Jack glared at Madison. He wanted to be angry with her, but he could feel through their bond that her saying "Yes, master," was not intended to mock him, or tease him, or make light of what she had done. He got the impression that, though she didn't really want to be his slave, she would, if it would appease him. She wanted to please him, to be of use to him, and he could tell that she had said, "Yes, master," in an attempt to lighten the mood.
He sighed. He truly was stuck with her. Not that it was a bad thing. With the way the soul bond made it impossible for her to harm him, he could probably trust her not to do anything horrible to him. Though, he wondered how she would react now to the idea of him dating another girl. Not that he'd ever dated her, so it would be more like going on a date for the very first time, assuming he could get someone to go out with him.
His past relationship with Madison had been purely platonic friendship. They met before he hit puberty, and by the time he started thinking seriously about girls, she'd already been cemented in his mind as a more of a sister than anything else. So he never considered her as a potential romantic partner. And the soul bond had propelled them beyond any other relationship type. They were connected in a way no marriage, no intimate contact could achieve. And yet, they were more distant than they were yesterday. Closer than lovers, yet friendship strained.
He wasn't sure how he felt about her now. On one hand, he knew she would have sex with him if he asked. He could feel her desire through their connection. But he hadn't had those kinds of feelings for her, and her recent revelations left him cold. Intellectually, he understood why she had interfered in his potential relationships, that she hadn't understood how her actions had hurt him. But emotionally, he felt hurt, betrayed. And that would take time to fade.
He knew he could trust her now because of the soul bond. And, on some level, he understood that she was probably more on his side than anyone else could be, baring another soul bond. So, he saw no reason not to make use of her. She was smart, and often had good ideas, so he would be a fool to just shut her out. And, maybe with time, things would change. She was an attractive woman, after all. His eyes had been opened to that reality earlier in the day. And it was clear she wanted him. Part of him wanted to "make use of her", to satisfy his pent up urges, but he just could not bring himself to do that, to be the kind of person who used someone for sex, but didn't reciprocate their feelings.
He was stuck with her now, their connection permanent, or so the description claimed, and he decided he needed to understand what that meant. He had other questions and now was as good a time as any to get them.
Deciding that he would punish her a little by putting some small distance between them, pointed at the floor to the side of the wood chair and said, "Sit."
Madison, looked at the chair, then at him, then trudged over sat on the floor right next to the chair. When grabbed the chair, slid it a couple feet away from her and sat, he could feel through their connection that she was unhappy with the distance from him. She did not resent it, but was instead resigned to whatever choice he made for her.
He sat on the chair and then asked his assistant, "The soul bond description says the bond is permanent. How permanent? What happens if she dies?"
"She is bound to you for all eternity. If her body is destroyed, her soul will remain, and she will still be able to manifest here in your soul space."
He could feel joy burst from her over their connection, almost certainly because her "can't get rid of me dreams," were realized even more fully than either of them had expected.
Then she raised her hand.
Part of him wanted to tell her to sit still and be quiet, but he knew that was petty, so instead he said, "You don't need to raise your hand. This isn't a classroom. If you have a question, just ask."
"The Linked Self feature allows physical changes that happened inside the soul space or a simulation to be exported out to the original body. Can that same feature be used to undo an injury, like a cut or broken bone?"
His assistant looked at him.
Understanding that his assistant was waiting for permission to speak, Jack said, "You may answer her questions while I am present."
"As you say, Young Master," the assistant said, then turning to Madison, "Only changes that occurred after entry to the soul space may be exported back out to your original body. If you receive an injury in the outside world, you can enter the soul space, use time acceleration, wait to heal naturally, then export the change, the healed state, out to your original body. But if your original body is injured after you enter the soul space, you cannot undo that injury. Only changes can be exported, not saved state."
"Damn," muttered Madison.
Damn in deed. He had not even considered the possibility that the Linked Self feature could be used to undo an injury, and while it was a small disappointment to learn it could not be used that way, he was still pleased to know that it could be used to export accelerated healing via Time Acceleration. So, if she died, he would not be able to bring her body back to life, but her soul would remain and she would still have access to his soul space. Though he wondered in what form.
"If she dies," Jack asked, "does she revert to a normal sapient template, with the same multi-instantiation and pause/resume capabilities?"
"Not quite, Young Master. As soon as her soul bond formed, her template was replaced with a permanent manifestation. While she is alive, her manifestation will automatically pause and resume when she leaves and re-enters your soul space. You can evict her from your soul space and her manifestation will pause. And you can tug on her connection to prompt her to enter your space, thus resuming her manifestation. If she dies, you cannot evict her, but you can still pause and resume her manifestation."
He felt a small burst of fear from her over their connection. While he could not sever their soul bond, he could still "get rid of her" so to speak, by blocking her access to his soul space, and distancing himself from her in the outside world. And, killing herself would not remedy that situation because he could just pause her manifestation, which would be effectively the same thing as "getting rid of her".
From his point of view, this was good news, very good news. Even if she died, she didn't really die. And, if she got too annoying, he could put her in a timeout. But from her point of view, this was bad news. It meant that he could still shut her out if he wanted.
Feeling her growing fear over their connection, he could tell she understood this as well. He wondered if she still would have confessed to him her past transgressions if she had known what she does now.
He wanted to reassure her, or at least quell her fears, but was not ready to just out right forgive her. So, he looked at her and said, "Madison, as long as you are my friend, and treat me as a friend, then you should be okay. No more cock blocking, though. That will get you banished immediately."
She nodded vigorously, and, while she said nothing, he could feel her fear subside.
All the emotional ups and downs left him feeling tired and wrung out, so he just leaned back and closed his eyes for a few minutes, letting his thoughts drift aimlessly. At some point, he heard Madison shift on the floor then speak.