CHAPTER 70: THE PRICE

The more he heard their warnings, the more frustrated he became. What was the point of him rushing to discover his affinity, if not for the fact that he needed to at least reach the first circle as a magi? How could he twiddle his thumbs and wait because of some abstract reasoning? His frown deepened the more he heard them speak.

“Soul Realms are prone to collapsing for the first few days after a magi or sentinel discovers what their affinity is. Immediately trying to undergo a complex Runological study is suicide. It's usually advised that they refrain from using their abilities for at least two weeks.”

Myrin decided to follow up on her explanation, “If you don’t believe her, try expanding your Soul Realm right now.”

Soren took a deep breath to calm himself and did as he was bid. His anima expanded outward from his heart to an area around him. Though this time, he discovered something different about it. There was this… Violet pink, misty fog or miasma that was spreading out in the vicinity. Most shocking of all, it had a distinct smell—it was an aroma that filled him with ecstasy, a blend of floral scents that was hard to describe. From the corners of his eyes, he could also spot strange illusory pink butterflies floating freely before dissipating back into the mysterious mist.

“What you are seeing right now is what we magi and sentinels call the color of your anima. With the discovery of your affinity, your anima has taken shape and blended with this new identity of yours—Mesmerism. Only the material runes associated with this affinity will be able to be commanded by your anima.”

As ironic as it was to say, he was mesmerized. He couldn’t believe his eyes. But just as he was about to admire his accomplishment more, his Soul Realm’s shape began to twist uncontrollably, contrasting and expanding in different angles and ways. A searing pain took over his mind and before he could even react, the Soul Realm he had been maintaining around him collapsed.

What the… He tried to activate it again but couldn’t. He glanced at Myrin who was taking another sip from his coffee.

“As you can see, it is still too unstable for you to control. You need to give it a week or more before you could utilize your newly unlocked affinity perfectly.”

All Soren could do was sit there helplessly while grinding away at his teeth. Two weeks… Two fucking weeks…

Maybe he had realized it sooner but decided to ignore it, but there was a growing feeling of impatience taking over his heart. No, this was something he had carried with him the moment he learned about his fate in that cursed forest—that his life and death was nothing more than a few ticks away. And even though the Mistress had reset that timer to a year from now, his challenge in that period had only grown even more daunting.

It was ironic to say the least. His arrival on this world was a result of his own ego wanting him to dabble with things he had no understanding of—mysticism.

Look where it got you, Soren. He was now yearning to learn the very same art that drove him here in the first place, and rather than it being to sate his own desires, he needed it simply to survive.

And yet, even then, obstacles continue to block his path. At first, he assumed simply arriving at Celestine Citadel would solve all his issues, and when that turned out to be wrong, he assumed finally getting his affinity meant a change in pace, but that too turned out to be nothing more than delusion.

It’s as if he had been climbing a mountain the entire time and finally reaching the summit, only to realize he had simply reached the base of an even taller peak.

“I understand your frustrations, Soren.” Myrin said in a calm voice.

Soren snickered under his breath, “Stop lying, you don’t fucking understand.” He tried to stand up, but his legs shook from being left in the same position for too long. “None of you understand.”

“Soren…” Tina wanted to say something, but decided not to.

“What can any of you understand? You’ve all lived your lives in this world. All of you have learned and adapted to this world since you were young. Cassia said so herself—I am nothing more than an apprentice with no circles. There are children out there who have probably already gotten their first circle. And unlike them, I don’t even have the chance to take my time and study.

“One year, Tina. One fucking year. That’s all the time I have to catch up to what others take years to complete… And even if I reach the first circle, that won’t even guarantee me a chance at acquiring an Abstract Rune to continue surviving.”

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

They stayed silent as he reached out for his Soul Weapon.

Status

Name: Soren Andersen

Race: ???

Age: 23

Vocation: Scribe

Magi Rank: Apprentice (No Circles)

Magi Affinities: Mesmerism

Soul Realm: The Hermit’s Eye (Unique) (Nascent Stage)

Soul Weapon: The Records (Unique) (Tier 1 - Tome)

Skills:

[Record] (Rank 1) - Chronicle the information around you.

[Eyes of the Fairy] (Rank 1) - See the unseen.

[The Faerie Court] (Rank 1) - Enter the realm of realms.

Blessings:

[Traveler] (Unknown) - You have embarked on a journey across space and time. Echoes of the rift will no longer shatter your sanity.

Rune Collection:

[Fairy Witness] (1 Insight) - ???

He was surprised to find a few changes from the last time he checked it. First, his race had somehow gone from being listed as human to ‘???’. This struck him as odd at first, but then he realized that his status page seemed to reflect how he himself felt about himself. After all the odd encounters he had faced, especially with the demon he had run into previously, it was surprising that it took this long for him to question his humanity. No, he wasn’t merely questioning it, he had already discarded such an identity and was now in search of a new one.

What was he now?

Who the fuck knows anymore. Does it even matter what I am? It almost shocked him how easy this was for him to accept. Since when did he stop caring about his own humanity? Was it when he first discovered his True Self? Or somewhere further down the line?

He didn’t know.

The status page also showed a few other curious changes. His Magi Rank had changed to Apprentice, which made sense considering his new relationship with Mistress Sienna. His affinity as well as his currently owned abstract rune was also being listed now, unlike before. But if he had to be honest, the thing that drew his attention the most had to be the title section, or, what’s left of it.

The entire section itself had been suspiciously renamed to ‘Blessings.’

He glanced down at his Soul Weapon and frowned. Great, so essentially, you’ve been fooling me all this time.

Even so, it did make a bit of sense. The mistress did say that he was under the influence of some sort of blessing, one that granted him the ‘Traveler’ title.

I seriously don’t get it. Why does that bastard want to protect me so much from the rift? What does he get out of it… Ever since his conversation with Unknown, he had been wondering about this. Why would anyone grant a blessing to a person who, in his own words, was going to become his enemy. It made no sense at all to Soren.

He wasn’t currently in the mood to ponder about this further. After grabbing his cone hat from the nearby table, he headed for the door of the room, book in hand.

Tina finally voiced her irritation at his actions. “Don’t you have at least some gratitude for Myrin needing to watch over you for the past two days?”

Soren froze for a second and frowned. He glanced at the pair, “I do. I am grateful for him and everything he has done for me since my arrival here. You as well.”

“So why the hell are you treating us this coldly?!”

“Because you’re clearly not doing this out of some simple compassion. Mistress Sienna ordered you to do this, didn’t she? There’s no way she doesn’t know about this.”

They both stayed silent. Knew it, he said to himself.

“From the very beginning, I never expected this guild to treat me kindly for nothing in return. Don’t think I don’t know—your mistress has already spoken about her so-called prophecy. Isn’t that why you are helping me this much? Because I play some sort of role in this world’s destiny?

“To her, I am probably nothing more than another pawn to use—another tool for her to reach the Celestial Fate she desires.” These were his true feelings that he had been bottling up for so long. It felt oddly liberating to finally say them, to finally unravel some of his frustrations. Though, there were already pangs of regret showing.

“Soren, I urge you to take back your words, immediately.” Unlike before, Myrin’s voice made it clear that he was serious. But Soren couldn’t help but scoff. “What are you going to do otherwise? Kill me? That will ruin your mistress’ plan, won’t it?”

Myrin’s frown deepened. “You seem to think you have it all figured out, don’t you. You really think you know everything. Have you stopped to consider what it even means for the mistress to chase after Yarian’s Celestial Fate? Do you know what she must fight against to even reach this goal? How much she must lose and how much more she had already lost?

“Don’t speak on things you know nothing about!”

Soren stayed silent for a second then reached for the door knob. “You’re right. I don’t know anything, nor do I care to know everything. It was never my fight in the first place.”

“Soren,” Tina said seriously, stopping him from fully leaving the room. “Have you already forgotten the fact that you would be dead by now if not for the Mistress’ mercy?”

“Mercy?” His eyebrows lifted. “All she did was delay the inevitable. My life is nothing more than a gamble for her—whether it bears fruit in the grand scheme of things or not will depend on my fate, according to her.”

“And she paid the price for that gamble.”

“What do you mean?”

Tina scoffed, “Oh, she didn’t tell you? Did you think that accord she did for you cost her nothing?

“Ten years.

“She sacrificed ten years of her life so you could live for just one more.”