Having been assured that we would not be eaten by a Blood Elk, Kliss departed back to Skyisle to fulfill her other Overseer duties of which she had far too many.

"So, that went well, right?" Delta asked, switching back to Russian.

"As well as it could have gone," I shrugged. "We didn't get shot."

"Yay for us," she commented sarcastically. "Have you considered adding [Destruction] to your Infoscopes?"

"I have considered it," I nodded. "I do have the Omnicode word for destruction mostly memorized."

"Why just, 'considered it'?" Delta demanded. "Kliss is controlled by a Vow. Why not attach [Destruction] to your Infoscopes and send them at the Vow like little rockets or something?"

"Like rockets?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know," Delta waved her arms. "I'm not a rocket scientist here... or a scientist for that matter. I don't have all of your big-brain-intelect-ness."

"Intellect-ness isn't a word," I pointed out.

"It is now," she huffed. "Stop avoiding the question and explain why you haven't obliterated that freaking Vow or the Vows on our parents yet. What's your excuse? What are you waiting for?"

"I cannot target the Vows on our parents because unlike the one on Kliss - their Vows are concealed, inactive most of the time. Also, general [Destruction] attached to my [Infoscope] would be as weak as a pea-sized firecracker because my Spells are so small," I explained, "and... Astral-targeting [Destruction] has consequences."

"What consequences?" My sister demanded.

"First of all, I don't want to riddle Skyisle with more Astral-holes," I clarified. "From my understanding a very big [Destruction] spell was used to obliterate Tricameron Citadel. The local magisphere, the barrier between the physical and the Astral around Skyisle is already riddled with holes like cheese. Destruction-optimized spells targeting Astral-beings would weaken this barrier further because they will untangle the conceptual state of whatever is within the blast radius. If I start firing [Destruction] spells around the interior of this tower at the Astral, more Astral Phantoms will find a way to get in here and I really don't want to deal with that mess."

"What about the spell that mom uses against parasites?" Delta mulled.

"Cassandra had LV 20 in [Parasitic Alleviation]," I mulled. "She sacrificed it to Ishira and now uses [Mycelial Infection] to decimate bugs. It's less effective, but also works."

"So can you not use something like that on the Vow? Identify it and [Alleviate] the hell out of it, or better yet infect it?"

"The Vow is an Astral Entity, located in some other dimensional plane," I explained. "Most of it exists far beyond the reach of my LV20 Infoscopes. I can only Identify some local parts of it, whenever it floats closer to our dimension. I operate each of my Infoscopes remotely via [LV 20 Threads] sort of like a colonoscope. Sending them to wherever the Vow exists at tears apart my control threads and rapidly dissolves the spell. Thus far, I've defined about 16% of the Vow. That is nowhere near enough to design a spell that would 'Alleviate' it out of existence."

"Blah," Delta huffed.

"As for the second thing," I said. "You're producing [Astral Spores] using [Chrysalis] as an [Astral Fungus] are you not?"

"I am," she nodded. "They suck. I got one close to the Vow when I hugged Kliss and it just freaking fizzed out. That bastard's waaaaay above my level."

"That's what I saw, yes," I nodded.

"Okay," Delta said, "but what if you modified one of my Astral Spores, made it more deadly or something?"

"I have been considering that," I nodded, "...however."

"Why is there a however in there?" Delta demanded. "Why can't things be simple?"

"Because science isn't simple," I pointed out. "Are you going to listen to my reasoning or are you going to complain?"

Delta fell silent.

"However," I resumed, "through my Infoscope-aided investigation, I have determined that the Vow is feeding on Kliss's soul. In fact, all Vows feed on their victims. In the case of our friendly neighborhood Overseer, the Vow is also constantly consuming her positive, love-adjacent emotions. Kliss and the [Overseer's Vow] are tied by divine threads that have been further reinforced by some unknown skill of the [Equality Inquisitor]. Her Vow was bound and fused to her soul on a fundamental level by incredibly high-level magic at the Cathedral of Equality. Thus, if we hurt the Vow, we will also hurt Kliss, tear apart her soul. I suspect that the Vow will likely completely suck Kliss dry like a prune, if it becomes severely injured."

"Oh," Delta's face fell.

"This means, no anti-Vow Astral rockets. If Kliss becomes injured or dies under mysterious circumstances, the Empire will send a warship with a squad of Legionnaires or two lead by an Inquisitor," I said. "We really don't want to repeat what happened in Skyisle during the invasion. Back then the Inquisitor didn't just purge the Ishira priests. Many families of Skyisle were executed for their close association with Ishira under suspicion of treason."

"So... what do we do?" My sister asked.

"Until I figure out how to destroy or disable the Vow without injuring Kliss," I said. "We play our cat and mouse game with the Overseer, make her believe that we're her best friends, act as exceptionally helpful, future minions of Equality."

"Fair enough," Delta sighed.

We sat silently for a while, listening to the whispers of the wind as it danced across the [Mystic-Willow-Oak].

"Oh," Delta piped up. "I got so distracted with this whole Overseer business that I never bugged you about the rest of the System Stats."

"What did I explain already?" I stretched.

"We covered... Strength, Agility, Dexterity, Vitality and Charisma," Delta tapped her chin. "Tell me about the rest!"

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Next, I'll tell you what I've learned about... Magic!" I declared dramatically.

"Let me guess. Magic does what... magic?" Delta asked.

"Yes. From what I've gathered, higher tier investment in Magic will likely grant Skills that affect magic regen and improve mana storage amount. Evidence of this are LV 20 Skyisle adults like our mom, people who are able to cast spells which use a thousand mana at a time."

"Interesting," Delta muttered. "Where is mana stored on a human being?"

"It's not stored in you or on you." I said. "People are actually not very good at storing mana. Magical beings on the other hand..."

I eyed the shimmering leaves of the Mystic-Willow-Oak.

"Do spells hold spells?"

"Yes. Magic supports magic," I said.

"How do people use magic?"

"Think of Penning Traps, a magnetron, by American physicist Hans Georg Dehmelt." I made a box with my hands. "It holds charged particles using a combination of magnetic fields. The device creates the confinement field, as material structures are unable to hold charged particles. The charge would simply dissipate in a material enclosure. It is sort of similar with mana!"

"I see," Delta muttered. "So magic skills are similar to... a high vacuum magnetron trap, neat."

"Also, low-level human bodies don't use magic, just like they don't use radiation. Souls on the other hand..." I smiled.

"Alright, let's not jump to souls yet," she said. "Where do magical beings store magic?"

"Crystals," I said. "Mana is capable of crystallization. See how the leaves of this tree glitter in the light? That's because there are mana-containing, crystalline-organic, micro-structures within each leaf."

"Hrm," Delta pursed her lips. "The sparkly tree contains magic?"

"Yep," I said. "It's been growing on a leaking Alanian Battery for centuries. It contains a LOT of magic."

"Can this sparkly tree really clean up the air?" She asked. "Or did you bamboozle the Overseer about that?

"Not very well," I said. "But, I can modify it... I think."

"You think?" Delta raised an eyebrow.

"I can modify spells," I explained. "And [Chrysalis] can modify trees. I'm considering making this tree my [Phylactery]. Sort of like I did with Battie, but waaaay bigger."

Delta squinted at me.

"Won't that require a lot of Soul points?"

"It would," I nodded. "When I reach the next level I'll invest everything into Soul. We could really use a friendly neighborhood dryad to deal with the poisoned Valley biz. I'd like to bring Leemy back to life."

"In that tree?" Delta's eyebrows went up.

"Yes, in that tree," I said. "It's a magic tree. She'll fit right in."

"Alright," my sister nodded. "I like this plan. I'll donate some of my soul to bring her back too."

I nodded.

"Now, what's [Foresight]?" She asked.

"Subconscious probability calculation. Precognitive powers!" I waved my hand theatrically. "Put all of your points into Foresight, gain a Skill and use it to win big at your local casino. Flip a coin a thousand times and always feel what the outcome will be. Evade punches, dodge physical attacks, energy blasts and arrows. Avoid places where explosions will happen!"

"What about manipulating probability on purpose by calculating the future behavior of very large groups of people?" Delta asked me slyly.

"Psychohistory isn't an option on this menu... yet," I smirked.

"I knew it, you're trying to make Asimov's Foundation happen," Delta elbowed me.

"Bah," I waved her away.

"How does Foresight see the future exactly?" Delta asked.

"Presumably, through the Astral Ocean," I said.

"So... you will get a bullshit future prediction if your Foresight Skill sucks?"

"Pretty much," I shrugged.

"Right. What's [Intelligence]?"

"Knowledge is power. Except, this [Intelligence] does not define how much we know. Intelligence-based skills are more like the read only memory of the Soul, used to compute spells or to memorize what you've learned, to review memories. My [NeuroVista], for example, is a maxed-out intelligence skill, a computational processor, a superstructure cluster, a permanent spell formation affixed to the soul."

"[Wisdom]?" Delta tilted her head.

"Buy some wisdom today," I joked. "Impress your friends by solving puzzles, riddles, crosswords and the like. Win at arguments, forever. Be the wisest person in any room. Find clues like Sherlock Holmes and solve murder mysteries on a train better than anyone."

"Stop marketing wisdom to me and explain how it works," Delta laughed.

"Yes, yes. I know how much you hate puzzles. A [Wisdom]-type Skill is basically a permanently affixed spell, a pocket detective that's finding answers in the Astral Ocean and whispering them into your head."

"That's it?" She asked.

"That's it." I shrugged. "The Astral Ocean is packed full of dead, long lost, irrelevant and relevant information. Wisdom sifts it for you and pulls the answers out like a subconscious search-doggo."

"What if we made a conscious search engine?" She mulled. "A self-aware search spell that will..."

"I have been considering separating a section of my soul to attach to an Infoscope and create a self-aware search engine, but..."

"But?"

"But... It would most likely get eaten while it's in the Astral," I sighed. "It's way too dangerous. If something like [Hollow Mother] swallows a piece of my soul, god knows what it will do with it."

"Right," Delta said. "Do we have [Wisdom] in us already? Because I feel like neither of us is irrational or unwise. Is there a hidden value there like intelligence and soul?"

"I'm pretty sure that there are numerous hidden stats, since we're Astral Phantoms. If either of us invests sufficient points into a Stat like Wisdom, the exact number will most likely be revealed."

"I see," she sighed. "Sounds like the use of Wisdom-based skills is a dangerous game! Fishing for information in the Astral comes with a price of potentially sacrificing your own Wisdom to the Astral Phantoms."

I nodded.

"Now, what can you tell me about souls?" She asked.

"Last but not least is the [Soul]! Each level up expands the soul," I said. "You get points which basically tells you how much your soul has grown by. Invested points order certain outer segments, parts of the soul to... specialize. Once specialization is achieved, skills are unlocked, building channels to hold them. As the Skills grow, they slowly change your physical body. It's a long and complex process."

"Hrmm. So, what happens when points are invested in [Soul]?" Delta asked.

"I predict that the investment of a lot of points into Soul will be able to unlock Skills that reinforce, protect or repair the soul itself against Phantom-caused damage," I replied. "Also, with more investment into [Soul] more pieces of our souls can be carved off safely with [Sectus-Anima]."

"Got it."

"Souls without a body look like the Infoscope's core. No shell forged from magic," I said. "A soul on its own is defenseless, easily broken. From what I can see, souls are essentially almost like self-aware spells. They control all of the magic. They think and create. They live and fade to almost nothing as information in them degrades or becomes damaged. They can shed parts and lose memories. They can build defenses around them. Made of flesh, crystal, or... magic."

"Huh..." Delta looked at me. "But then..."

"Souls are akin to sparks, stars in the darkness of the Astral depths. On closer inspection people are metaphorically akin to mollusks. Your meaty body is the shell that protects your soul from other horrible, no good creatures of the Astral Ocean like the local Phantoms that stalk Skyisle like hungry sharks."

Delta blinked. "This is some heavy stuff."

"The Astral Ocean is full of nasties," I mulled. "It's a soul-eat-soul world out there."

"Well, let's not get eaten," she said. "Could you hang randomly designed skills on your soul without the System's assistance or leveling up, outside of Skill-slots?"

"No. A ‘Skill-slot’ is essentially a soul-tether that’s holding a permanently affixed spell really tightly. Without such, you cannot push magic into a spell," I said. "It takes me time to optimize spells. Optimization requires more Intelligence. Skills outside of slots can be hung on... crystal batteries like Battie."

"You know, this whole base setup is kind of crap," Delta commented, "I'm really not a big fan of the whole 'subconscious answers' from the Astral thing offered by [Wisdom] and [Foresight].

"It makes sense for an end user with no understanding of Omnicode or spell visualization," I shrugged.

"Do you think that the System was designed?" She asked.

"It is possible that parts of it were designed," I said. "We already know of two ways to activate it - the Alanian Soul-Song and a mathematical answer for the local children. I have no idea how it works mentally for bugs or animals, but I doubt that it's math. It's also possible that many of the subconscious-style Astral-scouting skills evolved as various magical defenses used by souls over billions of years."

"Ha, did you just come up with a Theory of Soul Evolution?" Delta arched a silver eyebrow. "You gotta write that down before someone else does, Mr. Darwin-wannabe."

I smirked back at her.