n

n

n

"Not like yours, but... There are a few similar cases. But those were not a soul awakening, but rather two souls surviving.

" Ziraili replied, seeing Eldrian and Two wanting a clearer explanation she added.

n

"Cases like Flaming Souls are with souls surviving... And the Nychterninos Tromii is another example but a completely different scenario.

"

n

"What's a Flaming Soul?

" Two asked while Eldrian instead ask what a Nychterninos Tromii was.

nTwo turned to Eldrian in bafflement,

"Really, you forgot the Night Terror you fought with Vivian?

"

n

"No,

" Eldrian quickly countered,

"Just forgot the fancy name.

"

nBefore they could get more into their little dispute Ziraili answered Two's question.

"Flaming Souls can be thought of as awakened undead, but their birth is a terrible one. Normally it requires a heartless being to bond two lovers to a single body as a Flaming Reanimate.

"

n

"One of two things would happen, they either lose their sanity from the constant torture of their flames or the flames fuel their hatred and they become one with it.

"

n

"Like an aura?

" Eldrian asked and Two shook his head in disapproval.

n

"No, not like an aura. Didn't you learn anything from our previous conversation? It can be a unique aspect.

"

n

"I just asked,

" Eldrian countered, he didn't think asking for a connection to what they understood was dumb. So, he sulked while they waited for Ziraili to continue. This took a while as she was baffled by the interaction between Two and Eldrian.

n

"It isn't an aura, at least not in the normal sense. But it is indeed the closest thing you can connect it to. Their flaming body can be considered a living aura.

"

nTwo and Eldrian both got chills hearing this reply, they both understood that an aura was one if not the most powerful aspect of magic. Being a literal living aura would mean your strength would be insane.

nOn this thought, they both also thought of Tranquility and the chills caused them to shiver as it washed over and through them.

n

"You think-

"

n

"Yeah, we need to be-

" Two nodded as he shook off the last of the chills.

n

"Agreed.

"

nZiraili watched this interaction curiously, wondering what that was about.

nShe would not get an answer as Eldrian hadn't brought her here just to show of Two, who seemed to be trying to impress Ziraili by countering Eldrian constantly. No, Eldrian had wanted to talk about mana and the chaotic energies.

n

"Ziraili, I have a question- It's a serious one and I need you to promise you won't-

"

n

"Are you sure about this?

" Two asked, the sudden increase in worry he felt and the instinctual drive to keep this to themselves made Two forget about everything else and focus fully on preparing for the worst.

n

"Mmmh,

" Eldrian nodded,

"We need to know.

" Turning back to the wisp, Eldrian said in a dead-serious tone,

"First, I need you to promise you will keep this news to yourself.

"

n

"Of course,

" The wisp bobbed up and down in a form of nodding.

n

"Alright...

" Eldrian paused and took a long deep breath to fight the worry filling him too.

n

"Ziraili... There; is mana on Earth...

"

nEldrian and Two waited with batted breaths as they waited for her response. This took a couple of seconds as Ziraili processed this confirmation.

nIndeed, it was a confirmation and not something else. The AI had long suspected that mana would be everywhere in the real world. Throughout the entire universe.

nIn fact, GAIA had declared as much. But they had been incapable of finding any proof and as such it had only been speculation. Until now.

n

"I see... What type of mana?

" She asked after a short while, which had felt like an eternity to Eldrian and Two.

n

"At that time I could only sense elemental-

"

n

"At that time?

" Ziraili questioned, naturally she wasn't able to follow Eldrian's every action while also maintaining the constantly increasing number of players. Especially as more and more players reached higher Tiers the stain on her to keep things running became more and more.

nShe was able to observe major events, but not everything. As such, she had missed Eldrian's conversation with Zamia.

n

"We recently learned how to feel the other types of mana, different aspects you might call it.

" Two interjected, nodding, Eldrian then continued from there.

n

"Elemental mana, mostly light and dark. It was far fainter than here on Gaia, casting spells would likely be hard. But, it exists...

" Eldrian no longer declared its existence with excitement, instead, now his words were filled with trepidation.

nZiraili picked up on this and was confused why Eldrian would be so concerned. She had thought he would be thrilled at the prospect of using mana in his homeworld.

nTwo noticed that the wisp seemed to be confused, bobbing side to side as if trying to figure something out. So, he went ahead and shared the revelation that their talk with Zamia had led them to.

n

"We are apprehensive because we learned of the Chaotic Energies.

" Two said and the wisp whipped around and clearly became jittery. What was behind her jitteriness was not known but the reaction did cause Eldrian and Two to ponder their next words carefully.

n

"We learned that mana misuse can lead to the destruction of massive lands and that even legends do not fare well in the face of a mana storm created by the Chaotic Energies,

" Eldrian added.

n

"We are worried what this might mean for Earth, knowing humans the misuse of mana is almost certain.

" Two continued and Eldrian finished off.

n

"And, to top it all off, I believe that the galactic debris I saw that time you took me away to avoid the other AIs. I believe that is the result of the Chaotic Energies breaking past a world's balance.

"

nThe wisp became even more jittery before suddenly dissipating before their eyes. The two stared at the location where Ziraili's wisp used to be with bewilderment and unease. Her silence and sudden disappearance did not help them not think of the worst.

n

"She-

" Two asked but Eldrian cut him off.

n

"Give her some trust.

"

n

"Fine, but-

"

n

"I know... All we can do is wait and hope.

" Eldrian replied with a long sigh as he hoped his actions had not been foolish.

nAN: A big thank you to everyone who continues to read and support the story on WN.

n