Michael was glad that his brother was back, but it was confusing to hear Danny's voice in his head all the time. It felt like Danny had transformed into his voice of reasoning and the king of gossipers.
The reassuring voice asking for gossip made it feel like Michael had a second personality, telling him to stay calm and focus on…gossiping.
Michael was not a fan of gossiping, but it was a nice change to fool around for once. It was entirely out of character, but that was how the accumulated tension dispersed quickly.
The brothers talked the whole night about their lives, family, and gossiped about everyone Michael had gotten to know since he manifested the War Rune. Daniel Fang learned a lot about his younger brother. Even after the night had elapsed and the first sunrays shone through the window in Michael's room, Danny had more questions and doubts to be answered.
Daniel Fang was incredibly curious about Michael's life, and Michael was so happy about his brother's return that he didn't even think about hiding something. However, Michael was also confused at times.
Did he like Alice? He rarely thought about his feelings, especially romantic feelings, but he had to acknowledge that he felt more about Alice Zenovia than Zeke and Lincoln. He was always happy to see her whenever he returned from the Origin Expanse.
It was weird.
At some point, he would have to face his feelings head-on to determine whether he liked her or was just thankful for her help.
But what would he do if he liked her? Would he approach her once he was sure of his feelings? Did she like him as well?
Michael scratched his head, unsure of the answer. The discomfort in his heart grew, and he felt helpless. Unfortunately, the discomfort didn't originate from a monster. He couldn't slay his feelings like a monster to get rid of them.
[I'm glad that you didn't change.] Danny said at one point.
"What are you talking about? I changed a lot… I think," Michael responded with a frown.
[Yes…but no. You changed a lot, but your core is still the same. You are still the same Michael who gets flustered easily. It was always easy to read your emotions. You're the worst at hiding how you feel. As for your temper…well…let's not talk about it.] Danny snickered lightly, only for Michael to groan.
His brother was a menace. To Michael's misery, he loved his brother more than anything.
"So what? Showing my emotions means that I cannot lie. I'm an honest man!" Michael grumbled.
[Yeahhhh, of course. You are definitely not a hot-tempered troublemaker. That's not one of your trademarks~] Danny teased.
Michael responded to Danny's teasing.
"Maybe I should seal you in the Soul Grimoire until I find a suitable container for you…"
[You want to imprison me after I've been stuck in this shithole for eons?!? How cruel!!!] Danny cried out in Michael's mind.
"Urgh. Aren't you the older brother? Why are you throwing a tantrum?!"
Michael smiled vibrantly and could feel the happiness permeating his brother's Living Soul as well. The brothers were happy to be back together. It was a miracle.
[But on another note. Are you certain that you want to build a new body for me? I don't think finding a suitable container for me will be easy. I also felt weak after you extracted the Curse. I cannot say for sure, but I think I'm too weak to survive outside your Soul Grimoire for now.]
Danny's tone changed. He suddenly became more serious, forcing Michael to put his happiness aside for a moment.
"I've already thought of multiple solutions. The easiest solution would be to contact one of the mechanical races. You told me about them a few times. They have souls even though they're machines—well, partial machines, but that doesn't matter. I think it should be possible to create a suitable vessel with the knowledge of the mechanical races," Michael pointed out.
"Or I'll search for a suitable container among criminals. I can tell that you're disgusted at the thought of having me tear someone's soul out of their body for your sake. You don't want me to ruin an innocent soul to make space for yours. I understand that, but I will kill my enemies and countless criminals in the future, either way. If one of them has high compatibility with your soul…I won't hesitate to tear that soul apart to insert yours."
Danny remained silent for a while. Various thoughts flashed through his mind. Michael transformed more than he'd expected.
[That seems...fair. But make certain that I will be as handsome as I used to be. It would be even better if I were more handsome, though I'm not sure if that's even possible!]
"Shut up," Michael responded with a smile.
His brother accepted his plan – if one could call it such. It wasn't much, but it was one step in the right direction.
Now that he had ensured Danny's survival, it was time to nourish his Living Soul and search for a suitable vessel. That wouldn't be easy, but Michael never expected it to be easy in the first place. That was totally fine. It was not Michael's first rodeo.
A few minutes of silence passed. Everyone was in their world of thoughts, wondering about various things, until Danny resurfaced in Michael's mind.
[What do you think will happen now?]
Michael tilted his head, unsure what his brother wanted.
[You uttered that my Curse looked like a Tiger and that Mother also considered the World Serpent a curse. Doesn't that mean all curses are mythical creatures or something like that? You also mentioned that unsealing more Cursed Seals affects your emotions. The Curse tries to influence you. What will you do about that?]
"The cursed Seals and the World Serpent didn't bother me since I devoured your Curse. It feels like devouring the Curse brought us closer. They are more part of my being than they used to be. That feels…weird but not bad. The Curse is more amiable than before. However, I'm not certain if devouring your Curse temporarily satisfied the Curse's hunger or if something else changed."
Michael could use five Cursed Seals without being greatly affected. That didn't mean the Cursed Seals lost their influence on Michael; it was just that their influence was less potent now. The Curse didn't bother him much at this point.
The only thing that bothered him was that the World Serpent was radio silent. He'd hoped that it would resurface and talk to him, but there was nothing like that.
Meanwhile, Danny was the complete opposite. It seemed like the time he spent in…nothingness…transformed him.
Daniel Fang was a blabbermouth.
Putting that 'issue' aside, Michael was quite satisfied. But he was a little surprised when the Soul Grimoire consumed a bunch of SoulStar Fragments to keep Danny's Living Soul stable and nourish him just enough to ensure that Danny wouldn't sustain any harm in the Soul Grimoire.
Dozens of SoulStar Fragments were consumed every day.
That seemed like a lot at first glance, but it was not that much considering that the criminals sent by the Valyr were more than enough to cover that expense tens of times.
Michael's goal to resurrect his brother properly was grand, but the good thing was that he didn't have a deadline anymore. Michael could gauge how many SoulStar Fragments he had to accumulate to nourish Danny's Living Soul to its prime state and how many Fragments the Living Soul needed to be transferred into a different vessel.
The Soul Grimoire's space was also a bit too tight to nourish the Living Soul, but that could be solved by eventually upgrading It to 7-Star.
To sum it up, Michael had to collect a shitload of SoulStar Fragments to complete Danny's Living Soul and upgrade Soul Grimoire once again.
Fighting more Awakened would solve that issue quickly, but Michael did not plan to search for more enemies in the Origin Expanse. He was more interested in growing stronger and expanding his territory.
Michael was unwilling to endanger his territory. Fortunately, he didn't have to attack anyone in the Origin Expanse. A few months earlier, the perfect opportunity to harvest SoulStar Fragments had already unveiled itself in front of him.
The next Interdimensional Flag War was waiting for Michael!
