"Astral. I have mentioned it before, haven't I? Those who posses the astral affinity have the ability to manipulate the soul. While this may not sound as much I want you to think for a second. Ones soul is eternal and absolute. While our physical bodies may change, our soul never does. It was, it is and will always me there. Now imagine beings capable of changing that. It's a truly terrifying power."

Ansgar pauses and stares into my eyes.

Julia-sama and Taro exited the room so that Ansgar and I can talk alone. Taro wanted to stay but was forced out of the room. He seemed just as confused as I am.

I take a deep breath. Ever since they confirmed my affinity Ansgar have had a strange expression on his face, like a mixture off someone just said a really bad word an he is about to scold them and that someone just died. But those eyes... It feels as if he is staring right through me. It sends shivers down my spine and my weak feels weak.

It kinda feels like when I came home very late one evening because I was playing video games witha friend and my dad became really angry. He didn't yell or anything, he just stared at me and looked mighty disappointed. I remember how ashamed I felt. Since that day I always made sure to be home on time.

Ansgar sighs and leans back. He is still sitting in bed. Me? Well I am still standing up with the source of my problems, this god damn orb, between my wings.

It is surprisingly light. Except from the smoke inside it seems to be hollow. How did they make it? The smoke is still purple an is currently twisting and whirling around creating weird patterns. The orb itself is pulsating and lets out a thump sound everytime it does. Weird. But nice. But mostly weird

I look up. Ansgar is no longer staring at me but at the orb. He seems to be in deep thought and is completely silence. I have never seen him like this.

If I had known my affinity was that much of a problem I would have refused the orb. What to do, what to do?

But to think my affinity was something else than earth. That really suprised me. I mean I have been using earth spells and I am an EARTH Priestess Bird so I assumed that I was, ya know... Down to earth (bad pun is bad)!

But does that mean that I am even better at Astral magic? I wonder what kind of spells I can use... Ansgar talked about bending the soul and stuff but I didn't really get it.

((Uhm, Ansgar?))

"Hm?" he exclaims and looks up. "What?"

((Well, do you mind explaining what is going on? Why did both you and Julia-sama have those expressions?)) I ask.

..... Ansgar goes quiet again, but this time he looks rather sad.

"You haven't done anything wrong Ruth it's just that..." He stops midsentence and looks out window.

Gulp! Now I'm really getting worried. Am I gonna die? Is it a curse?

"... Astral magic is incredible. To manipulate your very existance is... Almost godlike. But it comes with a price..."

((What is it Ansgar? Tell me!)) The suspense is killing me!

...

"In your soul resides the things that makes you YOU. Your memories, emotions and so on. But when you warp your soul, mold it like clay... They disappear. You disappear. It does not happen instantly, it's gradual. First a memorie there, another somewhere else. After a while you can't remember some of your friends or family. Then years disappears. Your emotions dull off until you become an empty shell, devoid of any sense of self. That is the price of astral magic."

Ansgar looks me dead in the eyes.

A few seconds pass, silence. Then I drop the orb and it falls onto the wooden floor. I don't even notice, Ansgars words echoes through my head.

Loss off memories... Devoid of emotion... Emty shell...

He. Hehehe. This has to be a joke, right? I desperately starte at Ansgar, hoping for him to start laughing telling me "it's just a prank"!

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Ansgar doesn't start to laugh or tells me it's a prank. He is just sitting there, silently.

((... Are you serious?))

"I'm afraid so, Ruth. I... I am so sorry..." he says, giving me a sad expression.

((Oh, it's not your fault! I mean you were the one that ordered the crystal but you weren't the one that decided my affinity, it was someone else (DAMN YOU CRESHNA!!) and besides if you hadn't told told be this I may have used astral magic without knowing and that would have been bad right!? You can almost say that you saved my life! Kinda. So it was definitely not your fault!))

Ansgar stares a me a couple of seconds but then begins to laugh. H-huh!?

"Hahaha! Sorry Ruth, but you always seems to panic in these kinds of situations and I can't help but find that amusing."

((W-w-well it's a kind of coping mechanism! I p-p-panic and talks fast when I am afraid! I can't h-h-help it ya know!?" I raise me wings above my head trying to make an offended gesture. It fails, resulting in Ansgar laughing even harder. If I ever use astral magic let this be the first memory to disappear...

Hmm? That's right!

((Hey Ansgar! Even if I have astral affinity I don' t need to use it! I can just cast other spells! Problem solved!))

Ansgar calms down, holds his stomach and says:

"Well you can always try but remember this; sometimes spells that seems harmless can contain traces of astral magic, so you have to be careful with what you cast. Never cast anything that you don't know what affinity it belongs to."

((Yep! Thank you teach!))

Ansgar smiles then he sighs and lay down on bed.

((All this made me tired. To think I got such a troublesome student!" Ahhh don't say it like that! "But really, you are just full of surprises. First you cancelled the Knowing (Appraisal), then you turned into an Earth Priestess Bird and now this! I swear, you defies all logic. I really wonder why."

Ansgar gives me a quick glance. I say nothing. He sighs, once again, and roll around, laying on his back.

"Well, everyone have a secret or two, can't help it. Now if you excuse me *yawn* I think I will go back to sleep."

He closes his eyes and after a while his breaths becomes rhytmical and shallow.

Slowly I pick up the orb I dropped, puts it under my arm and walks out the room.

I can hear talking coming from Taros and our room. It must be Julia-sama explaining to him. It must be difficult for him.

I decide not to interven and goes out instead and climbs up the Nest. The view is nice from up here.

It' already dark, the dinner plus the talk took longer than expected. I look down at the orb. It did not get damaged during the fall, luckily. I don't know how much these costs but they can't be cheap.

I take a deep breath. The air is clean and cold. Only the sound of the wind and some distant birds can be heard. It is a perfect evening. I start humming and before I notice it I am already singing.

There are no words to the song, just humming but I like it that way. Sometimes there is no need for words.

My voice echoes through the night, reaching the ears of both animals and men.

Ever since I was reincarnated into this world I have been loving to sing. It just feels right. Maybe I should do it more often? Yeah, that'd be nice.

I ended up singing all night.

\\The skill Siren Voice have levelde up x3 times!\\

\\You have leveled up!\\

*Authors Note; I started writing extra early and was almost finished when my computer died, forcing me to redo EVERYTHING! Sorry if this chapter seems a little short, I was really tired and to lose it all once really ticked me off. But anyways, thank you for reading!*