Chapter 397: Soul Link (1/2)

”How are you now?” Arthur asked with worry, but he could see that Rega was quite well. The spirit broke their embrace and flew away to spin in the air, showing Arthur its roots and leaves.

”Rega is well,” the spirit danced and spun to show Arthur to prove its wellbeing. Arthur simply nodded with a smile as he presented Dia to the spirit.

”I hope you remember Dia,” he gestured toward the princess, and she stiffened like a plank of wood. If Arthur didn't know she was from Alka, he would have thought she was doing a robot dance.

”H-hi,” she stuttered as she greeted the spirit, and Arthur saw her grow frustrated. Rega turned to her and seemed confused before shaking its head.

”I'm sorry, I don't remember faces...” Rega scratched her head with her roots, seeming quite apologetic. This, for some reason, made Dia panic even more.

”It's okay!” Dia hurried to console the leafy spirit as if fearing it would feel bad. Arthur smiled at her entirely unexpected side but didn't comment further.

”She's my friend,” Arthur introduced them. ”She helped me when we were killing the monsters in your Inner World.”

”Thank you, big sis!” Rega acted like a child despite its age, and it bowed to Dia, who seemed bashful and panic-stricken. ”Master, are you here to...?”

”Yes, to get you out of here,” Arthur smiled as he raised his hand, and a rune appeared above it. ”This something I've learned just recently, but I think it'll work.”

The rune that appeared was a soft bluish hue, radiating a pulse that affected Rega's Inner World. It was one of the two he obtained from the human-pig spirit, called Spiritual Interference.

[Spiritual-Interference: a rune that directly manipulates spiritual energy and boundaries, allowing interference with spiritual energy and entities.]

[Note: this rune transcends tiers because it was obtained by a stroke of fate in a realm far away.]

The note proved that this rune was quite extraordinary, and it even transcended tiers. Of course, Arthur didn't know if this meant this rune couldn't evolve further, but this was quite enough.

”I'm going to link your spiritual body to my soul, and you can play around in the outside world,” Arthur explained and saw the look of sheer horror on Dia's face.

”Your soul?” muttered the princess with shock. She had the right to be surprised, as matters of the souls weren't things to be tempered with. ”Arthur, are you sure about this?”

”It should be alright, I think,” said Arthur with a hint of uncertainty, and it made Dia gawk at him.

”You are,” she gave a pause as she squinted her eyes, ”doing this without being certain about the side effects?”

”I promised her, so I'm keeping my promise.”

Rega seemed confused while Dia looked unconvinced. The princess opened her mouth again to protest, but Arthur hurried to use the rune.

The Inner World appeared to be shrinking the moment the rune touched Rega's body, and Arthur could feel his hand grab into its bindings to the world. He then manipulated the boundaries and linked its existence to his soul.

The process was quite simple, almost too simple, and it didn't take any time. However, the pain that arrived after a few moments made Arthur snap his eyes open as he grabbed into his heart.

”Ugh,” a groan leaked out of his mouth as he fell to his knees. Rega seemed unaffected, but Arthur felt his body was being cut open while the link began to form.

”Arthur!” Dia rushed to his aid but didn't know what to do. Arthur raised his hand to gesture that he was okay, but the pain was growing stronger. He gnashed his teeth together but knew that Rega was getting worried, so he tried to give a smile.

”I'm alright. How do you feel?” Arthur said with a weak voice, and Rega looked at her body with confusion.

”I feel... connected to you... the same away I've connected to the tree...” her voice came in intervals, as the spirit never experienced something like this.

”Then let's try to take this outside,” Arthur stood up as he waved his hand, and a portal opened to the outside world. The pain seemed to subside a bit as he walked out into the world. ”Come out, Rega.”

There was silence, but then Rega's head left the tree's surface. It floated out of the tree in front of Arthur's and Dia's eyes, looking around with amazement.

”Is this... the real world?” gaped the spirit. ”There are so many colors... more than Rega's Inner World...”

”You have never seen it before?” Dia asked as she held into Arthur, and the spirit shook its head.

”I only sensed it using my link to the tree, that's all. However, I feel like I forget something. I don't know what it is,” the spirit scratched its head. ”Master, can I...”