A WHILE

Leonel didn't say anything, and his expression didn't change. He simply stood there and waited.

"Blood Sovereigns are different from the rest of us. Sovereigns in general. Being a Sovereign is like catching a glimpse of the Life State before stepping foot into it truly."

The Life State was the second last State of Force Manipulation there was. It represented, apparently, the so-called Second Dimension, a Dimension in which only the Regulator could exist in. It was apparently where the spark of life and the way Little Nana's elder brother had described it, it made Leonel think of the big bang theory of Earth. An instant of time that was both instant and yet infinite, it was a beautiful picture that he wasn't in the head space to admire.

"It's that faint hint of the Life State that allows your Force to have seemingly inexplicable properties. It's why your Spear Force can recognize what is and isn't a spear, and it's also why it can swallow up lesser Spear Forces. Though, if your enemy was of the Life State, this ability would be rendered useless unless you were likewise in the Life State."

El'Rion shook his head, feeling that he was explaining too much. For some reason, beneath Leonel's gaze, he felt that he was in the presence of his father, and he wanted to over explain himself rather than under explain. But even this thought felt ridiculous. His father was an existence the like of which could force Existence itself to tremble, he couldn't fathom comparing him to Leonel. And yet here he was...

"Each Sovereign is special in their own way, and you can either be born with the ability, or you can comprehend it yourself, though the latter is far more difficult. The Blood Sovereign is special in that its Sovereign State is a physical manifestation of its body, same for similarly titled Sovereigns that don't fall into the usual Weapon Force categories."

"The reason Ninth Dimensional existences are so hard to kill is because the Life State is birthed into their bodies once they enter that Realm. The separation between "powerful" Ninth Dimensional existence and "weak" ones is whether or not they've comprehended this kernel of Life State or not. For many Ninth Dimensional existences, especially the ones you'll come across, this kernel is the only sense of the Life State that they'll gain in their entire lives. Even for those that do comprehend this kernel, many of their Forces will still be stuck at the Impetus State, however this won't stop their strength from being elevated to an extreme level.

"You might have guessed it by now with this explanation, but Blood Sovereigns gather their power from their own blood, they're adept at manipulating it and using it to swallow the blood of others. In order to do that and not lose themselves, a part of their soul is always dispersed within their blood, but that's not important. Even if it wasn't, she could still be saved."

"That's because her very blood is laced with the Life State already. She is essentially like a Ninth Dimensional expert in that she can't be killed so easily without the help of someone of a Regulator or someone that can somewhat ignore a Regulator. She's only really missing one thing."

El'Rion looked off toward where Aina's body had been as though remembering the sight of something. "... But it seems like you already have that one thing.

"She's like a Ninth Dimensional expert, but she isn't truly one. Her Force hasn't reached a high enough state to exist for long periods of time. If too much time passed, she would truly die. However, you have Vital Star Force, the Life Force of the body. So long as enough of her blood remains, and you're able to get to her in time, you can use your Vital Star Force to stimulate her revival. You also seem to have the perfect vessel for her too. The only problem is...

"Your Vital Star Force has to at least be in the Impetus State, and you're only half a step in. That's not enough. At best your Vital Star Force can sustain her, but it can't revive her, and you'll need to give her quite a large amount every day. You're lucky that you happen to have the perfect Force, and it's at just the right level too. If it was only at the Fourth Layered State, it wouldn't be enough even to sustain her."

"Unfortunately, I do not have expertise in Vital Star Force, nor do any of the companions I've brought. Or else I would try to help you."

Leonel looked at El'Rion for a long while and then nodded slowly. The smoldering smoke coming from the edges of his eyes and the soles of his bare feet edged away slightly and became almost imperceptible to the eye. Though, they didn't fade entirely.

"Anastasia," Leonel said lightly.

"You know, I don't like your tone, young man. I can even count how many times older than you I am." She probably wouldn't have said this had Aina been definitely dead, but knowing there was a good chance to reverse all of this, she was in a good mood.

"How far away can you sense Force?" Leonel asked.

"In this broken world? Anywhere," she replied.

"Can you find out for me if there's a Spiritual with a Vital Star Force Innate Node? Or any race, for that matter."

She blinked, but she immediately understood.

Although Leonel was just a half step from the Impetus State, it wasn't so easy to cross. Having taken a half-step, he could feel that impossibly vast chasm and he knew it might very well take even him years to cross that line. He refused to leave Aina in that state for years if he didn't have to.

Innate Nodes were cheat codes in increasing your Force Manipulation. So long as he fueled one for long enough, it would definitely be able to help him to cross that half step. But he needed the node first. Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

El'Rion gaze flickered, but he didn't say anything.

"I can check, but... you should know that even among Spirituals, not all of them have Innate Nodes, and those that do usually just awaken normal, middle of the road, elemental Innate Nodes. The odds that one would have a Vital Star Force Innate Node, especially given the fact that this isn't an aspect Spirituals excel in is... very low.

"I will look, but just manage your expectations. It will also take me quite a while, probably a few days."

Leonel nodded lightly.