"Ngh," Zanetor returned to a blurry vision as his eyes slowly opened. Their formerly dark brown hue had changed to a slightly lighter one.

He felt a strange weight around his left arm, so he lifted it up and, to his surprise, an arm surrounded by a silver chain came into view once his vision sharpened.

"What's this?" he muttered to himself.

"A contradiction," a familiar voice echoed from somewhere in the room.

Zanetor slowly sat up, rubbing his neck in discomfort.

"Edem?" he stared at the cloaked figure leaning on the wooden wall at the other end. "H-How long have I been out?"

The cloaked figure stood upright, "Two days."

"Huh!?" Zanetor's eyes widened. "Two days!?"

"Exactly, but now it seems like you're doing good," Edem smiled. "Also, that chain around your left arm."

Zanetor took another look at his left arm, "Yes, even I am confused."

"The answer is simple really," the cloaked man raised a finger. "Normally, an awakened one is entitled to one attribute or skill from which subsequent ones develop. You, on the other hand, seemed to have forcefully picked both at the same time. Hence, your spirit energy has been contradicted."

"My spirit energy… contradicted?"

"Yes. Even the spirit realm is bound by laws. A limit has been placed on one attribute while the other is allowed to work freely," Edem turned around and touched the wall behind him. "As to what your attributes are…"

Zanetor slowly stood on his feet and took a look around. It was the same as he had left it. Everything was made of wood, except the large circular metal plate behind him.

'The forest guardian and the annoying little girl aren't here,' he thought as he made his way to Edem's side.

"If you're thinking about where Zozo or Leticia might be…" Edem's body began to fall through the wall. "They should be the least of your worries right now."

The young soul stared with no change in expression as Edem's body completely disappeared through the wall. It was probably pointless to get surprised at this point.

Still, he silently wished he had woken up not to meet in the same place…

Zanetor followed suit. He placed his palms on the wall, and soon, he felt them fall through the wall. He was quite fascinated by the weirdness of it.

It didn't take long before he found himself right outside the large building.

He looked up at the grand structure and was struck by how oddly attractive it was.

As he took a casual look around, he began to notice something.

"This place doesn't really look the same as before," he walked up to Edem. "There seem to be more trees now."

The cloaked man smirked as he placed his left foot on top of a rock.

"Well, let's just say Zozo has become a lot more concerned about his privacy," he looked back at Zanetor. "Now, what was I saying before?"

"Um," Zanetor paused. "I think you were talking about figuring out my attribute."

"Ah yes, you've probably already seen it, or them," golden circles appeared around Edem's ankles as he stood on top of the rock. "In order to get it to manifest, we need to get you accustomed to a fundamental knowledge of Spirit energy."

"Spirit energy?" the young boy raised an eyebrow. "I think I've heard you mentioning it a few times. That's probably a power source that drives those things you do, right?"

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"Hmm?" Edem tilted his head.

"Uh, you know… those golden circles, maybe even the forest guardian's strength, or those runes from before," Zanetor promptly spoke.

"Ah yes yes, indeed. That's obvious! But what I'm speaking of…" the cloaked man suddenly began to rise into the air. "Is the source of this spirit energy itself."

Goosebumps began to envelop Zanetor's body the instant he heard Edem say that.

"The source of spirit energy?" Zanetor muttered to himself.

Edem responded with a nod, "You see, everything takes root in our hearts. In other words, our soul cores."

Zanetor sat on the patch of grass beneath his feet and crossed both his arms and legs, ready to seriously listen.

"The core is what puts you together, getting rid of it is equivalent to erasing your existence completely," Edem continued. "Aside from that, a soul core that loses its body simply rebuilds it… though it takes several years."

"So the amplification of one's strength depends on how well that person understands himself, right?" A look of slight certainty painted itself on Zanetor's face.

"Exactly so!" Edem clapped. "And in order for you to understand just how that feels, we'll be using a maximum of five days!"

Worry began to set in within the young boy, "Five days? Will it be that easy?"

"Of course not!" Edem promptly replied. "That's why, in order to set your mind on a single task, I'll have you go through constant danger."

A strange gust of wind blew in the moment he said that, sending chills down Zanetor's spine. Just what did he mean by 'constant danger'?

Somewhere in the eastern direction, away from both Edem and Zanetor, a little girl wandered alone in the thick forest. Her white dress radiated an aura of purity, and her blonde hair glistened like gold as she took each step carefully.

Tiny creatures began to emerge from within the bushes. Their bodies looked fragile and pale, and they had little wings on their backs. One would describe them as winged mice, except they had no legs or tail.

"How are you guys doing today?" Leticia gently stroked the soft fur of the creature closest to her.

There was a warm smile on her face as she enjoyed the company of the creatures. However, that smile faded away the instant a memory from two days ago flashed in her mind.

"What was that?" she muttered to herself. "The spirit energy of that shadow soul was so messy. Well, of course, that should be expected from souls that hold strong emotions of negativity."

Leticia moved over to a large root and sat on it while looking up at the broad leaves of the trees. Everything was so lush and green.

She wanted to protect this forest, her home, with all of her heart. But she had a certain fear within her. What if she wasn't strong enough? She'd just end up getting in Papa's way.

These thoughts kept surfacing in her mind and it made her worry constantly.

"Ahhhhh," she sighed as she rested her back on the root. "I have to stop getting sad all the time!"

She paused for a while as the image of a young boy donned in a blue-black trench coat flashed in her mind.

"Hmph!" her cheeks puffed up. "It's all because of hi-"

*BOOM!!*

Earth-shaking explosions suddenly rang throughout the forest. The tiny creatures fled in fear as a light shock wave followed right after.

Leticia immediately stood on both feet atop the root.

"What was that?" she looked up and noticed dust rising into the air.

ROAR!!

A beast's cry raged throughout the area, and a succession of explosive bursts followed soon after.

"Did someone anger one of the spirit beasts?" she jumped off the root and made a dash towards the source of the trouble. "I have to protect the forest, no matter what!"

Just then, a large object erupted into the air and headed towards her direction. She froze in her tracks as the object got closer.

"I- Is that a tree?!" Her pupils shook in fear. "I can't move for some reason."

"Woah there," a familiar voice suddenly interjected, followed by the sound of one snapping their fingers.

A large golden circle then appeared before Leticia, causing the tree to suddenly stop mid-air right before the circle. An enormous gust of wind blew afterwards, kicking up dust and soil and forcing Leticia to shield her face with her arms.

"Ugh, just what in the world is going on?" she muttered as she slowly let down her arms.

The dust finally settled, and the golden circle began to readjust itself, surrounding the tree and gently placing it on the ground.

Leticia placed her hand on her chest, "Golden circles… Uncle Edem?"

"Yup!" a figure appeared behind the little girl.

Leticia immediately turned around and stared at a smiling man whose cloak fluttered in the wind.

Her sight then trailed off to the surroundings. Most of the trees had been uprooted, and the ground eroded as a result of the large volumes of soil that blew off moments ago.

A vein popped on her forehead, "W- What are you doing to the forest!?"

"Don't worry, little Leti," Edem placed his right palm on her head. "I'll fix everything right after I'm done with him."

The cloaked man pointed in a particular direction. Leticia turned around and noticed more trees getting thrown into the air. An extremely large creature revealed itself for a moment, but it was enough to make Leticia shiver.

The monster had bright yellow and red fur. Its four tusks easily took off anything in its way as it rampaged, and it seemed to be busy trying to catch something as its three trunks moved in varying directions.

"A maliciphant!?" Leticia turned towards Edem. "Why'd you anger those things of all spirit beasts!?"

Edem simply kept his smile, "Don't get any closer, Leti."

"Huh? What-"

The cloaked man disappeared before Leticia could even finish her sentence.

"Jeez," she muttered to herself.

Meanwhile, at the site of destruction, the large spirit beast's trunks kept smashing each and every tree in its way. It seemed to be targeting a small figure that kept moving between those trees.

That humanoid figure was donned in a blue-black trench coat, and the silver chain that wound around his left arm was the most characteristic thing on his clothing.

"Waaaaaaah!!" Zanetor frantically weaved through the trees that would be destroyed seconds after. "W- Why did you do this all of a sudden, damn it!"

The shadow soul kept running forward with no hesitation as a single thought kept resounding in his mind. How was he going to get rid of that ugly beast!

He stole a glance at the beast, which slowly gained speed. Its teeth glistened with malice as it got closer and closer.

Chills ran down Zanetor's spine, "Damn! What do I do now!?"

"Okay! Okay!" a voice familiar to Zanetor echoed throughout the forest. "Time out!"

A golden circle suddenly appeared from nowhere, surrounding the raging maliciphant and rendering it motionless.

Zanetor, unaware of this fact, kept running until he noticed danger right ahead.

"A cliff!?" he tried to dig his feet into the soil. "I- I can't stop!"

His eyes swiftly scanned the area around him, and to his luck, a vine hung around a tree branch to his left.

The shadow soul mustered all his strength and grabbed the vine with all his might. The vine began to unwind and only stopped after a while.

Zanetor slowly opened his eyes, and it felt like his heart had come to a stop at that instant. He managed to get a good grip on the vine alright, but now he was hanging on the other side of the cliff.

A raging stream flowed several feet below him, and the cliff at his other end was quite far from him.

"I'm saved," he sighed deeply. "Somehow."

"Don't worry about that!" Edem suddenly appeared before him. "I'm not gonna let you get into trouble as long as I exist."

Zanetor's eyes twitched, "Yeah sure. You're so reassuring, I feel so safe."

A mischievous smirk appeared on the cloaked man's face, making Zanetor feel uneasy.

"What is it? What's that smirk for?" he tried pulling himself up the vine.

"I thought you'd learn in the midst of danger, but it seems like I was wrong," Edem calmly said. "If you wish to truly feel spirit energy, you have to move it, and in order to move it, you have to push all focus onto it."

"All focus?" Zanetor hesitantly said.

"Yup!" Edem gleefully replied. "Now then… let's try that again."