"...so bright."
"Good morning."
"...? Where am I?"
"You're unconscious in the real world right now, which is why you are here."
Naoki groggily woke up and stood up to find the voice that addressed him.
"I'm unconscious...?"
"Woah-!" Naoki flinched in surprise.
"Surprised? This is your Soul Cognitive World—though most people just call it Soul Word." The woman said, appearing in front of him.
Wherever Naoki had looked, it was all blue—like the clear blue sky. Although, what surprised Naoki the most is that he was standing on air.
"Lea...?"
"Hah... haven't I told you to not address a Soul Saint so casually?" She sighed, though it seems that she didn't mind.
"...so, where are we?" Naoki asked, ignoring her remark.
"It's your Soul Cognitive World."
"You already said that."
"..."
The two stared annoyingly at each other—reminiscent of their first meeting.
"In other words, it's the inner world of your soul and it expands as you grow stronger."
"Heh... though I can't see anything in here."
"That's-..."
Leariz explained, it seems that this world exists within every cultivator and that they can control anything that happens inside their own Soul Cognitive World. It could be said that it was their own pocket world.
"Normally, you'd be only able to materialize your physical form in the Soul World when you reached Soul Rank II but..."
"What do you mean?"
Naoki appeared to be in his full human form in the Soul World. Leariz claimed that without external help, this would ordinarily be impossible for someone with a Soul Rank I.
"I was right, your soul is quite interesting."
"Wait... if this is my world, why are you here?"
"Hehe, don't underestimate a Soul Saint." She grinned.
Naoki was still unsure who Leariz is—and the fact that she is keeping quiet even if she can read Naoki's thoughts meant that he shouldn't pry further.
"That's right, use this. I'm interested to see how it would change your Soul World. You're about to unlock a Star Node, aren't you?" Leariz handed Naoki a Pure Soul Fragment.
"Hah...?" Naoki did as told, albeit confused.
As he began absorbing the Soul Fragment, he realized one thing.
"No memories?"
"That's right—despite how I look, I'm a master alchemist you know? That one is artificially made" She said proudly.
"...though that's one of the failed products." She muttered to herself.
"You can do that!?" Naoki exclaimed.
"Yes, and there are lots of things you can make aside from this. Also-..." Leariz said excitedly, it was her favorite hobby after all.
Naoki continued to listen—if he could learn alchemy, he would be able to get stronger much faster.
"...wait-"
"-I'm getting off-topic—Here, a Star Breaker Pill. It will unlock your Star node."
"Oh? This is not enough?" Naoki asked, still absorbing the fragment.
"Normally, it'd still be possible to unlock if you keep absorbing soul fragments though..."
She explained. It appears that taking a Star Breaker Pill will raise the Star Node's overall quality. It will be roughly 50% better than normally unlocking a Star Node. She further explained that as you increase in Soul Rank, the faster and better quality your Soul Nodes will be.
"I got it." Naoki gulped the pill upon hearing that.
"Oh. I forgot to mention that it will hurt a little." Leariz smiled.
"...Guh!" Naoki clenched his chest.
"How exactly...! is this a little!?" Naoki groaned.
He was on his knees—his soul was searing hot and in chaos. Naoki could feel something breaking.
"Just so you know, my Star Breaker Pill is one of a kind. Its effectiveness far outclasses other Star Breaker Pills." She said proudly.
"You-!"
Naoki swore to himself that he will get his revenge for this. As he thought that...
"...Star node!" Naoki exclaimed.
"Congratulations."
Naoki felt more refreshed this time—compared to unlocking his previous Soul Nodes. It was as if the weight on his body had disappeared and his mind was light as a feather.
*Rumble*
"This-?"
"As I thought, you've started to form your Soul world."
Naoki felt grass on his feet and before he knew it, land formed around him—albeit only half of the size of a basketball court.
"Normally, you'd only be able to form your soul world when you've unlocked your 5th-star nod-"
"Ohh!!!" Naoki rolled on the grass, out of fervor and excitement.
"What are you? A kid?" She sighed, a smile forming on her face.
<<----------->>
"Then, I'll be going."
"Hmm, thank you." Naoki bowed.
"That's rare, you can be surprisingly respectful."
"..."
Despite Naoki being annoyed at her earlier, he was still thankful to her for helping him get stronger.
"That's right—when we first met, that place was actually my Soul World. If you'd like, I can teach you Alchemy there.".
Apparently, once you become strong enough, you can project your Soul World into the real world—which explains why he could be easily teleported back then.
"I was planning to do that even without you asking though..."
"You..." She sighed.
"Then, I'll be going."
"Mhm."
*Silence*
Naoki saw that she was excited about it, despite the fact that she looked annoyed. He then exited from his Soul World, it seemed that someone was calling for him.
<<----------->>
"N..ao.."
"...oki"
"Naoki!" A person cried out.
"Hmm...? Carol?"
"Hah... you can be such a worrywart at times Caroline. Didn't I say he'll be okay?"
"Shut up! Isn't this your fault!? What if his soul was crippled!?"
"I'm sorry..." She said apologetically, unable to say anything more.
Naoki could hear two people arguing. It seems he was in some sort of luxurious bed—in a lavished room. Apparently, Astria was crying the whole time.
"What happened...?" He asked weakly.
"As you can see, Caroline was just worried when you suddenly unlocked your Star Node," Alexandra explained.
Supposedly, sudden changes to the soul when one is unconscious indicate instability which—in some cases—leads to death.
"And you-! Who told you to become so reckless!?" Astria glared at Naoki with her sore eyes.
"I'm sorry for worrying you." Naoki patted her head gently.
"You... if you too leave me, I can't bear it..." Astria placed her head on Naoki's chest, sobbing.
"Well, I'll be outside." Alexandra excused herself.
"..."
She had been in the room this whole time—waiting for Naoki to regain consciousness and when Naoki's soul showed activity, Astria panicked. She didn't know what to do, so she could only cry.
<<----------->>
"Hey, Naoki."
"Hmm?"
"Why were you so adamant about beating my sister? She'll eventually just agree even if you didn't play along with her."
That's right, even if Naoki hadn't won earlier, Alexandra would have accepted—she was indebted to Naoki, after all.
"That's obvious, I want her to acknowledge our relationship," Naoki said.
"All for that reason...?"
"Also, I want to prove my love to you. That it's not just because our souls are connected."
"-!"
"That's unfair! What am I supposed to do if you didn't wake up?"
"Ahaha."
"This is not a laughing matter!"
They continued to bicker back and forth—and shared everything that they wanted to say as if this was their last day.
"Naoki?"
"What is it?"
"I feel like a fool for crying—I mean, didn't we just meet yesterday?" She laughed at the thought.
"It feels like we've known each other forever though," Naoki commented.
"I guess that's true." She sighed.
Before they knew it, they have forged a bond closer than any other—who could blame them? They already know everything about each other, after all.
"Hey, can you look at me?" She continued.
"..?"
She inched closer to Naoki...
"-!?"
The soft sensation of her lips filled Naoki's. He was surprised at first—but eventually followed suit.
"I'm sorry, will this do for now?" Astria said, referring to "Naoki's thoughts" yesterday.
"Mhm." Naoki smiled at her.
They continued to take their time, enjoying each other's company. None of the two had expected the other to come into their lives. They both laughed at the suddenness and absurdity of the situation—they couldn't believe they'd go so far for each other even though they were just strangers two days ago.