In the weeks they spent here, no one came even close to the passageway that led to the bunker. In the end, she shook her head in agreement. If that made Li happier, Aira was gd to oblige. Both of them struggled with loss in their own way. While Aira had lost her old world a bit earlier than Li lost her human unity, she could rete. And this step would bring a sense of visible achievement and progress.

  Deciphering how the trol system of the a people worked for this door was a challenge. But Aira was sure she'd be able to tap into her first experience wheered the buo operate it to open and close. That should be enough for now, until they split with Li. If they ever had to split.

  Aira used her Energy Manipution skill and started to trace the circuits that ected the door to their newly operational energy system. She could feel the power spreading, streaming down from the sor panel on the roof. From here, she could feel the ste they crafted, gradually filled by this energy. And the tendrils of power that spread in different dires, including this door.

  She tapped into these energy streams, envisioning the door closing. Aira remembered her sensations from the sed day at the a facility and tried to backtrack the steps she made to open the door. Only this time without overtaxing herself and draining her personal reserves.

  But there wasn't even a single reason to worry. The energy they provided for the bunker was enough. More than enough. A moment passed, then another. Li expetly watched Aira, who entirely focused on the process. Aira could see that the human was barely keeping herself restrained not to start asking questions and prompting Aira to move faster.

  Then, the door started moving, closing the gap in the passageway and rolling slowly oracks built into the floor. A few moments ter, with a soft bang, it fihe motion and got to its initial position as if Aira had never even ope.

  Li jumped a few times out of excitement and cpped her hahusiastically. "Elder's beard!" she excimed. "Aira, you are the best! I feel like we've locked this pce tighter than a squirrel's stash."

  Aira nodded and focused on the power reserves of their bunker. She still preferred not to use her own reserves, and if the batteries were already empty, she'd wait a bit until they charged. Luckily, her skill allowed her to sehe state of the batteries from this distahey drained a bit, but it should be fine if the energy spent on opening the door was simir to what ent on closing the opening.

  Once again, she reted how and which circuits she influenced just moments ago, and the door started its opening movement.

  In the end, as they had already tested everything, Aira decided to keep the door closed. Better safe than sorry. The fact that no one came here in the previous weeks didn't mean that someone wouldn't stumble upon this porrow.

  Aira took her journal and wrote. "Let's keep it closed. Safer this way. But before we do anything else, there was something I wao try with you."

  ***

  "So, what is it?" asked Li when they ehe room they assigned for tinkering with tech.

  "Do you remember on one of the first days, you showed me an item you called 'headphones '?" wrote Aira.

  "Not really... "said Li. "There were tons of things we found during the first days here. There may have been some headphones among them. Not that we have ever had any ce to use them. Why? "

  "As you know, I've been reading a lot," wrote Aira. "Not only about the things reted to charging batteries and geing power. I have a lot of spare time, so I started digging deeper. Learning the things the a humans knew about this world and its meics. It's almost like learning a magic system!"

  "So, what did you find?" asked Li.

  Aira quickly scribbled another note and ha to Li: "Here, pick up this pair of headphones."

  Li's eyes lit up with curiosity. "You think you make these work? What would you ect them to?" she asked, grabbing a set of headphones from the workbench.

  Aira nodded and smiled with encement. She focused her powers on the headphones, sending pulses of energy toward them, attempting to modute the signal in a way that would allow Li to hear at least something.

  However, her initial attempt resulted only in a small jolt of energy, shog Li's ear.

  "Ow!" Li excimed, pulling the headphones off quickly. "What was that? That was uncalled for!"

  Aira's eyes widened in arm, but then she saw the fused look on Li's face turn into a smile, and both burst into ughter. She gestured to Li that it wasn't the end of the experiment.

  "Well, that obviously didn't go as pnned," Li said, rubbing her ear. "But there is some effect, uhe st time you tried your powers oill, unless you wao electrify me, it isn't really helpful. So, what was your inal pn?"

  At that, Aira stood up a several books. Most of them were dedicated to broadcasting information long distahrough the air. "They called it 'radio. 'All of that is just different forms of energy manipution. Should be right up my alley. I just o fiu," she wrote in her journal.

  "Ah," Li replied, "so you think you influehese radio... waves? But to what ends? You are right, it all sounds like magie!"

  "To what ends?" Aira answered. "To talk to you, of course."

  Despite the initial unpleasant experience, Li was excited to finally have some progress in that matter. She promptly offered any help she could provide. Finally, having an opportunity for two-way voiunication would be a game-ger for the two women. However, after the first act with shog Li, Aira was sidering which approach to take.

  "So, what about using radio receivers?" Li said. "Remember, besides out standard wristbands, sers use them for distant uniaybe it will work in a simir way? I brought one from Mountain View, but we also found several of them right here in the facility."

  It was Li's turn t stuff to the table. She went out to the room aurned with a portable radio.

  "Here, try this one, I found it among other things in a ste room nearby," she said. "I wouldn't give you mi least for now. It's w just fine and I don't want it to be fried."

  The device was battered and dusty but seemed to be i dition. Li hahe gadget to Aira, who exami closely. Her mind was already w on eling energy into the device without causing any actal shocks. She sent a few pulses within the small box to probe what was hidden inside and trace its internal pathways. But it needed a more focused approach.

  So, Aira took the a radio, found a cozy er, and started her standard meditation routine. Somehow, it was easier to focus on this device here, in the very heart of the facility. All the background noise of pnts and living beings was muted, and she could feel each electrical pathway of the device.

  Something was missing there, though.

  Sihe first time she held this world's te her hands, Aira felt some special e with it. When Elder Jave her that fateful tablet, that link was very feeble. But she se heless. But not with this small gadget. She felt that she could influes circuits with her Energy Manipution skill, but that was it. No e to the System.

  Still, she tinued her meditation. That was a mystery to be solved on a different day. Now, they had to figure out unication. Fog on maniputing energy in specific ways, she tried to make the radio receive a signal.

  "Here goes nothing," Aira thought, direg a trolled flow of energy into the device, careful to modute the currents inside so as not to overload it.

  The radio crackled to life, static filling the air. It was w, albeit imperfectly. Aira extended her powers even more to modute the signal. The pattern of static ged, but nothing disible came out of the small box.

  Li watched with an open mouth as Aira tio experiment. "You'd think I'd stop being surprised by your tricks, but roots and rivers, today's not that day," she said, and then added thoughtfully. "Let me give the radio a try. Maybe my chatter will help you untahat bramble patch."

  She grabbed her own portable radio and started describing to Aira the of events that led them to the a facility. Li started with the first enter in the forest, tinuing to tell the story of their journey day after day. Aira smiled and focused on her senses. As it was in her past life with Mana Manipution, she began isoting patterns and simirities, trying to replicate how Li's voice was interpreted by the device.

  Finally, during one of the pauses in Li's story, the radio spoke back to her with her own voice: "...you electrified Garrid we had to leave the town..." repeating what Li said moments ago.

  Li's eyes widened with amazement. "By the twisted branches, you actually did it! That's sharper than any forest wit I've seen. Though, gotta say, it's a bit uny hearing my own voice. Maybe ime, pick a voice that doesn't make me sound so mossy."

  A bit more experimentation allowed Aira to modute the signal so that Li's words sounded with Aira's voice. At least as what she thought her voice sounded like before the transformation.

  Now, only oep was left before finally having a proper unication el. And then, Aira's questiohrough: " you hear me, Li?"

  Of course, Li could. Aira herself was hearing her own voiing out of the small box loud and clear.

  They spent the few hours practig with the radios, fiuning their unication, and experimenting with different frequencies aings. The process was slow and required a lot of trial and error, but they were making progress. By the end of the day, they had a funal unication system i wasn't perfect, and there were still many kinks to work out, but it was a signifit step forward.

  Finally, after months of being silenced by the System or some other occult powers, Aira had her voice back.

  As they sat together, exhausted but eted, Li turo Aira with a thoughtful expression. "You know, this ges everything. We coordinate our efforts better, explore more effitly, and keep each other safe even when we have to split."

  Aira nodded, her mind rag with the possibilities. She reached out to take Li's hand in a sileure of gratitude and solidarity. Li squeezed her hand iurn and then took out her own portable radio once again.

  "Here, take this one," Li said. "Now I'm sure you've got the grit to keep it w. I'd like you to experiment with it as well."

  But the moment Aira got the devi her hands, it spoke in an unfamiliar voice.