Nothing but a stifled scream escaped from Lauri's mouth – his entire being burnt from whatever Director Yang was subjugating him to. He couldn't even scream as his lungs spasmed from the pain, the feeling of hot iron tongs piercing through every cell of his body kept him from making a sound.
Oryx was not watching, having turned his head away before Yang had begun.
Director Yang on the other hand seemed alive, a wicked smile on his lips.
"My my my, what a resilient soul you have Light-Touched. Just remember, this only hurts because you are resisting. Just give in and it will be over."
Lauri's body shook, his eyes flicked to Yang.
Barely able to process Yang's words, they caught on the single word, 'soul'.
Lauri's mind moved on its own.
The world around him vanished as Lauri's perception shifted to the area he had been taken after reaching the altar in his trial. The large grassy field with a single tree – the personification of Lauri's soul. Of course, nobody had told Lauri this, any lessons Laurence or Granny had planned on teaching him, any knowledge they wanted to pass on died on Oryx's slender blade.
It was a connection Lauri had made very quickly after seeing the tree for the first time. As his mind fully shifted to this space, the all-devouring pain he was feeling was very much still present, but at the same time not. As if it was happening somewhere outside of his body.
As Lauri looked for the tree – his soul – Lauri's expression darkened as something was wrong with the idyllic grassy field. The tree was missing and the mound it sat on was missing too.
Lauri felt the beneath his feet – any clothes Lauri was wearing seemed to not persist inside his soul. Strings of light bloomed from Lauri's chest, Her Aegis quickly manifested itself on Lauri's body. Looking around, Lauri could only see the flat field of grass spreading in every direction, going on endlessly.
'I wonder… If I started walking, could I just keep walking.'
There was something different, the previously well-lit space was, dim. Not just dim, but the light seemed to increase and decrease, changing every moment. As if the sun was being covered and uncovered by clouds, but that couldn't be the case. The last time Lauri had been here there were no clouds, no sun, only light that seemed to beam down from nowhere in particular.
Then Lauri raised his head. He noticed two things, the latter allowed the boy to understood why his body felt as if his very soul was being ripped apart.
The first thing Lauri noticed was a large sun floating in the sky, its surface wasn't alight with motion like the suns Lauri had read about in books. No, this sun was pure radiance, it was made out of light and emitted light endlessly, two small lines ran around the sun – Lauri's two only Imprints: Luminescent Helper and Her Aegis.
For whatever reason, the unassuming tree – the personification of Lauri's soul, had transformed into that radiant star.
The second thing Lauri noticed caused him to stagger back, falling onto his butt.
A great shadow encircled Lauri's soul. It wasn't even a question of where this shadow had come from. This was what Yang was doing.
"He's… Trying to take control of my soul… Yeah, trying…"
The only reason Yang hadn't been able to immediately take control of Lauri's soul was due to how light resisted the dark. Not that it mattered, Lauri's soul was able to resist Director Yang's Innate Talent, but at the cost of debilitating pain.
Lauri didn't know what exactly Yang's shadow was trying to accomplish, whether it was attempting to shred Lauri's soul or constrict it. It seemed to be trying to spread across Lauri's soul, but the sun's rays seemed to be slowing it down. Unable to do anything, Lauri remained sat on the floor, watching as the shadow slowly consumed his soul
A few minutes later, Yang's shadow grew still. Exploding in a surge of motion, Lauri held his chest – the pain of Yang's actions began to affect Lauri, even in this space separate from his physical body.
"Agh, aaah!"
Falling over, Lauri's fingers scratched at the breastplate of Her Aegis, intensely scratching at the chitin, Lauri's nails began to hurt.
Just as soon as it started, the pain left Lauri's body like a bad memory. Clutching his head, Lauri remained curled up in the fetal position for a few minutes.
Breathing heavily, Lauri turned his head slightly.
Lauri's soul brightly shined in the sky, not a shadow in sight.
"Did… Does that mean he failed?"
A small smile appeared on Lauri's lips.
"My soul, he failed to take my soul."
Laughing Lauri sat up basking in the bright light. Lauri's smile turned gloomy as he remembered that even if Yang had failed, Lauri had no choice other than leaving this place and returning to his actual body.
Lauri deemed that it would be safe to return his senses back to his body
He was mostly wrong.
Lauri found himself writhing in pain on the floor of the room, although Yang was no longer holding him by the neck. It seems having someone manipulate your soul wasn't a pain that just ends.
Lauri found himself writhing in pain on the floor of the room, although Yang was no longer holding him by the neck, meaning the process was finished. It seems having someone manipulate your soul wasn't a pain that just ends.
As the pain began to fade, Lauri panted, raising his head. His eyes aimed directly at Director Yang. The Director in question was in the same place he had been when Lauri delved into the grassy field housing his soul. Yang's eyes moved from side to side.
'Is he… Reading the Strings? But… He failed didn't he?'
Yang's eyes widened. Drumming his fingers on his chin, his creepy smile returned.
"Oh, ho, ho, ho. What a find, I take it back." He turned to address the black knight, "Oryx my dear. You have outdone yourself. Truly."
Crouching, Yang now addressed Lauri – who had made no attempt to get up off the floor.
"You have quite the resilient soul, Lauri. Even with the vast difference in our power, I was unable to completely dominate your soul, no matter. I have plenty of time until the Summer Equinox, you'll be mind sooner or later."
Chuckling, Yang stood up, glancing at Oryx he gestured to Lauri.
"Find this one a place to rest his weary soul."
And with that, Yang was done, the Shadowman left the room without another word. The door opened and closed as he passed through. To Lauri's relief, the indomitable shadow that blinded Lauri's new sense travelled with Yang away until Lauri could sense the light again.
Like a weight had been taken off of his shoulders, Lauri sat up – his body still tingled from the pain it had experienced. Exhaling, Lauri picked himself up off of the floor, his emotions a tangled mess of pain, anger, confusion and sorrow.