A bead of sweat trickled down his temples as he contained Danny's Living Soul with True Extraction. Michael couldn't afford to make a single mistake. The pressure weighing on his being was tremendous. He could barely endure it without collapsing.
A bad headache crept up the back of his head, but Michael managed to overcome it. He saw the fragments of the Miniature Coffin Keychain sprawled on the ground left and right and knew that he couldn't insert the Living Soul back into it if something went wrong.
'I can do it!' He told himself.
'I have to!!!'
His Cursed Seals trembled slightly. They didn't try to consume Michael or control him; instead, they were trying to tell him something.
Michael closed his eyes instinctively and focused on the Cursed Seals. Several pathways inside him began to shimmer, almost like the Cursed Seals were trying to guide him.
The Living Soul writhed in Michael's grasp. He frowned deeply, the worry in his face intensifying.
'True Extraction alone is insufficient to contain and stabilize the Living Soul. I was too confident. No. I can still do it!'
He let the Cursed Seals guide him. The Soul Power accumulated within the Extraction Soultrait transformed slowly into Soul Energy. It was channeled to the Extraction Symbol to strengthen Extraction's power temporarily. Thereafter, the Soul Energy circulated through his body, activating a Soul Technique Michael never heard of.
The world around him seemed to change. The essence of the Untamed Jungle was laid out in front of him.
The Greater Nature Spirit before him swayed and moved as gusts overflowing with energy and lifeforce brushed past it. It seemed to exclaim in excitement, its branches swaying rhythmically. Simultaneously, the Forest Pixies and Dryads hummed in a whisper as they revolved around the massive tree trunk of the Greater Nature Spirit.
The surroundings were shrouded in millions of tiny, sparkling mots. They reflected the sunlight and glimmered brightly, casting a golden hue through the vicinity.
It was a magical moment that was etched on the minds of those who passed by. They had never seen such beautiful scenery and stopped to observe nature's beauty a little bit longer.
It didn't take long before the spectators noticed a young man in the center of the beauty. He smiled from one ear to another, a single tear trickling down his cheeks.
Michael was too focused on the Living Soul to take note of the surrounding's beauty. The golden wisp compressed and contained by Extraction's tendrils consumed Michael's attention.
Michael infused the surrounding origin energy and lifeforce into the golden wisp until it no longer threatened to disperse in all directions. Once the golden wisp had been stabilized, Michael didn't waste any more time. He summoned the Soul Grimoire and finished the last preparations to insert the Living Soul into it.
He converted a portion of his Soul Power into Soul Energy and used Perfect Insertion, the Elite Class Soul Technique he'd created for this purpose.
Michael couldn't afford to make a mistake, so Perfect Insertion was used to unlock more of Insert's potential.
The golden wisp resisted Michael for a moment. However, upon sensing his energy fluctuations, the wisp stopped all attempts to block Michael's actions. Michael managed to grasp the golden wisp in its entirety using Perfect Insertion. He inserted it into the Soul Grimoire once he was confident that he didn't miss a speck of the Living Soul and that the Soul Grimoire could contain the entire Living Soul.
Michael's heart palpated like there was no tomorrow. He nibbled on his lower lip and observed the Living Soul intently as it was inserted into the Soul Grimoire.
Michael felt that his soul grew heavier as the Living Soul entered the Soul Grimoire. It was like the weight on his soul doubled. Even the toll of the Cursed Seals didn't seem as heavy as the Living Soul that weighed heavily on his soul.
'Good thing that my soul is stronger than the norm.' Michael thought, happy that his Curse put enough pressure on his body, mind, and soul to temper them since birth.
He didn't like the Curse and the Cursed Seals' influence on him, but it would have been a lie if he said he wasn't grateful for it.
The Living Soul entered the Soul Grimoire, filling it to the brim. Even if Michael wanted to store more souls in the Soul Grimoire, Danny's Living Soul occupied everything. In fact, Michael could tell that the Living Soul was in a tight space and that it was a little bit too cramped. Fortunately, Michael had enough SoulStar Fragments to upgrade Soul Grimoire's star rating slightly.
There was no need to upgrade Soul Grimoire to 7-Star, but Michael spent 30,000 SoulStar Fragments to give Danny's Living Soul more space. That was the least he could do.
After upgrading it a little to inspect the Living Soul, Michael centered on the Soultrait Symbol of Soul Grimoire. It squirmed inside the Soul Grimoire but didn't try to break out of the narrow space. If Michael didn't know better, he would think that the Living Soul knew what had happened. But that should be impossible, right?
Michael was exhausted and retracted True Extraction once his mission was over. He also stopped utilizing Perfect Insertion.
His back was drenched in sweat, but Michael didn't care. He smiled from one ear to another while prying into the Soul Grimoire. He succeeded. He extracted Danny's Curse, pulled his Living Soul out of the Miniature Coffin Keychain without harming him, and prepared a decent environment to preserve and nourish Danny's Living Soul.
The only tasks left to resurrect his brother were to find or create a suitable vessel and nourish his Living Soul so that it could transfer him into the vessel once the time was ripe.
His eyes were wet, and it was only a matter of seconds before tears streamed down his cheeks.
He didn't care who might see him or what others thought of him. Michael was just too Happy.
Something tugged at the back of Michael's head, taking him by surprise. At first, he thought it was the World Serpent, but he wasn't prepared to hear a familiar call resound in his mind.
[Michael…]
Michael halted in his tracks at once. His hair stood up to its end, and his eyes widened in shock.
"DANNY?!?"
Danny's call resounded in his head. A shudder ran down his spine, but a vibrant grin formed on his lips.
He recalled the message the Will gave him a long time ago.
–May the Star with the greatest accomplishments shine the brightest. May his light ignite the embers of the perishing star from anew. May his Cursed Soul bend fate as he pleases. –
The golden mots filling the vicinity intensified as golden tears trickled down his cheeks.
"Danny!! Speak to me!!"
The Soultrait Symbol of Reinforced Sword Qi resonated with Michael's wish. It tremored wildly inside the Sphere of Light as the golden light surrounding Michael turned brighter by the second.
[Is that really you, Michael? I…D-didn't I die in the Lord Rift protecting you?]
Danny's call rang out in Michael's head once again.
[Don't tell me that you died as well? That cannot be. Please don't let it be true…]
Michael would have smiled even brighter if that was possible. The river of tears couldn't be stopped anymore.
"I'm still alive, brother…" Michael chocked.
"Welcome back!"
