It was today, on his birthday, when Michael found out that Danny's Soul had always been with him. Was that fate?
His mother was not talking about Danny's Soultrait, Reinforced Sword Qi, but his Living Soul. Michael was not sure what exactly a Living Soul was, however, his lack of knowledge didn't matter. All that mattered was that Danny might still be alive.
"We just need his Soul…" Evalynn clarified, "We can bring him back!"
Michael's heart skipped a beat, his eyes following his mother's finger. She pointed at the Miniature Coffin Keychain that had been with Michael since he returned from the Lord Rift.
His eyes widened and he retrieved the Miniature Coffin Keychain to inspect it closely.
"Danny's Soul….is stored inside this?" He asked the anger and wrath he felt toward his mother slowly being replaced by hope.
So what if he hated his parents? If there was the slightest chance to get his brother back, Michael would take it. He would risk it all to bring his brother back to life!
However, something felt off. He couldn't sense anything from the Miniature Coffin Keychain. Michael had been experimenting with the Miniature Coffin Keychain quite often, but he never found out what use it had. By now, he had forgotten about the keychain. It was more of an accessory than a useful Artifact. All of a sudden his mother showed up and said that the useless keychain contains Danny's Soul? That didn't make any sense. He was appalled, but despite having been abandoned by his mother, Michael believed her. It was odd.
"Yes, his Soul is stored inside the Coffin. Give it to us, and we will take care of his reincarnation. He might forget about you, but we will make sure that he will grow up well!" Evalynn promised, but Michael retracted his hand. "Reincarnation? Losing his memories? That's not what you said earlier! And who the hell is stupid enough to believe your promise? You promised us so many things, only to abandon us when we were too young to take care of ourselves! Why the hell should I trust you?!" Michael bellowed and the emotions he had accumulated over the years erupted from deep within him once again.
The hatred resurfaced. "Hell no. I won't give you the keychain!" He said, his grip over the keychain growing firmer.
Where the hell had his mother been all these years? Why did she never search for her children? Now that Danny died she cares about him…his soul… all of a sudden? That didn't make any sense! His family couldn't be trusted!
"His Soul is decaying. Danny has only a year left before his Living Soul cannot be salvaged anymore. The damage will be too big and we won't be able to reincarnate him anymore. He will not only lose his memories but the curse wi–...." Michael couldn't listen to his mother's incessant rambling anymore. "One year? That's more than enough time to search for a solution on my own. I don't need your help, or whoever you're talking about when you say 'we' and 'us'. If it's father, tell him to fuck off and to never even think about coming here!" He snorted.
Michael was angry, but he felt like he had been given a new purpose in life. If…his mother's words held even an ounce of truth and Danny's Living Soul had been preserved in the Miniature Coffin Keychain…then he could rescue him, probably. He had Extraction, Insert, and various other Soultraits that he could use. As long as Michael worked hard enough to search for the Soultraits and techniques he needed, he was confident of rescuing his brother. It wouldn't be necessary to throw Danny into the cycle of reincarnation. If he rescued his brother he had to do it properly. Not some sort of reincarnation that made him forget who he was. Could that be considered 'rescue' in the first place? Michael's mind was overflowing with the confused feelings due to the sudden reunion with his mother and the news about Danny's soul. He was having a hard time believing his mother, but he could use simple means to verify if she spoke the truth, or if his mother was lying to him.
Only remnants of the golden stigmatas were left. It was just enough to use True Extraction once more with 10 layers of Enhancement.
Michael unleashed True Extraction on the Miniature Coffin Keychain, tapping into the inside of the coffin with a tremendous surge of raw power. Before today, Michael had never sensed anything within the keychain, but it was different now. Michael thought specifically about Danny's Soul…and there it was. A mass of energy, intertwined with a trace of life…and something else – something that felt like Danny.
The trace of life was weak, and it fluctuated wildly as Michael's 10-fold Enhanced True Extraction reached it. It felt like the trace of life would break apart if he pulled any harder.
'A Living Soul cannot be extracted in portions…I have to extract it in one go, altogether. Extraction is not strong enough…' Michael realized, all while tears trickled down his cheeks. The cogs in his mind rumbled as millions of thoughts, ideas, and theories began to form.
'But it's possible. I can extract his preserved Living Soul once Extraction is potent enough. But what about after that…where do I put his Living Soul? Do I Insert it somewhere? Is there anything better than the Coffin to preserve a Living Soul?' As the thoughts flashed through his mind, Michael felt a weak pulling force from the deepest parts of his consciousness, the Sphere of Light, to be precise. The pull was weak, but Michael noticed it, nonetheless. He entered his consciousness instinctively and followed the pulling force until he reached the source.
"The Soul Grimoire!" Michael exclaimed, his eyes glowing vigorously. Soul Grimoire was his only 1-Star Soultrait, and if he was to be honest, Michael had completely forgotten about it. He forgot that he wanted to extract Soul Grimoire and replace it with another Soultrait, a better one. A Soultrait with additional use.
But he was happy that he didn't substitute Soul Grimoire.
'Soul Grimoire can preserve and preserve Souls as a 1-Star Soultrait. If I upgrade it a little bit…it should be able to store a Living Soul, preserve it…and maybe nourish it…right? Will it be enough if I upgrade Extraction to 7-Stars? What about Soul Grimoire then?'
"A Living Soul is like a sentient soul without a vessel, right?" Michael inquired his mother, his gaze commanding submission. Evalynn blinked several times. Her son's sudden change in attitude toward her surprised her. He didn't seem angry at this point. If anything, he regarded his mother as…nothing of importance, right now. "Answer me!"
Evalynn ignored her son's disrespectful tone and regarded him for a while. She observed the stigmatas all over his body and witnessed them as they dispersed slowly. It was not difficult to tell that Michael had no control over the stigmatas and that they manifested and dispersed as they pleased. At least, that was what it looked like. "Because of our Ancestor's Curse, our Souls are different from the norm. It rarely happens that one of us can be resurrected as a Summon in the Origin Expanse. However, that is exactly what happened to Daniel. His Soul spent several months in a foreign, yet familiar body…right next to another Cursed Child, giving him just enough time to prepare for the inevitable. However, it seems like the Will of the Origin Expanse had different plans," Evalynn mumbled, trying to contain her emotions. She wanted to give Michael a fair share of her opinion. His attitude was not acceptable, but she knew that he wouldn't care about her emotions. It made sense. "We were looking for Danny's lost soul, only to find out that it was preserved somewhere…with someone. But yes, to answer your question, the current state of Danny's Soul can be considered a Sentient Living Soul. It's just that he is hibernating right now to conserve the last remnants of his sentience and life." 'He is hibernating? Is that why I never sensed him? Will it wake him up if I extract him in one go? That will probably happen. I guess? That means I need to upgrade Soul Grimoire quite a lot. Maybe, I need another Soultrait that can nourish and strengthen Souls as well. That is if Soul Grimoire doesn't improve as I upgrade it. Upgrading Soul Grimoire to 7-Star…will be enough to host a Living Soul with sentience…right?' Michael was ready to get hold of various Soul-type Soultraits and experiment with them. He could test out if it was possible to Insert Soultraits into each other to stimulate fusions. Maybe, it was possible to create a suitable Soultrait to keep Danny's Soul safe and sound. After he could ensure the safety of Danny's Soul he could search for ways to resurrect him without a loss of memories, or anything along those lines.
"Since his Soul is tainted by a curse, he should stay close to other Cursed Children. The additional Cursed Seals they unleashed, the easier it will be to take care of Danny's Soul. I unsealed more than enough Cursed Seals to take care of Danny. Trust me, I will reincarnate him without inflicting any more pain. I…don't want to see him suffer anymore," Evalynn said, but Michael scoffed once again.
"If you were this engaged in our lives and Danny's suffering, you wouldn't have desolated us. I don't need you…No. WE don't need you!"
Evalynn gazed at her son, her eyebrows furrowed deeply. She was getting angry. "Why are all of my children so difficult? First Hesta was throwing a tantrum, and now you're acting like the world revolves around you. Get your act together!" She screamed, "I'm doing all of this for your sake. I want to assist Danny!!"
"Hesta?" Michael laughed lightly, his eyes lingering on his mother in disgust, "Seems like she is alive."
"Not that I care."
