"So why didn't I faint again?"
Rubbing her temples, she answered, "Listen... My Dimension, Darkness Beyond Limits, has the ability to nullify or, you could say, suck out anyone's soul essence, leaving only mine, making them a normal human. Although their soul core nature shifts, they can use my soul essence leaking into the atmosphere or if I provide it to them myself.
It's an offensive technique, but I can use it for training too. Like, the moment your soul essence was nullified, you didn't faint, right?" Elysia exclaimed.
Zuxe simply nodded in response and let her continue. "Because I filled your body with my soul essence. It is now compatible with you due to my dimension's special ability."
"And?"
"What 'And'? It's just that I can provide you with soul essence until mine is depleted, and trust me, it isn't going to deplete anytime soon."
"Oh~hoo..." Zuxe shook his head in acknowledgment and continued to ask, "Why am I able to see you even though there's impenetrable darkness all around, and I shouldn't be able to?"
Elysia walked ahead without saying a word and somehow emerged behind Zuxe's back, momentarily surprising him.
"It's also one of my dimension's abilities. You're able to see me, or yourself, because my soul essence is running through your body right now. If not for my soul essence, you wouldn't be able to see anything, just an empty void."
Zuxe flinched at her words for a moment and said, "Do you realize you can kill me anytime now?"
Tilting her head in confusion, she responded, "Yes, I do know. Why?"
"Nothing," he hugged it off, not wanting to intentionally step on the landmine.
Flashing a bright smile, Elysia asked, "Now... are you ready to show me that technique of yours?"
"Yes... but under one condition," he remarked, various thoughts running through his mind.
"You won't tell anyone about me... and assist me whenever I ask."
Zuxe had his own priorities. He was going to use her to the fullest, but nothing comes for free.
"I wasn't planning to tell anyone anyway... but I can't accept your second condition."
"Why? Is it that difficult?" he asked while trying to reinforce his soul essence in his fists.
"No... but I don't see any advantage in it. How about you accept my offer, and I'll accept yours?"
Swinging his other hand in a wide arc, he inquired, "What is it, your condition?"
A grin etched across her face as she spoke, "It's simple... you just have to obey me."
Staring at her for what seemed like a few seconds, he broke the silence, asking politely, "Can I... curse you?"
"Oh my, how cute! You know you're the first person who's dared to say that to me," she said, moving closer to him, lifting him up by his armpits like a baby.
"Drop me," Zuxe said frustratingly, his cheeks flushing for some reason as he looked at her divinely beautiful face.
"Are you sure? How can you be so sorry if you wouldn't die after I drop you?" Elysia mocked, pointing her finger toward the area where Zuxe had stood just moments ago.
"N-no, don't drop me," he pleaded, playing along with her. Looking where she pointed, all he could see was an infinite depth with no end.
"Now you're turning on your words," she said, gently putting him down again, her face looking disappointed.
"Sure... I'll accept your conditions. Anyways, I can't use my technique in mid-air. Summon a target like a mannequin or a demon," Zuxe demanded while accepting her offer.
He had no reason to deny it.
He would be able to practice his new techniques whenever he learned them in her domain without any tension.
He could ask for help if really needed, and most important of all, Elysia was the only person who had made him feel at ease and lowered his guard since birth.
At least there would be someone he could talk to.
If not for his mental age, isolating a child from birth would easily break him mentally.
"Zuxe!"
"Zuxe!"
Elysia called out to him. Apparently, she had already created hundreds of soul essence creatures with soul cores of their own while he was lost in thought.
Snapping his head toward her, "Oh, are you done already? I thought it would take more time," he inquired, not even a hint of surprise visible on his face.
"Huh~ why aren't you surprised like before?"
Not wanting to reply anymore, he snapped his head to the left side, proceeding to use his technique.
'Honestly, what's even the use of playing that crappy game if I would get surprised every second.'
Elysia stepped forward and stood beside him.
"I want to check the annihilation power of your technique first," Elysia merrily hopped around before moving her arms to position the creatures in a row.
Zuxe knew how to use his soul essence technique as its information, experience, and power had been given to him directly. But in reality, he didn't even know how to use soul essence to reinforce his arms or legs because he hadn't experienced it since childhood due to a lack of soul essence.
So all in all, he could only use one technique for now, although he was planning to later ask Elysia to train him on how to control its flow and manifest it, but only if he couldn't do so on his own.
"SINGULARITY: Vortex."
Placing his thumb against his fingers, he said those words.
Suddenly, an obsidian black dot-like structure appeared right in front of his thumb.
And just like before, a bolt of blinding white emerged from it, ready to launch at his will.
But before releasing his fingers, he snapped his head toward Elysia, who stood there perplexed, staring at the bolt, and inquired, "Do you know any way I can increase my soul essence pool?"
"No. It's decided from birth how much one's soul essence pool can grow, although there are exceptions."
Zuxe looked disappointed but nodded, proceeding to focus on his technique.
"Since I have more soul essence this time... I think—no, bad idea. I don't know how to pour it." An idea came to his mind, but he quickly retracted it.
"I think it's taken its normal and most stable form. Now it should be at least... but it already seems more terrifying than before."
Zuxe pondered that last time, his entire reserves had been used for one technique, so it should be smaller than before in its stable form, right?
Right?
Right?
No answer.
.
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