Chapter 18 - The problem

Hati was floating in a black void when he suddenly opened his eyes and sat upright. As much as a black void had an upright, anyway. 

Looking around, Hati wondered where he was before he remembered what happened when he tried to awaken his physical element, causing him to grab his chest. However, there was none of the expected pain, making him wonder if he was dead again and if this was the afterlife after the afterlife. 

However, before his thoughts went any further, he heard a beautiful female voice booming through the void. "No, you're not dead. What you see results from me trying to project myself on your soul."

Hati was startled at the sudden voice but quickly furrowed his brows and asked in a tone that seemed a mix of caution and fury, "Who are you? Can you read my mind? And what the hell do you mean by trying to project yourself on my soul!?" 

The voice giggled a little, something that sounded quite terrifying when it came from everywhere around you at a loud volume. "No, I can't read your mind. Your face is simply easy to read. Good thing, too. If I could read your mind, it would mean my plan had failed. As for who I am, let's save that for our next meeting. 

Our current meeting wasn't planned after all. I was planning to wait until you formed your soul core. That's also why the soul projection seems a little more terrifying than it really is. Had you formed your soul core, you would be looking at me right now. 

It's a lot like the screen projectors on Earth, except it can also carry sound, and it works both ways, allowing me to examine your body. Basically, I'm simply trying to have a conversation while I examine what just happened to you, and this is the only way for me to do that.

I promise there is no way to use soul projection maliciously. You can consider me a visitor while I determine if interfering in this is worth the backlash."

A little annoyed at being called easy to read, surprised by its knowledge of Earth and unsure whether this voice was telling the truth, Hati snorted and thought, 

'Since she knows about Earth, there's a good chance she knows more about my reincarnation. Unfortunately, the potentially lethal wound I just suffered will have to be a priority.' 

So he said, "Fine, let's say I believe you for now. You said you were examining what happened. Have you found anything?" 

Hati obviously wouldn't take any particular stock in what this strange, disembodied voice had to say. Still, it couldn't hurt to hear her out, as he was currently, literally and figuratively, in the dark. Meanwhile, he kept looking around and trying to summon his sin-shard abilities in an effort to get some control of the situation.

Giggling again, the voice responded, "You really are a cautious person, huh? Well, I can't blame you, especially because, in a way, I am your enemy. In fact, that attitude will probably serve you well in the future. Oh, don't give me that look. I'll explain as much as I can when we meet for the second time. 

Anyway, yeah, I examined what happened, and although I now know what technically happened, I'm still not sure how it happened. I won't be helping you with this one, though. Although that so-called Fenrir clan won't be able to help you with it, your father should be able to do so. 

This means that interfering now is not worth the backlash for me, even if you have to start your Einherjar path a little later. Anyway, your family will explain what happened to you. They will probably suggest you keep trying as you get older; it won't help, but I suggest you do so anyway. 

Every time your heart focal is damaged and healed in this way, it will grow stronger, which is a rare opportunity. But that's all the time we have right now. See you at our next meeting, Hati Gunnulf."

Realising the conversation was about to end, he quickly said, "Wait! Do you know what happened to Luna?!" The voice was still not to be trusted, of course, but information was still information. 

But before he could hear an answer, everything started fading into black again. Just before he went out, though, he heard the voice say one last thing, "She's closer than you think."

—-----

Inside Hati's bedroom, all the same people who were there during his attempted awakening were still there. Astrid was wiping sweat off his forehead with a worried look on her face. She had been kneeling beside his bed from the moment they laid him down there, hoping he would soon wake up. 

Meanwhile, Sif, Erik, Leif and Lisa were talking in the middle of the room. Lisa had just finished healing and examining Hati, and the other three were hounding her for the results.

Sif, who had tears in her eyes and a troubled look on her face, said, "Are you sure it had nothing to do with using the sanguine wolf arts? What if his physical element isn't blood?" 

To which Erik responded while shaking his head, "Don't let your worry over the boy's fate cloud your judgement. You know perfectly well that the start of any heart focal technique is the exact same and has no bearing on the element. Tell us what you found out, Lady Lisa."

Lisa nodded to his words and said, "Elder Erik is correct. It had nothing to do with the sanguine wolf arts. Instead, it seems as i-" Suddenly, she was interrupted by a groaning coming from the bed, and every head in the room immediately swivelled to the boy lying in his bed. 

Hati groaned while saying, "Ugh, I feel like I've been dropped from a mountain, hit by a train and stomped on by an entire football team. In no particular order." Ignoring some of the strange words he had just uttered, four voices immediately filled the room as they yelled different things.

"Master!"

"Hati!"

"Boy!"

"Dear!"

Only Lisa remained silent as she looked at Hati with a smile, apparently having expected him to wake up soon. Sif rushed to Hati's side, nearly toppling over Astrid in the process, and started fussing over him as she asked, 

"You had me so worried, little Hati! How dare you worry your mother like that! Are you still hurting anywhere? You better believe you'll get it when you get out of that bed!"

Hearing her confusing tirade, Hati could only smile at how worried his mother was for him. "I'm fine, mother. Sorry for worrying you." He was lying as his body was actually hurting quite a bit, but there was no point in worrying his mother about that, so he continued, "What happened to me?"

Leif responded, "Aunty Lisa was just about to tell us. I'm glad you're fine, Hati. Sif would have been impossible if something happened to you." Despite his words, you could see the worry reflected in his eyes. Something which Erik was quick to point out as he slapped Leif on the back of his head, "Quiet, you! You were just as worried as the rest of us."

Rubbing the back of his head, he looked at his grandfather with an aggrieved expression. Couldn't this old man just let him keep his image of a carefree, prank-loving uncle? Ignoring the look he was getting from Leif, Erik looked at Lisa and asked, "Could you tell us what happened now, Lady Lisa?"

Nodding at Erik's request, Lisa told everyone what she found out, "Right, it's a rare condition, but not one I haven't heard of before, although Hati's case is particularly interesting. It is called elemental dissonance. 

Hati here was two different elements vying to become the physical element, and because there can be only one physical element, they clashed and caused a backlash. The strange thing about Hati's condition is that I can't for the life of me figure out what element this is." 

As she said so, she held up her hand, and a tiny speck of a hazy, pale light appeared there. "I had to clean out any rampaging elements from his heart focal. As expected, one of the two elements was blood, but I don't know what element this is. It is extremely powerful, though; even this tiny speck is hard for me to control, and it will probably dissipate soon." 

Hearing those words, everyone looked at her with surprise. She was a powerful fifth-revolution Einherjar, and yet she had trouble controlling that tiny speck of light? Obviously, it was much harder to contain an element you had no affinity with, but still, the fact that Lisa had trouble handling such a tiny piece of it spoke volumes about its potential. 

They tried to figure out what kind of element it was, but none of them recognised it. After staring at the speck of light for a few more minutes, it suddenly shook and disappeared. Lisa said, "I couldn't hold it any longer. I can see from your expressions that none of you recognised it either. Sif, could it have come from his father?"

Still hugging Hati, she shook her head and said, "No, I've never seen that element before either. It doesn't fit with his father's physical or spiritual elements. Regardless of that element's origins, though, is there a method of solving this?"

Nodding her head with an unsure look, Lisa responded, "Technically, yes. It's not a foolproof method, but it's the only thing I know of, and it's worked before in similar cases. 

The only complication is the fact that the second element is both unknown and powerful, which might complicate matters. Basically, the method boils down to, 'If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.'"

Seeing everyone look at her with a deadpan look, she shrugged her shoulders and said, "What? It's a valid method."