Chapter 22 – Soul Chains

Aenon awoke with the worst headache of his life. Try as he might, he couldn’t recall how he got here. He had seen many adults back on earth complaining about hangovers, but this surpassed all his expectations. It felt like someone was going to town in his skull with a jackhammer. He tried and failed to sit up from his prone position. Even the thought of opening his eyes sent a shiver down his spine. And so, he lay there motionless for hours. He felt soft linen sheets covering him and a cursory pat down of his person confirmed all his gear was in place, except the bracelet and vial given by the Overseer. He was able to access his inventory without opening his eyes, and his daggers were there, along with all his other loot. When he finally managed to get a handle on the spiking pain, he carefully opened his eyes. The view surprised him.

It looked as though he was in a modern hospital ward from back on Earth. He tried recalling his last waking moments but stopped when a sharp pain shot up in his head. His instincts were telling him that there was something off about the room, but he felt oddly at peace just lying here. There were IV lines attached to both his hands and the machines around him beeped rhythmically. He cautiously sat up and looked around. The ward itself was standard with a single bed and a couch next to it. Even the smells were what you would have at a typical hospital. After finally shaking off the grogginess from his head, he realized what bothered him. There were absolutely no doors or windows.

Before he could react to this new information, a wall slid open and in came a female nurse wearing black rimmed glasses in scrubs. She was extremely beautiful with lush golden hair and a slim build. Her ensemble was complete with a wooden clipboard and pen to take notes. Almost reflexively Aenon cast identify.

She had 5 question marks in place of 3. But it was the lady’s behavior that gave him pause. She seemed surprised as she looked down at herself and her clothes, like she was seeing them for the very first time.

“Interesting,” she said. But Aenon attention was stolen by a notification window opening in his vision.

Interesting.

He felt a blinding pain in his head a few seconds after the window popped up which made him scream and collapse back on the bed. The pain continued for a while before thankfully he lost consciousness again. When he came to, he was lying on his bed staring up at the empty white ceiling, unable to recall how he got here. He noticed someone in his peripheral vision, and when he turned, he found a female nurse sitting on a chair next to his bed, staring at him intently. She looked human for the most part but was extremely pale with jet black hair and had sunken cheeks and viciously pointed long nails. His identify skill gave him some unnerving info.

“This is the part where most humans start a barrage of nonsensical questions,” she spoke up. He recoiled at the words for some reason, as though he expected… something to happen. But nothing did.

“Aaaa, Iiii,” Aenon tried replying but found that he had no control over his tongue. This further scared him, and he tried moving his body to see what else was affected. Lucky for him the rest of his body seemed to be functional, although extremely weak.

“Sigh. It’s going to take a while longer to put you back together it seems,” the nurse sighed as she started jotting down something before realizing what she was doing and throwing the pen to the side in annoyance.

Aenon took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He was about to use his soul sense to observe himself when he felt a hard object hitting his head. The nurse had rammed the clipboard on top of his head.

“Stop that. Do you have any idea how long it took for me to assemble the jigsaw puzzle that was your soul? Not to mention painstakingly gluing each piece together.”

Aenon blinked dumbly at that. He had no idea what was going on and his tongue was out of commission. He tried using telepathic communication and thankfully this worked without incurring another hit to his head.

“What is going on here? Where am I?”

“Oh,” the nurse seemed surprised at that. “Well, that makes this so much easier. Well let’s start off with a few questions first. You’ll get the answers to yours when I have some idea on how this came about.”

Aenon blankly nodded. He was curious about a lot of things, but he could control his curiosity for a while longer.

“So, let’s start off with the biggest question of all. Why the hell did you leave your soul space during a scan? That too without activating any of the safeguards?”

Aenon just stared in confusion, which seemed to further annoy the woman.

“Alright. You are a clueless idiot, got it. Next question, why didn’t the test supervisor activate the safeguards or at least warn you about the danger?”

“The clerk asked me to take the test myself. And I was not informed of any danger,” Aenon replied.

“Incompetent workers, check. Now for the final question, how did you leave your inner soul space?”

Seeing no other options, if he wanted to get his answers he regaled the nurse with the entire happenings of the past month, from his perspective at least. He had no idea how long he was unconscious. When he was done, the nurse had a deep frown on her face. When she didn’t respond for five minutes, he finally asked.

“So, where am I?” Aenon called out mentally.

“A soul incubator. At least that is the closest explanation I can give that will make sense to you,” she replied after some more tense silence.

“This place looks like a hospital though. If you ignore the lack of doors and windows.”

“That is because this place is constructed from your subconsciousness. Basically, a place where you feel safe and can recover. To some it is a hospital such as this, to others the comfort of their home. Even this ridiculous outfit I am wearing is because you imagined it,” she said with annoyance as she tried adjusted the scrubs to get more comfortable.

“I see. So, what exactly happened? What is it that I did?”

“You, my foolish child, bit more than you could chew. I am not an actual person, but a System construct. We are given an assigned role at creation, which we do diligently. In my case, it is to heal you, and I am a very low level one. When a soul is ready to be scanned, entities much stronger than me go through your past experiences to tailor the classes best suited for you. The inner soul barrier which you so foolishly crossed is a shield to protect your meager soul from their presence. Your soul cannot withstand being near one of them, and you were amid hundreds of them.”

“There were definitely a lot more than a hundred,” Aenon said quietly, finally recalling bits and pieces of the encounter. A mild migraine started throbbing at the memory, so he redirected his thoughts elsewhere.

“Well, the number of scanning constructs depends on your Titles and also on how interesting the System finds you,” the nurse waived it off like it was no big deal.

But that word caught his attention - interesting. He couldn’t recall why, and if he forced himself, the migraine got worse. He shook his head to dispel the thoughts and turned to the nurse.

“So how long was I out?” he asked with some trepidation.

“From your perspective, eons,” the nurse replied nonchalantly.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Aenon’s eyes widened in surprise. If that were true, then everyone he knew was…

“But based on the local time of the region you come from, about a month,” she continued after letting him stew for a full minute. Aenon narrowed his eyes and gave her a blank stare.

“Anyway, on to the next concerning optic. Where did you get this vial?” she asked seriously while conjuring up the missing vial given to him by the Overseer.

“Ummm, the Overseer gave that to me as a reward,” he said.

The nurse frowned but stayed silent. She looked at the vial intensely, before turning to him.

“Were you able to identify the contents?” she asked. When Aenon shook his head, she probed further, “And did you drink any of it?”

When Aenon shook his head again, he detected a relieved expression on her face for just a moment.

“What is it? Was it supposed to harm me?” he asked, getting a bit concerned.

“That is not for me to tell,” she stated curtly.

Aenon was getting frustrated now. He again felt like a helpless child being taken advantage of. And there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. He took a deep breath and filed his concerns away for his future self.

“So, what happens now?” he asked plainly. The nurse did a double take at his response.

“Usually, I hear a lot more protests and tantrums when I withhold information,” she asked in a puzzled tone.

“Would it help? Would you have divulged any more info if I bugged you?” Aenon replied.

“Well, no…”

“So, what’s the point? I’d rather focus on what’s in my control, than the things which aren’t,” he replied seriously. He might be wrong, but he thought he detected a hint of a smile on her face, but it disappeared just as quickly.

“Well, now you rest and recover. My guess, for about a week more. You can go through your System Notifications and select your Classes, and I will make sure they integrate properly before sending you on your merry way. You must have impressed someone important to be assigned a System Nurse to put you back together. Usually, shattered souls are just left to dissipate. They are not worth the hassle to most,” she said professionally.

Aenon nodded at that and was about to thank her, but she cut him off and continued.

“And, umm, if someone was to ask, might be better to say you consumed the liquid. Go on, bottoms up. I’ll check on you in a couple of hours,” she said before thrusting a vial in his hand and scampering off. A seamless door slid open on one of the walls through which she escaped before he got a word in.

Aenon looked down at the vial in confusion, because the liquid in it had a different color and texture now. It was glowing gold and when he cast identify, it gave him the details.

Item Name: Amrit

Item Type: Cleansing Elixir

Item Rarity: Mythic

Item Description: This potion is a cheap imitation of the fabled elixir of immortality. Like its namesake, it grants the drinker a significant boost to his/her physical and mental stats while doing a deep clean of the mana channels. Beware of the following mess.

Effects: +30 all stats

Note: This drink has been cleansed of multiple foreign substances which had limited its rarity to Ancient.

Aenon frowned at the description, especially the note at the end. Maybe the Overseer had added some stuff to make it safer for him to take? It only restricted the rarity after all. He thought back about all the interactions he had with the Overseer. Not once had he detected any ill will, in fact he liked the old man. He suddenly paused at that. Why did he like the man? He had stopped trusting all adults in his life, only tentatively giving them some vague form of respect if he felt they deserved it. But he felt awfully comfortable around the Overseer. This wasn’t like him at all.

But why shouldn’t he? The Overseer had done so much for him. He was there when Aenon was the most vulnerable. The Overseer had helped him center himself when he was hurting because of Harley’s loss. He even sent his granddaughter for his aid. He felt guilty even considering that the old man had some ulterior motives. Sure, he must have tried pushing his granddaughter onto him, but which parental figure didn’t. Why was he…

Of course. The nurse must have done something to the drink to make him doubt the Overseer. After all, he didn’t know her at all. Perhaps she was casting some kind of illusion to make him… But wait, that didn’t make sense either. Why the long con? He was at his most vulnerable right now. She could just finish him off. Maybe she was trying to gain something else out of him?

Aenon felt another pain rising in his body. But not in his head. This time the pain was somewhere in his chest. He had a rush of conflicting emotions – guilt, sorrow, love, happiness, anger, and plethora of others. For some reason he had a strong revulsion about the drink in his hand. Every fiber of his being was telling him not to drink the concoction. So, he did what he always did when he was unsure of anything. He recalled the last words Harley had left him in her last note.

I am free now. Go find your own freedom, big brother.

The memory unleashed the rage he always kept locked deep within himself. Pure, unadulterated fury, directed at the whole world. The rage washed away all other emotions like lava cutting across grass. With furious determination, he swallowed the whole liquid in one gulp. What followed was agonizing pain that spread outwards from his stomach. He felt the liquid bubble in his belly and flow down every blood vessel, every nerve, all the way to his fingertips. But he didn’t care about the pain. He was entirely focused on the rage burning within him. Anger at the betrayal, and at the ease with which he fell victim to it. A series of notifications popped up when the pain finally subsided. He only opened the status affliction notices, ignoring others for now.

Debuff dispelled: Soul Charm

Debuff dispelled: Soul Chains

Debuff dispelled: Soul Suggestion

Aenon’s blood ran cold at the new notifications. He hadn’t even considered that he might be under the effect of a spell, let alone 3 of them. In fact, his feelings were actively fighting against such ideas. He recalled how he so easily told his entire life story to the Arbiter and the Overseer. Even five minutes ago, he had openly explained in detail how he got his soul wound to the nurse. This was completely out of character for him, who always kept his cards close to his chest. As he was still processing these changes, the nurse walked in again.

“Ah, good. You drank it. I was worried I would have to…,” she started speaking in a relieved tone before freezing up when she saw his expression.

Aenon was glaring at her with anger while releasing the same energy he had when he had killed the two humans and made the two Arbiters almost collapse. Although it seemed to have no effect on the nurse except for confusing her a bit.

“Did you cast these on …”

SLAP

Aenon’s words cut out along with a strong stinging pain on his cheek. He touched his cheek while staring at her, dumbfounded.

“What did I tell you about using your soul sense? And you thought it was a good idea to release your soul presence? Are you trying to make my job harder?” she berated him.

“I…,” he tried explaining but she shut him immediately.

“That’s enough out of you. I already know you are a clueless idiot. And being clueless is not a crime, but remaining clueless is. So, be quiet and listen. Mental spells and attacks are easy to dispel. But soul attacks and bindings are notoriously difficult to undo, especially after piecing you together. If I had outright told you about it, the spell would have fought harder and perhaps broken you up further. The easiest way to dispel such spells is by your own free will, through you coming to the realization of it yourself. So, that is what I did. And in case you are forgetting, I am not a real person. I will cease to exist once my job of fixing you is complete. So, I have nothing to gain or lose from this. I am just doing my damn job.”

Aenon looked at the floor in embarrassment. It seems his days of being lectured were far from over. He took a deep breath and calmed himself, locking away his anger back into the dark recesses of his mind.

“I am sorry,” he apologized whole heartedly.

“Hmph. At least you have some manners,” she said with her fists on her hips, her gaze softening a bit. “Now, tell me about that shard in your soul space.”

Aenon hesitated about it, not sure how to avoid the question. He didn’t feel like sharing the details with any more people. As he was trying to come up with a possible lie, she nodded.

“Good. The effects of the spell seemed to have dissipated,” she said. Noticing his confused look she continued, “A Soul Suggestion spell does just that. It makes you more vulnerable and compliant to probing questions. The fact that you were trying to come up with a lie is proof that it's been undone. You do need to work on your acting though,” she explained.

“So, did the elixir cleanse the spell as well?” he asked hopefully.

“Pfft. Not even close. The elixir doesn’t do that. In fact, it does nothing apart from what the notification states. It was the action of drinking the elixir that undid the spell. Because it meant you acknowledged that something was off. I am sure you must have felt extreme hatred towards yourself when you thought about drinking it, like you are betraying the person who gave it to you.”

Aenon had a vacant expression on his face as he stared at the floor. He felt dirty, like he was covered in trash. He hated being used and manipulated. That was the whole point of living in the forest back on Earth. So, he would never have to rely on others, which gave them an opportunity to do this very thing. He suddenly felt a soft touch on his shoulder which snapped him out of his spiraling thoughts.

“There is nothing to be ashamed of. You are extremely weak right now, and there will be countless parties trying to dominate or manipulate you. And you seemed to have caught the attention of the truly gargantuan powers. The only thing you can do right now is to grow in power. Grow strong enough that no one dares to try this again. But you need to be smart about it. The trees that don’t bend in a squall will break. So, bend a little if you must, till you are powerful enough to face the hurricane,” the nurse spoke softly this time. She gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze before letting go.

Aenon nodded in silence. The nurse was partly right. He was powerless now, and if he didn’t bend a bit, he would be destroyed. But she was wrong as well. He would not grow strong just to make others leave him alone. He would also destroy those who made him bend. Till then, he would bide his time.

After all, he always settled his scores.