Lucian turned toward Zeph with a smirk dancing on his lips. "Let's not keep our guest waiting," he said, his voice echoing in the serene, tranquil environment of Zeph's soulspace.
Zeph, still awed and shaken by the sight of Lucian's hellish soulspace, had almost forgotten about the creature that had attacked him. But the mention of their "guest" reignited the fire of hatred within him. The attack had left him vulnerable, powerless. That the creature had dared to target him—Zephyron Eternis, the second prince of the Astaroth Empire—was an insult beyond measure. He felt a wave of anger surge through his mind, causing the once peaceful and white light of his soulspace to flicker, dimming the picturesque beauty surrounding them.
Lucian, ever perceptive, raised an eyebrow and remarked, "Interesting. If your soulspace reacts like this now, I wonder what it might look like in a few years. Perhaps it will mirror my own." His smirk grew more pronounced as he began walking in the opposite direction, motioning for Zeph to follow.
Zeph's mind was still roiling with emotions, a mixture of fury and a desire for vengeance. But curiosity tugged at him as well, especially after what he had seen in Lucian's soulspace—an endless hellscape of burning abominations. He had never imagined that such darkness could dwell within someone's soul, least of all Lucian's, a man who spoke so calmly and carried himself with an air of calculated wisdom. Now, as they walked, Zeph found himself wanting to understand more, even though his anger still simmered just beneath the surface.
"Your soulspace is... strange," Zeph muttered, his small body keeping pace with Lucian, whose steps were firm and deliberate.
Lucian chuckled softly, his voice carrying an almost musical quality as it echoed through the calm surroundings. "Strange, yes. But far more useful than one might think."
As they walked, Lucian began to explain. "Your soulspace, Zeph, is different from mine, yes. But the energy that populates it—that is something extraordinary. I've never seen anything quite like it." He raised his hand, and the faint red-black glow of his soul energy began to swirl around his fingers. "This isn't mana, nor any form of energy I've encountered in any universe. It seems... limitless."
Zeph watched as the dark energy coiled around Lucian's hand, wrapping him in an aura of fire-like radiance that contrasted sharply with the gentle, almost divine atmosphere of his own soulspace. In this pure white environment, Lucian looked like a burning sun, a force of destruction standing amidst tranquility.
"The energy of your soulspace can be used for many things," Lucian continued, his tone taking on a more instructional quality. "For instance..." He lifted his arm, and the red-black energy surged, coating his entire body. In moments, Lucian looked as though he had been set ablaze, the flames licking around him, but instead of burning out, they crackled with an ominous, violent force.
Zeph felt a tremor of awe run through him. This energy—his energy—had such potential, such terrifying power. The thought both thrilled and disturbed him. Lucian, however, seemed perfectly at ease as the fiery aura surrounded him, manipulating the energy like it was second nature.
Lucian then extended his hand toward a distant part of Zeph's soulspace, and with a burst of force, he unleashed a torrent of red-black flames that shot forward like a blast of destructive fire. The tranquil landscape shuddered as the energy rippled through it, though the flames never truly harmed the soulspace itself.
"The energy can be projected, controlled, shaped to your will. It's more versatile than any magic we've studied. And..." Lucian's expression turned more thoughtful, "There's another interesting thing I've discovered. Time in this space stretches far beyond what we know of the real world."
Zeph's ears perked up. Time? What did that mean?
"I've spent what felt like days within my soulspace, experimenting with the energy here, only to exit and find that only minutes had passed in the real world," Lucian explained, his tone laden with intrigue. "When I emerged, ROSE told me that I had only been in meditation for five minutes. Yet in my experience, I had been here for at least three days."
The implications of this were staggering. Zeph's mind raced, his initial anger momentarily forgotten as he tried to comprehend the possibilities. If time within the soulspace moved at such a slower pace compared to reality, then he and Lucian could spend days, weeks, even months here, training or strategizing, while only moments passed in the real world. This was an advantage beyond any they had ever possessed.
Still, even this knowledge did little to soothe the growing rage in Zeph's chest. Lucian's words were valuable, yes, but they were not enough to erase the fact that a creature—some vile entity—had dared to strike at him. The memory of that moment, when he had been so close to death, still haunted him, fueling his desire for vengeance.
After walking for a few minutes through the ever-bright landscape of Zeph's soulspace, the creature's prison came into view.
There it was—trapped within a shimmering, translucent barrier. The creature, once terrifying and grand in its malevolent power, now appeared diminished, its form shrunken and twisted, writhing in visible agony. Every inch of its body sizzled as the soulspace's energy ate away at its essence, causing pieces of its form to dissolve into nothingness.
The creature's many eyes, once filled with arrogance and malice, were now wide with hatred and pain. It squirmed, trying to move away from the energy, but no matter how it twisted and recoiled, the agony was inescapable.
Zeph's heart pounded in his chest, the sight of the creature only stoking the flames of his fury. This thing... this worthless abomination... it dared to attack me. It dared to think it could win.
Lucian watched Zeph carefully, sensing the spike in his emotions. "Remember," he said in a quiet, almost cautionary tone, "anger is a tool, but it can also be a weapon turned against you if not controlled."
Zeph's fists clenched, his small frame trembling with barely contained rage. He wanted to lash out, to punish the creature for its audacity, for its attack, for making him feel vulnerable and weak. But Lucian's words echoed in his mind, grounding him. Zeph knew he had to maintain control, to be calculated like Lucian.
Still, as his eyes bore into the suffering creature, Zeph couldn't help but think, Soon, I'll make you pay for what you did. His lips curled into a grim smile, though he maintained the appearance of calm. The real punishment would come later, when the time was right.
For now, they had a prisoner to interrogate.