[|||| =LEVEL 6= ||||]
To say I pimped out Summer's soul space would be an understatement. I remodeled it from the ground up. I had taken only the best furniture I could find. I had to assemble some of it with Remnant's IKEA equivalent but it was easy with the build skill, which leveled up again.
Summer gave me a lot to work with as well. With my buffs on her she had over 27k aura so 27 cubic meters. If I cut down the roof to make it more of a building than a cube it was cozy.
The rooms weren't walled with gold or anything. They had white plaster walls and some windows showing a scene I occasionally changed at will. I had only done a meadow with a tree so far, which was a little boring, but again, I'm not a very over the top person.
I had four rooms in total. First was a bedroom, which was where my body would sleep when I wasn't using it. It had a nice feather bed I stole in the middle of a lengthier wall and a dresser and a tiny walk in closet. I wouldn't ever need a TV so I had a screen of hard light projected onto the wall to watch Summer's antics.
Next was the living room. A table for six and two couches with a coffee table in the middle. Pretty simple. I stored some board games and a few decks of cards in a cupboard I mounted on the shelf.
Third was what I called the garden. This is the only place that I actually warped reality for.
I made it so that I had fresh and soft green grass underfoot as well as a few flowers. The sky was always night filled with shining stars, an aurora boreallis, and a full moon, which Remnant didn't have. I missed my moon. I put a lot of detail into the sky even if it was fake.
I made water from mana and put it in a cooler off to the side. I enchanted the cooler to be cold. I just needed to occasionally dump heat affiliated mana into the enchantment.
I put down some exercise equipment I had stolen if I wanted to work my physical body and a sofa to gaze at the stars and considered it a job well done.
Lastly was a very snug and small room I called my study. A nice wooden desk and office chair off to the corner facing inwards, a beanbag for reading, and a bookshelf. All real furniture as well. I deposited all of the ingots in cubbies in the wall.
I was pushing the limits of Summer's soul space with those four rooms despite not being very big. I had to keep the ceilings low to save space and the corners of the workout room sloped inwards to give the study more space.
I had a few other plans as well if Summer gained my space affinity, which I had a feeling would take a while. Well, whatever.
[|||| == ||||]
"I'll start meditating now. Try to pull me in! "
I felt Summer's aura calm down quickly and become docile and free of any resistance to me manipulating it.
I pulled her soul inwards and felt Summer's aura have a presence in her soul space. I shaped her into her human form and let go of her in the bedroom.
Summer opened her eyes and immediately said "Whoa."
"Hi." I said amusedly. She looked around a little and walked out to the living room.
"Nice with the couches. I thought about doing something like that at my home in Patch but I never got around to it. Tai is too busy with chores, the kids, and teaching at Signal to get around to anything like remodeling."
Summer looked around a little more and glanced at the boardgames and left to the study rather than the garden.
Summer immediately jumped onto the beanbag with a laugh. "Ooh! This is nice!" I walked in and just watched her with a smile.
Summer's eyes went wide when she looked at the cubbies in the wall filled with the super expensive metals. The bookshelf mostly full was an afterthought.
"Oh my dust… is that all real?" I grinned.
"Everything in here but the walls and floor are from my inventory. Don't jump too high by the way. I had to sacrifice height for width and length."
"Whoa… Can I hang with you in here when I'm unconscious or even when I'm awake I'd love to just be in here. Can I make a forge? There's so much I can do with this metal given the chance. "
"We don't have any more space in your soul. This is all there is."
"What?!" Summer looked to me with wide eyes.
"Can we get more?!"
"I'm working on it. It might take a while though."
Summer pouted. "Fine." she sent a loving gaze to the metals. "Wait for me my sweet!" and with that she hopped out of the bag and walked into the garden. I heard a gasp and walked in on Summer looking with awe at the sky.
The stars glimmered like jewels, the moon a pale sun, and the aurora shimmered like a snake made of different lights in the sky.
"Abyss what… How…" Summer stumbled back and was falling down. I stretched my soul to the sofa, grabbed it with my inventory, and put it under her.
Summer didn't even notice as she gazed in awe at the sky. "The moon… How…" I smiled. That's not really the sky. It's a wall I made in it's image. A whole sky with stars that shine and a moon that isn't torn."
Summer was silent for a moment. "I've seen paintings and pictures and a hundred expressions of the sky being whole. Nothing, and I mean nothing, has ever compared me for this. It's… Otherworldly. Ethereal. Majestic… I'm going to lay here for a while."
I smiled and brought a recliner beside Summer to watch the sky. I paid only some attention through mage sight to the real world.
[|||| == ||||]
"She didn't even try?" I asked with a smirk on my face.
"Nope! And that's why Goodwitch wears a miniskirt!" I laughed at the story and the blackmail I was getting on everybody. I had Ruby, Yang, and Tai down. There were only embarrassing stories to piss off Raven off. Still useful.
Apparently Goodwitch had been a senior two years ahead of beacon from Summer and she and Sum shared social circles.
Raven had been incredibly susceptible to stupid and crazy maneuvers for a while. She was a very calculating person but not the most empathetic. Summer and the others fixed this issue not by getting close to her but by beating the crap out of her with illogical combat maneuvers she couldn't understand.
Raven had been so distraught about such a weakness that she put a massive amount of effort into getting to understand others better and it showed. According to Summer anyways.
Taiyang had had a crush on Raven for a while and decided to act 'as cool as she was' to catch her attention. Qrow 'helped' by putting him in 'cool' situations. Like wearing a baseball cap backwards, telling more puns than usual, and using a skateboard.
Raven worked hard to avoid Tai because of just how uncomfortable being around him made her. Tai took this as signs that she was developing a crush and worked harder. Qrow eventually took pity on Tai and told the truth.
There was plenty more embarrassing stories besides and I was writing down all of them on a leather journal with a remote clone.
"Alright. Your flight to patch is here in a few minutes so you'll have to go now." I said sadly. If only I could collect more blackmail but no.
"What?! Already?!" I nodded and Summer looked disappointed. I cut the connection to my remote clone at the absence of blackmail to write.
"We can still talk when you're out there remember?" Summer widened her eyes a little.
"Oh yeah! But I'd break down laughing in the middle of the airport. I have to say no." I nodded understandingly.
"... So how do I get out of here?" Summer asked. I waved my hand and tossed her aura out of the soul space. In mage sight her aura activated for a moment and she opened her eyes in the real world.
I turned my attention from Summer and the routine of the airport and went back to my experiments. I was grinding up a few skills right now but no more than normal. I had aura enhancements on my body and supplement on it as well. I had aura suppressing on myself and Summer since I could use it on others. It leveled faster.
It had occurred to me, though, that spatial presence negation would make me phase through matter but Sum's soul wasn't made of matter. I activated the spell on a bit of water I made and watched it fall to the floor and just act as normal water would.
I instantly activated the skill on my body and saw my body fall to the floor through the bed. I deactivated the skill and placed myself on a nice part of the floor out of the way. Finally a way to grind that skill. Now I just needed a way to get my wind affinity up and fly… I wonder if my points could help? They're so tempting… Just seventy four points, almost a fifth of what I have at most, and I'd have two kickass new skills - maybe more - and my stats could help me plan for the future.
Actually… I'll be meeting with Ozpin pretty soon. He's dangerous in every sense of the word. I can't bind myself to him as an ally. I don't want to close doors to Salem if I don't get along with Ozpin. I doubt I'll use the door but… I really want to do it. It would make some sense to do it. Am I just being plain greedy be hoarding the points?… fuck it. I can go on another killing spree of the worst of humanity if I need more points. The points aren't doing anything for me and I could use them.
"Summer I'm going to have to switch off my buffs for a moment. I'm doing something."
"What?! Ah just be careful." I could feel Summer's worry over our link. I sent a calm smile to her. I wasn't going to die or anything.
Abyss Mavros
Title: Passenger
Level – 77
HP – 239.85/239.85 [Pending update]
AP – 14,800 (+740/min)
MP - 10,800 (+540/min)
STR - 28 (+95%)(30%)= 16.38 [Pending update]
VIT - 39 (+105%)(30%)= 23.985[Pending update]
DEX - 44 (+110%)(30%)= 27.72[Pending update]
INT - 100 (+20% + 50% + 100%)= 270
WIS - 100 (+20% + 150% + 100%)= 370
LUK - 32 (+0%)= 32
POINTS - 284
LIEN – 201, 692 L
*Ding!* By reaching 100 INT a new skill has been acquired! - Parallel processing
"Think in different ways at once. Follow every path. Find every solution."
-Similo the discordant
-You may learn from the experiences of your parallels
-Subservient to the main mind (you)
-Parallel minds are not required to exist. Their consciousness may be put into 'sleep mode'.
-Levels up once per every 50 INT after 100 INT
*Ding!* By reaching 100 WIS a new skill has been acquired! - Higher soul
"I have seen… beings. Beings with a soul magnitudes above what we may use with our ramshackle souls of petty light and darkness. Monsters in men that wear the skin of our kind."
-Zenithar the mad (Formerly Zenithar the wise)
-Your consciousness lies in your soul rather than a physical body. Skills and the INT, LUK, and WIS stats are based in the soul and cannot be lost except in death.
-Affinities are twice as powerful as before
-Aura and mana may be used interchangeably in some spells at a 75% efficiency
-+100% INT and WIS modifiers
-Replaces magical soul
-Unknown side effects
I felt the pain of my aura and mana expanding, sure, but I only glanced at the higher soul skill. My consciousness lies in my soul? Then the pain hit.
I screamed. All of the skills I had been keeping active? Gone. Without a doubt. Something about that seemed bad to me for a second but I couldn't find it in myself to care. There was so much pain. I heard Summer yell out at me through our link. She tried to look into her soul I think. I couldn't tell. I felt my soul warp and change and twist and throb and pulse and writhe and break and reform and ohgodithurtsomuchstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstopstop-
[|||| == ||||]
Summer's POV
I jumped in my seat on the airship when I heard the scream. The plane had started moving so people glanced at me and probably assumed I was surprised by the motion for one reason or another. I ignored them either way. Abyss was screaming too loudly for me to hear anything.
I lost my calm for a moment and panicked when the screams got to me. I dove into my soul like how Abyss had pulled me before. I stilled completely when the silver heart amulet on my chest vibrated a little.
Ozpin had given me the amulet. He had known when a new wizard was born. He said he could feel it. I believe it. He claimed to have enchanted the amulet to be tied to his body's health and location through a sample of his mana that he had somehow gotten. Probably a ritual to gather ambient mana of his. He had used something similar to unlock my mana. When it vibrated it meant he was in mortal danger. If it cracked and broke it meant he had died. It had only happened a few times before. I reached to clutch the amulet and I could feel it twitch and vibrate.
Luckily for me I was in the aisle seat. VIP section as well. I rushed into the bathroom and called Ozpin's emergency number. He picked up immediately and I tried to tune out the unholy screaming from Abyss. I had no way of helping him. "Ozpin! Abyss is in danger and I can't get to him! He's in my soul space! Can you help him?!" Ozpin blinked uncomprehensively for just a moment. Then he did something I had rarely seen him do. His eyes widened in some slight panic. He had never done that in all the time I had known him.
Ozpin slammed the intercom button on the device on his desk. "Glynda! Get up here now!" Ozpin then paid me his full attention. "Details."
"Abyss made some sort of spell to enter what he referred to as a person's soul space."
"Soul hearth? I thought it lost…" Ozpin muttered. I continued on.
"He was fine in it for so long. Then he said he was going to do something and he's screaming in my head! I don't know how to help him! Please! How can I help him?!" Ozpin clutched his cane with white knuckles. No wonder. I knew how much Abyss could change the world. How much he meant to Ozpin. He could kill Salem if we helped him, which of course we would!
"Only those with a space affinity can even look into their soul space. It takes a strong one to interact with it… Is his aura diminishing?" I focused on his aura with my own and looked to it's size… dear dust… it wasn't this big a minute ago!
"No. It's… it wasn't this big even a minute ago. It's nearly twice as large as it was before! His mana too…" Ozpin looked at the amulet with an intenseness I rarely ever saw from him.
"Giving him mana or aura when his pools are unstable, much less increasing, could cause catastrophic harm… Is his soul corrupted in any way?" I looked intently at his soul. I flared my purity affinity in my mana and saw no reaction.
"No."
Ozpin took a deep breath in and out. I saw blood on his lips. He was biting them. Then he spoke the words I wanted to hear least. "I don't know. All we can do is wait."
I heard a crack in my hands. The amulet was still. I looked to it with horror. Ozpin wasn't breathing. The silver of the amulet flickered and turned to silver dust. The dusty silver spread through the whole heart in under a second stared at it and felt a brief calm come over me.
"Ozpin! What's… oh." Glynda bursted into the office and looked at the scroll image on the screen. A necklace free from any amulet and silver dust in my palm. She quietly and grimly looked at the image and looked down reeling.
Ozpin silently pressed the intercom button again. He spoke in a hoarse voice. "All classes are cancelled for today. Return to your dorms. Do not cause trouble." He paused for a moment. "Please. Not… not today." He pressed the end call button silently and reached into his desk and came out with a bottle of alcohol.
A tear dropped from my right eye. Then another. Then one from my left. They clumped the silver in my hand together. I brought my hands up to my face and cried. Ozpin ended the scroll call. I continued to cry and just let it all out.
[|||| == ||||]
Abyss POV
I woke up oddly. It was like I was asleep and suddenly I was awake. No blurry vision or sleep gunk in my eyes. I felt something wrong though… what… I couldn't feel the temperature or the air or… I couldn't feel my limbs. What was going on?! I would have hyperventilated but I had no lungs. I fell into my meditation skill and calmed down quickly.
First I tried to recall what happened. Ah, right… my soul was severed from my body and… I looked to my body… or what was my body. My body had curled into a fetal position. My tongue was swollen and purple from lack of oxygen. It pushed against my teeth. My eyes were wide open and had red spots in my sclera. My skin was pale with a few white spots like with my eyes. Besides that there was nothing out of the ordinary. Just that I was looking at my dead body, which was about four years old in case you were wondering.
Only the forced calm from meditation kept me from screaming. Seeing the dead bodies of others was one thing but my own? When I was four years old? To call it disturbing would be an understatement.
I tried making a parallel mind and inspected it a little. It was smart but not really independent. It would follow orders but if it lacked them it would need more or it wouldn't know what to do. It also had less emotions as I did. It wasn't stupid but to call it smart would be an overstatement. I sent an order to scour the apartment with mage sight to see if anything was amiss. Then I did the same myself.
I couldn't see anything bad other than my corpse, which I put into my inventory. Everything was as it should be. My parallel reported the same. Nothing was wrong… Now for the hard part.
I extended my mage sight beyond the space to the real world. Summer was sitting in a plane seat silently. Her eyes were red and puffy and her face eerily blank. Her hands lightly gripped her armrests.
"*Ding* This is your captain speaking. We'll be touching down in Patch in roughly a minute. Please fasten your seatbelts. *Ding*". I was silent as I watched Summer from inside her soul. The link between us, I could feel, was broken. I could reform it whenever I wanted. It was just a connection between our auras. Nothing difficult. I could just fix it and tell her now but… on a busy airship? Not the right place. I'll wait until she's alone.
In the meantime I checked out my stats. God they were screwed up.
Abyss Mavros
Title: Passenger
Level – 77
HP – X
AP – 14,800 (+740/min)
MP - 10,800 (+540/min)
STR - X (+90%)= X
VIT - X (+90%)= X
DEX - X (+90%)= X
INT - 100 (+20% + 50% + 100%)= 270
WIS - 100 (+20% + 150% + 100%)= 370
LUK - 32 (+0%)= 32
POINTS - 284
LIEN – 201, 692 L
[|||| == ||||]
PERKS:
Unbound soul - You're a higher soul with no true body of your own to call refuge. Should you run out of aura without a host you will be erased. Taking refuge in the an unoccupied body will mark it as yours and you will be able to run out of aura freely so long as you live. HP has become representative of your body's health and AP the health of your soul. Should one run out you will be out of aura or your body will become too damaged to fix. Should both run out you will truly die.
I didn't have my faunus or child traits. I didn't have physical stats. I didn't even have HP! I had no idea this was possible in the first place. It was certainly not at all what I had expected when I had boosted my INT and WIS. Well, it's partially my own fault. I should have put failsafes in place. I should have had spare air in the soul space. I got cocky and I lost my body because of it… that's it. I was an idiot. Nobody could have seen me becoming a… higher soul, but I should have had failsafes in place either way. Well, what's done is done. Anyways, there's a huge benefit to all of this.
I'm almost OP. My doubled affinity part of being a higher soul carries a massive benefit. Honestly the INT skill is useful but chump change compared to the higher soul skill. I'm kind of tempted to just dump all of my points into WIS and hope to attain godhood but that's a little too on the edge for me. Too much risk for me. I'd prefer to get a nice body, possess it, and put my parallel processing skill to use training the shit out of it. I'll get some anti-fatigue skill and skills to help work out faster. Or steroids. Just lots of steroids. Oh, and a regeneration skill to make the muscles heal and develop faster.
For now I'll put the parallel to work on the wind whisper spell. I'll need it until I find a new body.
I watched with some guilt as Summer got off of the airship and walked out of the airport. She got into a cab and quietly rattled off directions to a place. Probably her family's home… this is probably the closest I'm going to come to her being alone… now how to do this…
"I'm alive you know." I statedd delicately. Summer froze for a solid few seconds. "Hey don't ignore me. I screwed up a bit but I'm not stupid. I take precautions when experimenting." Well I do now. I've definitely learned my lesson. Safety comes as a priority now.
Summer screamed and the taxi man jumped and swore at Summer. "Sorry! Sorry! Really sorry!" The taxi guy glared and returned to the wheel. "Explain now or I will get a space affinity to get in there and whoop your ass for making me think you were dead." Even though I didn't biologically need to laugh I did so. Very nervously.
[|||| =NEXT LEVEL= ||||]
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