Damaged Soul

Ariase's instinct screamed at him to get away, but he forced himself to stay put.

Instead, he tried to soften his expression, looking up at his uncle with wide, innocent eyes.

But this time, it sadly didn't work.

Herman's gaze was unyielding, his eyes cold and devoid of any hint of mercy.

The silence stretched, heavy and oppressive, until Ariase finally caved.

He mixed truth with a carefully constructed lie.

"I-I was just curious about the stones," he stammered, his voice trembling slightly.

"I wanted to see and touch them again… that's why I opened the case..."

He tried to sound as sincere as possible, layering his voice with just the right amount of nervousness.

He continued, adding more details to make his excuse believable.

For a moment, Herman's eyes narrowed, his expression unreadable.

He closed his glowing golden eyes briefly, and when he reopened them, the intense light had faded, leaving behind their usual warm yellow hue.

The overwhelming pressure in the room dissipated.

Ariase let out a silent breath of relief.

'Whew! That was close,' he thought, feeling triumphant as his uncle sighed heavily and massaged his temples.

"So... are you all right?" Herman asked, his tone softer now, though laced with concern.

"You're not hurt or feeling anything strange after absorbing them, are you?"

Seeing his uncle's anger subside, Ariase smiled, a little too pleased with himself.

He nodded enthusiastically, his head bobbing back and forth like a happy puppy appeasing its master.

But Herman wasn't convinced.

He frowned, still grappling with the impossible reality of what he had witnessed.

He couldn't shake the feeling that something was deeply wrong.

"Come here," Herman said, his voice steady but firm.

"I need to analyze your body. It's better to be safe than sorry."

Ariase froze, his stomach knotting with unease.

Before he could protest, Herman's voice echoed with a solemn resonance as he uttered the world command.

[Ancestria]

Golden light flooded the room as Herman activated his ancestral spirit mark.

The mark glowed brilliantly on his arm, and as he placed his hand gently on Ariase's head, intricate golden veins began to appear.

They spread across Ariase's body, tracing his form from head to toe.

He could feel the energy probing even his insides, a sensation that left him shivering.

Herman's brow furrowed as he concentrated.

His breathing slowed, the glow intensifying as the energy worked its way through every fiber of Ariase's being.

Two agonizingly long minutes passed.

Then, suddenly, Herman retracted his hand.

His eyes widened in shock, his face a mixture of worry and disbelief.

Gripping Ariase's shoulders tightly, he stared into his nephew's eyes, his voice trembling with urgency.

"Ria," he said, using the nickname he hadn't uttered in years.

"Tell me the truth. Don't you ever lie to me. Do you understand?"

Ariase swallowed hard, alarmed by the rare vulnerability in his uncle's tone.

"Y-Yes," he managed, his voice barely a whisper.

Herman's grip tightened slightly, his knuckles whitening.

"Did you touch anything in my room? Anything that could potentially damage and weaken your soul?"

Ariase's mouth opened, but no words came out.

"I know you're curious about a lot of stuff, but this is serious," Herman continued, his voice breaking slightly.

"This is a grave matter, Ria. If we don't figure out what happened, there's a chance your ancestral spirit mark won't awaken. If that happens…"

He paused, his face dark with worry.

"You'll be marked as a cripple for the rest of your life. Do you understand what that means?"

The weight of his uncle's words hit Ariase like a tidal wave.

His chest tightened, his heart pounding so loudly it drowned out everything else.

'No way…' he thought, panic flooding his mind.

'If that happens, how different would this life be from my last?'

Memories from his previous life surfaced unbidden, flashing before his eyes like a cruel reminder of the mediocrity and powerlessness he thought he'd escaped.

He clenched his fists, struggling to steady his breathing as his mind raced.

Racking his brain, he combed through every moment of the past few months, desperately searching for anything that might have caused harm to his soul.

But no matter how hard he tried, nothing came to mind.

He had been careful—too careful—because he knew how vital soul power was to the Element Awakening Rite.

Soul power wasn't just important—it was everything.

With a damaged soul, he might never become a mystic practitioner.

He would be doomed to remain an ordinary mortal, forever barred from the path he dreamed of walking.

The thought alone was unbearable.

Ariase's gaze fell to the floor, his thoughts spiraling as he answered softly, "No, I'm a hundred percent sure that I didn't touch or play with anything in your room."

Herman studied him closely, searching for any sign of deception.

But sensing the truth in Ariase's words, he nodded slowly, though his expression remained troubled.

His mind churned, trying to unravel the mystery, while Ariase himself began to piece together a possibility.

Closing his eyes, Ariase sighed deeply.

'Sigh... I-It must be because of that...' he wondered.

The realization crept up on him like a shadow, unwelcome but undeniable.

He might know the reason behind his damaged and weakened soul.

His thoughts drifted to the moment before he arrived in this world—a vivid, overwhelming memory etched into the core of his being.

He recalled the genesis, the incomprehensible vision of creation itself.

A being of pure light had shaped the cosmos, folding energy into worlds, guiding countless realms from mere essence to glorious celestial beings.

The experience had been staggering and profound beyond words.

But perhaps it had come at a cost.

Perhaps witnessing such an event had strained his soul to its breaking point, leaving it fragile and fractured.

He even remembered collapsing into unconsciousness in his wisp form; the overwhelming knowledge and exposure to the otherworldly energy was too much for him to bear.

But what haunted him even now was the memory of millions of other soul wisps beside him, their flickering light compressed inside the glass orb.

'Was I really the only one with intact memories of the previous world?' The thought gnawed at him, though he quickly pushed it aside.

It didn't matter—not now.

He had more pressing concerns.

His soul was damaged, and he had no idea how to heal it.

Before he could voice his thoughts, his uncle's voice cut through the silence, laced with hesitation.

"Ria," Herman said, his tone heavy, "you said you were okay after absorbing those mystic stones, right?"

Ariase nodded, confused by the question.

"Uhm," he replied cautiously, his mind still turning over his own theories.

Herman exhaled and leaned forward, his expression serious.

"You're a smart kid. I'm sure you already know that every country follows its own divine scriptic system, and ours is no different. But our system is… rather unique and eccentric."

Ariase tilted his head, unsure where this was going.

Herman continued, "Unlike other systems, we only awaken when we reach the age of twelve, and only in the month of August. After that, we rely on mystic stones to extract the world essence inside them and transform it into energy we can use."

He paused, his gaze sharpening. "But there's something else—a secret many people don't know."

Ariase leaned in slightly, his curiosity piqued.

"Mystic stones..." Herman said, his voice lowering, "... don't just provide energy. They also help strengthen the soul."

Ariase's eyes widened at the revelation.

"This isn't common knowledge," Herman explained.

"I only discovered it because of my work as an assistant to the department head of the research committee a few years ago. And now… I think this might explain why you were able to absorb those stones without an ancestral mark. Your soul…"

He hesitated, his brow furrowing deeply.

"Your soul must have been in desperate need of healing, drawing in external energy to repair itself."

The room fell silent, the weight of Herman's words settling between them.

Then, Herman's expression hardened with resolve.

"That's why..." he said, his voice firmer now, "I think we should take a gamble."

Ariase blinked, startled by the sudden shift in tone.

"A gamble?"

Herman nodded, his face etched with worry and sadness.

"I can't let you stay like this. I won't let you be crippled and bullied by your peers."

"I can't bear it, Ria. And... I'm not always going to be here to protect you."

His uncle's words pierced through Ariase, filling him with a mixture of fear and determination.

"So," Herman continued, his voice softening, "are you willing to take this chance? To do whatever it takes to heal your soul? With it, you might still be able to awaken a few talents."

Ariase's breath caught in his throat.

He looked into his uncle's eyes, seeing the raw emotion behind them—the worry, the love, the unshakable determination to help him no matter the cost.

"I-I'm willing to try it," Ariase said, his voice steady despite the storm of emotions within him.

Hearing this, Herman's lips curled into a grin, though his eyes shimmered with relief and pride.

'To think this kid has the courage to take this path,' he thought, shaking his head.

Standing up, Herman scratched the back of his neck, a rare smile breaking through the tension.

"Screw it," he said with a wry chuckle.

"If anything happens, I'll just have to fix you myself when I reach the 5th Halo."

Turning back to Ariase, his grin grew wider.

"But before we start, it's only fair that you know why I've been able to advance faster than most of my peers."

Ariase looked at him expectantly.

Herman's smile took on a mysterious edge as he said, "It's because of one of my talents—Purification."