As exhaustion had crept into his muscles and seeped into his bones, he had been pulled in a deep slumber, finally giving in to the pleading cries of his body to give it some rest. A few days had passed before Jason regained his consciousness.
In his dream, he had found himself inside the soul world, which was probably the place his mind had escaped to find solace and comfort.
Because of that, Jason had been able to learn more about the fortified soul conjunction he had with his three soulbonds.
The stronger Jason's connection with his soulbonds became, the greater and more efficient was their telepathy and shared capabilities such as strength, intelligence, and affinity.
Furthermore, they were able to read each other's mind even at a greater distance!
Other than that, there was also the stigma they had. Apparently, the effects it provided became stronger in accordance with both Jason and the soulbond in his mana core.
Every single time a soulbond entered his mana core, Jason felt like he was fusing together to become a single entity.
This was something he had never heard of, and it had to do with the stigma his primal bloodline awakening inherited from him and his soulbonds.
Unfortunately, there were too many things Jason didn't know about his stigma, and he doubted that anyone could explain to him what any stigma had to do with his soulbonds.
Only the human race was able to make use of soulbonds because they had a soul world to bind and tame beasts.
Owing to this, Jason would have to figure out everything by himself. It wouldn't be much of a problem as long as the stigma didn't give him any negative effects owing to the possible aftermath of the forceful prevention of his metamorphosis into an Infernal Celestia.
Preventing negative effects was the most important while utilizing every single advantage followed next.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Jason was not sure where exactly he was, but when he had opened his eyes and got up, he couldn't find anyone around him.
His body still felt sore and lifting his arms that were painful and heavy was an exercise in itself. Jason was surprised to see that his wrists weren't handcuffed so he was able to move freely.
There were no external restrictions, save his body that groaned and creaked like a rusted machine with every step he took.
Scanning through his body, Jason was relieved to find that there was no trace of a serious injury, and it wouldn't take long for him to recover completely.
Solaris was still inside his body, soothing the pain and relieving him of the tension coiled in his muscles, which Jason realised.
He transmitted his gratitude towards Solaris, who responded with similar emotions.
After that, Jason's emperor eyes investigated his entire surroundings.
From the looks of it, he was still inside the city as before, while the same applied to the guardian group.
Jason was not exactly sure if his recollection of the events before unconsciousness took hold of him was accurate, but he believed that they wouldn't kill him, or even attack.
At least, Jason sincerely hoped so.
Taking a deep breath, he got out of the bed, taking careful steps and ignoring the pain.
No sooner had he attempted to walk that Artemis appeared in front of him before she perched herself on her usual spot on his shoulder.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Shockingly enough, Petri wanted to follow suit, but before he could do so Jason showed him the size of the room through his own eyes.
Yet, contrary to his expectations, Artemis and Petri's stigma along with his own glowed brightly as a two-meter-long snake appeared in front of Jason.
While rapidly blinking his eyes several times in half a minute, Jason could only stare at Petri, visibly dumbfounded.
However, just as he was about to transmit a thought to his soulbond, or to be more precise, a question that might have solved his confusion, memories flooded his mind.
While he was unconscious, Jason had learned lots of things inside the soul world, however, they had slipped from his mind the moment he had woken up.
Fortunately, they resurfaced once again, allowing Jason to comprehend what was going on.
"So...the stigma allows certain abilities to be used by those who are eligible? The ability to adjust one's size can be used by Solaris, which is obvious, and Petri too? Only I can't use it…"
Somehow, he was more confused than before.
But there was nothing to complain about.
Rather than that, Jason couldn't help but smile as Petri climbed up his body, in order to rest his head on Jason's shoulder.
The rest of his body was coiled around Jason's chest down to his waist.
It was not exactly comfortable, but they were connected to each other. As such, Petri's body didn't really feel as if it was something that didn't belong to Jason.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Due to that, Petri was able to adjust his position so as to prevent hurting Jason, who couldn't help but feel that he must look ridiculous right now.
The origin flame inside him continued to soothe his pain, while Artemis claimed his left shoulder, leaving the rest of his body to be occupied by Petri.
Shaking his head, Jason overcame his embarrassment and caressed his soulbonds for a minute before brushing them off.
He had to shower and put on a new set of clothes.
The tattered and soiled clothes that were reduced to mere rags after the battle were even worse than Petri and Artemis highlighting his bedraggled appearance.
After getting ready, both of his soulbonds returned to claim their spots on either of his shoulders causing Jason to frown before he left the room.
Through his emperor eyes he could see everyone perfectly fine.
The five men and three women from the guardian group were with the city protectors and a few citizens that had spoken for him, preventing his death.
At least, that was what Jason could tell based on the mana fluctuations he perceived.
It didn't take him long to find the way towards the room in which everyone was gathered.
Jason entered it without any hesitation, and all the gazes fell upon him, staring at him with a mixture of curiosity and awe.
"Sorry for the interruption, but I thought It would be best to come over."
Though he put on a smile, one could see that Jason was not very comfortable being stared at as if he was a weirdo.
Unfortunately, this was not something he could prevent, and the only thing Jason could do was to explain why his soul bonds were being so possessive and protective of him, not willing to leave him even for a second.
"My soulbonds thought that I would die, and we had some sort of accident almost a year ago...That's why they've become even clingier than before. Please don't mind them."
Memories of Scorpio resurfaced and the raw agony of losing his beloved soulbond that had turned into a dull ache hurt his tender heart. No matter how hard he tried, he was unable to suppress his expression from showing what Scorpio's loss did to him.
As such, everyone could see that the young man was not much different than them.
Rather, it seemed that his soulbonds loved him more than any other soulbond loved their master, a rare bond of affection and trust that they hadn't seen before.
At least, that was what everyone inside the room could tell from the looks of it.
They had been talking about Jason, his contribution to the Great Argos war, what else he had done for mankind, the content of the book he had released, and his strength.
Other than that, the most important point was the question about Jason's background and what his true intentions were.
Suddenly, two middle-aged men approached Jason in two large strides and stared at him with conflicting expressions.
On one hand, they seemed to be hesitant and embarrassed, but on the other side, Jason was able to see their stubbornness.
Looking at them, Jason realised that it was the two men who had almost killed him.
Yet, instead of loathing them, he gave them a ghost of a smile as he saw their expressions.
They fumbled to find the right words, and Daphne was about to shout at them when Jason took a step forward, lifting his hand to slap on their shoulders.
"There is no need to look like that. I think I understand what you guys want to say. My name is Jason Stella, what about you guys?"
His Celestia aura was naturally released, along with his stigma, allowing everyone enveloped by the aura to feel more relaxed.
The two men's tension dispersed slowly, as they overcame their earlier hesitation and introduced themselves.
"My name is Lektar, 7th Lique stage, and I was the one who attacked you with the thunder glaive….sorry…"
Jason just smiled at the middle-aged man, with a trace of happiness glimmering in his eyes because Lektar had used the cultivation system he had introduced!
Averting his attention to the bulky man, who had brutally attacked him with his warhammer, Jason could only remember the pain he had felt!
"Everyone calls me Jon, you can do the same. Fortunately, I held back a little bit, but I am sorry nonetheless. Oh, and I am at the 6th Lique stage!"
Somehow, Jason could only frown lightly, thinking that the bulky man must have a physical soul to say that he'd held back with the level of terrific strength he had utilized to swing the hammer on him. Jason thanked his soulbond, Petri, for ensuring that his ribs and bones were intact right now.
However, the bulky man had an earth affinity, telling Jason that this was not possible under normal means.
'Does he have a double soul awakening?'
This was possible, but before he was able to think about it more, the woman at the prismar stage introduced herself as well.
"My name is Daphne Flora, nice meeting you. I hope you won't hold our first encounter against me…"
Jason just nodded his head, thinking that it was better for everyone to introduce themselves.
As such, he turned towards the young woman, who had thrown herself in front of Jason, protecting him. He patiently awaited her introduction.
"I'm called Inja, and I wanted to thank you for protecting the city…"
