Death... and me

There are no windows, so how can you see the fucking weather...or so Calina wanted to say... But that more or less answered her question already, so she was still happy. She couldn't help but agree with Roan as she said with a bright smile.

"Indeed. If I remember correctly, it's already spring, no?"

Excluding Roan, who didn't get the remark, everyone understood what Calina meant by that.

Frandin then changed the topic to talk about what was happening here. Of course, he returned to using Spiritual Sense.

'Anyway, what do you think about Xiria?'

Roan mentally sighed in relief as he immediately answered.

'Her performance wasn't a lie. She really cared about those girls who came in with her. I can definitely tell you that much.'

Qia also didn't mind the topic change. It was not good to force things, especially when it came to a 'rock' like Roan.

'The question is whether everyone in that clan thinks like that or not. However, I don't believe Xiria would grow up to be like that in a place where everyone thought differently. You can see that through Valia and the other Zasfins.'

Malaka agreed with Qia as she responded.

'Exactly. However, it seems like these Soul Stones are really, really important for the Zasfins. Well, at least for the high-level ones who know of its existence.'

Rean was more interested in another thing. Sure enough, he joined in on the conversation when it entered the serious topics through Sister Orb and Roan.

'That's not what I care about at the moment. Instead, I want to know how Soul Stones came to be. Unlike Spirit Stones, Soul Stones don't have a constant supply of Spiritual Energy that allows them to appear over many years of exposure. Soul Power only exists because of the soul, but would someone pour Soul Power into stones for tens, if not hundreds of years, just to create a single stone?'

Rean then asked Frandin.

'Frandin, how long can you keep releasing your Soul Power at maximum power?'

Frandin pondered for a bit and soon manifested his Soul Power around his body. He didn't care about controlling it, releasing as much Soul Power as he could. Around two minutes later, he stopped as his head spun in dizziness. Surprisingly, he was still conscious and lucid enough to answer Rean.

'That's about it. Two minutes. Back then, I couldn't keep it even for 30 seconds, so I've improved a lot.'

Rean nodded as he said.

'As I thought. It seems like such a method of creating Soul Stones is simply not worth it. Many Zasfins with very high Soul Power would be necessary. I don't know how many stones they would be able to nurture, but it wouldn't be many, let alone using Zasfins like Frandin.'

Agis had a puzzled expression on his face as he asked.

'But Soul Stones do exist, right? Since it exists, it means it's worth making them. Although only the high echelon knows of their existence.'

Sister Orb then added her piece, saying.

[They definitely have a way to use it. To be honest, as long as I finish analyzing the Soul Power, I might use the system to formulate a method. How long have these Zasfins and their Soul Power existed? They definitely thought up of a way to use it already.]

Rean agreed with Sister Orb.

'Yes, and that's what makes it even weirder. Since they have a way to use it, then they have a way to create them in bulk at less time.'

It was after this statement that Qia's eyes widened! As a Formation Master who also began to comprehend Soul Runes, she knew where Rean was coming from.

'No, no, no! That can't be! They can't do that! They can't be that crazy, right!'

Other than Qia, Roan was the only other person to understand Rean's train of thought.

'I see... There's no proof, but I agree that it is possible.'

At that point, Calina, Malaka, and Agis had lost their patience, prompting one of them to ask.

'Can you tell us already what you three are talking about? You're putting us in suspense!'

Qia didn't even dare say it, but Roan didn't care about such things, indifferently saying.

'Humans with pure souls are used to control the Bloodline Trial Formations. Once they can't do that anymore, they are swapped, and the kids there never know what happened to them. If Rean's theory is right, their Souls are used to create these Soul Stones once they're out. In fact, that would explain why the Soul Power inside the Soul Stone was as chaotic as Sister Orb mentioned.'

Roan then continued.

'Without Soul Purity, creating these stones would probably be extremely hard. Also, it has to be human souls since they're a lot weaker than Zasfin souls. Only at such a level of weakness would allow the Soul Power in these stones to be used. Simply put, it's an easier type of Soul Energy to absorb.'

Even Frandin was taken aback by that. It felt far crueler than what happened to the human sacrifices in the Bloodline Trial Grounds. Then again, Frandin already said that he didn't care about other humans because of their predispositions as slaves. That being said, if even he was affected by that information, let alone Calina and the others.

'Th-Then... That Soul Power in the Soul Stone was...'

Rean nodded as he sighed, saying.

'Yes, there's a possibility that one of those kids' souls was used to make it. They have the necessary purity to make the energy easy to be converted into your own. Without impurities, there aren't backlashes. The chaotic part was probably because of the time they spent sacrificing the humans in the Bloodline Trial Grounds. Would you be able to keep your sanity if you kept doing it for years before being swapped?'

Roan nodded as he continued.

'Not to mention that the method of transforming someone into a Soul Stone is anything but pleasant. Only weak and very pure human souls should have the necessary qualifications to become that.'

Calina, Malaka, and Qia gritted their teeth in rage. However, Rean laughed soon after to soothe the mood as he hastily interrupted their trains of thought.

'Hey, hey, hey! You're getting angry for no reason.'

The girls were taken aback.

'What?! How can you say that?!'

Rean then explained the obvious.

'Did you forget? This is just a theory of mine. Chances are high that I'm wrong. After all, I'm just considering the worst-case scenario here. We know way too little about Soul Power, let alone Soul Stones. Who said I was absolutely right?'

That was true. Everything was nothing more than Rean's speculations. Besides, they couldn't confirm it even if they wanted to.

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Author's note: I released a new project called The Ascension Age, check it out if you like this type of work.