The moment I stepped into the tear, I quickly covered both myself and June with an aether membrane, expecting to feel the strain from being inside a spatial tear, but this time there was none. It was as if I was welcomed within this space, but sadly for me, I had no time to ponder because I could see that it was already hard for June to stay in here for a long time. So, I quickly focused my mind and ignored all the other millions of tears that would open and close. I recalled the location of the Reaper's Nest, and in front of me, a tear that led to the Nest appeared. Without wasting any more time, I quickly stepped in, and almost instantly, I appeared in the heart of the Reaper's Nest. June had to take a moment to stabilize before we could continue.
"We just blinked all the way from the Guardian Forest to the Reaper's Nest, but here you are seemingly fine, and we both know how taxing it is to use broken steps, and to top it off, you were fighting just a few moments ago," June trailed off, and I still had my arm around her waist. Rolling my eyes, I asked, "So what is your point exactly?"
June shook her head in a very cute manner. "No point, just a speculation... uhm, I'm fine now; you can let go." Her voice became surprisingly low at the last part, and even with my enhanced hearing, I had a difficult time hearing it. I let go of her abdomen, took a step away from her to create space between us. Right now, things were very awkward between us. After letting her go, I looked around with aetheric vision, trying to spot the predators that loomed around the nest, but I found nothing—no sign of any Reaper's hollow. The place was eerily empty.
"That is strange. I expected us to be attacked by a swarm of hollows the moment we stepped out of the tear. But not only did we not get attacked, instead, this place looks deserted, and that is very frightening. What do you suggest we do?" June asked, but I too had no plan other than to look for Catalina and Moraine.
"Do you have a way we could contact them? Something like this?" I raised the analog watch Decker had given me.
"I had almost forgotten about that. Let me try to contact them." She pressed a few buttons on her analog watch, and from the modest confines of the analog watch, an astonishing illusion unfurled—a three-dimensional apparition, flickering into existence. The miniature holographic figure, a delicate dance of light, emanated an otherworldly aura, leaving me perplexed as to how such enchantment could arise from a timepiece so unassuming. The apparition was of Moraine, and she seemed to be in a frightened state, her eyes darting all over the place.
"Moraine, where are you?" June asked, and the apparition looked at her.
"J-June, you gotta come quick! The hollows, Catalina's hurt, we're surrounded! H-help us." Moraine spoke in a hurry, and before we could ask her where they were, the apparition disappeared, leaving both me and June in a state of panic.
"Where do we even begin searching? What if by the time we get there, Moraine is..." June started sobbing. How could I possibly know where to search? Back home, I'm used to being a scout because my unknown element is related to sound, but here it is useless. There's no breath. Wait, who says breath is needed if my soul is the one that awakens the element? Doesn't it mean that as long as my soul lives, I can access my element anywhere and anytime? But how will I power it without the breath? Can I use aether as a substitute for the breath?
"Yes, you can," Stephen answered, addressing the one question I had.
"But how? Is that possible? Aether and the breath work differently. These are some of the things that I have to take into consideration. Aether is a foreign energy, even for concilia, seemingly leaking from a higher plane of existence. How can I be sure that infusing aether into my Elemental soul won't be contaminating it, mutating it into something else? The soul is really sensitive, Stephen. That is why both my master and Finn told me to never saturate my soul with anything else other than the breath." I responded, voicing out my doubts to Stephen, but he chuckled lightly.
"Mí'tûr, you have a whole secret realm in your soul, and your soul is not even whole yet. Right now, you are inhabiting your former body, and your soul has turned into an aetheric soul. Don't you think that you are already a mutant?" Listening to Stephen's words, they made plenty of sense. However, I had no way to feel my Elemental soul. I need some time to meditate.
"June, I need some time to meditate. I want to try out something."
June nodded, adding, "Hurry up."
I sat down in a lotus position and closed my eyes. The intention was for me to penetrate into my body of souls and try to access my Elemental soul. A few breaths passed by on the outside, but to me, it felt like an eternity. Trying to access my body of souls here in concilia was hard, but I persisted until I could see it—my body of souls. In the middle of it was a seed, but right now that seed seemed contaminated with aether. Ignoring that discovery, I turned my perception to what I supposed was my Elemental soul. Spreading my perception unto it, I entered a vast empty space.
As I went deeper into my Elemental soul, I stumbled upon a wild scene—an expansive space filled with nothing but sound waves doing their dance. The clear edges of my Elemental soul vanished, blending seamlessly with aether's flow.
I mumbled to myself, "What's going on here?"
The sound waves answered with a symphony, creating a mix of vibes in this vast emptiness. Aether and sound had merged, turning my inner world into a pulsating mix.
With a hint of amazement, I said, "Feels like aether and my element teamed up in a dance I never saw coming."
The space in front of me wobbled with echoes, each sound wave carrying a touch of aetheric energy. I could feel the potential of this fusion, giving me a new way to see the world—beyond the usual limits of just sound waves.
Thinking it over, I muttered, "This mutation, weird and kind of cool. My elemental skills got bigger, and now I'm moving around a space where my element and aether hang out together."
In this quiet symphony, I admired the changed look of my Elemental soul—a mutation that hinted at new skills and a way of looking at things that wasn't plain ordinary.
As I kept wandering through my Elemental soul, the symphony of sound waves got more enchanting. Suddenly, there was this subtle presence, like an echo in the vastness.
"(Chuckles) Quite a sound show, huh, Timothy?" I looked up to see Stephen smiling.
"Stephen? What brings you here?" I asked, surprised.
"Just taking a stroll through the echoes of your Elemental soul. You've got quite a unique thing goingon."
"Yeah, it's something," I answered.
"(Smirking) Having half of an Elemental soul is pretty cool, don't you think?" Stephen asked.
"(Confused) Half?"
Stephen chuckled softly, his laughter blending with the symphony around us.
"Your body of souls, Timothy, it's not complete. You've got only half of all the souls—mind, elemental, and wandering. That's why your Elemental soul looks like this."
Taking it in, I thought, "Half of everything... I guess that explains the weirdness of this place."
"(Wisely) Embrace it, Timothy. Our quirkiness comes from being incomplete, a melody that fits into the harmony of your soul's journey."