The archives were big. Daniel’s explanation had not done this place justice. Hundreds, maybe thousands of books lined the shelves of the archives. It was easily bigger than a library, and that wasn’t even the most impressive sight. Some of the books were moving, while others glowed and few even made noises like they were alive. The place had wildly exceeded all of Mash’s expectations, and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t excited to explore the books. He almost ran off on his own, but he remembered what Daniel had said.

These books were not necessarily safe. A person needed to make sure that their core was compatible with a path, then find a path that fit them. Both things needed to coincide, and he wasn’t even sure if they had cores, to begin with. Mash wasn’t sure about the others, but if the translation was working correctly, then he did in fact have a core. At least that was what his skill claimed to be.

Mash noticed another section in the room too. He didn’t remember Daniel mentioning it either. Unable to contain his curiosity Mash asked Daniel about them. With his domain, he could glimpse inside it, and he felt several items of different shapes and sizes. All of them radiated energy, and he had an idea about what was inside.

“What’s that room?”

Daniel turned to look at what Mash was pointing to. After a second of staring at Mash, he sighed and gave a response.

“It’s a vault of soul-bound items. They are named such as they bind to a person’s soul. A person can only have one of them, and not everyone can be chosen. You are free to try your luck with them, but I don’t think it would work for you or her.”

He looked toward Jill for the final word. It looked like she was going to respond, but she held herself back as Daniel finished speaking.

“I can sense something already bound to your souls. You would need to remove it first.”

Mash considered the words and thought about what might be occupying that space for him. If Jill’s was her weapon, then his was probably something similar.

[It is probably our bond. It is one of the soul.]

Priscilla’s message confirmed his own idea. It didn’t matter all that much to Mash. He preferred getting items for utility rather than power. Honestly, he didn’t mind much. While an item like that could be nice, he much preferred trying for one of these paths. Daniel didn’t let them explore just yet and pulled out a crystal of some kind. It was a large clear orb that was about the size of his head. He spoke softly, but everyone could hear him.

“This is an item that will measure and identify your core. It will tell us what paths are compatible with you.”

Mash tried snatching the item first, but Jill beat him to it. She snatched the orb, and he watched as nothing happened. The orb didn’t change in the slightest.

“Are you sure this is the right thing?”

Jill asked Daniel but didn’t get a response. His look was enough to tell her that much. Jill tried harder, and he could tell that she tried to use a skill. His domain let him watch as her mana entered the orb, but there still wasn’t a response.

“It appears like you do not have a core. That is interesting considering the amount of energy you just produced. Where does your power come from?”

Jill started explaining what mana was, and Mash took the opportunity to snatch the crystal from her hands. He didn’t care much for an explanation of mana. It was common sense, and also something that no longer applied to him. He held the orb and pushed some of his energy into it. At first, he thought it would remain as it was, but then it slowly started changing color. As Mash stared at the orb, he saw something rather horrific. It looked like something was growing within the orb. He hoped it would be a tree, but that ended up not being the case as he recognized what it was. It was flesh. Mash continued to pour his energy into the orb, and the flesh slowly warped into a misshapen life form. It didn’t look human, but he could have sworn he saw it moving.

Daniel moved quickly, pulling the orb out of Mash’s hands. The creature that had been growing within the orb started decaying rapidly. It let out a pained yell as it died. The sound was eerily like that of a baby’s cry. Mash just stared at the empty space between his hands, unwilling to face the sounds. The others looked disgusted, and Luke even doubled over. Mash wanted to vomit too, but he was just too stunned by what had happened. He tried to understand what he had just done and looked to Daniel for something.

“I should’ve stopped you as soon as I realized what was happening. I’m sorry, I got distracted by the conversation.”

Daniel’s words only prompted Luke to ask another question.

“Wait, you make it sound like you expected that.”

“It is what happens to those with affinities related to the body and life. A combination of both usually results in something along those lines. However, I have never seen a living creature successfully form. It would take an enormous amount of ki, not to mention an incredibly pure affinity to life.”

Even with Daniel’s explanation, Mash didn’t shift his gaze from his now empty hands. He spoke without lifting his head. He could still see everyone’s reactions to his domain. The disgust in their faces bothered him for some reason. It felt a little like he was looking at himself. Or at least what he would be if he had no forms.

“That was real, wasn’t it?”

The question escaped Mash’s lips, and he saw Daniel’s nod in his domain. That gesture was enough, and Mash couldn’t help but remember what he had seen. The life that he had made. It had been a reflection of himself. He felt the connection that had formed. It had been eerily similar to what he felt when he made imitations of Priscilla. He felt a numbness spread through his body. He felt Jill’s hand land on his shoulder. His domain let him track her movements, and he didn’t have the motivation to turn his head.

“You need to focus on something else. Trust me when I say this, you can’t let yourself dwell on it.”

He turned to face her, about to say some stupid retort, but the look she had stopped him. She let him see past the snark, and he could see just how much effort she was putting into staying herself. Just what had she been through in that trial? She had given them an overview, but there was clearly more to it. He nodded, accepting her words. A few slow breaths later, he managed to straighten his back. To look forward and try to move past the scene. Honestly, he wanted to talk about it, but he couldn’t bring himself to bring it up with Daniel here. He pushed the memories to the side, stuffing them next to memories of Krall.

“Sorry, about that. I’m fine now. Um, what kind of paths should look at.”

Mash couldn’t muster the same enthusiasm he had earlier. Though he was trying, he focused as Daniel pointed towards a section of the archives. He walked towards them, only listening to Daniel superficially. He couldn’t really focus on the conversation but hoped that the paths would prove more enticing. The others would find something to do, even if they couldn’t get a path.

This section was certainly strange. Most of the books were made of animal leather. It was obvious from the covers alone. Several of them even made noises like they were alive, and he thought that one of them was even breathing. Mash reached toward one of the books. Daniel had said that he would know which path was right as soon as he saw it. The first book had thick covers made from some dark brown leather. It felt rough under his fingers, and he was surprised to realize that he couldn’t open the book. He was tempted to force it, but he knew that he would probably just end up ripping it. Daniel said to not force it.

Mash moved to the next book, placing the previous one back in its space. There was probably some organization on the shelves, even if he didn’t know what it was. Even if he just looked at the books within this section, there were still hundreds of them to try. Several of them were just piled on the floor beside the shelf. Thus began the meticulous process of trying a book, only for it to fail. He made sure to carefully return every book, but he was slowly losing his patience. Plus, the repeated failures were weighing on his mind, and he couldn’t help but think about the thing he had made.

The next book he grabbed, was a pure white tome. The pages were made of bone, and he hesitated slightly as he tried to open them. Something about the book told him that it was the right one. That thought horrified him as he realized what the pages were made of. The book itself was easily as big as his forearm, and the covers were made of a white bone. The pages resembled animal hide. Each page obviously belonged to a different animal. He didn’t open it though and set it down. He looked over the rest of the paths before him, hoping that one would call out to him more than the one in his hand. Just when he was about to give up, something else did call out to him. He reached for it, feeling much better about this path than the previous.

The book was small and was even smaller than his hand. Someone had tucked it in a corner, resting it on top of a much larger book. He probably wouldn’t have noticed it if not for the connection that he felt. The book was small, and it wasn’t thick either. Mash didn’t think that there were even a hundred pages in the book. It was definitely the smallest path he had seen thus far. The cover of this book was soft, as it was made of fur. The pages looked to be normal paper, which he was very relieved to see. It didn’t feel alive either. This book was a lot simpler than the last, but he chose it without hesitation. Currently, he wanted simple.

Mash carefully tried opening the book and felt relieved to see the cover turn. He finally found something that he could actually look at. With his path chosen, he walked back to Daniel. He was standing by the entranceway to the other section. He was making idle conversation with Jill, and Mash could hear them discussing the differences between mana and Ki. They were talking about why Mash’s energy worked, while Jill’s mana had failed. Luke and Red were apparently searching through the other items. Neither of them had been successful with the orb either.

The turned to him, Jill noticing his approach a little before Daniel did. He held his book up so that they both could see it. As Mash walked up, he asked Daniel about the path.

“What do I do next?”

Mash knew that Daniel had mentioned it earlier, but Mash hadn’t been paying much attention at the time. Thankfully, Daniel didn’t seem very bothered by the question. He gave his answer in the same stoic matter that he did whenever he explained something. Mash couldn’t help but think that Daniel would be a poor teacher. He didn’t seem able to infuse his explanations with emotion.