SOUL MAGIC OF A BALL
When I woke up, I was not dead or eaten by the Tanith but neither did I escape the serpent. I was dragged to Tanith's lair inside a cave somewhere where it was nursing a few dozen smaller serpents.
"Those are Tanith's vile offspring, and I am their baby food", I complained to myself.
The Tanith didn't eat me in the forest because I wasn't his food. I was brought into the serpent's lair to feed its children.
"Damnit, I can't move still", I thought to myself as I tried to free myself.
Suddenly Tanith came to rip me apart to feed my flesh to its babies, but I was pulled into stalactites above me by my magical vines. Some magic returned to me while I was unconscious but that was about the last of it.
"Haha you can't climb up, catch me if you can", I told Tanith as I was hanging on the stalactite.
In a shocking move, the Tanith jumped toward me as wings opened from behind the serpent's hood.
"Damnit the snake can fly", I complained to myself.
Although technically the Tanith couldn't fly, it had short, concealed wings near its hood that could help it glide a little and it was enough for the Tanith to reach me and pull me to the ground.
"Argggggghhh"
I was bitten again by the snake as it dislocated my shoulders to rip it apart to feed its children.
"Is it my death, so soon again", I asked my mirror self who only not too long ago was reborn as me, though he didn't reply me.
My mirror self wasn't an entity that could help me but a manifestation of my previous life's memories. All he could do for me was to empower me with forgotten knowledge.
"Arggggghhhh"
The snake dislocated my other shoulder and was about to pull it off when suddenly I was pulled into the air again by magical vines. A little magic returned again as I activated my Ring of Vines.
"Rawwwwwwrrrr"
The Tanith's hoods opened in anger as wings came out of its hood again.
"Stubborn food don't you keep pulling away from me, it's useless", the Tanith said to me in its hideous hissings.
Tanith leaped into the air and glided toward me.
"Come on do something", I asked myself.
Suddenly, something came over me possessing my mind and body. It was the memories of my previous life that was returned to me at the moment that I needed it most.
----
My consciousness was whisked away to an unfamiliar realm, a place I couldn't recall from any previous dream or memory. The expansive sky above was teeming with colossal ships, an invasion force from extraterrestrial beings that sought dominion over this planet.
Among the hovering vessels, a titanic ship loomed over the others, dwarfing them in comparison. Its two side-mounted cannons unleashed devastating beams, obliterating vast stretches of land and even shattering hills with their formidable power.
Despite the overwhelming shock and awe, the denizens of this world refused to succumb to defeat.
Defiantly, they ascended into the sky to confront the alien invaders. In a surreal display, hundreds, then thousands, and eventually millions of terracotta figurines soared skyward.
These were not living beings but rather puppets, brought to life by the mystical energy of one man's soul—Emperor Tian, my mentor.
Emperor Tian wielded the extraordinary ability to animate a million puppets at his command, a manifestation of the power and enchantment inherent in his soul realm.
I, in turn, inherited this magical prowess from him, becoming the inheritor of the mesmerizing force that could animate the countless puppets ready to defend our world.
As I relived this battle, my connection to my soul was kindled. This wasn't just the memory of my witness to this epic battle but a reminder of the dormant magic inside of my soul.
-----
"Shinggg..shinggg..shingg"
Suddenly sharp and high-pitched sounds were heard as Tanith fell to the ground. Something pierced the serpent, as it bled all over its body.
"Shinggg..shinggg..shingg"
More pinhole sized wounds appeared all over the Tanith as blood streamed from the skin of the serpent.
"Argggggghhhhh"
Tanith screamed in pain as it bled profusely.
"What the hell are these?" the serpent must have asked itself about the sudden mysterious wounds on its body as it eventually collapsed to the floor, dead.
"Damn, is the serpent dead already?" I asked myself.
I started cursing quite a lot after the memories of my previous life were revealed to me, more than before. Perhaps I was becoming more like him.
The pinhole-sized wounds on the Tanith were caused by flying metal balls that I salvaged from the space shuttle we found in the forest.
After I awakened my soul realm, I imprinted my soul magic on the ball bearings that I salvaged from the wrecked shuttle that I found in the forest. That I could do from my memories but the difficulty was in commanding the soul puppets, the metal balls I imprinted.
I never designed the metal balls to be weapons, but this was a dire situation. At the moment I lost all hope, the memories of my previous life took over.
I was brought back to the memory of an epic battle between the enormous magic of the soul that challenged an armada of alien invaders, reignited the magic in my soul that lay dormant after my rebirth.
Unexpectedly, those metal balls became my soul weapons that I could control naturally, and they were extremely powerful. They were much quicker than sling propelled pellets and could penetrate and break-even rocks and stones.
My soul magic was also unique because my soul realm was carried over from a previous life. What I'm experiencing when I advance in my soul realm now was just unlocking my soul tiers that I already had but were locked due to my rebirth.
So, my Soul weapon has the maximum strength of the peak of Awakening tier which could easily penetrate the armor of the Tanith.
"Shinggg..shinggg..shingg"
Even the Tanith's children weren't spared as my Magic missiles slaughtered them. I can't allow those baby snakes to grow into vile Taniths that would endanger the forest and the villagers.
After a short while, the Tanith poison on me cleared, so I quickly went over to the serpent's body to carve out its hearts.
"This is the time when the heart is the freshest and most potent", I told myself.
If I brought the heart back to the village even if I preserved it perfectly the effectiveness would be just one-fifth of its effectiveness than if I used it now.
So, I brought out some dried ink that I had on my backpack and mixed it with Tanith's blood to create magical ink. Then I drew a gathering spell on the cave floor as I sat in the spell before offering the serpent's heart to the arraye of drawings.
Tanith's magical heart offered immense magic that powered my gathering spell.
It was after all, considered a Mercury tier beast which was far far greater than the magical beasts we captured or killed before. It took almost the whole day and night before my gathering was complete.
Luckily for me, wild beasts would avoid this cave because of the scents of the Tanith here so I was safe while I gathered magic into my body.
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(Author's Note)
Soul magic is a different source of magic in this magical world that derives its magic from a human's inner soul. Once awakened, it created a vast reservoir inside the soul of a person, giving the person extraordinary magic and unique powers.
Orion acquired Soul magic in his previous life and that magic was brought over into the present and he only started to awaken its powers. He awakened a Puppet Soul Realm that could imprint his soul will into objects, turning them animate, to serve the crafter's wishes.
Soul magic, like Templar magic, is classed in tiers according to a planetary system.
Mercury – Venus – Earth – Mars – Jupiter – Saturn - Uranus – Neptune – Pluto
There is a difference though between Orion's Templar magic and his Soul magic. While he had to slowly progress through the ten levels of his Templar magic, he would master the maximum level of his soul magic once he reached the corresponding tier. This is because he already achieved the maximum of his tier in soul magic in his previous life and he is merely unlocking its magic now in his present life.
Templar magic on the other hand was something that he had to start from scratch because it is a magic unique to this life and world.