Chapter 26: ~Loyalties.~ (2/2)

Stefan points at the clock. “That's not knowledge from our world. The one who created this clock could probably build a Gate that fits into my fist! And that leads us back to your first question.” He corrects his glasses.

“Would you piss someone off to whom the Academy's Gates are nothing more but mere sticks? If he would go out into the world and publish this knowledge our world would topple upside down and burn.”

Idala looks concerned now. “Not from this world?”

Haah. I guess I will have to talk with all of them. If I let this go they could get some stupid ideas.

I switch the channel again and find Liandra and Violetta. They seem to be up for some mischief. One of them is freezing the ground with a thin layer of ice while the other is calling for Sarah to come and take a look at something.

Geez. These kids. Such a stupid prank. Sarah could get hurt. I will have to scold them afterwards. So I throw another piece of chocolate into my mouth while I watch the tragedy unfold.

But as Sarah slips she surprises me by making a perfect landing and catching her fall with a single hand.

Liandra claps her hands and turns towards Violetta. “See? I told you that she is some kind of martial artist!”

Neither of them realizes the creepy horror which is looming over them. Violetta and Liandra are grabbed at their earlobes and pulled down the corridor. Probably to suffer even worse punishment by a direct family member.

That saves me the need to play the bad guy. I switch off my globe and stand up to deal with something else. The globe is working fine for the time being. Maybe I will work on the range if I have time.

There is still my training in soul magic. I want to finally solve this problem of mine. After a few steps I reach my personal training room. It's completely empty except for a very complicated magic circle on the ground.

It's something that should help me to unlock the mystery of souls and I am working on it for several lifetimes now. I take another bite from my chocolate and set the bowl down. Of course outside of my magic circle.

The circle itself is a really complicated pattern which i carved into the floor and filled up with metal.

This thing is actually very delicate and combines the heights of all my scientific and magical knowledge. Even I don't have a clue of what would happen if I would randomly change the conditions by involving a foreign element into the ritual.

So I place myself at the centre of the circle which represents the mind. This whole thing is meant to strengthen my soul and to intensify my awareness of the higher realms.

A short burst of mana activates the circle which glows for a second and stops again. It's not in the least spectacular or noteworthy. But that's not the goal at all. After taking another look around and checking everything I close my eyes and start to concentrate.

Slowly I begin to shut out my surroundings and my senses. They are just bothersome information at the moment.

After what felt like an eternity I start to realize a web of paths all around me. They are distant and I am not sure what they represent. I often tried to get a hold of them but they are even further out of my reach than a soul.

I concentrate on the green flames all around me instead. They symbolize souls and I can actually feel their presence. Though I never managed to actually get a hold on them until now. If I try to take a look inwards I think that my own soul is a black flame.

Not sure what the difference in colour means. I already managed to explore my own soul and create some exercises for manipulating it. Relax and stretch out to cover as much space as possible. Concentrate and focus on a single point.

Maybe those exercises will help me in the future but for the time being I think that my grasp on them is good enough. So I turn back to my original training session and concentrate on manipulating the green flames.

….

…

..

I am at it for a while when I realize a red flame which is approaching me. Strange. That colour is new! And since when are those flames coming towards me on their own?

Further away I realize that a yellow flame starts to circle us. Now it definitely gets freaky! That never happened in my exercises before! Maybe I should stop for today.

But then I realize interesting differences in the two new flames. The red one seems strong and vital like my own. The yellow one seems dormant and weak like the green ones.

Still wondering over this event I suddenly realize that the red flame is entirely too close! I try to wake up but it doesn't work!

In a panic I lose my cool and try to shove the foreign soul away with a burst of will and emotion. But instead it's suddenly drawn towards me!?

Ah!? Damn! Emotions are the key!? And I always tried to shut my feelings out!

They yellow one is also drawn in and there is no time to marble any further about this event. I am not happy about my new insight as the red and yellow souls start to mingle with my own. I see pictures and places. Memories. This is wrong! Those memories are not my own!

Shoving. Fighting. Separating! Myself! The other. Different! Can't lose myself!

It feels like I am struggling for an eternity but finally the fight ends as I lose my consciousness.

….

…

..

I wake up with something soft in my face. It's hard to breathe! And it smells like Celestial's perfume!

“Ow. My head hurts! What happened?”

“Mmem! Imdmimomt!!!!!!”

“Ah! Sorry, sorry.”

The darkness is lifted and I can finally take a look at the misery. Celestial is on top of me and the bowl with chocolate is broken beside us. The pieces of chocolate are all around in the circle!

“What the fuck happened!?”

Celestial looks confused. “I don't know. It's dinner time and I went to get you but you didn't come even after knocking the door for two minutes. So I looked for you and found you here. Meditating like dead in this dark room. I shouted but you didn't react. When I took a step forward I tripped over something.... ah... the chocolate!”

I cover my face with my hands. “I was executing a ritual to research soul magic!”

“S... S... SOUL MAGIC! Did something bad happen!? I remember a really horrible outer body experience!” Celestial starts to touch herself all over.

“How the fuck should I know!? You stumbled into a magic circle which even I don't fully comprehend because I took a lot of guesses! Let's hope that headaches are our only problem! Are you still you? Your memories? What about the third soul which was drawn in!?”

Celestial freezes up. “No... I think... I am me?”

Then she looks at me.

“Which third soul?”

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