Chapter 71: What Do Souls Dream of?

Ele’Azar brought them to a suite within the compound and walked them inside.

“What no more overnight sliding floor torture?” Pneuma scoffed.

“No, no more of that,” Ele’Azar confirmed. “That was never my idea and while you were gone, I argued for equal treatment if you returned. You will now be treated much like the others. The only concession you need to make is a detailed description of the cavern beyond the blue area. And there is hope you will share more about its impact on your Souls. Although most don’t believe you will be willing to share. No one else would demand that information from our people. Not even a mentor. The Soul is sacred, and no one casually shares the inner Soul for fear of outside influence or corruption.”

“Corruption?” Trint asked with some concern in his voice.

“Yes, many Souls, especially from white to orange, are susceptible to some of those with higher density Souls. The practice of subjugation or Soul enslavement has occurred but is not common in the civilized world of the Cease.

Ele’Azar soon left them to themselves to clean up and rest. He promised to have a full day for them tomorrow. Despite their stats allowing them to not need rest like normal people, they still chose to rest in their provided beds. Who could guess the next time that would be an option?

“Goodnight,”

“You too,” Trint said as he closed his eyes. But a minute later he jumped to his Soul rather than trying to sleep right away. And he immediately knew Pneuma was already there.

They spent more time discussing uses for the Soul space and although Trint didn’t choose the Soul Architect profession path, they decided to build out the space as if it were one of their Subsystem cities. They had experience with Spirit building and just applied the same principles. Trint focused on one area and Pneuma another. Trint would come to see Pneuma’s developments and then fill them in or adjust them.

“Trint, I have one other significant change I think we should consider,”

“You know I’m happy to implement your ideas. What’s so different about this one?”

“Well, we’ve got an empty city on the top side of your Soul space. My thought is we do something different for the underground side.”

“Like what?”

“What about we try filling that side with my Soul? Two halves of the coin. I don’t fully understand why mine is outside yours, but what if we tried forcing mine into the underground space and then use our displaced volume to expand each half? I honestly don’t know if it would hurt or help but if we can make the change then I think we can change it back if it isn’t best.”

“I wonder how being in your Soul would differ for other people versus being in mine. Hopefully, they would be able to function there too. The only thing I think we should do if they can’t be the have a bubble around the roots with my Soul filling it. The Tree of Life is one of my Soul Anchors. We don’t know whether putting the roots into your Soul would help or hurt it.”

“I think that’s a wise way to handle it. Also, I was wondering if your stat display changed since gaining the Anchors. Don’t forget to tell me after this but how about we try shifting my Soul into the bottom half?”

Trint and Pneuma each took a seat under the Tree of Life. Pneuma sat near the roots in the other half and mirrored Trint’s position and posture. They both focused on achieving the change and slowly they were each able to grab hold of and shape the Form of the Sphere. Trint pushed his bottom half to follow out into the space of Pneuma’s Soul on one half of his Sphere and Pneuma simultaneously did the same on the other side of the bottom half. It was like a cup tipping over. At first a little of the liquid inside spilled but as the momentum and angle tipped more flowed out. And with every portion that Trint pushed out, Pneuma’s could fill in. Trint’s Soul volume on the Topside grew in proportion to the volume moved and soon his domain or Soul Scale had doubled on top. Adding both out and up in the half Sphere. The other noticeable change was that Pneuma’s shell was no longer surrounding Trint’s “sky.” Instead, it looked like the night sky. Stars or some distant lights were twinkling in the distance.

“Everything feels fine for me,” Trint said out loud and despite their distance, they could hear each other as if in the same room.

“Yes, I feel more balanced with you. I can even form my own completed structures here. I think I will begin forming some of my own civilization down here. I also noticed my first Anchor. When my Soul flooded into this half, I noticed that there was a subtle difference in the density of some of my Soul's substance. I tried to gather the denser parts together. Once I reached a certain density, I felt a connection snap into place. It feels familiar and yet new. I think it might be connected to my former connection to your adopted benefactor my former master. There is nothing to worry about. I don’t sense it is a true connection like Phinry was referencing. But once that connection snapped into place, I noticed more and more connections in the void. They look like stars, but I can now sense they are other Souls. Some near us and some farther away. Some seem familiar and others I would guess are the Cease people nearby.”

“And how is that your Anchor?”

“Well, the more I condensed that part of my Soul the more it acts as an Anchor grounding my Soul in place, but it should let me reach out along the connections.”

“P, do you think that’s a good idea? What if they can sense you or I don’t know like trap you somehow?”

“There will always be risks but I don’t believe I gained this Anchor and ability to just sit around hoping something happened. Trust me. Let me try reaching out to a connection that seems nearby. I’ll try to be right back.”

And then there was silence. “Are you still there?” Trint was already a little nervous. It wouldn’t be the first time he doubted the System or its supposed gifts. But he had been fortunate to the point of ridiculous luck so far. He would try to be patient and trust Pneuma’s confidence once again.

About 30 minutes later Trint felt like he was wearing a circle in the dirt around the Tree of Life as he had circled it many times. Pneuma returned.

“It’s a strong ability. Maybe too strong. But that could also be because they seem to be sleeping or maybe they were meditating. I’m not sure.”

“Get to the point,” Trint jumped in.

“Right, so I was able to follow the connection to the source. I think the best way to think of it is that each Soul, even ours is in a vast Space. But there are links formed when you are near someone, interact with them, or have a Soul connection or even maybe a harmonic resonance with them. The first connection I tried ended up being the girl from the testing that wanted to see our results. Her name is Arneala. I was able to see her information as if I had a skill for identification. I was also able to easily see her Soul strength and potential. My main thought right now is if I can take you along the connection. Given your profession and the hopes, we have for it…I don’t know if maybe you can help her, or others reach further along their potential. I don’t know what that could mean or if it would cost you anything. But your Path description was clear that you need to level up through effort and application. The fact there wasn’t a lot of detail could mean this is one way to do that.”

“It could just as easily be you that needs to use your own Anchor,” Trint challenged. “It makes more sense to me that it is for you to use.”

“Just trust me and give it a try, please,” Pneuma pleaded, already certain this was a route of growth for Trint.

“Okay, but I don’t know why you are so certain,” Trint reluctantly agreed.

It was just a matter of flexing his will for Pneuma to take Trint along the connection. Sure enough, they arrived as if teleported, at the edge of a Soul Space no larger than a small house. The information Pneuma reported was clearly understood without any text or display. Trint was just aware without effort or will that this was Arneala’s Soul Space.

“What now?” Trint asked.

“Try imagining a door,” Pneuma suggested.

Trint pictured a wooden door with a brass handle on the surface of the sphere. The door immediately formed but was only touching the sphere at one point in the center. But as it formed the Sphere expanded to create a sort of hallway to connect the door.

“You think I should open the door?” Trint felt uncertain. “Wouldn’t that be creepy or weird to poke around inside someone else’s Soul?”

“I honestly don’t know. But we got these abilities for some reason. Let’s at least try while we are here.”

Trint saw the logic in that and grasped the doorknob and turned. There was no resistance and the door swung open as he pulled. Looking at each other they moved through the threshold. They were surprised to find the space inside resembled a living room. It was smaller inside than it appeared outside. They found themselves in front of a fireplace with a room with some furniture and books along the wall in built-in shelves of old wood. The books looked worn and well-used. Some were ancient one was left on a couch open. Trint walked over and picked up the book. It was a book on Soul warriors. It looked more like a journal containing neatly handwritten notes. A few pictures showed meditation poses, martial arts forms, and descriptions of breathing techniques.

Pneuma tapped Trint’s shoulder and pointed at the fireplace.

“I think that is the personification of her Soul,” Pneuma smiled.

“Yeah, I think so,” Trint said as he looked at the flames. They formed a young woman who was sitting reading or writing in a book, much like the one on the couch. “You think that she isn’t able to materialize here yet or is just outside at the moment?”

“I’m not completely sure but my guess is she can’t materialize here. Not everyone is going to find this as easy as we have. Many take eons to figure out their Soul. This one might even be a typical prodigy at this. I have an idea. Try using your Profession to will her into being,” Pneuma suggested.

“I’m not completely sure I know what you are getting at. You want me to imagine her being here and not just in the fire?”

“Yeah, here let me try making another template and you fill it in,” Pneuma excitedly started using his ability to form from his Soul. Using his memory of the woman he outlined it in exacting detail. “Now, go over to the fire and see if you can move the fire to this form,”

“Okay, let’s give it a try,” Trint hated doubting Pneuma. He had never steered them wrong. But he was also afraid of damaging this girl’s Soul. Stepping close to the fire, he noticed the flames were not giving off any heat. Even when he stuck his hands into the flames there was no damage or pain. Not sensing any issues yet he carefully scooped the figure of the woman in the flames, and both placed it in the form and willed it to fill the form Pneuma created.

There was an immediate response. The Soul space shuddered and ballooned. The door disappeared and a hallway replaced it. Trint turned to find their exit.