Valeris nodded slowly as she listened, her eyes still roaming over the array of Soul Essences suspended in the air. Each one pulsed with a unique rhythm—some wild and chaotic, others steady like ancient lullabies. The air was thick with spiritual weight, almost reverent in nature.
"So…" she asked softly, turning to him. "Can you even tell… which one would suit you? Or me?"
Asher didn't answer immediately. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, letting the Absolute Appraisal guide his senses. When he opened them, they glowed with quiet authority.
"Yes," he said with certainty, lifting a hand and pointing toward a particular orb near the edge of the chamber.
It shimmered with constantly shifting hues—crimson and silver, sometimes black, sometimes clear. The shape within it moved like a shadow, coiling and uncoiling, restless but deliberate.
"This one," Asher said, his voice low. "It belonged to a Scythe Saint. She was known as the Phantom Blade of the Eastern Realms. Fastest on the battlefield. They say her strikes blurred space itself before impact."
Valeris blinked. "And you think… you can use it?"
"It matches me perfectly," he said with a quiet nod. "Her soul burned with cold focus."
Then he turned slightly, motioning to a gentler, luminous essence—pale rose and white, its core shaped like an open flower. It pulsed in harmony, as if responding to Valeris before she even touched it.
Valeris stepped toward it, drawn by its radiance. "It feels… peaceful."
"She was a Soul Healer," Asher said. "But more than that. A Harmony Weaver. Someone who healed by restoring balance, not just flesh. Your aura aligns with it almost completely."
Valeris placed a hand near it—but didn't touch. Her eyes glistened, not from sentimentality, but from quiet understanding.
"She carried a deep sorrow," she whispered, "but never let it turn her bitter."
"Like you," Asher said, offering her a small smile.
Valeris returned the smile, soft and warm, before her eyes wandered once more over the remaining orbs.
"What about the other two?" she asked curiously.
Asher nodded, already walking forward as if he'd been expecting the question. With a graceful motion of his hand, four more Soul Essences floated toward them—two drawing close to her, and the other two orbiting gently around him.
"These two…" he said, gesturing to the ones drifting near her, "They resonate with your soul. One carries the flame of Nihility—a void-born fire that doesn't burn the body, but erases intention and form. It's rare and dangerous, but it responds to clarity… to control. The other is the Moonlight Veil—an ability rooted in reflection and rhythm. Not destructive, but deceptive. Perfect for someone who walks between presence and absence."
Valeris blinked, watching the orbs shimmer in time with her heartbeat. "The original wielders… were they powerful?"
Asher shook his head. "No. Not in raw strength. But their abilities… they shaped legends. Sometimes, it's not the power of the soul—it's the soul behind the power that makes it shine."
She nodded silently, taking the two Soul Essences into her palm one by one. They responded with a quiet glow, and then nestled close to her chest like memories returning home.
Asher turned to his own choices now.
"As for me," he continued, his tone shifting to one of careful calculation, "I'm taking this—Soul Alchemy and Soul Construct."
He raised his hand, and two orbs hovered above his palm—one golden and flickering with ancient runes, the other a soft gray, like mist shaped into form.
"I've collected so many rare abilities over time, but I've been missing the foundation to tie them together. These two… they're not just techniques. They're frameworks."
"Soul Alchemy…" Valeris murmured, watching the glowing runes swirl.
"It allows the fusion of energies and concepts within the soul," Asher explained. "It's refinement on a metaphysical level. I could merge abilities… enhance soul-bound artifacts… even change the nature of power itself." New novel chapters are published on Novel~Fire. (n)et
"And Soul Construct?"
"It's exactly what it sounds like," he said, his voice low with awe. "The power to give form to will. Weapons, guardians, maybe even entire realms—if my control becomes strong enough."
"And with the Dragon God Realm's Creation Ability," Asher said thoughtfully, eyes tracing the Soul Essences orbiting in his palm, "I might even be able to breathe life into some of these forms… shape them into something more. Real souls, born within my realm."
Valeris stepped beside him, her fingers brushing his arm. "This adventure… it turned out far more rewarding than I ever expected," she said softly, glancing over the now-silent core chamber, still pulsing faintly with residual power.
Asher nodded with a small laugh. "Yeah. Better than I thought it would be—even with all the brutal trials we had to endure. In a way, they forced us to grow stronger… together."
Valeris smiled, a glint of fondness in her eyes. "I guess this was our final trial… our last real adventure before stepping into the Saint King Realm. With these Soul Essences… absorbing even just three of them will definitely push us to the peak. After that…"
She paused, looking up at him.
"We leave. We go back to searching for your world."
Asher's expression grew serious, but warm. He nodded.
"That was the reason we started this journey in the first place," Asher said, voice low and steady. "To find my real home. To find my family."
Valeris smiled gently, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll find it. I believe in that."
He nodded slowly, though a shadow of doubt flickered behind his eyes.
If only it were that simple...
He didn't want to say it aloud—but a part of him couldn't help the lingering worry. After all, fate hadn't exactly been kind. For all he knew, he could get caught in another spatial storm and wake up in some entirely different world again. Maybe one with even stranger rules and more absurd power systems.
"Let's just hope the next jump doesn't land me in a world where people fight by singing or throwing cooking ingredients," he muttered dryly under his breath.