"The one you just tried cultivating is the mantra of tranquility, it should have shown you a place you are most familiar with. In there you would have proceeded to relax and calm your senses, to become in tune with the aspect of reality you chose to link.

We now know that it didn't happen this way, and soon enough I'll tell you exactly why. Even if I've already got an idea."

Lenard quickly jumped up from his chair, his general complexion was much better, as his precious tonics were, at last, working. On the other hand, Nestor was deadly white, the nightmarish experience he had just been through just kept flashing before his eyes.

The thought of the merciless knight, impaling him, smiling under the setting sun, had been haunting him since he regained his senses.

'Damn it, he must have remained traumatized. With the small thanks of appreciation, he seemed to have already moved from whatever he saw in the dreamland.'

Every so often Nestor kept checking his surroundings, rapidly tilting his head in a futile attempt to spot his past executioner. Biting on his nails whenever he inclined his head enough to hide the act in front of his teacher.

He was trying to hide the shock that such an experience impacted him. It was true that he died already once, yet this was an entirely different feeling.

Fire had engulfed him in the past, inflicting an immeasurable amount of pain, turning his body to ashes. Yet that couldn't give the same psychological horror of being directly murdered by another human being.

"Wow, you still scored fine with the mantra, even if you got interrupted out of it your soul axon managed to connect to your brain and you have developed a few soul dendrites as well.

Also, I just confirmed my earlier conjectures, your soul is indeed quite peculiar. It is capable of generating high quantities of soul power but it lacks compliance.

It can't adapt to its own potency, I would be happy to discover the origin of such a faulty mechanism. Unfortunately, this goes beyond the scope of my knowledge, as a scholar, I am most confident in Ceres' historical records rather than soul biology.

Now now, it must have seemed quite the grim situation. In truth, it's not that bad, as to put it bluntly you'll simply have a much harder time compared to your peers. In the end, you'll still manage, no, perhaps you'll progress even faster than them. "

Then Lenard quickly put the golden monocle, alas Marais soul scan, away in his spatial storage.

He handed Nestor another yellowed, ancient mantra for him to use as a substitute.

"This one is called 'The lonesome traveler', nothing should happen here that might potentially harm you. As you did with the previous one, before reading soul scriptures you should be in a calm state of meditation. Independently of their rank."

Nestor slowly nodded and picked up the parchment. His movements were sluggish, his mind appeared to be off track, barely able to follow Lenard's instructions.

'It's getting worse, I knew it. The soul desynchronization is getting stronger by the minute, living him alone would eventually lead to his death.

But such a great and magnificent teacher is by his side, that is me. This mantra should help him a great deal.'

Finally, his thoughts had returned, and Nestor had remained engulfed in a state of utter numbness. As if he was a mere spectator of his body, only capable of expressing simple motions.

Now, however, he felt like regained control of his life.

'But why is everything black, I can't see anything, where did Teacher go, what happened. Wait..'

An Intense headache suddenly interrupted his line of thoughts, as he finally started to remember. First the fear and despair, but then they soon got overshadowed by the most recent memories.

Sadness and depression kicked in, as he saw himself falling into depravity, once again helped by his teacher Lenard. This wasn't what he imagined his second life to be, Nestor wanted to give his all and make his own decision, overcome such troubles through his efforts.

One could say that most of these events weren't avoidable on his part, he was new to the matter of this strange world and had to rely on someone else to keep going forward.

He had agreed to the Council's contract for this very reason, he knew it very well.

Anyhow, He wasn't happy one bit with such developments, it reminded him of his previous life, too much for his liking.

Nestor gave himself the equivalent of a pair of virtual slaps in the face. He would prove to himself that he changed.

The total lack of vision had made him consider fault in his eyes, yet once Nestor moved his hands a little closer he could faintly see their figure.

'This place is devoid of light, I haven't been blinded by any means. Based on how the last mantra unfolded I can expect anything from this either, I must keep my guard high up.

According to the Teacher, it's called 'The lonesome traveler', I wonder... the lonesome traveler.'

The ground under his feet seemed to be made out of rock. It was cold and humid, presenting areas covered in moss from time to time.

Till now, he had yet to discover any kind of fauna, not even a little insect crawling in the vicinity.

Also, no matter which direction he took, Nestor couldn't reach the walls of what he believed to be a cavernous system. Around him were only darkness and sporadic clumps of dirt and rocks.

One step after another, Nestor kept walking. First, only minutes passed, but then even after hours, nothing changed. Soon enough Nestor noticed something strange, he wasn't feeling fatigued, hungry, or thirsty.

'I must not yield, if I keep going forward I'll eventually find something, the meaning behind this mantra. There is bound to be one, or else what would be the point of writing one?'

Still, the darkness surrounding him didn't seem to change. As almost an entire day passed by, the situation leaned on helplessness. This place was definitely cursed, nothing more than a loop to gnaw at his mental fortitude.

'No! I mustn't give up. Backtracking my steps made me discover the peculiarity of this place, it is constantly changing while I move. It is never the same, it must mean something.

If only I could get at least another clue to gain a better understanding of this place. Two dots make a straight line after all.'

Unknownst to him, Nestor had somehow relegated his previous fears to the back of his head, they were still undeniably there. Although they were not as pressing anymore as if their weight had been lessened.

"Nestor, come on get up, the hour mark we agreed on just passed."

Lenard quickly shook him by the shoulders in an attempt to wake the sleeping Nestor. With his legs crossed and eyes closed, Nestor sat on the cold floor of the room.

"Oh yes, Lenard, you are my teacher and I just practiced soul augmentation?

Indeed, from your lesson I understood it to be called this way, however, this practice reeks of danger the more I experience it..."

Lenard almost laughed out loud from Nestor's strange speech, nonetheless, it was still within expectations.

"Quick drink this up, we don't have much time remaining before you must go back to the training grounds and I have yet to tell you about the next soul art. Soul coating, the bread and butter of every combat-oriented soul master."

Nestor nodded his head in acknowledgment, making Lenard exhale a small sigh of relief, as he passed him one of his tonics.

"Also, I would recommend against obtaining help from others to understand the mantras, even more for your case."