Since I want her advice about freeing him anyway, I tell Lin the story of Bones' origin. As I am telling the story, Bones keeps making sarcastic comments about me. I don't mind since he keeps making Lin and Brightfire laugh with his comments.

Besides, the things he is saying are true, back then I had no idea what I was doing. Sometimes it surprises me that I survived some of the mistakes I made back then. As I am telling the story, I take the essence out of all of the bones and then feed it to Bones.

Lin says "Normally, you would just destroy the contract to free a summon. I don't know how you would do that when it has become a part of your soul. At least, not without killing yourself."

"I have survived damaging my soul before. If that is what it takes, then I will survive it again."

Lin says "Why is freeing him so important to you?"

"Because it is what he wants. I created him with that ritual, so it is my responsibility."

Lin says "Well, I can teach you how contract spells normally work, but I don't know if it will help."

"Thank you. It might help, it is worth a shot."

Everyone has finished eating by the time Lin is done telling me everything she knows about contracts. Not much of it applies to my situation, but it is still good information to know. If I had known this earlier it would have been much easier to transfer Ruby to Isabella.

It is only now that I have this information that I realize just how unique the spell to make Bones was. However, that also means it is likely to be much more difficult to break it and free Bones. At least now I have a few ideas that I can look into and experiment with.

The one that is most likely to work will involve me separating a piece of my soul. That is something that I will need to discuss with Seronia before I try it. That is going to be my last resort, I will try everything else I even think of before harming my soul.

Besides, Seronia isn't about to give me permission if I haven't exhausted the other options. If I don't have her help with this, the odds of it working drop considerably. My skills when it comes to dealing with souls can't ever hope to match up to hers.

Lin says "Hey, are you coming to bed?"

"Oh. No, you go ahead. I will meditate for a bit then work on the tunnel some more."

Lin says "Alright. I will come get you for breakfast."

"Okay. Thank you."

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Brightfire, Nala, and Albion apparently already went to bed while I was lost in thought. Lin hugs my neck, since it would be hard to kiss me in this form, and then goes to bed. After she is inside the tent I close my eyes and enter into my meditation room.

My plan was to take a look at my soul and the binding I have to Bones. However, I notice a problem, my mana did not return to normal, it is still earth mana. It looks like this is another side effect of using the earth elemental form.

Converting the earth mana back into pure mana is simple, but would take some time. Instead, I end my meditation, head back to the tunnel, and start digging again. I use the earth mana to break up the rocks and then use my claws to dig them out.

It is a little slower than using the elemental form, but my mind doesn't shut down this way. Until I can think of a better way, this is going to be how I dig the tunnel. It is a few hours before dawn when I use up the last of the earth mana.

I clear out the rubble from the tunnel and then sit down outside to meditate. My mana is mostly full when Lin shows up to fetch me for breakfast. When I see her I shapeshift into human form and give her a goodmorning kiss.

Then I put my arm around her shoulders and walk back to the camp with her. We sit next to each other throughout breakfast and then she leaves with the others. They are going to continue exploring while I go back to the tunnel and resume digging.

I use my pure mana to break up the rocks, but it isn't as effective as earth mana. However, I would rather dig a little slower than lose my mind using the elemental form. Besides, when I am dealing with materials other than rock, pure mana is more effective.

Like when I hit a patch of dirt, a single water spell gets rid of it instantly. When I hit clay, I use fire to dry it out and then it crumbles with a single punch. It is also much easier to clear the rubble out of the tunnel by using wind spells.

A few hours after noon I run out of mana and stop to meditate again. While I am waiting for my mana to recharge, I take the time to carefully examine my soul. A normal soul appears as a ball of glowing white light and it should be perfectly smooth.

Mine isn't smooth anymore, there are scars from where I repaired it previously. However, they are just cosmetic as far as I can tell, my soul functions perfectly. Finding the connection to Bones is easy since I have looked at it before.

The connection is about halfway from the outside to the core of my soul. It would be easier to remove if it was on the surface of my soul, but it is still possible. However, if it was closer to the core it would be impossible to remove without doing permanent damage.

I don't plan to try and remove it at this time, I just need to try a few things. The first thing I do is to see if I can make the connection move around at all. However, no matter what I try I am unable to get the connection to move.

By the time I run out of ideas and give up, my mana pool is already full. I end my meditation, but I just sit there and try to think of some option that I missed. From what I know about souls, I should be able to make the connection move closer to the surface.

"Seronia, do you have a minute?"

Seronia says "Sure, what's up?"

First I explain to her about my connection to Bones and why I need to remove it. I have discussed it a little with her before, but now I give her all of the details. Then I tell her everything I have tried to move it to the surface so it can be removed easier.

"So, am I wrong about being able to move it? Or did I miss something?"

Seronia says "You are right that it can be moved, but you are going about it the wrong way. You can't move it from within your soul. You need to grasp the cord leaving your soul to connect to Bones. Then, with slow and steady pressure on the cord, you should be able to move it."